US1064351A - Life-saving attachment for submarines. - Google Patents

Description

H. G. E. LINDTKE. LIFE SAYING ATTACHMENT FOR SUBMAMNBS. APPLICATION FILED OGTAM, 1912.

Patent-ed June 1"; 1913 H. C. Ek LINDTKE.

LIFE SAYING ATTACHMENT DR SUBMARINES.

APPLICATTON FLEFJ OGIEUL W12.

Patented J une 10, 1913.

2 SHEBTSSHEET EEBMN C. E. LINDTKE, 0F EMEYVIIwi-E, GiLIFGRNI.

LIFE-SAYING TTACHMET FOR SUBMARINES.

Specification of Letters Potent. Patented Jane 10, 1913;

Application filed ecober l, l. Serial: 1%.- wim.-

To flZZ whom it may concern Y Be it known that I, HERMAN C. E. LINDTKE, n citizen of the United States, residing at Emeryville, in the county olf Ala- ,mede and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvemens in Lieiaving Attachments for Submarines, of which the" following is a specification.

This invention relates to a ineens whereby escape maybe' made from a sunken and disabled submarine.

The object of the invention is to provide new and useful improvements in submarine boats, whereby convenient means is allerded for the escape of the crew in case the submerged bont becomes disabled and inca pable of rising to thelsnrfece of the wet-er; the seid Ineens ermitting e diver or other person to leave t e bont for investigating or other purposes.

A further object` of lli invenlion is to provide certain means which will permit the escape of the last man aboard.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of paris as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is aside elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is ily cross section on the line X-X of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section.

In the drawings A indicates the shell `or hull Vof a submarine boat, which may be of any desired type of structure. Snitably connected to the upper part of the shell of the submarine.v within the vessel end at a point preferably near the conning mwen is a downwardly projecting tube or cylinder 2, having a door 3 permitting the persons to pass from the boat into the interior of the chamber, or vice versa. The' topf of the tube communicating with the externer is provided with a second door 4, provided with certain operating and locking means here inafter to be described. The door 8 is provided with a. handheld opening 5, normally closed by a screw cap 6, which, when removed, permits insertion of the hand to cperafe a locking mechanism indicated 'et i", allowing it to be opened from the inside.

The outside of the door is provided wiih.

e. common locking means consisting of a hinge, lever and locking bar 8. The main exi door 4 is hinged, asshown at 4, and is automatically opened by e springspressed f opened.

in which it. may' be turned.

rod 9. This rod e will operate' to throw the door'ino' the open position, shown by dotted lines at l0, when certain releasing means are The spring-pressed ro'd 9 is provided for the prpose of inseriti a positive menne which will insure a compete opening of the'door 4 when exit is desired; The lower end of the rod 9 extends' throegh tire exit tube and a; brc'lieii 11 and is threaded .to receive hand-wheel or' mit 12, making 1t; possible to retract the rod against the compression of the spring 13 when it is desirecl` to close the ou'ter door 4. The moment the outer door or closure has been secured in place, if; becomes possible tc u'nscrew the une 12 or lcwei` it into the position shown in Fig. 3'; leafving cheY rod 9' free filo be projected lio lift. the cover when' this is released, the outward i'noi'ren'ientv of the rod being limied by che position of the nut l2 when he not engages with' the bracket il. The door fl is also' provided with a cam l attachment l-fi, so lpositioned es to be engageable with a rod l Operable from the inside of the vessel'. The rod is threaded' and' through ai nut i6 and is' provided willi e hand-:wheel 17 by which the rod may be' edi-fenced or retracted to close the door; ihrs being eecomplished' by engagement of he rod with che cam 14;

Turning the handwheel in che' direction off arrow a; will feed the rod in an' outward direction and force the door into the closed position, es shown in Fig. The door is l also provided with an ablewith a lock 19 controlled by a hand- ;wllieel or lever 20 on the inside of the ves- `se=. menns, generally indicated als 21', for the extension 18, engaget is also provided with a friction purpose of holding the lock in any position indiennes n hydraulic lift which' is provided for the purpose of assisting in opening the outer door 4 under certain conditions. 'lille pressure to operate the lift is conveyed through e pipe 23 from any suitV able means, es e bend or power pump, not` here shown.

In operaion. it being necessary or d'esired to Hieke Elie escape from. a disabled sub Anirine in which lie foregoing epparius is n lellld, ie becomes necessary for the person or persons desiring to escape to apply a divers suit or si helmet of any' suitable kind, provided with revisions which will supply cir for a. limite time. The per;

.by the hand-wheel 20 to engage son then enters the chamber or tube 2 l through the lnner door, which 1s then close'd from the inside by the locking mechanism 8 by other members of the crew. The locking mechanism 19 securing the outer door 4 is then operated to release the catch 18, leaving the door free to open when certain pressures and conditions have been overcome by the automatic opener 9. lVater from the outside is Ithen admitted into the chamber through a pipe 24 by opening a valve 25, which will allow the l,water to enter and flood the cham-- ber. #The water gradually rising in t1 chamber' v`will compress the air contained in the sainea until the pressure of the outside surroundin water and the air pressure be come equalized. The moment this balanced state of pressure has been attained, the rod 9V, will become operative to -openthe outer door 1; this being accomplished by the pressure of the spring 13 acting on the collar 13', thus allowing the person .to escape from the. tube.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide means whereby the last meub ber of the crew may escape, which is aecomplished by the following means: Supposing all members of the crew have escaped, with the exception of .the last operator, this member may escape by first closing the outer cover 4. This is accomplished by turning the hand-wheel 17 in the direction of the arrow a., which will feed the rod 15 outwardly and force the cover 4 into closed position. Before the closing of the cover it becomes necessary to retract the automatic door opening rod 9 which was projected in an outward direction by opening the cover. This is accomplished by turning the hand- Wheel or nutvlQ in aidirection which will retract the rod against the pressure ofthe spring 13. The rod having been retracted, it is possible to close the outer cover by the means just described. In order to permit the rod to again be projected to open the door, it is necessary to turn the nut 12 into the lower position `shown in Fig; the distance between the bracket 11 and the nut 12 being the amount of projection necessary to 'open lthe door. The lock 19 is then turned the lug 18 and secure the cover. This having been accomplished, it becomes necessary to remove the water contained within the chamber '12. The Water may be discharged by opening a valve 23 and an air vent 523%, allowing the ater to drain into the cnterior of the fressel, or by opei'iinggl the valse 24a, which may be connected to afsuction pump, not hetY shown which will draw water from the cl n' r and discharge it outside or the ves- The chamber beingernpti d of the Wal ng theloclr I ter, may now be opened by rele 8 on inner door, and the loc-lr 15a securing' the outer cover may be turned into the released posit-ion, as shown in Fig. 2. The end ternal pressure being more than sufficient to secure thevdoor in the locked position, the

rod 15 is returned to its normal position, indicated in Fig. 3, .so as not to interfere with the opening of the cover. The operator having applied the necessary helmet or .suit may then enterthe inner door and secure same by the inner lock 7, which consists of a bracket extending across the door opening and a bolt secured to the door so positioned to pass through the inner bracket. The outer end of the bolt is secured to the bracket by a nut 26 for the purpose of locking the door. been secured, 1t only becomes necessary to flood the chamber, as before described, until internal and external pressures equalize. This is accomplished by a rod 27, provided with a handWheel 28, through the operation of which a valve 29 may be opened on the inside of the chamber to flood same. rlhe moment the external and internal pressures equalize,- as before described, it will be understoool that the rod will become operable to lift the door into the'open position, which will permit the escape of the operator.

F or the purpose of aiding the last man to escape from the tube, it has proven, of great advantage, and sometimes a necessity,

to lit the inside of the cylinder with a hyn draulic lift 22 for the purpose oflifting or assisting in lifting the outer cover. This hydraulic lift may be operated by any suitable means, as a hand `pump or pressure supply from the interior of the vessel.

It will be understood that the tube may be used by a diver when it is necessary to make certain repairs or investigations around the ship. Nith this purpose in view, I h ve provided a connection 3G, to which an. air tube, not here shown, .may beconnested. rlhe tube may otherwise be fitted with water gages 31 and suitable light openn ings "Ihelight openings may be pro vided for the purpose olf admit-ting light to the interior of the chamber in order to ascertain if a person has esca-pecl. One or more of the openings, as 32, may be provided 'with electric lights, as 33,.which may be 'used when necessary.

The hydraulic lift' and operating rod ics' 22 are only used unser certain conditions when more or less difficulty is met with in opening outer cover s, 3

drain pipe coiuiecting wi"":

` ma?" suctic )eric f and may dict-ate.

It will be understood that various changes to be in torni, proportions and minor detiils of construction may be resorted to Within the I scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my iii\'e11tion,'wln1t I Claim and desire to secure by Letters Pntent is" 1. The Combination with a vessel adapted to be sulnnerged, of a compartment Within the vessel having :in opening tvliereinto and an opening outside the vessel, closures for snid openings, looks operable trom either the inside or the outside of said compartment controlling the elosnre of the opening eon'unnnieating with the interior of the vessel, :s looking Ineens opertble from the interior ot the ren-'sel for looking or unlocking the exterior cover, means operable .from the exterior of the chamber for tloodinp the rlnnnber to equalize exterior und interior pressures, means operable from .the interior of the chamber for flooding the chamber, on Lwutomeltie means Within the chamber for opening the exterior' closure, :1 secondary means within the chamber for forcing the exterior elosure open, and means operable from the interior of the vessel to Close said cover. 2. The combination with n vessel adapted to be submerged, of e compartment within the vessel having; an opening thereinto und :in opening outside the vessel, closures for seid openings, locks operable from either the inside or thefoutside of said compartment Controlling the closure ot' the opening communicating with the interior of the ressel, n looking means operable from the interior of the itssel for looking or unlocking the exterior cover, menne operable from the exterior of the ehamberor llooding the -lmniber to equalize exterior' and interior pmssures, ineens operable from the interior of the chamber for flooding the chamber, an outonnitie ineens Within the chamber for opening the exterior closure, :i secondary means within the chamber for forcing the exterior closure open, said means Comprising n \erticnlly disposed rod suitably journnled on the inside of the chamber so positioned as to have one end engzigeable with the inner edge of the outer elosnre and the other end projecting through the lower portion ot the chamber, a spring surrounding said rod, :i collar secured to the rod against; which the spring acts, threads formed on the lower end of the rod and a nut for controllingethe position of the rod, and means operable from the interior of the vessel to close said cover.

said openings. locks 3. The combination with a vessel adapted submerged, of a compartment Within the vessel having :in opening therointo and :in opening outside the vessel, closures for operable from either the inside or the outside of seid comportnient controlling the closure of the opening communicating with the interior of the vessel., u looking means operable from the interior of the vessel for locking;r or unlocking the exterior rover, means operable from the exterior of the chamber for flooding the chamber to equalize exterior :1nd interior pressures, inenns operable Yfrom the interior ot' the rhmnber for flooding the elifunber, :in nutomntio means within the @bomber for ,pening the exterior closure, a somit/,lary n10-:ins within the Chamber for forcing the exterior Closure open, seid means eoinprising n vertically disposed rod suitably journaled on the inside of the chamber so positioned as to have one end engegenble with the inner edge of the outer closure :1nd the other end projecting through the lower portion of the chamber, a spring surrounding said rod, n coller secured which the spring nots, threads formed. on the lower end of the rod :ind e nut for oontrolling the position otl the rod, ineens opernble from the interior of the res-sel to rlose seid cover, said means Connufisingr e eem formed on the outer @lesuren rod engagen ble with said eem, and means for operating said rod.

4. The eombinzition with a vessel adopted to be submerged, of n Cmnpartment within the vessel having' un openingr thereinto and an opening outside the vessel, elosnies tor seid openings, looks operable from either the inside or outside of said oominrtment controlling the closure of the opening oommunieating with the interior of the wissel, means operable from the exterior of the chamber for flooding the Chamber to equnlize exterior and interior pressures, means operable from the interior ot'.the chamber for flooding the elnnnber, :in automatic ineens Within the elmmber for opening the exterior Closure, n secondary menne Within the Chamber for forcing the exterior closure open, and a timid-Controlled luid-netuntetl means Within the ehember for forcing; the outer elosnre into open osition,

In testimony whereo I have hereunto my hand in the presence of twoV subscribing Witnesses.

HERMAN C. E. LINDTKF.

Witnesses JOHN H. HERRING, W. W. HEALEY.

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