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5 – 1918 - Maschera-erogatore “OHGUSHI” con valvola
erogatrice, in basso, dotata di due leve attivabili dall’operatore
con i denti. L’aria affluisce alla maschera, è inspirata
dal naso ed espulsa dalla bocca (da un depliant giapponese
PADI-NAUI).
5 – 1918 – Mask-regulator “OHGUSHI” with demand
valve, at the bottom, provided with two levers that can be
activated by the operator with his teeth. The air flows to
the mask and it is inhaled through the nose and exhaled
through the mouth (from a Japanese brochure PADI-
NAUI).
si occupa della coltivazione delle perle. Con
l’aiuto del suo tecnico Kinzo Ohgushi, mette a
punto ed utilizza un primo sistema di erogazione
aria alimentato, tramite manichetta, da serbatoi
d’aria ad alta pressione posti in superficie.
Questo è poi perfezionato e già nel 1918-1920
diventa un vero e proprio ARA, collaudato e
operativo e a cui Watanabe da il nome di
“OHGUSHI” in onore del suo tecnico. L’ARA è
brevettato in Giappone, dove è adottato dalla
Marina Giapponese, nel Regno Unito, in
Francia, negli USA e, secondo quanto afferma
Umberto Cugia, anche in Italia.
Nella prima versione l’ARA di Watanabe si
compone di tre elementi: il bibombola caricato a
150 atm., un sacco polmone, un gruppo maschera-erogatore.
Nella seconda versione il sacco
polmone scompare in quanto un riduttore di
pressione viene inserito tra bombole e maschera-erogatore.
La maschera (fig.5) è composta da un vetro
ovale ed un corpo in gomma con il bordo sagomato
per adattarsi al viso, che racchiude occhi e
naso lasciando libera la bocca. Sopra il corpo in
gomma, ed in aderenza a questo, è posto un rivestimento
metallico sagomato anch’esso come la
HDS NOTIZIE N. 28 - Novembre 2003 - pag. 13
operator keeps in the mouth and activates with
the teeth. The feeding whip and a joint that goes
to the mask are connected to the valve. In order
to breathe, the operator pushes with the teeth on
the levers, air then flows into the mask, it is
inhaled through the nose and exhaled through
the mouth.
1925 - Vincent Fernez
Perhaps pushed by the desire of finding alternative
solutions to the diving suit for sponge fishing
up to that moment carried out by skin divers
or by hard hat divers, Vincent Fernez plans and
realises the first effective diving system that differs
completely from the diving suit, but that has
some analogy to the one by Rouquayrol and
Denayrouze. We do not know in which year this
system that takes the name of “Fernez” was
invented and built, but we know that it has been
presented to the Paris Exposition in 1925, where
it was also noticed by the C.mder Le Prier. He
makes contact with Vincent Fernez and their collaboration
will bring, the following year, to the
realisation and presentation of the autonomous
breathing system “Fernez-Le Prieur”.
In the issue “Pesca sui banchi di spugne” of
1938 the three systems for the fishing of sponges
used at that time are described: “… the first of
the fishing systems is the one with dip and naked
body … some fisherman is able to stay under
water even up to 4 minutes … the second system
is the one with the diving suit with which able
hardhat divers dive deeper than 70 meters … the
third is
With the “Fernez” … with the “Fernez” it is
possible to go down even to 50 meters...”
The Fernez showed in Paris in 1925 is very simple.
The diver has a pair of goggles, a nosesqueezer
and a mouthpiece in his mouth connected,
on one side, to the hose through which
air is arriving from the pump at the surface and
on the other side is equipped with an exhaust
valve.
Vincent Fernez later brings substantial modifications
to the system. The new “Fernez” is provided
with a lung-sac clamped to the angler kidneys
that acts as a tank and as pressure equilibrator.
This is connected via a hose to the pump
at surface and via another hose to the rubber fullface
mask that is in all similar to a military gasmask,
with two round glasses and five small