US3187454A

US3187454A - Revolver cylinder stop

Info

Publication number: US3187454A
Application number: US337891A
Authority: US
Inventors: Eugene E Geber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-06-20
Filing date: 1964-01-15
Publication date: 1965-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 1982-06-08

Description

E. E. GEBER REVOLVER CYLINDER STOP- Original Filed June 20, 1962 June 8, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 :uvsmvrc luane 6L. Gabef" CflT-roRMBY/ June 8, 1965 E. E. GEBER 3,187,454

REVOLVER CYLINDER STOP Original Filed June 20, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :44 4% IS a -HHHHHMHH '14 & ////l."//////////,///////////////////// III/11011111111111 I IZIB W 7 A s 5 .8 454'? I 93 s3 61 es 6? Ezfiene saber June 8, 1965 E. E. GEBER REVOLVER CYLINDER STOP Original Filed June 20, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i' S ber 10% WdQr 0W Patented June 8, 1965 3,137,454 REVGLVER CYLINDER STOP Eugene E. Geher, 1908 Douglas St, Rockford, Ill. Original appiication tune 20, 1962, Ser. No. 203,948. Divided and this application .ian. 15, 1964, Ser. No.

10 (llairns. (Cl. 4267) This is a division of application Serial No. 203,948, filed June 20, 1962.

This invention relates to a revolver including a cylinder rotatably mounted on a frame, a hammer and a trigger pivoted on the frame in the usual manner and operatively connected so that retraction of the trigger cocks and releases the hammer, and mechanism for indexing the cylinder step by step in response to the trigger movements to bring successive cartridges into alinement with the barre], the cylinder being latched in place after each step. Such revolvers also include a cartridge extractor for removing spent cartridges from the cylinder, and a trigger guard mounted on the underside of the frame to extend downwardly under the trigger.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a revolver of the above character having an improved firing action and capable of being manufactured at lower cost than prior revolvers of this type.

Another object is to form, mount and actuate the cylinder latch in a novel manner such that the cylinder is released with a reduced amount of trigger movement whereby a larger proportion of the trigger stroke is available for indexing the cylinder thereby to achieve a smoother action and permit greater manufacturing tolerances in the firing mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevationail view of a revolver embodying the novel features of the present invention with parts of the revolver broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective View of the trigger guard.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 with the parts in a different condition.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view taken in a vertical plane along the rear end of the cylinder in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a fragrnentary sectional view taken along the line 88 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 99 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken in a vertical plane through the hammer and the rear end portion of the cylinder latch during the firing stroke of the hammer.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch and the latch link.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 1212 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of the C-r'ing for securing the cylinder to its spindle.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective View of the crane release slide.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a revolver including a frame 10 with a tubular barrel 11 rigidly mounted on the forward end of the frame and opening into a cylinder chamber 12 in the frame. A cylinder 13 having a plurality of angularly spaced cartridge chambers 14, six in the present instance, longitudinally bored therein is rotatably supported in the cylinder chamber on a spindle 15 extending rearwardly from the front wall 17 of the chamber and into a central bore 18 in the cylinder. The latter is axially fixed on and rotates about the spindle to bring successive cartridge chambers into alinement with the barrel bore 19 (FIG. 12) and with a firing pin 20 guided in the rear portion of the frame for movement toward and away from the rear end of the cylinder to discharge the cartridges in the chambers 14-.

The revolver is capable of being fired either double action or single action and includes the usual hammer 21 pivoted on the rear portion of the frame to swing toward and away from the firing pin 20, and the rear end of the cylinder 13 in response to the movements of a trigger 22 pivoted on the frame below the cylinder. Also included on the frame is a hand grip 23 and a trigger guard 24- removably secured in a slot 25 (FIGS. 1 and 5) in the underside of the frame below the cylinder to define an opening 27 into which the lower end 23 of the trigger projects. A lug 29 on the rear end of the guard is seated in a forwardly opening seat 30 at the rear end of the slot with a screw 31 (FIGS. 1 and 5) fastening the front of the guard to the frame and holding the lug 29 in the seat 30.

In order that the cylinder may be swung out of the chamber 12 for insertion and removal of cartridges, the forward end of the spindle 15 is pressed into a bore 32. (FIG. 12) in the upper portion of a yoke or crane 33 recessed into the right-hand side of the frame as viewed in FIG. 12 and fulcrumed adjacent its lower edge on the frame by means of a pin 34 (FIG. 1) projecting rearwardly from the crane and journaled in a bore 37 in the frame. Thus, the crane supports the cylinder on the frame and pivots about the pin 34 to swing the cylinder clockwise and to the right into the open position shown in broken lines in FIG. 12 in which the rear ends of the cartridge chambers 14 are clear of the frame.

An extractor 38 (see FIG. 6) comprising a disc 39 formed with a plurality of arcuate recesses li in its periphery is disposed in a counter-bore 41 in the rear end of the cylinder, the recesses being alined with and partially encircling the rear ends of the cartridge chambers 14. The extractor disc is fast on the rear end of a rod 42. which passes forwardly through the spindle 15 and the upper end of the crane as shown in FIG. 12 and is guided in the spindle for back and forth endwise sliding. The front end portion of the rod is disposed in a slot 43 in the barrel tang 44 and forms a plunger for sliding the rod manually back and forth relative to the cylinder. A suitable spring (not shown) urges the rod forwardly to seat the extractor disc in the counterbore 41.

When the rod is shifted rearwardly, the extractor engages the rims of cartridges in the chambers 14 and draws the cartridges out of the chambers. In a manner to be described, the extractor is angularly fixed relative to the cylinder to maintain the alinement of the recesses 40 with the chambers.

To latch the cylinder in its normal position in the frame, a center pin 45 is guided for back and forth endwise sliding in the extractor rod 42 and is spring-urged rearwardly into a position in which the rear end of the center pin projects through a hole 47 in the center of the extractor disc and into an alined hole 48 (FIG. 7) in the adjacent wall 49 of the frame. Thus, the center pin 45 latches the cylinder in place in the frame. A beveled groove (not shown) in the front'of the wall 49 leads into the hole 48 from the side of the wall and cams the center pin into a retracted position as the cylinder is swung in- Wardly. When the center pin is alined with the hole, its spring (not shown) snaps it rearwardy into the hole to latch the cylinder.

To release the cylinder, a bolt or crane release slide 51 (FIGS. 1, 7 and 14) disposed in a cavity 52 (FIG. 7) in the rear portion of the frame behind the wall 49 is guided for back and forth sliding toward and away from the wall to carry a pin 53 into and out of the hole 48. When the slide is forward, the forward end of the slide pin is substantially flush with the front side of the wall 49 so that the center pin 45 is disengaged and the cylinder may be swung outwardly as shown in FIG. 1.

Herein, the slide 51 comprises an elongated bar 54 slidable endwise along a side wall 55 (FIG. 7) of the cavity 52 with an upright bar 53 fast on its front end and projecting upwardly along the wall 49. The slide pin 53 is pressed into the upright bar 58 and extends forwardly therefrom at the level of the hole 48. Slidable along the outside of the wall 55 is a thumbpiece 59 having a neck 60 (FIG. 7) disposed in a slot 61 opening through the wall 55, the thumbpiece being fastened to the bar 54 by a screw 62 passed through the'neck and threaded into a tapped hole 63 (FIG. 14) in the bar. The neck is made shorter than the length of the slot 61 to accommodate the back and forth motion of the slide, and the latter is urged forwardly by a coiled compression spring 64 (FIG.

7) disposed in a bore 65 opening rearwardly from the neck, the spring being compressed between the closed end of the bore and a plunger 67 abutting against the rear end of the slot 61. The center pin spring exerts a force sufficient to overcome the slide spring 64so that the center pin presses the slide pin 53 rearwardly when the thumbpiece is released.

The trigger 22 is pivoted intermediate its ends on a horizontal pin 68 (FIGS. 1, and 9) fast at opposite ends in the lower portions of the

side walls

55, 57 of the cavity 52 below the rear end of the cylinder 13. The lower end of the trigger extends through the underside of the frame and into the trigger guard 24 through a slot 69 therein. Normally, the trigger is held in the released position shown in FIG. 1 by a trigger spring 70 (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5) disposed in a bore 71 in the guard 24 and acting against the rear side of the trigger through a strut 72 to urge the trigger forwardly. A knee 73 on the trigger abuts against the front end'of the slot ,69 to limit forward swinging and determine the released position of the trigger.

- As shown most clearly in FIG. 5, the hammer 2 1 is disposed in the upper portion of the cavity 52 and is fulcrumed intermediate its ends on a horizontal pin 74 spanning the side walls of the cavity. The upper end portion 75 of the hammer projects out of the frame through an upwardly opening slot 77 and swings back and forth in a vertical plane toward and away from the wall 49 and the firing pin in the firing and cooking strokes. A main spring (not shown) in the hand grip 23 acts against a strut 78 (FIG. 5) abutting at one end against the rear edge of'the hammer to urge the latter counterclockwise (FIGS. 1 and 5) about its pivot and the upper end portion 75 forwardly toward the firing pin 20. The latter is disposed in a hardened metal cup 79 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5) fitted in a recess in the front of the wall 49 with an annular shoulder 81 on the pin urged rearwardly against the bottom of the recess by a coiled spring .82. The front end 83 of the pin is movable forwardly toward the cylinder through a hole in the bottom of the cup. The rear'end 84 of the pin normally projects through the wall 49 for engagement with the hammer.

To convert the swinging of the trigger 22 about its pivot into swinging of the hammer 21 through the cocking and firing strokes, during double action operation of the revolver, a cocking finger 85 (FIG. 5) is formed on the upper end of the trigger to engage the lower end of a hammer pawl 87 fulcrumed at 88 intermediate its ends on the front edge of the hammer in a manner well known in the art. The lower end of the pawl is urged counterclockwise about its fulcrum by a spring (not shown) seated in a bore drilled into the front edge of the hammer so that the spring bears against the lower end portion of the pawl to swing the upper end of the latter into abutting engagement with the hammer.

As the trigger is retracted, the cocking finger S5 swings upwardly and forwardly to raise the pawl 87 and thereby swings the hammer rearwardly into the position shown in FIG. 5. At the same time, a foot 89 on the lower end of the hammer swings forwardly into a rearwardly opening notch 99 (FIG. 5 below the finger 35 until the lower wall 91 of the notch engages the underside of the foot 89. Then, during continued retraction of the trigger, the notch wall 91, acting against the underside of the foot, swings the hammer still further in the cocking direction. During this portion of the cocking stroke, the cocking finger swings out of the path of the pawl and the notch wall 91 slides along the foot until it slides free of the foot at a predetermined point along the triggers path thereby releasing the hammer to the action of the main spring.

When this occurs, the hammer snaps forwardly in a rapid firing stroke and strikes the rear end of the pin 20 to drive the latter into the rear 'end of the cartridge then'alined with the firing pin thereby discharging the revolver. Upon release of the trigger, the spring 70 swings the trigger forwardly until the knee 73 engages the end of the slot 69. It will be seen that the cocking finger engages the front side of the lower end portion of the pawl 87 during this return stroke of the trigger and presses the pawl toward the hammer in. passing. Then the pawl spring snaps the pawl back into its normal position.

During single action operation, that is, when the revolver is cocked by pulling rearwardly on the hammer 21, the foot 89 acts against the upper wall 92 of the notch to swing the trigger rearwardly until the foot swings out of the notch. Then the trigger spring 70 swings the cocking finger 85 rearwardly so that the cocking finger locks against a shoulder on the hammer to hold the hammer cocked until the trigger is pulled. A laterally projecting tang 93 (FIG. 7) on the slide bar abuts against the rear edge of the hammer to prevent cocking of the latter when the cylinder is open and the slide 51 is forward.

To bring successive cartridge chambers 14 into alinement with the barrel bore 19 and the firing pin 20 after each shot, a cylinder pawl or hand 94 is mounted in the cavity 52 to engage a ratchet 95 (FIG. 6) on the rear end of the cylinder, in this instance on the extractor disc 39, and turn the cylinder one step during each cocking stroke of'the hammer. For this purpose, the hand comprises an elongated upright plate having a forwardly projecting finger 97 (FIGS. 5 and 6) at its upper end and pivoted adjacent its lower end on a stud 98 (FIG. 5) pro- I jecting laterally from one side of the hammeradjacent the lower end of the latter, the hand thus being offset to one side of the cylinder axis as shown in FIG. 6. ,A bowed spring 99 fulcrumed on a pin (not shown) somewhat above the stud 93 rides along an upwardly and forwardly inclined ledge 100 (FIG. 5) in the cavity 52 to press the hand forwardly into a vertical slot 101 (FIG. 7) opening through the wall 49 as the lower end of the hammer swings the hand upwardly during the cocking stroke. Thus, the hand reciprocates back and forth in the slot 101 across the end of the cylinder in a vertical plane spaced from the cylinder axis.

' The ratchet comprises a plurality of teeth 102,

herein six, each formed with a trailing side 1033 disposed energies and the hammer pulled rearwardly and released in successive strokes. During each rearward stroke of the hammer, the cylinder 13 is indexed by the hand 94 and locked in place by the latch 105 just is if the hammer were operated by the trigger.

The latch link 117 is coupled to the trigger guard 24 with a lost motion connection and projects at one end into the bore 113 housing the latch spring 112. The other end of the link abuts against the seat 114- in the underside of the latch. With this arrangement, the link is held on the trigger guard and confines the spring 112 in the bore even when the trigger guard is removed (FIG. 3) while at the same time being slid-able back and forth relative to the trigger guard through a range sufiicient to accommodate the cylinder locking and unlocking movements of the latch 1&5.

Herein, the bore 113 is formed by drilling a hole almost through the upper front portion of the trigger guard on an axis extending rearwardly and inclined slightly upwardly toward the underside of the latch. The forward end of the bore is closed by a screw 12% (FIGS. 1 and against which the coiled compression spring 112 abuts and the other end opens into a slot 129 narrower than the diameter of the hole and milled into the top edge of the trigger guard. The link 117 is guided in this slot for back and forth endwise sliding and abuts at its forward end against the pin 115 which is urged rearwardly by the spring.

Preferably, the link 117 is a fiat and somewhat elongated plate having a slot 13% therein extending longitudinally of the plate and receiving a pin 131 spanning the upright side walls of the slot 129. With the link 117 pressed rearwardly and upwardly by the spring 112, the pin 131 normally abuts against the forward end of the slot 139 as shown in FIG. 1, this being the position in which the cylinder is locked. The slot 13%), which cooperates with the pin 131 to form the lost motion connection between the trigger guard and the link, is long enough to accommodate the full forward and downward motion of the latch during the cooking of the hammer.

The upper end or nose 132 of the link 117 is arcuate in contour and complements the curvature of the seat 114 in the underside of the latch, the seat being formed in the side of a lug 133 integral with and extending downwardly from the latch body. As the latch is guided downwardly, and forwardly along the trigger pivot pin 68, the link is correspondingly shifted downwardly and forwardly along the pin 13 While simultaneously pivoting about the pin. Then, as the trigger pin slides along the rear portion of the latch slot M1, the link pivots counterclockwise about the pin 131 and slides further downwardly along the pin, the arcuate end 132. or" the link rotating about the pin 131 and sliding relative to the pin and the seat 114 during the motion or" the latch to accommodate the changing angular relation of the link with the pin 133i and the latch.

Similarly, the trigger spring bore '71 is drilled into the rear portion of the trigger guard 24 as shown most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4 and opens into a slot 13 extending forwardly through the guard and lined with the rear edge of the trigger, the slot being narrower than the diameter of the bore. A plunger 135 is inserted into the bore 71 through the open rear end thereof and a spring '76 is compressed between the plunger head and a cap 137 pressed into the end of the bore and held in place by a pin res (FIGS. 1 and 5). Thus, the spring 73 and plunger 135 are retained in the trigger guard for removal therewith from the frame by stops in the bore comprising the cap 137 and the forward end 3139 (FIG. 4) of the bore.

1 The trigger strut 7'2 comprises an elongated ilat stamping pinned at 14%? to the trigger and extending rearwardly through the slot 134 into the bore 71 to abut against the plunger 135. Mounted in this manner, the strut is guided in the slot for back and forth endwise sliding in response to retraction and release of the trigger and transmits the spring force to the trigger.

When the trigger guard is removed, the latch spring 1T2 holds the link 1.17 in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and the pin 13?. and the link, in turn, hold the spring in the bore. The strut 72, being secured to the trigger, slides out of the slot 134 so that the plunger 155 abuts against the forward end 139 of the bore "ill which thus prevents accidental separation of the trigger spring from the guard. it will be seen, therefore, that the trigger spring assembly and the latch spring assembly form a unitary group of parts removable in one simple operation, that is, by removing the screw 31 and pulling the guard away from the frame, and maintained in proper relation even after the guard is removed.

To reassemble the guard on the frame, the link 117 is guided into the seat 114 and the slot 134 is alined with the strut 72 as tl' guard is positioned against the underside of the frame. When the guard is seated against and fastened to the frame, the parts automatically assume their proper positions relative to the strut and the latch.

Advantage is taken of the position and movement of the strut "72 to eilect the so-called rebound of the hammer after it completes its firing stroke. The rebound is the shifting of the hammer rearwardly a short distance from its forward position and into an intermediate position (FIG. 1) which the upper end of the hammer is spaced from the firing pin 2t). This is accomplished by means of a lug Mil integral with the strut 72 and projecting upwardly from the rear end of the strut out of the slot i134 and into the cavity 52. When the hammer is at rest, the lug 14% bears against the underside of a rounded abutment 141 (FIG. 1) on the lower end of the hammer. As the trigger is retracted and the strut and lug slide rearwardly, the hammer abutment first moves forwardly and then, during the firing stroke, swings rearwardly past the position shown in FIG. 1. The lug 149, however, is positioned even further rearwardly before the trigger is released and, therefore, slides forwardly into contact with the abutment 141 to swinr the hammer into the intermediate position shown in FIG. 1 as the trigger spring returns the trigger to its released position. Thus, the strut '72 replaces both the rebound slides and the trigger levers found on prior revolvers having actions of this type.

The cylinder 13 is mounted on the spindle 15 in a novel manner which simplifies the manufacture of the revolver and which permits the easy removal of the cylinder when desired. For these purposes, the cylinder and the spindle are formed with alined internal and

external grooves

142 and 143 respectively, and a radially expandable and contractible ring 144 (FIGS. 1, 5 and 8) having a larger normal outer diameter than the diameter of the cylinder bore 1% is pressed into the bore and seated in the internal groove 142 prior to assembly of the cylinder on the spindle. The ring 144, which herein is a split C-ring,'is radially compressed to fit into the cylinder bore and then snaps outwardly into the groove 1142. Thus, the C-ring is permanently mounted in the cylinder.

The normal inner diameter of the C-ring is somewhat smaller than the spindle diameter (see FIG. 5) to contract into the groove 143 when alined therewith. Thus, when the cylinder is telescoped onto the spindle, the C-ring 14 i first is expanded as permitted by clearance in the cylinder groove 14-2 and then snaps back inwardly into the spindle groove 143. The free end of the spindle is beveled at 145 to spread the C-ring as it is passed onto the spindle. To facilitate removal of the cylinder, coacting cam surfaces are formed on the rear face of the C-ring and on the adjacent wall of the groove 143 to cam the ring radially outwardly in response to a greater than normal axial force on the cylinder thereby to release the cylinder from the spindle. in this instance, the rear wall of the groove 143 is cham'iered at 147 for this purpose.

It will be seen that the manufacturing steps involved in providing this mounting for the cylinder are quite simple. All that is necessary is the cutting of the two grooves 342 311(1143 in the cylinder bore and the spindle and the provision of the C-ring 144 to be inountedin the grooves to hold the cylinder on the spindle.

With this arrangement, the upward and forward motion of the hand brings the finger 97 into engagement with a corner 104 of the tooth 102 and turns the extractor and cylinder counterclockwise (FIG. 6) until the side 1G3 parallels the side of the hand. During the final portion of the cooking stroke, the hand slides along the side 103 as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 6 and then is shifted downwardly toward the released position (FIG. 1) as the hammer snaps forwardly.

A latch 165 is provided to lock the cylinder 13 in place during the firing stroke thereby to maintain precise alinement of the cartridge chambers during firing. For this purpose, six stop notches 107 are angularly spaced around the periphery of the cylinder to open downwardly when disposed on the underside of the cylinder, and the latch 105 is mounted below the cylinder to rock toward and away from the cylinder in timed relation with the hammer movements. The latch includes an upwardly extending 7 lug 108 forming a stop engageable with the notch then alined with the stop and operable when engaged to lock the cylinder in a predetermined angular relation in the frame.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the latch 105 is formed, mounted and actuated in a novel manner such that the cylinder 13 is releasedwith a reduced amount of trigger movement as compared to prior latching arrangements whereby a larger proportion of the available trigger movement may be devoted to the indexing of the cylinder. As a result of the longer indexing stroke, the trigger pull requires less force and has a smoother action. Moreover, the additional trigger movement available for indexing permits greater manufacturing tolerances in the firing mechanism with resulting cost savings in production of the revolver.

To achieve the foregoing ends, the latch 105 is mount ed on the frame for sliding along a downwardly inclined path and simultaneous rocking away from the cylinder, and the forward motion of the lower end of the hammer 21 at the start of the cooking stroke is utilized to effect the simultaneous sliding and rocking motion of the latch thereby to disengage the stop with a small amount of trigger movement. For this purpose, the latch is guided for sliding downwardly along its pivot and the rear end portion 109 of the latch is disposed adjacent the lower end of the hammer when the latter'is in the released position (FIG. 1) so that a member 110 carried on the lower end of the hammer engages the latch and shifts it forw-ardly and downwardly as the hammer begins to move.

In the present instance, the latch comprises an elongated one-piece stamping disposed alongside the upper end or" the trigger with the stop lug 108 at the forward end of its body formed with an upper edge which is convexly curved to complement the curvature of the bottoms of the stop notches 107 when the latch is in its uppermost position as shown in FIG. 1. The latch is guided on the frame by means herein comprising an elongated slot 111 formed intermediate the ends of the latch to receive the trigger pivot pin 68. The forward portion of the slot is inclined forwardly and downwardly at an angle preferably of'approximately forty-five degrees and the rear portion of the slot is generally horizontal.

A latch spring 112 compressed in a bore 113 in the front portion of the trigger guard 24 acts against a seat 114 in the underside of the latch through a pin 115 slidable in the bore 113 and a link 117 abutting at one end against the seat and at the other end against the pin 115 to urge the latch both upwardly and rearwardly. Thus, the latch normally is positioned as shown in FIG, 1 with the pin 1'15 abut-ting against the front end of the slot 111 and with the stop 108 engaging one of the stop notches 107.

turned upwardly from the latch body and having a rear surface defining a concave rearwardly facing seat 119 dis- The rear end of the latch is formed with a toe 118 v posed alongside the lower end portion of the hammer. The member for shifting the latch forwardly herein takes the form of a spring-loaded plunger (See FIG. 10) comprising a cylindrical pin having a rounded end 120 projecting laterally from the side of the hammer through a hole 121 to abut against the seat 119 when the hammer is at rest. On the other end of the pin is an annular head 122 disposed in a cup 123 pressed into a counterbore 124 around the hole 121 in the other side of the hammer and guided in the cup 123 for back and forth lateral sliding. The plunger is pressed toward the extended positionshown in FIG. 10 by a coiled spring 125 compressed between the pin and the closed end of the cup 123, the head 122 abutting against a shoulder defined between the counterbore and the hole to limit the extent of its projection from the side of the hammer.

It will be seen that the initial retraction of the trigger 22 from the broken line position in FIG. 5 to the full line position begins to rot-ate the hammer clockwise and, therefore, swings the plunger 110 forwardly to the position shown in FIG. 5. This motion of the plunger shifts the latch forwardly along the trigger pin 68 which co-acts with the inclined sides of the slot 111 to cam the latch downwardly as it moves forwardly to the full line position in FIG. 5. Simultaneously, the upward movement of the plungerswings the latch counterclockwise about the pin 68 thereby increasing the downward movement of the stop 108. Thus, these sliding and rocking motions cooperate to release the cylinder early in the trigger stroke as will be evident from relatively small amount of trigger motion required to swing the plunger to the position shown in FIG. 5.

The length and motion of the hand 94 are correlated with the motion of the latch 105 so that the hand engages the ratchet 95 as soon as the cylinder 13 is released and therefore immediately begins to turn the cylinder. As continued retraction of the trigger 22 swings the hammer 21 further in the cooking direction, the plunger 110 moves forwardly and upwardly out of the seat 119 and over the end of the toe 118 thereby shifting the latch endwise toward the broken line position (FIG. 5) in which the pin 6a; is adjacent the rear end of the slot 111. When the plunger clears the toe end and releases the latch, the latter is snapped rearwardly and upwardly by the latch spring 112 so that the stop 108 enters the next stop notch 1617 when the indexing step is complete.

It will be seen that the additional available trigger movement also permits the locking of the cylinder well before the hammer is released. Accordingly, greater manufacturing tolerances are possible both in the firing mechanism and in the latching mechanism. Further, this rearward and upward movement of the latch'insures positive locking of the cylinder even during rapid operation of the revolver.

During the firing stroke of the hammer 21, the plunger 119 swings from a position above the latch back to the normal position in which the pin bears against the seat 119. To facilitate swinging of the pin back past the toe 118, coacting surfaces are formed on the pin and the upper edge of the toe to cam the pin into a recessed posit1on in the hammer. Herein, these surfaces comprise the rounded end 120 of the pin and an upper edge 127 (FIGS. 10 and 11) of the toe, the edge 127 being inclined upwardly and away from the adjacent "side of the hammer as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Thus, as the pin swings downwardly and rearwardly, it engages the surface 127 and is pressed thereby into the hole 121 against the action of the spring 125. When the hammer reaches the position shown in FIG. 1, the pin snaps end-wise into alin'ement with the seat 119 in position to actuate the latch during the next cocking stroke of the hammer.

Constructed in this manner, the revolver is capable of true single action operation and may be fired rapidly simply by fanning the hammer 21. In other words, the trigger'22 may be held in the fully retracted position To hold the extractor .33 in axial alinement with the cartridge chambers 14, a ring 148- is pressed into the enlarged rearwardly opening end 149 of the cylinder bore 18, keying the ring to the extractor, and securing the ring both axially and angularly to the cylinder. As shown most clearly in FIGS. and 8, the ring 148 is keyed to the extractor by means comprising a pin 150 pressed into a radial hole 151 in the ring and projecting radially inwardly into a longitudinal groove 152 in the extractor rod 4-2, the groove 152 being long enough to accommodate the full stroke of the extractor in removing the cartridges. To fix the ring 148 in the cylinder, both the ring periphery and the enlarged bore end 149 are knurled to prevent turning of the ring and a set screw 153 (FIG. 8) is threaded into the rear end of the cylinder in position to interlock with the ring and the cylinder. The screw reinforces the knurls and also fixes the ring against axial shifting relative to the cylinder.

The ratchet teeth 102 are formed in at least partially recessed positions in the rear end of fig: cylinder, in this instance in the extractor disc 39, so that the rear ends of the teeth lie closely adjacent the front of the wall 49. Each tooth is produced by two simple milling cuts in the disc 39, one forming a recess 154 having an end defining the trailing tooth side 103 and the other forming a recess 155 intersecting the recess 154 to define the corner 104.

Each of the recesses 154 is formed by advancing the side of a half-round ball cutter (not shown) radially into the disc along a path paralleling the cylinder axis with the flat end of the cutter in a plane spaced from and paralleling the axis at a distance equal to the offset of the hand 94 from the axis. Thus, the rounded side of the cutter shapes the bottom of the recess to an arcuate cross section and the flat end of the cutter shapes the flat trailing side 183 of the tooth. Successive recesses are formed by rotating the disc sixty degrees between cuts. Then, the cutter is advanced into the disc in a series of cuts with its fiat end intersecting the recesses 154 intermediate the ends of the sides 103 and preferably perpendicular thereto to form the recesses 15S and the corners 104 of the sides 103.

With these two simple operations, each tooth is formed with a corner 1G4 positioned to be engaged by the hand 9 and moved as previously described, until the hand passes alongside the tooth. With the hand bearing against one of the sides 183 until the stop lug 103 is seated in one of the notches 197, the cylinder is positively held in proper alinement. The force of the hand is applied against the corners 104 rather than against the fiat sides 103 during turning thereby avoiding the application of reactive forces against the hand tending to cam it sidewise and cause binding of the hand against the side of the hammer.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that a revolver constructed in the manner described above may be manufactored at a substantial cost saving as compared to prior revolvers of this type. Because of the novel cylinder"- latching arrangement, not only is the action of the revolver smoother but the proportion of the trigger movement available for indexing the cylinder has been increased with the result that greater manufacturing tolerances are permissible in the latching and firing mechanisms. Thus, the latch 105, the hand 94, the strut '72, and the link 117 may be relatively inexpensive stampings, and greater tolerances are permissible in the machining of the hammer 21 and the trigger 22.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends on said frame and having an upper end portion swingable rearwardly away from one end of said cylinder in a cocking stroke, and forwardly into a released posit-ion in a firing stroke, an elongated generally horizontal latch disposed below said cylinder, a stop adjacent the forward end of said latch projecting upwardly to engage one of said notches and hold the cylinder in a selected angular position in said frame when said latch is in a predetermined position, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed on one side of the lower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position, an elongated slot intermediate the ends of said latch and inclined forwardly and downwardly in the latch, a pin fast on said frame and extending through the forward end of said slot to pivot the latch on the frame and guide the latch for back and forth endwise movement along a forwardly and downwardly inclined path, a spring acting against the underside of said latch to urge the latter upwardly and rearwardly into said predetermined position, a plunger carried on said one side and laterally movable back and forth between an extended position and a recessed position, a spring yieldably urging said plunger into said extended position, said plunger being swingable forwardly and upwardly with said lower end portion during said cocking stroke, a seat on said rear end portion disposed in the path followed by said plunger during the initial portion of said cocking stroke whereby the plunger shifts the latch forwardly and downwardly from said predetermined position and simultaneously rocks said stop downwardly to release said cylinder and shift said seat out of said path, said latch spring returning said latch to said predetermined position after said plunger clears said seat thereby to latch said cylinder, and an upper edge on said latch disposed in the return path followed by said plunger during said firing stroke, said upper edge being inclined upwardly and away from said one side to earn said plunger into said recessed position against the act-ion of said spring and permit the plunger to pass by the rear end of the latch and snap back into said projecting position and into said seat.

2. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends on said frame and having an upper end portion swingable rearwardly away from one end of said cylinder in a cocking stroke and forwardly into a released position in a firing stroke, an elongated latch disposed below said cylinder and having a stop thereon engaging one of said notches to hold the cylinder in a selected angular position in said frame when said latch is in a predetermined position, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed on one side of the lower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position, means on said frame guiding said latch for back and forth endwise movement and simultaneous up and down shifting of said stop to latch and release said cylinder, at plunger carried on said one side and laterally movable back and forth between an extended position and a recessed position, a spring yieldably urging said plunger into said extended position, said plunger being swingable forwardly with said lower end portion during said cocking stroke, a first surface on said rear end portion disposed in the path followed by said plunger during the initial portion of said cocking stroke whereby the plunger shifts said latch forwardly from said predetermined position to release said cylinder and shift said first surface out of said path, spring means urging said latch upwardly and rearwardly to return the latch to said predetermined position after said plunger clears said first surface thereby to latch said cylinder, and coacting cam surfaces on the upper edge of said latch and on said plunger engageable as the plunger passes the rear end of the latch during said firing stroke, said cam surfaces being operable to cam said plunger into said recessed position against the action of said spring and permit the plunger to pass by the rear end of the latch.

3. A revolver as defined in claim 2 in which said cam surfaces include an upper edge of said latch disposed in the path followed by said plunger during said firing stroke and inclined upwardly and away from said one side.

4. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a harnmer pivoted intermediate its ends on said frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of said' cylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position rearwardly away from the cylinder in a cocking stroke, an elongated latch disposed below said cylinder and having a stop lug adjacent its forward end extending upwardly and normally'engaging one of said notches to hold said cylinder in a selectedangular position in said frame, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent the lower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position, said latch having an elongated slot intermediate its ends inclined forwardly and downwardly adjacent its front end and generally horizontal adjacent its rear end,'a pin fast on said frame and projecting into the frontend of said slot to pivot said latch on said frame, a spring acting between said frame and said latch to urge said latch upwardly and rearwardly toward said cylinder and press said lug into said one notch, a member on the lower end portion of said hammer movable forwardly and upwardly as said upper end swings rearwardly toward said cocked position, and a surface'on said latch engageable with said member whereby said lug is rocked downwardly and the latch is shifted endwise and forwardly along said pin, said pin sliding along said slot and coacting therewith to shift said lug first downwardly and out of said one notch and then generally forwardly along said cylinder. a

5. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends on said frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of said cylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position andrearwardly away from the cylinder in a cooking stroke, an elongated latch disposed below said cylinder and having astop thereon normally engaging one of said notches tohold said cylinder in a selected angular position in said frame, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent the lower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position, said latch having an elongated slot intermediate its ends inclined on said latch engageable with said member whereby the stop'is rocked downwardly and the latch is shifted endwise and forwardly along said pin, said pin and said slot enacting to shift said latch and said stop downwardly as .the stop is rocked downwardly thereby to release said cylinden,

'6. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced'around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends on said frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of said cylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position and rearwardly away from the cylinder in a cocking stroke,

an elongated-latch disposed below'said cylinder andhavin'g a stop thereon normally engaging one of said notches to hold said cylinder in a selected angular position in said 7 frame, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent the lower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position, means pivoting said latch intermediate its ends on said frame-V for up and down rocking movement of said stop toward and awayfrom said,

cylinder and also guiding the latch fo'r endwise movement 7 said latch, a pin fast on said guard and projecting into the forwardly and downwardly relative to the cylinder,- a

member on the lower end portion of said hammer movable forwardly and upwardly as said upper end swmgs, rear- 12: wardly, and a surface on said latch engageable with said member whereby the latter rocks said stop downwardly and simultaneously shifts the latch forwardly and downwardly to release said cylinder.

7. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends on said frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of said cylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position rearwardly away from the cylinder in a cocking stroke, an elongated latch disposed below said cylinder and having a stop thereon normally engaging one of said notches to hold saidcylinder in a selected angular position in said frame, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent the lower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position, means on'said frame guiding said latch for endwise movement forwardly and downwardly relative to said cylinder, a member on the lower end portion of said hammer movable forwardly and upwardly as said upper end swings rearwardly, and a surface on said latch engageable with said member whereby the latch is shifted forwardly and guided downwardly to release said cylinder during said cocking stroke.

8. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a latch mounted on said frame under said cylinder and movable rearwardly and toward the latter to engage one of said notches and hold the cylinder in a predetermined angular position, the underside of said latch having a seat of concave curvature facing forwardly and downwardly, a trigger guard removably mounted onthe underside of said frame and having a bore therein extending toward said seat, a link with one end disposed adjacent said bore and extending rear-wardly and upwardly toward said seat,

to urge the latter into said seat and press the latch toward ,7

said cylinder, said connection holding said 'link on said guard when the latter is removed from said frame and thereby holding said spring in said bore, and means for shiftingtsaid latch forwardly and downwardly to release said cylinder, said link yielding under such shifting and pivoting about said connection while said upper end rotates in said seat. a r

9. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of'stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a latch mounted on said frame under said cylinder and movable toward the latter to engage one of said notches and hold the cylinder in a predetermined angular position, a trigger guard removably mounted on the un-' derside of said frame and having a bore therein extending toward saidilatch, said guard being formed with a first slot openingtinto the end of said bore adjacent said latch and also opening through the upper side of the guard toward the underside 'of said latch, a link disposed in said a slot with one, end adjacent said bore and the other end abutting against the underside of said latch, a second elongated slot in said link extending upwardly toward lower end of said second slot, said link being movable downwardly along saidpin as said latch moves, away from said cylinder, and'a springdisposed in said bore and urging said link toward said latch and pressing the latch,

toward said cylinder, said pin holding said link in said first slot when the trigger guard is removed from said, 7

frame and thereby holding said spring in said bore.

10. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularly spaced around its periphery, a latch mounted on said frame under said cylinder and movable toward the latter to engage one of said notches and hold the cylinder in a predetermined angular position, a trigger guard removably mounted on the underside of said frame and having a bore therein extending toward the underside of said latch, a link with one end adjacent said bore and the other end abutting against the underside of said latch, a lost motion connection between said link and said guard permitting limited back and forth endwise movement of the link toward and away from said latch, and a spring disposed in said bore and urging said link toward said latch to press the latch toward said cylinder, said connection holding said link on said guard when the latter is removed from said frame and thereby holding said spring in said bore.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 336,894 3/86 Cilley 4267 X BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

Claims

5. IN A REVOLVER, THE COMBINATION OF, A FRAME, A CYLINDER ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF STOP NOTCHES ANUGLARLY SPACED AROUND ITS PERIPHERY, A HAMMER PIVOTED INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS ON SAID FRAME WITH ITS UPPER END SWINGABLE FORWARDLY TOWARD ONE END OF SAID CYLINDER IN A FIRING STROKE AND INTO A RELEASED POSITION AND REARWARDLY AWAY FROM THE CYLINDER IN A COCKING STROKE, AN ELONGATED LATCH DISPOSED BELOW SAID CYLINDER AND HAVING A STOP THEREON NORMALLY ENGAGING ONE OF SAID NOTCHES TO HOLD SAID CYLINDER IN A SELECTED ANGULAR POSITION IN SAID FRAME, THE REAR END PORTION OF SAID LATCH BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT THE LOWER END PORTION OF SAID HAMMER WHEN THE LATTER IS IN SAID RELEASED POSITION, SAID LATCH HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS INCLINED FORWARDLY AND DOWNWARLY ALONG THE LATCH, A PIN FAST ON SAID FRAME AND PROJECTING INTO THE FRONT END OF SAID SLOT TO PIVOT SAID LATCH ON SAID FRAME, A MEMBER ON THE LOWER END PORTION OF SAID HAMMER MOVABLE FOR WARDLY AN UPWARDLY AS SAID UPPER END SWINGS REARWARDLY, AND A SURFACE ON SAID LATCH ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID MEMBER WHEREBY THE STOP IS ROCKED DOWNWARDLY AND THE LATCH IS SHIFTED ENDWISE AND FORWARDLY ALONG SAID PIN, SAID PIN AND SAID SLOT COACTING TO SHIFT SAID LATCH AND SAID STOP DOWNWARDLY AS THE STOP IS ROCKED DOWNWARDLY THEREBY TO RELEASE SAID CYLINDER.