Improvements in Dry Cells or Galvanic Batteries.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 31st Oct., 1892-Accepted, 10th Dec., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Dry Cells or Galvanic Batteries.
I, Dr. HUGO KOLLER, of Hoher Markt 13, Vienna I, Austria, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a construction of dry cells in which exciting liquids or
electrolytes are replaced by plates or masses of exciting material having a
gelatinous consistency so that the cells when arranged to form a battery after the
manner of a Zamboni pile will remain for a long time unaltered, and have the
further advantages that they will not be injuriously affected even at a high
temperature, have great conductivity, that clamps and glasses can be dispensed
with, and that all parts can be readily removed and exchanged.
The diaphragms employed in these dry cells consist of perforated sheets of
waterproof insulating material such as guttapercha paper, paraffined paper or.
paper saturated with wax.
The gelatinous plates or masses of exciting material (hereinafter called gelatinous
plates), inserted between the electrodes or plates of the cells, consist of agar-agar,
mixed with a metallic salt or salts suitable for causing electrical excitation, the
said gelatinous plates being separated by the aforesaid diaphragms.
To make the gelatinous plates agar-agar is soaked and boiled in from about 16
to 30 times its weight of water until it has lost all structure. In order to diminish
the subsequent drying up and shrinking of the mass from about 1 to 6 parts by
When the mass has been
weight of syrup may advantageously be added to it.
brought by evaporation to the desired density and just before it solidifies there is
or are intimately mixed therewith by stirring or otherwise the desired metallic
salt or salts for causing electrical excitation. The salt or salts may be added. in
a dry state or in the form of a concentrated solution. Any salt suitable for use
as an electrical excitant in a galvanic battery can be employed excepting those
which prevent the agar-agar from coagulating.
Some metallic salts, as for example common salt, may be boiled with the agar-
agar without injury; many salts however and particularly the most important of
them from an electrical point of view as for instance sulphate of copper will prevent
the agar-agar from coagulating if they are too long in contact with the liquid
agar-agar mass. For this reason it is very important to introduce such metallic
salts into the agar-agar mass only just before it solidifies, as otherwise a crumbling
sticky product will be the result.
The amount of the metallic salt or salts to be mixed with the agar-agar should
be such as to impart to the gelatinous mass approximately that percentage of salt
which is considered to be the most favourable when such salt is ordinarily used in
the form of a solution. If this percentage of salt is to correspond to that of a
concentrated solution, it is not always possible to introduce the requisite amount
of salt into the agar-agar mass without interfering with the coagulation thereof.
In this case after the mass has taken up a small quantity of the salt, the mass is
allowed to solidify, and then by drying, preferably in heated air, the excess of water
in the mass is removed until the separation of crystals indicates that the desired
concentration has been effected.
The exciting material produced as described has a more or less firm gelatine-
like consistency, according to the amount of agar-agar contained therein. It is
cast into blocks, and after being cut into plates, is inserted between the electrodes
or plates of the cells.
In order to retart as much as possible the diffusion which when agar-agar discs
are employed takes place much more slowly than in an aqueous solution, the

page_text: diaphragms inserted between the plates or discs of exciting materials, are arranged
in such a manner that the openings in any two of such diaphragms will alternate
with one another so that diffusion can take place only in the narrow space between
the two diaphragms. This arrangement of the diaphragms serves to make the path
through which the electrolyte has to travel before it reaches the electrode at
which it can produce injurious subsidiary re-actions, very long.
...
Two or more of such diaphragms may be arranged in one cell..
Dated this 20th day of October 1892.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Dry Cells or Galvanic Batteries.
1, Dr. HUGO KOLLER, of Hoher Markt 13, Vienna I, Austria, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to a construction of dry cells in which exciting liquids are
replaced by plates or masses of exciting material having a gelatinous consistency
so that the cells when arranged to form a battery after the manner of a Zamboni
pile will remain for a long time unaltered, and have the further advantages that
they will not be injuriously affected even at a high temperature, have great con-
ductivity, that clamps and glasses can be dispensed with, and that all parts can be
readily removed and exchanged.
The diaphragms employed in these dry cells consist of perforated sheets of water-
proof insulating material such as guttapercha paper, paraffined paper or paper
saturated with wax.
4
The gelatinous plates or masses of exciting material (hereinafter called gelatinous
plates), inserted between the electrodes or plates of the cells, consist of leaves of
agar-agar mixed with a metallic salt or salts suitable for causing electrical
excitation, the said gelatinous plates being separated by the aforesaid diaphragms.
To make the gelatinous plates leaves of agar-agar are soaked and boiled in from
about 16 to 30 times their weight of water until they have lost all structure.
In order to diminish the subsequent drying up and shrinking of the mass, from
about 1 to parts by weight of sugar syrup may advantageously be added to it.
When the mass has been brought by evaporation to the desired density and just
before it solidifies, there is or are intimately mixed therewith by stirring or other-
wise the desired metallic salt or salts for causing clectrical excitation. The salt or
salts may be added in a dry state or in the form of a concentrated solution. Any
salt suitable for use as an electrical excitant in a galvanic battery can be employed
excepting those which prevent the agar-agar from coagulating.
Some metallic salts, as for example common salt, may be boiled with the
agar-agar without injury; many salts however, and particularly the most important
of them from an electrical point of view, as for instance sulphate of copper, will.
prevent the agar-agar from coagulating if they are too long in contact with the
liquid agar-agar mass. For this reason it is very important to introduce such.
metallic salts into the agar-agar mass only just before it solidifies, as otherwise a
crumbling sticky product will be the result."
The amount of the metallic salt or salts to be mixed with the agar-agar should
be such as to impart to the gelatinous mass approximately that percentage of salt
which is considered to be the most favorable when such salt is ordinarily used in the
form of a solution. If this percentage of salt is to correspond to that of a con-
centrated solution, it is not always possible to introduce the requisite amount of
salt into the agar-agar mass without interfering with the coagulation thereof..