GB 1909 17934
Date of Application 3rd August 1909
Complete Specification Left 28 January 1910
Accepted 28 July 1910
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Sling for Recovering Persons or Bodies from the Water.
I, HARRY DOCWRA FAITH, Stock Jobber, of Culmore, Highcliffe, Hampshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention relates to a sling to be used for recovering persons or bodies from the water. It often happens that especially in rough sea it is very difficult to take a swimmer out of the water into a boat or up a ship's side especially if his body has been greased and the same often applies in the case of dead bodies. It is exceedingly difficult for a man in a boat, for example, to get anything like a satisfactory grip upon a greased body and pieces of canvas or rope ends placed under the swimmer are very apt to slip off him, and if the hands are cold or numb it is practically impossible to make knots of any kind in a rope. The present invention is designed to overcome these difficulties.
In carrying out my present invention I employ a piece of rope or equivalent of any desired length, say for purposes of illustration only six feet long, preferably with a loop at one end which could be thrown over the rowlock of a boat or a small bollard or held in a person's hand. At the other end of this rope is secured any convenient form of snap-hook which may be rigidly connected to the end of the rope or may be provided with a loop through which the rope may be rove and its ends spliced up as will be well understood.
Upon the rope is slung preferably by a metal ring which cannot collapse or stick upon the rope but can slide freely along it in any conditions a belt made of any appropriate flexible and non-stretchable material such for example as girth or other webbing. The free end of this belt also carries a metal loop which can be engaged with the previously mentioned snap-hook. The belt loop which fits upon the rope is by preference of such a size that while it can be pulled over the looped end of the rope it will nevertheless normally remain upon the rope, being unable by its own weight or dragging effect to escape from the rope loop at one end and the snap-hook and its ring at the other.
When this device is not in use the belt hangs free by its loop upon the rope its other end being unconnected. When required for use the large loop of the rope is held by a person or secured to some support and the belt is placed under the arms of the person or body to be recovered from the water and its free end snapped into the hook. When the rope is pulled to haul in the person the loop is tightened.
Preferably the belt is of such a length that when the loop is pulled tight the part in contact with the body consists of the belt and part of the rope so that the body is held firmly in the loop.
The actual details of construction may vary but the principle of the invention will be fully understood by the above description.
The precise shape or construction of the snap-hook, may. be varied as desired; for example two arms may. be carried down with ends turned back inwardly leaving a space between them for the passage of the loop at the end of the belt and a spring or spring controlled latch may be secured to one of these inturned ends and engage with the other the object in all cases being to provide a reliable connection which can be quickly and without difficulty made in awkward circumstances. The snap-hook itself may be provided with any desired length of stem or extension by which it can be easily held while the loop is being inserted.
Dated this 3rd day of August 1909.
BOULT, WADE & TENNANT,
111 & 112 Hatton Garden, London E.C. Chartered Patent Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Sling for Recovering Persons or Bodies from the Water.
I, HARRY DOCWRA FAITH, Stock Jobber, of Culmore, Highcliffe, Hampshire, 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:-
This invention relates to a sling to be used for recovering persons or bodies from the water. It often happens that especially in rough sea it is very difficult to take a swimmer out of the water into a boat or up a ship's side especially if his body has been greased and the same often applies in the case of dead bodies. It is exceedingly difficult for a man in a boat, for example, to get anything like a satisfactory grip upon a body especially if greased, and pieces of canvas or rope ends placed under the swimmer are very apt to slip off him, and if the hands are cold or numb it is practically impossible to make knots of any kind in a rope. The present invention is designed to overcome these difficulties.
According to this invention the sling comprises a supporting rope having a free belt portion sliding thereon and a device for readily connecting the ends of the rope and free portion.
A sling has been proposed for handling timber comprising a supporting rope terminated by a hook and having sliding upon it a curved sleeve to which is attached one end of a second or free portion of the sling. The timber to be lifted is intended to be encircled by this second portion, whose free end has an eye to engage the hook on the supporting rope. The second portion being free to slide on the first by means of the sleeve referred to, the whole could be tightened on the load after the manner of an ordinary running noose. The main object of this suggested form of sling was to prevent kinking of the cable at the point where the end of an ordinary sling is usually hooked on to the supporting portion of the sling, as the curved sleeve would distribute the pressure upon the point in question. It has also been proposed to make this second or free portion of the sling detachable from the sleeve so that it could be laid out upon the ground and the load built up upon it, the free portion being afterwards hitched at one end to the sleeve referred to and its other end engaged with a hook on the free end of the supporting cable.
It will be seen that the whole object of such a sling is, however, entirely different from that of the present invention, which is to enable the operator to easily fix the sling round a person or body whilst in the water.
In the accompanying drawings : -
Figure 1 shows a device constructed according to one method of carrying out this invention, and Figure 2 shows a modified form of the device.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A supporting rope A which may be of any convenient length, for example six feet, has at one end a loop A1 that may be passed over the rowlock of a boat or over a small bollard or held in the user's hand, or attached to another rope for increased length. The other end A2 of the rope constitutes part of a divided running noose whereof a band B forms the other portion. The end B1 of the band B slides freely on the supporting rope A and at the other end is a ring B2 for attachment to a snap fastening A3 on a ring at the end A2 of the rope A. The ends A3 and B2 are thus the divided portions of the noose and when these are connected together it will be seen that the noose can be drawn tight round any object by merely pulling on the end A1 of the rope A.
As is well-known it is difficult to secure a rope round a person or a body in the water and an ordinary running noose is difficult to handle, as it must be got round the person by passing it over the head and arms or over the feet. With the divided noose, however, the user has only to bring the two ends of the divided portions round the person or body from opposite sides and hitch them together by means of the snap fastening and then tighten the noose in the ordinary, way.
The snap fastening may take any convenient form and may obviously be either on the rope A or on the band B, the only essential feature about it being that its entrance must be easily found, and when the ring B2 has been passed into it, it must readily secure it. In the form of fastening shown, the rounded ends A4 serve a.s a guide for the ring in making engagement and the hinged spring-controlled tongue A5 readily yields to the pressure of the ring in the direction to enter it, but prevents withdrawal of the same.
The band B is preferably of some comparatively soft material such as girth or other webbing and is preferred to rope as it covers a wider area on the person and is less likely to cut. The band B is intended to be of such length that when the noose is pulled tight the band and only a small length of the rope is in contact with the body. This ensures that a tight grip will be obtained so that the person cannot slip or be washed out of the noose.
As an alternative the length of the band could be so adjusted that when the noose had been drawn tight all the rope would have been drawn through the ring B1 and the ring of the hook or fastening A3 being thus brought hard up against the ring B1 would prevent the noose from being drawn tighter. This has the advantage that the person is surrounded by the broad band,and not by the rope and the band although drawn sufficiently tight to engage the person cannot be pulled tight enough to cause discomfort, but for safety the first described arrangement is preferred and very little of the rope itself need be in contact with the person.
It will be seen that having the belt portion as a free length sliding on the supporting rope enables the apparatus to be very easily handled as the weight of the operator is carried by the supporting rope and thus the belt portion having no weight on it can be easily wrapped round the person or body to be recovered.
Conveniently one portion of the running noose is made adjustable. This may obviously be effected in various ways, one method being shown in Figure 2 where the band B is provided with three fastening rings C C1 C2. In this case the snap fastening A3 can engage either one of the rings. If the device was to be used for a child the fastening would be engaged, say, with the ring C. If on the other hand, it was to be used with an adult the ring Cl might be employed, or in the case of a stout person the ring C2.
The fastening A3 could be placed on the band and the engaging ring or rings on the end A2 of the rope, but the operator preferably holds the rope and fastening and the band then being free is easily handled.
It will be understood that all the metal parts may be covered with leather or other comparatively soft material to prevent abrasion.
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. A sling for recovering persons or bodies from the water consisting of a supporting rope having a free belt portion sliding thereon and a device for readily connecting the ends of the rope and free portion for the purpose described.
2. In a sling for recovering persons or bodies from the water the combination with a supporting rope having a divided running noose of a snap or like fastening for engaging the divided portions of the noose for the purpose described.
3. In a device for recovering persons from the water the employment of a running noose which cannot contract beyond a pre-determined size.
4. For recovering persons or bodies from the water the sling comprising the supporting rope (A) and belt portion (B) sliding thereon with a snap or like fastening (A3) for the free ends of the rope and belt substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of January 1910.
BOULT, WADE & TENNANT,
111 & 112 Hatton Garden, London E.C.
Chartered Patent Agents.
