IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS."-A
communication from abroad by William Gardner, of Toledo, in the
State of Ohio, United States of America.
Scaled the 17th October 1868, and dated the 7th August 1868.

page_text: support of the barrel which slides thereon longitudinally. A helical
spring is interposed between the forward closed end of the magazine and
the downward projecting part of the metal of the barrel, which spring
tends constantly to force the barrel forward from the recoil shield. The
barrel is held in contact with the recoil shield ready for firing the charge
by means of two spring catch levers that work in mortices, one on each
side of the barrel. When the barrel is drawn back the catches of these
levers enter notches formed in the lock frame. When a charge is to be
inserted in the barrel the two catch levers are operated by the thumb
and fingers of the left hand, and so soon as liberated the barrel is
drawn forward by the tension of the spring, and after a cartridge has
been lifted up from the magazine the barrel is drawn back by the left
hand until locked by the spring catch levers. The bore of the magazine
is cylindrical, and of a diameter sufficient to receive the cartridges freely,
and is fitted with a follower which slides therein freely; one end of a
helical spring is attached to this follower, and the other end to the outer
closed end of the magazine. The follower is pushed foward by the act
of putting in the cartridges and compressing the spring, and when
charged the tension of the spring forces the cartridges back every time
the rear one is transferred to the barrel. At the rear part the magazine
for a distance a little more than the length of a cartridge is open at
top and formed with parallel sides, so that the rear cartridge can pass
when lifted up to be brought in line with the barrel. Below that part
of the magazine in which the cartridge to be transferred is received there
is a lifter, which is a short lever, the forward end of which works on a
fulcrum pin. It works in a slot in the lower part of the magazine, and
it has a curved projection to act on the lower part of the cartridge, and
it is operated to lift the cartridge up from the magazine into line with
the barrel by the act of pushing the barrel forward, but so soon as the
breech or rear end of the barrel has been moved from the recoil shield
a distance equal to the length of a cartridge, the pin by passing in an
inclined part of the slot throws up the lifter by which the cartridge is
lifted up in line with the barrel. As the barrel is drawn back to enclose
the clevated cartridge the lifter is depressed by the reversed movement of
the pin. The hammer of the lock is cocked by the same forward motion
of the barrel by which the cartridge is lifted from the magazine to the
line of the barrel, and for this purpose a roller is mounted on a journal
pin, and the forward travel of the roller depresses a lever, and thereby
compresses the mainspring and elevates the hammer until the sear of

page_text: the trigger takes into the proper notch of the tumbler to hold the.
hammer in the required elevated position ready to be discharged by the
pull of the trigger to fire the charge. A slot in the lifter is extended
in an upward direction, so that the lifter can be depressed by hand while
the barrel is in a forward position to admit of inserting the cartridges in
the magazine. To prevent the charge from being fired when the barrel
is not drawn back and locked against the recoil shield the trigger is
formed with two cheek pieces, which are directly under the two side
rods, which are formed with recesses in their under faces, so that when
the barrel is drawn back and locked the cheek pieces of the trigger will
work up into them, but when the barrel is not locked (and it cannot be
locked unless its breech is in close contact with the recoil shield) the
lower edges of the side rods will act as stops to prevent the trigger from
being drawn back to liberate the hammer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 5th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of August, in the of
year
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-first
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special licence
that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FIRE-ARMS," being a communication to me from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
This Invention relates to that class of fire-arms in which the arm.
is provided with a tubular magazine from which the charges are one
by one transferred to the barrel.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a side clevation; Fig. 2 a
top or plan view; Fig. 3, a longitudinal vertical section; and Figures 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, cross vertical sections taken at the lines
in Fig. 3 correspondingly numbered.
a is the stock to which the lock frame b (made of metal) is secured.
This metallic frame extends upward to form the recoil shield c, and
forward as at d to form the tubular magazine e, and to constitute the
support of the barrel f (see Figures 6, 7, and 8) which slide thereon
longitudinally. The metal of the barrel extends down and around it,
as at g, Fig. 8, and is properly fitted thereto so as to slide freely but
accurately. A helical spring his interposed between the forward closed
end of the magazine and the downward projecting part of the metal
of the barrel g, and this spring tends constantly to force the barrel
forward from the recoil shield c.
In Fig. 2 of the accompanying Drawings the barrel is represented as
in the forward position for the reception of a cartridge, and in Figures 1
and 3 as in its rear position with a cartridge enclosed and the breech
in contact with the recoil shield. The barrel is held in contact with
the recoil shield c ready for firing the charge by means of two spring
catch levers i, i, that work in mortices one on each side of the metal g
of the barrel. When the barrel is drawn back, as in Figures 1.
and 3, the catches of these levers shown by dots in Fig. 3 enter

page_text: When a
notches j, j, formed in the extension d of the lock frame.
charge is to be inserted in the barrel the two catch levers i, i,
are operated by the thumb and fingers of the left hand, and so
soon as liberated the barrel is drawn forward by the tension of the
spring h, and after a cartridge has been lifted up from the magazine
the barrel is drawn back by the left hand until locked by the spring
catch levers i, i. The rear end or breech of the barrel is open and
the bore enlarged for a short distance and fitted to enter an annular
groove formed in the face of the recoil shield c, as represented in Fig. 3
of the Drawings. The bore of the magazine is cylindrical and of a
diameter sufficient to receive the cartridges freely. The arm is adapted
to the use of metallic cased cartridges having a projecting flanch at
the rear end, and hence for the use of such cartridges the bore of the
magazine must be of a slightly greater diameter than the flanches
of the cartridges. It will be understood however that the arm may
be adapted to cartridges without a flanch. To the bore of the magazine
is fitted a follower & which slides therein freely, and is made of sufficient
length to slide without binding, and hollow to avoid too much weight..
One end of a helical spring is attached to this follower, and the other
end to the outer closed end of the magazine. The follower k is pushed
back by the act of putting in the cartridges and compresses the spring 1,
and when charged the tension of the spring forces the cartridges
forward every time the rear one is transferred to the barrel. At the
rear part the magazine (for a distance a little more than the length
of a cartridge) is open at top, and is formed with parallel sides, as repre-
sented in Figures 6 and 7, so that the rear cartridge can pass when
lifted up to be brought in line with the barrel. In Fig. 7 this opening
for the passage of the cartridge is covered over by the barrel, the
under part of which is flat to cut off all communication with the
magazine when the barrel is drawn back in the position for firing the
charge. Below that part of the magazine in which the cartridge to
be transferred is received there is a lifter m which is a short lever, the
forward end of which works on a fulcrum pin n.
It works in a slot
in the lower part of the magazine, and it has a curved projection o
to act on the lower part of the cartridge, and it is operated to lift the
cartridge up from the magazine into line with the barrel by the act
of pushing the barrel forward. To effect this there are two parallel
rods p, p, seen at Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and partly by full and
partly by dotted lines in Fig. 3. These rods are attached by their forward.

page_text: ends to the downward projection g of the barrel below the magazine,
and they are placed each side of the lifter m, and there is a pin q
secured to them and fitted to work in a slot in the lifter, which slot
for the greater part of its length is straight and in line with the sliding
motion of the rods, so that in sliding the barrel forward the lifter
will not be moved by the pin q, but so soon as the breech or rear end
of the barrel has been moved from the recoil shield a distance equal
to the length of a cartridge the pin q reaches the forward part 8 of
the slot which inclines downward, so that by continuing the forward
movement of the barrel the pin q by passing in the inclined part 8
of the slot throws up the lifter by which the cartridge is lifted up to
the position in line with the barrel. The cartridge is held in that
elevated position by the friction of two ways u, u, attached to the face
of the recoil shield which overlap the flanch at the rear end of the
cartridge. As the barrel is drawn back to enclose the elevated cartridge
the lifter is depressed by the reversed movement of the pin q. As
the forward movement of the barrel begins a latch springs in between
the forward and rounded end of the cartridge which is to be trans-
ferred, and the back end of the one next in front of it to prevent
the latter from being forced back during the transferring operation.
And by the back motion of the barrel the spring latch v is withdrawn
from behind the cartridge so that it may take the required position
over the lifter preparatory to the next transfer. For this purpose
there is a projecting pin w on the spring latch which extends up
into a groove x in the under flat part of the barrel, and this groove
is parallel with the bore of the barrel, except at its forward end where
it is oblique or cam formed to force back the pin and with it the spring
latch v. The hammer of the lock is cocked by the same forward motion
of the barrel by which the cartridge is lifted from the magazine to
the line of the barrel, and for this purpose a roller z is mounted on
a journal pin which connects the two rods p, p, at their rear end; and
when these rods are moved forward by the barrel the roller z acts on
the upper inclined surface of a lever a¹, the rear end of which turns
on a fulcrum pin b', the forward end of the lever being connected by
a joint link c with an arm d' of the hammer e¹, so that the forward
motion of the roller z depresses the lever a¹, and thereby compresses
the mainspring f¹ and elevates the hammer until the sear g' of the
trigger takes into the proper notch of the tumbler to hold the
hammer in the required elevated position ready to be discharged by

page_text: The slot in the
beyond the inclined
the pull of the trigger in order to fire the charge.
lifter m is extended in an upward direction as at
part 8, so that the lifter can be depressed by hand while the barrel
is in a forward position to admit of inserting the cartridges in the
magazine. To prevent the charge from being fired when the barrel
is not drawn back and locked against the recoil shield c the trigger h¹
is formed with two cheek pieces k¹, k, which are directly under the
two side rods p, p, which are formed with recesses F, F, in their under
faces, so that when the barrel is drawn back and locked the cheek
picces k, k', will permit the trigger to work up into them, but when
the barrel is not locked (and it cannot be locked unless its breech is
in close contact with the recoil shield) the lower edges of the side
rods p, p, will act as stops to prevent the trigger from being drawn
back to liberate the hammer.
From the foregoing it will be seen that by simply compressing the
spring catch levers i, i, the barrel may be forced forward and a cartridge
transferred, and by simply drawing back the barrel the elevated cartridge
will be enclosed, the barrel locked, and the hammer cocked ready for
firing the charge, the shell of a previously fired cartridge having been
discharged by the lifting of the new cartridge. And as the magazine
for a musket can be readily made of sufficient length to contain ten
cartridges, ten shots can be fired in succession in a shorter space of
time than by other arms, and with entire safety, because in view of the
use of metallic shell cartridges and the manner in which the com-
munication between the barrel and the magazine is closed it will be
impossible for fire to communicate from the charge which is being
fired with the charges in the magazine.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated
to me as aforesaid, and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters
Patent is,-
First. The combination of a tubular magazine for containing a series
of charges with a sliding barrel, the breech or rear end of which is
closed when drawn back in contact with the recoil shield to enclose
a cartridge and which is open to receive a cartridge when pushed
forward from the recoil shield as described.
Second. The mechanism for elevating cartridges one by one from
the magazine up to the line of the barrel in combination with the

page_text: sliding barrel by the sliding of which such mechanism is operated as
described.
Third. The mechanism for cocking the hammer by the sliding forward
of the barrel.
Fourth. The spring for drawing the barrel forward from the recoil
shield in combination with the catches for locking the barrel when
its rear or breech end is drawn back in contact with the recoil shield
as described.
Fifth. The mechanism for holding the cartridge in line with the barrel
while the barrel is being drawn back to enclose it and the lifter is
being depressed as set forth.
Sixth. The mechanism for preventing the trigger from being drawn
back to fire the charge unless the barrel is in the right position and
locked as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Fifth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)