British 2690
LETTERS PATENT to Charles Reeves, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, for the Invention of “Improvements nr Repeating or Revolving Fire-arms.”
Sealed the 13th April 1858, and dated the 22nd October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Reeves at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd October 1857.
I, Charles Reeves, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for “ Improvement? in Repeating or Revolving Fire-arms,” to be as follows:—
My Invention consists, firstly, of a new or improved construction of the locks of repeating or revolving fire-arms, whereby the hammer or cock can be brought into the positions called half-cock and full-cock by the action of the thumb upon the comb of the cock, or the said positions of half-cock and full-cock, and the subsequent liberation of the cock for the discharge of the fire-arm be effected by the pressure of the finger on the trigger. I carry this part of my Invention into effect in the following manner:—The lower or short end of the cock situated in the interior of the lock has a curvature nearly concentric with the axis on which the cock turns ; on the said curve are two depressions or indentations or bents, in which the toothed end of a sere in the under side of the lock engages. The engagement of the sere with one or other of these indentations holds the cock at half or full cock. An arm or lever on the upper end of the trigger engages with the front of the cock, and by pressing the trigger the said arm or lever may be made to raise the cock either to half or full cock. By further pressure of the trigger a knuckle or projection on the upper side of that part of the trigger on which the finger presses disengages the sere from the cock, which falls by the action of a spring and discharges the fire-arm. Instead of a knuckle on the trigger a projection may be made on the end of the sere against which the trigger presses and disengages the sere from the cock. Or the trigger may be made to press against a pin or stud placed under the sere, and thereby disengage the sere from the cock. The return motion of the trigger is effected by a spring.
My Invention consists, secondly, in connecting the loading piece or ramrod of repeating fire-arms w’ith the said fire-arms, by means of a dovetail slide whereby the motion and action of the said loading piece are more accurate than in repeating fire-arms of the ordinary construction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said Charles Reeves in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Charles Reeves, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Charles Reeves, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Reeves, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles Reeves, 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 Repeating or Revolving Fire-arms,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Reeves, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my or their or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain tbe 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 Reeves, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:—
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, of constructing the locks of repeating or revolving fire-arms, whereby the hammer or cock of the said fire-arms can be brought into the positions called “ half-cock ” and “ full-cock ” respectively, by the action of the thumb upon the comb of the cock, or the position of half-cock, and the subsequent liberation of the hammer for the discharge of the fire-arm be effected by the pressure of the finger on the trigger.
Figure 1 of the accompaning Drawing represents in side elevation (partly in section) a repeating or revolving pistol constructed according to my Invention, and Figure 2 represents a portion of the same in vertical section; the other Figures represent detached portions of the same, as herein-after explained.
a is the cock, the lower or short end b of which has a curvature nearly concentric with the centre or axis c on which it turns. On the part b of the cock are two depressions, indentations, or bents, marked respectively d and e9 in which said bents the toothed end of the sear / engages. The said sear / turns upon the centre gf and is made to bear against b by the spring h.
When the cock a is raised from the position in which it is represented in Figure 1, the sear/ engages first with the bent d, and afterwards if the cock be pulled sufficiently far back with the bent e in the former position, the hammer is at half-cock, and in the latter position at full-cock. The position of the hammer represented in Figure 2 is that of full-cock. An arm or lever i jointed to the upper end of the trigger k engages wtih the bent l on the front of the hammer or cock, and by pressing the said trigger the said arm or lever t may be made to raise the cock a either to half-cock or to discharge the pistol. When the trigger k has been so far pressed as to be brought into the position in which it is represented in Figure 2, it comes in contact with the lower end/1 of the sear /, and pressure on the said lower end/1 of the sear / liberates the said sear / from the bent e of the cock, when the said cock falls by the pressure of the mainspring m and discharges the fire-arm.
The arm or lever i is disengaged from the bent l before the trigger kis brought into the position in which it is represented in Figure 2, as will be understood by an examination and comparison of the relative positions of the parts in Figures 1 and 2. Instead of making the part/1 project from the interior of the lock, I sometimes make a hole in the guard at the part marked o, in which hole a pin or stud is ’placed, the said pin or stud being held loosely in its position by a spring. In this case I make the arm f1 so short that it always remains within the lock. When the trigger is brought into the position represented in Figure 2, the part n of the said trigger presses against the said pin or stud, and the said pin or stud against the part/1 of the sear/. I prefer however, to carry my Invention into effect by the method herein first described and represented in the Drawing. The return motion of the trigger k is effected by the spring p. The motion of the revolving chamber q is effected by the driver r jointed to the trigger k, and represented partly in dotted lines in Figure 1. Figure 3 represents in front and side elevations the driver r. Figure 4 represents in front and side elevations the arm or lever i> by which the cock is raised by means of the trigger, and Figure 5 represents in front and side elevations the trigger k.
My Invention consists further in connecting the loading piece or ramrod of repeating or revolving fire-arms with the said fire-arms by means of a dovetail slide of the form represented in transverse section at s in Figure 6 of the Drawing, that is to say, of the form somewhat resembling in transverse section the letter T. By this method of connecting the loading piece or ramrod with the fire-arm, the motion and action of the said loading piece or ramrod are more accurate than in ramrods of repeating or revolving fire-arms of the ordinary construction.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention, but I claim as my Invention.
Firstly, the methods herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, of holding the cocks or hammers of repeating or revolving fire-arms, in the positions of half-cock and full-cock respectively, and of liberating the said cocks or hammers, and discharging the fire-arms ; that is to say, by means of a sear engaging with bents on the lower part of the cock, upon the lower end of which said sear the trigger acts, and disengages the said sear from the cock, when the said trigger is pressed and moved by the finger to its full extent.
Secondly, connecting the loading piece or jramrod of repeating or revolving fire-arms by means of a dovetail slide of the form described and represented in Figure 6 of the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Reeves, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
CHARLES REEVES. (l.s.)
Witness,
Richard Skerrett,
Clerk to George Shaw.