Untitled record

Application filed May 12,1888. Serial No, 273,748. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Webner E. Loomis, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State of 5 Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

. The purpose of my invention is to provide simple and effective means for inserting the to cartridge in breech-loading firearms, for firing the cartridge, and for discharging the empty shell; also, to provide an effective detachable magazine adapted to receive a number of cartridges and convey them in suc15 cession to the firing-chamber of the gun. This purpose I accomplish by means of the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, in which—

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section on the 20 axis of the barrel. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 2. Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section on the line 3,·and also shows a side view of the magazine in position on the stock. Fig. lisa transverse section 25 on the line -1, looking toward the muzzle. Fig.

is a perspective view of the bolt for locking the door O when closed. Fig. 6 is a partial longitudinal section on the line 6, showing the bolt U in position. Fig. 7 is a vertical 30 section on the line 7 of Fig. 10. Fig. 8 is a detached side view of the gearing, by means of which the rack I is moved. In this view the breech-block is shown raised and the rack moved back. The dotted lines indicate the 35 position of the parts when the breech-block is down and the rack moved forward. Fig. 9 is a front view, on an enlarged scale, of the mechanism actuating the rack I. Fig. 10 is a vertical longitudinal section in the axis of the gun-barrel, showing the breech-block raised, also showing the relative positions of the extractor & and the locking-bolt U.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the drawings.

The stock A, the barrel R, the breech-pin R³, the hinged breech-block B, the receiver R², the extractor &, and the firing-pin &⁸1 do not claim as new, as the same have been heretofore used. The cartridge-magazine J con50 sists of an annular receptacle having an outer and an inner shell, the space between these shells being such as easily to admit a num ber of cartridges C, disposed as shown in Fig. 2. The inner shell of the magazine conforms to the under side of the stock. The ends of 55 the magazine are closed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The upper edges of the inner shell rest upon and the magazine is supported in place by lugs d', suitably secured to the sides of the breech R³. Running around the sides 60 of both the inner and the outer shell, near the rear end of the magazine, is spun in the metal of the shell a corrugation concave on the inside to receive the rim of the cartridge and near the other end a corrugation convex on 65 the inside to support the end of the cartridge.

The magazine maybe made of any suitable light and elastic metal, and its structure is such that its sides may be sprung slightly apart when attaching or detaching the maga- 70 zine, as I will hereinafter explain. Inside the magazine and behind the cartridges is a coiled spring P, which serves to push the cartridges successively to the opening at the higher side of the magazine. At the upper side of the 75 magazine is a door O, hinged at 0' and having attached to it a finger M, conforming to the outer shell of the magazine, passing through a slot in the outer shell and serving, as the door O is raised, to separate the top cartridge 80 C from the succeeding one and to push it from the magazine into the cartridge-chamber R⁸. When the breech-block B is shut down, a projecting lug b³ on the side of the breech-block impinges against the door O to close it and 85 keeps it shut until the breech-block B is again raised. After the breech-block is raised and until after the empty shell is ejected by the extractor b the door O is locked by the projecting upper end t of the locking-bolt U. 90 The other end f of this bolt passes through a transverse hole into the receiving-chamber R², so that immediately after the extractor b has ejected the empty shell the lower end of the extractor b will engage with the inwardly-pro- 95 jecting end f of the locking-bolt U, so as to move that end of the bolt U slightly backward and upward, causing the opposite end of the bolt to move downward, thereby unlocking the door 0 and permitting it to rise 100 with the pressure from behind. When the breech-block B is closed, it presses down the end t' of the lever U and restores the lever to its locking position. The rear end K of the

477,666 magazine abuts against the shoulder k' at the front end of the trigger-guard K². On the upper and inside edge of the end K is a pin k, fitting in a hole in the guard-plate k”. The 5 shoulder k' and the pin k serve to guide the magazine while being attached and to steady it when in place. On the right-hand side of the breech R³ is secured the shell L, which incloses the mechanism by means of which io the cartridge is inserted in the end of the barrel R.

Fig. 3 shows a section through the shell and a side view of part of the mechanism. I will now describe that mechanism. A vertical cam15 wheel p is secured to the end of the rod cl. This rod is secured in a transverse hole through the breech-block B and turns in suitable bearings on the side of the breech. By this means the camp is rigidly connected with 20 the breech-block B and revolves with it, as indicated by arrows. A lower vertical cam E, supported on a transverse shaft e, engages with and is turned by the camp until the point τ of the cam p stops against the shonl25 der s of the cam-wheel E. The lower part of the cam E is a segment of a cog-wheel meshing with a pinion F, secured to one end of the transverse shaft f. To the other end of the shaft f is secured the cog-wheel F, which 30 meshes with a cog-pinion II, which meshes with the rack I, which slides in a suitable channel under the breech. At the rear end of the rack I is secured a vertical finger S, having an L-shaped top projecting upward 35 into the cartridge - receiver R² and moving backward and forward in a slot s³ through the bottom of the receiver R³. When the breechblock B is fully raised, the finger S, propelled backward by the cam-gear which I have de40 scribed, will rest near the rear end of the receiver R³, so as to lie behind the end of the cartridge when the cartridge is inserted. As the breech-block is turned downward it gives a forward motion to the rack I by means of 45 the gear already described, and the finger S pushes the cartridge into the end of the barrel R. When the breech is closed, the rim of the cartridge lies in the recess between the front end of the breech-block and the ex50 tractor b, so that after the discharge the empty shell may be ejected, by the extractor in a manner well known. The magazine-door is locked for the time that is occupied by the breechblock in turning from the closed to the wide55 open position, and the empty shell is discharged by the extractor b before the door of the magazine is opened. In raising the breechblock B the rack I is caused to move backward and the finger S is left in position to 60 engage with and carry forward the next cartridge, and so on.

The operation of my devices is as follows: To attach the magazine J, it is grasped with one hand, the gun being held with the other, 65 and is moved backward along the under side of the stock until the rear end of the magazine abuts against the shoulder k. The maga zine is then pushed upward, its sides springing apart until the upper edges of the magazine slip over and rest upon the lugs cl', “jo Simultaneously the pin k enters a suitable hole in the guard-plate and prevents the magazine from slipping forward. To detach the magazine, its sides are sprung apart and it is pulled downward. To load the gun, the 75 breech-block B is raised, causing the rack I to travel backward and stop in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The cartridge is then dropped into the receiver R². The upwardly-projecting finger S then stands 80 behind the rim of the cartridge as it lies in the receiver. The breech-block B is then turned down, imparting a forward motion to the rack I, causing the connected finger S to push the cartridge forward until it comes within the 85 arc of the point Zfl of the breech-block B, which as it turns downward pushes the cartridge into the barrel R. The cartridge is then firedin the usual manner. To discharge the empty shell, the breech-block is raised 90 until its edge strikes the projecting lug on top of the extractor b, throwing the extractor over the center, so that the spring behind it acts, giving a quick backward and upward motion to the lower end of the extractor b, 95 which catches on the rim of the cartridgeshell and throws it out. At the close of the operation I have just described the breechblock B rests in the position indicated in Fig.

10. Immediately after the empty shell has 100 been ejected the rear edge of the extractor b engages with and operates the bolt U to unlock the door O, as I have heretofore described. The door O being unlocked, the pressure of the springP behind the cartridges 105 pushes them around until the upper cartridge falls into the receiver R⁸. When the door O is open, the finger M rests between the upper and the next cart ridge, so that not more than one cartridge can fall into the receiver R² at 110 the same time. The breech-block is then turned down, in its descent closing the door O, moving the bolt U to lock the door 0, and giving forward motion to the rack, pushing the cartridge into the barrel, as I have already 115 described.

I do not claim an annular detachable magazine, broadly, as detachable magazines of various forms are in common use, but restrict rayself to a magazine of elastic material hav- 120 ing sides adapted to spring apart for the convenient attachment of the magazine to the firearm, the resilient power of the material of which said magazine is made serving to retain the magazine in position on suitable supports 125 on the firearm.