US2325306A - Salvaging and lifesaving device for sunken vessels - Google Patents

Description

July 2 7, 1943. o. s. CARPENTER 2,325,306

SALVAGING AND LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUNKEN VESSELS Filed Aug. 31. 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

July 27, 1943. o. s. CARPENTER 2,325,306

SALVAGING AND LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUNKEN VESSELS Filed Aug. 51, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 080 a? A. CafipenZefl IN V EN T OR.

ELS

July 27, 1943- 0.5. CARPENTER SALVAGING AND LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUNKEN VESS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 31, 1942 W 9 RN J o o J km m. N r m m o F M u g v NJ V w k NR o J J M M VESSELS July 27, 1943.

o. s CARPENTER SALVAGING AND LIFE SAVING DEVICE FOR SUNKEN Fil 51, 1943' 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.3

. plany I Patcnted July 27, 1943 .sAI NAG INGfAND LIFESAVING nnvrcnron v I m a SUNKENVESSELSi r, .0

r S. Carpenter, Cloverdalelln di i A plic tion-Au usta, 1942, maintain d i eiaims. (01. 114- 165) Thisinvention aims to provide novei' means -.-whereby a buoy may be attached, releasably, to

a'submarinebeneath the surface and out of commission, the construction being su'ch' that the uoy may 'rise to the surface'of 'the sea,"a't the will of an operator, the buoycarrying with it a fiexiblecon'duit whereby air mayreach thesunk-' en submarine.

. 'Ihe' :invention aimsto provide-novel means for opening the buoy; when'fl'it is at thesdrface-{to permit the entrance of air into the conduit; A

further object or the invention is to supply novel means for holding-the buoy releasablyasseinbled ith the submarine;

It is 'within'the rovince of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the" utilityof devices'of that'type to which the present invention appertains; i

With the" above and other objects in: view,

which will appear as the description proceeds.

the inventionresides in the'combination and arrangement of parts and in the details 50f construction hereinafter describedandclaimed, it

being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein 'disclosed may --be'made within the scope 'ofwhat is' 'claimed,

without departing-f t spirit-ofilzthe-invem tiOl'l. I J. J I I e i In the drawingsz-h p Fig. l-sho'wsin elevation, a device constructed 1 in accordance" with the invention;

Fi'g." 2 is a vertical sectional view 'showingthe buoy in positionon the submarine, together: with means for holding .the buoy in that position;

keel of the vessel, most parts appearing in top Fig. .4 is an elevation" in-which the observer is presumed to be within the conning tower;

Fig. 5 is a section disclosing the means for mounting and controlling theair'conduit; N Fig.6 is a'longitu'dinal section-of the 'upper portion of" the buoy;v thei buoy'valve" being closed;

Fig. -7 is axview similar to Fig. 6 but showing the buoy valve in open position. Y l R The numeral ijl :marks the deck of a 'subn'iarine, one wall of the conning tower being designated by the numeral 2.. The space within the conningv tower is designated by the arrow Land the s'pace .-without the conning tower is marked by the arrow .0.

is. a 'sectionin a plane parallel'to the v Q anupper'taperedmd 9.

the guide being sustained from the deck-'bydownwardly diverging braces 4.

' Th'e numeral-5- designates' a buoy, including' a body 6 which may be' cylindrical, thebody being suppli'ed at' its end with legs], adapted' to" rest on the deck. I The body 6 of the b'uo'y 5'is'p'r ovided withj a'nfoffsetsocket' 8 (Fig.1) adapted to receivethe upper :portion of the'guide 3, tohold the buoy in the upright posi'tionshown in that figure. Thebu'oyb; which preferably is made of steel and isadapte'd to withstand any reasonable pressure, has a lower, tapered end '2fi; and

Passing to Figs. 6 and 7', it that a thimble H! is threaded into the upper portion of the .taperedend- Sof the'buoy-5, the

thiInble-having'a valve seat. n, and being provided at its upper end with an outstanding flange 12 i Resilient; downward-1ydiverging de'tent' arms [4 are provided,and are secured at their lower ends to the buoy 5 inanjdesiied way. If preferred the' lower portions of the' detent arms [4 a may be bound between the upper end of the tapered ipa'rt'Sof the buoyand the flange 12 on the-thimble m thirnble l 0 carries anupe standing guide cage-l5.

A valve stem I 6 is mounted for reciprocation 3,0. in the'g'uid'ecag'e 15, and'isegu-ipped at its lower end with a valve 11', shaped for-reception in the seat {I i A compression spring I8 surrounds: a

--portion='oi"the va1ve'sten1 l6, 'the upper end of the spring engaging the upper portion of the guide'cagel5, thelower end of thespring 'engaging thevalve l1; The function of the spring l8 is'to-maintain the valve I! in closed position. 1

' At'vits upper endQth'e valve stem 16 is supplied with a downwardly tapered head l9, adapted to buoy 51:-

It appears inFig 1" that a guide '3 is provided,

the guidebeing disposed preferably at right an- .'.gls to the keelline of the submarine, the lower 'end'ofthe 'guide being secured to the deck I,

cooperate with the detent arms; I4 'in to'be pointed out hereinafter; Thevalvemechanism andassocia amanner received within a hood 20, including a downwardly flaring skirt 2 1, attached removablyto the tapered end 9 of the buoy by securing devices '22,

spacers 23being mounted on the securing devices, between the'skirt 21 and the portion 9 of the Figure l shows that {one end of a flexible ele- 'rnentZt'i secured at 25*to the tapered lowel end 25 of the buoy 5. The flexible element 24-iswound v about and terr'nin'ally secured to a reel Z'Lshown inFigs-Q and v r t The'1eel- '2lf 'i's; securedto a shaft2 8, journaled in a bearing bracket'zs 'on'the deck l and in a gland 3B carried bythe'wall 2 of th 'conning will be I observed I ted parts are 'nected to the .245.

It-is clear that,--as thesbuoyi rises tothqsur- I face, it should be closed against the entranceei water. I That-condition-exists because theyalve ll.

tower. The shaft 28 enters the conning tower, and, within the conning tower, a ratchet wheel 3| is secured to the shaft. 7

As shown in Fig. 4, and in Fig. 3, the ratchet wheel 3| cooperates with a pawl 32 forming part of a cufl 33 mounted to rock on a spindle 34 carried by the wall 2 of the conning tower, the cuff having an operating handle 35. Rotation may be imparted to the shaft 28 by any suitable means, for example, a handwheel 36 secured to the shaft.

A flexible tube 31 (Fig 3) is provided, one end of the tube being connected at 33 (Fig. l) to the tapered lower end 26 of the buoy 5. The flexible the air conduit 3! on the reel39;

The skirt 2i prevents spray from entering the buoy 5 if there is a lop running.

The blower 46 then is reversed, so that it will draw in air through the buoy 5 and through the air line, the air bein delivered to any desired part of the submarine.

'I'hewheel 36 or its equivalent constitutes means whereby the shaft may be rotated to wind the flexible element 24 on the reel 21, and the hand -wheel f43 is used to rotate the shaft 40, to wind The valve [1 may be moved manually from tube 37 is an air conduit, amlitjxis wound-about I a reel 33, secured to a shaft .40. The shaman is journaled in a bearing bracket i l, mountedon the deck I of the submarine, and in ag'lan'cl'fifll mounted on the wall 2 ofthe conningtower; The shaft 40 enters the conning tower and may. be rotated by any suitable instrumentality, for w instmceahand'wheelida;

The shaft 40 is provided asi-shown ini l ig The numeral 46 indicates,

subma in and connected ,toa (seamen which,

in turn, -is.assembled .detaohably end of. the shaft 48, throughihe zinstruni'entality of .a

union 48.

lion 'iof Tig 'lfi by removing the hood 20-2 I the 'rele'asable securing elements 22 permitting such an operation.

' "Thefirs't reel 39 and the second reel 21 con- Listltute mans under the control of an operator Let it be supposed that the rflexibl e element; 24

wound uponthe reel .21, thepawl fslbein enlgaged with-theratchet wheel 8L; fiche-legs Jzof the buoy ii are held downonthedechlgandwthe buoy cannotrise. The valve 1,1 in theclosed position of Fig. 6, The single -bcre air conduit includes the part 31, which is now wound upon the reel 38. The-conduit 41 is'not at thisrtime connected to theishaft All, because the 5 and rotate when the busy 5 rises audit isnot desir able to twist theconduit fl l: although-if desired,

the pnion cr couplin 4 8 might afford a rotatable connection between the-loonduitand the shaft All, such a construction being a nere mechanical'expedient, readily understood without specific; de lineation. I

Assimiingthat submarine isperilous ly; sub:

m r d, t p at r as: th mi 3 m th ratchet wheeljl of Fi a bymeans of the handie 35. ,The buoy i nowrises to the surface, the

flexible element 24 paying off thereel l, and -th e air conduit 31 paying 01? the-reel 39. NYhen the buoy 5 arrives :at the'surface, ,it-desig'nates the Y locus-of the submarine, since the buoyis cor submarine by thetfleigibl member of Fig. -6 is held closed by the spring, 18, thedetent fingers M resting againstpthe headlg of th stem 15, atthe widen-upper endof the head.

, After the buoy 5 has reached the surfaceythe and the blower it} creates pressure inthe entire air line, and in the buoy 5, underneath the valve e -t accomplish this-result, ,theconduit 4-1 is connectedto the shaftli by-way ot-the union 48,

l 1.- The valve 1-! is moved tothe open position ofvFig. 7, andthe detent finger I kengafie underneath the head l9 and hold the valve I! open.

sure 'withinthe-buoy for forso distributing the buoy-strain that all of it comes on the anchor hn'e 24. As a result, the

airconduit- 3;! may. be small in diameter, :llght, and the-more flexible. Itglsnot necessary tohave an air: conduit of;v bulky nature andstrong-enough to form a mooring-meansjor the-buoy.

' :Havmg r bed the invention, vvhatgi claimed is v 51443 I a; assai ant l f -saving device -:for

sunken water-craft, a vessel, a ihollow'buoy, means for. retaining-the buoy; on thervessel and for -;releasing the buoy to'riseat "the will of :an y,operator, when the vessel is submergedz ing-leibore air conduit leading from'ithe vessel to the buoy-,a single air-admission=valvecarried by the buoy, said valve constituting a-complete'closure for-the upp r, end of the buoy, mechanism en'the vessel-for discharging alr'under pressure through conduit and through-the buoy, directlyagainst said single valve, to open it by directly applied-air pressure after the buoy'has reached the surface,

thereby to -provideventilation for the submerged vessel, and mechanism independent'of airpresholding the valve closed *while.-thebuovis"rising. q

in a salvaging-and life-saving device for .sunkenwater-crafta vessel, a hollow buoy;means ,for retaining the 'zbuoy'on the vessel-and for meleasing the buoy tori'se at the will of an o'p'erator, when the vessel is submerged, a single-bore air conduit leading from the vessel to the buoy,

an air admission valve 'carriedby-the buoy, said valve, constituting-a complete closure for the I upper end'oflthe buoy; mechanismon the Vessel forrfirstmreating,air pressure in the'conduit and in the .buoy, thereby to open the valve, by air pressureapplied directly thereto,;and then creating suction in the-buoy and in the conduit, thereby to draw surf-ace air into the submerged vessel,

- and mechanism independent of-air pressure within the buoy for holding the buoyis rising-5 3. Infja salvaging and life-saving device for sunken water-craft, a vesseLa'hollow buoy, means for; retainingzthe 'buoy on the vessel and'for releasingithe :buoy'to rise zit-the will'of an operator when the vessel is submerged, fthe. buoy'havmg a-sea.t:..in,its. upper portion-,-:acage'carried by the buoy, a stemjslldable in :the cage-and having a the valve closed while ,head -at its upper end, an air-admission valve se cured to the lower end-ofthe stem'and'constituting a closure forthe seat, a valve-closing com-.

pression spring interposed between the cage and thegvalve. a yieldable detent finger carried by the buoy and cooperatingwith the head to hold the valve ,open,;aniai-r= conduit leading from the vessel to the buoy, andmechanismon the vessel for discharging air under pressure through the conduit and through the buoy, to open the valve after the buoy has reached the surface, thereby to provide ventilation for the submerged vessel.

4. In a salvaging and life-saving device for sunken water-craft, a vessel, a hollow buoy, a reel located outside the vessel, a flexible element connected to the buoy and wound about the reel, a shaft forming part of the reel and extended within the vessel, releasable means located within the vessel for restraining the shaft against rotation, thereby to hold the buoy against rising, a second reel located outside the vessel, a hollow Y shaft forming part of the second reel and extended within the vessel, a flexible air conduit wound about the second reel and communicatin with the buoy and with the hollow shaft, an airadmission valve carried by the buoy, means for holding the valve releasably closed while the buoy" is rising, and mechanism on the vessel and communicating with the hollow shaft, to discharge air under pressure through the conduit and through the buoy, thereby to open the valv after the buoy has reached the surface, and to provide ventilation for the submerged vessel.

OSCAR S. CARPENTER.

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