914 



Popular Science Monthly 



At left above: Rescuing a drowning person with the new boat ladder. One man is sufficient to 

 effect the rescue. At right: The boat ladder telescoped out and ready to be carried overboard 



Saving a Drowning Person with an 

 Ingenious Boat Ladder 



THIS boat ladder, which makes it pos- 

 sible to rescue a drowning person and 

 pull him in the boat without capsizing it, is 

 floated overboard and is attached to the 

 boat by a rope. The man overboard is 

 pulled near to the ladder and placed upon it 

 backward. Then the ladder with its load 

 is pulled into the boat. 



Tlie Double Automobile Spring. If One 

 Breaks, the Other Conies into Action 



AN automobile is as comfortable and as 

 l\ serviceable as its springs. Should 

 they break, further progress is impossible 

 unless emergency repairs are made. The 

 value of an arrangement which would make 

 such an accident well-nigh impossible is 

 therefore apparent. Clabeorn P. [Ran- 

 dolph, of Los Angeles, California, has 

 designed a duplex spring which brings an 

 auxiliary spring into action on the failing of 

 a main spring; it also reinforces a main 

 spring whenever it is overloaded. 



It has extra horizontal leaves which 

 project out at the top and bottom of the 

 main spring. These are kept apart by a 

 connecting-rod so that, when the main 

 spring is loaded normally, the auxiliary 

 leaves are kept out of action. The moment 

 the load on the main spring is made greater 

 than normal, however, the extra compres- 

 sion on the main spring will press the 

 auxiliary leaves nearer together, and bring 



them immediately into action. A weaken- 

 ing or breaking of the main spring would 

 bring about the same result. As soon as the 

 main spring begins to "give," the leaves are 

 again brought nearer together. 



A device of this kind could easily be made 

 to absorb any overstrains on an automobile 

 spring when traveling over rough roads. 

 The connecting rod need only be dis- 

 connected from the upper leaves and 

 screwed down into the lower ones so that 

 they are not too far apart. Stresses from 

 the excessive recoils from the roads will 

 then be taken up by the auxiliary spring as 

 well as by the other. 



Under normal loads, the horizontal 

 leaves of the auxiliary spring fit loosely 

 above and below the main spring 



