US497781A - gatling - Google Patents

Description

No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. J. GATLIN'G. MACHINE GUN.

(No Model.)

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No. 497,781. Patented yMay 23, 1,893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

RICHARD J. G A'IIJNG, oF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

M Ao H i N E- e u N l SPEGIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 497,781, dated May 28, 1893. I Application tiled May 7, 1892. Serial No. 432.146. o model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD J. GA'ILING, a

i citizen ot' the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of .grouped about a central shaft around which they revolve in loading and firing, the object being to provide such a gun witha simple ejecting mechanism for aiding the extractors .in'removing the exploded cartridges, insuringja better extraction and increasing the efficiency and durability of the lock and extractor, and also to provide a simple means for admitting and holding acooliug liquid in the casing for preventing overheating of the p barrels during action.

f struction.

vtudinal section on an enlarged scale, of the broken away.

Referring tothe accompanying drawings,- where the invention is illustrated as applied to a gun of this class having ten barrels.'- Figure 1 is aside view of the gun with a part cut in central vertical section to show the con- Fig. 2 is a central vertical longibutt of the gun. Fig. 3 is an end'view with the cascabel plate removed-. Fig. 4' is a crosssectional View at the rear barrel plate', with a portion of the iiangcd disk which covers it, Fig. 5 is a side view of the lock. Fig. 6 is a top view. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the same. Fig. 8 is a detail view of a portion of the edge oi the rear barrel plate, showing an ejector. Fig. i) is a detail sectional view of the rear end of a barrel and a portion of the rear plate showinga modified forni of ejector. Fig. 10 is a face View of the saine; and Fig. l1 isa' perspective view of the latter form of ejector.

In the views 1 indicates the casing which is 'a metallic cylinder having any com mon means of attaching it to the mount or carriage, and the usual opening 2 for the reception of the ordinary cartridge feed case. A

The front plate 5 is preferably formed of two disks secured together by rivets or screws with a ring 7 placed loosely in a groovein lthe periphery to reduceA friction, while the' rear plate is 9 held thereto by screws 10.

The barrels 1l which pass through the front plate and are firmly secured to the rear platepreferably have projecting lugs 12 at ,the breech back of the rear plate, in which are cut mortises 13 vfor the entrance of the extractors. The breeches of thebarrels are chambered for the reception of the cartridges,

4preferably formed of a disk 8, and-asteel ring n and adjacent to these ends of the vbarrels are to the casing near the bottom inthe path of` these ejectors, so as to make contact with and.A oscillate them as they revolve with the rearplate, is a pin, wedge, or roll, 19. l l 'l-he blocks 16 are preferably U-shaped, as shown in Fig. 8, with flanges to prevent them from rising out of the mortises when in niotion, while back of them with a ange'projecting over the edge of' the rear plate, is secured a disk or cap S30.

Keyed to the shaft so as to rotate with it back of the I'ear plate is the cylinderlhaving the cartridge carriers l2 that revolve beneath the loading opening, and the grooves 23 in which reciprocate the breech plugs and locks 24 formed of blocks of suitable metal having their sides shaped to fit nicely and slide freely in the grooves..

The locks are provided with vlugs'zl at one end that project into t-he groove inthe cam cylinder-:2G in such manner that the locks are reciprocated by the lugs and cam as they rcvolvo. In pcrforations through the lecksare the tiring pins 27 normally thrust forward by coiled main springs, and in mortiscs along one edge ot' these locks are the extra/tors 2S which are slotted and more a short distance independently of thc locks upon pins or rollers 29 with their spring tails or rear ends 30 resting upon pins or rollers 3l. lhe front IOO it O

.its

llt 497,781

lends of the extractors are provided with hooks tor engaging the rims of the cartridges, and they are thrust forward by springs sothat nor- `mnally the tenons 32 are at the forward ends `ot the mortises 33 in thelock. When the cam has pushed the locks, during their rotation, way forward, the ends of the extractors pass into and ll up the mortises 13 in the lugs 12, and, ,abutting against-the ends of the barrels, are so pressed backward that the tenonsf 32 `are at the rear ends of the mortises 33, while the ends of .the locks which form the breech pings, fill the openings in the cap 2O at` the :rear of the barrels and back up the cartridges.

The cam cylinder 26 supports on the interior near the bottompost to which is attached the `cooking lsw itch.3et (Fig. 3) the circular `groove of which catches and holds for a short time as they revolve, the auged heads of the tiring pins so that the main springs are com- `pressed as the locks move forward to enable them to throw'the tiring pins violently forward when the heads reach and drop out of the end of the groove of Athe switch as in t-he gun in common use. The cam .cylinder is :made thicker or provided with a recoil plate 35 `near the bottom where the cartridges are exploded, to receive the concussion of the locks at the discharge.'

j When the crankand shaft are rotated and the barrels and locks revolve to tire the gun, the camlthrusts each lock in succession closely `against the cartridge as it is being fired, the

`extractor beingforced to the backward limit of its movement in the lock by contact with the end of .the barrel, and when the cam comzlmences to pull back the lock after tiring, the` extractor dees not at once move,but 'is thrust ltorward by its spring as the lock retreats, until the tenon 32 reaches the front end of the `inortise 33. Then of course the extractor re-v treats with thelock and withdraws the exploded cartridge which has been started from `the chamber by the ejector of the barrel in which the cartridge is tired. The roll 1'9 is `so located in its attachment to the casing that after the cartridge is tired, between the time ibo lli 5 the lock commences its return movement and' the time when the extractor begins to retreat, the edge of the ejector 14 in its rotation rides up on the edge of the roll and is oscillated no that it starts the cartridge from its chamber, and then the retreating extractor readily pulls the loosened shell from the chamber so that it may be expelled ,from the gun.

ln the form shown in Figs. 9, 10, and'll the ejectors 36 are formed to slide in the mor- `ltises in the edge ot' the rear barrel plate, inf stead of oscillating therein, although the oscillating form is preferred, as the oscillating `ejector always fills its opening in the end of the barrel. These ejectors 36 are shaped at bue end to conform to about one-half of the `and of the barrel, and they are thrown forward to position by the cartridges as theyare thrust into the bore and forced backward as they rotate with the rear barrel plate by a roll, wedge or block 37 secured to one side of the casing, so as to start the cartridges before the extractors begin to pull.

A cylindrical shell 38 is held at one end tightly in a groove in the rear barrel plate,"

and at the front end by a flange 39 on the An ordinary feed case with cartridges is placed above the opening through the casing and as the shaft is rotated the carriers draw the cartridges into the ,gun. As the barrels and locks revolve the cam at the butt reciprocates the locks causing them to successively and continuously feed, load and fire the live cartridges and extract'the ejected exploded shells.

When the gun is provided with the ejectors described, the discharged shells which are usually swollen and expanded by the explosion and tightly tit the chamber in the bore, will be started by the action of a powerful and stronglittle ejector which can be constructed so wide as to preclude any possibility-ot pulling or tearing the heads oft the shells which stick-'in the bore, and which ejectb'rs act with but little-additional friction. As the extractors doinot have to start -the cartridges 'from the bore they may be lighter and will last longer as but little power is required to remove the loosened shells, thus reducing the weight and also the momentum of th'.I reciprocating locks.

Wi h the construction shown for surroundingthe barrels with a .cooling liquid, the wa-- ter jacket or shell as it revolves with the barrel plates and barrels may be permanently and tightly tted in place so that the liquid cannotleak or evaporate, and at the same time the' liquid `may be readily poured in or drawn out from around the barrels. I claim asmy invention- 1. In combination in a machine gun having front plate so as to surround the barrels and IOC IID

a group of barrels, movable ejectors located adjacent to each barrel, locks bearin g extract ors adapted to reciprocate toward and from each barrel, and a cam for .reciprocating the locks', substantially as specified.

2. In combination inamachine gun having revolving barrels, movable ejectors 'located adjacent to each barrel,a projection attached to ,the casing in the path of revolution of the ejectors for moving them, and locks bearing extractora adapted to reciprocate toward and from the barrels, substantially as specified.4

3. In combination in a machine gun having revolving barrels, locks and extractors, movable ejectors located adjacent to each barrel, and a projection attached to the casing in the 49mm a path of revolution of the ejectors for moving them, substantially as specified.

4. In combination in a machine gun, a re-` volving shaft supporting barrel-plates and a cylinder, barrels supported yby the plates, ejectors located in lnortises in the plates adjacent to the barrels, and reciprocating locks and extractors supported by the cylinder, substantially as specified.

5. In combination with the revolving barrels of a machine gun of the within described class, oscillating ejectors pivoted in sockets in the'barrel plate adjacent to and movable with the breech of each barrel, substantially as specied.

6. In combination with the revolving barrels of a machine gun of the within described class, alock consisting of a block bearing a spring ring pin, an extractor loosely pivoted to the block so as to have small independent longitudinal and oscillating movements, with a wide hooked portion on one side of the pivot and a narrow elastic portion ou the opposite side of the pivot, and a spiral spring thrusting longitudinally against lthe extractor,

.the longitudinal movement of the extractor 4being controlled by the spiral spring, and the oscillating movement by the integral. elastic portion, substantially as specilied. l

7. In combination with the revolving barrels of a machine gun of thewithin described class, Ia lock consisting of a block bearing a spring ring pin, and an extractor having a small reciprocating movement independent of the block supported on rollers journaled in mortises in the block, substantially as specified.

8. ln a machine gun having a1 group of moving barrels, a central shaft for supporting such barrels, said ,shaft 'having a. longitudinal perforation with openings leadingto the interior of the casing, and a cap for closing the end of the perforation., substantially as specified. t t

. RICHARD J. .GATLING.

Witnesses:

l .H. R. WILLIAMS, vC. E. BUCKLAND.

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