US476040A - Leg attachment for swimmersj use - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

P. GURRAN. LEG ATTACHMENT FOB SWIMMERS USE.

No. 476,040. Patentd May 31, 1892.

INVENTOR 9W I WITNESSES:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK CURRAN, OF HOQUIAM, VASI-IINGTON.

LEG ATTACHMENT FOR SWIMMERS USE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters "Patent No. 476,040, dated May 31, 1892.

Application filed November 30, 1891. Serial No. 418,530. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PATRICK CURRAN, of Hoquiannin the county of Chehalis and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Leg Attachments for Swimmers Use, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a set of folding paddle-blades for each lower limb of a swimmer and means to readily attach-the same removably, which blades will be spread and afford greater area of contact with the water of floatage when the legs are moved by thrusts, as is usual in the act of swimming, and also will fold closely thereto when the lower limbs are flexed to repeat such thrusts, thereby greatly increasing the pro pelling capacity of the swimmers legs when equipped with the novel attachments.

To this end my invention consists in the construction of parts and their combinations, as is hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a swimmer equipped with the improved leg attachments. is an enlarged detached view of one of the pair of similar devices to be secured upon the lower limbs of a'swimmer, as represented in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2, showing one of the paddle-blades extended.

Ihe duplicate attachments for the lower limbs of a swimmer consist each of a base plate or block A, whereon aset of paddle-blades B are rule-jointed, so as to hang pendent when the wearer is in an upright position, but which are capable of an outward and upward swinging movement on their joints a, so as to assume parallel planes at right angles to the supporting-block.

The blocks A are preferably made of d u rable wood and have longitudinally-extending strips 0, of corkor other light material, secured upon the edges, said strips being proportion ed in area to the weight of other parts, so that said parts will be supported and at the same time avoid an excess of buoyancy that would be dangerous to the wearer.

A loop band D is loosely joined to the lower end of each of the blocks A, as at b in Fig.

Fig. 2

buckled around the leg at short distance below the knee and the lower strap around the ankle, which will locate the paddle-blades B 7 on the exterior of each lower limb, so as to avoid interference with each other or injury to the legs of the wearer.

When the swimmer is equipped with the leg attachments that have been described, the speedof progressive movement will be eonsiderably increased by their use, as the paddle-blades B will present no impediment to the free contraction of the lower limbs, and from their simultaneous outward projection effected at each kicking stroke of said limbs act forcibly upon the water, coacting with the usual strokes of the upper limbs of the wearer.

Having thus fully described myinvention,I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A leg attachment for swimmers, com prising a set of independent paddle-blades jointed to a base-block at one edge and adapted to extend at right angles therefrom, a floatstrip on the base-block, and means for securing the base-block to the leg of the swimmer, substantially as described.

2. A leg attachment for swimmers, com pris- PATRICK CURRAN.

Witnesses:

D. W. DINEEN, FRED. E. BURLEW.

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