US 641620
UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.
JOSEPH ASTER, OF NEW YORK, N.Y.
FOOT-OPERATED REVOLVER.
SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,620, dated January 16, 1900. Application filed May 24, 1899, Serial No. 717,986, (No model.)
To all whom it may concern:
Be it known that, Joseph Aster, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, in the borough of Manhattan and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foot-Operated Revolvers, of which the following is a specification.
This invention relates to an improved foot operated revolver which is intended for the use of military bands, so as to permit the convenient firing off of the revolver whenever shots are required for accentuating certain effects in a piece of music.
Heretofore it has been customary that the musician who attends to the bass drum, &c., also fires off the revolver when shots are required in a piece of music; but as in most cases these shots are required when the drum, bass drum, and triangle are likewise required it is attended with some inconvenience to him to quickly grasp the revolver and fire off the shots, as he thereby loses the use of the right hand, which is necessary for the playing of the bass drum, &c.
This invention is designed to furnish a conveniently-operated revolver for the use of military bands, said revolver being operated by the foot of the musician, so that he has still both hands available for use; and the invention consists of a foot-operated revolver which comprises a casing formed of two semisections hinged together and a stockless revolver secured in the front part of the casing, the trigger of which projects through an opening in the bottom of the casing and is operated by depressing the casing by the foot, so as to fire the shots.
The invention consists, secondly, of a stockless revolver in which the spindle of the cartridge-cylinder is retained by an arm in a recess of the casing, so as to be securely held in position until released therefrom when it is desired to withdraw the cartridge-cylinder for the recharging of the same.
The invention consists, lastly, of certain details of construction and combinations of parts, which will be fully described herein after and finally pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 represent side elevations of my improved foot-operated revolver, showing the same respectively in its normal position of rest and after being depressed by the foot. Fig. 3 is also a side elevation with one-half of the casing removed so as to show the location of the revolver at the interior of the casing; and Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sections, respectively, on lines 3 3 and 4 4, Fig. 3.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
Referring to the drawings, A represents a revolver, which is formed of the ordinary parts— namely, a barrel, cartridge-cylinder, hammer, main spring, trigger, &c.— but in which the stock is dispensed with. This revolver is securely attached to a cast-metal elongated casing B, which is formed of two hinged semisections B’B’, which are provided with an opening at the front end in line with the end of the barrel of the revolver and with an opening in its lower part, through which the trigger T projects to the outside. The casing B is preferably made in the general appearance of a fish, the trigger being made in the shape of a fin, the front end in the shape of the head, and the rear end in the shape of the tail of a fish. The tail-shaped rear end of the casing B is spread out laterally, so as to form a support for the rear part of the casing, while the trigger is forked, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to support the front part of the casing. When the casing is depressed, the trigger will be moved into the position shown in Fig. 2, it being returned by the mainspring into normal position as Soon as the pressure on the casing is released. The two hinged semisections B’ B’ of the casing B are locked together by any approved locking device, the locking device shown in the drawings being composed of a spring-actuated pin d, which enters a hole d’ in one semisection of the casing, while a push-pin d^2, passing through a . is applied to the pin-carrying spring d^3, as shown in Fig. 3. On pressing the push-pin inwardly, the locking-pin d is released, so that one section B’ can be opened to show the revolver Ain the other section, as shown in Fig. 3. The revolver is attached to one section in such a manner that its barrel is adjacent to the opening in the front end of the casing, while its trigger extends through a slot in the bottom portion of the same.
The cartridge-cylinder A’ turns on a center spindle A^2, which is provided at the front end With an arm A^3, that extends into a recess a^3 of the casing, so as to be held firmly in position when the casing is closed. When it is desired to replace new cartridges in the cylinder, the spindle A^2 is removed by releasing the arm A^3 from the casing, after which the cylinder can be likewise removed and recharged. It is obvious that blank cartridges without balls have to be used. The revolver used is of the usual pattern,in which the hammer is operated by the trigger when it is desired to explode the blank cartridges.
My improved foot-operated revolver is used in the following manner: It is placed on the floor near the foot of the operating musician. Whenever the signal for firing a shot is given, the ball of the foot is placed on the top of the casing and the latter pressed in downward direction, so that the trigger is pressed backwardly and operates the hammer and which strikes on and fires off a cartridge. Simultaneously the cartridge-cylinder is turned in the usual manner on its axis, so that it is ready for the next shot.
The device is always ready for firing as long as there are cartridges in the cylinder, the shots being produced by simply pressing the foot on the casing of the revolver, which enables the musician to use both hands for playing the other instruments to which he is as signed.
Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent—
1. A foot-operated revolver, consisting of a casing, a stockless revolver in said casing, and a trigger extending below said casing and adapted to be actuated on pressing on the casing, substantially as set forth.
2. A foot-operated revolver, consisting of a casing formed of two hinged semisections, means for locking said semisections together, a stockless revolver in said casing and a forked trigger extending below the casing, and adapted to be actuated by depressing the same, substantially as set forth.
3. A foot-operated revolver, composed of a casing formed of two hinged semisections having an enlarged rear end, a revolver in said casing having a trigger-operated hammer, and a forked trigger, extending below the casing and forming the support for the front of the same, substantially as set forth.
4. A foot-operated revolver, composed of a metallic casing formed of two hinged semisections, having an opening at its front end, means for supporting said casing on the floor, a revolver in the front part of the casing, its barrel being inline with the opening in the end of the casing, a trigger projecting through a recess in the bottom of the casing, and a locking device for holding the sections together, substantially as set forth.
5. A foot-operated revolver, comprising a casing formed of hinged semisections provided with a front opening and an enlarged rear end, a revolver in the front portion of the casing, its barrel being in line with the front opening of the casing, and a trigger projecting through a bottom opening of the casing, means for locking the sections of the casing together, and means for locking the spindle of the cartridge-cylinder to said casing so as to permit its removal when the casing is opened, substantially as set forth.
In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.
JOSEPH ASTER.
Witnesses:
Paul Goepel,
M. H. Wurtzel.