Improvements in the Design and Manufacture of Buoyant Clothing for Lifesaving and Teaching Swimming and other Purposes.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in the Design and Manufacture of Buoyant Clothing
for Lifesaving and Teaching Swimming and other Purposes.
LEWIS SEPTIMUS BICKLEY, 21, Royal Hill, Greenwich, Patentee and Manu-
facturer of Buoyant Clothing, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
The nature of this invention is, that it can be put on over the head & can be
safely adjusted for either male or female, & consists of a form of slip-jacket the
head passing through the centre, & is fastened by two or more fastenings around
the body & stayed by a martingale from rising on the wearer, & additional
power & support is given by the addition of buoyant cuffs & gloves, the whole
of which are made in all sizes for ladies gentlemen & children, & the buoyancy
may consist of either cork, air cells, or other materials of a buoyant nature,
while the textures may vary in strength & thickness to meet the requirements
of all climates, sports, and occupations.
1000
Improvements in the Design and Manufacture of Buoyant Clothing
for Lifesaving and Teaching Swimming and other Purposes.
I, LEWIS SEPTIMUS BICKLEY, of 21, Royal Hill, Greenwich, Patentee and
Manufacturer of Buoyant Clothing, 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:
-
This invention relates to buoyant or life-saving dress and has for its object
the arrangement and construction of such an appliance whereby it can be made
simply and of low cost; a standard size will without adjustment suit persons
of any size from child to adult and of either sex; it can be quickly put on
and securely fastened to the body; and the buoyant material is so distributed
that the effect is to float the upper part of the body in order to keep the head
above water and to overcome the difficulties which obtain with devices which
are situated on or are liable to slip down to the lower part of the body and tend
to submerge the head instead of keeping it above the surface of the water.
This invention consists in the construction of the dress in the form of a slip
jacket to put on over the head, and in the combination therewith of buoyant
cuffs and gloves attached thereto.

page_text: In order that this invention may be the better understood, it will now be
described in relation to the accompanying drawings hereunto annexed, reference
being had to the letters and figures. marked thereon. Like letters refer to like
parts in the various figures.
Figure 1 is an extended view of the dress.
Figure 2 is a side view of the dress as curved for wearing.
Figure 3 is a front view of same.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the cuffs for wearing on the arm in
combination with the other part of the dress.
Figure 5 shows the dress and cuffs fastened upon a person.
The dress A is formed of buoyant elements B which may be of cork or other
buoyant material or may be airtight chambers.
These elements B are fastened to a band C of flexible material having a
hole D in the centre through which the head of the person can pass. The
elements are so arranged upon the band C as to leave lines of flexibility in
the proper directions to allow of the dress when put on the person conforming
to the contour of the body, such as over the shoulders and round the trunk.
Tapes, cords or straps E are attached at the transverse lines of flexibility of
such a length as to pass and be fastened round the body; these are so placed
as to lie in the recess existent between the elements B so as to engage therewith
The uppermost tape E passes just under the arms and prevents the dress rising
up the body. If necessary a tape may be arranged to pass between the legs to
further assist in this direction.
The cuffs are of similar formation riz.-buoyant elements B supported
upon a flexible support G, they are secured to the shoulder of the dress A by
tapes, cords or straps H. The cuffs may be fitted with fingers or mittens to form
gloves if desirable.
The arrangement of buoyant-dress-upon-the-arms_forms a very useful agent in
adjusting and controlling the position of the body in the water.
It will be noted that by reason of the particular arrangement of the buoyant
elements on the front and back of the body with spaces left between these
parts under the arms, a very wide range of circumferential measure of body can
be dealt with, the said front and back parts being more or less close together
according to the size of the body.
A great advantage of this type of dress is that it can be readily folded into a
compact form for stowage or transit.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and, in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1st. A buoyant or life saving dress consisting of a strip or band of flexible
material having a central aperture a series of buoyant elements fixed to the said
strip or band arranged so as to leave lines of flexibility at the parts where the
dress has to conform to the contour of the body, and means for fastening the
dress upon the body over the shoulders and round the trunk to prevent it rising
up the body, substantially as described.
2nd. A buoyant or life saving dress adapted with buoyant elements over the
shoulders and upon the trunk of the body; in combination with buoyant cuff's
and means for attaching the said cuffs to the body dress, substantially as
described.
Dated this 16th day of October 1899
FELL & JAMES,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.