THE PRESERVATION, OF LIFE IN CASES CernorRAT AN ס OF SHIPWRECK OR OTHER CASUALTY AT SEA-THE BUOYANT CUSHION
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Walter Underhill, Wellfield Cottage, Dunse,:
Berwickshire,,for the Invention of." THE PRESERVATION, OF LIFE IN CASES
CernorRAT AN סח
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Walter Underhill
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th May 1856.
I, STEPHEN WALTER UNDERHILL, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE IN CASES OF SHIPWRECK OR OTHER
CASUALTY AT SEA-THE BUOYANT CUSHION, to be as follows:-
A buoyant cushion, "the ready help at hand in time of need," 18 inches
square, and 6 inches deep, to be made of strong canvas or waterproof material'
to have loop handles made of rope at the sides; at the corners are to be short
pieces of rope or other means of fastening it to other cushions, should such be
considered necessary; it will also have strong elastic webbing to go over the
shoulders and under the arms, and be securely fastened round the waist in
front by a strap and buckle, the cushion itself being against the back and
shoulders. See figure in sketch:
This cushion would require about 6 lbs. of cork shavings, tightly hand-
pressed, to fill it, and would contain 1944 cubic inches, and, if made of canvas,
would sustain in the water 28 lbs. of dead weight, but if made of waterproof.
material, upwards of 40 lbs.
An iron or strong wooden frame securely fastened to the deck of a vessel (a
place for holding the buoyant cushions), forming a double scat, 8 feet long,
4 feet 9 inches wide, and 3 feet 6 inches high (see sketch). The seats are

page_text: 18 inches wide, and each have two sliding covers 4 feet long, and stuffed 6 inches
deep with cork shavings; under these sliding covers on each side are 10 cushions
18 inches by 15, and 8 inches thick, and in the space behind or between the
seats, a space 8 feet long, 3 feet 6 inches deep, and 21 inches wide, are other
30 cushions, 18 inches square and 6 inches thick; over this space are two
sliding covers, each 4 feet long, 21 inches wide, and 6 inches deep. The sliding
covers to have rope loop handles round the sides, and with the cushions to be
filled with cork shavings.
Seats for containing the cushions may be varied in size and construction to
suit the requirement of the vessel for which they are intended; the cushions
may also be differently shaped, air cushions might be used, but those filled with
cork are preferable, as no casual accident could render them less buoyant, and
the cost would be considerably less.
The buoyant power contained in a seat for ten persons, constructed and fur-
nished as the above described, would, with ease, sustain in the water upwards
of sixty persone
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Stephen Walter Underhill in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN
WALTER UNDERHILL, of Wellfield Cottage, Dunse, Berwickshire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the Twentieth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me the said
Stephen Walter Underhill, Her special licence that I, the said Stephen Walter
Underhill, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Stephen Walter Underhill, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for." THE
PRESERVATION OF LIFE IN CASES OF SHIPWRECK OR OTHER CASUALTY AT SEA,"-" THE
BUOYANT CUSHION," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Stephen
Walter Underhill, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Stephen Walter Underhill, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner, the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The nature of my Invention is to supply a buoyant cushion that will be
what I term "the ready help at hand in time of need," during shipwrecks or
other casualty at sea.
In order that my Invention may be fully understood, I have hereunto
annexed a Sheet of Drawings, with letters of reference marked thereon, corre-i
sponding with letters of reference in this Specification; the same letters refer
to the same parts in the several figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1, front view of the buoyant cushion, showing belt c, c, and straps e, e,
to fasten it to the body, and strings at the corners, and loops or handles a at
the sides. Fig. 2, back view of ditto. Fig. 3, front view of another form of
buoyant cushion, with slots f,f, for the belt to pass through, and straps g, g, to
pass over the shoulders. Fig. 4, back view of ditto. Fig. 5, a strong wooden
or iron frame, securely fastened to the deck of the vessel, forming a double
seat, and a convenient receptacle for the buoyant cushions.
.
.
The buoyant cushion, Figs. 1 and 2, is made about 18 inches square and
6 inches thick, of strong canvass, calico, jean, leather, waterproof canvass,
indian-rubber, mackintosh cloth, oil skin, or other material of a like kind;
loop handles a of rope or canvass are sown or fastened to the sides, and at the.
several corners short pieces of rope or cord b are attached, to tie or fasten it to
other cushions, so as to form a raft; straps e, e, of strong webbing are also
attached to the cushion, and made to go over the shoulders and under the arms,
and secured behind the back to the waist by means of a belt c and buckle d;
the straps and belt may be made of similar materials to the cushion. The.
cushion is to be thus secured on the back or shoulders, so as to allow free
liberty to the hands.
Another buoyant cushion, scen in Figs. 3 and 4, is made about 18 inches
long by 15 inches wide, and about 6 or 7 inches thick, of similar materials to
the cushion last .described, but with two slots, each about 4 inches long,
5 inches from the bottom of the cushion, and 3 in. from the sides, made for
the belt to pass through. The cushion has also two shoulder straps g,

page_text: 18 inches long, strongly fastened at the top, about 3 inches from the upper
corners. When in use,- the said straps. are brought over the shoulders; and
tightly and securely fastened by a buckle to the belt, after the said belt is
buckled round the waist. "The cushion being secured on the back or shoulders,
as before described..........
The cushions herein described, are filled with cork shavings, tightly pressed
by-hand.
..In order that the buoyant cushion may be more readily at hand in time-of
need, I form a strong iron or wooden frame, Fig. 5, securely fastened to the
deck of a vessel, forming a double seat, and a convenient receptacle for the
buoyant cushions, herein-before described. The whole frame is about 8 feet
long, 4 ft. 9 in. wide, and 3 feet 6 inches high, with seats I, I, about 18.in.
wide on each side of a centre compartment. K. The upper cushions H to the
seats and to the centre or back are made in two lengths, and slide into the box
or frame I and K that form the seat and back. These cushions are stuffed
with cork shavings, pressed in by hand, and have loop handles fastened on each
side, and small pieces of rope or cord at the corners. The smaller cushions,
herein-before mentioned, are stowed away under the sliding cushions just
described, both in the seats and in the space behind or between the seats.
Having now' described and shown the nature of my Invention, I wish it to
be understood that I do not confine myself to the several sizes or dimensions
herein set forth, nor do I lay claim to any of the materials individually con-
sidered; but what I do claim as my Invention, is-..
First, the buoyant cushion, arranged and formed in the manner and for the
purposes above described.
Secondly, I claim the double seat and receptacle for the buoyant cushion or
cushions, in the manner and for the purposes described and shown.
"In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Walter Underhill, have hereunto
hand and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
S. W. UNDERHILL. (L.s.)
Witness,
HENRY LAXTON,
Patent Agent,
19, Arundel Street, Strand.