British 993
LETTERS PATENT to William Westley Richards, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, for the Invention of “An Improvement or Improvements in Loading certain Kinds op Fire-arms.”
Sealed the 4th July 1854, and dated the 3rd May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION \eft by the said William Westley Richards at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd May 1854.
I, William Westley Richards, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “ An Improvement or Improvements in Loading certain Kinds op Fire-arms ” to be as follows:—
My Invention consists of a method or methods of loading such kinds of firearms as are usually called repeating or revolving fire-arms, and has for its object facility in forcing the bullets or projectiles into the short barrels of the revolving chambers of such fire-arms. In carrying my Invention into effect, I make a ramrod to slide on the side of the fixed barrel, the said ramrod sliding in guides or bearings on the said fixed barrel. That end of the said ramrod most distant from the revolving chamber is formed into a rack, and a pinion working on an axis fixed in the said fixed barrel gears into the said rack. A handle or lever is attached to the pinion, and by moving the said handle about the axis of the said pinion, the said pinion is made to slide the said ramrod, in a line parallel to the axis of the fixed barrel, and coincident with the position which the axes of the barrels in the revolving chamber respectively assume on the revolution of the said chamber. The bullet or projectile is introduced into the mouth of the barrel in the revolving chamber, and the said barrel brought under the end of the ramrod ; the pinion lever is raised, and the ramrod thereby made to force the bullet or projectile into the barrel. By depressing the said lever the ramrod is withdrawn from the barrel. The essence of my Invention consists in the use of a rack and pinion for actuating a ramrod to be used for forcing the bullet or projectile into the barrels of repeating or revolving fire-arms.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said William Westley Richards in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th October 185L
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, William
Westley Richards, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Westley Richards, Her special1 licence that I, the said William : Westley Richards, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Westley Richards, 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 “An Improvement or Improve hints in Loading certain Kinds of Firearms,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Westley Richards, 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 William Westley Richards, 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 a method or methods, lierein-after particularly described, of loading such fire-arms as are usually called “repeating” or “ revolving” fircrarms, and the object of my said Invention is to give facility in forcing the bullets or projectiles into the short barrels of the revolving chambers of such fire-arms.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in side elevation a “repeating” or “revolving” pistol constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2 represents a portion of the same in side elevation (partly iri section); and Figure 3 represents in plan a part of the same, a is the ramrod, which slides on the side of the fixed barrel b, the said ramrod sliding in bearings c, c, on the said fixed barrel. That end of the ramrod nearest the revolving chamber and marked d is of a larger diameter than the other part of the said ramrod, and fits loosely in the barrels of the revolving chamber (see Figure 2). That end of the ramrod most distant from the revolving chamber is formed into a rack marked e, and a pinion f working on an axis fixed on the stationary barrel b gears into the said rack e. A lever or handle g is attached to the pinion/, and by turning the said handle about the axis of the said pinion, the said pinion is made to slide the said ramrod in a line parallel to the axis of the fixed barrel b, and coincident with the position which the axes of the barrels in the revolving chamber respectively assume on the revolution of the said chamber. The bullet or projectile is introduced with the proper charge into the mouth of a barrel in the revolving chamber; the said barrel is then brought under the end of the ramrod, the said ramrod and handle g being in the position represented in Figures 1 and 3. Hie said lever or handle g is moved into the position represented in Figure 2, by which the end d of the ramrod is made to force the bullet or projectile into the barrel; by then bringing the lever or handle g into the position represented in Figures 1 and 3, the ramrod is withdrawn from the barrel, and by the motion of the revolving chamber another barrel may be brought opposite to the ramrod, and the operation described repeated. Although I have only described my Invention with reference to a revolving or repeating pistol, yet my said Invention is applicable to “ revolving ” or “ repeating ” fire-arms generally.
Having now described the nature of my said 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 methods herein described, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my said Invention; for example, although I have described the motion of the pinion and rack to be effected by means of an arm or lever, yet a winch or other mechanical contrivance may be used for the same purpose; but I claim as my Invention, forcing bullets or projectiles into the barrels of “ repeating ” or “ revolving ” fire-arms by means of a ramrod, to which a sliding motion is given by means of a rack and pinion, as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Westley Richards, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
WILLIAM WESTLEY RICHARDS. (l.s.)
Witness,
Richard Skerrett.