US282941A

US282941A - Breech-loading fire-arm

Info

Publication number: US282941A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1883-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1900-08-07

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. E. WHITMORE.

BREEGH LOADING FIRE ARM. No..282,941. Patented Aug. 7, 1883.

fizz/212202"; I C: V 4% g (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. ApE. WHITMORE.

UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFICE..

BREECH-LOADl NG FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 282,941, dated August 7, 1883.

Application filed May 16, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, ANDREW E. VVHITMORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Internal-Hammer Guns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in shot-guns, and to that class thereof known as break-down internal-hammer guns.

My invention consist in several novel features of construction, as hereinafter set forth.

One feature of my invention consists inimproved devices for cooking the hammer by swinging the barrel, and to permit of connecting the fore end to the latter without causing the hammer to be cooked.

A second feature of my invention consists in improvements in the manner of hanging the mainspring, whereby the latter is entirely supported on the hammer and its pivot, and is prevented from interfering with the free action of the hammer by any frictional contact with the frame or other part of the arm.

A third feature of my invention consists in means adapted to be automatically interposed between the hammer and the end of the cartridge to prevent the hammer from accidentally striking the latter, and for keeping the hammer-chamber clean, and in improved means for guarding the sear against untimely action by the trigger, and for operating the searguard.

A fourth feature of my invention consists in improved means for operating the extractor and for adjusting its motion.

A fifth feature of my invention consists in improved means for causing the barrel to be drawn closely against the recoil-block when the gun is in a position to be fired.

A sixth feature of my invention consists in improved means for adjusting the bearingsurfaces of the rear edge of the fore-end lug and the fore'end, and for securing the fore end up against the barrel.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure I is a side elevation, partly in section, of a gun in a partly-opened position constructed according to my invention. Fig. II is a similar view to Fig. I, but showing the gun closed. Fig. III is aview, partly in section, of that part of the gun at and just forward of the breech of the barrel, showing the extractor mechanism as it appears when the gun is closed. Fig. IV is a similar view to Fig. 3, but showing the position of the ex tractor parts when the gunis open. Figs. V, VI, V II, andVIII illustrate detail parts.

The parts of the arm generally shown in the drawings are those adapted to operate with one of two barrels, those for a second barrel, of course, being, where necessity requires it, duplicates of those shown in connection with one.

The general construction of the frame of the arm, adapting it to have the barrel pivoted to it to be swung thereon in the usual way and be locked thereto, is of the ordinary description.

In the drawings, 1) is the cocking-lever pivoted in the frame of the arm, under the rear part of the barrel, its forward end reaching out under a bearing-block,annovably attached to the fore end, 9, near the rear end of the latter. Ordinarily the said bearing-block e011- sists of afixed stud rigidly attached to the forearm in such a position that when the muzzle of the barrel is depressed sufficiently the lever b is made to vibrate and cock the hammer. When, however, it becomes necessary to de tach and reattach the fore end to the arm, said rigidly-fixed stud, when the fore end is held about in the position shown in Fig. V to place it under the arm,bears so hard on lever b as to swing it and cook the hammer when it is not the wish of the operator to do so. To obviate this inconvenience I loosely attach the bearingbloek a to the fore end in such a way that it will slide up when it encounters the end of lever 11 in the act of putting on the fore end and not swing the latter; but when the fore end is brought up against the under side of the barrel said block will be crowded far enough through the fore end to cause it to properly act on lever b when the barrel is vibrated, as shown in Fig. I. The block a is shown in elevation in Fig. VIII. It has an elongated hole through it, and is secured in the fore end by a pin or screw, which passes through said 1101c, as shown. In this construction the rear end of lever b is not attached to the hannner diit the slide 20 is moved forward,

of the fore end, and its short arm, when the rectly, as is usually done, and the cost of the lever and its hammer-connection is much reduced; but the lever is arranged to bear directly on the mainspring, as shown.

The hammer d is hung upon a pivot-screw, as is usual, and is provided with aspring-step H forward of the latter to hold the end of the lower arm of the mainspring. The upper arm of said spring is held by a stirrup, c, which is G hung on the hammer-pivot. Thus the mainspring is entirely supported upon the hammer and its pivot, and is not suffered to have any bearing upon any other part of the arm, whereby any frictional resistance to its free working may result. Furthermore, this manner of assembling the parts facilitates the labor of putting up the guns.

To provide additional safeguards against premature action of the hammer, besides those often attached to the trigger or sear in guns of this class, and to conduce to keeping smoke and dust from entering the hammer-chamber, Ihangthe hammer-guard e in the latter. This guard is adapted to have its forward endd'rop 1 down and cover the firing-pin hole, so that-theend of the hammer cannot pass therethrough and strike the cartridge, as shown in Fig. I, f and is adapted to be swung to another position, as in Fig. II, when the gun is to be fired. An arm on the guard e hangs down back of the hammer d, so that when the latter is cocked the guard, by the action of the hammer in: striking said arm is thrown down 'to'coverthe firing-pin hole. To accomplish this action the 1 hammer is swung slightly more than is required to let the sear engage in its notch, as in Fig. I. p

A guard-lever, o, is hung back'of the guardarm, whose lower end engages with a sliding: sear-guard, m. The latter is operated by a slide-block, '10, located on the top of the breech, which engages with a lever, 12, the latter in} turn engaging with said guard m. A spring, w, serves to retain slide win a forward or rearward position. The sear-guard is, by moving slide 10 backward, carried over theend-of the sear n, preventing the latter from 'being'operated by the trigger z to release the hammer.

WVhen the gun is to be loaded, slide 20 is moved backward, as in Fig I, thereby sliding guard m over the sear n, and swi'ngingthe upper-arm-of lever 0 back to let the arm 011 the hammer-guard swing, when the hammer, -Joy the action of lever band the swinging of the. barrel, is cooked and throws the guard e'do'wn. The gun having been loaded the barrel is swung up and locked, and previous to firing bringing the parts to the positions shown in Fig. II.

The cartridge-extractingdevices in this arm are operated by the circular lever 8 acting against the end of the extractor stem 4, incombination with the pin 2, set in the end of the frame. The lever 3 is hung near 'the'rear end barrel is tipped, as in Fig. IV, strikes the head of said vpin, causing it to swing on its pivot. The pin 2 constitutes abearing-point for the lever 3 to strike, which is easily made to engage therewith, near its pivot, and increase its rotary motion and draw the shells more nearly out of the gun.

To cause the barrel to be drawn closely against the recoil-block when the gun is to be fired, I provide an adjustable wedge, 5, in the frame, with the end of which a hook, 15, on the barrel engages, and whereby, when the end of the latter is forced down, the barrel will, as much as possible, be drawn rearward, causing the heads of the shells or shell therein to come closely against the recoil-plate. The wedge 5 is adjustable by a screw, 6, and is secured in place by a screw, 7.

To provide means for causing the fore end i always to have a close bearing on the rear edge of the stud 8 on the barrel, (see Fig. '6,) so that any wear may be taken up and the fore end be crowded backward, I insert in the fore end, just back of its stud-opening, the screw 10, which may be adjusted so as to always have a firm bearing on said stud, for the purpose stated.

For fastening the fore end to the stud 8, and to'eenveniently perate said fastening, I prov-ide a bolt, 13, in the fore end to engage in a notch in the stud 8. Said'bolt is capableof a longitudinal motion, and is made to engage with one arm of a species of bell-crank lever, 12, and the opposite arm-of the latter engages with the forked end of a lever, 11, capable of being-operated from the outside of the fore end to draw back said bolt. A spring is-placed under lever 11 to throw-bolt 13 against stud'S.

What I'claim as my invention is 1. The combination, with the fore-end, 9, of the arm and the cocking-lever I), pivoted in the frame thereof underthe mainspring of the "bearing-block a, loosely hung in said fore end over theouter end of said lever, substantially as set forth. r

-2. In combination, the mains'pring'and the hammer d, the cocking-lever b, pivoted in the frame of the arm under the mainspring, one endof which is adapted to bear upon the flat part of said spring forward of the hammer,and the bearing-block a, adapted to swing with'the ba'rreland to bear upon the outer end of said lever, substantially as set forth.

3. In'combination, the internal-hammer, (I, hung within the frame of the arm, having a support thereon one side of its pivot-pin,with which the lower arm of the mainspring engages, the stirrup a, hung upon the hammerpivot and adapted to have the "upper arm of the mainspring engage therewith, and the mainspring, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination, the hammer d, hung within theframe of the arm, the hammer-guard "e, pivoted also within'said frame over the hammer and adapted to have'one end thereof swing between the hammer and the firing-pin hole at the rear of the barrel, and having an arm thereon to engage with the hammer when the latter is cooked, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with the hammer-guard 6, having an arm extending behind the hammer, of the lever 0, pivoted in the frame of the arm and adapted to have one arm thereof strike said arm on the guard e, the sear-guard m, adapted to engage with the second arm of lever 0, the lever 1 and the slide 10, substantially as set forth.

6. In combination, the extractor-stem 4, loeated under the barrel and adapted to have a movement in a line therewith, the circular lever 3, pivoted in the. fore end, 9, and the pin 2, fixed in the frame in the rear of thelower arm of said lever, substantially as set forth.

7. In combination with the swinging barrel of a breech-loading gun having the hook 15 on its rear end, the wedge 5, located in the frame of the arm in the rear of the barrel, adapted to have said hook engage therewith, and adjustable in a line across the bore of the barrel, substantially as set forth.

8. The eombination,with the stud 8,secu'red beneath the barrel, and the fore end perforated to let said stud enter it, of the bearing-screw 10, located at one end of said perforation and adapted to have a bearing against the rear edge of said stud, substantially as set forth.

9. In combination, the studS, secured beneath the barrel and having a bolt-notch 011 its forward edge, the fore end, 9, perforated to let said stud enter it, the bolt 18, located in the fore end and adapted to engage: withlsaid stud, the belLcrank lever 12, having one arm engaging with said bolt, the lever 11, having a forked end with which the other arm of le-.

ver 12 engages, and a spring to operate lever 11, substantially as set forth.

A. E. XYHITMORE.

Vi tnesses:

HENRY A. CHAPIN, L. L. DENNISON.