Year: 1897

page_text: We, THE DEEP SEA DIVING COMPANY LIMITED, of Brisbane, in the Colony of
Queensland, 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:-
Hitherto various means have been devised for the purpose of keeping the pressure
of the water off the body of the diver; but difficulty has been experienced owing to
the external pressure preventing the joints from working with that degree of
flexibility that is necessary.
In order to get over these difficulties we have devised an improved joint and by
putting the diver under a certain amount of pressure this joint gives a degree of
flexibility never before obtained under proper working conditions.
Our invention consists in applying to those parts of the dress that require to be
flexible, a pivotted joint and covering for same. We also arrange the exhaust air
pipe so that it discharges the air at a given distance below the surface so that the
pressure under which the diver works can be regulated to suit him.
In order however that our invention may be clearly understood, we will now
describe it reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which,
Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of the metal portion of a dress fitted with our
improvements with the covers omitted from one half of the dress and no head piece
shown.
Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of same.
Fig. 3 shows enlarged views of the pivotted joint in double and single forms.
Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of a joint, illustrating means for preventing the
cover from being pressed in by the pressure of water.
Fig. 5 shows a sketch plan illustrating the position of the egress pipe.
A is the corselet or body piece made cylindrical in form and rounded off at the
bottom where are provided two flanged openings B for the legs to pass through.
These openings have lugs C formed one on each side to which are hinged by the
pins F the leg pieces D which are in turn provided with similar joints at the knees
and ankles; the latter being hinged to the tops of metal boots of any suitable
construction.
This form of joint is designed so that not only the pin but the joint itself takes
the strain; by this means the whole of the weight and strain of the dress is taken
by the metal boots thus relieving the diver of all weight on the shoulders.

page_text: All the joints are covered with coverings E of hydraulic leather or other suitable
material which are fastened above and below the joints in any reliable manner.
In order to give flexibility to the arms, joints such as described may be used,
but, as the diameter of the parts is so small and the flexibility required is not
always in the same direction, we find that the pivotted joint may be dispensed
with and the covering E of leather or other suitable material alone used, or used
with metal strips such as P.
At those parts of the joints that open the widest there may be provided metal
strips such as P for the purpose of preventing the covering from getting in the
joint and causing it to jamb. These strips may be fastened at one end and free to
slide in clips at the other end, or free at both ends. Or radial rings such as Q
(shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4) attached to the pins F may be provided for this
purpose.
In order to allow of a certain amount of adjustment in the length of the body
piece, we provide a telescopic joint such as G in the body piece, and when it is
necessary to lengthen the body, the bolts H are slacked back and a ring such as J
inserted and the bolts screwed up again.
The air pipes are arranged as follows:-Both ingress pipe M and egress pipe N
we place on the breast of the dress so that the valves with which they are provided
can be controlled by the diver himself, but the air pipe M may be provided with
an internal pipe discharging the air into the head piece as and where required.
These pipes may be lead as is usual under the arms the ingress pipe M going up
to the surface and being connected to any suitable air supply; while the egress
pipe N goes up towards the surface of the water and terminates with a valve K
that prevents any water entering should an accident occur. The distance that the
valve K is from the surface depends upon the pressure under which the diver is
able to work; and the distance may be fixed before he commences work.
As an alternative, the egress pipe N may be brought to the surface and provided
at the tender with a valve capable of regulating the pressure.
The working of our invention is the same almost as any other dress with the
exception of the egress pipe N and this is arranged as follows:-say that it is de-
sired to dive 32 fathoms, the egress pipe N may be fixed in length so that the air
is discharged therefrom at 16 fathoms from the surface; by this means the diver
operates in 32 fathoms but is only under a pressure due to 16 fathoms. The higher
the pressure is kept in the dress the more flexible the joints are, hence it is desir-
able to work with as great a pressure as the diver can with safety stand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In a dress for deep sea diving, the construction of joints such as are herein
described and illustrated.
2. In a dress for deep sea diving, joints such as herein described covered with
hydraulic leather or other suitable material.
3. In combination with a joint such as claimed in the preceding claims metal
strips such as P or radial rings such as Q for the purpose described.
4. The arrangement of the egress pipe such as N, having a valve discharging the
air at or beneath the surface of the water for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Fourth day of October 1897.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.