AN IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING FLOAT
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Warren A. Simonds, of Boston, in the State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING FLOAT."
Sealed the 6th March 1857, and dated the 18th December 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Warren A. Simonds at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th December 1856.
I, WARREN A. SIMONDS, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, United.
States of America, do hereby declaro the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED LIFE PRESERVING FLOAT," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain a life preserver that shall at all
times be ready for use, and shall be protected from the accidents to which.
those of the ordinary construction of india-rubber cloth are liable, namely,.
being cut or torn, and thus rendered useless.
The life preserver is composed of two buoyant parts, which are connected
together by a cloth hinge or elastic attachment, in such a manner as to permit of
the insertion of the swimmer's head between the jointed-parts, the object being
that the lesser part of the float shall form a cushion for bearing up the chin of
the swimmer in the water, while the larger part forms a covering for his back..
Two groups of india-rubber air chambers or vessels (having a cylindrical or
other suitable form) are provided to give the buoyancy required to the two

page_text: parts constituting the float, and, these. air cells are enclosed in water-tight
corrugated cloth cases, provided with rows of cells, which are severally filled
with ground cork; cement is applied to the edges of the stuffed casings, to
render them water-tight, and cords or straps aro secured to the larger portion
of the float, for the purpose of facilitating its attachment to the body of the
swimmer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Warren A. Simonds in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th June 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WARREN
A. SIMONDS, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, United States of
America, send-greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the 18th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1856,
in the twentieth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Warren A. Simonds, Her special licenco that
I, the said Warren A. Simonds, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Warren A. Simonds, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agreo 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 "AN IMPROVED LIPE PRESERVING FLOAT," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Warren A. Simonds, by. an instrument: in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Warren A. Simonds; do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner. the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto' annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a plan of a life preserver; Fig. 2, a section on the line a, a, of
Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan of the interior casing or air, vessel; Fig. 4, a smallor

page_text: air vessel; Fig. 5 shews the position which the life preserver occupies when a
person is in the water.
The object of my Invention is to obtain a life preserver that shall at all
times be ready for use, and shall be protected from the accidents to which those
of the ordinary construction of india-rubber cloth are liable, namely, being cut
or torn, and thus rendered useless.
To enable others skilled in the art to understand my Invention, I will
proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried out the same.
In the Drawings, Fig. 1 represents the outside casing, which is divided into
two parts, A and B, which are attached together for a part of their width on
each side at a, b, by the strips c, d, on their ends, leaving a space e where they
are not attached. These casings are constructed in the following manner :-
Two thicknesses of india-rubber cloth or other suitable material are attached
together by tho seams f, leaving spaces or chambers g between them, these are
filled with ground cork, and the ends being closed, the strips c, d, h, i, are
formed across their ends, the sides o and p being closed up. These strips are
now attached to corresponding strips on the lower halves, except at C, D, thus
forming cases or sacks for the reception of the inflated air vessels, Figs. 3
and 4 (in the Drawings the openings C and D are merely closed by cords and
cyclets, but are intended to be hermetically closed after the air vessels are in
place, as shown in Fig. 2). The air vessels, Figs. 3 and 4, composed of
india-rubber cloth of two or more thicknesses, and capable of retaining the air,
or of other suitable material, may be divided into any convenient number of air
compartments E, each being separately inflated through suitable valves k.
The inflated air vessel, Fig. 3, is inserted in the case A, and Fig. 4 in B, and
the ends C and D are properly secured. The connection between the parts A
and B at a, b, may be further strengthened by pieces of elastic cloth m, n,
placed between them, allowing the slit or space e to be pressed open far enough
to admit the head of a person. The above described apparatus, when to be
used as a life preserver or float, is attached to the person in the following
manner-The opening e being slipped over the head, the portion B rests
beneath the chin, supporting the head, as shown in Fig 5; the larger portion
A rests on the shoulders and back, where it is secured by suitable cords F, G,
and II, I, passed around the body, thus, while the head is well supported above
the water, the body is maintained in a position well adapted for swimming, the
limbs being entirely free and unobstructed. When not in use as a life preserver,
its form is well adapted for use as a pillow on board of vessels. In addition to
the convenience of form, which so well suits it to the purposes for which it is
intended, a life preserver as thus constructed is much safor than thoso made

page_text: in the ordinary manner of inflated india-rubber cloth; the outside shell or
casing protecting the inflated air vessel from being cut or torn when coming in
contact with rough and hard substances, and even should one or more of the
air chambers E become perforated, the buoyancy of the cork in the outer case
will materially aid in supporting the person in the water.
. Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above recited Letters Patent, I claim the combination of the float A and
cushion B, connected by the strip or hinge a, b, operating in the manner and
for the purpose substantially as hercin set forth..
2nd, I claim placing the inflated air vessel or vessels within the corrugated
case or shell, constructed and operating in the manner and for the purpose
substantially as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Warren A. Simonds, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of May, One thousand eight 1
hundred and fifty-seven.
WARREN A. SIMONDS. (L.S.)
P. E. TESCHEMACHER, Witness.