US585392A - William mason - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. MASON.

SAFETY LOCKING DEVICE RELEASED BY REGOIL.

No. 585,392. Patented June 29,1897.

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W. MASON. SAFETY LOOKING DEVICE RELEASED BY REGOIL.

No. 585,392. Patented June 29,1897.

UNiTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

\VILLIAM MASON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE VIN- CIIESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SAFETY LOCKING DEVICE RELEASED BY RECOIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 585,392, dated June 29, 1897.

Application filed February 10, 1896. Serial No. 578,654. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM h/IASON, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Magazine-Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, 1n

Figure 1, an enlarged broken View, in side elevation, of the forward end of a gun-frame, showing my improved handle-locking block applied thereto; Fig. 2, a similar but slightly less comprehensive view with the block and action-bar removed; Fig. 3, a cross-sectional View on the line a b of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a detached view of the block, looking at the forward edge thereof; Fig. 4, a detached view of the block in inside elevation; Fig. 5, areverse plan view of the block; Fig. 6, abroken view, in side elevation, of the gun, showing the block in its closed position; Fig. 7, aplan View thereof; Fig. 8, a detached view, in side elevation, of the action-bar and the sleeve by means of which the same is connected with the sliding handle.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of magazine-firearms in which the action mechanism is operated by a sliding handle located in front of it and constructed and arranged to move back and forth in a line parallel or substantiallyparallel with the gun-barrel, the object being to provide simple and reliable means for preventing the gun from being prematurely opened in the interval between the falling of the hammer and the explosion of the cartridge by the exertion of a rearward draft on the part of the user upon the sliding handle.

\Vith these ends in view my invention consists in the combination, with an action-bar, of a handle-locking block coacting with the 1 bar to lock the same in its closed position, I and adapted to be thrown forward to unlock the bar by the recoil following the explosion j handle C mounted and sliding back and of a cartridge in the gun-barrel.

My invention further consists in certainf details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention, as herein shown, I employ a block A, which for want of a better term I shall call a handle-locking block. This block is made heavier at its upper than at its lower end, whereby its upper end is virtually weighted, so that the block will act with force under the influence of the recoil. At its lower end it is constructed with an inwardly-projecting trunnion A, adapted to enter a bearing-hole B, formed in the left-hand side wall of the gunframe B, near the forward end thereof. The said side wall of the gun-frameis constructed with a shallow recess B for the reception of the body of the block and with a slot B located at the lower end of the said recess and intersecting at its bottom the opening B formed in the gun-frame for the reception of the action-bar C, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The said slot B receives and provides clearance for the locking-lug A formed upon the inner face of the block.

A deep groove B having vertical side walls, leads out of the bottom of the recess B before mentioned and is provided for the reception of a retaining-flange A formed upon the lower face of the lug A and designed to hold the block against lateral movement without interfering with the freedom of its oscillating movement on its trunnion A. The said lug A locks the action-bar C in its closed position by entering a locking-notch C, Fig. 8, formed in the rear end of the lower edge of the bar, the forward end of the said edge being constructed with a long clearance-notch C the purpose of which will be described later on. The said bar is furnished upon the outer face of its forward end with a horizontally-arranged resetting-finger C which enters a flaring pocket A formed to receive it in the forward edge of the block, whereby the block is positively swung from its open position back into its closed position.

The action-bar C is connected at its forward end, as shown, with a sleeve C rigidly secured within the forward end of the sliding forth upon the tubular magazine D in a line parallel or substantially parallel with the too longitudinal axis of the gun-barrel D, but the particular construction of the action-bar and its connection with the sliding handle and the mounting of the same are immaterial and may be varied as desired.

The block is constructed with a deep hole A entering it from its upperend and formed for the reception of a yielding catch-pin E and the coiled spring E, provided for exerting a constant effort to throw the same outward, the said spring being located in the bottom of the hole A The said pin is constructed with a stop-notch 6, receiving a stoppin e,which limits the longitudinal movement of the pin. The outer end of the pin is beveled for coaction with a fixed retaining-pin F, set into the gun-frame B in the upper portion of the recess B before mentioned, and as shown in Fig. 2. The block is adapted to clear this pin by its provision with a segmental clearance-slot A, entering it from the upper portion of its forward edge and extending rearwardly, so as to intersect the upper portion of the hole A provided for the reception of the yielding catch-pin E and the spring E thereof. The extreme rear end of the action-bar is provided, as shown, with an operating-lug C which enters a path camslot G, Fig. (5, formed in the left-hand side wall of the breech-closure locking-block G, which in this case has the function of transferring the cartridges from a point in rear of the tubular magazine to a point in rear of the gunbarrel.

It will be noticed by reference to Fig. 6 that when the gun is closed the lug C is sufficiently cleared from the rear Wall of the inclined forward portion of the path cam-slot G to allow the action-bar, and hence the sliding handle, to be moved back and forth within narrow limits without disturbing the said locking-block G. This lost motion of the handle, as it may be called, permits that movement of the action-bar required for the operation of the operating-block.

Having now described the construction in detail of my improved gun as herein shown, I will proceed to set forth the mode of its operation.

\Vhen the gun is fully closed, the parts 0ccupy the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 6, the locking-block being held in its rearwardly-inclined closed position by means of the engagement of the beveled upper end of the catch-pin with the rear face of the fixed pin under the influence of the spring E. In this position of the handle-locking block its locking-lug A is entered into the lockingnotch C of the action-bar, whereby the same, and consequently the sliding handle, is firmly locked against rearward movement. It will thus be seen that if after the gun is closed the 'user thereof exerts an untimely rearward draft upon the sliding handle he cannot prematurely open the gun in the interval between the falling of the hammer and the explosion of the cartridge, for the recoil following the explosion of the cartridge 'is necessary to unlock the gun; butwhen the cartridge explodes and the recoil takes place the weighted upper end of the handZ-elocking block is thrown forward against the tension of the spring E, which yields and permits the catchpin to be shifted, so to speak, from engagement with the rear face of the fixed pin to engagement with the forward face thereof, as shown in Fig. 1, which represents the handlelocking block as being held in its forward or open position by means of the engagement of the beveled outer end of the catch-pin with the forward face of the fixed pin. YVhen the block is thrown under 'the influence of the recoil, as set forth, from its rearwardly-inclined closed position to its open position, its locking-lug A is forced downward out of the locking-notch C of the action-bar, which is thus unlocked and released for the rearward movement required for opening the gun. Then as the action-bar nears the limit of its rearward movement its resetting-finger C enters the flaring pocket A of the handlelocking block and, engaging with the bottom of the said pocket, forces the block rearward into its closed position, causing the yielding catch-pin E to be snapped, so to speak, under the fixed pin F and transferring the engagement of its beveled outer end from the front face of the pin to the rear face thereof. As the handle-locking block is thrown back from its open to its closed position its locking-lug A is lifted into the clearance-notch 0 Now at the beginning of the closing movement of the gun the long inclined rear wall of the clearance-notch C engages with the lockinglug of the operating-block, whereby the same is slightly swung forward, but not sufficiently to shift its catch-spring from engagement with the rear face of the fixed pin to the forward face thereof. Vhen, however, the action-bar reaches the limit of its closed position, the spring E of the catch-pin asserts itself, and by urging the beveled nose of the catch-pin against the rear face of the fixed pin causes the block to be swung back into its fullyclosed position, whereby its locking-lug is reentered into the locking-notch of the actionbar, as before set forth.

It is apparent that in carrying out myinvention some change from the construction herein shown and described may be made. I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to such construction, but hold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with the frame and barrel thereof, of a sliding supporting and operating handle located forward of the frame and movable back and forth in a line parallel with the longitudinal axis of the barrel, an action-bar extending -earwardly from the handle and adapted to be connected with the action mechanism of the arm, a handle-locking block pivotally connected at or near its lower end with the gunframe upon the outer face of one of the side walls of the same and near the forward end thereof, and adapted to coact with the rear end of the bar and lock the gun closed, the said block being thrown forward to unlock the bar by the recoil following the explosion of a cartridge in the barrel and locking means mounted in the block for retaining the same in its rear or closed position and in its front or open position.

2. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with the frame and barrel thereof, of a sliding supporting and operating handle located forward of the frame, and movable back and forth in a line parallel with the longitudinal axis of the barrel, an action-bar extending rearwardly from the handle, and adapted to be connected with the action mechanism of the gun, a handle-lockin g block coacting with the said action-bar to lock the gun closed, and locking means mounted in the block for retainin g the same in its rear or closed position, and in its front or open position.

3. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with the frame and barrel thereof, of a sliding supporting and operating handle located forward of the frame and movable back and forth in a line parallel with the longitudinal axis of the said barrel, an action-bar extending rearwardly from the handle and adapted to be connected with the action mechanism of the gun, a handle-locking block coacting with the said action-bar to lock the gun closed, pivotally connected at its lower end with one of the side walls of the gun-frame near the forward end thereof, and having an inward projection at a point above its pivot for coaction with the action-bar which reciprocates adjacent to its inner face, and locking means mounted in the block for retaining the same in its rear or closed position and in its front or open position.

4:. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with an action-bar, of a handle-locking block coactin g with the same to lock it in its closed position, and constructed with a yielding catch-pin coacting with a fixed pin or projeo tion on the frame to hold it in its rear or closed position, and in its front or open position, substantially as described.

5. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with an action-bar provided at its forward end with a resetting-finger, ofa handle-locking block coacting with the bar to lock the same in its closed position, and adapted to be acted upon by the resetting-finger to be thrown back into its closed position, substantially as described.

6. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with the frame thereof, of an action-bar, and a handle-locking block coacting with the bar to lock the same in its closed position, pivotally connected at its lower end with the gunframe, and constructedwith a retaining-flange entering a slot in the frame and holding the block against lateral movement without interfering with its oscillating movement, substantially as described.

7. In a magazine-firearm, the combination with the action-bar thereof, of a handle-locking block pivotally connected at its lower end with the gun-frame, constructed with a locking-lug to coaet with the bar for locking the same in its closed position, adapted to be acted upon by the bar for being shifted from its open to its closed position, and provided with a yielding catch-pin having its outer end beveled and coacting with a fixed pin on the frame for retaining the block in its open and closed positions, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM MASON.

Witnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, A. W. EARLE.

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