The ejector commonly known as the Southgate was patented by a variety of people but somehow the Southgate monica stuck. The first patent that described the over-centre ejector was by Thomas Perkes.
Hence Perkes/Southgate.
Lloyd3
The patent that Perkes went broke fighting over was a sear and tumbler design just like a gun lock. The fight was with Deeley of Westley Richards who had patented the famous 'Deeley Ejector Box' which has been fitted to innumerable shotguns, especially boxlocks out of the Birmingham trade, and is still available now I believe.
Perkes's case was that the ejector worked on the principle of the age old gun lock and so couldn't be patented. Therefore his use of a similar design was not breaking Deeley's patent. He won but it cost him so much he went broke shortly afterwards.
Deeley had to re-apply for the patent without the ejector box in it.
The Perkes ejector is most often found in back action SLE's by the likes of J Blanch et al. Interestingly, I have owned guns by Blanch that quote BOTH ejector patent numbers. Talk about sitting on the wall!
