Improved Apparatus for Saving People Buried Alive.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application; 19th June, 1896-Accepted, 25th July, 1896
Improved Apparatus for Saving People Buried Alive.
I, MICHAEL KARNICKI of No. 12 Masowiecka, Warsaw, Poland, Landowner,
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 aud by the following
statement :-
The present invention has for its object the saving of people buried alive and is
intended to be of use principally in those cases in which the coffin is lowered into
a grave, and then covered with earth, so that to the poorer classes of people and
especially the country population, the possibility is afforded in the most perfect
manner and at an inappreciable cost, of saving those belonging to them who may
peradventure be buried in a state of trance or lethargy.
In the construction of the arrangement, which is applicable equally well to both
wooden and metal coffins, especial weight is attached to the fact that with the
slightest movement of the awakening person air and light are admitted simul
taneously to the coffin lying in the earth, a signal in connection with the grave
mound being simultaneously set in action, by means of which passers by or the
officials connected with the churchyard may be immediately acquainted with what
has taken place.
Existing sanitary regulations are also fully complied with, for so long as the
apparatus is not set in action by the person coming to life, there is not the
slightest connection between the inner chamber of the coffin and the outside air,
and consequently dangerous exhalations are prevented.
Lastly, care has been taken that the alarm apparatus cannot be set in action
from the outside by the mis-use of passers by, but solely from the inside of the
coffin by the slightest movement of the awakening person.
The invention consists essentially of a box placed upon the grave mound and
provided with a cover compressing a spring, which box is placed in immediate
conrection with the inside of the coffin by means of a pipe before the filling in of
the grave with earth. The arrangement for keeping the cover on the aforesaid
box closed is adapted to be released by a long rod which leads through the pipe
to the interior of the coffin and is there provided with a hollow ball, disc or other
suitable grip to be pulled or pressed by the awakening person who need only
exert under any conditions even the slightest movement. Consequently by the
construction in question, the locking arrangement is certain to be released, where-
upon the cover of the box placed upon the grave mound flies open and actuates
simultaneously an alarm and a signal rod or the like which latter assumes
vertical position and can be seen from afar, and the awakened person, to
whom in the meantime light and air have been admitted can then be
disinterred.
T
a
The accompanying drawings show the invention carried out in a practical
manner. In these :-
Figure 1 is a vertical section in which is shown the connection with the coffin
lying in the ground of the box containing the mechanism fixed upon the grave
mound;
Figures 2 and 3 being drawn to a somewhat larger scale show the special
construction of the arrangement more clearly.
In these, a short pipe or nozzle a is connected to the cover of the coffin and is
tightly closed by means of a flap 6 under spring pressure, the flap being provided
.
:

page_text: with a sheet of indiarubber. When the coffin has been lowered into the grave,
the flap 6 is opened, and a pipe d-to establish communication with a box c which
is to be fixed on the grave mound, is introduced into the nozzle a preferably by
screwing and the earth then shovelled into the grave.
A rod is suspended from a vertical partition m in the interior of the box c
(Figure 2) by means of a spring g, and is led down-through the piped into the
interior of the 'coffin and eluse to the breast of the person buried, its end being
there provided with a hollow ball for any other suitable grip. The strength of the
spring g is so calculated that the rod which is guided in bearings on the
partition m is freely carried with the ball,
At the top, the rod f is bent to an angle or provided with a projection f³ whose
rounded off end engages a slide h carried in bearings on the partition-, which
slide is adapted to be actuated by a spring j. One end of this slide is hooked
as at to engage in a notch or catch o fastened within to the cover c¹ and the
other end is provided with an arm A directed downward, which is connected with
a spring bell adapted to be set. in action in any desired manner on liberating the
whole mechanism. The cover e' hinged to the box e made of sheet iron is provided
with a signal rod t and compresses, when closed, a spring k whose continual
endeavour is to raise the said cover.
A support n is further fixed on the hinged end of the box, for the purpose,
after the liberation of the mechanism, of supporting in an upright position the
cover together with the signal rol provided with a small flag.
Finally e is an air-tightly closable door in the box, in order to guard against
misuse of the arrangement. The cover c is also provided on its inner face with
indiarubber to make a perfectly tight joint when closed.
In order to provide the awakened person with light in a satisfactory manner,
upon the arrangement being, actuated, it is advantageous to enamel or paint the
apparatus as well as the inside of the coffin, white, while the outside of
the apparatus and its parts may be enamelled black to preserve it from
rusting.
The apparatus is shown in the drawing in its closed position and the more the
engaging ends of the slide and the rod fare rounded off, the more sensitive will
be the apparatus.
Now when a buried person awakens and by a slight movement effects a
displacement either upwards or downwards of the rod f, balanced against gravity,
the slide. A is liberated and..moves inwards under the impulse of the spring.
With the simultaneous ringing, of the spring bell the cover e' is likewise liberated
and thrown open by the spring k, air and light, then penetrating into the interior
of the coffin, and the cover o together with its flag-rod i take up a vertical
position.
Just as the perfectly reliable and certain action of the apparatus will be evident
from the above description and the accompanying drawings, so will the increase in
cost.of.the method of burying, as above described as compared with those hitherto
in vogue be seen to be hardly worth mentioning, for the only new and additional
part is the nozzle a with the spring closing flap b. But the apparatus with its
parts (which can moreover be used with coffins preserved in vaults) need not be
bought by each separate person, for several sets of the apparatus could be kept
by the Boards of Management of every churchyard, and a proportionate small
sum paid for the use of the same for 10 or 14 days, or for a time. which is
recognised as being the longest duration of a trance or lethargy.
In conclusion it is to be remarked that the apparatus can be-removed after the
legal time prescribed without disturbing the grave and without allowing the escape
of noxious, gases; for as soon as the lower pipe end with the ball. is removed from
the nozzle attached to the coffin, the spring flap of the latter closes tightly
and the opening.left behind in the earth.by. the pipe. falls together and closes of
itself.
When the apparatus is withdrawn altogether, the pipe end with the ball can
I

page_text: for greater security be immediately immersed in a disinfecting fluid. The
disinfection of the remaining parts of the apparatus appears however to be
unnecessary, as being made of enamelled iron protection is afforded against the
absorption of noxious gases.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for saving people buried alive comprising a box to be fixed on
the grave mound, and having a lid provided with a signal rod and kept normally
closed against the action of a spring by means of a catch or bolt, a pipe
establishing communication between said box and the interior of the coffin, and a
rod extending within said pipe from the interior of the box to the interior of the
coffin and adapted on the slightest movement of the awakened person to move
endwise, and release the catch of the box lid, whereby the lid and the signal rod
are permitted to spring into a vertical position and light and air are admitted into.
the interior of the coffin substantially as herein before described.
2. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a box provided
with signal and alarm devices and having a lid normally kept closed against the
action of a spring by means of a catch or bolt, of a rod suspended from within
said box by means of a spring so as to be balanced against gravity in such a way
that the slightest end wise movement imparted to it is sufficient to release the
catch of the box lid and thereby effect the opening of said lid and the actuation.
of the alarm and signal devices substantially as described.
3. The construction and combination of parts taken as a whole forming the
improved apparatus for saving people buried alive, substantially as described and
illustrated.
Dated this 18th day of June 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street,.Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.