US1425471A - Apparatus for submarine work - Google Patents

Description

A. B. HANSEN. APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINE WORK. APPLICATION FILED APR.14, 1920.

l ,425,47 l Patented Aug. 8, 1922 Ii ul .11' n u H N A TTOH/VEVS .ARTHUR B. HANSEN, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

Application area april 14, le20.

To aZZ whom I? may concern.'

Be it known that I, ARTHUR B. HANSEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, and county and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Apparatus for Submarine iWork, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an apparatus for submarine work.

While many devices of this character have been proposed, they have been found objectionable and impractical due to the complex and complicated nature of their construction and operation.

The primary object therefor of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of this character which is simple in its construction, effective in purpose and readily operable by persons of ordinary intelligence and mechanical ability.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is designed primarily to form an important element of a ships complement which is capable of use in cleaning or repairing submerged portions of the hull, without resorting to the use of expensive diving apparatus.

The device is also especially useful on oil tankers where it is necessary for a man to descend into the filled tanks to repair broken pipe connections or work of a similar nature.

further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which permits of ready communication between the submerged workman and others at the surface.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described which is so constructed as to render ingress and egress therefrom an extremely simple and expeditious operation.

`With the above recited and other objects in view, some of which will be more readily apparent hereafter, reference is made to the following description and claims and the accompanying drawings which form a part of the application.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the hull of a vessel illustrating the use and application of the device.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922. Serial No. 373,752.

view thereof with parts in section to disclose the underlying structure.

Figure is a front elevation ofthe same.

Figure l is a transverse sectional view through the apparatus taken approximately on the line 1 4 of Figure 2.

.Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the upper portion of the flexible extension.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference which denote like parts throughout the several views thereof, H represents the hull of a vessel and l) a davit from which the apparatus illustrated is designed to be suspended. The apparatus includes a waterproof suit 10 constructed of canvas, rubberized cloth or any other vsuitable waterproof material which `is flexible. The suit 10 is provided with legs 11 and feet 12 which are preferably weighted for the purpose of readily effecting submersion. The suit is further provided with arms 13 and the body portion 14 of the suit is formed with an upper open tubular collar 15. The collar 15 which houses the head of the workman when in the suit is provided with a sight opening covered by a transparent panel 16. Secured to the upper open end of the collar or formed as a continuation thereof is a tubular extension 17 which is also constructed of flexible waterproof material. The said extension 17 is of a sufiicient length to reach from the bot-tom of the hull to the deck of the vessel. ln order to hold the extension 17 extended when submerged, the same is provided with a plurality of vertically spaced rigid annular members 18 secured to the interior thereof. The extreme upper and lower members 18 are connected by the cables 19 secured thereto at diametrically opposed points. The remaining members 18 are provided with eyes 2O at diametrically opposed points on their inner peripheries, through which the cables 19 are passed to reduce the possibility of twisting of the extension to a minimui The cables 19 also serve to prevent stretching of the eX- tension and assist in bearing the strain of the workmans weight on the extension. A hoisting cable 21 is attached to a bail or harness 22 secured to the upper member 18 and said cable 21 is designed to be passed over a pulley on the davit or other suitable supporting member.

In order to provide means for retaining the workman stationary with relation to his worlr when submerged, an auxiliary supporting `and steadying cable 23 is provided which is attached to a belt 2li embracing the body portion lll of the suit 10, the opposite ends oi? the cable respectively leading up to a pulley on the davit and around under the hull where the extreme end is made fast to a cleat on the opposite side of the deck.

From the foregoing construction it will be seen that the upperopen end oi?` the eX- tension is designed to be arranged alongside the deck in order that communication may be had with the submerged workman to `give proper instructions and receive orders as the case may be.

While the'device is especially adaptedand intended for submarine work, no limitation is made to this use nor to the precise de tails ol construction exhibited, but it is to be understood that such changes and alterz tions as 'fall within the 'scope of the ap` pended claim may be resorted to when found expedient.

Having thus described my invention, what limiting the relative separation of said upper and lowerinost braces whereby the weight of the suit and diver is supported by the flexible connection, the intermediate braces having eyes through which said connection is trained to prevent relative twisting ofthe braces and the extension, a belt secured around the intermediate portion 0i' the suit, and a forwardly presented eye carried by the belt adapted to receive the intermediate portion of an adjustable hauling line.

ARTHUR B. HANSEN.

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