AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SAVING LIFE AT SEA, ALSO ADAPTED FOR USE ON ALL OCCASIONS TO KEEP PERSONS AFLOAT IN WATER
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Candido Ravelli at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd March
1866.
I, CANDIDO RAVELLI, of Turin, in the Kingdom of Italy, now of No. 38,
Alfred Place, Bedford Square, in the County of Middlesex, Officer in the
Bersaglieri," do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SAVING LIFE AT SEA, ALSO ADAPTED FOR USE ON ALL
OCCASIONS TO KEEP PERSONS AFLOAT IN WATER," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a portable apparatus chiefly intended for pre-
serving life in case of shipwreck, which can be packed into very small space
for convenience of carriage, and when required can be immediately rendered
buoyant and capable of affording a safe support for any length of time.
The said apparatus consists chiefly of a flexible waterproof air-tight sack
or bag filled with air to make it float, surrounded by an iron belt or hoop,
and having a counterpoise to keep it in the proper position in the water to
enable a person to sit safely thereon; the apparatus is also furnished with a
rest for supporting the arms and shoulders of the said person, and a pair of
waterproof drawers is provided to protect his legs and feet from the effects of
cold and other injuries. The sack or bag, which may be made of any suitable
flexible material impervious to the action of water, is of such a form that
when inflated it assumes somewhat the shape of an egg, and is preferably about
thirty-nine inches long by about twenty inches in diameter at its largest part.
When the apparatus is to be used the sack or bag is filled with air in any
convenient manner through an aperture formed in any suitable portion thereof,

page_text: the said aperture being closed when the sack is inflated by a metallic stopper
or valve. The iron hoop surrounding the waterproof sack or bag carries a stalk
or rod about thirty-one inches long, to the end of which is attached the counter-
poise, which is of lead, weighing about fifteen kilograms; the said counterpoise
is of the form of a cone and is attached to the rod with its base inverted. The
iron hoop is also provided with rods or stalks extending upward as high as the
shoulders of the person sitting on the sack; to these rods are secured elastic
straps forming the rest for the head and shoulders of the said person, who when
fatigued can lean and rest thereon. The waterproof drawers for protecting the legs
and feet of the said person are closed everywhere except at the sash or waistband,
which is sufficiently elastic to allow the drawers to be put on and then to fit
tightly round the person; these drawers are of such a length as to reach from
the feet to the chest of the wearer, and can be readily put on or off at pleasure.
The person using the apparatus inflates the waterproof sack and puts on the
waterproof drawers, which are secured to the said sack by a pair of straps or
other like fastenings. He then bestrides the inflated sack in such a position
that the upright rods carrying the straps for supporting the arms and shoulders
are behind him; he is thus supported safely in the water entirely independent
of his own exertions, for even in case of fainting from exhaustion the shoulder
straps will sustain him in an upright position.
The apparatus is adapted for the use of men, women, and children, and
besides its chief employment as a means for preserving life it also serves for
purposes of recreation, and is useful in all cases where the object is to enable
persons to float in water without danger or fatigue.