IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIVING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Augustus Gorman, of the Firm of Siebe, Gorman,
and Company, of Neptune Works, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Sub-
marine Engineers, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
DIVING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Augustus Gorman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th January 1880.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS GORMAN, of the Firm of Siebe, Gorman, and Company, of
Neptune Works, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Submarine Engineers.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIVING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
My Invention has for object improvements in apparatus for diving and other
purposes, and may be used when necessary to enter smoke or foul air.
I make a cheap, light, and compact protective dress or covering as follows:-It
consists of two main portions arranged to be fastened together by a water tight
joint around the waist of the wearer, where I provide a stiff ring which serves for
fastening, and also to protect the wearer.
The lower main portion of the dress is a pair of twill or waterproof canvas
trousers, around whose upper part is secured the ring above referred to; the upper
portion of the dress is a jacket made with sleeves, and with a head covering provided
with a removable screw lens, and with inlet and outlet pipes for air; the jacket and
head covering are made of twill or waterproof canvas, and the head covering is
strengthened by a framing of wood or metal, and also is lined with twill or water-
proof canvas. This combined jacket and head covering is secured at the waist to
the ring of the trousers by a compound ring and fastening screws, india-rubber or
other material being interposed to render the joint water tight. With the air pump
is combined a case, which is arranged to serve as a frame when the pump is in use,
and to enclose the pump when not in use.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Augustus Gorman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
July 1880.
'
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS GORMAN, of the Firm of Siebe, Gorman, and Company, of
Neptune Works, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Submarine Engineers.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DIVING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
My Invention has for object improvements in apparatus for diving and other
purposes, and may be used when necessary to enter smoke or foul air.
I make a cheap, light, and compact protective dress or covering as follows:-It
consists of two main portions arranged to be fastened together by a water tight
joint around the waist of the wearer where I provide a stiff ring which serves for
fastening, and also to protect the wearer..
The lower main portion of the dress is a pair of twill or water proof canvas
trousers, around whose upper part is secured the ring above referred to; the upper
portion of the dress is a jacket made with sleeves and with a head covering provided
with a removable screw lens and with inlet and outlet pipes for air; the jacket and
head covering are made of twill or waterproof canvas, and the head covering is
strengthened by a framing of wood or metal, and also is lined with twill or water-
proof canvas. This combined jacket and head covering is secured at the waist to
the ring of the trousers by a compound ring and fastening screws, india rubber or
other material being interposed to render the joint water tight. With the air pump
is combined a case which is arranged to serve as a frame when the pump is in use,
and to enclose the pump when not in use.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a general view of my improved protective
dress for diving or other purposes; Fig. 2 is a plan of the rings forming a water-
tight joint for fastening the two portions of the dress together at the waist, only one
tightening screw being shewn, and Fig. 3 is a full size section of a portion of the
said joint.
The lower main portion of the dress forms a pair of twill or waterproof canvas
trousers a; b is a stiff ring secured to the upper part of the trousers which serves
for fastening the trousers to the upper portion or jacket c of the dress (formed of
the same material as the trousers) and which also acts as a protection to the wearer.
The jacket c is provided with a head covering & having a removable screw lens e,
and inlet and outlet pipes ƒ and g (see Figs. 4 and 5) for air. The head covering is
made of similar material to the jacket and is strengthened by a framing of wood or
metal, as shewn to a larger scale in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, h being a copper-plate at the
top or crown, and i ribs; it is also lined with twill or waterproof canvas fastened
in with india rubber cement. The jacket is secured at the waist to the ring b of
the trousers by a compound ring (made up in this case of four sections, as shewn
in Fig. 2) and fastening screws 7, india rubber or other material m being interposed
to render the joint waterproof. A similar joint connects the head covering to the
jacket, but in this case the compound ring is formed of only two segments (see Fig.
7) and round-headed fastening screws are used in lieu of the tightening fly nuts
Fig. 3. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 shew the air-pump, with (at A) plummer blocks for
carrying the crank shaft fixed to the side of the box which acts as a frame.
The improved dress above described may be made with a copper helmet attached
to the jacket in the manner above described..
Having described the nature of my said Invention, and explained the manner

page_text: of carrying it into practical effect, I hereby declare that what I claim as secured to
me under the above in part recited Letters Patent is,--
The improved apparatus for diving and other purposes, constructed and arranged
substantially as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Augustus Gorman, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
.
W. A. GORMAN. (L.S.)