US136436A - Improvement in life-preserving floats - Google Patents

Description

T. HUSMER. Lif-Preserving Floats.

Patpnted March 4, 1873.

No. 36,436. c ig.

OGRAFHC' m MY osaome' PRacrss:

AM. PHOT0-LITH UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

THEODORE HOSMER, OF SANDUSKY, OHIO.

MPROVEMENT lN LIFE-PRESERVING FLOATS,

Specification forming part of Letters Pateut No. 136,436, dated March 4, 1873;

To all whom it may cancer n:

Be it known that I, THEODORE HOSMER, of Sandusky, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Life-Preservers, of which the following is a speeification:

The invention consists in the improvement of life-preservers, as'hereinafter described and claimed.

Iu the drawing, Figurel is a top or plan view. Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line m a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line y y of Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parte.

A is a frame somewhat 'esembling a horseshoe in form, made of wood, in two sections, the inner sides of which are grooved, with the groove filled with cork B to make the frame buoyant. The frame may be made of metal, or of anyother suitable material, with one or more air-tight chambers therein, for the purpose of making the frame buoyant. The frame is made, say, three feet wide and fourfeet long, and' about three inches in thickness, with a circular orifice, O therein to receive the weight of the person using it. Through the opening D E is a safety-belt attached'to the frame, which is buckled around the chest of the person, under the arms or around the waist. F 1 are safety-loops for the person using the preserver. G G' are loops, by means of which other persons in the water may hold on to the frame and support themselves without sinking the frame; the frame is, therefore, designed to be of suficient buoyancy to support one or more persons.

When a person has succeeded in thus fastening himself in the frame he is safe as far as Sinking is concerned, and will find.

it a real life-preserver; but I do not only desire to keep him and others from sinking, but to give him means for moving or propelling 'himself while in the water; and for this purpose I make the slots H H through the frame, in which I place the rotating paddles or propellers I I. J is a transverse shaft, to which the propellers are attached. The shaft is revolved by means of the levers K K, which the person in the framc seizes, the power to rotate the shaft being applied when he pulls on the levers by means of ratchet-wheels L L, pawls M M, and spurwheels N N. This arrangement is seen in Figs. 1 and 2.

It will be observed that in a small structure like a life-preserver it is not only necessary to secure an efiective propeller, but that its operative mechanism shall be, as far as possible, protected from the wavcs, and be arranged to occupy no additional space, when packed, beyond that required for the life-preserver itself. By my invention it will be seen that I- do not, therefore, only operate the propeller easily and to advantage, but my actuating mechausm is entirely inclosed within the lifepreserver, the whole making a compact and easily-transportable device.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The propeller nechanisn I J, the ratehetwleels L, pawls m, spur-wheels N, and levers K, combined and applied in connection with a lit'e-preserver as and for the purpose described.

'THEODORE HOSMER. Witnesses:

T. B. MOSHER, (3. SEDGWICK.

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