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Archaic Legal Glossary & Citations

“Letters Patent”14th–20th Century
19th-C Meaning:

Open public letters from a monarch or government (literae patentes) granting monopoly rights.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Issued USPTO utility or design patent publication.
Historical note: Contrasted with 'letters close' (private sealed royal correspondence).
“In testimony whereof”19th Century
19th-C Meaning:

Formal concluding legal formula affirming under oath the execution of the instrument.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Inventor and witness digital/physical signatures.
Historical note: Required two witness attestations in 19th-century USPTO filing procedure.
“Aeroplane”Early 20th Century (Wright era)
19th-C Meaning:

A flat or cambered lifting aerofoil surface supported dynamically by air pressure.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Wing / Airfoil lifting surface (later evolved to mean the entire motorized aircraft).
Historical note: The Wrights used 'aeroplane' to denote the individual fabric-covered wings.
“Undulating Current”19th Century (Bell era)
19th-C Meaning:

An electric current whose magnitude varies continuously and periodically without interruption.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Continuous analog AC or audio-frequency electrical waveform.
Historical note: Bell's central legal weapon against telegraph companies who relied on pulsed DC make-and-break circuits.
“Subdivision of the Electric Light”1870s–1880s (Edison era)
19th-C Meaning:

The problem of operating numerous small domestic lamps off a single electrical generator.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Parallel circuit wiring of high-resistance incandescent electrical loads.
Historical note: Pundits claimed it was physically impossible until Edison increased filament resistance to 100 ohms.
“Optically Anisotropic Solution”1960s (Kwolek era)
19th-C Meaning:

A liquid solution that exhibits direction-dependent refractive indices due to molecular alignment.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Liquid crystalline nematic phase polymer dope.
Historical note: Technicians initially tried to throw out Kwolek's cloudy solution thinking it was contaminated.
“Unitary Body of Semiconductor Material”1950s–1960s (Noyce era)
19th-C Meaning:

A single continuous crystal structure of silicon or germanium.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Monolithic single-crystal silicon die / integrated circuit wafer.
Historical note: Differentiated Noyce's monolithic planar circuit from Jack Kilby's hybrid flying-wire prototype.
“Peculiar and Novel Construction”19th Century
19th-C Meaning:

A distinctive, patentable structural arrangement not found in prior art.

Modern Engineering Decoded:Novel and non-obvious mechanical embodiment under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Historical note: Standard 19th-century legal terminology establishing novelty.

Museum Broadside & Archival Print Edition

Authentic archival layout formatted for framing, study, and high-resolution printing

Paper:
Theme:
The United States Patent & Trademark Archive

Historical Specification & Engineering Broadside

Curated, Verified & Restored by Classic Patents (classic-patents.com)
IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMSIndexed revolving cylinder, locking key, and percussion-cap protection
US X9430Class: Historical U.S. patent; revolving fire-arms
Inventor(s):Samuel Colt
Origin / Location:Hartford, Connecticut
Grant & Filing:Granted February 25, 1836

I. Historical Context & Grant Summary

US X9430 is Samuel Colt's February 25, 1836 specification for a revolving gun. Its text describes a cylinder carried on an arbor, a ratchet and lifter driven by cocking the hammer, a spring-held locking key, separated percussion-cap tubes, and related long-gun lockwork.

II. Core Mechanism & Scientific Principles

Colt's specification links a repeating gun's parts into one sequence: cocking frees the cylinder, the lifter advances a ratchet, a spring-held key re-enters a ward to lock the next chamber opposite the barrel, and the trigger releases the hammer onto a percussion cap.

Physical Operation:The cited mechanism is a discrete indexing chain, not a claim to a particular chamber count. Hammer pin p first lifts the locking key so its end r leaves a cylinder ward. The lifter arm d then pushes a ratchet tooth s through the shackle, advancing one chamber. Once pin p passes the key's upper end t, spring m forces r into the succeeding ward. The trigger-held connecting rod then releases the hammer to strike the cap on the aligned tube.
Governing Formulation:
Discrete angular indexing:Δθ = 2π / N
Moment balance about a pivot:τ = r × F

III. The Granted Legal Monopoly (Key Claims)

Claim 1 (Independent)End-mounted percussion caps

Claims placing the percussion caps at the cylinder's end.

Claim 2 (Independent)Cap partition

Claims the separating partition between adjacent caps.

Claim 3 (Independent)Cap shield

Claims a protective shield over the caps to guard the lockwork from moisture and smoke.

IV. Mechanical Organ Breakdown

Arbor, cylinder, and shackleTerm: “Arbor” → Cylinder axis or spindle

The arbor carries the revolving cylinder while a shackle mechanically joins the cylinder to its ratchet.

Lifter, ratchet, and locking keyTerm: “Lifter or hand” → Cylinder-indexing pawl

Cocking advances one chamber and the spring key locks that chamber at the barrel.

Cap tubes, partitions, and shieldTerm: “Percussion-cap” → Impact-sensitive primer cap

The rear percussion caps sit on individual tubes with partitions and a shield around them.

Connecting rod and triggerTerm: “Connecting-rod” → Trigger-to-sear linkage

A rod joins the hammer's cocked catch to the trigger so the trigger can release it.

CLASSIC PATENTS DIGITAL ARCHIVE • PERMANENT EXHIBIT ID: us-x9430-colt-revolver
classic-patents.com/patents/us-x9430-colt-revolver
Original USPTO PDF
Classic Patents/US X9430
Early Republic & Industrial Dawn (1790–1839)Mechanical Indexing & Fire-Arms

Revolving Gun

US X9430

Indexed revolving cylinder, locking key, and percussion-cap protection

Inventor(s)Samuel Colt
Grant DateFebruary 25, 1836
Filing DateNot recorded
LocationHartford, Connecticut
US X9430 is Samuel Colt's February 25, 1836 specification for a revolving gun. Its text describes a cylinder carried on an arbor, a ratchet and lifter driven by cocking the hammer, a spring-held locking key, separated percussion-cap tubes, and related long-gun lockwork.
USPTO PDF
Audio Engineering Breakdown~1 min listen

Listen to the narrated mechanical breakdown and civilizational context

Engineering Analysis & Physical Principles

How It Works: Step-by-Step Mechanical & Physical Breakdown

Colt's specification links a repeating gun's parts into one sequence: cocking frees the cylinder, the lifter advances a ratchet, a spring-held key re-enters a ward to lock the next chamber opposite the barrel, and the trigger releases the hammer onto a percussion cap.
The Core Breakthrough Mechanism

The cited mechanism is a discrete indexing chain, not a claim to a particular chamber count. Hammer pin p first lifts the locking key so its end r leaves a cylinder ward. The lifter arm d then pushes a ratchet tooth s through the shackle, advancing one chamber. Once pin p passes the key's upper end t, spring m forces r into the succeeding ward. The trigger-held connecting rod then releases the hammer to strike the cap on the aligned tube.

Interactive Real-Time Physical Simulation

Drag to rotate · Pinch to zoom · Shared controls update the displayed model
INITIALIZING THREE.JS WEBGL SIMULATION...
Source-Ordered Locking, Ratchet, and Cylinder Turning.
Host-Model Telemetry/Computed Readout
Source-Ordered Locking, Ratchet, and Cylinder Turning
Lockwork Stage
Source-Derived
REST LOCKEDsource order[1]
Key r
Source
SEATEDward state[1]
Ratchet Advance
Normalized
0%display step[1]
Cylinder Transfer
Source-Derived
0%display step[1]
Hammer Release
Source
WITHHELDafter lockup[1]
Ballistic Card
Source Refusal
NOT COMPUTABLEsource boundary[1]
Normalized Cylinder Advance
∂q_{cylinder} / ∂u_{cock} (host sensitivity)
0 display-step / % display
Cocking Travel0 % display
Starting Display Ward1 display index
Interval ghosts
P_chamb85.0 MPa · [50, 120]
Fidelity / MMS residual
Muzzle velocity vs Paterson 1836 trial
model304 m/s
reference300 m/s
residual4 m/s
Coupled channels
propellant → muzzle KE49300 W
Dated scenarios

Detailed Component Architecture

1Arbor, cylinder, and shackle
The arbor carries the revolving cylinder while a shackle mechanically joins the cylinder to its ratchet.

The specification says the arbor is keyed against turning in the shield, while the cylinder turns by the ratchet and shackle. The claim is the shackle's application to connect those two members, not an unstated modern geometry.

19th-C. Term: ArborModern: Cylinder axis or spindle
2Lifter, ratchet, and locking key
Cocking advances one chamber and the spring key locks that chamber at the barrel.

The lifter's arm d acts on a ratchet tooth; the hammer pin p lifts the key before the turn and spring m restores its end r to the next ward. In plain terms, the gun separates unlocking, indexing, and lockup into a causal sequence.

19th-C. Term: Lifter or handModern: Cylinder-indexing pawl
3Cap tubes, partitions, and shield
The rear percussion caps sit on individual tubes with partitions and a shield around them.

Colt expressly says the partitions prevent fire or smoke communicating from one cap to another. His third claim additionally names the shield as protection against moisture and smoke affecting the lockwork.

19th-C. Term: Percussion-capModern: Impact-sensitive primer cap
4Connecting rod and trigger
A rod joins the hammer's cocked catch to the trigger so the trigger can release it.

The rod is pushed forward while cocking and then caught by the trigger. Pulling the trigger draws the rod from the hammer catch; the mainspring drives the hammer forward. Claim 4 names this rod principle directly.

19th-C. Term: Connecting-rodModern: Trigger-to-sear linkage
Engineering Principles & Equations

Governing Equations & Engineering Principles

Authored explanation paired with its stated mathematical relation

Locking-and-Turning Event Order

Source-Bounded Mechanical TopologyClaim 6
Mathematical Governing Law
Terms:
Plain English DecoderHover or tap any highlighted phrase
seats the key in the succeeding ward.
pp
Hammer Pin
The named hammer pin that begins the ordered key-withdrawal event during cocking.
named source part

The source states that pin p operates upon the after end of the key as the hammer is drawn back; it gives no travel, force, or timing value.

Physical Principle & Engineering Insight

This is an event-order diagram, not a dynamics equation. US X9430 provides no pressure, charge, caliber, mass, force, dimension, angle, timing, stress, velocity, energy, or recoil card.

Historical Context: Claim 6 names the principle of locking and turning the cylinder; Claim 5 separately names the shackle connection that lets ratchet motion carry the cylinder.

Discrete angular indexingAuthored Principle 1
Stated relationΔθ=2π/NΔθ = 2π / N
For a cylinder with N chambers, advancing one ratchet tooth rotates the chamber pattern by one Nth of a revolution. The patent describes that one-chamber advance but does not specify N.
Moment balance about a pivotAuthored Principle 2
Stated relationτ=r×Fτ = r × F
The hammer, key, trigger, and lever work about named fulcrums. A force applied at a distance from a fulcrum creates the turning moment that moves the connected part.

Interactive Schematic Sheet (Division 1)

The complete pistol view described in the specification.

1.00x
US X9430 · DIVISION 1barrel and arborcylinder wards · display posehammer pin p / key rd → s → shackle → m: rest lockednormalized source-order diagram; no ballistic or stress telemetry
Tap any numbered pin3 Curated Callouts
Callout Pin Inspector

Select Any Numbered Pin

Click pins on the schematic or select from the list below to inspect historical specifications.

Why It Still Matters

The document is an early primary source for the linked problems of indexing, lockup, cap isolation, and trigger release in a revolving firearm. Its claims are narrower and more varied than a later shorthand description of a generic revolver mechanism.

Legal Claims Decoder (8 Numbered Claims)

Compare dense legalistic claims directly with decoded plain-English functional specifications.
Claim #1Independent Master Claim
1/8
Verbatim Historical Legal Text
“The application of the caps at the end of the cylinder.”
Plain English Engineering Translation
Claims placing the percussion caps at the cylinder's end.
Key Protected Innovations:
End-mounted percussion caps

The Historical Bottleneck

The specification itself identifies the practical problem: make successive chambered shots while maintaining a locked chamber at the barrel and isolating neighboring percussion caps.

Why Prior Art Failed

  • •The source does not identify a named prior machine or inventor; this record does not infer one from the facsimile.
The Breakthrough Insight
“Colt assigns separate mechanical work to the hammer pin, lifter, ratchet, locking key, springs, and connecting rod, then describes their order during cocking and discharge.”

Patent Wars & Legal Litigations

Vs. Massachusetts Arms Company (Edwin Wesson & Daniel Leavitt)Infringement Challenge
Rival Claim & Defense:
Mass Arms produced revolvers based on Daniel Leavitt's 1837 patent and Edwin Wesson's 1849 patent, claiming hand-rotated cylinders or bevel gear indexing did not infringe Colt's 1836 patent.
Litigation Conflict:
Colt sued Massachusetts Arms in 1851 in the US Circuit Court in Boston (Colt v. Massachusetts Arms Co.), represented by attorney Edward N. Dickerson.
Final Resolution & Judicial Outcome:
Colt presented mechanical models demonstrating how Mass Arms' lockwork infringed the fundamental mechanism of cocking the hammer to rotate the cylinder and lock it into direct alignment with the barrel.
After the Grant
This record makes no litigation or manufacturing claim without a separately reviewed historical source.
Civilizational Impact
The document preserves an early United States claim set for component-level solutions to repeated percussion-cap firing: cap placement and separation, smoke protection, trigger linkage, cylinder drive and lockup, and the barrel-arbor union.