US240147A - Breech-loading fire-arm - Google Patents

Description

, 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(Ho Model.)

D. KIRKWOOD.. Breech Loading Fire -Arm.,

No. 240,147. Patented April 12,1881.

WITNESSES (NoModeL) i r 3 Sheets-Shet 2. V D. KIRKWOOD. v Breech Loading' Fir e Arm.

No. 240,147. I Patented A ri 12,1881.

DANGER. wusnn I (No Model.) I

D. K1'RKWO0D. Breech Loading Fir-e Arm.

N0. 240,147. Patented April 12, l 8 8l.

WnTNESEl-ZE wzww 3 sheets-sheet a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

- .DAVlD KIRKVVOOD, OF BOSTON, MASSAOHUSETTb.

BREECH-LQADING Fins-AR SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,147, dated April 12, 1881.

Application filed December 2, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, DAVID KIRKWOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Breech-Loading Fire-Arms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specific'ation, in which.

Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of a breechloading shot-gun having my im jmovem'ents applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the same, illustrating the interior construction. Fig. 3 is a plan of the under side of a portion of the mechanism hereinafter described. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of that portion of the gun to which my improvements are applied. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are details, to he hereinalter referred to. Fig. 11 is a section on the line mo of Fig. 7. Fig. 12isa view of the cartridge-shell ejector and its operative mechanism, representing the stop or device which is applied thereto to render its spring inoperative or modify its action, when desired. Fig. 13 isa view of the stopand its operatinglever detached. Fig-1; is a detail represent-.

" ing,in elevatiomthe method by which the trigger-lockin g bar or lever is operated by the barrel-locking lever. Fig. 15 is a transverse section on the line y y of Fig. 2. Figs. 16, 17, and 18, are details.

The first part of my invention relates to an improvement on the self-cocking breech-loading gun for which Letters Patent No. 233,773 were grantcd to me October 26, 1880, in which an automatic trigger-locking device operated by the barrel-locking lever is employed to prevent the accidental discharge of the gun,

an additional lever being used to unlock the trigger when the gun is to he fired. When, however, this gun is in the hands of an experienced person, and it is desired to tire with great rapidity, the necessity of moving this lever to unlock the triggers after each time that the hammers are cooked occasions some little trouble and delay, to avoid which is the object of this part of my invention, which consists in so constructing the trigger-locking device that it can,'by an extra movement of a lever, push-knob, or button connected thereinto action by again moving the hand-leveror push-knob hack to its original position, and the gun can thus be instantly adapted, by a single movement of the hand-lever or pushknob, for the use either of persons who do not desire to be troubled with a safety-locking device, or. for those who demand such a protection against aecidentin thisclass of fire-arms.

Myinvention a'lso consists in the employment of a lever of peculiar construction for operating the trigger-locking device by hand, in connection with a plate bearing certain words or characters indicatin gdan ger or safety, which are exposed to view at the proper times, and a device forlocking the hand-lever in certain positions, and at the same time, if desired, exposing a word or character to indicate such position or condition of the parts.

My invention also consists in the employ ment, in a self-cocking gun having its harm mers concealed from view, of pins or plungers adapted to be operated by the hammers in a peculiar manner, so as to indicate by their position whether the hammers are cooked or nincocked, thus afi'ordin g a separate indicator of simple construction for each barrel, to show at a glance the position of its hammer, whereby additional security against accident is afi'orded.

My invention also consists in an improvement on the gun for which Letters Patent No. 233,256 were granted to me October 12, 1880, in which the cartrid'geshell injector is first operated positively in a line parallel to the axis of the barrel to start or loosen and partially withdraw the empty shell, and is then suddenly acted upon by a spring, by which an accelerating outward movement is imparted to the ejector to cause it to instantly throw out the shell entirely clear of the barrel; and this portion of my invention consists in the combination, with the cartridge-shell ejector and its actuating-spring, of a stop adapted to limit 7. actuatin g-spring.

or modify the action of the spring upon the ejector, or entirely prevent the'spring from acting thereon under certain circumstances, as will be moreparticularl y described hereinafter.

In the said drawings, A represents the breech-piece ot' a double-barreled shot-gun, to which the barrels B are pivoted at a, to tilt downward at the lllllZZlG-fllld upward at the breech.

represents one of the hammers, and D its The hammer ispivoted at Z) to the breech-piece, its arm 0 hearing at its end a horizontal'pin or spur, d, which projects upon a shoulder, a, formed on the locking-lug f, attached to the under side of the barrels. The hammer bears, near its'striking end, a tumbler-catch, g, which'is adapted to engage withthe scar-nose h on the sear E, when the hammer is cockedby the direct action of the shoulder e of the locking-lug-f on the arm 0, when the barrels are tilted up at the breech to receive-the cartridges.

The trigger and trigger-sprin g may be of the ordinary construction, or, with some kinds of guns, the sear may be in one piece with the trigger.

The constructiomand mode of operation of the hammers being the same as in my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 233,773,;will not be here furtherexplained, as they form no part of my present invention,

The device for lockin g the trigger to prevent the accidental discharge of the gun is sub- -stantlally-the same as that described in my aforesaid Letters .Patent No. 233,773, but is capable of being moved to a greater extent, for apurpose to he hereinafter particularly described. This trigger-locking device consists of a sliding bar, G, one'end of which projects into a recess, 1., in the side of the stud 7:, which is operated by the top lever, l,in retracting the bolt H'from the lockinglugs, as seen in Fig. 14.. This recess is of such a shape that upon the partial revolution of the stud 7r the shoulderm, which forms one side thereof, acts to move the bar horizoi'itally, thereby causing 'it to move the locking bar or lever Isufficiently to shut upon and lock the triggers a. n In lieu of the recess inthe stud-7c, the stud Quay have an arm or pin projecting therefrom,

as. shown in Figs. 2 and I), for effecting the vunovement ot the sliding bar G, which is provided with a slot,p, and a, screw-stud, q, which passes through the slot 1) in the sliding bar,

fastens it to the-strap portion'of the breechpiecc, and allows the bar to slide a. limited extent.

There is aloose connection between the locking-lever I and sliding bar G, the lockinglever I being attached to'a' horizontal shaft or pivot, r, which bears at its outer end the side lever, K. Upon moving the top lever, l, to withdraw the loekingbolt II, the bar G is moved through the connections described su" ilciently to throw the lower end of the locking bar or lever I into a position directly over a projection, s, on'each trigger a, which is thus automatically locked, as desired each time mechanism employed for locking the barrels to the stock, which has to be moved by'hand/ in unlocking the barrels,-so that the barrels may be unlocked from the breech-piece, and the locking bar or lever I operated by one movement of a lever, push-knob, or button.

The side lever, K, is made V-shaped, or with two arms or bifurcators, t'a, as seen in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9, and the side'plate, L, contiguous thereto, bears upon its face the words Danger, Constant, and Locked, which areso arranged with respect to the arms t u of the lever K that when the trigger is locked the word Locked will be exposed to view, a and the words Danger and Constant, concealed, as seen in Fig. 6; and when unlocked the word Danger exposed, and the words Locked and Constant concealed, as seen in Figs; 4 and '5, thus indicating at once the position of the parts and aifording an additional safeguard. I do not, however, confine myself to the employment of a lever, K, of the exact form shown, as it might be made with a single arm only, instead of with two arms, but in such case it'would not possess equal advantages in disclosing and concealing the words 011 the plate L, indicating the condition of the gun.

'With experienced a'nd careful persons, who desire to tire the gun with great rapidity, the automatic locking-of the trigger and the necessity of moving the lever K by hand to unlock the triggers after each time that the hammers are cocked, which occasions some little trouble and delay, might be found undesirable, and I have therefore so constructed and arranged the trigger-locking mechanism as to admit of its being moved to such a position as to be uninlluenced by the movement of the barrel-locking lever, and rendered inoperative until such time as it may be again required for use, thus practically eliminating it from the gun for the time being. This is accomplished by increasing the scope of the movement of the lever K and locking bar or lever I, so that by moving the lever K into the position seen in Fig. 7 the lower end of the lever I will be carried. over beyond the projection s of the trigger a on the side opposite to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, thus unlocking the triggers, and at the same time moving the sliding bar into such a position that it will be out of thereach of, and will not be moved or acted upon by, the mechanism connected with the" IIO top lever, l, when the latter ismovcd to unlock I security against accident when the gun is put the barrels to allow them to be thrown up at the breech, and thus when the lower end of the lever I is on one side of the projection s the trigger is unlocked, but is again automatically locked on the succeeding movement of the top lever, l; but when the lower end of the lever l is on the opposite side of the projection s, as in Fig. 7, the trigger will remain permanently unlocked, or until the lever K is again moved by the hand back to its original position, and by this simple extra movement of the lever K the gun can be thus instantly adapted for the use of persons who do not desire, for the time being, to be delayed by the necessity of using the safety trigger-locking device,which, however, can beinstantly thrown into action and rendered operative, as before, by moving the lever K back again to its former position. When the trigger-locking device is thrown out of action or rendered inoperative. the lower arm, a, of the lever K is caused to cover the word Locked, and the two words Danger, Constant are both exposed to view within the. space between the bifurcations ta, as seen in Fig. 7, thereby indicating the exact condition of the gun.

To the arm t of the lever K is secured a sliding bar, a, which is provided on its inner side with a projection or catch, b, which is adapted to slide within a curved slot or groove, 0, in the plate L as the lever is moved up or down by the hand, and this groove 0 is provided wit-h two lateral notches, d e, lnto which the catch 0 can be moved by operating the slide a, so as to lock the lever K securely in the position which it occupies when the"'trigger-locking device is thrown out of action, as in Fig. 7, or when it is down, with the trigger locked, as seen in Fig. (i, the latter affording additional away loaded. The slot c is preferably made,

as shown in Figs. 8 and 10, with two concentric portions, 20 21, at different distances from a common center,formiug a shonldcr,22, which serves as a stop against which the catch 1) strikes when the leverK is first thrown up, rendering it necessary to move the slide a slightly before the lever can be moved up to throw the trigger-locking device out of action, so that' such movement can only he made by design,

and not accidentally. The slide a is provided with a series of notches, j", which are so arranged as to expose the word Fast when the lever K is locked inthc position which it occupies when the trigger is locked, thus indicating that the trigger is double or fast locked and that the slide a must be first moved to enable the trigger to be released.

Instead of the lever K being applied to the side of the stock, as shown, it is evident that it may be placed on the top of the stock and suitably connected with the trigger-looking lever I or the sliding bar G; and in lieu of a lever, K, a push knob or button, suitably connected with the lever I or sliding bar Gr, may be employed, if preferred, to operate the trigwords or characters indicating the condition of the gun could be disclosed through a slot or aperture by means of simple mechanism connected with the moving parts.

The breech-piece A is provided on each side with a sliding pin or plunger, M, (one for each barrel,) to indicate by its position whether its hammer is cocked or uncooked. This pin M slides through a nipple, g, which is screwed in to the breech and holds the pin in place. At the front end of the pin is an enlargement, h, between which and the inner end, of the nipple is placed a spiral spring, i.

The striking end of the hammer G is provided with a projection, 10, which, when the hammer is being cocked, strikes against the forward end of the pin M and forces it outward positively against the resistance of the spring '5', causing its rear end to projectout some lit.- tle distance from the nipple, and thus indicate by its position that the hammer is cooked. When, however, the hammer is released and is thrown forward to discharge the gun the indicator-pin M is forced inward by its spring 2', following the hammer as far as the limit of its movement will allow, which causes the outer end of the pin to be withdrawn sutficiently to show by its change of position that the hammer is uncooked.

Instead of a spiral spring, t, a flat sprint, may beemployed to force the indicator-pin inward on the release of the hammer, as seen in Fig. 17, which represents a modification. of this part of my invention. In this latter construction the upper end of the flat spring is connected with the indicatoepin, the hammer on being cocked striking against the spring to push thepin outward,instead of being brought into conthct with the pin itself, as the case where a spiral spring is employed, as in Figs.

'2 and 16.

If desired. the spring may be dispensed with and the pin M forced inward by the direct action of a projection, 25, upon the hammer. adapted for the purpose, as seen in Fig. 18, in which case the indicator-pin will be moved both inward and outward positively by the direct action of the hammer itself. I prefer, however, to employ a spring for throwing the indicator-pin forward on therelease of the hammer, for the reason that where no spring is employed the momentum of the hammer is liable to be diminished by its contact with the pin M, and the overcoming of the inertia thereof in the act of forcing it inward.

By providing the hammer, however, with the two projections 7c 25, (shown in Figs. 4 and 16,) in connection withaspring applied to the pin M, the possibility of the pin M not being carried inward on the descent of the hammer is avoided, for the reason that itthe pin should accidentally stick in its bearings, from rust or other cause, so that the spring would fail to force it inward, the rear projection, 25, of the hammer would strike it and insure its movement, thus preventing the sportsman from be ger-locking device, in which case suitable l ing deceived by the position of the pin, if it $M or less force, as may be desired.

were left projecting after the descent of the hammer. A separatesafety device of simple construction for each hammer is thus ali'orded-.

ed, which will indicate at a glance whether it v is cocked or uncooked. 1

.0 as possible, the entranceot' water while the gun is'being carried by' the sportsman.

N is the. cartrnlge-shell ejector, the faceplate m,of which iits,as .nsual, into a recess at the rear ends of the barrels, and is provided [5 with a rod or shank, n, adapted to slide lon-' gitudinally iuan opening between the barrels, made to receive it. p is a pin which projects up from the breech-piece A, near the joint-pin a, in such a position that as the rear ends of the barrels are thrown up the end 24 ot the shank or rod n ot'the ejector is brought, as usual, into contact therewith, and is thus, by the'iirst part of the movement of the barrels, forced outward with a positive motion, which 25 serves to start or loosen and partially withdraw the emptyshell, and as the shank or rod. it continues to move outward an inclined shoulder or projection, 26, on its'side, is brought into a position who acted upon by the end 27 0 ot' a short lever, q, againstwhich rests one end of a powerful spring, 1", the force of which is thus brought to bear upon the ejector, by

whichuneans a sudden outward movement or impulse is given thereto, which causes it-to in- 5 stantly eject or throw out the shell entirely clearot' the barrel as soon as the rear end of the latter is sut'liciently elcvatedto allow the shell to clear the .face of the breech-piece. When the ejector is forced back to its normal 40 position the end 27 of theleverq rests against the under side of the rod a, which produces the maximum tension on the spring 1'. I

The above-described mechanisli for operating the. ejector is, however, substantially the 5 same as that described in my aforesaid Let ters Patent No. 233,256, and forms no part of my present invention.

As it is not always desirable that the cartridge-shell should be ejected clear of the gun 5 as, for instance, when the sportsman is in a boat, which might cause the loss of the shells- I overcome this ditliculty by employing a stop which acts upon th'eejector, and may be thrown in and out of action by a lever operated from 5 the outside of the gun, or otherwise, this stop serving to modify or entirely prevent the sudden outward, impulse given by the spring which operates the ejector so that the latter may have a. positive movement only, as in or- Go dinary. breech loading guns, or receive a greater or less powerful impulse from the spring to throw out the cartridge-shell with One ethod of accomplishing this is shown in Figs.

. 5 2, 12, and 13, in which a stud or short shaft,

R, is applied to the fore part, P, of the stock, and provided outside thereof with a short 1c- Vcr, s, which can be easily moved by thehand. The stud R is provided on its. inner face or up per end with a hook or projection, t, which, as the stud is partially revolved by the lever 8, projects or elvtends o er tin spring r in such a manner to serve as a stop and prevent it from acting upon the lever g and imparting a sudden impulse to the ejector. By turning this levers more or less the projec tion I. can be made to limit the throw of the spring 1' to a greater or less extent, so as to cause the shells to be expelled with more or less force. I l

Instead of the stop being made to operate upon the spring r,-which actuates the ejector, it may be so arranged as to act upon the stem or rod a oflhe ejector, and thus limit the outward motion or throw thereof; or the stop may be so constructed as to limit the downward movement of the barrels, so that the ejector will not be moved outward suflicientlyiar, or to that point where the spring is allowed to impart an outward impulse thereto. Ido not therefin-e limit myself to the particular construction of the stop or the manner in which it is applied, as these maybe varied in any suitable manner without departing from the spiritof my invention, so long as the stop limits or modifies the action of the spring upon theejector, or entirely prevents the spring from having any intluence o action thereon.

What I' claim as my inventiomand desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a self-cocking gun, a movable triggerlocking dog arranged to pass aml repass the contact-point-on the trigger, so as to be operated by the locking mechanism of the gun in one position, and to be beyond the control of such mechanism in another position, and an 'ope'ating thumb-piece, all in combination, for I the purpose set forth.

2. In a .brealedown self-cocking gun, an automatic trigger-locking dog, I, an indicatingplate, L, provided with a zigzag slot, a cover- 'ing-plate, K, provided with an aperture, f,

and rigidly connected to the locking-dog, and a slide a, having hearings in plate K, and provided with a stud, b, engaging in zigzag'slot, all combined, aranged, and operating as set forth.

3. ln a self-cocking gun, the imlicatorplatc L, in combination with a covcringplate, K,to operate the locking-dog, and provided with an aperture or slot,f, substantial ly; sand for the purpose set forth.

4. The accelerating extractor 1%, in combination with a controlling-stop and an operating tllllllll)-]ll000, for the purpose specified.

5. ln a ln'eech-loading self-cocltiuggun, the lever K, in combination with the slide (13pmvided with the catch 1), and theplate ll, provided with the slot or groovedfllmving the lateral notches d c, all constructed to opera substantially as and for the purpose herein do scribed.

6. In a break-down self-cocking gun, il:c

operated by the barrel-locking lever l, or equivl videtl with a lever, s, and at its innerend with a alent device, and the lever K, of a plate, L, hook on pr0jection, t, adapted to engage with bearing words or characters indicating Dan.- the spring 1*, substantially in the manner and get and Safety, so placed as to be exposed for the purpose set forth.

5 to yiew,'or concealed by the lever in such a Witness my hand this 19th day of Novem- 15 manner as to always indicate the exact condi her, A. D. 1880..-

tion of the gun, substantially as'described. DAVID KI'RKWOOD. t. 7 In a breech-loading. gun, the combination, In presence'bf- F t/ith the cartridge-shell ejector N and its act- P. E. TESGHEMACHER, 1o ating-spring a", of the stop 01' stud R, pro- W. J. CAMBRIDGE.

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