IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Ernest Farrington at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th June
1867.
I, ERNEST FARRINGTON, of Rue du Chemin Vert, No. 28, Paris, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES TO BE USED
THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
The chief object of my Invention is the construction of an improved arm
with breech bolt and striking pin or needle, the percussion being produced by
an ordinary hammer and lock.
The improvements in addition to the general action of the mechanism and
of the arrangement of the lock which is behind the breech are the following:-
1st, the combination with a system of closing with a breech bolt and
ordinary lock of a breech piece screwed upon the barrel; this piece is provided
with an inclined plane intended to draw back the plunger or rod which carries
the needle; it also has a lump to withstand the blow of the hammer, also a
hook and a tail piece which weaken upon the stock the effects of the recoil.
2ndly, the employment of a spring tenon applicable to all arms with a
breech bolt, and having three objects, viz., to guide the bolt, to maintain it
when closed, and to permit of withdrawing it by a quick tortuous movement
without the aid of a special appliance.
The breech piece before referred to is screwed to the rear end of the barrel,
which is prolonged the necessary distance in one piece, and which is formed
with an opening at the side for the introduction of the cartridge; this breech

page_text: piece, which is an essential part of my Invention, is composed as before stated
of a lump to withstand the blow of the hammer, of a hook, and a tail piece
which permit of fixing it firmly to the butt and render it fit to resist the recoil.
The lump presents in its configuration an inclined plane following a notch, in
which the bent head of a plunger which receives the blow of the hammer
lodges. The bolt which receives two movements, one rotary and the other
longitudinal, is worked by means of a knob or handle. This bolt is a hollow
cylinder and in one piece; it is formed externally with half a right-handed
screw composed of interrupted threads or grooves which serve to connect it to
the breech piece. The bolt which is terminated in front by a portion a little
thinned abuts against the projection resulting from the narrowing of the barrel.
Internally the space is quite cylindrical, and it is prolonged at the front by a
tubular part closed by a screw, and intended to allow passage only to the
striking needle. At the back of the bolt a notch is formed like a bayonet
joint for the play of the bent head of the plunger, and a circular door worked
by a button serves to open the rear of the bolt to allow the plunger and needle
to be withdrawn; this plunger which carries the needle and guides it in its
course is a solid cylinder. The needle is held in the plunger in a socket therein
by a hollow screw passed over the needle. A coiled spring which surrounds
the needle inside the bolt pushes back the needle and the plunger; the
plunger terminates at the rear in a bent head on which the hammer strikes.
The plunger may readily be withdrawn from the bolt, but to insure its position
when the cartridge is in place, and thus prevent the latter being struck by
the needle through an accidental blow, I adopt a special safety arrangement
consisting of a key or hook which oscillates in a slot of the bolt round a
transverse pin, and takes into a notch in the plunger, and thereby opposes its
movement except when the hook comes opposite a recess in the breech part
of the barrel. A small spring plate inserted in the rear end of the bolt bears
on the bent head of the plunger in order to maintain the latter in the position
to receive the blow of the hammer. Lock mechanism with ordinary lock plate
allows the hammer to be acted upon by a trigger. A small hook or tenon,
which is an essential part of my gun, plays under the action of a flat spring
through a small square opening in the under side of the barrel; this hook
guides and supports the bolt by means of two longitudinal grooves or slots,
and of a small transverse slot connecting the other two.
A modification of the breech bolt before described consists in substituting
for the half right-handed screw a tenon which fits into a round mortice in the
breech piece.
The action is as follows:-Supposing a charge has been fired, and it is

page_text: required to reload, the hammer is cocked, the bolt is turned and drawn back
by means of its handle, the opening for the insertion of the cartridge is thus
free; when a cartridge has been inserted the bolt is returned to position, and
the gun is ready to be fired. The coiled spring always tends to push back the
plunger and needle, a result which the inclined plane of the lump also gives
by acting on the bent head of the plunger the moment the arm is opened. To
put the arm in the safety notch or half-cock the bent head is moved in the
bayonet notch of the bolt and the hammer is lowered. The play of the spring
hook against which the three grooves or slots slide guides and maintains the
bolt in its double movement. If it be desired to withdraw the plunger and
needle for cleaning or otherwise the circular door of the bolt is opened and
the plunger is turned forcibly by its head, the spring hook yields and is
abandoned by the transverse groove; the plunger and needle may then be
withdrawn.
My Invention further consists in improvements in the manufacture of cart-
ridges to be used with these arms, and my object is chiefly to produce hermetic
closing of the joint at the breech and of the passage for the needle as well
as to prevent the oxidation of the latter and the fouling of the chamber. My
cartridges are composed of a paper cylinder or case; of a pasteboard or similar
washer for the base of the cartridge and to cleanse the chamber; of a band or
strip of cloth pasted on the rear edge of the cartridge, and serving to hold the
washer to the case to give solidity to the back part of the cartridge, and to
hold the grease for lubricating; of a non-desiccable unctuous socket or plug
preferably composed of powdered asbestos (amianthe) lubricated with tallow,
lard, or other grease; of a washer to carry the priming in the centre, and
separating the socket or plug from the powder; and of a string or ligature
tied round the cloth outside the socket.