US1271017A

US1271017A - Life-saving suit.

Info

Publication number: US1271017A
Application number: US20386717A
Authority: US
Inventors: John Hunter Cassidy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1917-11-24
Filing date: 1917-11-24
Publication date: 1918-07-02
Anticipated expiration: 1935-07-02

Description

J. H. CASSIDY. LIFE SAVING SUIT. APPLICATION FILED SEPT'ZB, I915. RENEWED NOV- 24,1917.

Patented Jilly 2,1918.

Mill

2 3d for the escape of air and body moisture from p the suit while it is being worn..

avinia. Y

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amt-sac surr.

hpecltltion of Letters itatent.

- Patented duly a; are.

Application filed September at, law, denial Ito. racer. Renewed November at, 1917. Serial J'do. ddd'l.

and resident of the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Suits, of

which the following is a full, clear, and-ex- 'act description.

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This invention relates to improvements in life saving suits, and the object is to provide a waterproof buoyant suit which may be very quic ly and easily put on in the event of a marine disaster, or which may be worn by a person venturing on hazardous marine expeditions; 7

A. further object is to provide a suit of this character which is particularly adapted to maintain the weareras warm and dry as possible.

A. still further object is to provide a suit which may bereadily adjustable to the body of the. wearer, so as to impart amaximum of safety and comfort. Still another object is to provide means Another'object is to provide a suit'having a buoyant portion which may bedetached and worn separately.

To accomplish these objects, ll'provide a suit of waterproof material 1 which completely envelops the wearers' body, with the exception of the face. The upper portion of the suit may be double walled, and between thewalls thereof, buoyant material of very low specific gravity 1S disposed to insure flotation, or the buoyant material'may be separate and detachable. The feet of the device are preferably weighted with some material of high specific gravity, such as lead, so as to insure the wearer an upright position in thewater- The arms of the suit are closed at the ends and divided into three parts, one forming an inclosure for the wearers thumb, a second for the index- I finger and a third for the remaining three fill lib

fingers, thus provlding an arrangement which allows ordinary use of the fingers combined with 'a considerable degree of protection from the cold. The hood is also double walled on to forman air space and give the wearer protection from the sun. In order to adapt the suit to various sizes of people, a belt'is the top, sides and back the waist to hold the buoyant material down in its proper place. in order to assist the belt in this and positively guard against upward pressure of the buoyant material choking the wearer, an adjustable strap is provided which may be tightened around xzi provided extending between the wearers legs and-connected to the belt at front and back, and operating to positively holdthe' belt .and upper part of the device in proper position. In order to facilitate the use of the hands and feet, the device is providedat the wrists and ankles with means for tightening the garment to accurately fit the wearer. r

in the drawings which illustrate the invent-ion:- i

Figure l is a perspective view of the suit as worn. v

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through one leg and the body of the suit.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the empty suit.

Fig. 4L is a fragmentary view of one footshowing the means for adjusting the same to the wearers comfort.

' Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the hand portion of'the suit showing the automaticadjusting means.

Fig. 6 is a fraentary sectional view showing'a slightly modified disposition of the float. w

Referring more particularly to the'drawings, ll designates the body portion, 12 the legs, 13 the arms, and 14 the hood, of a suit of waterproof material formed in one piece,

and arranged to completely cover the .Wearers body, with the exception of the face. The suit is dimensioned to give ample room for very tall or very stout persons, and also to permit a" person fully clothed to put on the suit in a una of time.

without'the necessity of removing clothing or boots. The entire width of the suit is open at the shoulders,- as shown at T5, in. Fig. 8, so that it may be gotten into. without dculty. The material around the open ing is provided with a suitably arranged draw string 16, so that when a person is once in the suit, they may by pulling on the string, aw the garment tight around the neck to prevent the entrance of water. The

- hood 1d isattached' to the back of the'suit,

and is provided with an elastic insert in the lltltl lltlh 'neclr, so that when the hood drawn over ltd around the neck over'the upper edge of the suit, and aid in excluding the water. For the same purpose'the edge of the face opening 17 is provided with elastic reinforcement to draw the material tightly around the wearers face. It will of course be understood that, if desired, draw strings may be used in both of these locations to replace the elastic inserts, but this is not thought desirable, as these drawing strings require manipulation, while the elastic inserts are automatic in their action. The body portion of the suit is provided with an inner wall 18 extending from approximately neck to waist, and forming with the material of the suit a pocket or chamber 19 in which bodies of suitable buoyant material'may be placed. This material may be cork, light waterproof vegetable fiber, such as is used in making floating boat cushions, or maybe hollow receptaclesof rubber, metal or other suitable material. In the breast of thesuit, a pocket is formed for the reception of a stimulant or food receptacle 21, from which the food may be drawn into the wearers mouth through a tube 22.

The feet or boots 123 are provided with heavy soles 2 1, such as sheets of lead or the like which will insure the wearer a vertical position in the water. Owing to the. looseness' of the suit, it is necessary to provide for an approximately good fit of the boots when the suit is worn, in case it becomes necessary for the wearer to walk on deck or wade ashore. For this purpose, the outer side of each ankle isprovided with cooperating fasteningdevices 25 similar to those used on overshoes, 'or of any other'desirable pattern, by means of which the ankle portions or boot tops may be adjusted to fit closely around the wearers ankles, and thus hold the bootsv rigidly in position. The same necessity prevails with respect to the hand or glove portions 26 of the suit. As the clasps would be considerably in the way on the wearers wrists, and would moreover be difiicult to fasten, it has been found desirable to provide an elastic insert 27. in the wrists of the suit, which will be expanded when the wearers hand passes through, and will then close around the wrist and hold the gloveportions 26 firmly inposition. It will be understood that this arrangement of both the body and the glove is necessary as the arm and leg lengths of thesuit must be made sufliciently large to accommodate longarmed and long-legged persons, so that if a short-armedor short-legged person wore the suit, the gloves and boots would be ,out'of place on the hands and feet much of the time, unless retained. A further advantage ,of this arrangement is that all the fullness ing the suit, and at the same time providing --a maximum of warmth possible in conjunction with freedom of movement.

It is obvious that on small people, the fullness or additional leg length might permit the buoyant bodies. 20 to rise so high that they would seriously inconvenience the wearer,-and possibly by pressing up at the neck have a choking effect. To overcome this difliculty, a belt 28 is provided passing through keepers or loops 29 on the suit, so that the belt is maintained in proper place. A strap 30 is secured at one end to the back portion of the belt, and is adapted to be passed between the wearers legs and secured to the front portion of the ,belt by means of a buckle or other suitable device 31. This strap will hold the'belt and therefore the body portion of the suit in proper position and eliminate the discomfort and possible danger just pointed out.

Owing to the possible difiiculty of drying a dampened float and the impossibility of using same independentlytof the whole suit, it may be found desirable to locate the fioat outside the garment, as shown in Fig. 6. The float will be in the form of a detachable and separately wearable vest 33 provided with a waterproof cover, and be preferably fastened up the front and secured to the suit by any suitable fastening device 34 coo erback, and the fastening device 31 at the front, so as to be available whether the entire suitor only the vest is worn.

It is obvious that since the suit is entirely waterproof, it will be substantially air tight,

and that therefore any air or moisture confined in the suit when it is put on would be retained. Such a condition would be a serious disadvantage and might even prove a menace to the safety of the wearer, as the perspiration induced by swimming would dampen the interior of the suit and the wearers clothes, so that if the water was at all cold, a chill would certainly result when the wearer became exhausted. Furthermore, the lack of ventilation would be decidedly uncomfortable, and if air was imprisoned in the suit would have the effect of rendering the suit unwieldy. To overcome this, air outlet valves 32 are provided in each shoulder of the suit to provide a vent a arina? will normally remain closed to prevent the entrance of water.

It will be understood that any suitable material may be used in the manufacture of the suit, but it is preferred to use sheet rubber or rubber impregnated fabric having a suitable warm lining, so that a person wearing the suit who has not had opportunity to put on other clothing will be protected .from the cold. It will also be understood that wherever desirable, clasps, straps or draw strings may be used to replace the elastic bands, or vice versa, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that all such changes and minor modifications which. constitute mechanical equivalents, while not specifically described, are held to form a part of the invention and be included therein.

Having thus described my invention, what claim is In combination in a life saving suit, a onepiece garment completely covering the wearer with the exception of the face, a vest filled with buoyant material extending from the neck to waist and normally attached to the garment, means securing the vest to the garment at the back of the neck, a strap attached to the back of the vest and passing between the garment legs to the vest front arranged to adjust the garment to the wearers body independently of the vest.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HUNTER CASSIDY. Witnesses:

C. W. TAYLoR, Gr. M. MORELAND.