CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 16, Castle
Street, Holborn (City), London, and now of 29, Boulevart St. Martin,
Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 21st July 1854, pursuant to the 9th section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn
(City), London, and now of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, in the Empire of France,
do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, firstly, in making the breech in the form of a
roller, whose axis is placed transversely to the axis of the barrel, and which
fits up to the rear end of the chamber of the barrel, so as to close it effectually
when loaded, but has an opening through it, which is capable of being brought
in line with the barrel to serve as a passage, through which to insert a charge,
either in the form of a cartridge or of loose powder and ball. In first apply-
ing the breech roller above mentioned, it was made to fit closely in every part
of the seat or bearing which receives it, and after the piece had been discharged

page_text: a very few times it was found impossible to turn the roller, owing to the fire
having worked its way between the roller and seat and the gas condensed..
The seat was then enlarged, to leave a space about one-sixteenth of an inch
wide around the roller, giving the latter a bearing only on a small surface
surrounding the end of the barrel, which was made to project a sixteenth of
an inch into the seat; thus, by reducing the surface of contact, reducing the
amount of adhesion and friction of the surfaces.
The Invention therefore consists, secondly, in forming a cavity within the
seat all around the roller, and only leaving bearings at the end of the roller
and around the projecting end of the barrel, and in providing suitable open-
ings for the escape of gas from the said cavity.
The Invention consists, thirdly, in fitting the opening, which is made at the
back of the breech roller seat in line with the barrel, with the tube, which
projects into the cavity before spoken of around the roller, and fits closely up
to the said roller and prevents any backward escape of fire or gas, and conse-
quent injury to the face or other part of the person firing.
The Invention consists, fourthly, in a certain-method-of-constructing_the_
chamber of the barrel, whereby any wear of the end which fits up to the
breech roller can be readily rectified.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing is a side view of a rifle constructed
according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a top view of the same; Figs. 3 and 4
are longitudinal sections, on a larger scale than Figs. 1 and 2, through the centre
of the chamber and breech of the same, shewing different positions of the
breech roller; Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the centre of the seat of
the breech roller; Fig. 6 is a section in the plane, indicated by the red line
x, y, in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a back view of the roller detached; Fig. 8 is an
outside view of the chamber of the barrel detached from the rifle; Fig. 9 is
an outside view of the short tube which fits to the back of the breech
roller. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several
Figures.
A is the wooden stock of the rifle, to which is secured the breech sup-
porter B, C, which consists of a stout tube B, which receives the rear end of
the barrel and the chamber; and a transverse, cylindrical, or conical scat C,
which receives the breech roller D. The breech roller D is bored transversely
to its axis to the same size as the rear end of the chamber, and the rear part
(a) of the tube B behind the seat of the breech roller is bored to the same
size as the roller, in order that when the bore in the roller is brought into line
with the bore of the barrel, as represented in Fig. 3, the charge may be
directly passed through the rear end of the tube and through the roller into

page_text: the chamber, where it will be shut in by the change of the position of the
roller to that shewn in Fig. 4, which is at right angles to the line of the bore
of the barrel. The breech supporter may be made of malleable cast iron or gun
metal, cast all in one piece entirely solid, or of wrought iron or steel. The tube
B and the seat C are bored in such a way that their axes intersect each other
exactly at right angles. The seat C is first bored from the right hand side to
a proper size to receive the breech roller tightly, but the same sized bore is
not carried through, as a portion at the left hand side requires to be smaller, to
form a bearing for the journal (b) of the roller. The tube B and the breech
roller D are both bored at the same time to the required size of the bore in
the seat, the roller being driven tightly into its seat for the purpose. After
the tube B and the roller D have becen bored to that size the roller is taken
out. The part of the tube in front of the scat C is bored to a proper size to
receive the detached chamber E, and a female screw is cut in the front to
receive a male screw on the end of the barrel, and that part (a) of the breech
supporter in rear of the seat C is bored for a short distance to receive a short
steel tube F. The interior of the seat C is afterwards bored out from c to
c', (see Fig. 5,) to a larger size than the roller and collar G, which serves as
a bearing for the journal 6', which is fitted tightly into the end. The roller D
is turned down at the end next the journal b, so as to leave a very small
bearing face to come in contact with the end of the scat, and the collar G is
turned off on its inner side to leave a very small face to come in contact with
the end of the roller; thus a space s, s, is left within the seat all round and
at the ends of the roller, as shewn in Fig. 5, and from this space there are
two holes o, o, passing through the top of the seat, for the escape of any fire or
gas that may escape back from the chamber. The roller is confined to its
place in the seat by means of a pin d, which passes through one side of
the collar G and the seat, and holds the collar to its place, and it is further
confined by a stud e, which stands up within the bearing of the journal b,
(see Fig. 6,) and enters a slot f in the journal, which extends far enough
round to allow the roller the necessary amount of motion in the operation of
loading the piece. The slot (f) turns at one end (2) towards the end of the
journal, as shown in Fig. 7, in order to allow the roller to be put in and
removed from its place. The tube F, which fits into the back part of the
breech supporter, is bored out to the same size as the bore in the breech roller,
and is turned on the outside tree with its bore to drive tightly into its place
behind the seat C, being inserted from the front. The chamber E is made of
steel, bored in front to about the saine size as the barrel, and enlarged conically
towards the rear end, where it is the same size as the bore in the breech roller ;.

page_text: it is turned outside in a lathe to drive tightly into the front tube B, so as to be
incapable of turning therein, and the barrel H, which is screwed firmly into the
front of the breech supporter, fits up closely to it.
When the tube F and. the chamber. E are driven into their places thero
should be a considerable portion of each extending into the interior of scat C,
in order that by a proper cutter attached to a boring, bar, running in false,
journals screwed on to each side of, the breech supporter, they may be cut off
to fit tightly to the periphery of the breech. roller, which should be ground into
its place with emery or some substance of similar character, and is; therefore
made with a very slight taper. The top of the back part a of. the breech;
supporter is cut away for conveniently. inserting the charge. The breech roller
is made of á solid piece of steel. Its journal b' protrudes far enough through
the collar G to receive the nipple g, and to carry a lever. I, by which it
is turned in its seat.. The vent passes from the nipple in an oblique direc-
tion, so as to enter the chamber exactly in the centre. The lever I is made
strong, but is capable of springing slightly in a lateral direction, in order to,
allow a stud h, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) on its inner face-to-enter-a-notch_in_the_
lock plate, and hold the roller. in the position shewn in Fig. 4, to close the
chamber.
.
The roller in moving from the position shewn in Fig. 4, which closes the
chamber, to the position shewn in Fig. 3, which opens it to insert the charge,
or vice versa, makes about one-fourth part of a revolution. The proper move-
ment is controlled by a stop piece i on the collar G, with which the nipple
comes in contact when the lever is moved down to open the chamber, and by
the stud e, which arrives at one end of the slot f when the chamber is
closed, and prevents it moving further. The removal of the roller from or its
insertion within the seat is effected by withdrawing the pin d, taking out the
collar G; and bringing the open end of the slot in the journal b opposite
the stud e. This position of the slot is obtained when the bore of the roller is
in line with the barrel. In order to allow the barrel to be screwed farther into
the breech supporter to tighten the fit between the back end of the chamber
and the breech roller, one of the sights is cut in the top of the breech
supporter, and the other m is placed on one of the metal bands which con-
fines the barrel to the stock. It is obvious that if the sights were attached to
the barrel, it could not be allowed to turn.
I will here remark that I am aware of a roller having been previously so
applied as to form the breech of a gun, but on all such previous applications
known to me the roller was only bored partly through, and its bore constituted
the chamber of the gun, and received the charge at its front part, which was

page_text: turned upwards for the purpose opposite a hole in the top of the seat, and when
charged was placed in line with the barrel. The roller thus applied con-
stituted, strictly speaking, a rotary or rolling chamber, but the roller applied as
represented and herein-before described is a moveable breech, serving only to
open and close a fixed chamber in which the charge is contained.
I claim, firstly, the breech roller D, having a bore or passage intersecting its
axis at right angles, and being applied to the rear end of the chamber or
barrel, substantially as described, so that its passage may be brought in line
with the barrel for the insertion of the charge, or may be turned out of line
therewith, and a solid part of the roller brought in contact with the rear end
of the chamber or barrel, as herein set forth.
Secondly, formning a cavity or space s, s, between the periphery and end of
the roller D and the interior of the seat C, which said cavity has suitable
communication with the atmosphere for the escape of back fire and gases that
may pass between the end of the chamber or barrel and the roller.
Thirdly, fitting the opening in the rear part a of the breech supporter
with a tube F, which enters the space s, s, between the breech roller and its
seat and fits closely up to the roller, serving the double purpose of giving the
roller a bearing opposite to where the force of the explosion of the charge acts
upon it, and of preventing the escape of the fire or gas through the back of
the breech supporter.
Fourthly, the chamber E, detached from the barrel and fitting into the
breech supporter so as to be incapable of turning therein but to be capable
of being forced up towards or into closer contact with the breech roller by
the screwing in of the barrel, substantially as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
A. E. L. BELLFORD. (L.S.)