US1566934A - Salvage-indicating buoy - Google Patents

Description

H. TOMIC 'SALVAGE INDI-CATING BUOY' Filed May 9, 1925 INVENTOR HTamw ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HELEN TOMIQ, OF SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.

SALVAGE-INDICATING BUOY.

Application Ifiled May 9, 1925. Serial No. 28,994.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HELEN TOMIG, a citizen of Yugoslavia, residing at South Bethlehem, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Indicating Buoys a specification.

The main obje Improvements in Salvageof which the following is ct of this invention is to provide a'buoy by means of which a sunken ship may indicate 1 Another object dicating buoy ada ships so that its position. is to provide a salvage inpted to form equipment on when the latter, for any reason,

are sunk, the buoy automatically rises to the surface of the sea and indicates the position of the ship.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an indicating buoy having means thereon which lock said buoy to the deck of the Vessel until such time as the deck becomes submerged when the locking means are automatically released by the rising level of the water and permits The above and floating of said buoy. other objects will become apparent in the description below, in which characters of reference refer to like-named parts in the drawing.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective v cation of the invention in iew, illustrating the appliwhich the buoys are shown on the surface of the water, marking the pos1t1on of a sunken vessel.

Figure 2 is a anchor housing.

Flgure 3 IS a fr perspective view of the buoy aginentary side elevational view of the indicating buoy.

Figure 4 is a thru the buoy,

with portions of sectional elevational view showing the same cooperating the buoy anchorage housingand illustrating the means for locking said buoy on the housing.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates an ordinary type of vessel which lies The vessel, when buoy anchorage housing positions. These reef 11 water. afloat, is provided with a at the fore and aft anchorage housings comsubmerged upon a prise a box-like frame having parallel side walls 13 and end together to form walls 14 which are joined a square hollow housing,

and has a bottom 15 which is securely mounted upon the deck of the vessel, one of each of these housings being provided at the bow and stern.

The distance between the parallel side walls 13 of the housing is spanned by a pair of straps l6 and 17 which are provided with bent downwardly extending feet 18 at their ends, said feet being secured to the interior surfaces of the walls 13 by screws, bolts, or other similar means. The intermediate portions of the bands 16 and 17 are bent in opposite directions to each other to form semi-circular hoops l9 and 20 on which the buoy is supported when normally at rest. These hoops are engaged by cooperating means on the buoy to lock the latter in place on the housing when the vessel equipped with the buoy is afloat.

The buoy consists of a hermetically sealed ball or sphere 21 formed from some relatively light rigid material of suitable strength to withstand rough handling. The chamber 22 contained therein is hermetically sealed, as stated, to create a buoyant body which readily floats and has preferably about half its area exposed above the water level. At the bottom of the ball. a hollow cylinder 23 is formed which has a hemispherical roof 24 at its upper end and is open at the bottom. Within the bore of the cylinder an inverted cup-shaped plunger 25 is vertically slidable. A stem 26 depends axially from the plunger and its lower end is movable in a chamber formed by an annular sleeve 27 which sphere and projects downwardly therefrom and is open at its lower end so that water can rise thereon and actuate the plunger 25. The sleeve 27 is of the same length as the width of the straps and is adapted to snugly slide into the circular space formed by the semi-circular portions of the straps 16 and 17. On the lower internal periphery of the sleeve at diametrically opposite positions to each other, pairs of ears 28 are formed in which hinge pins are mounted. the latter serving as support pivots for angular bell cranks 29. The arms of the bell cranks 29 extend downwardly and have teeth at their extreme ends which are adapted to engage the underside of the edge of the semi-circular portions 19 and 20 of the straps 16 and 17, and in this manner, lock the buoy or sphere securely seated upon said straps, as indicated in Figure 4. The opposite arms 30 of the bell cranks 29 are in horizontal alignment with each other, extend toward each other, and are connected to the lower end of the stem 26 of the plunger 25 by flexible ele ments 31. A stud 32 extends diametrically is integral with the reef, shoal,

across the lower end of the sleeve 27 and is adapted to have one end of a cable-33 secured and firmly attached thereto. This cable is normally coiled and housed in orderly fashion in the buoy housing and has its lower end firmly anchored to an eye bolt 34 which is mounted on the floor 15 of the housing.

A buoy unit is preferably mounted on both the bow and stern of the vessel upon the deck, as illustrated in Figure 1. As a vessel is cruising upon the surface 12 and strikes: a

or the like, and has its keel stove in and immediately begins to' sink, the buoys become operable. as the deck of the vessel submerges below the surface of the water. The vessel, in slowly submerging reaches the level of the bottom of the spherical buoys 21 which are securely locked in place upon the seat formed by the semi-circular portions 19' and 20? of the straps 16 and 17 so that the buoy is not tumbled about in rough weather, which would otherwise be the case. The. buoy is automaticallyunlocked from its mooring by the action of the rising water upon the inverted face of the cup-shaped plunger 25. As the vessel slowly sinks, the water rises within the sleeve 27 and as the stem of the plunger 25 is connected to the arms 30 of the bell cranks 29, the latter are rotated so that the teeth on the vertical arms of the bell cranks are disengaged and rotate clear of their contacting engagement with the portions 19' and 20 of the straps, and as the water continues to rise, the buoy 21 is lifted clear of its mooring in the housing and floating of its own accord and re maining on the surface 12 of the water while the remainder of the vessel, including the housing of the buoys, sinks to the bottom. These buoys then act as salvage indicators by which means trawlers or-other like vessels can locate the Wreck.

I claim 1. An indicating buoy unit comprising a housing having straps mounted thereon, the

straps being formed into an annular seat, a spherical buoy operated on said seat, a cylinder extending upwardly into the buoy and open at its lower end, means on said buoy for releasably locking the latter in place on the housing, and, additional means movable in said cylinder for releasing said locking means when engaged by a rising level of water. a

V 2. An indicating buoy unit comprising a housing having straps mounted thereon, the straps being formed into an annular seat, a spherical buoy operated on said seat, a cylinder-extending upwardly into the buoy and open at its lower end, a sleeve extending downwardly from said sphere and aligned with said cylinder, toothed bell cranks pivoted in said sleeve diametrically opposite each other and being adapted to normally engage the housing seat, and means operable in said cylinder adapted to rotate the bell crank and actuated by the rising levelof water in saidcylinder for'releasing the bell cranks from engagement with the housing seat.

v 3. A11 indicating buoy unit comprising a housing having straps mounted thereon, the straps being formed into an annular seat, a

spherical buoy operated on said seat, a cyl-' inder extending upwardly into the buoy operated on said seat, a cylinder extending upwardly into the buoy and open at its lower end, a sleeve extending downwardly from said sphere and aligned with said cylinder, toothed bell cranks pivotedin said sleeve diametrically opposite each other and being adapted to normally engage the housing seat, an inverted cap-shaped plunger slidable in said cylinder, a stem on said plunger connected to said bell cranks, the plunger when lifted by the rising level of liquid being adapted to lift said stem and rotate therbell cranks out of engagement with the housing seat to release the buoy for floating.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HELEN TOMIC.

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