Diving operations are often encountered in human production and life, such as underwater rescue, exploration, etc., but more than a hundred years ago human beings lacked professional diving suits, can not operate in deep water, in 1910, a person named Chester E. MacDuffee in the United States began to design and manufacture a new type of diving suit.
The new wetsuit was exaggerated and resembled an early robot, and the designer patented his design in 1911 and began building. It has been reported that it was tested underwater in 1915 in Long Island Bay, although others say it was in 1914 and reported in the media.
Leaving aside the specific time debate, let’s go back to the wetsuit itself, which is a set of equipment weighing 250 kilograms, made of aluminum, with ball bearings in the joints, and the front of the helmet provides limited visibility.
A lighting light is installed at the left hand end of the diving suit, and a wire is installed in the connecting ventilation hose between the diving suit and the surface boat to power the light, and the designer imagines that the diving suit cannot be completely sealed, and there will be seawater infiltrating from joints and other parts, so a small water pump is installed behind the diving suit to pump the sea water out, and wired telephone equipment is installed in the helmet to communicate with the outside world in time.
Although it is very bulky on land, the diver has a certain ability to move because of buoyancy in the water, and he can operate the mechanical tongs of his right hand to complete some simple tasks, but as the depth continues to be pressurized, the water pressure will compress the joints of the metal wetsuit, making it tighter and unable to move, so continuing to dive can only be used as an observation device.
According to reports, the suit can dive to a depth of 212 feet (about 65 meters), setting a diving depth record at the time, divers need to hang the wetsuit with a cable when entering the water, and pull out of the water after the task is completed, otherwise the diver himself can not swim out.
However, Chester E. MacDuffee and his wetsuit were not recognized in any way because of their low practical value, the diver’s poor visibility and mobility under water, and the water pump seemed to be unreliable, which could lead to the diver’s death if it failed. Although Chester E. MacDuffee later tried to improve the design, modifying the design of lights, mechanical pliers, etc., the result was still unpopular.