Manufacturer Schrader’s Son Inc is a still in business manufacturer of copper diving helmets. In 1922 Maximillian Charles Schweinert applied for a patent for his invention. Divers at depth are bothered by the external water pressure. At greater depths this can only be eliminated by admitting air into the interior of the suit at a pressure equal to that of the environment. As a result of this higher pressure, the diver also breathed gas under higher pressure, resulting in an absorption of nitrogen into the blood. This made decompression stops necessary. Reducing the pressure of the breathing gas allows one to stay underwater longer and, in theory, to experience less resistance from the high pressure. In fact, this is the explanation why more than 100 years of development has gone into the development of atmospheric diving suits. Schrader’s suit was envisioned as inflatable rings that were supposed to offer resistance to the occurring water pressure. This would allow the supplied breathing air to be reduced in pressure. To what extent this idea was ever realized is unknown but the question is off to the current company Schrader’s Son. Inc. Their website can be viewed here: https://www.aschradersson.com/ You will find unique products including diving helmets that are still being produced today!
In addition to the patent from Schrader’s Son Inc. of the UK, Schweinert also patented his invention himself in the USA:
Therebreathersite was founded by Jan Willem Bech in 1999. After a diving career of many years, he decided to start technical diving in 1999. He immediately noticed that at that time there was almost no website that contained the history of closed breathing systems. The start for the website led to a huge collection that offered about 1,300 pages of information until 2019. In 2019, a fresh start was made with the website now freely available online for everyone. Therebreathersite is a source of information for divers, researchers, technicians and students. I hope you enjoy browsing the content!