Improvements in Breech-loading Small-arms.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Feb., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Breech-loading Small-arms.
We, WILLIAM PHILLIPSON, of 78 Weaman Street, Birmingham, Gun Action
Manufacturer, and WILLIAM BAKER, of 10 Smith Street, Saint Georges, Birmingham,
Gun Lock Maker, both in the county of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with the ejecting mechanism
of drop down small arms, whereby the case of the exploded cartridge is ejected upon
the opening of the gun for recharging; and its object is to provide an arrangement,
whereby when the gun is fired, the ejector hammers are held back until the gun is
opened to a certain extent, when the said hammers are freed to act, and eject the
spent cases; also an arrangement whereby when the gun is opened, the ejector
hammers are moved forwards for a short distance, so as to free the case should it have
been wedged or stuck, after which the springs and hammers are free to act suddenly
in order to eject the case; also that upon the closing of the gun the hammers are
forced back into their position ready for action; also improved means whereby the
ejector hammers may at will, be retained in their held back position so that they will
not act when the gun is opened.
. These our improvements are more generally applied to double barrelled drop down
guns, but nevertheless may be applied to single barrelled guns, and are carried out
after the following manner :-
Upon or near the drop down joint (in the body) the cocking lever is hinged, having
upon its one side (and embedded therein) a slide, the front end of which extends
forward through the joint into the fore end iron in such a manner, that when the gun
is fired, it passes under a part of the ejector hammer, thereby retaining the latter in
its held back position. Upon the rear part of this slide is further formed a pro-.
jection, which, when the gun has been opened a certain distance, comes in contact
with a fixed stop upon the body, its further motion being thereby arrested. By
reason however of the further opening of the gun after this arrest, the front end
of the slide is withdrawn from under the hammer, leaving the latter; thus far, free
to act.
Or, instead of the slide, a segmental piece is carried upon the said joint, having
at its upper part a projection to come in contact with the arresting stop piece as
before, and its circular surface carried down, so as to come in front of the hammer
itself, or of an intermediate lever, generally the latter, so that when the gun is fired,
the segmental surface is carried round in front of the hammer or the lever as above
described, in order to retain it, until the opening of the gun has brought the
arresting stop against the projection upon the segment, when the latter will be turned
round free of the hammer &c., with the same result as before described.
Again. Upon the face of the joint (in the body part) a recess or its equivalent is
formed, into which the one end of a lever which is carried upon the fore end engages,
the other end of which engages with the hammers. Upon the closing of the gun,
this lever forces back the hammer and spring into their position for action; and when
the gun is being opened, this lever in its return motion gives a compulsory motion
for a short distance to the said hammers, so that, should the cartridge cases have been
wedged or stuck in tightly, this compulsory motion compels their being started in
their ejected movement; but having reached this given distance, the hammers &c.
are then free to be thrown forward with the necessary sudden force for the ejectment
of the said cases.
This intermediate lever also serves to hold the ejector hammers when the fore end is
removed, by reason of its end engaging into a bent upon the hammers and bearing
against it above the centre of the same.

page_text: Again. In order to effect the conversion of the action from that of an ejecting
into a non-ejecting action, we proceed as follows:-
On the body we put a lever which is operated from the exterior, the interior of
which comes against the lever which blocks the ejector, and moves it out of action as
soon as the gun begins to open, or, in some cases, we prefer to provide upon the
upper part of the fore end iron, a lever, somewhat of a bell crank form, moving in a
horizontal line, that is, its axis being vertical, the one end of which extends to the
exterior, for manipulation, and the other end capable of a motion across and in
front of the pushed back hammers, and thus preventing their forward motion, or
this inner end of this lever may engage with a cross slide, which said slide is
thereby made to pass in front of the hammers. Or in the case of guns where the
ejector hammers are held back by means of a sear, a spring, slide, or lever is used
to throw or lock the sear out of gear with the ejector hammers. Above the sear
is a slide, which from the outside can be slid along forward, so that its inner part
may slide on to and overlap or catch the sear, holding the said sear out of action with
the hammers, or instead of this being in the form of a slide it may be in the form of
a lever; or in some cases it may be a fixed spring, but not so strong as the sear
spring, in which case the sear springs proper are moved out of gear by means of
a lever or its equivalent, when the said light spring is at liberty to move the said
sear out of gear with the hammer and the gun is again made non-ejecting; or again
this lever is made to move the sear spring from acting upon the one side of the
fulcrum in order to withdraw it from and release the hammer, to the other side of the
said fulcrum so as to employ it to keep the said sear in its retaining hold of the hammer,
and thus prevent its action.
Dated this 22nd day of November 1889.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Breech-loading Small-arms.
We WILLIAM PHILLIPSON, of 78 Weaman Street, Birmingham, Gun Action Manu-
facturer, and WILLIAM BAKER of 10 Smith Street, Saint Georges Birmingham,
Lock Maker, both in the county of Warwick, 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 or connected with the ejecting mechanism
of drop down small arms, whereby the case of the exploded cartridge is ejected upon
the opening of the gun for recharging; and its object is, to provide an arrangement
whereby when the gun is fired, the ejector hammers are held back until the gun is
opened to a certain extent, when the said hammers are then liberated and free to act and
eject the spent cases; also an arrangement whereby when the gun is opened, the
ejector hammers are moved forwards for a short distance, so as to free the case should
it have been wedged or stuck, after which the springs and hammers are free to act
suddenly in order to eject the case; also that upon the closing of the gun the hammers
are forced back into their position ready for action; also improved means whereby the
ejecting mechanism is made to be ejecting or nonejecting as may be desired, when the
gun is opened.
These our improvements are more generally applied to double barrelled drop down
guns, but nevertheless may be applied to single barrelled guns.
In order to more fully explain this our invention we have appended hereunto
illustrative sheets of drawings upon which are figures and letters of reference.
Fig. 1, is a sectional elevation when the gun is closed, and Fig. 2 is a sectional
elevation when the gun is opened, of the arrangement of mechanism for holding
back the ejector hammers until the gun has been opened to a given extent &c.
Fig. 3, is a detached detail elevation and plan view of the ejector hammer.

page_text: 1,19 a detached dec
retaining lever.
Clevation and pian
COCATEY
Fig. 5, is an elevation showing arrangement for forcing and holding back the
ejector hammer when the gun is closed.
Fig. 6, shows these parts when the gun is opened, and the hammer released and
done its work..
Fig. 7, shows the gun partly opened when the commencement of forcing forward
the said hammers takes place.
Fig. 8, shows the retainer in a modified form of rocking lever, the gun being
closed.
Figs. 8 and 9, show the arrangement of the parts of Fig. 8, when the gun is
opened.
Fig. 10, shows the relative position of the hammer, and the modified form of
retaining lever when the gun is being closed, the said lever just being pushed back
into its position ready for action.
Figs. 8, 9, and 11 to 25 inclusive, illustrate the manner in which the ejecting
mechanism is made to be ejecting or non-ejecting.
Figs. 20, 21, 22, and 23, also illustrate the method of ensuring of the locking
back of the ejector haminer upon the removal of the fore end from the barrels.
Similar reference letters refer throughout the several views to the same thing
or part.
Upon or near the drop down joint, the cocking lever a, is hinged, having upon its
one side (and embedded therein) a retaining lever b, the front end c, of which extends
forward through the joint into the fore end iron, in such a manner, that when the
gun is fired, it passes under a part d, of the ejector hammer e, thereby retaining the
latter in its hold back position, as seen in Fig. 1. Upon the roar part of this slide is
further formed a projection f, which, when the gun has been opened a certain
distance, see Fig. 2. comes in contact with a fixed stop g, upon the body, its further
motion being thereby arrested. By reason however of the further opening of the gun
after this arrest, the front end c, of the lever b, is withdrawn from under the hammer
at d, leaving the latter thus far, free to act, and by reason of its spring h, suddenly
acting thereon, ejects the cartridge case.
Upon closing the gun this lever b, is pushed back into its normal position, ready
for the next action. If desired this retaining lever b, may be carried upon the joint
(fulerum) by the side of, but independent of the said cocking bar, the arrangement
shown however being preferred.
Or, instead of the lever b, a segmental piece 61, is carried upon the said joint, having
at its upper part a projection c', to come in contact with the arresting stop piece g³,
as before. In Fig. 8, the gun is closed, but immediately upon opening it, as seen
in Fig. 84, the fore part d', of the hammer e¹, falls upon the circular surface i, and as
the gun is further opened, the lever b', is carried forward, until its projection f',
comes in contact with the stop piece g¹; when the part d, is pulled sharply over the
projection c¹; then the hammer is free to eject the case, by reason of the spring h.
Upon closing the gun (see Fig. 10) the fore part of the hammer e' comes underneath
the point c', of the lever b', and lifts it into its position against the main spring),
so that when the gun is fired the said spring j, may push it forward as seen in
Fig. 8.
Again. Upon the face of the joint (in the body part) a recess k, or its
equivalent is formed, see Figs. 5, 6, & 7, into which the one end of a lever 1,
which is carried upon the fore end engages, the other end of which engages with the
hammers e.
The purpose and action of this lever 1, is as follows:-Upon the closing of the gun
(see Fig. 5) this lever 1, forces back the hammer e, and spring h, into their position
for action, by reason of the front end of the lever lifting underneath the point m, of.
the haminer, but should the cartridge cases have been wedged or stuck in tightly
when the gun is being opened, this lever l, in its return motion comes in contact with
the lower part n, of the hammers, and gives a compulsory motion thereto for a short

page_text: distance as seen in Fig. 7. This compulsory motion compels the hammers to he
started in their ejected movement; but having reached this given distance, the
hammers &c. are then free to be thrown forward with the necessary sudden force for
the ejectment of the said cases, as seen in Fig. 6.
This intermediate lever l, also serves to hold the ejector hammers back when the
fore end is removed, by reason of its end engaging into a bent or its equivalent, (as
seen in Fig. 5), upon the hammers, and bearing against it above the centre of the
same.
The conversion of the action from that of an ejecting into a non-ejecting may be
effected by means varying in detail after the following manner :-
'
In Figs. 8, and 9, we provide a lever o, which is operated from the exterior of the
gun, and is further controlled by a friction spring p, so that it will remain in any
position. When it is required that the gun shall be non-ejecting, the fore part of the
lever is pressed, and by so doing, the point of the said lever falls behind the bent
as seen in Fig. 8, and locks it in that position. Upon opening the gun under these
conditions, the point d', would be pulled over the now stationary point c', and would
then press forward the extractor legs gradually as the gun was opened, extracting
but not ejecting the case. Upon pressing in the rear part of the lever o, as seen in
Fig. 9, its point is kept clear of the retaining lever, which latter is free to act as
before described for the ejecting action.
In Figs. 11, & 12, we provide that this may be effected in some cases by means
of a half (or a quarter turn pin o¹) the action of which will be readily under-
stood; Fig. 11, showing it turned so as to be free of the lever 1, while Fig. 12,
shows it locked.
In Figs. 13 and 14, a slide o², is used; Fig. 14, showing the slide withdrawn clear
of the lever ; while in Fig. 13, the said slide is pushed forward, thereby locking
the said lever b¹.
Or, in some cases, see plan view Figs. 24, and 25, we prefer to provide upon the
upper part of the fore end iron, a lever r, somewhat of a bell crank form,
moving in a horizontal line, that is, its axis being vertical, the one end of which
extends to the exterior, and terminates with a push piece s, for manipulation, and the
other end capable of a motion across and in front of the pushed back hammers e,
and el, and thus preventing their forward motion, or turned clear of them as seen in
Fig. 25, or this inner end of this lever may engage with a cross slide, which said
slide is thereby made to pass in front of the hammers.
Again. In the case of guns where the ejector hammers are held back by means of
a sear; a slide or lever or their equivalent may be used, to throw or lock the sear
out of gear with the ejector hammers.
In Figs. 15, 16, 17, and 17ª, above the sear is a slide t, which from the outside
can be slid along forward, so that its inner part may slide on to and overlap or catch
the sear, holding the said sear out of action with the hammers.
In this slide is a gap u, which in Figs. 15 and 17, is shown fair with the sear v,
thus permitting its free action for ejecting purposes, whilst in Fig. 16, and 17ª, the
gap is brought to the one side of the sear, the body of the said slide passing on to
the sear, and preventing its taking into the bent upon the hammers, and thus preventing
the sudden ejecting of the case.
If preferred, as seen in Figs. 18, and 19, this bar t, may be made capable of sliding
(longitudinally with the gun) on to and off the aforesaid sear; Fig. 18, showing it
free to act, while Fig. 19 shows it locked.
Or instead of the slide t, this sear v, may be held back or locked, by means of
a lever as seen in Figs. 20, 21, 22, and 23. In Figs. 20 and 21, this lever w,
is shown working in a horizontal direction, its point or front end being brought
over the sear as shown, and pushed back clear of the sear, as shown in dotted
'lines, while in Figs. 22 and 23, this lever w', is made to take into a bent x,
formed upon the sear, in both cases this lever w, and w¹, being readily manipu
lated from the exterior of the gun.
In the case of the lever shown in Figs. 20 to 23 inclusive, in order to ensure

page_text: the hammers being locked back when the fore end is removed, we provide that
the snap bolt y, be extended forward so that its front end shall come in contact
with the said levers, so that should the hammers be not locked back; upon the
pressing forward of the snap bolt to release the fore end, the said extended leg z,
shall automatically remove the said lever from the sear, which said sear shall
then be free to engage with and retain the hammers in their said locked back
position.
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 :-
1st. The combination with the ejecting hammer e, of the retaining lever b, which
latter when the gun is fired, is made to pass forward beneath the hammer and
retain it, but when the gun is opened, is withdrawn therefrom, constructed and
operating substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings in Figs. 1, 2, 3,
and 4.
2nd. The modified combination of the ejector hammer e', with the retaining lever b¹,
constructed and operating substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings
in Figs. 8 to 14 inclusive.
3rd. The combination with the ejector hammers of drop down guns or small
arms, of the lever 1, by which the hammer is either locked back or forced forwards
(when stuck) or pushed back (when the gun is closed ready for action) constructed
and operating substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings in
Figs. 5, 6, and 7.
4th. The combination with the body joint of the lever 1, the said lever taking into
and operated by the recess in the said body, substantially as described and shown,
and for the purposes specified.
5th. The combination with the retaining lever 6', of the method of locking back
at will the said lever by means of the lever o, substantially as described and shown
in Figs. 8, and 9.
6th. The modified combination with the lever b¹, of the locking back devices o³,
substantially as shown and described in Figs. 11, and 12.
7th. The modified combination with the lever 6', of the locking back devices o³,
substantially as shown and described in Figs. 13 and 14.
8th. The modified method of locking back the sear by means of the slide t,
substantially as described and shown upon the drawings in Figs. 15, 16, 17, and 174,
and in Figs. 18 and 19.
9th. The combination with the sear v, of the lever w, constructed and operating
substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings in Figs. 20, and 21.
10th. The modified combination with the sear v, of the lever w¹, constructed
and operating substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings in Figs. 22
and 23.
11th. The combination with the hammers of the bell crank lever r, constructed
and operating substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings in Figs. 24
& 25.
12th. The combination with the push back snap bolt y, of the extension leg z,
or its equivalent, by which the device for holding back the ejector hammers shall
always be ensured to fall into action upon the commencement of the removal of
the fore end.
13th. The general combination and arrangement of any or either of the improve-
ments hereinbefore specified and claimed, and illustrated upon the drawings.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
12, Cherry Street, Birmingham, Applicants' Agent.