Improvements in Small Arms.
Year: 1891

page_text: *COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Small Arms.
I, CHARLES, STEWART LOTT of 37 Matheson Road, West Kensington in the
County of Middlesex, Accountant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in breech loading fire arms more especially
to repeating small arms and is intended to render such weapons easier to manipulate
and simpler in construction than those heretofore made.
An important feature of this invention is that the whole of the mechanism of the
weapon, comprising means for cocking the firing hammer, for inserting a cartrigde
in the barrel for releasing the firing hammer, for extracting and ejecting the spent
cartridge, and including the safety locking device hereinafter referred to, can be
manipulated by one hand of the operator. The trigger is conveniently controlled
by the fore-finger while the thumb is used to operate a lever by which the rest of
the mechanism is worked in the manner hereinafter described.
The mechanism is of a strong and simple character, not liable to derangement by
wear or by rough usage. It may be adapted to the requirements of a magazine
arm or of a single loader. We prefer however to use it with a cartridge magazine
of the" Lee" type which may be rapidly inserted in or removed from its place in
the arm.
In the accompanying drawings, we have shown how our invention may be con-
veniently and advantageously applied to a pistol provided with a" Lee" magazine.
Figure 1 is a side view of the pistol with the magazine in place, showing the
internal mechanism in dotted lines, the breech piece being close home and the other
parts being in the positions they would occupy prior to the placing of a cartridge
in the barrel.
Figure 2 is a side view of a portion of the pistol, partly in section, shewing the
mechanism of the pistol in the position it occupies when the hammer 'is partially
cocked and the breech bolt is unlocked.
Figure 3 is a side view of the pistol, partly in section, with the breech "bolt
slightly withdrawn and showing the cartridge partially extracted.
Figure 4 is a side view the mechanism being shown in the position it would
оссиру y-when-the-hammer is fully cocked and the pistol loaded in readiness for
firing.
Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the line x, x Figure 4 and
Figure 6 is an edge view of a portion of the mechanism hereinafter described..
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the stock or butt; B is the barrel; B' is the breech-shoe or frame.
In magazine small arms constructed according to this invention we provide a
breech bolt Farranged to abut against and close the rear end of the barrel B, and
free to slide to and fro in the direction of the axial line of the barrel, in the 'breech-
shoe or frame B.
The
The said bolt F is fitted at its forward end with an extractor N and contains a
firing pin H adapted to impinge upon the cartridge in the barrel and to have a
certain slight amount of free longitudinal motion within the breech bolt.
under side of the rear end of the bolt is grooved or slotted longitudinally at I the
groove or slot affording an opening through which the hammer G may act upon
the-firing pin. A stud F2 attached to the firing pin projects through the said slot I.
The firing pin is pushed back by a light spring F3 acting on the stud F as the bolt
is being pushed home, so that the said pin shall not protrude from the front end of
the breech bolt and prevent the proper rising of the cartridge into engagement with

page_text: the extractor. Moreover the said stud F2 is so placed that when the hammer is at
full cock and the bolt is being pushed home the spring engages with the said
hammer and ensures the firing pin being held back until the hammer is released,
thereby obviating the necessity of employing an internal spring which reduces the
force of the blow of the hammer. Moreover the said stud serves to retain the
firing pin in the bolt.
The breech bolt is grooved to pass over a stud o placed in the side of the breech-
shoe. The groove is situated at the opposite side of the bolt to that upon which
the extractor N is placed, and the said stud o is for the purpose of assisting in the
ejection of spent cartridges in the manner hereinafter described.
An important part of the mechanism is a locking piece E which is arranged to
slide in the frame or body of the weapon in a direction preferably at a right angle
with the line of travel of the bolt. The rear face of the locking piece bears against
the portion e' of the frame, and the said locking piece is guided by and between the
vertical guide pieces e and e¹. A spring E' is arranged below the locking piece to
cause it to rise behind the breech bolt when the latter is home against the end
of the barrel and thus the said bolt is prevented from recoiling when subjected
to the force of the explosion of a charge. When it is desired to open the
breech the said locking piece E is depressed to permit rearward movement of
the bolt. The depression of the locking piece and the withdrawal of the bolt and
cartridge and also the cocking of the hammer are performed by a thumb lever C.
The hammer G is pivoted on a pin g secured in the cheek plates and is adapted
to be released by a trigger J and sear J¹ and caused to strike the firing pin smartly
by means of a strong main spring G¹. It is so formed and arranged that a toe E³,
see also Figure 6 upon the locking piece will upon the descent of the said locking
piece engage with the hammer and turn it about its pivot towards the cocked
position thereby partially compressing the said spring. The main spring G₁ also
acts upon the trigger J to which the sear J¹ is attached and tends to put and
maintain the said sear in engagement with a notch G³ in the hammer.
A projection F¹ upon the breech bolt F extends to the exterior of the weapon
through a longitudinal slot F* formed in one of the cheek plates and in the same
cheek plate is a second slot F** preferably at right angles with the slot F*. A
pin D carried by the locking piece E passes through this slot F** to the exterior
of the weapon, and upon the outer end of this pin the thumb lever C is pivoted.
The said thumb lever is provided with a projection C* upon which the thumb may
bear and is also formed with a portion having a slot C to receive the aforesaid
projection F from the breech bolt. The slot C¹ in the lever is so arranged
relatively to the projection F¹ on the breech bolt that without moving the bolt the
said lever may first be depressed by the thumb to move downward with its pivot
and may afterwards be rotated about that pivot as will be hereinafter described.
The barrel end is recessed at j to take the rim of the cartridge and is notched
at in the usual manner to allow the head to be forced home while the extractor
claw N is in engagement with the cartridge rim.
That portion of the firing pin H which is immediately above the slot in the
underside of the breech block is recessed at F so that the hammer head may pass
into the said recess and strike the body of the firing pin at the forward end of the
recess driving the firing pin into the cartridge when the hammer is forced sharply
forward by the main spring upon the pulling of the trigger.
M is a magazine of the ordinary "Lee" type. The said magazine is inserted
between guides provided in the body of the pistol for the purpose, and is so placed
that the cartridges will be fed successively therefrom into the barrel in the well
known manner.
To prevent accidental displacement of the magazine the side of the magazine is
provided with a notch m with which when the magazine is pushed into place a
spring m¹ attached to the body engages.
To permit of the withdrawal of the magazine when desired the head of the spring
is provided with a knob m² which projects to the exterior of the weapon and by
:

page_text: means of which the spring may be retracted so that the magazine may be easily
withdrawn.
Let it be assumed that the pistol has been fired and that the stock A of the
weapon is grasped by one hand one of the fingers being placed upon the trigger and
the thumb being placed upon the projection C* of the thumb lever C. The succes-
sive operations of extracting and ejecting the empty cartridge and of cocking the
hammer, loading, and again firing may then be performed as follows.
The thumb lever C is pressed downward with the pin D upon which it is pivoted
and the locking piece E is thereby moved from behind the breech bolt F to the
lower limit of its travel against the resistance of its spring E. During this move-
ment of the locking piece the toe E2 thereof partially turns the firing hammer G
upon its pivot g towards the cocked position. This movement of the hammer
partially compresses the main spring Gacting through the antifriction roller G²
carried by the said hammer and draws the head of the hammer out of contact with
the firing pin H and a short distance away from the forward end of the slot I in
the underside of the breech piece, in which the hammer head has previously
entered. The position of the parts upon the completion of these operations is shown
by Figure 2.
Seeing that the locking piece E must be lowered before any movement of the
bolt away from the barrel B can take place and that the toe E2 upon the locking
piece is always in the path of the hammer while the locking piece is lowered, it is
impossible that the hammer should impinge upon the firing pin except when the
locking piece is raised, which is only possible when the breech piece abuts against
the barrel. This arrangement constitutes a very efficient safety device, and pre-
vents the possibility of premature explosion of a cartridge by the hammer.
The parts having as aforesaid been brought into the position shewn in Figure 2
the thumb lever C while it and the locking piece are held down is then turned
backward about the pin D carried by the locking piece. This movement may be
divided into two parts during the first of which the slotted portion C' of the thumb
lever acts upon the projection F' carried by the bolt F and withdraws the said bolt F
from the end of the barrel, sliding it over the said locking piece and thereby
keeping the said locking piece down, and the extractor partially withdraws the
spent cartridge from the barrel and brings it into the position shewn in Figure 3.
At the completion of this first part of the movement the end i of the aforesaid
slot I in the breech bolt is brought into contact with the hammer as shown in the
said Figure 3. During the continuation of this rearward movement of the breech
bolt the edge i of the slot in the said bolt will act on the head of the hammer and
will force back the latter thus completing the cocking of the hammer and bringing
the notch G³ into engagement with the sear J. The breech bolt completes the
cocking of the hammer by the edge i of the slot 1 as aforesaid and at the same
time pushes the hammer head out of the slot I by means of a bevel or cam
surface adjacent to the said edge, and brings the head below the breech bolt-
against the underside of which it presses as the breech piece completes its,
rearward motion; the parts in this operation assume the positions indicated in
Figure 4.
In this position it is impossible that the hammer head should rise even in the
event of the trigger being pulled. During this second part of the rearward move-
ment of the breech bolt, the extraction and ejection of the cartridge are com-
pleted, the empty cartridge case being ejected from the pistol through the opening O
in the pistol body. The ejection takes place when the breech bolt F has moved
sufficiently to the rear to bring one edge of the cartridge rim against the ejecting
stud o.
The extractor continuing to move to the rear draws one side of the cart-
ridge rim further to the rear than the opposite side of the said rim which is stopped
by the stud. Thus the cartridge is smartly jerked out of the space between the
breech piece and the end of the barrel and flies out at the opening O.
It should be particularly noted that the initial compression of the main spring G'

page_text: in the first part of the extraction of the spent cartridge during which practically
the whole of the force required to dislodge the cartridge is exerted, and the final
compression of the main spring are three distinct and successive operations effected
during the movements of the thumb lever, as described and not occurring simul
taneously. The extraction of the spent cartridge is effected by the thumb lever
at a time when the breech bolt is performing no other operation, that is to say, at
a time when the preliminary compression of the hammer spring is completed and
the final.compression not commenced. By this arrangement the force required to
be exerted is considerably less than would be the case if the operations were
simultaneous. Into the lower portion of the space left between the front end of
the said breech bolt F and the rear end of the barrel B the uppermost cartridge K
in the magazine M rises when the breech bolt has moved sufficiently to the rear to
permit its doing so, the cartridge being still retained by the magazine. The said
cartridge then occupies such a position in the said space that a portion of its base
is in the path of the breech bolt F.
The breech bolt having retired as above described to the extreme of its rearward
travel thereby opening the breech is in readiness to be returned by the thumb
lever C and the weapon is ready to receive a fresh cartridge from the magazine.
The thumb lever is now forced forward to close the breech the slotted portion
of the said lever acting upon the projection F¹ carried by the breech bolt and
forcing the said bolt forward. In this movement the bolt acts upon the base of
the aforesaid cartridge K and pushes the cartridge forward and the latter is at the
same time raised from the magazine so that its rim comes behind the extractor N
carried by the breech-bolt the cartridge being finally forced home into the
barrel.
The breech bolt in closing the breech removes from above the hammer its closed
or solid portion bringing the slot 1 into position to receive the hammer which for
the time being is retained by the trigger scar J¹.
As the bolt moves forward the
an
stud F on the firing pin in passing over the spring F3 engages therewith so that
the pin is retracted. When the breech bolt comes in contact with the end of the
barrel.its rear end has released the locking piece E which said piece is then raised
by the action of its spring E' into position behind the breech bolt thus forming
abutment which prevents the recoil of the bolt when the charge is exploded. The
parts will now be in the position shown in Figure 1 with the exception that the
hammer is cocked ready to be fired.
The charge having been exploded by the hammer as described the thumb lever C
may be again operated as before.
If the weapon is used as a single loader that is to say without a magazine the
cartridges are inserted by hand and ejected as above described through the
opening O.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is':
First. A fire arm wherein the mechanism comprises a lever so constructed and
arranged in combination with the cocking firing and extracting mechanism that the
said lever can be operated to effect the work of extraction during an interval of
time between the commencement and the termination of the cocking movement
when no work is being done on the main-spring for the purpose specified.
Second. In a fire arm wherein the breech is closed by a sliding bolt secured by
a.transversely sliding locking piece the combination of these parts and the cocking
and firing mechanism with a lever so arranged and operating that it can be
manipulated to perform all the operations required in using the weapon by the
hand that grasps the same.
Third. The lever pivoted on, the locking piece and slotted to engage with the
breech-bolt-substantially, as and for the purpose specified..

page_text: Fourth. The combination of parts comprising the breech-bolt F, carrying the
firing pin and extractor, the locking piece E, the hammer G, and the lever C sub-
stantially as set forth and for the purposes specified.
Fifth. The locking piece arranged to slide across the end of the bolt and pro-
vided with a toe or projection to engage with the hammer substantially as set forth
and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. The mechanism of a fire arm substantially such as that herein described
and operating as set forth for the purposes specified.
Seventh. A magazine pistol constructed substantially as herein described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of July 1891.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.