Gloves for Use of Swimmers.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 1st Dec., 1893-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1894.
1, ERNEST DE PASS, of 78 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-.
tion to be as follows:
-
This invention relates to a swimming apparatus consisting of a glove devised to.
increase the speed of a swimmer, by allowing him to obtain a greater bearing
surface on the water, with his hands.
According to this invention, the fingers of the glove are connected to each other.
by elastic webs which, when out of use, serve only to keep the fingers together,.
but which are sufficiently thin to be capable of being readily distended by the
swimmer spreading out his fingers on stretching out his arins laterally. By
distending the webs he has a greater bearing surface on the water which enables.
him to attain a higher speed.
The glove may be made entirely of india rubber, or of an india-rubber or other
elastic fabric. That portion of the glove which envelopes the hand may be made
of a pervious material, or not, and in one or several portions, the rubber or other-
elastic material being used only to form the webs.
Dated this 7th der of March 1893
ERNEST DE PASS.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Gloves for Use of Swimmers.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 78 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the-
Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described.
and ascertained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say:-
This invention relates to a swimming apparatus consisting of a glove designed to
increase the speed of a swimmer by allowing him to obtain a greater bearing
surface on the water, with his hands.
One of these gloves, that for the left hand, is shown by way of example in the.
annexed drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a view from the back of the glove, and
Fig. 2 a side view thereof.
This apparatus consists of a very strongly made glove 1, the fingers 2, 2, 2,.
of which are connected to each other by elastic webs 3, 3, 3, which, when not in
use, keep the fingers together, but are sufficiently thin that they can be readily
distended on the swimmer spreading out his fingers.
The swimmer wears one of these gloves on each hand. When he extends his
arms forward, and brings his hands together, the glove presents the appearance
shown in Fig. 2, and as seen from the side. During this movement he keeps bis
fingers together so as to diminish the surface of friction upon the water, but.

page_text: when he afterwards stretches out his arms laterally, he spreads out his fingers
as much as possible so as to distend the webs 3, 3, 3. He therefore increases by
the extent of area of these webs, the bearing surface of his hands on the water,
which thus enables him to attain a greater speed. It will thus be seen that
this swimming apparatus is analogous to that which nature has endowed the
palmipeds.
These gloves may be made in all sizes like ordinary gloves, and in any suitable
elastic material, preference being given to indiarubber, or to a fabric treated with
indiarubber. That portion of the glove which envelopes the hand, may likewise
be made in any pervious or impervious material, in one or several pieces, and the
indiarubber or other elastic material, be only employed to make the webs which
connect the fingers. The connection would, in this case, be effected by sewing,
cementing, or other suitable means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
The herein described swimming apparatus, consisting of a glove the fingers of
which are connected together by elastic webs capable of being readily distended
by the swimmer spreading out his fingers, said glove being made either entirely of
india rubber, india rubber fabric, or other suitable elastic material, or partly in
any fabric and partly in india rubber, or other suitable elastic material, substau-
tially as specified and shown with reference to the annexed drawings.
Dated this 1st day of December 1893.
ERNEST DE PASS..