GB448735A - Improvements in or relating to underwater salvage devices - Google Patents

Abstract

448,735. Diving - chambers ; raising sunken objects. ROMANO, E. J., 1102, East Denny Way, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. April 24, 1935, No. 12298. [Class 68 (ii)] A submarine vessel, such as a closed diving-chamber for use in salvage operations, has one or more fluidactuated arms with gripping- members controlled from inside the chamber. Fig. 2 shows a pear-shaped chamber 14 normally suspended by a cable 16. It has lights 21, and cables 20 attached to a toothed ring 101, and gripping members 76 are on arms 23, 24 on pivot shafts 26. The chamber 14 may be rotated in the toothed ring 101 by a pinion 101a moved by a ratchet lever inside the chamber 14. Long-arms.-Fig. 8 shows the fore-arm and gripping devices, and Fig. 9 the upper arm of the parts 23, 24 shown in Fig. 2. The upper arm is pivoted on a shaft 26, round which is fitted a sleeve or shaft 29 ; these shafts, together with bevel-gears 50, 51 raise and lower the upper arm in the shoulder bearing 28, and similar bevel-gears 44, 45 move the fore-arm 23. The jaws 76 are moved about their pivots 77 by levers 79, anti-friction rollers 82, and a wedge 84 thrust out by a piston 87 in a pressure cylinder 92, to which liquid is supplied by a hose 93. The piston is retracted by a spring 88. The jaws 76 may be fitted with right-angled. depending fingers. To enable the fore-arm to be rotated, the part 42 may be fitted on a sleeve rotatable on the upper arm by means of gearing operated by a sleeve fitted between the shaft 26 and the sleeve 29. Liquid is supplied to the hose 93 and cylinder 92 from a reservoir to which highpressure air is supplied from a compressed-air flask. A hand-operated relief valve is fitted. Each shaft 26 is operated by a ratchet lever 52, Fig. 6, with a reversing-pawl 53 controlled by a bent spring 57. A pedal-operated pawl 60 serves as a setting-device. The shaft 29, Fig. 9, is moved by a power cylinder supplied with high-pressure liquid by a hand pump.