Appliance for swimmers.

(Application filed Aug. 16, 1901.) (He Model.)

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'.THE.kORRtS PETERS CO-,.ΡΜθΤθ-UTHO., WASHD. C.

United States Patent Office

HARRY PRATT, OF KENILWORTH, ILLINOIS.

APPLIANCE FOR SWIMMERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 690,663, dated January 7, 1902.

Application filed Augnst 16,1901. Serial No. 72,213. (No model,)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Harry Pratt, of Kenilworth, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful 5 Improvements in Appliances for Swimmers;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked io thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel appliance for the use of swimmers intended to enable the swimmer to breathe regularly when the 15 mouth and nostrils are occasionally submerged, as when swimming in rough water, and to render it unnecessary for the swimmer to continuously keep his' mouth and nostrils above the surface of the water.

. The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

. In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a front view of 25 the head of a person with my novel appliance in position for use thereon. Fig. 2 is a side view of the head and showing the manner of holding the mouthpiece in place between the teeth. Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of 30 the mouthpiece and the lower end of the airtube and showing also the means for closing the nostrils. Fig. 4 shows the upper end of the air-tube and the cap which fits thereover to exclude water therefrom.

As shown in said drawings, A indicates a mouthpiece adapted to be grasped or held between the teeth and provided with an air-passage a, and B is an air-tube attached to and extending upwardly from the mouthpiece, 40 connected at its lower end with the passage in the said mouthpiece and open at its upper end to the outer air. Said tube is provided with means whereby its upper part may be secured to the head of the wearer, so that it 45 may retain its position with its open end directed upwardly. The device for this purpose herein shown consists of a plate C, adapted to rest against the forehead, and a band or bands C' C', extending from the ends of 50 said plate around the head of the wearer in such manner as to hold the plate C firmly in place. The air-tube is shown as attached to the plate C by means of clips c c; but it may be secured thereto in any desired manner.

The bands C' C' may be strips or tapes adapt- 5 5 ed to be tied about the head or they may be made of elastic material.

The air-tube A may be made of metal, hard rubber, or any other suitable material. The upper end of said tube extends to the vicinity 60 of the top of the head, so that when the person wearing the appliance is in the usual swimming posture the open upper end of the tube will be well above the surface of the water. Manifestly the tubemaj⁷ be made of 65 any desired length, according to the desires of the’ user. ^{: !}

The mouthpiece A is preferably made wide and flat, so that it may be held between the teeth and at the same time the lips of the 70 wearer may close about it to prevent the entrance of water to the mouth. Said mouthpiece is shown as provided with a flange a', extending in all directions from its outer part or end and which is adapted to come against 75 the lips of the wearer, and thereby not only prevent the mouthpiece being placed or drawn too far into the mouth, but also by its contact with the lips aiding in excluding water from the mouth. The mouthpiece will 80 preferably be made of soft rubber, the same being better adapted for being grasped between the teeth than would a hard substance.

Manifestly when the mouthpiece is held in 85 the teeth and the upper part of the air-tube secured to the head the tube will be firmly held in place, and as said tube will afford free communication between the mouth and the open air the wearer while swimming can 90 breathe freely when his mouth and nostrils are submerged either occasionally or continually.

As au additional feature I provide in connection with the mouthpiece and air-tube de- 95 scribed two nose - pads’ D D, together with means for holding or pressing the same against the nostrils in such manner as to close the same. As herein shown the pads D D are arranged to press upon the sides of the nostrils 100 above the nostril-openings and are held by spring-pressure against the same. As a convenient construction in means for giving spring-support to said pads the air-tube B is

690,663 branched above the nose, so as to form a central loop, the side portions b b of which extend at either side of the nose and the pads D are attached to the lower ends of leaf5 springs D' D', the upper ends of which are attached to the side portions b b of the air-tube. The lower ends of the leaf-springs D' D' stand inwardly away from the side portions of the tubes, so as to permit a considerable amount io of lateral play or movement in the pads and so that they may adjust themselves to position on the nose of any wearer. The springs will of course be made sufficient strength or stiffness to give such degree of pressure on 15 the nostrils as is required for closing the same.

I also provide for vertical adjustment of the nose-pads D, so that the same may be brought i nto proper vertical position to suit the wearer. This adjustment is accomplished in the con20 struction shown by so attaching the springs

D' to the side portions b of the air-tube that the springs maj⁷ be adjusted up or down on the tubes. The springs are shown as secured to rings cl d, which encircle and are adapted 25 to slide on the tubes and are provided with set-screws d'd', by which they may be firmly secured to the tubes when in proper position thereon. Said air-tube may be made of any cross-section desired; but I prefer to make 30 the tube flattened or elliptical in cross-section with the longer axes disposed from front to rear. In this manner I am enabled to provide a tube of ample capacity while at the same time affording a minimum resistance to 35 the passage thereof through the water.

As a still further improvement I provide the air-tube at its upper end with a cap or cover E, which is arranged to surround and extend downwardly over the end of the tube, 40 while at the same time leaving the end of the tube open for the free ingress and egress of air. The cap or cover thus arranged avoids liability of splased water or spray falling into or entering the open upper end of the air45 tube, and thus finding its way into the wearer’s mouth. Said cap E is herein shown as made of the same cross-section as the tube and attached to the end of the tube by radial fins or flanges extending between the tube 50 and cap endwise of the same.

The device described as a whole may be easily applied and adjusted, may be comfortably worn, and is calculated to perform fully the service desired—namely, to avoid 55 liability of a swimmer taking water through his mouth or nostrils when in rough water or high waves and to render it unnecessary for the swimmer to always keep his mouth and nostrils above the surface of the water.