US1217254A - Deep-sea-salvage-recovering apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

G. W. WINSLOW.

DEEP SEA SALVAGE RECOVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0m23.191s.

1,217,254. Patented Feb, 27,1917.

gnomvkoz To all 'whom it may concern.'

UNITED 1 s TATEs PATENT oEEIoE. f

GEORGE w. wrNsLow, or C HrcaeogILLrNor-s.

nEEr-sEA-sanvAGE-EECOVEEING APPARATUS. v

The primary object in view is the supplying of.v a1r and power to an operator under conditions lncldent to such intense pressures as exist'at ,great depths for enabling recovery of deep sea salvage heretofore considered inaccessible.

-It is of course well known that descent in a bell lor other diving apparatus to a depth of. over a. hundred feet is attended.

with great danger and descent to a greater .depth than two hundred feet is recognized as practicably impossible vbecause of the impossibility of constructing apparatus susceptible of withstanding water pressure and at the same time capablef of being supplied with air.' It has been proposed to providev oxygen in a condensed form and toallow the oxygen to exhaust into the lchamber occupied by the operator, butl this is attend-v ed also by dangers and difficulties well recognized, the necessity for supplying air in this manner having arisen from the fact that the ordinary hose utilized in bell diving for supplying the driver is crushed and flattened by depths so that no air can be forced through it, or if forced through under sufficient pressure soon produces damage of the hose which results disastrously,

All these difficulties are overcome by the present invention which comprises a 'container and non-crushable flexible means for supplying air and power thereto.

` The invention also comprises certain other novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts `as will behereinafter specified and claimed. Y

In the accompanymg drawing-f -Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section of an apparatus Specification of Letters Patent.

the pressure of the water at great Patentedlfeb. 27, 1917.

\. Application filed December 28, 19,13. Serial No. 808,465.

embodying the features of the present ixivention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail,

cable.

Fig. 3 is a transverse Section taken on the plane indicated by line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking downwardly. i

I Referring to the drawing by numerals, 1

lndicates a float or barge on which is mounted winding mechanism for the communicat#v ing cable 2 and sustaining cable 3. The

winding mechanism consists of appropriate drums and operating devices therefor of any common and well known type adapted to pay out and take up the cables 2 and 3 uniformly. The cable 3 is of a size and tensile strength adapting it to sustain the weight of a bell or container 4, the cable being connected to the container by being fixed to an eye 5 which is riveted or otherwise rigidly fixed to the container.

Cable2 consists of a series of articulated sections 6; each section 6 having at one end a 4ball 7 and at the other end a socket 8, the

ball of each section 6 having a ground fit 1n the socket of the next adjacent 'section longitudinal, vertical section through the communicatingand each section being a tube with the bore opening in the socket at one end and fiaring through the ball at the other end, the wall of each section 6 being of the requisite thickness and material for withstanding deep sea pressure. In this respect the cable 2 will naturally vary according to the particular depth to which the container 4 is to belowered. That is to say, if the container A4 is to be lowered to two hundred feet, the

sections 6 employed will be testedto resist, saytwo hundred 'and fifty pounds crushing strength, so as to leave a yliberal margin of safety beyond the possible pressure at the elevation to which it is to be lowered, and if the container 4 is to be lowered to a greater depth, the particular sections 6 will be constructedand tested for the proportional increase in stress.

To insure against leakage between the several balls 7 and the sockets 8, under high pressure, the cable 2 is completed by having the sections 6 covered by a continuous hose or casing .9 which is sufficiently flexible to give readily for accommodating movements of the articulated joints of the cable 2 and is yet impervious to water. lIn Fig. 2 the casing 9 is shown as rounded out eVeIl.

v fectly apparent that a even where it is notV 'touching against outer surfaces of the ball 7 .I This condition, of course, attains only when the cable 21s either not in use or not in position for being.

'and conform closely to the contour of ex.

posed portions of ball 7.

Arranged within the bore of cable 2 are telephone wires l0 and electrical power supply wires 1l, and also arranged in said bore y hook 19 for clasping are the injector hose 12 and 13.

The receptacle 4 is particularly designed and especially braced, to resist external crushing stresses, and at that portion which may be considered the forward end of the container 4 the container is provided with lights 14, 14, and inspection windows or glasses 15, 15. The interior of the container may also be illuminated disposed electric lights, not illustrated. At the forward end of the container 4 a ball 16 is fitted in a socket 17 and has a ground joint bearing therein so as to avoid leakage. A sleeve 18 outstands from the ball 17 and carries a boat hook 19 at its outer end. A rod 20 extends from the interior of casand exhaust air pipes or ing 4 through the ball 17 and longitudinallywithin the sleeve 8, the outer portion of the rod 20 being threaded and engaged by a nut pivotally connected to a in turniis pivotally connected tothe short arm of a lever 22, the long arm of the lever 22 being disposed to coperate with the an article between the lever and hook, the operation of the lever 22 being effected and controlled by a'handle or ,j

wheel fixed to the inner end of rod 20.

The rear end of the container 4 is formed with an entrance opening or doorway 23 closed by doors 24,24, constructed and disposed for resisting a maximum pressure.

A propeller 25 is arranged at the rear of casing l and a similar propeller 26 is disposed at the side thereof, said propellers being appropriately connected with actuating motors within the casing 4, and said motors being driven by power supplied 'through the wires 11 and controlled .by switches not illustrated but preferably disposed at points of easy access for the operator while located in the front portion of casing 4. Said operator may be provided with head gear for sustaining an ordinary telephone receiver at his ear, Aand a transmitter 27 is preferably located adjacent the face of the operator while at work for enabling the operator to converse readily with the persons on the ship or barge above without releasing his hold on the apparatus being manipulated.

by appropriately 'abling the link 21 which" v llt is to be noted that by the use of the two propellers mentioned the casing 4 can be moved in any direction, except up or down, and the casing 4 can `therefore be readily brought to the desired location with respect to a chest or other valuable article to be recovered.v Furthermore, other tools and apparatus may be applied at v'other points than that illustrated, according to the conditions and exigencies incident to any particular set of circumstances without deviatingfrom the spiritand scope of the invention.

lin operation the person or persons to make the descent enter through'the doorway 2U and seals the same by the closing of the doors 24. The bell or casing 4 is then lowered away by the paying out of the cables 2 and 3 until the operator at the telephone 27 announces the arrival of the casing at the desired elevation. The casing 24 is then caused to maneuver by driving and revers ing the propellers 25 and 26 as required for edectively positioning the casing 24 and enpicking up of a piece of salvage or the attaching ci a grappling hook or other exterior apparatus thereto. A rotary drill 28 is preferably extended through thecasing 4 at an appropriate point for enabling the making of apertures in the body of a vessel or other article for facilitating the application of hooks or other engaging means thereto.

While lt have illustrated and described specifically a ball and'socket joint as the preferred manner of connection of the sections 6, it is obvious that the invention is in no sense limited to this particular type of joint, since the oint may be any connection between the sections 6 site exibility and capable of 'being covered and protected by the surrounding hose or lexible casing.

ll claim sol providing the requirll`he combination of a casing adapted to l GEORGE W. WlNSLOW.

llVitnesses:

GEORGE E. Wiseman, PAUL lRosE.

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