Improvements in connection with Life Saving Appliances, and also applicable to the Construction of Ships, Boats, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in connection with Life Saving Appliances, and also
applicable to the Construction of Ships, Boats, and the like.
I, CHARLES BASWITZ, of 20, Bedford Place, Russell Square, London, Manufacturer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In the manufacture or stuffing of life saving appliances, corkwood, pressed cork and
reindeer hair have hitherto been chiefly employed. In recent times, trials have also been
made with sunflower pith, which however on account of its enormous power of absorbing
water, appears to be utterly unsuitable for the purpose. Nor is any dependence to be
placed on appliances filled with atmospheric air or other gaseous bodies, as it is merely
a matter of accident whether the coverings keep air-tight.
With its otherwise superior advantages, cork wood has a buoyancy of only three
times its own weight, and life saving appliances manufactured therewith are
correspondingly heavy, so that the buoys are not easily thrown, and by striking the
person to whom they are thrown may kill him; the belts however can scarcely be
worn by those who are at work, as not only do they cause inconvenience by their
weight, but owing to the hardness of the material of which they are made, prevent
any free motion of the body.
The buoyancy of pressed cork remains nearly constant, so long as the life saving
appliances are new; they however shrink quickly and are very much disposed to split.
or crack if brought into contact with water after a long time. They are thus unreliable
and owe their employment for this purpose only to their cheapness. Besides this,
like appliances made of cork-wood, they are somewhat cumbersome if worn by persons
at work.
Reindeer hair certainly has a buoyancy of 1: 10, but has a tendency to rot, if not
thoroughly dried after being used, and its high degree of buoyancy is not sufficient to
allow of the construction of a life-belt which is entirely free from inconvenience during
work, so as to leave the arms completely at liberty.
A substance which is unquestionably suited to meet the last mentioned require-
iments is that forming the object of the present application. This substance is the
fibrine contained in the fruit of the "Bombax," especially the Bombax malabaricum,
which fibrine is not only capable of supporting twenty-four times its own weight in
the water, but possesses such a slight power of absorbing water as is unobtainable by
any of the substances hitherto employed in the manufacture of life saving appliances.
Special attention is here directed to the fact that, according to the present condition
or state of scientific knowledge, drying is the best protection against rotting, thus the
small quantity of water taken up, and the consequent ease with which the Bombax
can be dried, is the highest guarantee of durability.
Mention has already been made that life belts which allow of being worn during
work without causing any hindrance thereto, have not yet been produced, nevertheless
this is indispensably necessary, for statistics prove that the greatest loss of human life
is not in connection with shipwrecks, but in heavy weather, during work on the deck,
in the boats etc. With the aid of the Bombax fibrine, it has now become possible to
supersede the vest-shaped life-belt, by a life saving apparatus formed of two cushions

page_text: weighing together over 750 grammes, these cushions being hung over the shoulders
by means of straps so that one of the cushions covers the chest, the other the back,
whilst two straps (or braces) passing through loops on the cushions are made fast in
front, so that both cushions lie firmly against the body. The front cushion is
preferably of trapezoidal shape, the long side being under, and arched out, so that
when used by a person in the boat, the oars can be pulled firmly to the body. The
body under the arms is entirely free, so that the arms can be readily used, and the
power of bending the body is no way hindered. The life saving apparatus so formed,
has the further advantage, that the two parts are so adjusted or divided that the
person in the water is kept upright, and not thrown from one side to the other,
whereby would be caused considerable anxiety: Besides, these appliances require less
space for stowing than any other life apparatus, and when the parts are put together,
they make an excellent head pillow or bolster which is readily available for use without
any further expense.
The Bombax fibrine moreover by reason of the above mentioned qualities also far
surpasses any of the materials hitherto employed, for the purpose of the air-tight
compartments employed in ships and boats, and for filling the spaces between the
double walls of ships, since none of the substances hitherto used, such as waste cork,
reindeer-hair, and cocoa-nut fibre possesses anything like so low a specific gravity and
so little absorbent power, these being the only important qualities in the present
case.
Datad thin at daw of Catalan 1007
HUGHES & YOUNG,
23, Coleman Street, London, E.C., Agents for Applicant.
Improvements in connection with Life Saving Appliances, and also
applicable to the Construction of Ships, Boats, and the like.
I, CHARLES BASWITZ, of No. 20, Bedford Place, Russell Square, London,
Manufacturer, 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 and by
the following statement :-
As materials for stuffing life saving appliances, corkwood, pressed cork and reindeer
hair have been hitherto the substances chiefly employed. Trials have recently been
made with sunflower pith, but its enormous powers of absorbing water appear to
render it quite unsuited to the purpose. As to appliances filled with atmospheric
air or other gaseous bodies, no reliance can be put in them, as it is quite a matter
of chance whether or not. they remain air-tight.
Notwithstanding its otherwise great advantages corkwood has a buoyancy of only
three times its own weight and life saving appliances manufactured therefrom are
comparatively heavy, and such appliances might injure if not kill the person to whom
they are thrown. Further the life-saving appliances if in the form of a belt cause
great inconvenience to the wearers, not only by reason of their weight but also on
account of their unyielding nature preventing free movement to the wearers body..
The buoyancy of pressed cork is practically constant while the appliances are new,
but such appliances shrink and lose buoyancy and are very much disposed to split
or crack if brought into contact with water or moisture after lapse of time. Such
appliances are therefore unreliable and are employed simply on account of their
cheapness. As to similar appliances made from corkwood they are cumbersome for
people to wear when at work.
Reindeer hair although it has a buoyancy of ten times its weight, has a tendency to

page_text: rot, if not thoroughly dried after use. Its comparatively great buoyancy is not
however sufficient to allow of the construction of a life belt which shall be convenient
to wear at work and which will leave the user's arms completely at liberty.
66
A substance which is unquestionably suited however to meet the requirements of
the case is the fruit of the "Bombax" and of other families of plants related to the
Bombax," which produce in their seed capsules the material known by the name
of "Kapok." This fibrine in its natural state is not only capable of supporting thirty
times its own weight of iron in the water, but possesses moreover less power of
absorbing water than any of the substances heretofore employed in the manufacture
of life-saving appliances.
I would here call attention to the fact that so far as is at present known, drying is
the best protection against rotting, consequently the small quantity of water taken
up by the "Kapok" fibrine and the ease with which it can be dried render it
exceedingly durable.
Mention has already been made that life-belts have not hitherto been obtainable
which will not inconvenience the user when at work. Nevertheless this quality is
absolutely necessary, for statistics prove that the greatest loss of life is not in
connection with shipwrecks but occurs in heavy weather during work on deck, in the
boats, and under similar circumstances.
With the fibrine known as "Kapok " it is now possible to supersede the ordinary
vest shaped life-belt by appliances of the more convenient shapes shewn in the
accompanying drawings of which Figs. 1 and 3 are front views and Figs. 2 and 4
respectively sections through Z % of Fig. 1 and Y Y of Fig. 3. Referring to
Figs. 1 and 2, a and bare two cushions weighing together about 750 grammes and
provided with straps c for hanging over the shoulders of the user so that one of the
cushions covers the chest and the other the back, two straps or equivalents d and d¹
being passed through loops e and e¹ provided on the cushions and then fastened so as
to make the cushions lie firmly against the body.
The front cushion a is preferably of trapezoidal shape, the longer side of being
below and arched at g, so that when used by a person in a boat the oars can be
pulled firmly to the body. There being nothing under the wearer's arms they
can be readily used and the power of bending the body is in no way hindered.
The life saving apparatus formed as above described has the further advantage that
the two parts are so adjusted and apportioned that the wearer when in the water is
kept upright and not thrown from side to side and so caused anxiety. Further
these appliances require less space for stowing than any other life saving apparatus
and when required can be readily used as a head pillow or bolster.
By using "Kapok " as the buoyant material it is also possible to make life belts
similar to the old well-known kind, but which owing to their great lightness and
softness as well as to the alterations to be presently mentioned will allow work to be
readily done by the wearer besides being available as head pillows when required.
A life-belt of the kind is shown by Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings and
need only measure twenty-seven centimetres in width and one metre thirty centi-
metres in length, the weight being only 760 grammes. Such a belt may consist
of four cushions i, j, k, l behind and four cushions m, n, o, p in front and will support
more than 15 lbs, according to Board of Trade Rules and still allow room at q for the
free movement of the wearer's arms when at work. The quantity of "Kapok" put in
the cushions may be so apportioned that the wearer will be kept upright in the
water and the breathing be less interfered with than when lying in the water with
the ordinary belt on. The belt is fastened round the wearer by the straps or equiva-
lents and a neck band 8 may also be provided, or other arrangements made to
meet Board of Trade or similar rules.
The "Kapok" fibrine also greatly surpasses any of the materials hitherto em-
ployed for filling the water-tight compartments provided in ships and boats and
for putting between the double walls of ships, none of the substances hitherto
employed (such as waste cork, reindeer hair and cocoa-nut fibre) possessing anything

page_text: like as low a specific gravity and so little absorbent power, which are the most and
practically the only important qualities required in such cases.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The use of the fibrine called "Kapok" and any similar product of plants of the
bombax and analogous families as buoyant material in the manufacture of life-saving
appliances for use on ships and boats and as a material for filling the water-tight
compartments and other spaces in ships and boats which are required to be
buoyant.
2. Life-saving appliances constructed substantially as described in the above
Specification and exemplified in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this with day of Au: 1000
HUGHES & YOUNG,
Agents.