Improvements in the Feed Apparatus of Machine Guns.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 12th Nov., 1391-Accepted, 2nd Jan., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Feed Apparatus of Machine Guns.
I, JOHN ADAMS NORTON of 49 and 51 Curtain Road in the County of
Middlesex, Director and General Agent of the Gardner Gun Company, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to feed apparatus for guns of that class or kind of which
the Gardner Machine Gun is a well known example. The said Gardner gun is
usually provided with a vertical feeder which supplies the cartridges to the
horizontal reciprocating slide whereby the cartridges are placed behind the barrels
in the proper position to be pushed into the same.
The said vertical feeder consists
of a straight bar having in it a dovetailed groove which holds the cartridges by
their flanges in a vertical column in which they lie with their axes in a plane
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the gun barrels, and from which column the
lowest cartridges therein are taken one after the other by the horizontal feed
slide.
My present improvements are designed to afford the means for filling the grooves
of the said feed bars with cartridges more conveniently and quickly than has heretofore
been practicable. For this purpose I provide two or more of such feed bars
jointed or hinged upon a bracket which is inserted in a socket in the gun frame in
such a position that the said bars can be turned about the said joint or hinge in a
vertical plane across or transversely to the gun barrels. First one and then
another of the feed bars can be turned into the feeding position and when
emptied can be turned down on the hinge or joint to be refilled. The said bracket
has a vertical groove extending through it and forming a continuation of the
groove in each feed bar, when the same is in its vertical or feeding position so that
there is a continuous or uninterrupted groove through which the cartridges are
conducted to the horizontal feed slide or other device for distributing the cartridges
to the gun barrels. The feed bars are secured to and project radially from a
central portion or boss which is fitted to turn upon a pivot or hinge-pin, the said
bracket and boss being suitably formed and fitted together to form the hinge or
joint of the apparatus. The aforesaid boss or central portion is formed with
recesses in which the inner ends of the feed bars are inserted and in which they are
secured by pinching screws or other means which will allow the said bars to be
readily removed when required.
The lower end of the groove or channel on the bracket is provided with a spring
catch so arranged that when the said bracket is out of the socket in the gun frame
the inner extremity or nose of the said catch projects into the groove or channel
and prevents the passage or escape of the cartridges through the lower end thereof;
but when the said bracket is inserted in the gun socket the outer extremity or tail
of the catch is depressed or forced inward thereby withdrawing the nose of the catch
from the groove and leaving the passage open for the cartridges to descend through
the same.
Each of the feed bars moreover has at its outer end a spring catch
arranged in combination with a sliding bolt whereby its extremity can be forced
inward so as to prevent the escape of the cartridges from the feed groove if the
bar is turned down when full of cartridges.
Instead of having the feed bars hinged or jointed in such a manner as to turn
about the joint in a plane transverse to the axis of the gun barrels they may be
arranged to turn forward or backward on the hinge.
D: 19th of Waha 1901
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Feed Apparatus of Machine Guns.
1, JOHN ADAMS NORTON of 49 and 51 Curtain Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Director and General Agent of the Gardner Gun Company, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to feed apparatus. for guns of that class or kind of which
the "Gardner" machine-gun is a well known example.
The said "Gardner" gun is usually provided with a vertical feeder which supplies
cartridges to a horizontal reciprocating slide whereby the cartridges are placed
behind and in line with the barrels in readiness to be pushed into the same.
The said vertical feeder as usually constructed consists of a straight bar having
in it a dovetailed or undercut groove which holds the cartridges by their heads or
flanges in a vertical column in which they lie with their axes in a plane which is
parallel to the longitudinal axes of the gun barrels and down which they slide,
the lowest cartridges in the column being taken, one after the other, by the horizontal
feed-slide.
My present improvements are designed to furnish such guns with a feed apparatus
which has two or more grooved feed bars so arranged that they can be readily
adjusted into different positions in which they alternately are supplied with cartridges
and supply the same to the barrels so that the loading and firing of the gun can be
more conveniently and quickly performed than heretofore. For this purpose I
construct a frame consisting of two or more of such feed bars extending radially
outward from a central piece to which they are rigidly attached and which is
jointed or hinged upon a bracket on the top or cover of the breech frame. The
said bracket is so formed that it can be inserted in a socket or aperture in the gun
frame in such a manner that the said bars can be turned about the joint or hinge
in a vertical plane across or transversely to the gun barrels. First one and then
another of the feed bars can be turned into the feeding position and when emptied
can be turned down on the hinge or joint, to be refilled.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood I will now proceed
to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
"
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved feed apparatus with as much of a
"Gardner' gun as suffices to show the position the said apparatus occupies
thereon.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a front elevation to a larger scale, of a portion of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the bracket shown in Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a vertical section of the stem of the said bracket and
Figure 6 is a vertical section through the wide part of the groove of the upper
end of one of the feed bars.
Figure 7 is a transverse section of a feed bar on the line x x of Figure 1.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the
drawings.
A is the breech frame of the gun B is the aforesaid bracket, the stem B' of which
is inserted in an aperture A¹ and secured therein by a bolt C, which enters a hole B*
in the stem and is retained in engagement therewith by a spring C¹.
Between the back plate B³ of the bracket and the part B thereof is a space in
which is inserted the rotatable boss D which turns upon a stud D' screwed through
the said back plate and into the body or part B* of the bracket as shown. D2 D³ are
sockets in the rotatable boss into which sockets are inserted the ends of the two
feed bars D D so that the said feed bars project radially therefrom as shown.
D D are screws by which the said feed bars are secured in the sockets,

page_text: The lugs or projections D' are for the purpose of limiting the movement of the
feed-bars.
It will be observed that the feed bars and the bracket are provided with
grooves D³ the transverse sectional form of which is shown in Figure 7. The said
grooves are undercut as shown at D' for the reception of the rims of the cartridges
which are slid into the feed bars at the upper ends of the same these ends being
suitably formed as shewn to facilitate the introduction of the cartridges.
In a recess at the lower end of the stem of the bracket is a lever E turning
upon a pin E¹ fitted in the wall of the groove. A spring E' bears upon the said
lever and presses its lower end against the pin F so that a nose E³ upon the said
lever projects through an opening G into the groove as shown in Figure 5 and lies
in the way of the cartridges, so as to prevent their passage down the groove.
When the lever occupies the position described its upper end E projects beyond
the outer surface of the stem of the bracket as shown.
At the upper or outer end of each of the feed bars is a retaining spring H
secured by a screw H¹ in a recess I in the feed bar and provided at its free end
with a claw H2 opposite to an opening J in the wall of the said feed bar.
The recess I is undercut for a portion of its length to receive a slide K which is
provided with a finger-piece K. The said slide is first inserted in a portion of
the recess which is not undercut and which when the slide has been moved into the
undercut portion is filled up by a plate L retained in place by screws L.
The following further explanation will make clear the manner of using the said
feed apparatus.
The stem B' of the bracket B is inserted into the aperture A' in the breech
frame and is locked therein as above described, by the spring bolt C.
Before the
insertion of the stem B' into the aperture A' the stop or nose E3 obstructs the
passage of the cartridges through the groove as above described but in the insertion
of the stem into the said aperture the said nose or stop will be automatically moved
out of the groove by the contact of the end E of the lever with the side of the
aperture thus allowing the cartridges to pass to the reciprocating slide.
It will be seen by reference to the drawings and to the above description that
the feed apparatus when in place on the gun can be turned about its hinge or pivot
to set the feed bars alternately in the feeding and filling positions that is to say :-
First one feed bar containing cartridges is set in the vertical position and the
cartridges therein are used, then the frame is turned on its pivot to move this feed
bar to one side and raise the other feed bar full of cartridges into a vertical
position. Then this second feed bar is emptied and is turned down to the other
side of the gun while the first feed bar having been refilled is returned to the
vertical position.
Thus one feed bar can be filled while the other is emptied and as the adjustment
of the apparatus about its pivot can be very rapidly effected and is not delayed by
the refilling or reloading of the feed bars a continuous fire may be maintained so
long as the supply of cartridges does not fail.
The release of the feed apparatus from the gun may be instantly effected by
withdrawing the bolt C from the hole B2 in the stem B whereupon the apparatus
may be removed from the gun frame.
The removal of the stem B¹ of the bracket B from the opening automatically
releases the end E of the lever E and the said lever is immediately operated by
the spring E2 to cause the nose E³, to move into the groove to prevent any
cartridges which may remain therein from dropping out at the end of the groove
in the bracket. The nose E' suffices to prevent any cartridges from dropping out
of the groove even if the feed bar in line therewith be completely filled with
cartridges.
In order to prevent cartridges from sliding out at the intake end of the feed bar
on the removal of the apparatus from the gun, the slide K is moved along in the
undercut recess by the finger piece K' so as to force the claw H of the spring H
into the groove as shown in dotted lines in Figure 6. The said claw will then lie

page_text: in the path of the rims of any cartridges which may be in the groove and will
prevent them from issuing therefrom.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim the
above described improvements in and relating to feed apparatus for machine guns
that is to say,
First. A feed apparatus having two or more grooves for containing the cartridges
and delivering them to the gun which grooves are adjustable about a hinge or
pivot to bring them alternately to and away from the firing position for the purposes
specified.
Second. The feed apparatus consisting of the grooved bars rigidly connected
and forming the sides of an angular frame which is hinged or pivoted to a
grooved bracket in such a manner that the grooves in either of the bars can
be set in and out of line with the groove in the said bracket for the purposes
specified.
Third. The automatic stop arranged in combination with the lower or delivery
end of the feed groove to operate as and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The groove provided with the spring stop actuated by the slide or
by other suitable means at the upper or receiving end of the groove in com-
bination with the automatic stop at the lower end of the groove for the purposes
specified.
Fifth. The improved feed apparatus having two grooved bars extending radially
from a central boss or block to which they are rigidly secured and by which they
are hinged or jointed to a bracket, which is attached to and removable from the gun
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Sixth. A machine gun provided with my improved feed apparatus substantially
as and for the purposes specified.
ليمي
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.