US20954A - Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms - Google Patents

Description

J. H. MERRILL.

Breach-Loading Fire-Atm.

Patented J uly v 20, l 858 a useful one.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAs. I-I. MERRILL, oE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 20,954, dated July 20, 1858.

To all whom it m y concern.:

Be it known that J AMEs H. MERRILL, of the eity and county of Baltimore, and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breechlloading Guns for Firing Cartridges; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure l represents a portion of the gun in question. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section through the same.

Similar letters of reference, where they occur in the separate gures, denote like parts of the gun in both of them.

My invention consists in converting what is known as the Jenks Gun77 from aloose powder and ball breech loader to a cartridge breech-loader, by which means a gun now almost useless can, at a very light expense, be made a useful and valuable arm.

In the use of breech-loading guns, cartridges are absolutely indispensable to make the arm The Jenks Grun,77 as it is termed, has many good properties in it; but, owing to its being loaded by loose powder and ball, many thousands of them in the hands of the United States and individuals are of comparatively little value. Now, I take the Jenks gun as I iind it, and without reconstructing the gun generally, but simply altering` one of its parts, I convert it, at a very slight expense, into a breech cartridge-loader. To construct an entire new gun capable of receiving a cartridge at the breech might not involve inven. tion, for the mechanic, knowing what he is about to make, provides beforehand for it; but to take a gun constructed for loose powder and ball loading and so adapt its parts without an entire change of them as to be capable of receiving a cartridge horizontally into its bore, instead of a loose charge at right angles to the bore, does involve much study, invention, and a high degree of skill, as well as Inaking valuable and serviceable vto the Government and to individuals a lire-arm laid aside (at least by the Government) as inapplicable to the present Wants and conditions of the army service.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

In the rst place I `plug up the hole through which the ch arge is inserted in the Jenks gun, and let the top a of the plug project' above the barrel B sufficiently far toform a catch for the lever A when it comes down on the barrel, and to make the point of the lever A of proper form to drop over the plug a, I bra-Ze on a piece, b, which admits of a countersink, c, on the under side of said point and a groove on its top, in range with the sights of the gun.

Secondly, I cut away the part d behind the barrel and lay a piece of curved metal below the side pieces heretofore used. This opens out a part of the gun heretofore closed up.

Thirdly, I cut away the shoulder e where the toggle-lever c is p ivoted to the main lever A, which allows both levers, as well as the piston D, to come farther back, and thus leaves more room between the fore part of the pistonand the rear of the barrel 5 but in cutting awaythe part behind the rear of the barrel I take away the part which was a guide for the piston, to prevent it from twisting or jam ming, and must consequently restore something to take its place. This I effect as follows: On the toggle-lever C, I cut a groove, f, into which a stud or pin, t', from the breechframe passes, and which pin, as the piston is run up toward the barrel, tends to draw down the toggle-lever and keep it more in line with the piston D. The piston, by means of this guiding contrivance, moves perfectly free and easy.

The lever A may have to be widened at the part which covers-the opening d, so as to protect said opening, which may be done by welding on side pieces or drawing down the lever. A Jenks gun thus altered is capable of being loaded from the rear by a cartridge, instead of with loose powder and ball through an opening perpendicular to the bore of the gun. There are no parts of the Jenks gun which may be said to be removed and replaced by others, the gun having within itself the Y elements for converting itinto a cartridge-gun by alterations of its parts. Nor is there much added toit. The whole change can be readily and cheaply made, and a gun which is laid aside in the army, owing to the manner of loading it, may be made available as a cartridge-loader, and thus be profitably used.

I make no claim to the parts of this gun when they are arranged as in the Jenks gun. My invention may be said mainly to consist in converting the Jenks gun (after it has been made and without reorganizing its parts) from a loose powder and ball loader to a cartridgeloader, and thus make useful and valuable several thousand stands of arms that are now laid aside as not available for the service; but I should deem a new gun constructed as I have described and shown, whether made anew in whole or in part, as involving my invention, so long as the parts were arranged as I have represented them.

Having thus fully described the nature and object of my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Converting what is known as the Jenks Carbine77 from a loose powder and ball loader to a cartridge-loaderviz., by plugging up the vertical opening through which that gun was loaded ,cutting away in rear of the barrel so as to load at the rear end of the bore, and allowing the lever, toggle, and piston togcome far enough back to admit a cartridge to be dropped in behind the bore and then run up into the chamber, with a groove and pin to guide the toggle and piston, as herein set forth.

JAMES H. MERRILL.

Witnesses:

THos. H.y UPPERMAN, E. COHEN.

Images