AN IMPROVED MODE OF OPERATING THE GATLING' GUN, AND OTHER GUNS OF LIKE CHARACTER
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF OPERATING
THE GATLING' GUN, AND OTHER GUNS OF LIKE CHARACTER."-A com-
munication from abroad by George O. Kinne, of Hartford, State of
Connecticut, United States of America.
Sealed the 6th December 1870, and dated the 12th September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 12th September 1870.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
OPERATING THE 'GATLING' GUN, AND OTHER GUNS OF LIKE CHARACTER," to be
as follows: —
The object of this Invention is to give to the "Gatling" gun, patented
March 21st, 1865, No. 790, and other guns of the like character, such as
the French mitrailleuse, a reciprocating motion in the plane of its axis

page_text: while in the act of discharging projectiles. To this end the frame
carrying the bearings for the trunions is mounted on a centre pin, and
to the spindle which works the plungers for discharging the gun is
fitted any suitable mechanical device that will when rotated by reason
of its connection with a fixed point impart the desired reciprocating
motion to the gun, that is to say, the rotary motion of the spindle which
effects the discharge of the gun is used to obtain the desired reciprocating
motion while the gun is firing.
The mode preferred for carrying out the operation is to mount on the
end of the spindle a cylinder in which a double action or cross cam
groove is cut, and to embrace this cylinder by a stationary forked piece
mounted in a bracket projecting from the trail piece of the gun. The
prongs of this fork are filled with pins which enter the grooves of the
cylinder, and as the cylinder is rotated the gun will receive a rocking
motion and be caused to deliver its shot in an arc corresponding to the
motion it has received. In order to limit the range of motion it is
proposed to fit the grooves with switches, which when closed will shut
off a portion of the cam grooves, and thus the pins of the fork, which
by their action on the cylinder give the reciprocating traverse motion to
the gun,
will be limited in the race. The like effect may be produced
by the application of what is known as a mangle motion in lieu of that
above described, or by the employment of a slotted crank arm (connected
by a link rod to the trail piece) and rotated by the gearing from the
spindle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 10th March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators,

page_text: and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Vincent 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
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF OPERATING THE 'GATLING GUN,' AND OTHER GUNS OF
LIKE CHARACTER," being a communication to me from abroad by George
O. Kinne, of Hartford, State of Connecticut, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors or administrators, 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 Alfred Vincent 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 Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say):
The object of this Invention, is to give to the "Gatling gun" and
other repeating field guns of the like character a reciprocating motion
in the plane of their axes while in the act of discharging projectiles. To
this end the block carrying the bearings for the trunnions is mounted
on a centre pin, and fitted to the spindle which. works the plungers for
discharging the gun is any suitable mechanical device that will when
rotated, by reason of its connection with a fixed point, impart the desired
reciprocating motion to the gun, that is to say, the rotary motion of the
spindle which effects the discharge of the gun is used to obtain the
desired reciprocating motion while the gun is firing.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a "Gatling
gun " mounted according to this Invention, the near wheel being
removed the better to exhibit the fittings of the gun, and Fig. 2 is an.
end elevation of the same.
A, A, is the gun carriage, of any approved construction, and upon it
is mounted the swivel block B, in which bearings are formed to receive

page_text: the trunnions of the gun C; this block is secured to the carriage by a
centre pin B, which allows of the block turning to bring the gun to
In the rear
bear upon any given point within the arc of its motion.
end of the gun is mounted a transverse spindle D, the rotation of which
by means of the winch handle E effects the charging and discharging
of the gun in the manner well known and therefore requiring no special
description in this place. Upon the opposite end of the spindle D to
that which is fitted with the winch handle a cylinder F is keyed. On
this cylinder an endless cross cut groove is formed to receive the
tapered ends of a forked piece G which is dropped into a socket jointed
to a rod G¹ and is free to swivel therein. The cylinder F is shewn
_detached_and_on-an-enlarged-scale-at-Figures-3-and-4; Fig-3-being-a-
side view of the cylinder, and Fig. 4 an end view of the same; Fig. 5
shews the fork G detached, and in Fig. 3 it is shewn in connection with
the cylinder F. The rod G' fits in a socket H formed in a bracket
piece H attached to the trail piece of the carriage, and it is made fast
in its socket by a tightening screw I furnished with arms for turning it.
K is a vertical adjusting screw for regulating the elevation of the gun,
and it is to allow for the elevation and depression of the gun that the
rod G carrying the forked piece G is made adjustable vertically. It
will now be understood that as rotary motion is given to the spindle D
(in the act of firing the gun) and the cylinder F is rotated the gun with
its block B will by reason of the connection of the rotating cylinder F
with the stationary forked piece G be caused to turn on the centre pin B³,
and it will thus deliver its shot in an arc corresponding to the to-and-fro
motion it is receiving. F, Figures 3 and 4, is an adjustable ring sur-
rounding the cylinder F and formed with a thread that enters the groove
of that cylinder. This ring serves to close one end of the groove and
thereby make it endless, but its use is further to cover up a portion of
the grooved surface and thereby act the part of a switch to turn the
fork into the return groove at any desired point, and shorten the length
of traverse of the cylinder when desired and limit the range of motion
of the gun. The ring F is fitted with a stop pin f which is carried by a
rock lever f', against the rear end of which a spring f bears in order
to give the pin ƒ a tendency to move inwards. This pin is intended to
to enter any one of a series of holes formed to receive it in the cylinder F,
and by locking into one of such holes it secures the ring F¹ in a proper
position on the cylinder for closing the cross cut grooves. There are
two rows of holes formed in the cylinder F to receive this pin f, and

page_text: these rows are situated midway between the lines of intersection of the
right and left handed grooves. The ring therefore admits of adjustment
at every half turn. To facilitate the adjustment of this ring it is
provided with a milled or ribbed periphery, and a projection is formed
on the lever that carries the pin, by pressing on which the lever will be
caused to lift the locking pin clear of the cylinder.
From the above description it will be understood that other mechanical
devices may be employed for converting the rotary motion derived from
the spindle D into a reciprocating motion for moving the gun on its
swivel pin B' in the plane of its axis. One such modified device is
illustrated at Fig. 6, where by means of a pair of bevilled pinious da
grooved disc d¹ keyed to the axle of the second pinion and carrying
a crank pin d adjustable in its groove is caused to rotate. By linking
this crank pin through a sliding link rod d³ with a fixed guide pin d'
projecting vertically from the trailing piece A the rotation of the
spindle D will impart to the gun the reciprocating motion on the pin B',
as before described.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved
Mode of Operating the 'Gatling Gun,' and other Guns of like Character,"
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim, applying
the rotary motion of the spindle which effects the discharge of repeating
field guns
to obtain the reciprocating motion above described while the
gun is firing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Tenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.