USRE2768E - Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms - Google Patents

Description

` IMPROVEMENT 'ia c Specification formin g part of Letters Pate'nt o. 51,739, date'd December' October ,'1sc7. i g

To all whom it may coacrn: i .Be it known that we, VVILLIAM H. MILLE and GEORGE W. lV[ILLER, Of West Mer-iden,

in the connty of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Fire- Arms; and we do he'eby declare the following tobe a full clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had. to the ac- .c onpanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichp Fgure 1 represents a side View of so much of a fire-arm as Willillustrate our inventon.

Fig. 2' represents a vertical longitudinal section of or through thesame. Figs. 3, 4, 5,:.and 6 represent detached portions of `the arm,

which will be nore speci-fically referred to' arm in line with'said groove when the breechhereafter.

Similar letters of reference where they occur in the several separate figures denote like parts of the arin in all the drawings.

Our invention consists, first, in the combinaton of' the latch, face-plate, swinging breechpiece, and catch, for the purpose of closin g and looking the breech closed, and opening or operating the same.

Our invention further consists in combining with .the latch a detent or locking nechanisn, that looks the striker When the latch is raised, to prevent accidental explosion of the arm.

Our invention further consists in a shellejector hung on the pin upon which the sWinging breech-piece moves, and which ejector has a notion With and independentot' the breechpiece, as and for a purpose that'will be eX- plained.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawigs.

A 'epresents the case or frame of the arni which connects the stock and barrel, and in which is arranged the'nechanism for opera-tin g the arm. B is a swinging breech-piece, which is hung and turns upon the pin a as a center of motion, so that when its face-plate or part b is up against the breech of the barrel C it Will occupy a position about at right angles With the center line of the barrel; and when it is thrown back after disclarging the arm,

andpreparing it for beingf reloaded, the faceplate will occupy the position nearly as shown by the line c, passing through the pivot-pin a. When' the breech..-pieceis swung backward and downward it exposes to View the whole range of the bore. ot' the .barrel, and affords perfect facility for .inserting, extracting,` or expelling the cartridge d. On the rear side of, and in a parallel line with, the face. plate b is made a groove, 7t,.for receiving the 'shoulders of the thumbv-latcl E, andfron this groove I; there extends aopenig or hole, m, downward through the breech-piece B, into and through which the. shaik -n ofthethumblatch' passes. Th shoulders oflthe thumblatch extend through thegroove 70, and catch into depressionsiz' in the frame or case of the block is up close against the bore or end of the barrel, and the thunb-latch thns firnly looks the' breech-piece against the end of the barrel. The sten or shank n of the thumblatch, after passing down through the hole m, has a step or plate, h, Secured to it by a screw, e, or a pin, said plate or step projecting far enough to receive and hold a coiled spring, g, which is placed in a recess in the breechblock. The tendency of this spring is to draw down the thumb-latch and hold it in the groove Ic and depressions i, and thus firnly hold the breech-piece locked up against the barrel. A slidin g piece, 0, is arranged in the side ot' the breech-piece B, for the purpose of receiving and transmitting the blow from the hammer to the i'uhninate of the cartridge; and a detent, a", the sten of which passes through a slot or nortise, 1, in the breech-picce, and into the stem n of the -thumb-piece E, is so arranged as to prevent the possibility of accidental discharge of the cartrdge, by means of the bar or piece 0, except when it receives its impetus from the hammer, for when the thumb-latch E is lifted the detent 1' will rise with it, being connected to it between the shoulder 2 and the side of the depression 3, which efi'ectually prevents the t'ansnission ot' a blow, as the piece 0 is locked by the detent, and 'will remain so until the latch drops or is drawn into the depression or catch i, in which position it locks the breech-piece against the barrel, in which case an explosionwould not be dangerous to the user of the gun, if even it .were accidentally to take place. Besides, 'the end of the striker or explodng-piece o is small, and does not project from the surface of the breech-piece,and nothing but a suitably-shaped and sized striker, hammer, or nose 'could strike or move the piece o hard enough or far enough to reach the fulminate of the cartridge and explode it. F is a shell-discharger arranged upon the pin a, upon which the breech-piece B moves as a center. When the oartridge is inserted into its place in the breech end of the barrel, the front side of the finger s will be against the inside of the flange of the cartridge. After the explosion, and on opening or drawing back the face-plate b and brech-hlock, of which it is a part, the under side of the breech-piece B will strike the projection t, and cause the finger s of the extractor F to push or back out the shell from the 'barreL The rearward motion of the finger s is limited by the action or means of the stop pin u. The shell-discharger `is hung loosely'npon the pivot-pin a, of the swinging breech-hlock, and when the breech-block is turned upon its pivot to open up the bore of the gun, it comes against the shoulder tof the ejector, and swings or turns said ejector with it on the pivot-pin. This motion throws the finger s against the flange of the empty shell or case, and throws it outf the gun, When the new Cartridge is' inserted in the bore of the gun, its flange, coming against the finger s, pushes it forward and downward, and turns the discharger upon theshat't a, it being loose' tlereon, until the cartridge is properly placed in the firing-chamber, and the succeeding opening up of the gun by turning the breecl-piece upon its pivot again throws the finger against the flange of the shell, and again ejects or backs it out of the arm.

Having thus fully described the nature, object, an-'l purpose of our invention, what we claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is p l. The latch E, arranged and Operating in combination with the face-plate b, oscillating breech-piece B, and catch i, substantially as described.

'2. We also claim the combination of the swiugng breech -piece, striker, and detent, Operating together as and 'for the purpose described.

3. We also claim the plate-ejector F, with its shoulder, stop, and tin ger, when hun g loosely upon, and controlled in its movements solely by, the pivot-pin of the swinging breech, and moving around the same center with it, and operated by the inserting of the cartridge and the swinging of the lireecl,in the manner substantially as described.

WILLIAM H. MILLER.

GEORGE W. MILLER.

Witnesses: 4

RATCLIFFE HICKS, ORVILLE'H. PLATT.

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