Britain 309
A.D. 1865, 4th FEBRUARY. N° 309.
Fire-arms and Cartridges.
LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Wells Wood, of Cornwall, in the County of Orange and State of New York, in the United States of North America, for the Invention of “Certain Improvements In Revolving Fire-Arms, And Cartridges For The Same.”
Sealed the 26th May 1865, and dated the 4th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Wells Wood at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th February 1865.
I, STEPHEN Wells Wood, of Cornwall, in the County of Orange and 5 State of New York, in the United States of North America, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Certain Improvements In Revolving Fire-Arms, And Cartridges For The Same,” to be as follows:—
The said improvements chiefly relate, first, to the novel construction of the revolving cylinder adapted for the employment of metallic or non-metallic cartridges containing their own fulminate; second, to novel modes for expelling the empty cartridge cases from the chambers after explosion; third, to the peculiar manner of arresting and retaining the revolving chambers in the proper position for discharging by means of a vibrating dog or lever; and, fourth, to an improved construction of cartridges containing their own fulminate, adapted for use with my revolving fire-arm. The revolving cylinder is formed with cartridge chambers closed at their rear ends, and apertures are formed in the periphery of this cylinder opening respectively into the sides of the said chambers and in front of their rear ends for the admission of the point or face of the hammer to explode the cartridges. This manner of admitting the hammer renders it unnecessary to remove the cylinder from the stock or breech to receive the cartridges, since it enables them to be loaded into the chambers at the front ends, thereby allowing the rear ends to be entirely closed and the empty cases to be readily expelled from said chambers. The empty cartridge cases are started from the chambers by means of a wedge, or its equivalent, so situated as to be introduced through said apertures of the cylinder behind the cartridge cases, and by having the cartridge chambers slightly flaring outward, the empty cases will by their own gravity fall out when the front of said chambers is turned downwards. When the cartridge chambers are of uniform diameter throughout their whole length a sliding bolt or rod may be arranged to pass through a small aperture in the rear end of each cartridge chamber in order to expel the cartridge cases after explosion. The vibrating dog or lever employed to retain the cylinder in the several positions necessary for discharging its chambers, operates in connection with and is actuated by the hammer. This dog is pivoted nearer its upper than its lower end, and on the latter is formed a projection extending forward so as to enter a set of holes or notches formed in the rear end of the cylinder. The upper end is turned backward somewhat, and bears against the front face of the hammer. A spring attached to the hammer itself bears at its lower end against the lower arm of the dog, and when the hammer is raised presses the said projection forward against the rear end of the cylinder and throws it successively into the said holes or notches. When the hammer is down, the front edge thereof holds the upper arm of the dog so far forward as to keep the said projection out of the holes or notches in the cylinder, but when in this position the point of the hammer being inserted in the side apertures of the cylinder prevents the latter from turning; when however the hammer is raised to half-cock the projection on the dog is still held out of said holes or notches, so that the cylinder is left free to be turned around in the usual manner for loading the chambers and for expelling the empty cartridge cases. As soon as the hammer is raised beyond half-cock the said projection enters the holes or notches of the cylinder and retains the latter in position until the hammer descends again nearly to the cylinder. The dog is prevented from ever becoming accidentally disengaged from the holes or notches of the cylinder by the toe or lower front edge of the hammer being so shaped as to come close to the dog when the hammer is raised, but when the hammer descends this lower edge recedes at the proper time to allow the projection on the dog to be withdrawn from the cylinder. The cartridge cases are made of the full length and shape of the chambers. The fulminate is located around the rear edges of the cases when the side apertures of the cylinder are immediately forward of the rear ends of the chambers, in which arrangement the charge of powder sustains the fulminate against the blow of the hammer; but when said apertures are further forward the fulminate is located correspondingly forward in the cartridge, generally in front of the powder, or even around the periphery of the ball, a suitable groove or cavity being formed in the latter for the purpose, and open communications to the powder being provided if the fulminate is not located close to the end of the ball.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said Stephen Wells Wood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN WELLS WOOD, of Cornwall, in the County of Orange and State of New York, in the United States of North America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of February, A.D. Eighteen hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Stephen Wells Wood, Her special license that I, the said Stephen Wells Wood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Stephen Wells Wood, 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 “Certain Improvements In Revolving Fire-Arms, And Cartridges For The Same,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Stephen Wells Wood, 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 the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per formed, 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 Stephen Wells Wood, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings forming a part of this Specification (that is to say):—
The first part of my Invention relates to improvements in the revolving cylinder of fire-arms adapted to the employment of metallic or non-metallic case cartridges containing their own fulminate, and to be loaded into the front end of the cylinder; and to this end my first improvement consists in forming apertures in the periphery of the revolving cylinder, opening respectively into the sides of the several cartridge chambers thereof in front of their rear ends for the admission of the point or face of the hammer to explode the cartridges. This manner of admitting the hammer and exploding the cart-ridges renders it unnecessary to remove the cylinder from the stock or breech to receive the cartridges, and to expel the cases of the exploded cartridges, since it enables the cartridges to be loaded into the chambers at the front ends (allowing the rear ends to be entirely closed) and the empty cases to be expelled therefrom, there being no obstructions nor impediments to these manipulations; it also allows a simple and cheap form of cartridge to be used. And the second improvement in this part of my Invention consists in the employment of a wedge or its equivalent so situated as to be introduced through the side hammer apertures of the cylinder behind the cases of the exploded cartridges to start them from the chambers, so that by having the cartridge chambers slightly flaring outward the empty cases will by their own gravity fall out of the said chambers when turned downwards. A modification or additional provision of this second improvement consists in the application of a small sliding bolt or rod to enter an aperture through the rear end of each cartridge chamber to expel the empty cases when the chambers are of uniform diameter throughout their whole length.
The second part of my Invention consists in the employment and peculiar arrangement and operation of a vibrating dog for arresting and retaining the revolving cylinder in the proper positions for discharging the several chambers, the said dog being actuated and controlled by the movement of the hammer.
The third part of my Invention consists in an improved construction of cartridges containing their own fulminate to be used with my improved revolving fire-arm. This improvement relates particularly to the arrangement of the fulmivate in the metallic or non-metallic case, it being placed immediately inside of the periphery of the case in any position around the charge, whether of powder or of the ball, the said charge sustaining the fulminate against the blow of the hammer so as to insure the explosion. If the fulminate is placed around the ball, unless at the extreme rear part thereof, there should be notches or other communication leading from the fulminate back to the powder; I generally locate the fulminate, however, close to the rear end of the case.
I will now proceed more particularly to describe my improvements by reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 represents a central longitudinal vertical section of a revolving pistol or small arm, exhibiting the main features of my said improvements; Fig. 2, a side view of the same but shewing a rear bolt or rod for expelling the cartridge cases instead of the wedge shewn in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a central longitudinal section of the revolving cylinder having the rear ends of the cartridge chambers entirely closed; Fig. 4, a similar view of a revolving cylinder shewing small perforations through the rear ends of the chambers for the admission of a rear expelling bolt, as shewn in Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a central longitudinal section of a cartridge shewing the fulminate placed in the rear end and sustained by the powder alone; Figs. 6, 7, and 8, sections of cartridges in which the fulminate is sustained inside by other means than that of the charge itself. Like letters designate corresponding parts in all of the Figures.
The revolving cylinder A is located between top and bottom straps C, c, of the stock or breech C immediately behind the barrel B, and it revolves upon a pin g, extending entirely through it, or simply on journals which fit into holes bored into the two ends of the cylinder. The cartridge chambers a, di, are bored in at the front end of the cylinder, and I prefer to have them entirely closed at the rear end, as shewn in Fig. 1, in which case I. make the chambers a little the largest in diameter at the front end and slightly tapering to the rear end so as not to require the insertion of a bolt or rod to expel the empty cartridge cases. The cylinder is perforated in the periphery so that its apertures h, h, shall open into the chambers a, a, at the sides or somewhere forward of the rear ends thereof. In Fig. 1 there apertures are shewn immediately forward of the rear ends, but I sometimes locate these apertures much further forward, as shewn in Fig. 4, in which case an intermediate hammer is used, the point or face of which extends forward the required distance to enter the apertures and explode the cartridges when the fulminate is placed at the front of the powder charge, or around the ball itself; but whenever the apertures h, h, open into the sides of the chambers, which is my Invention, I so arrange the hammer D that its point d will strike into the said apertures and explode the fulminate of the cartridges. Thus I avoid making openings into the rear ends of the cartridge chambers, and obviate the necessity of removing the cylinder from the stock for the insertion of the cart ridges and for expelling the empty cases, the cartridges (of the simplest form) being inserted into the front ends of the chambers to which there is free It is best to locate the peripheral apertures h, h, immediately forward of the rear ends of the chambers for the principal reason that access thereby can be gained through them into the chambers behind the empty cases of the exploded cartridges to cause their expulsion, and thus the necessity of rear apertures for the purpose can be avoided. For the expulsion of the empty cartridge cases a wedge E (Fig. 1). is located in the under strap c of the breech in such a position that when the cartridge chambers a, a, are successively brought round to a position opposite to it its upper wedge-shaped end may be driven up through the apertures h, h, and wedge in behind the empty cases, so as to start the same forward sufficiently to loosen them in the slightly flaring chambers, so that by turning the front end of the cylinder downward the cases will fall out by their own gravity. The wedge E is drawn back out of the apertures h, h, by a spring e, substantially as shewn in Fig. 1. The wedge projects sufficiently out of the strap c to allow it to be operated with the thumb or fingers; but if it ever should be desirable to have the cartridge chambers of uniform diameter throughout their length, it might be convenient, though not necessary, to push the empty cartridge cases nearly or quite out of the chambers, or at least further than the wedge E would be capable of doing. In this case small openings m, m, (Fig. 4) may be made through the rear ends of the chambers for the admission of a small bolt or rod F, to expel the empty cases. In Fig. 2 the location of such a bolt or rod F is shewn, having. a knob or projection f to move it by and slide it in a groove or way I in or on the side of the stock or breech C. There is a notch in the lower side of the grooved way to allow the knob f of the bolt to be turned down flatwise when drawn fully back, and thus hold the bolt in the position shewn in Fig. 2. To retain the cylinder in the different positions for discharging its chambers a vibrating lever or dog S (Fig. 1) is employed, operating in connection with and by the movements of the hammer D in a peculiar manner to effect the purpose. The dog is pivoted at a point y ‘, nearer to its upper than its lower end, which has a projection s extending forward so as to enter a set of holes i, i, in the rear end of the cylinder when allowed by the movements of the hammer. Its upper end t is turned backward somewhat, and bears against the front face r of the hammer, as shewn. A spring w attached to the hammer itself bears at its lower end against the lower arm of the dog S, and when the hammer is raised presses the projection s forward against the rear end of the cylinder and throws it successively into the holes or notches i, i. The whole arrangement of the dog in connection with the hammer (as shewn in Fig. 1) is such that when the hammer is down the front edge r holds the upper arm of the dog so far forward as to keep the projection s out of the holes or notches i, i, in the cylinder, but in this position the point or face d of the hammer itself holds the cylinder from turning by being inserted in one or another of the apertures h, h, thereof. Then when the hammer is raised to half-cock (the trigger H entering the notch V of the hammer) the projection s of the dog S is still held out of the holes or notches i, i, so that in that position the cylinder is left free to be turned round for loading the chambers and for expelling the empty cartridge cases; but as soon as the hammer is raised beyond half-cock it allows the projection s of the dog to enter the holes or notches i, i, of the cylinder, and retain the same in position until the hammer descends nearly to the cylinder again. The dog S is prevented from ever becoming accidentally disengaged from the holes i, i, of the cylinder when the hammer is raised by the toe or lower front edge 2 of said hammer being so shaped as to come close to the dog in that position, but when the hammer descends the lower front edge z recedes in proper time from the dog to allow the projection s to be withdrawn from the cylinder. A spring pawl x pivoted to the hammer turns the cylinder A by acting upon notches in the rear end thereof in the usual manner. The cases k, k, (Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8,) are generally made of sheet copper (any equivalent material may be used) in the form of a simple cylindrical tube of the full length of the chambers a, a, and fitting the same. If the chambers are tapering the cases are of the same shape. The fulminate p is located in the rear edges of the cases (as shewn in P Fig. 5) when the apertures h, h, of the cylinder are immediately forward of the rear ends of the chambers; here the charge of powder sustains the fulminate against the blow of the hammer, but when the apertures h, h, of the cylinder are further forward, as shewn in Fig. 4, the fulminate is located correspondingly forward in the cartridge, generally in front of the powder or even around the periphery of the ball, there being a suitable groove or cavity therein for its reception, and if it is not located close to the rear end of the ball there should be notches or other open communication therefrom back to the powder. In Fig. 6 is shewn a cartridge having the fulminate located in the rear of the case, as in Fig. 5, but sustained against the blow of the hammer by a disk r of metal. In Fig. 7 the fulminate and sustaining disk are located in front of the powder charge. In Fig. 8 the fulminate is situated in a bead or hollow angular projection q, so that the fulminate is sustained by the sides of the groove. These latter arrangements may be used instead of the fulminate sustained only by the powder or ball, which, however, is the simplest and cheapest method.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of Invention, what I claim therein as new is,—
First, forming in the periphery of the revolving cylinder apertures which open respectively into the sides of the cartridge chambers forward of the rear ends thereof for admitting the point or face of the hammer to explode the cartridges bearing their own fulminate.
Second, the employment of a wedge or its equivalent arranged so as to be introduced through the hammer apertures opening into the sides of the cartridge chambers for the purpose of causing the expulsion of the empty cartridge cases.
Third, the employment of a vibrating lever or dog for arresting and retaining the revolving cylinder in its several positions, constructed, arranged, and operating in connection with and actuated by the hammer, substantially as described.
Fourth, the toe or lower front edge z of the hammer formed and arranged in relation to the dog S, so as to prevent the accidental withdrawal of the projection s from the revolving cylinder, as described.
Fifth, a metallic or non-metallic case cartridge in which the fulminate is placed around and sustained by the charge itself, either of the powder or ball.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of June, A.D. One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
STEPHEN WELLS WOOD. (L.S.)