US11536A

US11536A - sweet

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Publication number: US11536A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1854-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 1871-08-15

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' of this specification.

WILLI-AMA; Swann-,or roMrnr, New venir.A

i RB @nunmehr in" ri sees-5 Specification forming part of Letters Ptent Noapq. dated August 15, 1854.

' Pompey, in the county off-Onondaga and State -of New York, have invented a'newand'Improved BreechK-Loading Fire-Armyand' I do hereby declare that the fllowing is a full and exact description thereof,- reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part Figure l is alongitudinal vertical-section through the center of that portionofthe gun which is necessary-to show my improvementsas it appears after being' dischargedand before reloading; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the positions of the parts after the completion of the first motion' in opening the `breech, for reloading; Fig. 3, a 'sideI elevation thereof, ex-

hibiting the relative 'pesi-tions ofthehammer: and nipple at another stage in: the opening of.

thebrecch; Fig. 4, a section similar toA the above, showing the positions of all the parts when the breech is completely opened, ready to receivethe cartridge; Fig. 5, a central horizontal section of the cap-holder, in connection .with a view of the nipple just as' it reaches said cap-holder; and Fig. 6, asimilar section of .the cap-holder and view of the nipple at the moment when it begins to enter' the cap. Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

The rst feature of my invention consists in .producingr the compound longitudinaland vi-A bratory movement of thebreech, and afterwar-d immovably securing it in contact with the barrel by a single forward and return mo-.- tion of theactuatingslever G--viz.,'bymeansof the cam-piece H, provided with a shoulder,

c, a clam-surface, and'a-wedge-surface, f,-

against which said-lever, acting successively, 'substantially Ahereinafter described, p rod uces,"respectively, the'baclr'ward longitudi# nal and vibratory motions of thebree'ch,'then the forward longitudinal motion thereof, and nnally presses it 4against thebarrel with im'- mense force.

, Another feature of my invention consists in 'cooking the 'gun by the action o'f the actuatinglever in` operating the breech, while atthe same time the hammer is free to be raised in the ordinary way, without moving said lever, by means of the link i, one end of which iS hinged to the lever and the other end provided with aslot, la, thatreceives a pin, j, on the hammer-dog h, operatingsubstantially ashere- Ainafter specified. l i

- The 'next featureof my invention consists in ,such an arrangement of a broad cavity in the :faceof the hammer witha sharp edge,` o, on its rear side,. in combination with the compound movement of thebreech and the motion of the hammer-in a larger circle as to remove 4the exploded cap from the nipple p, substantially in the manner hereinafter set forth.

The last feature of my-invention consists in the combination of the mouth-pieces, attached to the extremity ofthe feeding-tube I, and provided with a notched-tongue, c, projecting forward from one side, and of the short tube T, which is held in front of said mouthpiece by 1k-Spring, u, andhasa wedge-shaped. rejection, z, extending forward. from the si e `opposite tothe tongue v ,when the whole is situated and 4arranged inv such a manner as to receive -the nipple and supply it with a fresh-cap when- L ever the breech is completely opened, sub Y stantially as hereinafter specified.` rlhe barrel A. is firmly secured in the lock-frame D. The charge is inserted by meansof the partial remcval or opening of the breech portion B, which is provided with a slot, a, in its rear end, through which passes ahorizontal pivot, N, that forms the axis of its vibratory motion and guide and limit of its longitudinal mo- '.tion. The length of said slot is just sufficient toallow the requiredextent of the longitudinal motion of the breech.- 'The front end of said breech may be convex, (as represented y in the drawings,) and made to fit accurately into a corresponding concavity in the rear end of the barrel, or may have any other convenient form to itinto a corresponding reverse form. in said barrel, for retaining it there with 'the' properfsecurity andin the proper position. The pivot N, which has its ends strongly secured in the lockfframe D, also serves as the Said lever, when the `breech is closed, extends backward beneath the stock of thegun far l enough to give it the 'requisite leverage, and is retained there by a catch, F, into which a detent, e,.springs, as represented in Fig., 1, where said detent is4 shown arrangedin such a manner that when the' thumb is inserted over the lever in order to move it forward,

pivot or fulcrum of the actuating-lever 43.

` per and rear portion,

the pressure thereof will irstrelease thelev-er l from the catch, thereby obviatingan additional motion of the hand for that purpose.

The lever is so shaped that when retained .beneath the stock it forms the guard to the trig-,

ger n, as in Fig. l. The short arm of the lever tudinal and upward vibratory motions of the breech, as represented in Figs.'2 and 4, a canisurface, d, against which the lever acts to produce the forward longitudinal motion of the breech tothe barrel, and tinally a wedgesurface, f, almost concentric with the curved lever extremity b, which consequently presses against the breech withv immense force, and renders its -contact with the barrel perfectly close and inseparable by any force of recoil in discharging the gun, if constructed with the proper degree ofl strength.

In order to assist in guiding the breech B in its motions, I form a slot or groove, Y, in one side thereof, into which a pin, w, enters from the lock-frame D, and whose lower portion is suitably curved to admit the,v vibratory motions of the breech, andstraight at the upper end to allow the longitudinal motions ofthe breech, in the mannerl represented in Fig. 3. The downward vibratory motion of the breech is produced by its own weight. I The operation of loading the gun is thus exempl-ilied: Suppose Fig. 1 to represent the discharged gun previousto loading. The operator places his thumb over the detent e of the lever C and presses downward and forward.

The first effect is to release the lever from the catch I?. Then during therst part of the-lefA vers motion its extremity bis relieved .in turn from the wedge and cam surfaces fand cl without moving the-breech. It then strikes the shoulder c, and first draws the breech back horizontallyasfar as the groove y, Fig. 3, will ermit into the position exhibited in Fig. 2.

heremainder of the motion of the lever, act'- ving against4 said shoulder,- causes. an upward.. vibratory motion of the breech' till it reaches' the position shown in Fig. 4. The cartridge or charge is then inserted and the lever C drawn back till again caught byv the catch I", producing the reverseof the motions j ust enumerated, viz: It first allows the breech to fall back to the positionI shown -in Fig. 2, thenl acting upon the cam-surface d, pushes the breech forward against the barrel, and, lfinally, encountering'the wedge-surfacef, presses the breech against-the barrel with-,such force that no recoilrof the discharge can in the least start them asunder, so that there is neither any danger -cally as secure asa solid barrel.

-the nipple isjust withdrawn from 9 'imac 'of blowing away the b-1eecli ,}'nor when accru `rately fitted, can any arising from the explosion of the powder enter the joint between y the breech and barrel to corrode it. Thus the greatest desirable strength is obtained, in-

fact rendering the breech-loading gun practilhe only motions required of the operator in thus loading the gun are, first, to push the lever C forward; second, to insertvthe cartridge; third, to bring thelever back again toits place. There remains only to cock the gun', remove the exploddv capfrom andl put a fresh cap on the nipple, and these I perform wit-hout any motions additional tothe above-mentioned three by means of the following devices: The hammer G is raised by means of a link, fi, one

end of which isy hinged to the lever C by the.

pin l, situated at asutiicient distance below the pivot N to .obtain the proper extent of motion,

and the other end ishinged upon a pin, j, projecting from the d og h, which is permanently secured to the pivot'g of, and vibrates with, the hammer. It will thus-be seen that when the lever C is pushed forward to raise the breech B the hammer G will likewise be raised. It is detained by the ordinary click, 1n., and tripped by the trigger a, lin the usual manner.

It may often be desirable to cock the gun without opening the breech. To enable this to be done I make a longitudinal slot, l', of suitable length in the link i?, as shown in the drawings, in which the pin j may slide, and thereby allow thehammer to rise and fall, while the lever C remains stationary.- The exploded cap is removed from the nipple-p by the hainmer G. In theface of the hammerv is a hollow or recess considerably largerin diameter than the` top of the nipple, which enters it when the hammer falls, as shown by dotted lines in Fig` 1. By reference to the same ligure it will be seen that the slotted link t' is arranged so as-to allowthe lever Cto move some distance forward before acting upon the pin j. 'This arrangement is made iirordcr that the hammer G may not begin to be raised 'till the backward longitudinal motion of the breech is nearly completed., and has thereby drawn the nipple backward sufficiently to bring the exploded4 cap remaining thereon into contact with the rear edge, u, of the cav ityin .the face of said hammer. At this moment the linkt begins to raise the hammer, .causing thesha'r-piedge o to l graze upward in contact with the cap, and thereby to start it from the nipple. This motion continues till the cavity, as shown in Fig.l 2. The breech then begins' to be raised while the hammer continues its upward motion; but the pivots of the breech and hammer are so situated that the nipple moves in 'a direction nearly opposite to that of the face of the hammer in this situation. The result is that said. face of t-hc hammer `passes transversely over the top4 of thenipple, 'as indicated in Fig. 3, and thus sweeps the cap completely o. This device is sure in its effect when the hammer is raised quickly, as will naturally bel the'case in loading. A fresh cap is placed upon the nipple t means of a stationary cap-holder, com used, essen-v tially, of a mouth-piece, S, atar-ined to the extremity of a feeding-tube, I', and provided with anotched tongue, o, prqgeetingforward from one side,.and of a short tube, T, which is held infront o the ir-.uth-piece Sfbyv a spring, vn, .and has 'a 'wedge shapedprojection,

e, extendingforward from the side opposite to 'the' tongue v of said month-piece. The

length and diameter'of the tube T 'are just sufficient to contain a single c'ap, and the length of the notch-in the tongue lv is just enough tov admit lsaid tube, which, when held therein by the spring u, 'exactly corresponds with and constitutes a. continuation of the mouth-piece S.V In this situation the projection beyond to the end ofk said nipple, asv represented in Fig. 6. The last upward motion of the breech finally presses the-nipple fullyintc' 'th'eicap,

whichv is 'prevented from receding bythe edge of the mouth-piece S having been brought in ,frontthereof bv he transverse 'motion'ofithe tube T, asvshur. .1 alsoin Fig.. 6. When the nipple'agfiia :ecedes with its cap, the tn be T 'springs back in front'of the mouth-piece S,

ready to receive another cap, a, fron1 the feed- -ing-tube.

In .orderto constantly supply caps to the cap-holder a quantity of them is placed at' once in a suitable magazine, M. From the bottom of this magazine, which will contain only one cap ata time, the feeding-tube I procceds, as represented in Figs. l and 4. A piston, q, is caused to work backward and for.-v

ward in the bottom 'of the magazine a distance equal to the length of a cap by means of a rod,

r, connecting it with a pivot, s, in thelever C.

This rod is represented in the drawings as broken awayexcept at the ends, in' order not to obstruct the view/of the other parts of theV lock. y I

- The operation of the piston is obvious.

When the breech is raised, as infFig. 4, it is caused to recede till it allows a cap to lill its place in front from the magazine above, and

when the breech againdescends to thebarr'el. it is caused to advance till said cap is moved forward its own length, pushing befo: e it, also,- throughv the samespace all the caps contained vinthe feeding-tube I, as indicated .in Fig. 1Q

-By this movement it is evident that an addtonal c'ap will be fed to the cap-holder every time the gun is loaded.

The caps, after being pushed `forward into the tubeI, are prevented from sliding back after the piston. by a slight spring, t, pressing upon Athe rearA one, or Yby any other suitable means# g 'lsVhat l' claim as my invgntiomand desire to. secure by 'Letters Patent, is'- a 1. Producing Vthe compound longitudinal and 'vibratory movement vof, `the breech, andY .afterward immovably securing"it in contactwith the-barrel by a single-forward and return lmotion of theactuatingylcver C, viz by means of the cani-piece H, provided with a shoulder,

-c, a cam-surface, d, and a wedge-surface, j,

against 'which'.saidj lever, .acting successively, substantially as hereadescribed, produces` respectively, the backward longitudinal and vibratory motions rofthe breech, then the forward' longitudinal motion thereof, and finally presses it against -the barrel with immenseI force.- 'A g 2. .The-linkt', one end of which is hinged to 'the lever C, and the other end provided with aslot, k, that receives a pin, j, on the hammerd'og h, when arranged and operating substantially as' herein specified, for the purpose of 'COU/king the Slm. .557.51.10 iiilipnof .the actuating-'lever in operating the breech, while at the same time .the hammer remains free to be raised inthe ordinary way .without moving said`1ever. l j i.

3. The arrangement of a broad cavity in the face of the' hammer,l with a sharp edge, c, on its rea-r side, in combination with the compoundmovement of the breech and the properlyfregulated motion .of the hammer, substantially as` herein described, for the purpose of removing the explodedl cap from the' nipple.

4. Theco'mbination of the mouth-piece S',. attached to the extremity'of the feeding-tube I, and provided .with a notched tongue, o, .pro-

jecting forward froinone side, and of the-short tube T, which is held infront of said mouthpiece by a spring, fw, and has-a wedgeshaped projection, 2, extending-forward fromthe side 'opposite to' the tongue o, -when the whole .be-

ing -situated and arranged in such a manner as to" receive the nipple and supply it with a capwhenever the breech 'is fully'opened, substantially 4asi-herein specied. The above specification of 'my improved breech-loading rearr'n signed and witnessed this 5th day of April,"1854. V.

W. 1A. SWEET.

Witnesses: l g

Z. C. RoBBINs, J. S.-BROWN.