Untitled record

No, 28,066.

J. 0. COUCH. Toy Cannon.

Patented May 1, 1860.

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N. PETERS. Photo-Lithographer. Washington. D. C.

United States Patent Office.

J. 0. COUCH, OF MIDDLEFIELD, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY CANNONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 28,666, dated May 1, 1860.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, J. O. Couch, of Middle- I field, in the' county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Cannons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which—

Figure 1 is a rear view of a cannon constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same with one wheel removed.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in both figures.

My invention consists in making thebarrel, the axle-tree, axles, and the body and trails of the carriage of a toy cannon of a single casting, requiring only a pair of wheels to complete the carriage,and so making a mounted cannon of very cheap construction.

It also consists in the attachment of a hammer to the axle-tree or other portion of the carriage of a toy cannon for the purpose of firing it by a percussion-priming, and thereby obviating the danger so often arising among boys by the use of powder with fire. And it further consists of a certain mode of applying a single spring in combination with the hammer to serve the two purposes of cocking it and giving the blow.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the barrel, B is the axle-tree, and C C are the sides of the carriage, terminating in the form of trails D D, like those of an ordinary gun-carriage,' all made of a single casting, the axle-tree being elevated in the middle to raise the cannon high enough above the wheels E E, and being united with the barrel at . such a distance from its breech that the weight of the part of the barrel in front of it will be more than counterbalanced by the weight of the breech and rear portion of the carriage when the axles « a rest in the hubs of the wheels E E, in which condition the cannon may have its muzzle depressed or elevated to take aim by raising or lowering the trails, the axles working as trunnions in the hubs of the wheels,

F is the hammer, attached by a screw-pivot, b, to the back of the axle-tree in such a manner that its face c may strike upon the nipple d, with which the vent is fitted. It is extended some distance below the pivot b, as shown at e, and fitted at its lower extremity with an antifriction roller, /, which bears upon the face of the spring G, which serves both as a main and a cocking spring, and which is secured to the axle or other part of the carriage, and it (the hammer) is extended some distance above the face e, and provided at its upper extremity with an eye, g, to enable a string, h, of suitable length to be attached for the purpose of firing. To cock the hammer, its upper part is drawn away fromthecannon till the upwardpressure of the spring against the roller either holds it stationary, as shown in Fig. 1 in black outlines, by friction, or forces it outward against one of the wheels or against a fixed stop provided for the purpose. To fire it, the string h is pulled with a sudden jerk to draw its head toward the nipple, thus moving the roller outward away from the cannon, and as soon as the roller passes the line of the direct pressure of the spring toward the center of the pivot b, the spring throws it outward suddenly, and. so causes 'the face to be driven toward the nipple forcibly enough to explode the cap thereon.