IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND FITTING THE SEATS OF SHIPS TO RENDER THEM AVAILABLE AS LIFE RAFTS IN CASE OF NEED
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
f.)
I EDWARD STEPHENS COPEMAN of 4 Victoria Street in the City of Westminster
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONSTRUCTING AND FITTING THE SEATS OF SHIPS TO RENDER THEM AVAILABLE AS
LIFE RAFTS IN CASE OF NEED to be as follows:-
-
In the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to me and dated the 6th of
January 1882 N° 70, for "Improvements in constructing and fitting the seats
of ships and other seats to render them available as life rafts in case of need,"
I described a special construction of seat to which the necessary buoyancy to enable
it to serve as a life raft was given by means of water tight compartments; these
seats were so fitted that when it was required to convert them into a life raft 2
or more of them could readily be connected together. In the said specification
I stated that I might permanently fix 2 of my seats together on deck back to back
or otherwise. Now for some ships it is found more convenient or desirable to
employ deck seats fixed together back to back than to have separate seats and my
present invention has reference to the construction of back-to-back seats rendered
buoyant by water-tight compartments or otherwise so as to be available as life rafts
in case of need.
I construct 2 seats back to back in any ordinary or convenient manner but
preferably of a set of longitudinal splines fixed to end frames or supports and to
one or more intermediate supports when the length of the seats renders these
desirable; the 2 seats forming together one framework of longitudinal splines.
The seats are made of the required buoyancy either by means of hollow longi-
tudinal cylinders such as described in the Specification of Pinhey's Letters Patent
dated 9th March 1883 No 1270, or by means of metal cylinders or rolls of cork as
described in the Specification of my Letters Patent dated 20th August 1883
No 4029 or by means of watertight compartments such as described in my said
former Specification of 6th January 1882 or by other suitable means and in some
cases I prefer to employ large longitudinal inetal cylinders pointed at their ends so
as to allow the raft to move more freely through the water; these cylinders can be
connected together by metal brackets to which the longitudinal splines are fixed
the cylinders themselves resting on the deck. It is important that the buoyancy
D011

page_text: should be as near to the front of the seats as practicable so that it may come at or
near the outside of the raft when the seats are used as a raft. I provide each seat
with a back the supports of which are hinged at their lower parts to the supports
of the seat splines so that the backs when the seats are to be used as a raft can be
moved on their hinges to the front of the seats. To one or both of the backs
I connect by eyes and rings or other suitable mode of attachment, hooked bars,
which when the backs are inoved to the front as just explained take into eyes or
loops in the other back and thus act not only as stays to fix the backs in this
position but also form end rails to the raft. The hinged supports of the backs have
stops to limit their movement either forward or backward, and in addition to the
forward stop I shape the arms of the seat (which arms are fixed to and move with
the backs and may be only at the ends or both at the ends and at intermediate
positions) so that when the backs are moved forward the arms come upon the front
splines of the seat which thus act both as stops and as supports to the backs. To
the rear of the backs I fix seats which are available as such when the backs are in
their forward position and the seats are converted into a raft. In the space which
exists between the backs when in their normal position I may place one or more
oars, a mast, sail or other like articles, and below the splines which are between
the backs in the normal position I sometimes place boxes or tanks for provisions,
water &c; I hinge or arrange one or more of these splines so as to be capable of
being lifted up to give access to the said boxes or tanks. At one or both ends of
the seats between the backs a rowlock may be fitted.
It will be readily understood that when it is required to use double seats
constructed and fitted as before described as a life raft it is only necessary to move
the backs to the front of the seats and to fix them there by means of the hooked
bars before described. Instead of or in addition to the hooked bars other suitable
fixing devices may be employed.

page_text: I EDWARD STEPHENS COPEMAN of 4 Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONSTRUCTING AND FITTING THE SEATS OF SHIPS TO RENDER THEM AVAILABLE AS
LIFE-RAFTS IN CASE OF NEED," and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
In the Specification of former Letters Patent granted to me and dated the 6th of
January 1882, N° 70, for " Improvements in constructing and fitting the seats of
ships and other seats to render them available as life-rafts in case of need"
I described a special construction of seat to which the necessary buoyancy to
enable it to serve as a life-raft was given by means of water-tight compartments;
these seats were so fitted that when it was required to convert them into a
life-raft two or more of them could readily be connected together. In the said
Specification I stated that I might permanently fix two of my seats together on
deck back-to-back or otherwise. Now for some ships it is found more convenient
or desirable to employ deck seats fixed together back to back than to have separate
seats and my present invention has reference to the construction of back to back
seats rendered buoyant by water-tight compartments or otherwise so as to be
available as life rafts in case of need.
I construct two seats back-to-back in any, ordinary or convenient manner but
preferably of a set of longitudinal splines fixed to end frames or supports and to
one or more intermediate supports when the length of the seats renders these
desirable; the two seats forming together one frame-work of longitudinal splines.
The seats are made of the required buoyancy either by means of hollow longi-
tudinal cylinders such as described in the Specification of Pinley's Letters patent
dated 9th March 1883, No 1270 and these may be pointed at the ends, or by means
of metal cylinders or rolls of cork as described in the Specification of my Letters
Patent dated 20th August 1883 N° 4029 or by means of water-tight compartments
such as described in my said former Specification of 6th January 1882 or by other
suitable means. It is important that the buoyancy should be as near to the front
of the seats as practicable so that it may come at or near the outside of the raft
when the seats are used as a raft. I provide each seat with a back the supports of
which are hinged at their lower parts to the supports of the seat splines so that the
backs when the seats are to be used as a raft can be moved on their hinges to the
front of the seats. To one or both of the backs I connect by eyes and rings or
other suitable mode of attachment hooked bars which when the backs are moved to
the front as just explained take into eyes or loops in the other back and thus act
not only as stays to fix the backs in this position but also form end rails to the

page_text: raft. The hinged supports of the backs have stops to limit their movement
either forward or backward, and in addition to the forward stop I shape the arms
of the seat (which arms are fixed to and move with the backs and may be only at
the ends or both at the ends and at intermediate positions) so that when the backs
are moved forward the arms come upon the front splines of the seat which thus act
both as stops and as supports to the backs. In the space which exists between the
(backs when in their normal position I may place one or more oars, a mast, sail or
other like articles, and below the splines which are between the backs in the
normal position I sometimes place boxes or tanks for provisions, water &o; I hinge
or arrange one or more of these splines so as to be capable of being lifted up to give
access to the said boxes or tanks. At one or both ends of the seats between the
backs a rowlock may be fitted.
It will be readily understood that when it is required to use double or back-
to-back seats constructed and fitted as before described as a life-raft it is only
necessary to move the backs to the front of the seats and to fix them there by
means of the hooked bars before described. Instead of or in addition to the
hooked bars other suitable fixing devices may be employed.
The annexed drawings represent a convertible back to back seat raft constructed
according to my present invention. Figure 1 is a front elevation, Figure 2 a plan,
Figure 3 an end elevation and Figure 4 a transverse section. Figure 3 also
shews in dotted lines the position of the seat backs and hooked bars when the
seats are converted into a raft. A, A represent longitudinal splines fixed to end
frames or supports B, B and also to intermediate supports C, C which latter are
however not necessary for short seats. D, D are hollow longitudinal cylinders
which are shewn as kept in place merely by the seat splines and by other longi-
tudinal splines E, E, but any other convenient mode of securing them may be
adopted; or instead of these cylinders the required buoyancy may be obtained by
means of rolls of cork or other buoyant material or by water-tight compartments or
otherwise. The hollow cylinders D, D or other means of imparting buoyancy are
placed near the front of the seats so that there is a considerable interval between
them; the necessary stability when in the water is thus obtained. F, F are the
seat backs, their supports G, G are hinged at H, H to the seat supports B, B
and C, C so that the backs can be moved into the position shown in dotted lines in
Figure 3. I, I are long staples the ends of which limit the movement of the back
supports G, G and the seat arms K, K will also act as stops to the forward move-
ment if shaped so as to come upon the front splines as seen in dotted lines in
Figure 3. The middle back supports G move backwards and forwards in trans-
verse openings M, M formed for the purpose in the seats. N, N are hooked bars
connected to the seat backs; normally these bars lie behind the top splines of the
backs but when the backs are moved to the front of the seats the bars are placed
transversely as seen in dotted lines in Figure 3 and thus act not only as stays to
the backs but also form end rails to the raft. In addition to these bars there may
be one or more intermediate bars carrying splines so as to form cross seats when
the apparatus is in the form of a raft.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. Constructing buoyant back-to-back seats with backs which can be moved
forward to the front of the seats when it is required to form a life-raft substantially
as herein before described.
2. In buoyant back-to-back seats, the combination with backs which can be
moved. forward for the purpose referred to in claim 1, of hooked bars which act as
stays to the backs when moved forward and also form end rails to the raft
substantially as hereinbefore described.

page_text: 3. Constructing back-to-back seats with the hollow cylinders or other means of
imparting buoyancy thereto placed near the front of the seats for the purpose of
imparting stability to the structure when in the water, substantially as described.
4. The combination of parts substantially as herein before described and repre-
sented in the annexed drawings forming an improved back-to-back seat capable of
being converted into a life-raft.