Improvements in Life Buoys or the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application. 28th Mar., 1895
Cop plete Specification Left, 27th June, 1895-Accepted, 20th July, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Life Buoys or the like.
I, GEORGE HERBERT SANKEY, of the Firm of Joseph Sankey & Sons of
Albert Street Works, Bilston, in the County of Stafford, Iron Plate Worker,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
It has been proposed hitherto to inflate hollow life belts with air or gas,
providing them with an inflation valve through which air or gas can be pumped, or
otherwise passed into the buoy. Exhaustive experiments were made, but it was
found that this system was far from satisfactory, as the buoys required frequent
re-inflation and that therefore they could not be depended upon to be ready for
immediate use at an emergency.
Now by my present invention, I dispense with the inflation valve aforesaid, and
simply form my life buoy of corrugated metal and hollow. The buoy may be
formed e.g. in two halves with transverse corrugations and then the two parts are
brought together and united by brazing or otherwise, so as to form a hollow
air tight buoy. I do not however limit myself to this construction as the buoy
might even be formed from one piece of corrugated metal bent into the required
shape, and the two adjacent edges brazed together so as to make the lifebuoy
air tight. It is obvious moreover that the corrugations may be placed longi-
tudinally or diagonally instead of being placed transversely. By forming the buoy
in the way described, it entirely dispenses with the necessity of the buoy being
inflated as the corrugations increase the strength and it is stronger than an inflated
buoy of non-corrugated metal would be.
Dated this 97th day of March 1895
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Life Buoys or the like.
I, GEORGE HERBERT SANKEY, of the Firm of Joseph Sankey & Sons of
Albert Street Works, Bilston in the County of Stafford, Iron Plate Worker,
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 :-
It has been proposed hitherto to inflate hollow life belts with air or gas, pro-
viding them with an inflation valve through which air or gas can be pumped, or
otherwise passed into the buoy. Exhaustive experiments were made, but it was
found that this system was far from satisfactory, as the buoys required frequent
re-inflation and that therefore they could not be depended upon to be ready for
immediate use at an emergency.
My present invention is designed to avoid this and other defects.
It will be
understood from the following description, reference being had to the accom-
panying drawing, which shows a buoy constructed in accordance with my invention.

page_text: In this drawing, A is my lifebuoy which I form of corrugated metal and hollow.
It is preferably made in two halves a a with transverse corrugations and then the
two parts are brought together and united by brazing or otherwise so as to form a
hollow air tight buoy. I do not however limit myself to this construction as the
buoy might even be formed from one piece of corrugated metal bent into the
required shape, and the two adjacent edges brazed together so as to make the life-
buoy air tight. It is obvious moreover that the corrugations may be placed
longitudinally or diagonally instead of being placed transversely. The material
is stamped or otherwise formed into the required shape.
Lifebuoys constructed in accordance with my invention avoid the defects so
objected to in ordinary cork buoys, namely, that they are liable, by the constant
action of rain, climate and salt water, to get sodden, the glue to become soft, and
in course of time to become utterly useless for the purpose of saving life. My
improved buoys are on the other hand uninfluenced by either weather, climate or
sea water. They are of great strength and cannot be broken by the action of the
waves, a man can be hauled on board without the least danger of their breaking,
as a cork lifebuoy certainly would. They remain in perfect condition even after
being twelve months in the water and in fact will last as long as the ship, whilst
cork buoys require renewing every few years.
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. The improvement in the manufacture of lifebuoys, which consists in forming
them of corrugated metal, stamped or otherwise formed into the required shape
and the adjacent edges then brought together and united by brazing or otherwise
to form a hollow air tight buoy, substantially as described.
2. The manufacture of corrugated metallic hollow air tight lifebuoys sub-
stantially as set forth.
Deted this 96+1 dev if Juno 100K
G. C. DYMOND,
Agent for the Applicant.