Improvements in and relating to Means or Apparatus for Facilitating the Rescue of Persons from Drowning and for other Purposes.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 16th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 25th Jan., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Means or Apparatus for Facilitating
the Rescue of Persons from Drowning and for other Purposes.
We, JOHN MCKIRDY, Commander R.N.R., SAMUEL STEWART CARRICK, Super-
intendent Engineer, and HENRY BINKO, Engineer, all of 34, Leadenhall Street, in
the city of London, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention has mainly for its object the detaching of life buoys, life boats and
the like from the supports from which they are suspended by means of electricity. It
also has for its object to automatically effect the unsealing of the cases containing the
chemical signals frequently used in conjunction with life saving apparatus.
Life buoys are now generally detached from their supports by manual or mechanical
means and, in many instances, before being thrown into the water a case containing a
chemical signal light is attached thereto by a line, the said case also having to be
punctured. Such operations usually occupy a considerable amount of time, but, by
the use of electricity, according to our invention we are enabled to release one or
more life buoys almost instantaneously and from practically any part of a ship, dock,
wharf, pier or the like, and at the same time unseal the case of a signal light attached
thereto.
Our invention may be carried out in a variety of ways but we have found that we
can carry
it into practice with advantage by suspending the life buoy by means of a
slip hook, a trigger arrangement or other suitable device in connection with an
electro magnet arranged in an electric circuit in such a manner that on the circuit
being completed the slip hook or other device will be operated so as to release the life
buoy or the like.
It will be obvious that the electric circuit can be so arranged that, by means of
contacts, the circuit may be completed from any desired part of the ship or other
structure and that one or more life buoys may be released at the same moment.
We propose to employ in connection with a life buoy an ordinary light preferably
of cylindrical make and such as is generally known as Holmes's life buoy light.
Openings formed in the case of each light are hermetically closed by covers or
stoppers of glass, porcelain or like material to which are connected glass or other
tubes closed at the end upon which the caso is supported ready for use. The life buoy
is connected to the said case by a cord or other attachment so that when the buoy is
released the act of falling will break the cover, stopper or tube and uncover the holes
in the case for the purpose of allowing the entry of water.
When the light is to be used independently the covers, stoppers or tubes are broken
by striking them against any suitable object.
Dated the 14th day of March 1889.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Means or Apparatus for Facilitating
the Rescue of Persons from Drowning and for other Purposes.
We, JOHN MCKIRDY, Commander R.N.R., SAMUEL STEWART CARRICK, Super-
intendent Engineer, and HENRY BINKO, Electrical Engineer, all of 34, Leadenhall
Street, in the city of London, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
Our invention has mainly for its object the detaching of life-buoys, life boats and

page_text: the like from the supports from which they are suspended by means of electricity.
It also has for its object to automatically effect the unsealing of the cases containing
the chemical signals usually used in conjunction with life saving apparatus.
Life-buoys are now generally detached from their supports by manual or mechanical
means and in many instances, before being thrown into the water, a case containing a
chemical signal light is attached thereto by a line, the said case also having to be
punctured. Such operations usually occupy a considerable amount of time, but, by
the use of electricity, according to our invention, we are enabled to release one or
more life buoys instantaneously and from practically any part of a ship, dock, wharf,
pier or the like, and at the same time unseal the case of a signal light attached thereto.
Our invention may be carried out in a variety of ways but we have found that we
can carry it into practice with advantage by suspending the life buoy by means of a
slip hook, a trigger arrangement or other suitable device in connection with an electro
magnet arranged in an electric circuit in such a manner that on the circuit being
completed the slip hook or other device will be operated so as to release the life buoy
or the like.
It will be obvious that the electric circuit can be so arranged that by means of
contacts, the circuit may be completed from any desired part of the ship or other
structure and that one or more life buoys may be released at the same moment.
We propose to employ in connection with a life buoy an ordinary light preferably
of cylindrical make and such as is generally known as Holmes's life buoy light.
Openings formed in the case of each light are hermetically closed by covers or
stoppers of glass, porcelain or like material to which are connected glass or other
tubes closed at the end upon which the case is supported ready for use. The life buoy
is connected to the said case by a cord or other attachment so that when the buoy is
released the act of falling will break the cover, stopper or tube and uncover the holes
in the case for the purpose of allowing the entry of water.
In order to enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe how it can
bo advantageously carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which
Figure 1 is an elevation of a suitable apparatus for carrying out our invention
and shown for example adapted to release a life-huoy from any part of a ship, dock,
wharf, pier or the like, and at the same time unseal the case of a signal light attached
thereto.
Figure 2 is an elevation taken at a right angle to figure 1.
Figure 3 is an elevation drawn to an enlarged scale showing the means for
suspending and releasing the life buoy.
Figure 4 is an elevation taken at a right angle to figure 3, the case supporting the
mechanism being shown in section.
Figure 5 is a horizontal section on the line A B of figure 3.
Figure 6 is a sectional view also drawn to an enlarged scale illustrating the means
for unsealing the signal light.
Similar letters in all figures indicate similar parts.
a is the life buoy which in the arrangement illustrated in the drawings is suspended
by means of the slip hook 6 having a stem or shank c adapted to slide within a boss d
on a case fitted to a davit f; g is the electro magnet mounted in the case e, and his
the armature of the magnet which is guided upon pins i, i and is attracted by the
magnet when the electric circuit in which the latter is placed is completed by
operating a contact maker placed in any convenient position or any one of a number
of contact makers conveniently distributed; j figure 1 indicates the battery and k, k
the electric wires of the same. The stem e is provided with radially placed pins 7, 7
which drop into slots m, m in the boss d when the stem and slip-hook descend but
which are normally retained in lateral extensions at the upper part of the slots m, as
shown in figure 4, by means of pins n, n on the armature thereby keeping the slip-
book raised and closed, as most clearly shown by the full lines in figure 3; the hook b
is kept closed when raised by its end being confined within the lower tubular portion
of the boss d.

page_text: o, o are curved arms having clips p, p at their ends for preventing the buoy a from
swinging out of position. 7, 9 are other clips serving a like purpose.
In the event of it being required to detach the life buoy, it is only necessary to
operate the contact maker, or one of the contact makers when the electro magnet g
will attract the armature and the pins will be deprived of the support of the
pins n; the weight of the buoy a will carry down the stem d and hook b, and the
latter will open as shown by the dotted lines in figure 3 and release the buoy.
ris an ordinary cylindrical life buoy light which we propose to employ. s, repre-
sents one of the openings which we form in the case of the same. t, t are the tubes of
glass, porcelain or like material with which we close the said openings, the tubes
themselves being closed at their outer ends as clearly shown in figure 6. These tubes
form spindles upon which the case is supported in bearings u, u depending from the
davit is the usual cord connecting the casor to the buoy a so that when the
buoy is released, it will in falling break the tubest covering the holes and water can
then enter the case r.
When the light is to be used independently the covers, stoppers or tubes are broken
by striking them against any suitable object.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
:-
1. The combination with mechanism for detaching life-buoys, life boats and the like
from the supports from which they are suspended, of electro-magnets in such a
manner that any one or more of the buoys can, by merely operating suitable contact-
makers, be released substantially as herein before described.
2. An electro-magnet having its armature adapted to normally retain and, on the
completion of a circuit, to release the stem or shank of a slip hook for the purpose of
disengaging therefrom a life buoy, life boat or tho like, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3. The combination with a life buoy adapted to be released by electrical means, of
a life buoy light attached thereto and having holes in its case hermetically closed by
glass or other tubes forming spindles upon which the case is supported so that when
the buoy is released, it will in falling break the glass and thereby allow water to enter
the case, substantially as herein before described.
4. The improved moans or apparatus for facilitating the rescue of persons from
drowning and for other purposes hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawing.
.
1000
Dated the 10th day of December 1800.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.