GB190820797A - Improvements in and relating to Diving Bell Apparatus for Submarine Work. - Google Patents

Abstract

20,797. Flood, J. G., and Fitzgerald, W. G. Oct. 2. Diving.-Diving-apparatus consists of two parts, a bell suspended at the required depth, and an upper chamber capable of being lowered on to the bell, means being provided for locking the two together when in contact. The lower bell a'is suspended by cables e and is fitted with permanent ballast b and a water-ballast tank c, which may be flooded by opening valves c<1>, c<2>, and emptied by admitting compressed air by means of a valve c<3>. At the top of the bell is fitted a door f, and a ring g with a conical surface for making a water-tight joint with the upper chamber h. The chamber h, provided with permanent ballast m<1> and a waterballast tank m<2>, is divided into a central chamber l, which can be supplied with pressure air by a pipe h<1>, controlled by valves h<7>, or h<8>, and an annular chamber m under atmospheric pressure, for the operators. A door n with a pressure-equalizing valve n<1> allows communication between the chambers. The chamber h is guided by the cables e on'to'$he bell a, a ring g<2> bearing against the ring g on the lower chamber. A rotatable ring k<2> is also provided carrying projections k<1>, which pass between clutches k on the bell as the chamber is lowered. When in position, the ring k<2> is rotated by means of a toothed segment k<3> and gear k<4> rotated by a hand-wheel k<6>, to bring the projections k<1> into engagement with the clutches k, and so lock the two chambers together. In operation, the diver enters the pressure chamber l, and the operators the atmospheric chamber m, and the whole is lowered on to the bell a and locked to it. The diver opens a door l<1>, a valve t being provided to facilitate this, and enters the bell a by the door f If desired, the space between the doors may be drained by the valve t<1>. The diver attaches his air-pipe to one of the valves d' and enters the water. Windows p in the upper chamber enable the operators to see what is going on in the water. The Specification also describes an inuring-chamber similar to the chamber a whereby the diver can be put under or relieved from pressure before entering or after leaving the chamber l. By this means work may proceed continuously, one diver being put under compression while the other is at work.