An Improvement in Diving Dresses and Helmets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Mar., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 17th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 23rd Jan., 1892'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Diving Dresses and Helmets.
I, ALFRED EDWIN STOVE, of Mansion House Chambers, Queen Victoria
Street in the City of London, Submarine Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improvement in the means of attaching the helmet
and breastplate to the upper part or collar of a diving dress forming the, subject
matter of a Patent granted to me and dated 27th October 1888 No. 15,498.
In the arrangement and construction of diving dress, helmet and breastplate of the
kind described in the Specification of my aforesaid Patent, and illustrated in the
drawings annexed' thereto, the upper end of the diving dress is placed inside of
the breast plate, and it has been found in practice that, especially when the apparatus
is used at considerable depths below the surface of the water, the hydraulic pressure
forces the dress against the chest of the diver and impedes respiration whenever the
proper pressure of air inside the 'dress and helmet is not maintained. In order to
obviate this inconvenience I, according to my present invention, place the upper
part of the dress outside the breast plate, so that any excessive external pressure is
resisted thereby and prevented from acting on the diver's chest. In carrying out
this arrangement, I make the upper part or collar of the dress with an india-rubber
flange projecting inwards, the said flange being provided or not with a fillet or lip
as described in the Specification of my aforesaid Patent, which fillet or lip, when
employed, takes into a recess or groove formed in the upper ring or flange of the
breastplate, and the helmet and breastplate are preferably adapted to be connected
together with the said flange of the dress collar between them in a manner similar
to that described in the said Specification, but if desired they may be connected
together with the said flange between them by nuts and bolts or studs or by any
other suitable means.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Diving Dresses and Helmets.
I, ALFRED EDWIN STOVE, of 14 Griffin Street, York Road, Lambeth, in the
County of Surrey, Submarine Engineer, 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 accompanying sheet of drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to an improvement in the means of attaching the helmet
and breastplate to the upper part or collar of a diving dress forming the subject
matter of a Patent granted to me and dated 27th October 1888 No. 15498.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a diving helmet and breast plate, and the upper part
of a diving dress, with portions of the helmet and breastplate broken away so as to
show the connecting parts in section ;
Figure 2 is a plan of the upper part or collar of the breastplate with the helmet
and dress removed.

page_text: Figures 3 and 4 are enlargements of the sections of the joint shown in Figure 1,
and correspond respectively to sections taken on the lines X X and Y Y of
Figure 2; and
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation showing a further modification.
Similar letters relate to like parts in all the figures.
In the arrangement and construction of diving-dress, helmet, and breastplate of
the kind described in the Specification of my aforesaid Patent, and illustrated in the
drawings annexed thereto, the upper end of the diving-dress is placed inside of the
breastplate, and it has been found in practice that, especially when the apparatus is
used at considerable depths below the surface of the water, the hydraulic pressure
forces the dress against the chest of the diver and impedes respiration whenever the
proper pressure of air inside the dress and helmet is not maintained. In order to
obviate this inconvenience, I, according to my present invention, place the upper
part of the dress outside the breastplate, so that any excessive external pressure is
resisted thereby and prevented from acting on the diver's chest.
In carrying out this arrangement I make the upper part or collar of the dress
with an indiarubber flange projecting inwards, the said flange being preferably
provided with a fillet or lip which takes into the recess or groove formed in the
upper ring or flange of the breastplate.
A is the helmet and B the breastplate, C a circular metallic ring forming the
upper part or collar of the breastplate, and having a groove D formed therein to
receive the fillet or lip E surrounding the indiarubber flanged upper part or collar Fi
of the dress F. The ring C is rebated out as shown and has a screw thread H
formed in the vertical side of the said rebate. This screw thread is cut away at
three or more points equidistant round the circumference of the rebate as illustrated
at I in Figure 2. J is a circular metallic ring formed with or brazed to the lower
part of the helmet and having a screw thread K formed on it corresponding to the
screw thread H in the ring C. The screw thread K on the ring J is cut away at
three or more points equidistant round the periphery corresponding to the parts of
the thread H in the ring C which have been cut away at I.
It will now be understood that when it is desired to effect the connection of the
helmet to the dress and breastplate, the upper part or collar F¹ of the dress F is
placed in position in the ring C, so that the fillet E enters the groove D as shown;
the helmet is then placed with its ring J in the rebate of the ring C by passing the
portions of the screw thread K which remain on the ring J into the spaces I in the
screw-thread H of the ring C; the parts of the screw thread H on the ring C which
have not been cut away corresponding with those parts on the ring J where the
thread K has been cut away. The helmet is then turned round about a sixth of a
revolution in or on the ring C, so that the screw-threads H and K engage with one
another, causing the ring J to squeeze the upper flanged part F of the dress F
firmly between itself and the ring C, so as to form a watertight joint. The fillet E
of the dress F being pressed into the groove D effectually prevents the collar of
the said dress from being drawn out from between the rings C and J, but in some
cases the fillet E may be dispensed with if desired.
When it is desired to remove the helmet, it is only necessary to turn it back
about a sixth of a revolution until the screw threads on the ring J become
disengaged from those on the ring C, when the helmet can be lifted out of the
latter.
Instead of the screw threads H and K, as shown and described with reference to
Figures 1 to 4, the arrangement illustrated in Figure 5 may be employed, in
which His a pin or projection formed on the external surface of the ring of the
breastplate B, and K* is a recess formed on the internal periphery of the ring J of
the helmet. The joint is made in this case by passing the gap or opening K** of
the recess K over the pin or projection H* by which the latter is allowed to enter the
recess K*. The helmet is then turned round so as to bring the pin or projection H*
into the recess K* and the ring J is caused to compress the indiarubber flange F¹
by means of the slightly inclined surface of the recess. It will be understood that

page_text: instead of the pin or projection H* being formed on the ring C of the breastplate
and the recess K* in the ring J of the helmet, the pin or projection may be formed
on the ring J of the helmet, and the recess in the ring C of the breastplate. Any
convenient number of such bayonet joints may be employed in connection with one
helmet and breastplate. In the figure the breastplate is shown inside the dress as
in the other figures of the drawings, but it will be understood that this modification
of joint is equally applicable in cases where the breastplate is outside the dress, as
in my Patent of earlier date herein before referred to. In the figure the joint is
shown in section, and in elevation in dotted lines.
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 :-
First The improved arrangement of the parts comprising the improved means of
attaching the helmet and breastplate to a diving dress forming the subject of my
hereinbefore recited Patent so that the said dress can be placed outside the breast-
plate substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in the drawings and for
the purpose specified.
Second The improved means of attaching the helmet and breastplate to a diving
dress consisting of a ring J on the helmet and a corresponding ring C on the breast-
plate, with a pin H* on the one and a recess K* in the other, forming together a
bayonet joint, in combination with a diving dress, the upper part or collar of which
is formed with a flanged part which makes a watertight joint between the aforesaid
bayonet joint rings, and is provided or not with a fillet which takes into a groove
in one of the said rings, substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in
the drawings.
Dated this 17th day of December 1891.