IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 24th August 1858.-A communication.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within the
time prescribed by the Act.)
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street (City),
Holborn, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said In- S
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS" to be as follows, viz. :-
percus-
The first part of this Invention relates to a contrivance which I will
call a "repeating primer" for receiving a sufficient number of
sion caps for several charges, and discharging the "piece" several
times without renewing the cap. This contrivance consists of a hollow
metal drum or cylinder, which is open at one end, and placed outside
the barrel near the breech, with its open end turned towards the barrel
to receive an ear, which projects from the barrel, and fits to some part
of the interior surface of the drum in such a way as to preserve a
perfect joint therewith when the drum revolves upon its axis. This
ear contains the vent, which terminates in that part of its surface which
fits to the drum, and the drum is furnished with a series of nipples so

page_text: arranged that if it be made to revolve on its axis their holes may be
brought successively into communication with the vent through the
ear.
The drum is connected with the mechanism of the lock in such
a way that when the "piece" is cocked the hole of one of the nipples
is at the same time in communication with the vent through the car,
and in position to be struck by the hammer when the latter is set free;
and that the act of cocking moves one nipple away from and brings
another opposite to the vent and hammer. Before using the " "piece,"
caps are placed upon the whole series of nipples, or upon any number
of them in regular succession; then by bringing one of the capped
nipples to a suitable position to be struck by the hammer the piece
may be discharged, and by recocking the next capped nipple is brought
to the required position for the succeeding discharge.
The second part of this Invention relates to certain means of effecting
the loading of the "piece" at the breech. This part of my Invention
consists in the employment of a partly detached chamber of novel
construction, which affords great convenience for the insertion of the
charge, and makes a very tight breech.
The accompanying Drawing illustrates my Invention representing a
rifle and its several parts, in which both features of my Invention are
exemplified.
Figure 1, is a right-hand side view of the rifle in proper condition
for use when loaded and capped.
Figure 2, is a top view of those parts of the same which contain my
improvements.
Figure 3, is a longitudinal section through the centre of the back
part of the barrel and the part of the stock surrounding it, and also
through the chamber and breech, showing the two latter in position
for usc.
Figure 4, is a side view of the back part of the barrel, the chamber,
and the breech, showing the two latter drawn back to receive the
charge.
Figure 5, is a top view corresponding with Figure 4.
Figure 6, is a transverse section taken through the divided part of the
chamber at the red line a, a, shown in Figure 3.

page_text: Figure 7, is an inside view of the lock, intended to show the operation
of the repeating primer.
Figure 8, is a transverse section of the lock plate, intended to show
one of the modes of holding the primer securely in place.
Figure 9, is an outside face view of the repeating primer with the
cover by which it is concealed in Figure 1, removed, and with a
portion of its face broken away to show the way in which it fits the ear.
on the side of the barrel.
Figure 10, is a section taken transversely through the centre of the
repeating primer and through the barrel, showing the communication
between the nipples and the barrel.
Figure 11, shows a modification of the holding device shown in
Figure 8.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the
several Figures.
A, represents the barrel, which may be supposed in the first in-
stance to be the same as the barrel of any other rifle, except that
it has the car a, made of solid metal forged or brazed upon it, or other-
wise solidly attached to it at one side close to the breech end. It
is secured to the stock B, in the common way, and is furnished with
a lock of well-known construction, a hole being made in the lock
plate C, as shown at b, in Figure 7, and also in Figure 10, to allow the
car a, to pass through it and protrude on the outside, where it will be
received in the hollow cylindrical drum D, which constitutes the prin-
cipal part of the repeating primer. The hollow druni D, is made of
steel or other metal, open at one end and closed at the other, being of
such depth as to make the rim c, of proper width to receive the nipples,
and to leave a proper thickness for the end d, which connects the rim to
the hub e. The open end of the drum fits close up to the outside of the
lock plate, in which there is a recess countersunk to a slight depth to
receive it, as shown in Figures 8, & 10; and the protruding part of the
car a, is of such form and comes in such a position within the drum that
the upper side works close to the inner surface of the rim c, of the
drum, as shown in Figures 9, & 10. The rim of the drum is bored at
equal distances in a line passing directly round it to receive a number
of nipples f, f, which are of the kind commonly used for percussion

page_text: caps, and a hole g, for the vent is made from the top of the car into
the barrel, its mouth being in such a position that it will be exactly
opposite the holes through the nipples, as seen in Figures 9, and 10.
The hub e, of the drum fits to the arbor h, of a ratchet wheel E, which
has a number of teeth equal to the number of nipples in the drum D,
the said arbor passing through and fitting accurately in a hole in the
lock plate, and the said ratchet wheel working close up to the inside of
the lock plate; the arbor b, being of such length as to extend to the
outer face of the drum, and the hub e, fitting close up to the outside of
the lock plate, enables the drum and ratchet to be connected by a
screw i, screwing into the centre of the arbor from the outside, so that
neither can escape from the plate, and they are secured together, so
that neither can revolve without the other, by a small key j, see Fig. 10.
The hammer F, which explodes the cap is so placed that when set free
by the trigger it will fall on any nipple which is in communication with
the vent. It will be understood from the foregoing part of the de-
scription that if the nipples f, f, or any number of them which succeed
each other in the proper direction, are capped, they may, by revolving
the drum D, be brought successively into communication with the
vent g, and when exploded by the fall of the hammer will carry their
fire to the successive charges within the barrel.
The mechanism for moving the drum will now be described:-There
is a small click bark, attached to the front part of the tumbler G, whose
point is always kept by a spring 7, in contact with the ratchet wheel E,
and the act of cocking the hammer by throwing forward this click bar
k, causes the ratchet wheel to perform a portion of a revolution corre-
sponding to one of its dental divisions. The click bar and ratchet bear
such a relation to each other that when the hammer is cocked a nipple
must be in communication with the vent g, and the distance which the
ratchet is thus made to revolve is just sufficient to carry forward the
nipple which was in communication when the hammer was previously
cocked, and bring the next one behind it into communication. When
the hammer is set free by the trigger H, and is caused to fall by the
action of the main spring G', the click bar is drawn back, and slips over
another tooth ready to move the ratchet forward, when the hammer is
again cocked, the return of the ratchet wheel by the receding movement

page_text: of the click caused by the falling of the hammer being prevented by the
spring pawl m, which engages with it in front, and holds it and the drun
in place. This pawl slips over one tooth every time the hammer is
cocked, but should the hammer be only half cocked or not quite cocked
and then let down, it will not slip over the tooth, but will have a
tendency by pressing on the back of the tooth to return the ratchet to
its original position.
Another contrivance is provided for keeping the drum in place
as the hammer falls and the click bar k, recedes, consisting in a
series of notclics n, n, in the edge of the rim of the drum, whose
positions are such that when a nipple is in communication with the
vent, one of them receives the end of a pin o, which is attached to
the upper end of a light spring p, secured to the inside of the lock
plate, and which works through a hole in the lock plate, as seen in
Fig. 8. This spring is received in a recess in the inside face of the
lock plate, and is there secured, being flush with the lock plate up
nearly as high as where it meets the main spring 1, when the hammier
is down, and from that point it bends up, making an inclined plane or
curve. As the piece is cocked the main spring is thrown up, and the
upper part of the spring p, is forced into the recess in the lock plate,
and the piu o, is forced out into that notch n, which is brought opposite.
When the hammer is let down the spring p, draws the pin from the
notch. From half the depth of the notch the pin leaves to the top of
the next notch should be an inclined plane for the end of the pin
to work upon. Instead of notches n, n, holes q, q, may be made to
receive the pin, as shewn in Fig. 11, and the inclines from one to
the other will then assume the form of grooves.
The repeating primer is protected by a cover I, which is attached to
the lock plate by a pair of spring bolts r, r; this cover has a sliding
piece S, on its rim, which is withdrawn when the "piece" is to be fired,
to uncover a hole t, at the top, through which the hammer strikes the
nipple, and another hole at the bottom through which the exploded
caps escape, but this sliding piece covers both holes when the piece is
not in use, protecting the caps, and preventing the possibility of their
falling off, and at the same time preventing effectually the accidental
discharge of the "piece."

page_text: Several modifications may be made in the primer, and the peculiari-
tics of construction and operation which I have claimed as my Inven-
tion may be still retained. For instance, the caps may be placed in a
circle in the end d, or head of the drum, and in that case the vent will
be made directly through the ear a, whose outside face will require to
fit to the inside of the end d, and the hammer will require to strike
sideways. Instead of the ratchet wheel E, a ratchet may be made on
the drum itself, and operated upon by a click or tooth attached to the
hammer.
In order to receive the partly detached chamber for loading the
"piece" at the breech the barrel is counterbored from the breech end.
to a depth greater than the depth to be occupied by the charge, which
is intended to be used in the form of a cartridge, the said counterbore
being of about twice the diameter of the bore, and concentric with it.
The chamber K, L, fills the counterbored part of the barrel, and fits
up to the back end of it with a shoulder, its back end being closed to
form the breech, and its bore being the same as that of the barrel. It
is formed in two parts, one part K, being novable, and the other L.
fixed. The movable part K, which contains the breech, extends from
the breech forward for a length about equal to half the length of the
cartridge in the form of a whole cylinder; the remainder from 12, being
a continuation of the said cylinder, with one half cut away by a plane
passing longitudinally through its axis. The fixed part L, is in the
form of a half cylinder, and corresponds in form to the part supposed to
be cut away from the part K. The two parts K, L, therefore form a
complete cylinder; the bore from the breech to 12, being all in the
part, and from 12, to the front end being half in the part K, and
half in the part L.. The part L, is secured firmly by screws u, v, or
other suitable means at the forward and upper part of the counterbore
of the barrel, so as to form as it were a fixed part of the barrel; but
the part K, is capable of sliding back and forth within the counterbore,
being shown in Fig. 3, forward in its place, and forming a continua-
tion of the barrel, and being shown in Fig. 4, thrown back so as to
leave a sufficient space to drop the cartridge into its half bore, and then
to push it back into the complete bore, the latter position being also
shown in Fig. 8, in dotted lines. Near the breech there is a vent

page_text: hole g', which forms a continuation of g, when the chamber is all in the
barrel; and in front of the vent g', there is a sharp point w, shown in
Fig. 6, and also in dotted lines in Fig. 5, which point tears away the
cartridge as it is pushed in, and leaves the powder exposed to the
vent. From the upper part of the back of the breech, which, as before
explained, forms part of the piece K, a strip of metal y, of a width
about equal to the external diameter of the chamber, & also forming
part of the piece K, extends backwards for some distance, fitting, when
the chamber is all in the barrel, within a recess in the top of the stock,
and lying close to the lock plate. In the top of the stock is secured a
metal plate M, in such a position that when the chamber is all in the
barrel its front edge will stand a short distance behind the back end of
the strip y, leaving only a sufficient space between them to admit a key
piece z, which is formed by a step on the top of the hinder extremity of
a lever N, which is pivoted by a pivot 13, at about the centre of its
length below the breech in such a manner as to work vertically. This
lever N, works in a recess within the stock, but has a knob or handle u,
below its forward end, which works through a slot in the bottom of the
stock, being furnished with a spring catch 14, which catches against
a suitable stop below the stock, and holds the front end down, and thus
also holds the key piece, secure between the strip y, behind the
breech and the plate M, and thus holds the chamber secure in the
barrel while the piece is fired. The stock is cut away internally to
allow of the necessary movements of the chamber and its appendages,
which remain to be described.
To load the "piece" the catch 14, requires to be released, which
may be done by the forefinger while the handle u, is held in the right
hand and the "piece" in the left; the handle is then pushed up to
throw down the key piece z, and then drawn back to withdraw the
detached or moveable piece K, of the chainber from the barrel far
enough to receive the charge. The hinder part of the lever N, during
this movement passes under and the strip y, over the plate M, the
piece K, of the chamber being stopped in the proper position, and
being prevented from drawing entirely out of the barrel by the hinder
end of the lever coming in contact with the back of the recess which is

page_text: cut in the stock to admit of its motion. The cartridge is then dropped
into the half bore between the edge 12, and the back of the barrel, and
is then pushed into the complete bore of the chamber behind 12. The
handle u, is then moved forward to bring the shoulder at the back of
the chamber close up to the back of the barrel, and is finally pulled
clown to bring the key piece in place to secure the chamber, when the
catch 14, comes into operation and holds it secure. At the front end of
the lever N, there is a slight projection 16, on each side to form a
shoulder, which works against the shoulders 17, (see Fig. 3,) at the
back of recesses made in the sides of the larger recess in which the
lever works; this prevents the lever from moving back, and gives an
additional security against the driving back of the chamber. A. spring
may be applied between the lever N, and the under side of the barrel
to insure its being thrown down to bring the key piece, in place
between the strip y, and plate M.