An Improved Floating Safe.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Sept., 1890–Accepted, 11th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Floating Safe.
I JOHN BROWN MARSHALL, of New Baltimore in the County of Greene and
State of New York, United States of America Contractor 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 :-
In many instances of marine disasters there is no record of the fate of the ship or
those on board of her, for the reason that no provision is made for conveying such
intelligence to others who may pass over the same course within a reasonably short
time, and as a consequence the fate of all aboard and of the ship itself is shrouded in
impenetrable mystery, and in very many cases much useless and vexatious litigation
arises therefrom.
The object of my invention is to provide suitable and reliable means for the
preservation of a ship's records in case of accident and to designate the place where
the vessel lies, if it has sunk.
This object I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which
are berein referred to and form part of this Specification, and in which―
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention, with parts of the frame for holding
it broken away to show underlying parts.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the floating safe detached from the frame, and
Figure 3 is a plan view of the same.
As represented in the drawings, A designates my floating safe, which is made of
sheet metal, preferably in an ellipsoidal form and with its major diameter arranged
vertically.
Said safe is provided with an opening in the upper section for the purpose of
obtaining access to the interior of said safe, and said opening is fitted with a door B,
which closes upon an elastic seat C, which is preferably made of india-rubber, so as
to form an air and water tight joint at that point. Said door is preferably secured by
means of a screw-bolt D; but any suitable fastening may be substituted for said bolt.
E is a visible signal, which is secured to the top of the floating safe for the purpose
of attracting attention thereto. Said signal is made with flat wings arranged in
vertical positions, and preferably made of some glittering metal, or of metal covered
with gilding, silvering, or colours that will quickly attract attention. F is a weight
secured to the bottom of the floating safe for the purpose of maintaining the latter
in an upright position while it is in the water, and an eye 1 is fixed to said weight,
so that a rope 2 can be attached thereto. Said rope should be made of wire, and it
is preferably connected with the weight by means of a destructable lashing 3, formed
of paper cord or other material that will loose its tenacity when soaked in water, so
that in case the vessel sinks in a depth of water greater than the length of the rope,
and thereby cause a submergence of the safe, tho lashing will give way and permit
the safe to rise to the surface of the water.
G is a frame in which the safe is preferably held on shipboard, and it should be
constructed so as to leave the safe perfectly free to receive a rising movement there-
from when occasion requires. Said frame should be located on a vessel in a position
where no obstruction can be interposed to prevent the safe from rising freely
therefrom.
The lower end of the rope 2 can be attached to said frame or to adjacent part of
the vessel, and said rope may be arranged in a coil or wound on a drum beneath the
safe. His a bag or sack in which the ship's records are preferably placed inside of
the safe for the purpose of preserving them from chafing by rubbing against the sides
of the safe when the latter is subjected to a swaying movement. Said bag may be
suspended from an eye or hook 4, which should be fixed in the top inside of the

page_text: safe. All the ship's records, including the daily log, passenger-list, names of the
crew, and all other necessary information, should be placed in the safe A, and care
must be taken to have the latter at all times in a closed condition, ready in case of
accident.
Then when the latter does occur, the safo A will rise to the surface of the water,
so that the visible signal will be readily seen by the people on board of a ve-sel
passing in the neighborhood, and an examination of the contents of the safe can
be made, so as to ascertain the the name of the vessel it belonged to, and such other
information as has bon deposited therein, whereby the anxiety of friends and the
public may find relief from the state of uncertainty with which such cases are
usually attended.
I do not confine myself to the exact form of the floating safa herein shown and
described, nor to the materials described therefor, as I am aware that such form
and material may be changed in many different ways to produce an identity of
operation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. In a floating safe, the combination of a buoyant air-tight vessul provided with
an opening having a hermetical closure, a removable bag suspended within said
vessel, a visible signal attached to the upper end of said vessel, and a pendent
weight attached to the lower end of said vessel, said bag being adapted to contain
a ship's records and preserve them from being chafed by abrasion with said vessel, as
and for the purpose herein specified.
2. The combination of a Hoating safe containing an air tight chamber, a rope or
other flexible fastening for securing said safe to a ship or other vessel, and a
destructable lashing which forms part of said fastening, as and for the purpose
herein specified.
3. The combination of a floating safe containing an air tight chamber, a fraine
for holding said safe so as to leave it free to float, a rope or other flexible fastening
for securing said safe to a ship or other vessel, and a destructible lashing which forms
a part of said fastening, as and for the purpose horein specified.
Dated this arst day of Santambor 1800.
F. W. BARKER,
Applicant's Agent.