US623960A - l putnam - Google Patents

Description

Nn. 623,S60. Paten'tad Apr. 25, i899.

' G. L. PUTNAM.

MAGAZINE BOLT GUN.

(Applicatinn Bled Nov. 14, 1895.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR y? @Mam ATTURNEYJ- Nrrnn Smarts AtrNr innen@ GEORGE L. PUTNAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MAGAZINE BOLT-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,960, dated April 25, 1899-.

Application filed November 14, 1895. Serial No. 568,990. (No model.)

To all whont it 77u07/ concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE LINCOLN PUT- NAM, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city, cou uty, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rapid- Firing Magazine- Arms, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to magazine breechloading bolt-guns, and particularly to those in which the bolt and its actuating device are reeiprocatory to open and close the breechaperture and are contained and move within the receiver.

Myinvention comprises the several combinations of parts and devices hereinafter set forth and described and as more particularly recited in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a magazine breechloadingbolt-gun containing my invention and showing the parts in position immediately after a discharge. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same, but showing the breech-bolt retracted, as in the operation of ej ecting a shell and reloading the tiring-chamber. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on line III,Fig.1. Fig. Il is a similar view on line IV, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a similar view on line V, Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical section on line VI, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a side elevation in detail of a portion of the gun. Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical section on line III, Fig. l, looking rearwardly; and Fig. 9 is a similar view on said line looking forwardly.

The devices and means shown in the drawings and hereinafter described are such as may be employed in carrying out my invention; but I do not limit my invention to the particular construction of the said devices and means delineated.

A portion of the stock l is in the form of a metal casing 2, in which is the breech-aperture 3 and which incloses the receiver 5, while the barrel, in which is the firing-chamber, is shown at 4t.

The breech-bolt 6 may have a usual form of extractor 7 and seats in the breech-aperture to the rearward of the firing-chamber, and when thus seated fits at its rearward end to and against a shoulder S on the receiver-casing. The bolt is capable of a vertical and reciprocatory movement in the receiver to unseat it from the shoulder S and retract and project it in the operation of reloading. To aetuate the bolt, I employ a frame comprising` a plate 9, inclin ed to the horizon tal plane of the longitudinal axis of said bolt, and a front limb 2O and rear limb @supporting said plate and capable of reciprocatory movement in the receiver, as on ways la, carried by a plate 15, adapted to close the under side of the receiving-casing and removable to allow the bolt and connected mechanism to be taken out of the receiver. The bolt is provided with means to engage the under face of Jthe inclined plate 9, preferably in the form of projections lO on the opposite lateral sides of the bolt and desirably, as illustrated, on the said sides 0f a rearwardly and downwardly extending arm ll, fixed on the bolt and which enters and plays in a slot l2 in the inclined plate 9. It is evident that a rearward movement of the described frame on its ways will operate, by

the engagement of the projections l0 on thel bolt with the under face of said inclined plate 9, to depress the rear end of the bolt and disengage it from the shoulder 8, and that the continued rearward movement of said frame will, by the engagement of the said projections on the bolt with the forward limb 2O of the frame, retract the bolt in the receiver, so that said bolt may perform the functions of opening the breech-aperture and extracting and ejecting a shell from the firing-chamber.

The bolt is guided in its movements by grooves 2l in the receiver-casing engaged by trunnions 22 on the sides of the forward end of the bolt and by ribs 23 on said receivercasin g engaged by projections 24 on the sides of the rearward end-of the bolt. The guides 23 are parallel in direction with the ways 14E excepting at their forward ends, where they may be curved or inclined, as at 25, to aid in depressing the rearward end of the boltin its retraction. The guides 2l are inclined rearwardly and downwardly from the firing-chamber to the main chamber of the receiver, so as to direct the forward end of the bolt upwardly into the breech-aperture when the bolt is projected and to direct the rearward end of the bolt downwardly into the main or rearward chamber of the receiver when said bolt is retracted, as in Fig. 2. As the bolt reaches IOO this latter position the rear lower edge of the extracted shell strikes against a spring-actuated ejector 2G of any known form, such as that illustrated, which will cause the shell to be thrown out in the usual manner. It will be understood that the ejecting mechanism shown is not essential to the novel features of my invention; but that mechanism may be employed to eject the shell laterally or in any other desired manner. Upon the ejection of a shell the topmost cartridge in the magazine, as hereinafter more particularly described, will be forced upward into the path of the bolt in its projection movement, Fig. 2, so as to be thereby carried forward from the magazine into the firing-chamber in the well-known manner.

The bolt ispreferably provided wit-h means to engage and traverse the upward face of the inclined plate 9 and to detachably det-ain the rearward end of the bolt at a point thereon below the upward end of said inclined plate while the bolt is projected toward the breech-aperture, and said means may be in the form of shoulders 53, projecting laterally from the rearward depending arm ll of the bolt and adapted to lie upon and ride over the upward face of the inclined plate 9 and to catch againstaside of notches 52 in thelowerpart of said upward face when a projection movement of the bolt by its actuating-frame is begun, and thereafter when the bolt is arrested in its said movement by irnpingcment of its forward end against the wall of the `tiring-chamber to escape said notches and traverse the upper part of said upward face of the inclined plate 9. The engagement of said shoulders 53 with said notches 52 will operate, during theprojection of the bolt toward the breech-aperture, to force the bolt forward along its guides 23 instead of pressing it upward against said guides, thereby promoting ease of movement of the mechanism in thc projection of the bolt. When the bolt reaches the breech-aperture, the further forward movement of the actuating-frame will force the shoulders 53 out of thc notches 52, and the traverse of said' shoulders over the upper part of said upward face of said inclined plate 9 will aid in tilting the rear end of the bolt upwardly into the breech-apertu re and against the shoulder 3.

The plate l5, carrying the ways 14 for the bolt-actuating frame, has at its forward end hooks 1U, Fig. 7, adapted to engage over pins l7, fixed in the stock or casing, while at its rear end the plate is secured by a sliding ring 18 on the stock and which is adapted to pass overit. By first retracting the bolt and then slipping the ring from over the end of said plate the latter can be withdrawn from the receiver, carrying with it the bolt and its connected parts as a single train of mechanism.

To constitute an effective slide-bearing for the actuator-frame on its way 14, I form lateral recesses 19, Fig. 5, in the frame-limbs 20 and 4S to receive and play on said ways in the reciprocatory movements of said frame. The

forward limb of the frame also serves to en gage the projections lO on the bolt at the conclusion of the downward traverse thereby of the under face of the plate 9, and thus to retract the bolt as the said frame is drawn rearwardly on its ways.

The described sliding frame,which actuates the breech-bolt, as set forth, comprises an extension 13, which projects from the main frame, preferably as a continuation of the limbs 2O and 48 thereof, to the exterior of the receiver, and there constitutes a guard for the trigger, with a portion of said extension, opposite to its junction with said main frame, reaching beyond the trigger, as in the direction below the receiver, and said extension 13 is shaped in any form convenient to be grasped by the hand for performing the operation of loading and firing.

rlhe firing-pin 27 has longitudinal movement with the bolt and is actuated by a spring 28, arranged in a chamber 29 in the bolt and bearing against a shoulder 30 on said pin. The sear 3l is located in a chamber 32 in the bolt and is pivotally mounted on a pin 32, reaching transversely of the bolt and through slots 33 in the bolt-walls and with its ends engaging longitudinal grooves 34 in the receivereasing, the said grooves forming part of the guides 2l, already described, except that they are deeper than the latter, so that shoulders 35 are constituted to arrest the ends of the pin 32 as the bolt is projected, thereby holding the sear stationary at that point vwhile the bolt continues its projection to close the breech-aperture. A means of engagement between the pin and scar being provided, as by forming a hook 3G thereon and providing the sear with a shoulder 37, the firing-pin will be arrested with the sear and held, with its impelling-spring tensioned, until the sear is released. Upon such release the firing-pin will be impelled forward upon and explode a cartridge in the firing-chamber. To enable the rear end of the bolt to be thrown upward into place, as already described, the grooves 34 are formed with ulnvardly-extending recesses 3S to accommodate the ends of the scar-pin 32. In retraeting the bolt the sear is held stationary by stops 39 on the interior of the receiver, adapted to engage the ends of said pin. The sear is normally pressed upwardly by a forked spring 40, engaging beneath it and mounted on the bolt. The tail 4l of the sear extends downward beyond the bolt and is adapted to reach through and play in a slot 42 in the sliding frame, so that its extremity may be engaged by the trigger.

The trigger 43 is fulcrumed in and travels with the sliding frame. in the position shown in Fig. l, the gun is cocked and the pulling of the trigger will cause a forward operation of its scar-engaging arm 44 to engage said sear, thereby oscillating the latter to release the iiringpin. I prefer to provide the trigger with the laterallysexl tending fulcrum-arms 45, adapted to rest upon Vhen the parts arelIO the ways 14 andimmediately un der a lever 46, which is slotted at 47 to permit the passage through it of the trigger-arm 44 and which is pivoted to the rearward limb 4S of the sliding frame and pressed downwardly by a spring 49, so that the trigger will be held in normal position with its arms 45 in Iiat contact with the ways 14, while sufficient oscillation of the trigger will be permitted for the operation of the sear,as already described. In order that the arm 11 may not interfere with the opera-- tion of the trigger, it is slotted to permit the trigger-arm 44 to extend through it, Figs. 2 and 5.

The sliding frame, including its extension 13 for the manipulation thereof, is provided with means for locking the frame to the receiver when the frame and its bolt are projected and the latter is seated in the breechaperture and adapted to release the frame from the receiver only after the gun has been fired. This means may be constituted by a projection 50 on the lever 46, adapted to engage a notch or notches 51 in the ways 14. Then the frame and its bolt are projected, the projection 50 will engage the notch or notches 51 and lock the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. When the trigger is pulled and the sear thereby released, the continued pull on the trigger will operate, by its arms 45, to raise the lever 46 against its spring and withdraw the projection 50 from the notch or notches 51, thereby permitting the retraction of the frame and the bolt by the manipulation of the extension 13.

To secure freedom of movement on the sliding frame in its reciprocation, it is desirable that the grooves 21 be slightly flared or widened from the front toward the rear and that the ways 14 be also slightly flared or increased in thickness in the same direction.

The magazine is preferably formed of thin sheet metal constituting side walls 54 and a bottom 55, together with aforward end tongue 56 and rearward end flanges 57 to hold the contained cartridges from longitudinal movement therein. There are thus left spaces 5S at the front and 59 at the rear of the magazine, giving elasticity to the side walls, which when the magazine is empty incline toward each other, as shown in Figs. S and 9, and are forced to parallel position by inserted cartridges, as shown. A spring 61 of any well-known form for this purpose serves to hold the cartridges` against the in turned edges 60 of the walls 54. As the breech-bolt in its projection movement engages the uppermost cartridge in the magazine to force it to the firing-chamber, the walls 54 will yield sufficiently to permit said cartridge to escape forwardly from under the said edges 60 of said walls.

Means are provided for adjusting the magazine in the receiver relatively to the bolt and firing-chamber so that the gun may be used either as a repeater or single-loader. These means may consist of exterior projections 62, Figs. 3 and S, on the magazine, preferablyin the form of yielding tongues cut from the side walls, and inwardly-projecting shoulder 63 on the casing, adapted tobe engaged by the projections 62 when the magazine is seated in the casing with the uppermost cartridge therein below the range of the breech-bolt, together with spring-controlled supports 64, Fig. 3, adapted to be engaged by the projections 62 on the magazine when the latter is raised in the casing to bring the uppermost cartridge into said range of the breech-bolt.

When the magazine is held in adjustment by the shoulders 63, as described, the gun may be used as a single-loader, the magazine being kept in reserve. When it is desired to use the gun as a magazine-repeater, it may be adjusted as such by a simple blow with the hand upon the bottom of the magazine, which will thrust the same upwardly to engagement of the projection 62 with the supports 64.

Then the contents of the magazine is eX- hausted, the walls 54 will automatically collapse toward each other, thereby disengaging the projections 62 from the supports 63 or 64, as the case may be, and permitting the magazine to drop out of the casing, whereupon a fresh charged magazine may be therein inserted.

It is to be observed that the described connection between the breech-bolt and its actuating sliding frame is of s uch a character that the Sear cannot be engaged by the trigger and the gun consequently discharged until the breech-bolt is fully projected and is locked in position in the breech-aperture. The employment of any safety-catch for this purpose is thusobviated.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a breech-loading gun the combination with abreech-bolt, having a tailpiece at its rearward end, of a reciprocatory breechbolt actuator directly engaging said tailpiece of said bolt.

2. In a breech-loading gun, the combination with a breech-bolt reciprocatory Within the receiver, of a breech-bolt actuator, also reciprocatory Within the receiver, and comprising a plate having dual surfaces which are respectively on opposite sides thereof, and inclined to the horizontal plane of the longitudinal axis of said bolt, together with means on said bolt to respectively engage and traverse the said surfaces on the said opposite sides of said plate.

3. In a breech-loading gun, the combination with a breech-bolt reciprocatory Within the receiver, of a breech-bolt actuator, also reciprocatory within the receiver, and comprising a plate having dual surfaces which are respectively on opposite sides thereof and inclined to the horizontal plane of the longitudinal axis of said bolt, together with means carried by said bolt at its rearward end to respectively engage and traverse the said surfaces on the said opposite sides of said plate.

4. In a breech-loading gun, the combina- IOO IIO

tion with a breech-bolt reciprocatory within the receiver, of a breech-bolt actuator, also reciprocatory within the receiver, and coinprising a plate the under and upper surfaces of which are inclined to the horizontal plane of the longitudinal axis of said bolt, together with projections and Shoulders on the bolt to respectively engage and traverse said under and upper surfaces of said plate.

5. In a breeclrloading gun, the combination with a breech-bolt reciprocatory within the receiver, of a breech-bolt actuator, also reciprocatory Within the receiver, and comprising a plate the under and uppersurfaces of which are inclined to the horizontal plane of the longitudinal axis of said bolt, and the upper surface of which is provided with a notch or depression near its forward and lower. end, together with projections on said bolt to engage and traverse the under surface of said plate during the projection and retraction movements of said bolt b y said actuator, and shoulders, also on said bolt, to traverse the upper surface of said plate during` said movements of said bolt and its actuator, and to detachably engage said notch or depression in said upper surface during the projection movement of said bolt by its said actuator toward the breech-aperture.

G. In a breech-loading gun, the combination with a breech-bolt reciprocatory Within the receiver, of a breech-bolt actuator, also reciprocatory within the receiver, composed of a frame comprising a plate inclined to the horizontal plane of the longitudinal axis of the bolt, and a forward and rearward limb upholding said plate and mounted to slide on ways in the receiver, together with means on the bolt to engage and traverse the under face of said plate during the iirst part of a rearward movement of said actuator to unseat the bolt from the breech-aperture, and to engage said forward limb of said actuator-'frame during the succeeding part of said rearward movement of the actuator to retract the bolt from said aperture.

7. In a breech-loading gun, the combination with a breech-bolt reciprocatory within the receiver, of a breech-bolt actuator, also reciprocatory within the receiver, and comprising a plate Which is inclined to the horizontal plane of the longitudinal axis. of the bolt, together with a downwardly and rearwardly extending arm lon the rearward end of said bolt, and means carried by said arm to engage and traverse the under face of said plate. f

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE L. PUTNAM.

\Vitnesses:

II. N. Low, E. L. TODD.

Images