IMPROVE- MENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Reimann, of Breslaw, in Prussia, and
Friedrich Sauermann, of the same Place, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 6th February 1855, and dated the 11th August 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Reimann and
Friedrich Sauermann at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 11th August 1854.
We, JOSEPH REIMANN, of Breslaw, in Prussia, and FRIEDRICH SAUERMANN,
of the same Place, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS" to be as follows:--
Our improvements are applicable principally to breech-loading needle guns,
and consist in certain arrangements for facilitating the process of loading; and
also in the peculiar construction of the cartridge and bullet or projectile used
for such guns. The breech end of the barrel is fixed into a flat box, into
which a circular plug, containing a cylindrical chamber for the reception of
the cartridge is fitted; the axis of this chamber is in a line with the axis of
the bore. The bottom of the plug is provided with a pin, passing through
and fitting into the bottom of the flat box, and to the end of this pin a lever
placed in the direction of the bore is fitted. When the gun is to be loaded,
the plug is turned by means of the lever from the left to the right, till the
cartridge chamber corresponds with an opening in the side of the box. The
cartridge is then put into the chamber, and the lever and plug turned into
their former position, when the loading is completed. The needle, which enters

page_text: into the chamber and cartridge through a small aperture in the box, is made
to recede, by means of an eccentric or other similar contrivance fixed to or
formed on the plug, simultaneously with the turning of the plug, and the gun
thus put on full cock.
The bullet which we propose to use for our improved fire-arms has a small
cylindrical projection cast or pressed upon it, upon which we place the per-
cussion cap. This projection has the advantage of dispensing with the per-
cussion disc, generally used for guns of this description, and of bringing the
explosive matter nearer the end of the cartridge, by which a smaller portion
of the needle is exposed to the heat of the fire. The percussion cap consists
of a small cylinder of copper, divided into two by a partition. One end of
the cap fits upon the cylindrical part of the bullet, and the other end contains
the explosive matter. The shell of the cartridge is made of paper or other
suitable material.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Reimann and Friedrich Sauermann in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 10th February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOSEPH
REIMANN, of Breslaw, in Prussia, and FRIEDRICH SAUERMANN, of the same
Place, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign;
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Joseph Reimann and Friedrich Sauermann, Her special licence that we, the
said Joseph Reimann and Friedrich Sauermann, our exccutors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Joseph Reimann and Friedrich
Sauermann, our 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,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the. said Joseph Reimann and
Friedrich Sauermann, by an instrument in writing under our bands and seals,
or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what nianner the same

page_text: 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 we, the said Joseph Reimann and Friedrich
Sauermann, do.hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement (that is to say):-
Our Invention relates to certain combinations of parts. or mechanism
applicable to that description of breech-loading fire-arms generally called
"needle guns," for facilitating and simplifying the process of loading; and
also in a peculiar construction of cartridges and projectiles, and of capsules
or percussion caps to be used in connection with such cartridges. And
in order that our Invention may be better understood, we shall describe the
same, reference being had to the several letters and. figures on the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed..
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation of our improved gun. a represents the
shaft; b, a box, containing the cartridge holder, and a portion of the me-
chanism for loading and discharging the gun; c, the barrel; d, a lever, by
means of which the loading is effected and the gun placed on full cock.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view of the gun, partly in section, representing the
various parts of the mechanism in the position which they occupey after
the gun has been discharged. The barrel c is screwed into the end of the
box b, by which means the bore of the gun is placed in a line with the
bore of the cartridge holder f, which latter may be made cylindrical or
slightly conical, and which fits accurately into a corresponding recess in
the box b. Two pins 1, 1, (see Figs. 4 & 5) are screwed into the bottom of
the cartridge holder f, and take into the circular grooves 2, 2, in the disc g,
(see Fig. 8.) The cartridge holder f and disc g are held in their respective
places by the plate h, which is fixed by screws x, x, x, (see Fig. 10) to the
box 6. That portion of the boss of the disc g which projects beyond the plate h
is squared, and fits into a corresponding hole in the lever d (see Figs. 8 & 11),
which lever is held in its place by the screw g'. On turning the lever d
from the left to the right, the slots 2, 2, (see Fig. 8) will allow the disc g
to perform one-sixth of a turn before the pins 1, 1, (see Figs. 4 & 5) begin
to be acted upon, by which time the curved incline 3, 3, which is cut
out of the disc g (see Fig. 8), will have disengaged the bolt i from the
groove (shewn in dotted lines in Fig. 4), whilst the opposite end of the
27

page_text: bolt will have pushed the radial arm & into the position indicated by red
lines, and thereby withdrawn the needle with its holder from the bore
of the cartridge holder f, and the cam k¹ on the radial arm k will at
the same time have depressed the spring m. Immediately upon the gun
being thus put on full cock, the detent n will be pressed by its spring into
the notch 4 in the bolt i, where it will remain until the trigger o is pulled. A
cylindrical hole 5 in the tail piece p and an oblong slot in the bracket b² sup-
port and guide the needle holder l' and keep it in its proper position.
When
the lever d has been moved a quarter of a turn, the axis of the bore of the
cartridge holder f will stand at right angles to the axis of the bore of the gun,
and its further progress will be arrested by the portion 6, 6, of the edge of the
projection A (see Figs. 4 & 5) coming in contact with the edge 6', 6', of the
projection B (marked in dotted lines in Fig. 3, where the box is shown in
ground plan). The bore of the cartridge holder f is now in a line with the
corresponding holes b, 63, in the box 6 (see Figs. 1 & 3), and the gun is ready
for loading. The cartridge with projectile attached (see Fig. 12) is introduced
with the cartridge foremost through the hole b³, on the right side of the box b,
into the bore of the cartridge holder f, the pin f' preventing it from entering
too far. This being accomplished; the lever d is turned from the right to the
left into its former position, arriving at which, its further progress is arrested
by the portion 7, 7, of the edge of the projection A (see Figs. 4 & 5) coming
into contact with the edge 7', 71, of the projection B (see Fig. 3). The is
gun
then ready for being discharged by pulling the trigger o, and thereby disen-
gaging the detent r from the notch 4, and allowing the spring m, by means of
the radial arm k and cam k, to throw the bolt i forward into the recess 2 (see
Figs. 4 & 5), and simultaneously to strike the needle / through the cartridge
and into the percussion cap, whereby the charge is ignited. Instead of the
projections A & B, other means, for instance, pins and grooves in the top or
side of the box band cartridge holder f, may be used for effecting the saine
purpose. It is evident that unless the bolt is exactly in a line with, the
groove it, which is only the case when the lever d is in the position represented
in Figs. 1 & 2, the gun cannot go off. The tail piece p (see Figs. 2 & 3,
6 & 7,) is pressed against the cartridge holder f by means of the nut 9 (see
Figs. 2 & 9), so as to ensure a tight fit, and to prevent an escape of the gases.
The cylindrical recess pl in the tail piece p (see Figs. 2, 6, & 7) is a continu-
ation of the bore of the cartridge holder f, and is intended to admit of the
more complete development of the gases produced by the combustion of the
gunpowder, thereby insuring the ejection of the shell of the cartridge, which
rests against the pin f'. Pieces of felt soaked in oil are inserted into the
.

page_text: recesses fff, f³, in the circumference of the cartridge holder f (sec
Figs. 4 & 5), which are intended to absorb the deposit of the gunpowder, to
act as lubricators, and to produce an air-tight fit.
Fig 12 represents the projectile r with cartridge s attached. The projection
or nipple ris intended to receive the percussion cap, shewn detached in
Fig. 13, the hollow portion t thereof fitting upon the nipple ³, and the part t¹
which is filled with the fulminate, projecting into the cartridges, the two por-
tions of the percussion cap being separated by a partition. The cartridge is
attached to the projectile in any convenient manner, and it is evident that on
the needle piercing the cartridge and percussion cap, the powder will explode.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be carried into effect, we would observe that we do
not restrict ourselves to the precise details or arrangements as described and
referred to; but what we claim as our Invention is,-
Firstly, the combination of the parts marked d, g, i, k, l, 1, 2 & 3, by which
the
gun is put on full cock, and the cartridge holder f set at liberty; and
of the parts d, g, & 1 & 2, by means of which the axis of the bore f of the
cartridge holder f is placed at right angles with the axis of the barrel c, for
the purpose of receiving the charge, as described with reference to Figs. 2,
3, 4, 5, & 8.
Secondly, the mode of preventing accidental discharges whilst loading, by
means of the bolt i & groove i', as described with reference to Figs. 2,
4, & 5.
Thirdly, the mode of stopping the cartridge holder f in the positions required
for loading and discharging the gun, by means of the projecting stops A & B,
as described with reference to Figs. 3, 4, & 5.
Fourthly, the peculiar construction of the projectile r, r', and percussion
cap t, t', as described with reference to Figs. 12 & 13.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Reimann, bave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-five.
DELCANNE
(107)
JOSEPH REIMANN.