British 2436
LETTERS PATENT to William Palmer, of the City and State of New York, United States of America, for the Invention of “ Improvements in Firearms.”
Sealed the 1st April 1859, and dated the 1st November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Palmer at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 1st November 1858.
I, William Palmer, of the City and State of New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “ Improvements in Fire-arms,” to be as follows:—
My Invention relates to those fire-arms which cock and discharge by one puli of the trigger, and my said Invention is applicable with single-barreled or revolving chambered or repeating fire-arms. I make use of a hammer or cock, properly located, to strike the nipple or cone receiving the cap to be exploded; this hammer is propelled by a suitable mainspring. The trigger is located in such a position that a slotted plate or its equivalent between the hammer and the trigger acts to cock the piece, and then slides off a knife edge or is otherwise disconnected or relieved from the trigger or cock, so that said cock would be free to descend and explode the cap, were it not for a seer or hair trigger that takes a notch in said cock maintaining the same while the user, by a momentary pause, takes aim ; and then, on continuing the pull on the main trigger, the said seer or hair trigger is moved by the main trigger coming against the same, and the piece is discharged. Thus precision of aim is provided for in a self-cocking fire-arm. Where this Invention is applied to a chambered or repeating fire-arm, the chambers are locked by a projection and slot in the trigger.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said William Palmer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th April 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, William
Palmer, of the City and State of New York, United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Palmer, Her special license that I, the said William Palmer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Palmer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “Improvements in Fire-arms,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Palmer, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Palmer, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):—
In several repeating fire-arms that have heretofore been constructed the chambers have been revolved by the pull of the trigger, which at the same time cocks the hammer and discharges it, firing the piece. In other fire-arms the hammer is cocked by hand, and then the trigger is pulled to discharge the piece. In the former instance, the fire-arm is self-cocking and revolving, possessing advantages in this respect over the latter instance; but in this case there is an advantage in being able to take better aim, and requiring less power to discharge the piece than where the continuous pull cocks and discharges.
My Invention combines the advantages of both the foregoing characters of repeating fire-arms, and consists in an arrangement of seers, hammer, and triggers, whereby the commencement of the pull on the trigger cocks the hammer and revolves the piece, and then it is disconnected from the other parts and gives a pause in which to take aim, and then the continuation of the pull on the trigger disconnects a second or hair trigger by a very easy pull, which causes the hammer to fire the piece.
In Figs. 1 & 2 of the Drawing, a is the stock; b, the barrel; c, the chambers or breeches on the centre pin d; all these parts may be of any usual form or size, e is the hammer, actuated by the mainspring /, and taking the nipples or cones 1, 1, as usual; g is the trigger, on the centre pin 2, formed as a slot at its rear part, carrying a knife edge pin 3 that passes through a slotted link h that is jointed at 4 to the hammer e, and formed with an off-set in said slot setting over the said knife edge pin 3; and i is a spring keeping the link h towards the knife edge 3. On pulling the trigger, the offset of the link h, taking over the knife edge 3, causes said hammer e to be thrown to the rear, cocking the piece; and the seer or hair trigger k falls into the notch 5 on the tumbler of the hammer, holding it in the cocked position; at the same moment the part 6 at the rear of the chambers forces the off-set of the slotted plate h off the knife edge 3, and the trigger is free from all strain, and by a momentary pause the party firing the piece is able to take correct aim, when upon continuing the pull the two triggers g and k coming in contact the latter is disengaged and the piece discharged. 7 is the spring which returns the trigger g to its forward position, and 8 is the spring to the hair trigger. The revolving of the barrels is accomplished by the pawl l attached to the tumbler of the hammer taking the ratchet teeth 9 on the rear of the chambers c, and the blocking of the chambers in place is effected by the forked part 10 of the trigger g coming on each side of the division 11, between the recesses for the cones 1, 1. 12 is the spring that keeps the pawl l to its work. It will be apparent that the slotted plate or seer h might be slightly varied in its construction or formed like a toggle joint, so long as it becomes disconnected or relieved immediately after the hair trigger k takes the tumbler of the hammer e; and the said hair trigger may be placed near to or farther from the trigger g, so as to allow a greater or less pause between the cocking and discharging, as set forth. In Fig. 3 a pistol is shewn of a slightly varied form, the operation of the parts being substantially the same vs in Figs. 1 & 2. In this instance, however, the seer k is differently positioned, and the trigger g has a seer h jointed thereto at 3 that takes a notch 4 in the hammer tumbler; and i is a spring having a limited motion, so that when the hammer is in the position shewn, the said spring i tends to throw the end of k out of the notch 4 in e which, when accomplished, leaves the entire force on the trigger or seer k to be discharged by the further pull of the trigger g; and in order to make the discharge instantaneous a small turning arm 13 may be used; but when not in use the pause for aim, prior to discharging, is as before specified. When the hammer is down on the cone, and the trigger is thrown forward again to take the notch 4, the seer h turns on the joint 3, when the spring i, coming against the other side of the slot 14, in which the end swings, causes the seer h to enter the notch, and the piece is ready for cocking and firing by the pull of the trigger, as before; but when desired, the hammer may be cocked by hand, the seer k holding the same, in which instance I cause a pin 15 that is set in the hammer tumbler e to rise under and take the strain off the trigger spring pt so that the light spring 7 can keep the trigger back to place, and avoid lost space in pulling the same back by hand, r is a spring, lying over or formed with the trigger spring pt and has a projection 10 on its end, taking into cavities in the chambers (