British 624
LETTERS PATENT to Charles Edwin Wallis, of Millman Street, Bedford Row, Holborn, London, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of “ Improvements in Revolving Fire-arms.”
Sealed the 8th September 1864, and dated the 12th March 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Edwin Wallis at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th March 1864.
I, Charles Edwin Wallis, of Millman St., Bedford Row, Holborn, London, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “ Improvements in Revolving Fire-arms,” to be as follows:— This Invention consists in forming the chamber piece of revolving fire-arms containing the charges in the following manner:—Heretofore it has been the practice to discharge the contents of each chamber by the hammer striking a percussion cap placed outside of and in a line with each chamber, and further, in making each chamber to contain only one charge. Now by this Invention I propose to place two charges of powder and ball in each chamber and discharge each separately by the following means, that is to say, around the-outside of the revolving piece I drill two holes in such a manner that the said holes come over the powder of the two respective charges; in these holes are two nipples which are acted upon by the sliding hammer, *which hammer acts in such a manner as to discharge the whole number of the outermost charges, leaving those next to the closed end to be subsequently discharged by shifting the slide of the said hammer; by which means, for example, an eight-chamber revolver may be made to discharge sixteen charges without increasing the diameter of the chamber piece.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said Charles Edwin Wallis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Charles Edwin Wallis, of Millman Street, Bedford Row, Holbora, London, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of March, iu the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Edwin Wallis, Her special license that I, the said Charles Edwin Wallis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Edwin Wallis, 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, withiu the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “ Improvements in Revolving Fire-arms,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Edwin Wallis, 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 Charles Edwin Wallis, 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 Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):—
My Invention of “ Improvements in Revolving Fire-arms” consists in adapting and applying to the revolving chambers of such fire-arms a second row of nipples in addition to the ordinary single row, by which means a second charge may be fired from each loading chamber instead of the single charge alone, as heretofore. In this manner the number of charges contained in the revolving chamber may be increased without increasing the diameter of the chamber. For this purpose a second or additional row of holes are formed in the periphery of the revolving chamber, and over them a second row of nipples are inserted, and the striking part of the hammer is moveable, so as to admit of its being slidden into the required position for striking on the second or hinder row of nipples after acting on the first or front row thereof.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed by the aid of the accompanying Drawings, in vhich are represented the parts above referred to.
Description of the Drawings.
Fig. 1 is an end view of the revolving chamber and the hammer; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same as applied to a pistol; Fig. 3 is an end view of the revolving chamber detached 5 Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same with a portion of the hammer. In these several Figures the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
A is the revolving chamber, which is shewn to contain eight loading chambers B, B, each of which may be brought into a line with the barrel in the usual manner; C is the ordinary row of nipples, one to each loading chamber; C* is a second or additional row of nipples inserted in the periphery of the revolving chamber in front of the former row, each communicating with a part of one of the loading chambers B in front of that part with which the nipple C communicates. By this arrangement each loading chamber B may contain two charges, one under each of the nipples C and C*. The hammer is represented at D, being elongated so as to reach the front nipple C*. The striking part d of the hammer is fitted into a dovetailed groove formed in the holding part thereof to receive it, such sliding part being moved along the groove as required by means of a projecting stud E. A spring is or may be inserted in the groove for the purpose of keeping the said sliding part of the hammer in its required position. It is preferred that the nipples should be inclined so that the hammer may be caused to strike with full effect. It will be evident, on reference to the Drawing, that with the striking part d of the hammer in the position shewn at Fig. 2 the eight charges in the several loading chambers under the nipples C* may be fired in succession. Then, on sliding the part d of the hammer over the nipples C the eight charges contained in the loading chambers under these nipples may afterwards be fired. In this manner the number of charges that can be fired from the chambers is doubled without increasing the diameter of the revolving chamber; and it is obvious that by lengthening the chamber and the hammer another row of nipples might be added. It is to be observed that although in the Drawing my Invention is shewn as applied to a pistol, it is equally applicable to other kinds of revolving fire-arms.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that what I claim as of my Invention is the adaptation and application to the revolving chamber of the kind of fire-arms described of a second or additional row of nipples combined with the elongation of the hammer, the striking part of which is capable of being slidden therein for the purpose of increasing the number of charges that may be fired without increasing the diameter of the revolving chamber, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Edwin Wallis, have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
CHARLES EDWIN WALLIS. (l.s.)
Witness,
John Richardson,
Foreign Agent,
13, Kennington Terrace,
London, S*