Year: 1888

page_text: IVE
Date of Application, 5th June, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 1st Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 6th Apr, 1889
I, THORSTEN NORDENFELT of 53 Parliament Street, in the City of Westminster,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in machine guns.
I employ two barrels mounted parallel the one to the other in a frame in which
they are able to slide The barrels are fired alternately and the recoil of one barrel
advances the other to the firing position.
When in the firing position the breech of the barrel is closed behind the cartridge
by a plunger, and this in turn abuts upon an arın upon a vertical axis in rear of the
barrels, and placed centrally between them. When the barrel recoils against the
supporting arm it causes the axis partially to rotate. Upon the axis there is a toothed
wheel and this gears with two pinions, one on either side of it; thus there is a pinion
for each barrel. On the axis of each pinion there is an arm which, during the
recoil of the barrel, turns through an angle of about 180 degrees from a forward to a
rearward position.
In this movement a friction roller on the end of the arm passes
along a slot in a projection from the plunger.
At the commencement of the recoil the roller passes along a portion of the slot
which is so curved that the plunger moves back at the same speed as the barrel and
then the roller carries the plunger backwards further than the barrel itself recoils and
thereby it opens the breech. The same movement operating upon the pimon and arm
on the other side, causes the other plunger to advance, in doing so it thrusts forward
the cartridge which is in front of it into the barrel which is next to be fired, and it
closes the breech behind the cartridge. Each plunger contains a firing pin and when
the plunger advances the firing pin is retained by an arm projecting from the pin
coming into contact with a fixed stop The spring which operates the firing-pin is
thereby compressed. The firing pin is released from the fixed stop before the plunger
completes its forward movement, but is then arrested by a stop upon the plunger
tself

page_text: The firing is effected by releasing the firing pin from this last mentioned stop, and
this is done by means of an incline connected with a trigger. When the trigger is
pulled the incline is drawn back and it operates against the arm on the firing pin so
as to rotate the pin partially, and move the arm until it escapes from the stop or notch
in which it was previously retained.
When it is desired that the gun shall continue to fire automatically until the
cartridges are exhausted, this liberatang incline is held back by the trigger or otherwise
and then the escape of the firing pin takes place at the moment when the forward
movement of the plunger ceases.
The cartridges are supplied to the barrels from belts, there is one such belt for each
barrel they pass over drums which are propelled step by step by ratchets and
pawls The pawls are carried by a transverse slide which is moved to and fro by
the barrels as they alternately recoil. The belts carry spring clips, and in these the
cartridges are held The plunger in advancing drives the cartridge out of the clip
into the barrel. The plunger is provided with an extractor and when the plunger
retires, after firing, the extractor draws back the cartridge case again into the chip in
which it was previously held and there it leaves it; the belt then travels forward a step
and brings a fresh cartridge in front of the plunger.

page_text: I, THORSTEN NORDENFELT of 53 Parliament Street in the City of Westminster Civil
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to he particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has for its object improvements in machine guns.
1 employ two barrels mounted parallel the one to the other in a frame in which they
are able to slide. The birrels are fired alternately and the recoil of one barrel advances
the other to the firing position.
When in the firing position the breech of the barrel is closed behind the cartridge by
a plunger, and this in turn abuts upon an arm upon a vertical axis in rear of the
barrels and placed centrally between them. When the barrel recoils against the
supporting arm it causes the axis partially to rotate Upon the axist le is a toothed
wheel and this gears with two pinions, one on either side of it; thus there is a pinion
for each barrel. On the axis of each pinion there is an arm which, during the
recoil of the barrel, turns through an angle of about 180 degrees from a forward to a
real ward position. In this movement a friction roller on the end of the arm passez
along a slot in a projection from the plunger.
At the commencement of the recoil the roller passes along a portion of the slot which
is so curved that the, plunger inoves back at the same speed as the barrel and then
the roller carries the plunger backwards further than the barrel itself recoils and
thereby it opens the breech. The same movement operating upon the pinion and
arm on the other side, causes the other plunger to advance, in doing so it thrusts
forward the cartridge which 13 in front of it into the barrel which is next to be
fired, and it closes the breech behind the cartridgo. Each plunger contains a firing
pin and when the plunger advances the firing pin is retained by an arm projecting
from the pin coming into contact with a fixed stop. The spring which operates the
firing pin is thereby compressed The firing pin is released from the fixed stop before
the plunger completes its forward movement, but is then arrested by a stop upon the
plunger itself
The firing is effected by releasing the firing pin from this last mentioned stop,
and this is done by means of an incline connected with a trigger
When the trigger
is pulled the incline is drawn back and it operates against the arm on the firing pin so
as to rotate the pin partially, and move the arm until it escapes from the stop or notch
in which it was previously retained.
When it is desired that the gun shall continue to fire automatically until the
cartridges are exhausted, this liberating incline is held back by the trigger or other-
wise and then the escape of the firing pin takes place at the moment when the forward
movement of the plunger ceases.
The cartridges are supplied to the barrels from belts, there is one such belt for each
barrel, they pass over drums which are propelled step by step by ratchets and pawls.

page_text: The pawls are carried by a transverse slide which is moved to and fro by the barrels
as they alternately recoil. The belts carry spring clips and in these the cartridges
are held. The plunger in advancing drives the cartridge out of the clip into the
barrel. The plunger is provided with an extractor and when the plunger retires,
after firing, the extractor draws back the cartridge case again into the clip in which
it was previously held and there it leaves it, the belt then travels forward a step and
brings a fresh cartridge in front of the plunger.
In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
after uring, the extractor draws back the cartridge case again into the clip in which
it was previously held and there it leaves it, the belt then travels forward a step and
brings a fresh cartridge in front of the plunger.
In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section on the line A. B in Figure 3.
Figure 2 18 a longitudinal section on the line C. D in Figure 3.
Figure 3 is a plan partly in section.
Figure 4 shows the fore end omitting parts in rear.
Figure 5 is a section on the line M, N, O, P in Figure 3.
Figure 6 is a section on the line R, S, V, Q in Figure 3.
Figure 7 is a section on the line T. Z. in Figure 1.
Figures & show a portion of the cartridge belt.
The gun shown by these figures is on the system to which my prior Patent
No. 7791 in the year 1888 applies but the arrangement of the parts is different and
especially the plungers are actuated by separate axes geared with the axis which
receives motion from the barrels.
The frame or case consists of the parts a and b and the hinged cover c.
There are lugs on the part a at af which receive a pin by which the frame a is con-
nected to a convenient pivotted support. d are the barrels fixed into the barrel
holders e e.
The barrel holders abut upon the projection f on the toothed wheel f.
This wheel is mounted on an axis which also carries a fly wheel f. 9 are the plungers
which close the barrels and these are also supported by the projection f¹ each at the
moment when the cartridge is fired in front of it. The wheel is constantly in gear
with pinions hh on axes h¹ h¹, which are thus rotated through 180 degrees or thereabout
hare arms on the axes carrying small rollers which pass along curved guide
courses on the underside of the arms g¹ g¹ on the plungers and so carry the plungers
back and forward are drums over which the cartridge belts pass.
These belts may
11
be of leather and they have rivetted to them clips of thin sheet steel, into these
chips the cartridges are placed as shown in Figure 8. The drum has upon it a
ratchet with which a pawl k¹ on the transverse slide k engages. The slide bas upon
it a projection and with this shoulders on the wheel f come into contact as
the wheel comes to the end of its course in its to and fro rotation in either direction.
Each plunger has within it a firing pin and it carries a bent spring by which the
firing pin is pressed forward. On the firing pin is an arm and as the plunger
completes its rearward movement this arm comes against the incline c¹ upon
the cover.
The firing pin is thus turned within the plunger so that when the plunger moves
forward again the arm is caught by the stationary shoulder c. As the forward
movement of the plunger continues the incline g¹ upon it pushes the arm off the
shoulder and it is then caught upon the projection on the plunger. to is the
trigger slide, when it is desired that the gun should continue to fire automatically
the trigger slide is held back, or the firing may be shot by shot in which case the trigger
is released as soon as by drawing it back, a shot has been fired
When the trigger
slide is in position for firing the incline to throws the arm of the firing pin off the
projection g of the plunger and the firing pin advances and strikes the priming of the
cartridge. After firing the plunger retires through the clip of the cartridge belt and
by its extracter 9 it withdraws the cartridge case. The extractor releases the cartridge
case when it has brought it back into the clip and when the head of the extractor
reaches the recess e' in the guide groove in which it travels as described in the
Specification of my Patent No. 77918

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim 13:
1. An automatic gun having a pair of barrels abutting upon a projection or part
carried by an axis and so arranged that the recoil of either barrel rotates the axis
and advances the other barrel and also having the said axis geared with two other axes
one on either side of it such other axis being provided with arms wherewith they
actuate the plunges which serve to close the breeches of the barrels substantially as
described.
2. An automatic gun substantially as described and represented by the annexed
drawings.
Dated this 1st day of March 1889.