British 20430
“ Improvements in, or relating to, Revolver Small Arms ”
We, .The Wesley axij Scott Revola’eh .and Arms Compaxv ‘ LtjmiteIi,. of Weaman Street, Birmingham, Revolver Manufacturers, and Wim-iam Jorrx Whitevg of llouglas Road Randsworth near Birmingham, Works Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows; —
This invention has relation to revolver small arms, and particularly to the trigger actions or firing mechanism of revolvers in which combined single and double action mpvements are employed to provide for the re-cocking of the hammer either by hand’ when the revolver is being used as a single-action arm for target practice and other deliberate shooting, or by. means of the “trigger when being used , as a double-action revolver for rapid firing.
•Now in ordinary combined single and double revolver actions, the re-cocking of the hammer by hand when used in single-action shooting entails a backward movement or disturbance’of the • position ’of • the trigger and the shooters finger necessarily has to travel back with the said trigger, which is a disadvantage ih target shooting as it is apt to disturb the aim.
According to the present invention, the improved combined single and double action trigger mechanism is provided whereby this movement of the trigger and . disturbance of the finger position in re-cocking by’hand is avoided, as the trigger remains practically quiescent or stationary whilst the hammer is being pulled back.
According to the said invention, it is proposed to arrange across the body cif a revolver, at a point above the trigger, a fixed pin ‘oy‘ pivot which serves as a common centre for both the sear pf the action, which is located behind the said pin, and a forward-directed radius arm or link to the front end of which is pivoted the forward extremity of the body or blade of the trigger, the top face of which lies under and is opposed to the said radius arm and also extends below a portion of the sear. A suitable system of springs is arranged in conjunction with these three members of ‘the mechanism whereby—under certain conditions as hereinafter explained—the radius link and the sear are constrained to assume positions at a slight angle relative to one another; that is, they incline downward and in opposite directions away from the fixed pin whereon they both turn. ‘ . 1
Cut transversely across the top edge of the trigger body are a pair of notches or shoulders, one of which comes at the rearward end of the said body and may be termed the cocking-notch, and the other is disposed a distance forwards of the first-named and may be described as the firing notch, whilst the underside of , the sear piece- is provided with a. corresponding pair of bearing shoulders or . abutments, the rearmost one of which is adapted to fall into engagement with the cooking notch of the trigger when the sear and radius link are in the relatively inclined positions above referred-to and when thus engaged the pulling of the trigger will re-coclc the hammer when the revolver is being used as a double-faction arm. The other abutment is adupted to engage the firing notch of’ tile trigger only when , the sear and radius,;aipi are disposed in* line with one another, which brings this firing abutment vertically lignable with the fixed T centre pin, and when the firing abutment is thus engaged with the.corresponding . notch of the trigger, the whole of the three members, viz, the sear, the link and the trigger are coupled together and will on the trigger being pulled, turd bodily, or collectively about the said pin and thus disengage the nose of the, sear from. the bent of the hammer, hut it must he undef&tood that the parts only assume these positions and act as above described after the hammer has been cocked by band when the revolver is being used in single-action shooting.
After discharge; the angularity of the sear and link is restored’ and the trigger-is made to follow up this slight movement by ‘the springs provided for these purposes or a single spring may be fitted in the link in such a manner as to. perform both operations. The back shoulder, of the sear then lies in engagement with the cocking notch of the trigger, this being the normal positioh assumed on the hammer falling. •.
The hammer swings about a pin which is disposed behind and in a higher plane than the sear centre, and is extended below the said pin into a’fpet at-the front of which is a toe or projection having a’ bent which is located (whdh the hammer is in its normal or rebound position) below the said hammer centre and is adapted to .be engaged by. the, nose of the sear only when the hammer is placed at full cock by hand, it being thus understood that this bent is only engaged by the sear in single-action shooting.. The front edge of the foot, above the bent is curved backwards to provide a clearance within. which is hung, a wiper arm or pawl swinging upon a pin disposed above the hammer centre and having arranged in connection with it, a spring and stop which preserves or restores the lower or nose, end of the said pawl in its determinate position a little above the single-action bent.-. . .
■This lower end of the yielding pawl on the front of the hammer constitutes the double-action bent; that is t,o say, if the trigger is pulled when the hammer is at the rebound and the back shoulder of the sear, is engaged with the cocking, notch . of the trigger, the top of the sear will come underneath or at the back of the pawl and the hammer is levered back or cocked, in opposition to the main-spring until the nose of .the sear has wiped past the point of the pawl whereupon the hammer is impelled forwards by the mainspring, fires the revolver and comes again to the rebound, and then the nose of the sear, in being restored to its normal position, bears against and wipes down the front of the said pawl which yields inwards or rewards to admit of the sear nose passing it and finally when the said nose has cleared the point of the said pawl, the latter springs- outwards and is retained by’ its stop in the normal position ready to he reengaged by the sear when the trigger is again pulled.
With mechanism constructed and arranged as above described, the pulling of the hammer to full-cock by hand when, the revolver is being used as a single-action arm does not communicate any corresponding backward movement to the trigger, hut the,link and sear automatically straighten out or are taken into line with one another, the sear nose is taken into engagement with the single-, action bent in the fixed toe of the hammer and the forward abutment of the said sear comes into engagement with the single-action firing-notch of the trigger.
In connection with the trigger end hammer mechanism, it is proposed to employ a single main-spring, the free-side of which is connected to the hammer in the usual way and impels the same forward, when liberated from the sear and also takes it back to the -rebound position, whilst the stand-side of the said ■ spring bears upon a, long limb or auxiliary pressure-transmission arm, whose rearward end is suitably fulcrumed in the frame whilst the forward end hears on a ^shoulder,, pin; or other convenient’part’of the sear, to which-the cylinder-rotating pawl is also jointed. – This, auxiliary limb thus forms a means for transmitting the pressure of -the= main spring both to the cylinder ■ pawl for drawing it down after its upward operative movement on the trigger being pulled and also for taking the rearward abutment of the sear into engagement with the .cocking nojtch of the trigger after every discharge. of the x’evolver, whether same is being-used on the single action or double-aerion system of firing.
Dated this 18th day of .September 1902.
THE WEBLEY AND SCOTT REVOLVER & ARMS COMPANY LIMITED WILLIAM JOHN WHITING – – ’ By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicants.. –
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Vv “-* Improvements in, or relating to. Revolver Small Arms ”
We, The Webley and Scott Revolver and Arms Company Limited, of Weaman Street, Birmingham, Revolver Manufacturers, and William John Whiting of Douglas Road Handsworth near Birmingham, Works Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the. sanie is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: —
This invention has relation to revolver small arms, and • particularly to the trigger actions or firing mechanism of revolvers in which combined single and double action movements are employed to provide for the re-cocking of the hammer either by hand when the revolver is being used as ‘a single-action arm for. target practice and other deliberate shooting, or by means’ of the trigger when being used as a double-action revolver for rapid firing.
Now in ordinary combined single and double revolver actions, the re-cocking of the hammer by hand when used in single-action shooting entails a considerable .backward movement or disturbance of the position of the trigger and . the shooter’s finger necessarily has to travel back with the said trigger, which’ is a disadvantage in target shooting, as it is apt to disturb1 the aim.
According to the present invention, improved combined single and double action ‘ trigger mechanism is provided whereby this backward movement of the trigger and disturbance bf the finger position in re-cocking by hand is avoided, as the trigger remains practically stationary whilst the hammer is being pulled back-for re-cocking. ■ – 1
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents an elevation of a revolver-pistol constructed in accordance with this invention, in this view, and all the other figures, the revolver is shown without the cylinder, for the purpose of better illustrating the action of the other parts.
Figure 2 is another view of the said revolver with parts of the body broken away or drawn in longitudinal vertical section in order to show the arrangement of the action. In this view the parts are represented in the positions which they respectively assume after the hammer has fallen.
Figure 3 is a similar view of the revolver to that shown in Figure 2, but represents the positions assumed by the parts when the hammer has been cocked by hand for single-action shooting i.e, drawn hack directly instead of being cocked automatically by the pulling of the trigger.
Figure 4 is a view showing, the positions of: the parts after the trigger- has been pressed (in double-action shooting) to release the hammer, which is shown in this view in the act of moving forward under the impulse of the main spring.
Figure 5 shows the positions assumed by the parts when the hammer has completed jits ‘forward movement. in double-action .’shooting ■ but before- rearward finger-pressure has been removed from the trigger to allow same to assume its normal position as ■ represented in Figures 1 and 2. *
Figure 6 is a’view of a part of the revolver showing how the hammer is cocked indirectly by the act of pulling back the trigger in .double-action shooting.
Figure 7 is a separate sectional view of the trigger and the part of the action to which it’ is connected, showing the arrangement of the spring which is provided in conjunction with this /part of the mechanism for the purposes- hereinafter referred to. .
-The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several’ figures of. the drawings. ’
The body of a revolver, carries, at a point above the- trigger, a fixed pin or pivot a, which serves as a common centre for both the sear b of the action, which is located behind the said- pin, and a forwardly-directed, radius arm or link c having pivoted to its’ front end cl the forward extremity of the body or , blade d1 of the trigger d the top edge of which is of considerable width, and lies under, and. is opposed to. the. bottom of the said radius arm and also extends below a portion of the sear. The mainspring (or a separate spring) is arranged :t.o act upon the-sear; so as to cause the same—under certain conditions as hereinafter explained—to take up a position at a slight angle relative to the radius link, as . shown .in. Figures 2, 4, 5 and 6.
Cut. transversely upon .the top edge of the trigger body are a pair of notches or shoulders f, g.one of which comes at the rearward end of the said body and may be termed the double-action cocking and firing notch, and the other is disposed a distance forwards of the first-named and may be described as the single-action ‘”firing notch, whilst the underside of the- sear piece is provided with a corresponding pair of shoulders or bents /*, g1 of the rearmost one f1 of which comes into ’ engagement with ‘the double-action notch of the trigger when the sear and ‘ radius link’are in the relatively inclined positions shown in Figures 2, 4, 5 and G and-when thus engaged the pulling of the trigger (assuming that same is in its normal position and—the hammer is down as shown in Figure 2) will cause the. sear and the’radius link to swing bodily with it upon their common centre and by’ the action of the sear upon the hammer in the manner hereinafter ‘ described, the said hammer will be re-cocked when the revolver is being used as a double-action’ arm.. – -The other and foremost bent gl is adapted to engage, the single-action firing notch g of the trigger only when the sear and radius arm are disposed in line with one another as represented in Figure 3, which is the position these parts are made to assume on the hammer being drawn • hack or cocked by hand for single-action shooting, and when the bent g1 is thus engaged •with.the corresponding.notch g of the trigger, the whole of the three members, viz, the sear, the link and the trigger are again coupled together, as shown in the said- Figure 3 and will, on the trigger being pulled, turn bodily or collectively about the said pin and thus disengage the nose,- b1 of the sear from the bent 7ii* of the hammer h.
A small spiral e, constantly in a state of compression, is located (as best seen “in Figure 7) within an oblique hole e1 in the radius link and bears at its upper end against the trigger at a point above its joint centre whilst the lower end ‘bears against the middle of the forward bent of the sear, the arrangement being .such, that the spring acts upon the trigger and lifts same in the sear being brought into line, with the link when the revolver is cocked by hand, but after the .discharge and on the finger pressure upon the trigger being . relieved, the mainspring which was. tensioned by the act of co.cking the hammer, reacts upon the trigger through the medium of the sear and causes the same to drop and. take its single-action firing notch out of engagement with the sear, and immediately the said notch is clear, the angularity of the sear and link is ■ restored by the,continued re-action of the mainspring upon the sear which is ‘ arced further downwards until its bacly bent is taken into engagement with the double-action cocking- and firing notch of the trigger, leaving the whole of the parts in their normal positions as shown in Figure 2.
The hammer swings about a pin ‘h? which is disposed behind and in a higher plane than the sear centre, and is extended below the said pin into a foot fvl at the front of which is a toe or projection h4 having formed within the bent h1 which is located (when the hammer is in its normal or rebound position as shown in Figure 2) below the said hammer centre and is adapted to be engaged by the nose of the sear only when the hammer is placed at full cock by hand, as shown in Figure 3, it being understood that this bent is only engaged by the sear in single-action shooting. The front edge of the foot- above the bent is curved backwards at hP to provide a clearance within which is hung a wiper arm .or pawl j swinging upon a pin ^disposed above the hammer centre and having arranged in connection with it, a spring js and stop j3 adapted-to preserve or restore the lower or nose end j* of the said pawl in or into a determinate position in which it hangs a little above the single-action bent of the hammer and over the nose of the sear.
This yielding pawl on the front of the hammer constitutes the means by which the hammer is.first cocked and then released in double-action shooting; that is to say, if the trigger is -pulled when the hammer is at the rebound and the back bent of the sear is engaged with the double-action notch of the trigger, the nose of the sear will come underneath or at the back of the lower extremity j* of the pawl or cocking piece j and the hammer is levered back or cocked in opposition to the main-spring (see Figure 6) until—on the lifting motion of the trigger having been completed—the nose of the sear has wiped past the point j* of the pawl whereupon the hammer is impelled forwards by the mainspring, fires the revolvei* and comes again to the rebound, and then the nose of the sear, on being restored to its normal position by the lowering of the trigger as the finger pressure is relieved, bears against and wipes down the’ front of the s.aid pawl which yields inwards or rearwardly to admit of the sear nose passing it and finally when the said nose has cleared the point of the said pawl, the latter is impelled outwards by its spring but is arrested and retained by its stop in the normal position ready to be re-engaged by the sear when the trigger is again pulled. *
When the parts of the revolver are in the normal positions shown in Figure 2, and the toe-extension. of the hammer lies underneath the head of the sear, so that on the said hammer being cocked by hand, its toe makes an upward and forward movement and the sear is constrained to. move with the said hammer and is turned upwards upon its centre and by thiB elevation of the said sear its back bent is raised out of engagement with the double-action notch of the trigger whereas the forward sear bent is brought coincident with the single action notch and then by the action of the small compressed spring e, the trigger is made to slightly rise and take the single-action firing notch fully home’ into engagement with the sear, and by this time, the toe of the hammer has wiped past the elevated head of the sear, whereupon the pressure of the main spring upon the said sear causes the nose of same to snap into bent with the hammer which is thus held or retained, in its cocked position. From this description, it will be understood that the small trigger spring c serves to automatically lift the single-action notch of the trigger into bent with the sear when the hammer is cocked by hand and whilst the re-action of the mainspring is utilized to automatically depress the said trigger so as to take the single-action notch out of bent and then cause the sear to follow up the trigger movement so as to bring the double action notch. into engagement with the sear after the revolver has been discharged and the pressure of the shooters finger upon.the trigger has been relieved. ,
‘WitK mechanism constructed and arranged as above described, the pulling of the hammer to full-cock by hand when the revolver is” being used as a singleaction arm does not communicate any corresponding backward, movement to the trigger, but when the link and sear are automatically taken into’line with one another by this re-cocking, movement, the sear nose is raised and taken, into engagement with the single-action bent in the fixed toe of the hammer and the forward bent of the said sear comes into engagement with” the single-action tiring-notch of the trigger. * * –
In connection with the trigger and hammer mechanism, it is proposed to: employ a single main-spring k the tree side ifc1 of which is connected to the hammer in the usual way and impels the same forward when liberated from the sear and also takes it back to the rebound position, whilst the stand side 1$ .of .the said spring bears upon a long limb or auxiliary pressure-transmission arna i», whose rearward end m1 is suitably fulcrumed in the frame whilst the forward end m* bears on a shoulder, pin, or other convenient part of the sear, to which the cylinder-rotating pawl n is also jointed. . This auxiliary limb thus forms a means for transmitting the pressure of the main spring both to the cylinder pawl for drawing it down, after its upward operative’ movement on the trigger being pulled and also for taking the rearward notch of the sear into engagement with ihe double-action cocking and firing notch of the trigger after every discharge of the revolver, whether same is being used on the single action or double action system of firing. •
Having now particularly described’ and ascertained the. nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is; —
First: —In combined double and single action revolver small-arms; the combination with a hammer having a bent which is engaged by the sear on the hammer being placed at full-cock by hand and a yielding cocking piece adapted to be engaged by the said sear for cocking the hammer in double-action shooting, of a shifting or swinging sear provided1 with separated shoulders or. the like constituting respectively a Eingle-action firing-bent and a double-action cocking-and-firing bent, and a trigger provided with means whereby it is- automatically taken into operative engagement either with the double-action sear-bent after each discharge of the revolver, or with the single-action sear-bent oh the revolver being cocked by hand, for the purpose as herein described.
Secondly:—In combined double and single action revolver small arms; the combination with a hammer fulcrumed to a shifting link and having below its centre a rigid forward extension in which a single-action bent is formed, and a yielding double-action cocking piece located above said extension, of a shifting or rocking sear provided on its underside with a single-action firing-bent and a .double-action cocking-and-firing bent, a trigger provided with notches corresponding to the sear bents, and springs acting upon the hammer, the trigger and : the sear ; the arrangement and disposition of these part’s being such that normally the sear and the trigger link assume relatively inclined positions with the back notch of the trigger engaging the rearward or double-action bent of the sear and the nose of the sear lyinsr .under the point of the yielding, hammer-cocking piece so that when the trigger is pulled the pistol will be actuated as a double action arm, but when the hammer is cocked by hand it acts upon the sear. and elevates the same into such a position that its nose will engage with the single-action hammer • bent and at the same time brings the sear into line with the irigger link which allows the forward notch of the trigger to be raised into engagement with the single-action bent of the sear by means of an auxiliary spring, whilst-after firing, the whole of the parts are returned to their normal , or double-action positions either by means of the main spring or an auxiliary spring provided for the purpose, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Thirdly:—In combined double and single-acfion revolver f small arms as referred to in the preceding claims; the arrangement and combination with the rocking or shifting sear, of a radius link’pivoted on the same centre as the sear and having the trigger jointed to its forward end, such trigger being provided with an auxiliary spring or equivalent device for raising same into engagement with, the sear when the ‘latter is elevated by the hammer on the revolver being cocked by hand; substantially as aid for the purpose herein described and set forth. ^
Fourthly: —In combined8- double ■ and single action revolver small arms as refesared to in the preceding claims; the arrangement and combination with the main spring, of a swinging limb or lever acting upon the shifting sear in such a manner that motion is transmitted from the said Spring to the sear for the purpose of restoring the parts to their normal positions when finger pressure upon the trigger is relieved after the revolver has been discharged, substantially as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of April 1903.
THE WEBLEY AND SCOTT REVOLVER & ARMS COMPANY LIMITED – WILLIAM JOHN WHITING
By Henry Skerrett, v
24 Temple Row’ Birmingham, Agent for Applicants.