AN IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING DRESS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH.
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Camille Grin, of Paris, Civil Engineer, for the Invention
of AN IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING DRESS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED
THEREWITH.
"1
Sealed the 26th May 1877, and dated the 29th November 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Camille Grin at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th November 1876.
CAMILLE GRIN, of Paris, Civil Engineer. AN IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING
DRESS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
All the life preserving dresses hitherto employed have been objectionable; those
made of cork in consequence of their large size, and those made with india-rubber
tubing in consequence of their powers of floatation being destroyed by the smallest
rupture or piercing of any tube. My Invention avoids these defects by the use of
an obturator cock which permits the simultaneous inflation of all or any one of the
tubes and nevertheless keeps the tubes isolated when the dress is inflated, so that
if one tube breaks or is pierced and loses its air, the other tubes being shut off from
the broken one remain intact and preserve the air with which they are inflated.
My dress is arranged with or without sleeves in the form of an ordinary
waistcoat; it is manufactured with two stuffs superposed and sewn together at their
edges, a number of tubes are horizontally sewn between the two stuffs so as to turn
around the body, and each of them communicates by a little tube of india-rubber
with an obturator cock provided with a mouth-piece, the upper tubes at the front
communicating with those of the back by means of little tubes passing under the
armis.
The dress is buttoned like an ordinary waistcoat and is provided with buttons at
its lower part to which trousers may be fixed if desired.
As I have said, the obturator cock is so constructed that one can at will inẞate
and disinflate immediately all the horizontal tubes of the dress; the tubes once
inflated are independent from one another and yet they are all closed at the same
time by the same organ.

page_text: My obturator cock is composed of a cylindrical pipe carrying a mouth-piece for
the inflation, this pipe carries smaller pipes to which are fixed by a ligature or other
means little tubes which communicate with the large horizontal tubes.
At each
end of the pipe is an appendix upon which is jointed a lever, the separation of
which from the appendix is regulated by an abutment screw, the appendices and
the lever support the extremities of two triangles passed into flat india-rubber tubes;
the appendices are united by a cross piece, and the levers are also united by a cross
piece.
The little tubes pass into the holes formed in the cross piece of the appendices
and it is the approach of the lever cross piece with the appendix cross piece which
effect the simultaneous closing of all the little tubes communicating with the
obturator by pressing thein between the flat india-rubber tubes. By their clasticity
the little tubes tend constantly to separate the cross pieces. To close them and
hold them closed I have invented the following arrangement:-One of the levers
carries rivetted upon it a spring provided with a spur which upon the closing
of the little tubes engages into a cavity formed in the corresponding appendix.
The appendix cross piece also carries a screw passing into an oval liole formed in
the lever cross piece, a nut with ears serves to approach it to the appendix cross
piece so as to squeeze the tubes and close them; a threaded washer prevents the loss
of the nut.
The apparatus once closed, all opening is prevented by means of a light nut
which screws upon a threaded rod, half belonging to the appendix cross piece and
half to the lever cross piece; a threaded washer keeps this nut in place.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Camille Grin in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th May 1877.
CAMILLE GRIN, of Paris, Civil Engineer. "AN IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING
DRESS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
All the life preserving dresses hitherto employed have been objectionable; those
made of cork in consequence of their large size, and those made with india-rubber
tubing in consequence of their powers of flotation being destroyed by the smallest
rupture or piercing of the air tubes. My Invention avoids these defects by the
use of an obturator cock which permits the simultaneous inflation of all or any oue
of the tubes, yet nevertheless keeps the tubes isolated when the dress is inflated,
so that if one tube breaks or is pierced and loses its air, the other tubes being shut
off from the broken one remain intact and preserve the air with which they are
inflated.
The arrangement of my life preserving dress and its obturator apparatus will be
readily understood from the accompanying Drawings.
"
The dress which is shown complete at Figure 1 is arranged with or without
sleeves in the form of an ordinary waistcoat; it is composed of two stuffs "fabrics
superposed and sewn together at their edges; in the Drawing the outer stuff has
been supposed to be cut so as to permit the horizontal tubes a of india-rubber which
are arranged between two stuffs to be seen; these tubes encompass or surround
the body, and each of them communicates by a little tube & of india-rubber with an
obturator cock provided with a mouth-piece, the upper tubes a at the joint
communicating with those of the back by means of little tubes y passing under the
arms.
The dress is buttoned like an ordinary waistcoat and is provided with buttons at
its lower part to which trousers may be fitted if desired.
As I have said the obturator cock is so constructed that all the horizontal tubes a
of the dress can be immediately inflated and disinflated at will; the tubes once

page_text: inflated are independent from one another and yet they are all closed at the same
time by the same appliance.
My obturator cock is shown in elevation at Figure 2 and in end view at Figure 3.
It is composed of a cylindrical pipe A carrying a mouth-piece E for the inflation;
this pipe carries smaller pipes to which are fixed by a ligature or other means the
tubes which communicate with the large horizontal tubes a. At each end of the
pipe A is an appendage b, shown at Figure 3, upon which is jointed at o a lever c,
the separation of which from the appendage b is regulated by an abutment screw d.
The appendages b, b, and the levers c, c, support the extremities of two rods or
bars e, e, passed into the flat india-rubber tubes h, k, the appendages b, b, rise also
at f, and are united by a cross piece m, and the levers c, c, are also united by a cross
piece n. The rods e, e, instead of being flat may be round or oval, and arranged so
as to present the necessary resistance. The india-rubber tubes h, k, may also be
dispensed with.
The little tubes pass into the holes formed in the cross piece m, and it is the
approach of the cross piece n with the cross piece m which effects the simultaneous
closing of all the little tubes by pressing them between the india-rubber tubes 1, 1.
By their elasticity the tubes tend constantly to separate the cross pieces. To
close them and hold them closed I have invented the following arrangement :-One
of the levers c has rivetted upon it a spring provided with a spur or snug which
upon the closing of the little tubes t, engages into a cavity formed in the corres-
ponding appendage b, shown at Figure 4.
The cross piece m also carries a screw passing into an oval hole forined in the
movable cross piece n, a nut with cars g₁ serves for the approach of the cross
piece n so as to squeeze the tubes and close them; a threaded washer / prevents
the loss of the nut g¹.
The apparatus once closed, all opening is prevented by means of a light nut E1
which screws upon a threaded rod 1, half belonging to the cross piece m and half
to the cross piece ; a threaded washer keeps this nut E¹ in place.
To use the dress for swimming, air is blown through the mouth-piece E of tho
obturator cock. The tubes become inflated, the cock is closed and the wearer of
the dress may swim with safety.
When the dress is used as a life-saving apparatus it is sufficient to put the
spring in action, the nuts do not require to be unscrewed and the appartus can be
very rapidly disinflated in order to plunge to the bottom of the water, and inflated
to float to the surface.
In some cases the screw only is employed, the nut g' then carries ratchet teeth,
so that by reason of the elasticity of the india-rubber it acts like a fine spiral click
and paul arrangement, as seen in Figure 5.
Figures 6 and 7 show the ratchet teeth of the nut g' and of the cross piece n.
The arrangement of obturator cock above described may be varied in several
ways, the tube A may be rectangular and the necks of the tubes t may penetrate
into the interior in such manner that an obturator covered with india-rubber will
open and close them all simultaneously. This arrangement is represented in
Figure S.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
The arrangement above described of life preserving and swimming dress based
upon the division of the tubes.
I claim as the distinctive character of my Invention the combination above
described of an obturator cock to render the tubes independent one from another
when they are inflated, so that any damage done to one need not cause the dis-
inflation of the other tubes of the apparatus.
I claim in addition the different arrangements which I have invented to tighten
and consequently to close simultaneously all the tubes of the obturator cock, and
particularly those arrangements which permit the employment of a screw and nut,

page_text: plain or with ratchet teeth, to cause the two parallel cross pieces to approach as
described above and substantially as shown in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Camille Grin, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eighteenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
seven.
Witness,
CH. ARMENGAUD,
Civil Engineer,
23, Boulevard de Strasbourg,
à Paris.
CAMILLE CRIN. (L.S.)