IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES."-A com-
munication from abroad by Loughlin Conroy and Tristram Dodge
Vanderveer, both of New York City, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 16th August 1867, and dated the 25th March 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th March 1867.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES,"
to be as follows:-
In the present Invention the breech block or piece to close the barrel is
hung upon the centre pin of the hammer, and is suitably cut out to allow of
the requisite motions of the hammer for discharging the gun; this breech
block when up and against the breech end of the barrel is there held by a
holding block suitably arranged therefor, and also is so arranged that by the
drawing back of the hammer it will be disengaged therefrom, and thus the
breech-piece block set free for removing a cartridge from or reloading the
gun barrel if so desired, as will be herein-after more particularly described;

page_text: the arrangement of the holding block for the breech piece and the tripping
up of the same by the hammer being such as to offer no interference with
the proper action and safe discharge of the gun.
In addition to the above-described arrangement of the breech block or
piece and hammer to the gun the trigger is also hung in common to the
centre pin on which the hammer turns, and is of suitable form and arrange-
ment to accomplish the tripping of the hammer.
This Invention also consists in a novel arrangement for extracting or
removing the waste cartridge shell from the bore of the barrel.
In the accompanying. Sheet of Drawings these improvements in fire-arms
are illustrated, Figure 1 being a central longitudinal section through the
barrel and its breech portion, together with the hammer, trigger, and other
parts for discharging the cartridge placed in the barrel; Figure 2, a transverse
vertical section in the plane of the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3, a transverse
section in the plane of the line y, y, Figure 1.
A in the Drawings represents the barrel of the gun, which is shown as broken
off at a short distance from its breech end. Bl; C, the hammer hung upon a centre
or fulcrum pin D of the butt or stock frame: E to the fire-arm; F, the breech
block or piece, alsó hung to the centre pin D of the hammer, this breech block
being suitably cut out to receive the hammer and allow of its requisite motions
for discharging the gun; G is the trigger hung to hammer, pin D. in common
with the hammer and breech block; this trigger at its inner end H is made
of a cam shape, so that when pulled back it will raise the end I of the double
armed spring J from the notches of the hammer, thus setting such hammer
free, which by the arm. K of such spring is thrown with great force against
the cartridge in the barrel, this movement and opération of the trigger being
susceptible only when the hammer has been placed at full-cock, so termed.
L is the guard rail to the trigger, which guard rail at one end is hinged and
at its other fixed to the breech block and moves in conjunction therewith; M
is a block for holding the breech block up against the breech of the barrel so
as to tightly close the same as well as to take its recoil. This block is hung
and turns upon a centre pin N in the butt or stock frame E, and when the
hammer is drawn back is released from its connection with the breech block
through the action of the arm O of the hammer upon the pawl P arranged to
so connect with the holding block M as to swing it upon its centre pin in the
proper direction to throw it out of connection with the breech block, when
the hammer having passed by said pawl it as well as the holding block are
thrown back by means of springs suitably connected therewith to their
original positions, the latter against the breech block for firmly holding it in
:

page_text: place, provided however it is not desired to swing the breech block down to
remove or insert a cartridge in the barrel, in which case the gun is held in a
suitable position for the breech block to drop as the hammer is drawn back; Q
is the cartridge retractor or extractor, consisting of two arms R arranged to slide
in ways S made in the under side of the barrel, so that their ends T will take
the cartridge at its flanged end and throw it out of the barrel, these arms
being connected to a common stem U provided with a thumb piece V suitable
for operating or sliding the arms; W is a spiral or coiled spring about stem U
to throw it back to its place after having been moved through its thumb piece.
In the Drawings. two improvements are shown in the cartridge, one
consisting in the use of a packing ring a upon the outside of the cartridge
case to ensure a more perfect fitting of the case within the barrel, and thus
prevent in a great measure any leakage of the explosive gas about the case;
The other improvement consists in the use of a central tube b for the
fulminate, which tube extends through the depth of powder in the cartridge,
and thus ensures its ignition at the front end of the cartridge in lieu of at
the rear as heretofore, the advantages of which are obvious..
In Figure 4 of the Drawings the retractor arms T'are shown as connected
with the breech block so as to operate in conjunction therewith, the connection
consisting of a link bar or piece F³ swivelled at one end to the retractor armu
and at the other to the breech block, a spring G³ being employed for retaining
the breech arm in position as it is worked. By disconnecting the finger or
tail from the hammer and attaching it to the rear of the trigger guard, leaving
the trigger guard free of the breech block at that point, and swinging on the
centre pin in common with the breech block and hammer, the opening of the
breech. can be performed in the same way, by pulling down the trigger guard;
by this modification the haminer can be entirely covered by the breech block
on its unnor portion if desired
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th September 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord.

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
ane, the said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all timės
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 "IMPROVE→
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES," a communication to me
from abroad by Loughlin Conroy and Tristram Dodge Vanderveer, both of
New York City, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under 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 Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed;
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:
In the present Invention the breech block or piece to the barrel is hung
upon a centre piu in common with the hammer and trigger, and is suitably cut
out to allow the hammer to be drawn back and for discharging the gun; this
breech block when up and against the breech end of the barrel is there held
by a block suitably arranged therefor; and it is also so arranged in connection
with or attached or hung to the trigger guard that by swinging the said
trigger guard forward or toward the muzzle end of the gun the breech block
will be carried or swung away from the breech end of the barrel for the
insertion or removal of cartridges, provided the holding block for the breech
block has been previously released therefrom either by drawing the hammer
back or by the movement of the trigger guard itself, according to the manner
in which the several parts may have been constructed and arranged for opera-
tion in such respect. The arrangement of the hammer within the breech
block is such that in either case it can be and is free for its usual and requisite
operation to discharge the gun while in such breech blocks as are arranged
through the trigger guards to set free the holding blocks therefor; they are

page_text: carried back in conjunction with the backward movement of the breech block,
and there retained by a suitable spring as the breech block is moved forward
to close the breech by swinging the trigger back to its original position, where
by the action either of the trigger guards or of springs connected with the
5 holding blocks such blocks are thrown into position by the breech blocks. The
trigger is so hung in common to the centre pin on which the hammer turns
and is also of suitable form as to accomplish the tripping of the hammer.
This Invention also consists in a novel arrangement for extracting or
removing the waste cartridge shell from the bore of the barrel, which
extractor for the cartridge is connected with the breech block of the gun and
operates in conjunction therewith.
In the accompanying Sheet of Drawings these improvements in fire-arms
are illustrated..
Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through the barrel and its breech
portion, trigger, and other parts for discharging the cartridge placed in the
barrel Figure 2, a transverse vertical section in the plane of the line x, x,
Figure 1; Figure 3, a transverse section in the plane of the line y, y, Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a central longitudinal section through a gun showing a modifica-
tion in the arrangement of the several parts to the gun; and Figure 5, a cross
section taken in the. plane of the line z, z, Figure 4; Figure 6, a central
longitudinal section through a gun showing another modification in the
arrangement of the parts thereof; Figures 7 and 8, cross sections taken
respectively in the planes of the lines w, w, and v, v, Figure 6; Figure 9, a
detail view showing one form of extractor for the cartridges; Figure 10 shows
a central longitudinal section of a cartridge adapted for a centre fire or
discharge, while Figures 11 and 12 show longitudinal and transverse sections
of a cartridge case adapted for rim fire. Similar letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts.
:
A in the Drawings represents the barrel of the gun, which is shown as
broken off at a short distance from its breech end B; C, the hammer' hung
upon a centrè pin or fulcrum D of the butt or stock frame E to the fire-arm;
F, the breech block or piece, also hung to the centre pin D of hammer, this
breech block being suitably cut out to receive the hammer and allow of its
requisite motions for discharging the gun; G, the trigger hung to haminer
pin D in common with the hammer and breech block; this trigger
at its inner end H is made of a cam shape, so that when pulled back it will
raise the end I of the double armed spring J from the notches of the hammer,
thus setting such hammer free, which by the arm K of such spring is thrown
with great force against the cartridge into the barrel; this movement and

page_text: up
operation of the trigger being susceptible ouly when the hammer has been
placed at "full-cock" so termed. L, the guard rail to the trigger, which
guard rail at one end is hung to the pin of the hammer trigger and breech
block, and at its other hung to the breech block so as to 'cause the same to
move in conjunction therewith. M, a block for holding breech block and
against the breech of the barrel so as to tightly close the same as well as to
take its recoil. This hold block M is hung and turns upon a centre pin N in
the butt or stock frame E, and is made of a suitable shape at one end M² to
fit against the breech block, and in connection with such block is cut out to
allow the hammer to be drawn back for discharging the gun. M³, a curved
arın to inner end of holding block M, and extending therefrom through the
opening A in the inward projecting portion B2 to trigger guard L. This
rigger guard L is made in two parts, L2 and L³, which at L' are hung in
cominon to a pintle L5 of the tail or inner end to the breech block so as to
turn thereon. The part L³ of the trigger guard at its forward end is hung
in common with the hammer, breech block, and trigger to the centre spindle:D,
and by its extension piece L projects through the opening L' in the part
L to the trigger guard. The extension piece Le above referred to of the
trigger guard at its outer end L is made with shoulders L, L, L", one for
holding the part L³ in position against the stock or frame, another L™ by
which the part L³ to trigger is swung out in common with the pȧrt L³ when
such part is properly moved therefor, and another L" by which the part L³ is
carried back with the part L' when swung back therefor..
To operate the parts above described pull upon the part L² to the trigger
guard in a direction to swing toward the muzzle or forward end of the gun,
by which movement the hold back M is tripped or turned, and thereby brought
into the position represented in red, which is so as to be free from the hold
block when continuing to swing the trigger guard forward, the breech block
is thereby swung back from the barrel, carrying the hammer with it, and thus
if such movement is continued to the proper extent the breech block, hammer,
trigger, and trigger guard will be brought into the relative positions shown by
red lines in the Drawings, in which position a cartridge can be inserted or
removed as may be desired; when swinging the trigger back to its original
position, the breech block, trigger, and bold block are carried back to their
original positions relatively, leaving, however, the hammer at full cock, as
shown, and thus in position for the immediate discharge of the fire-arm if so
desired.
Thus from the above description it is plain to be seen that the opening and
closing of the breech and the corking of the hammer is done by two move-

page_text: ments of the trigger guard, or, in other words, by.simply swinging the trigger
guard forward and backward and in a most positive and direct manner. In'
addition to the opening of the breech block and the cocking of the. hammer
by the forward swing of the trigger guard, I have connected with the breech
block an arrangement of parts for extracting the waste cartridge case in the
barrel as the breech block moves away from the barrel, which arrangement
and connection will be now described:
This cartridge extractor consists of two arms R, arranged to move in
ways
S made in the stock or frame under the barrel, so that their ends T will
take the cartridge at its flanged end and throw. or carry it out of the. barrel.
These arms are each hung to one end of similar bars T2, that at their other
ends are hung to the breech block so as to move in conjunction therewith, and
thus, to carry the extractor arms out or in, as the case may be.
In the Drawings I have also shown some modifications of the construction
of parts of the gun above described and represented; these modifications aro
as follows First, in making the trigger. guard in one piece.in lieu of two
pieces, as described in the first instance, with it hung by a notch 6 to. a pin a
at the rear or tail end of the breech block, so as to have a sufficient play
therein to allow the holding block to be released from the breech block beforo
the guard commences to act upon the breech block to swing it backward;
secondly, in extending the holding block down into the. trigger guard, and so
slotting the latter and also forming it as well as the extension piece to the
breech block that as the trigger guard is swung forward the holding block
will be first tripped or released from the breech block to the gun, when
continuing the movement the breech block is carried back as above stated;
and, thirdly, in using a spring 63 in connection with the holding block to
increase its action against the breech block and to the more perfectly and
securely holding it in place.
According to the modifications shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8 I attach the
trigger guard above and directly to the tail end of the breech block with its
forward end. hinged to the under side of the barrel stock, whereby the forward.
and backward movement of the trigger guard swings the breech block away
from or up to the breech of the gun, as the case may be.; secondly, I combine
with the hold block a pawl P, which by one end is in position to engage with
the hold back, and by the other for the arm 0 to the hammer to strike against
it as it is swung back, and thus to so swing or turn it. as to throw the hold
block out of position against the breech block, and thus to set it free so as to
allow it to be swung back by pulling upon the trigger guard. To both the hold
block and pawl P springs are applied, as shown, for returning them to their

page_text: original positions after the hammer arm has ceased to act upon the pawl P;
the principal difference between the arrangement of parts shown in Figures 6,
7, and 8 and those previously described consists in the fact that in the latter
the trigger. guard operates the hold block, and while in the former the hold
block is operated by the arm to the hammer; thirdly, I connect the extractor
arms R. in lieu of the breech block to a common stem or rod U provided with
a thumb piece V suitable for operating or sliding the arms. W, a spiral or
coiled spring about stem U to throw it back to its place after having been
moved through its thumb piece. Improvements in cartridges are also shown,
one in Figure 6, consisting in the use of a packing ring a² upon the outside
of the cartridge case to ensure a more perfect fitting of the cartridge case
within the barrel, and thus to prevent in a great measure any leakage of the
explosive gases about the case. Another improvement, Figure 6, consists in
the use of a central tube 62 for the fulminate, which tube extends through the
depth of powder in the cartridge, and thus ensures its ignition at the front
end of the cartridge in lieu of at the rear as heretofore, the advantages of
which are obvious.
A modification of the centre fulminate passage is shown in Figure 10,
wherein the centre tube forms a part of a head plate a³ that is secured within
the cartridge case against its flanged head..
In Figures 11 and 12 are represented still another improvement in
cartridge cases, but in this case for rim fire or discharge; this improvement
consists in the use within the cartridge case of another casing or tube of a
length sufficient to reach to the forward end of the powder, between which tube
and the case a passage or passages are left for the fulminate to communicate
with the powder, either by corrugating the same in the direction of its length
or otherwise, or by making the inner tube sufficiently smaller in diameter
therefor, or in any other suitable manner.
Having described the nature of this .Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the combination of a breech block hung to turn upon a centre pin in
common with the hammer, with a holding or recoil block arranged with
regard to such breech block substantially as and for the purpose described.
Secondly, in combination with the above so connecting the trigger guard
with the breech block and with the holding or recoil block that the said
blocks by the movement of the trigger guard can be operated substantially as
and for the purpose specified.
Thirdly, in combination with a breech block arranged to swing upon a

page_text: centre pin of an extractor arm or arms connected therewith so as to operate
in conjunction with the same substantially as and for the purpose described.
Fourthly, the combination of the hammer with the trigger when hung upon
a common centre pin and arranged to operate in connection with a spring or
its equivalent substantially as described.
Fifthly, the combination of the hammer with the holding or recoil block
and pawl arranged together for operation substantially as and for the purpose
described.
Sixthly, the combination of the breech block, hammer, trigger, and trigger
guard hung upon a common centre pin when the trigger guard is so con-
structed in connection with the holding or recoil block as to operate thereon
and on the breech block substantially as and for the purpose described.
Seventbly, a cartridge case provided with a packing ring or rings
substantially as and for the purpose described.
Eighthly, a cartridge case baving a centre fulminate chamber, tube, or
passage substantially as described for the purpose specified.
Ninthly, a cartridge case provided with a passage or passages along the
interior of the outer case substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.