US1380750A - Diving-chamber for submarine operations - Google Patents

Description

A. 0, TESCH. DIVING CHAMBER FOR SUBMARINE OPERATIONS APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1920- 1,3 9,750, Patented June :7, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

{DJ-FE sch A. 0. TESCH. DIVING CHAMBER FOR SUBMARINE OPERATIONS- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15. 1920- 1,380,750. I v PatentedJune 7, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- To all whom it may concern PATENT orrlcn.

, ALEXANDER o. TESCH, or GHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Myrna-CHAMBER FOR SUBMARINE orERArIoNs; I

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER O. TESCH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Diving-Chambers for Submarine Operations; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to apparatus for sub-' marine operations, and aims to generally improve the construction of such apparatus, whereby a desired operation may be accomplished quickly, efficiently and with the ex ertion of a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator.

The invention resides in the novel features of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and then particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section through an apparatus, constructed in accordance with my invention, F. Fig. 2 is a section'on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through one of the grappling devices; and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4.--4 of Fig. 3. r i

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 designates a chamber or vessel of any desired shape, and formed from any desired material, having suflicient strength to resist a heavy exterior pressure without distortion. Preferably this chamber is of substantially cylindrical shape, being closed at its upper and lower ends by heads 11 and 12, respectively, and provided with a flattened side 13 to accommodate devices which will be referred to more particularly hereinafter. The upper head 11 is provided with a suitably closed manhole 14 to permit access to the interior of'the chamber, and suitable cable connections. 15' are provided whereby the chamber may be lowered into. or raised from the water, while to stabilize the cham her and cause it to. sink, I attach thereto weights 16. Interiorly of the chamber, are provided suitable air producing and purify ing devices 17 and in the side and end walls of the chamber, are provided any desired number of windows and light-projecting V Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed il'une 15, 1920. Serial No 389,255.

Patented June 7, 1921.

I devices 18, whereby an operator within the chamber may properly navigate and control the apparatus. Safety devices in the form of plates 19 are provided to be SWung over the window and light-projecting openings to exclude water from the chamber in the'event of breakage of the transparent material covering said openings. 7 H

I have provided propelling and steering means operable from the interior of the chamber, whereby the apparatus when submerged, may be navigated at the will of its occupants and independently of persons or devices upon the surface. The propelling means consists of a plurality of propellers 20 arranged exteriorly of the chamber and journaled 'on shafts which extend into the chamber and have fixed thereto -miter gears 21. Meshing with these gears are similar gears 22 on a shaft 23, which is journaled in the chamber. An additional gear'24 is provided on the shaft 23, and this gear meshes with a gear 25 on a horizontal motor shaft 26. Thus when the shaft 26 is rotated its movement will be transmitted through the shafts and gears just described-to the propellers.

The steermgmechanlsm consists of one or more rudders 27 on a shaft 28 journaled in bearings 29 secured'to thefoutside of the chamber. A gear 30 onthe shaft 28 meshes With a gear 31 on a shaft which extends into the chamber, and this latter shaft has fixed thereto a hand wheel 32 which, upon rotation. will swing the rudders as will be apparent.

A motor 33 is provided for 'driving the shaft 26, and said shaft in addition to the gear 25, is provided with a second gear 34- which meshes with a gear 35 on a stub shaft meshing with gears 'and46, respectively,

on the inner ends ofbrush shafts which extend through the side wall of the-"chamber bearings projecting from the sidewall of.

and carry at their outer ends, exteriorly of the chamber, brushes 4'? and 48, respectively. Thus power may be transmitted from the motor through the shafts and gears just described to rotate the brushes for any desired purpose, as for instance, cleaning'the side of a sunken ship. I conventionally illustrated at 49, may be provided on the shafts 26 and 39 in order that the motor may be allowed to run free without operating either the propellers or the brushes and in order that either the brushes or propellers maybe operated independently with respect to each other. If desired, shafts other than shaft 39 may be operated from the gear 35 for imparting motion to the chamber or other devices associated with the apparatus. A pair of such shafts are illustrated at 50 in Fig. 2 of the drawings but the devices they may operate, have not been shown.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the chamber may be navigated to any desired position, while submerged by an operator within the chamber, and that when brought into juxtaposition, as for instance with the side of a sunken ship, the brushes 47 and 48 may be operated to clean accumulated matter therefrom; i 7

It is desirable that an apparatus such as the present be equipped with grappling'devices, indicated at A, operable from the interior of the chamber-to grip objects exteriorly thereof in order to raise such objects to the surface orto move them while submerged, and I haveprovidedan improved grapple for such purposes, constructed as shown in Fig. 3, which is as follows:

Through an opening in -a wall of the chamber I pass a flanged tube 51 and secure it rigidly to thechamber by passingbolts through the flange and the wall of the chamber. This tube is interiorly screw-threaded throughout a portion of its'length, and passing therethrough, is a second tube 52 exteriorly screw-threaded and engaging the interior threads of the first tube. Tube 52 projects beyond the outer endof tube 51, and is provided with a plurality of pairs of ears through which pass pins 53 having journaled thereon toothed segments 54 to which aresecured curved gripping jaws 55. Passing through the tube 52 is an exte'riorly threaded sleeve 56, the threads -of' which mesh with the teeth of segments 54, whereby rotation of said sleeve relative to thetube 52, will swing the jaws toward or away from each other to either grip or release an object therebetween. Angular adjustment or movementof the jaws toward and away from the chamber may be accomplished by rotating the tube 52 because of its threaded engagement with the fixed tube 51. A crank 57 on the tube 52 and a similarcrank 58 on the sleeve 56 provide means interiorly of the Clutch members,

,eXteriorly threaded tube,

chamber, whereby said tube and sleeve may be conveniently rotated.

Passing through the sleeve 56 is a rod or shaft 59 which is threaded at its outer end to receive a hook 60, by which the apparatus is secured to a ship. In the drawings, Ihave shown a hook or the like provided at one end with an internal threaded opening suspended-by a cable 62 from a ship. When the shaft 59 is secured to this, the hook is firstgotten into position 'to receive the threaded end of the shaft by the grappling jaws 55, after which the shaft is rotated. If desired, a tool or the lik'e'may be secured to the shaft 59 in place of the hook and operated for various purposes either independently or in conjunction with the gripping jaws 55. 7

Packing glands are provided between the shaft 59 and sleeve56, between the sleeve and the tube 52, and between the tube 52 and tube 51, in order to prevent leakage of water around these parts of the apparatus, and'if desired, a coil spring 61 may, be interposed between the inner end of sleeve 56, and a collar on the shaft 59 in order that the tube '60 maybe permitted'to yield outwardly slightly to better engage an object to be operated upon. 1

I have disclosedmy invention in the best form lmown to me at present, but as the several parts of the device are subject to change, by the employment ofordinary mechanical skill, I limit myself tothe use and development of .my invention, only by the terms of the appended claims.v

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a grapple including relatively movable gripping jaws, a rotary sleeve for operating said jaws, a rod yieldably held within said sleeve and adapted to receive on one end a tool, aid tool to operate in conjunc: tion with said gripping jawsf 2. A gripping device for diving bells com? prising an interiorly threaded tube, an ex teriorly threaded tube arranged within said fixed tube with its threads meshing with the threads of said fixed tube, gripping jaws including toothed segments pivoted to said an exteriorly threaded sleeve within said exteriorly threaded tube, the threads of said sleeve meshing with-the teeth of said segments, means for rotating said sleeve, means for rotating said exteriorly threaded tube, a shaft passing through the said sleeve, and a tool carried by said shaft. V

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois.

ALEXANDER o'. *rnsori.

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