IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE- ARMS AND IN BALLS OR PROJECTILES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gerard Ralston, of 21, Tokenhouse Yard, in the
City of London, E. C., for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-
ARMS AND IN BALLS OR PROJECTILES."-A communication.
Sealed the 21st August 1857, and dated the 4th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gerard Ralston, at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th March 1857.
I, GERARD RALSTON, of 21, Tokenhouse Yard, in the City of London, E. C.,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-
ARMS AND IN BALLS OR PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in fire-arms and in balls or
projectiles; for these purposes breech-loading fire-arms are constructed in
the following manner :-The breech closer or plug, which is inserted to closo
the breech of a fire-arm, is combined with the lock, and the whole com-
bination, is arranged to move on an axis as a lever, so as to admit of charging
the barrel at the breech when the combined parts are removed out of the way.
The stock beyond the breech end of the barrel is made hollow to receive the
lock, which is contained in the case which moves on an axis at its fore end;
the lock case is made with inclined ends, and on the front end is fixed the
plug or breech closer, which is formed conical to fit the conical end of the
barrel, and the front of such plug is made concave and of steel, capable, of

page_text: spreading when pressed by the discharge, and the hinder part of the plug may
also be made to expand to accommodate for wear. At the back end of the caso
of the lock there is a spring catch, by which the lock, when shut within the
stock, is held fast in its position. In order to cock' the hammer by the opening
down of the lock, a projection is fixed, against which the hammer comes, and
by the back end of the lock being pressed downward, the hammer is forced back
and cocked. The priming is by means of what is called tape priming, and the
hammer is arranged to cut off a quantity each timo of acting. In making balls
or projectiles, in order to prevent what is termed leading the barrel, the form
of the upper part of the bullet or projectile is conchoidal or conical, and may
be hollow or solid at its rear end. In casting or forming the ball a projection
is produced; a covering of paper or other material is applied to the rear end
of the ball, the ball is then forced into a suitable die, which causes the pro-
jection to be closed down over the edge of the covering.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Gerard Ralston in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GERARD
RALSTON, of 21 Tokenhouse Yard, in the City of London, E. C., send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Gerard Ralston, Her special licence that I, the said Gerard Ralston, -my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, tho said Gerard
Ralston, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agreo
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 AND IN BALLS OR PROJECTILES," a communication, upon the condition
(amongst others) that. I, the said Gerard Ralston, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 3
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and causo

page_text: 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 Gerard Ralston, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner. the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in fire-arms and in balls or
projectiles; for these purposes breech-loading fire-arms are constructed in
the following manner :-The breech closer or plug, which is inserted to closo
the breech of a fire-arm, is combined with the lock, and the whole combination
is arranged to move on an axis as a lever, so as to admit of charging the
barrel at the breech when the combined parts are removed out of the way.
The stock beyond the breech end of the barrel is made hollow to receive the
lock, which is contained in a case which moves on an axis at its fore end.
The lock case is made with inclined ends, and on the front ond is fixed the
plug or breech closer, which is formed conical to fit the conical end of the
barrel, and the front of such plug is made concave, of steel, capable of spread-
ing when pressed by the discharge, and the hinder part of the plug may also
be made to expand to accommodate for wear. At the back end of the case of
the lock there is a spring catch, by which the lock, when shut within the stock,
is held fast in its position. In order to cock the hammer by the opening down
of the lock, a projection is fixed against which the hammer comes, and by
the back end of the lock being pressed downward, the hammer is forced back
and cocked. The priming is by means of what is called tape priming, and the
hammer is arranged to cut off a quantity each time of acting. In making
balls or projectiles, in order to prevent what is termed leading the .barrel, the
form of the upper part of the bullet or projectile is conchoidal or conical, and
may be hollow or solid at its rear ond. In casting or forming the ball a pro-
jection is produced; a covering of paper or other material is applied to the
rear end of the ball, the ball is then forced into a suitable die which causes
the projection to be closed down over the edge of the covering.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
i
:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a side view of a fire-arm complete; Figuro 2 shows a longi-
tudinal section, on a full-sized scale, of part of a like fire-arm, by which the
nature of the. Invention will be readily traced. The breech-closer is a move--
able hollow metal arm or lever A, hinged at B to a hollow box C, which has

page_text: vertical sides, so that the arm or lever A can lie snugly shut up within it; to
the front end of which box the barrel of the gun or fire-arm is screwed. In
the front end of the arm or lever A is attached a metal cone D, turned so as
to fit the conical or taper bore of the rear end of the barrel at d; the rear
end of the barrel is made conical for that purpose. This cone is continued by
a soft copper ring a, upon which again lies a thin cup-shaped valvo 6 of finely
tempered steel with its concave face outwards. This valve is the proper
breach closer, and is called the concave breech sent; it is a segment of n
sphere, and may be either a single solid cup or of two cup-shaped pieces of
metal, as shown at Figure 3, with radial clips in the edges placed one
over the other and breaking joints. The object of this cup-shaped
terminal is to furnish an elastic stop which, if not perfectly tight when in
position, may by the pressure of the gas in firing have its edge forced up
against the surface of the charged chamber. The method of attaching
the hammer H and trigger T to and partly within the breach-closer
arm A is plainly shewn by the Drawing. The apparatus for cocking the
hammer H. (by the movement of the lever or, arm A) is simply a stud
S, which projects downward from the barrel, its back edge having a forward
curve or slope, so adjusted that when the lever or arm A is thrown down (for
the purpose of loading), the extreme point of the hammer being pressed
against it, shall, by its inclination, be thrown downward, that is, back on its
own axis, and thereby locked into the trigger, as shown in the Drawing, so
that when the lever or arm A is brought back into its box C the piece will be
cocked for firing, as shown in Figure 1.
The priming apparatus is a groove in the under part of the stock forward of
the stud S, which is covered by a thin metal cover, or else a metal tube is
attached to the under side of the barrel x, y; within this tube tape priming
(such as has heretofore been used) lies, the end of the tape projecting through
a slot in the stud S, with one of its priming over the nipple at Z. It is held
in position by a small spring attached to the stock and projecting backwards,
so as to press the tape slightly against the bottom of the slot in S. To
the lower end of the hinge of the lever arm A at W, a small pin pro-
jects, a sliding rod t lying above the tape case x, y, hooks on to the pin W, so
that with every movement of the lever arm A the rod t is moved back and
forth. To the front end of t is fixed a spring piece, projecting downward and
backward as a pawl or ratchet upon the tape priming, when moving forward
sliding over the tape, which is kept from receding by the spring in S, and
when moving backward and slipping the tape forward, in proportion to the
distance of the pin W from the hinge of the lever arm A. This proportion

page_text: being arranged to meet the distance of the pellicles of priming in the tape
from each other, it will be seen that every movement of the lever arm A
which cocks the hammer will bring a fresh priming over the cone. To pre-
vent explosions and to clear away the successive portions of the tape as they
are exploded, the point of the hammer h is formed with a chisel edge:
Figure 4 shews a section of a barrel and the cone or plug taken through
the centre; Figure 5 shews a section of the barrel with external view of the
cone or plug, which may be used in place of that shewn at Figure 2. The
cone or plug a is solid, resting firmly upon the lever arm A. 'Its slope or
bevil is greater than that of the chamber of the barrel within which it operates.
A split ring R (made of steel or hard iron, and ground to fit,) fills the
up space
between the cone and barrel. It is the same length as the cone, but is
fitted to stand up a little space from the lever A, in order to have room to
The
drop down as it expands; it therefore overreaches the end of the cone.
ring is cut away at one of its sides with a slope, corresponding with the slope
of the cone; a pin P is ground to fit the cut. On the top of the ring a plate
K lies, and a screw S passes through the whole to secure the parts to the
lever. It will be seen that if the ring wears or the chamber wears, the effect
of the reaction of the charge will be (by driving down the ring on the pin P)
to spread the ring and close up the space.. The form of apparatus, according
to this Invention, admits of the use of other descriptions of priming than that
shewn in Figure 2, provided the details of the interior of the lever arm A be
modified accordingly.
•
Figure 6 shews a section of the lever arm A, with means of using tape
priming which lies coiled within the lever arm A, its lower end passing out
through a slot cut in the lower angle of the arm, just above the hinge B and
in the range of the cone or plug, and is placed with one of its detonating
pellets over the nipple (the pellet should lie facing the hammer). A small
pawl spring u lies with its point against one of the pellets, and prevents the
retraction of the tape primer. The tape is operated by the ratchet spring e,
forming part of or attached to a rod x, which passes out horizontally through
the rear end at D, so as to touch the rear bar of the frame c, within which the
arm lies. When the breech is closed the rod a will lie as shewn in the
Figure, but when the lover arm A is lowered for the purpose of loading the
gun, it is thrown out a short (regulated) distance by the small spring Z, as
shown. This carries the spring e behind one of the pellets, so that when the
arm A is brought up within the frame C, it pushes the primer forward and
brings the end pellet over the nipple. This operation taking place after the

page_text: piece has been cocked by the movement of the arm A; the piece is ready for
firing the moment that the arm D is. homo in its chamber.
Figure 7 shews a section of a ball or projectile, according to the second
part of the Invention. The rear part of this ball or projectile may be made
solid or hollow. In casting or forming a bullet or projectile, it is made with a
projection a; the lower end is coated with paper or other fabric, as at b, b,
which may protrude beyond the end to any extent to form a tube. By this
means the lower end of the ball or projectile is coated, and such coating comes
in contact with the interior of. the barrel. ..In order securely to fix the upper
edges of the coating at a, the ball or projectilo is forced into a mould, which
closes the projection a, a, on to the coating, as shown at Figure 8.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is,
. First, the combining the lock, breech closer, and parts connected therewith,
so as to act as an arm or lever, as herein described.
And, secondly, I claim the manufacture of balls or projectiles herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gerard Ralston, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
JOSHUA ELMES.
GERARD RALSTON. (L.S.)