CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIVING UNDER WATER, AND WHICH APPARATUS, OR PARTS OF WHICH APPARATUS, ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY JAMES, of Coburg Place, Winson Green, near Birmingham, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirty-first day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
twenty-five, in the sixth year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Henry James, His
especial licence that I, the said William Henry James, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Henry James, my exors, admors,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, excrcise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR DIVING UNDER WATER, AND WHICH APPARATUS, OR PARTS OF WHICH APPARATUS,
ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Henry James, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the

page_text: date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Henry James, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the
following description thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention for Certain Improvements in Apparatus for Diving under
Water, and which Apparatus or Parts of which Apparatus are also applicable
to other Purposes, consists in adapting a portablo vessel containing condensed
atmospheric air to the body of the diver, from which, by means of pipes and
valves, he is to supply himself with air for respiration while under the water.
An apparatus for this purpose is shewn in the Drawings annexed; but I do
not mean to confine myself to the precise form and disposition of all its parts.
Fig. 1 represents the diver attired in the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a section of
the apparatus taken sideways, the same letters referring to similar parts in
both Figures. A is a metallic vessel, made particularly strong by means of
flanges and partitions. This vessel is to be filled with condensed atmospheric
air by means of a condensing air pump. (a) is a valve, opening inwardly, to
which a tube from the pump or from a reservoir of condensed air is attached,
and through this valve the air is to be forced into the vessel (A) until it has
acquired a sufficient degree of density, which will depend upon the time the
diver is required to remain under water (thirty atmospheres will be about
sufficient for an hour's consumption). B is a pipe or tube made of some
elastic material, as caoutchouc, through which the air is to be delivered into
the water-tight helmit C by means of the stopcock or valve (6), which is
under the controul of the diver. The helmit is to be made of thin copper or
sole leather varnished, or any other material that can be rendered water-tight.
In the front a plate of strong glass is to be inserted, or two eye pieces, for the
purpose of enabling the wearer to view the surrounding objects under water.
Within the helmet is a tube (c), with its flexible end and mouthpiece near
the mouth of the diver, and a spring valve (d) opening outwardly, by which
the wearer discharges the air from his lungs. At the lower part of the helmet,
and round the breast, back, and shoulders, a garment (e) is attached, made of
waterproof material, which is to be secured and fastened round the body of
the wearer above the hips and round the arms by elastic bandages (f). In
the breast, or any other convenient part of the helmet, a safety valve is
inserted, for the purpose of letting off a portion of the air admitted, in case of
its internal pressure should become too great. The apparatus is to be attached

page_text: to the body of the diver, as shewn at Fig. 1, in the following manner :-First,
let the helmet with the dress be put over his head and shoulders, and then let
it be made fast round his body and arms by means of the elastic bandages
before described; next, let the ring-formed vessel (A) be brought upwards
and suspended by straps (h) passing over the shoulders; then connect the
elastic tube (6) to the helmet by means of a union joint (i), when he will be
equipped ready for descending into the water. Round the bottom part of the
air-vessel weights or bags of shot (k) are to be attached, for the purpose of
overcoming the buoyancy of the diver and his apparatus, and enabling him to
move about and keep on his feet at the bottom of the water. This apparatus
or parts of it (that is, dispensing with the weights) are also applicable to other
purposes beside diving under water (viz.), may be employed with perfect
safety and great advantage in mines or other places filled with deleterious
gases.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry James, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the