CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPORTING, SUSTAINING, AND PROPELLING HUMAN AND OTHER BODIES ON AND IN THE WATER
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
COBBOLD, of Melford, in the County of Suffolk, Master of Arts, Clerk, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twentieth day of April (One thousand eight hundred and
forty-three), in the sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Cobbold, my exors,
admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Edward Cobbold, my exors, admors, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Edward Cobbold, my exors, adññors, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
hereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Her said Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPORTING, SUSTAINING, AND PROPELLING HUMAN AND
OTHER BODIES ON AND IN THE WATER;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso obliging me, the said Edward Cobbold, to particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calender months next and immediately after the date of

page_text: the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edward Cobbold, 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 thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings therein referred to, and hereunto annexed; that is to
say:
My Invention relates to the application and adaptation of separate or
detached air cells, tubes, or cylinders to the human frame, and to other things,
such as fishing nets and boats, in such manner as to support and sustain
them in the water, and to render them incapable of sinking.
My Invention also relates to the application and adaptation of a tube or
tubes, or air cell or cells, to a sledge of wood or other body, so as to render it
capable of being supported, sustained, and propelled on and in the water, and
of acting as a life buoy, or for effecting a communication between vessels in
stress of weather or between stranded vessels and the shore...
My. Invention also relates to arrangements for supporting and sustaining,
on and in the water, of certain structures, as wharfs, piers, bridges, light-
houses, harbours of refuge, and breakwaters, and for sustaining, supporting,
and propelling other structures, as rafts, vessels, and buildings, and which may
be employed for the transportation of passengers and merchandize, and as
floating towns and manufactories.
The above statement. expresses the objects of this Invention, which are
carried into effect in manner following:-
And, first, for supporting the human body. I take a quantity of wood
or other tubing or hollow tubular substance, varying in length and diameter
according to the quantity of air required, whether for supporting one or more
bodies than one on the water, and I hermetically seal them at either end by
means of stoppers or plugs of wood, cork, or other suitable substance, fitting
them in with cement or marine glue, so as to render them perfectly air-tight.
And note, the said tubes or cells (which may vary in size) may be of wood,
papier machie, horn, metal, bamboo, skin, prepared canvass, or any light water-
proof substance; and if the said tubes are of skin, canvass, or any soft water-
proof substance, I render them solid and more efficient as protectors to the
body from concussion, by filling them with shavings of light wood, or other light
and buoyant substance; and I regulate the length, size, and shape of the said
tubes or cells according to the best length and size and pattern, for adaptation
to the human frame, so as to range upon or around the upper part of the body;

page_text: and for the more economical production of the same I adopt the following
method: I take any required lengths of tapes or webbing, or other durable
and pliant substance, and place them longitudinally almost from end to end of
the said tubes or cells, and I bind the said longitudinal tapes or webbing firmly
to the said tubes or cells by means of strong thread, twine, or wax band, or
other pliant substance. And I make other ligamentory bands of the same or
like materials about an inch, more or less, apart from the aforesaid bands, firmly
enclosing the aforesaid longitudinal tapes or webbing; by this means loops or
eyes will be formed one at either end of the said tubes, through which loops or
eyes I pass bands of tape, webbing, or other pliant substance; and to these bands
of tape or webbing any convenient number of the said tubes may be attached,
and they may be either fixed thereto at convenient distances, or may be made
to slide thereon. By this means a tubular belt or girdle may be formed so as
to encircle the entire body, with capability of altering the position of the body
by changing the position of the said tubes or cells; or being fixed as aforesaid,
they may be made to range either horizontally or vertically in a fixed position
on the chest or back. And note, I do not confine myself to any particular
number of the said tubes or cells, nor to the particular mode herein-before
described of fastening and arranging the said tubes or cells, since the same may
be varied in any convenient mode so as to render them effectual for supporting
and sustaining the human body on and in the water. Next, as to the applica-
tion of a tube or tubes, or air cell or cells, to a sledge of wood or other suitable
body, so as to render it capable of acting as a life buoy, or for effecting a com-
munication between vessels in stress of weather, or between stranded vessels
and the shore, I take a block of solid wood, about two inches thick, more or
less, and I hollow the upper part of it, leaving the under side round, and
somewhat resembling the bottom of a boat or barge; and I attach a metal keel
to the said sledge, or I adopt any effectual mode of ballasting, so as to steady
it and prevent its upsetting. I then attach to it, by means of strong bands of
tape or webbing, or other suitable fabric, a tube or tubes, and I further set it
or them fast by means of a framework of wood encircling it, and fixing
it to the body of the sledge (as shewn in Sheet II., Figure 7), attaching
to the said framework a triangular sail, as well as to a small mast
erected on the sledge for this purpose. In the stern or hinder part of the
sledge I fix a strong staple, to which I attach any required length of strong
cocoa-nut or other line or cord, which being wound on a reel as described may
be attached to the ship, and may be indefinitely drawn out by the motion of the
sledge. Thus a storm apparatus may be constructed capable of acting as a
life buoy, or for carrying a line on shore from, stranded vessels.
" :

page_text: In addition to the means already particularly described of furthering the two
first-mentioned classes of objects, I employ the following means for maintaining
and supporting bodies in water:-I procure a strong wicker or osier basket, of
any shape and size required, having a lid or covering, (as represented in
Figure 9, Sheet 2,) and I fill the said tubular basket with bladders or other light
air-tight chambers inflated and hermetically sealed; I then cover the ends of
the said basket with bladder or skin, or any tough durable waterproof substance,
and I secure the ends so covered by winding around them a strong cord or. line
(or other ligature or covering), closely binding or connecting the folds of the said
cord or line, and winding it around the entire external surface of the said basket
from end to end; and I fill up the interstices between the folds of the said cord or
line with any waterproof cement, rendering them thereby impervious to air or
water, and when dry I give the whole external surface three coats, more or less,
of oil paint or other waterproof dressing. By these means an extremely light
and portable cylinder or mass of air tubes or cells may be formed, which may
not only be adapted to buoyant purposes generally, but may be rendered
peculiarly serviceable in lieu of the casks and other floats usually employed at
sea to give additional buoyancy to fishing nets, and for similar purposes.
They may also be applied by means of bands or tapes, or other suitable
fastenings, to various parts of boats, so as to render them incapable of sinking
in water.
I would remark that the cells or internal tubes of air of the above-
mentioned cylinder or mass may be omitted, and the osier basket, as
described, used for the same purposes. Thus an extremely light and buoyant
mass will be obtained; but this, though lighter than the mass of cells above
described, has not nearly the same security against accident.
And lastly, with reference to the means of supporting and sustaining, on and
in the water, certain structures or buildings of a stationary character, as piers,
wharfs, bridges, lighthouses, and breakwaters, and of supporting, sustaining,
and propelling certain structures or buildings to be employed as rafts or vessels
for the transportation of passengers or merchandize, manufactories or floating
towns and houses. I take a number of wrought-iron or other tubes or vessels
of suitable material, according to the amount of buoyancy and surface required
for supporting the weight to be sustained, the said tubes varying in number
and size, according to the purposes to which they may be applied. These
tubes or vessels, if composed of plates of iron, should be firmly rivetted or
joined together in like manner as the iron steam boats or boilers are
.consrtucted; or in any other suitable and well known mode of manufacture.
They are to be joined together in the manner herein-after described, or by

page_text: other suitable mode, a space being left between each tube of any convenient'
width for the introduction of machinery for propelling, or for other essential
purposes. I arrange the said tubes longitudinally, end to end, to the length
required, and consecutively adapted to each other in the best mode for the
unobstructed passage of the said tubes through the water; and I furnish the
crown or apex of each tube, if circular, or the sides of each tube, if semicircular
or boat-shaped, with strong flanges of iron flat, and perforated at intervals for
the reception of bolts or other suitable fastenings. Having arranged the said
tubes or vessels according to the length and width required for the construction
of the raft both laterally and longitudinally, I proceed to connect and
strengthen them by means of strong beams or battens laid transversely
from tube to tube, and firmly bolted down with bolts of iron passing.
through the said beams or battens and the aforesaid flanges, and firmly..
secured with suitable fastenings; and these beams or battens may be com-,
pacted or cramped closely together, and if the iron vessels or tubes or com-
partments, which I shall now call supporters of the said beams or battens, be
not circular and air-tight, but of open boat-shaped form, I proceed, if requisite,.
to caulk those portions of the said beams or battens lying immediately over
the aperture of the said tubes or cells in the same way as the decks of vessels
are caulked, or by any other suitable mode of rendering the interstices between
the said beams or battens perfectly air-tight, reserving, nevertheless, if required,
a small hatchway or man-hole over the cavity of each tube or vessel capable
of being securely fastened down and rendered air-tight; and to each such
tube or vessel I attach a guage or indicator of the following construction:
I cause a metal pipe of convenient size and diameter to descend through the
said beams or battens nearly to the bottom of each tube, the said pipe ex-
tending itself above the beams or deck three inches, more or less; into which
tube I insert a plunger of cork with a light wooden rod attached, by the
ascension of which in the said tube any leakage or accumulation of water may
be immediately detected, and the depth of the leak denoted. And note, the
said guage or indicator may be applied to vessels or ships of the ordinary con-
struction, to ascertain and denote the amount of leakage. The beams or battens
being thus compacted transversely from tube to tube, form at once very powerful
bracings or ties or connecting beams to the tubes themselves, as well as .a.
spacious platform or deck extending the entire length and width of the said
tubes or supporters; and the said tubes may be further connected and strength-
ened by means of rods or braces of iron fastened obliquely, or in'any. suitable
direction, from tube to tube. Thus I have a raft or deck or platform sup-
ported and sustained upon air-tight cylindrical or other. shaped tubes, vessels,

page_text: or compartments, which raft or deck or platform may be secured or moored
by suitable anchors and cables, and, when requisite, the steerage effected by
any convenient number of rudders at the stern, or any part beyond midships
near the stern, in the interstices between the said tubes. And I proceed to
construct upon the raft or deck so formed any superstructure which may
be required to be supported and sustained, or supported, sustained, and
propelled on and in the water. To this raft or vessel, when required, I apply
various modes of propulsion, either by sails or steam power, or by any other
convenient or effectual mode, erecting thereon, at suitable distances, steam-
engines of the most approved construction, capable of working either paddle
wheels, Archimedian screws, or other propellers, in the interstices or spaces
between the aforesaid air-tight tubes or compartments; and I render the said
engines, by means of a connecting and disconnecting apparatus, capable of being
applied to machinery for the propulsion of the said raft, or to machinery to be
employed on board of the said raft for manufacturing and other purposes.
And I further secure the said raft from accident or loss by the following method:-
I extend around the sides and ends of the said raft one or more rows or series of
air-tight tubes or cylinders, connected at suitable intervals 1 strong bars of iron,
and so swivelled or attached as to allow of their rising and falling and moving
laterally to any required extent; and I attach to the upper and under side of
these tubes a fence-work of iron bars or timber of sufficient size, strongly
connected by iron ties to the said tubes, and I carry them to any suitable
height as barriers against the force of the sea, the outer barrier being the
highest, and gradually diminishing, the inner series approximating towards the
body of the raft; by which means, when the raft is put in motion, and a
resistance offered to the sea, the wave will be divided into multitudinous
segments according to the size of the space between the bars composing the
fence-work above described, and, rolling on, will be again broken and reduced
by a second range of barriers, and by a third or inner series, if required, will be
subdued, the raft itself floating on through calm or still water.
In order that the nature and manner in which my said Invention is to
be carried into practical operation may be the more readily comprehended,
I have annexed to these Presents certain Drawings representing the various
parts of my said Invention as above described.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
In Sheet 1, Figure 1 represents an elevation of a life preserver composed of
six tubes; Figure 2, an end view thereof, and postion they would occupy
when adapted to the human body; Figure 3 represents an elevation of a life

page_text: preserver, shewing another arrangement of the tubes; Figure 3*, an end view
thereof, as adapted to the human body; Figure 4, an elevation of a life preserver,
shewing another arrangement of the tubes as adapted to the human body;
Figure 5, a detached view of one of the tubes represented in section, shewing
mode of construction; Figure 6 an outside view thereof as ready for use."
A, A, a hollow tube of wood of about twelve inches long and three and a half
inches in diameter, the ends of which are fitted with semicircular stoppers B, B,
of wood, secured to the tube A by the application of glue known as "Jefferey's
Marine Glue," or other waterproof cement, thereby forming a hollow tube air
and water tight. These tubes or cells, whether of wood or other material, may
be arranged or disposed of in any convenient manner, so as to afford the
wearer free use of his limbs, and be connected together by strong tapes C, C,
as shewn by the Drawing.
In Sheet 2, Figure 7 represents an elevation of the arrangements for
supporting, sustaining, and propelling an apparatus which I designate a "Life
Buoy," being for the purpose of conveying a line from vessel to vessel in stress
of weather, or from stranded vessels to the shore, as above mentioned;
Figure 8, an end view thereof; Figure 9, a detached view of an air vessel,
part of which is represented in section to shew internal arrangement thereof;
Figure 10, a transverse section of the same; Figure 11, a view representing
the life buoy as conveying a line from a stranded vessel. The arrangement
and combination of the parts constituting the sledge buoy are as follows:-
A, A, a wicker basket, the inside of which is filled with bladders a, a, inflated;
the ends of this basket are afterwards covered with parchment or other
suitable waterproof material, and secured to the basket by passing string or
cord around it from end to end, or nearly so, and subsequently giving the
whole of the exterior two or three coats of paint, so as to render it air-
tight; this being done, it is afterwards attached to the sledge B, B, by
ligamentary bands C, C, or in any other convenient manner; D, D, sails
secured in the required position by wire or other stays E, E, attached to the
sails and sledge as shewn; F, a ring or eye for the purpose of making fast the
line (hereafter mentioned). The action of this sledge buoy is as follows:-
Assuming a vessel to have stranded, the reel G (see Figure 12), upon which
the line is coiled, being secured to the side of the vessel, the end of the line
being made fast to the sledge, it is thrown overboard; and in order that it may"
right itself, the under side of the sledge is loaded, as shewn at b, when the
action of the wind upon the sails will waft it to the shore, conveying with it
the line. Should it be night-time, the sledge may be provided with a port-
light H, so as to mark its course.
In Sheet 3, Figure 13 represents a plan of the entire raft surrounded by

page_text: its breakwater, being a platform one thousand feet long by two hundred and
forty wide, supported on tubes about fifty feet in length and six feet in diameter,
the stone-colored parts and engine spaces representing the area of the entire
deck, as described. The breakwater is represented by the series of tubes
surrounding the entire raft, which tubes are circular, the raft itself resting on
semi-circular or boat-shaped tubes. The outer series is composed of tubes
ten feet in diameter by fifty feet in length; the second, seven feet by fifty in
length; the third, six feet in diameter by fifty in length. The raft, as will
be seen, is divided into twenty separate decks or platforms, as denoted by
letter K in plan. A, the area for anchorage; B, B, crescent bed-rooms;
C, area for baths or other public buildings; D, D, shops, coffee-houses,
saloons, cabins, private rooms, bed-rooms, &c., extending themselves through-
out the raft from stem to stern; E, area for steerage; F, F, stabling, &c.;
G, G, fourteen areas for engines to drive the paddle wheels or other suitable
propellers between the tubes; H, H, H, three series of skirting tubes forming
the breakwater, connected by iron rods as described.
Figure 13 represents a transverse section of a skirting or breakwater tube,
with an upper and lower barrier of wood attached.
Figure 14 represents a transverse sectional elevation of the raft supported
on tubes I, I, such section shewn by the red lines in the plan, Figure 13, at
o, o, describing the entire width of the raft and breakwater H, H, as it would
appear afloat if divided exactly at the aforesaid sections o, o.
Figure 15 represents a longitudinal sectional elevation of the said raft
(drawn to an enlarged scale), corresponding with the blue line in the plan
(Figure 13), describing an interior arrangement and elevation to that extent of
the saloon and cabin department, &c.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
claim as of my Invention or the exclusive use of the above-mentioned air-tight
tubes, cells, and compartments, except so far as the same may be employed
for the purpose of my said Invention, which I hereby declare to consist in the
combinations and arrangements herein-before described of a series of separate
and distinct air-tight tubes, cells, and compartments for the supporting,
sustaining, and propelling bodies on and in the water, as above described and
represented.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Cobbold, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
EDW (L.S.) COBBOLD.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of October, in
the year of our Lord 1843, the aforesaid Edward Cobbold came before. our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and everything therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-three.