IMPROVEMENTS IN GALVANIC BATTERIES
Year: 1885

page_text: We ALFRED RENÉ UPWARD Electrical Engineer of No 10 Talgarth Road West
Kensington and CHARLES WILLIAM PRIDHAM, Physician of 10 Cromwell Crescent
Kensington both in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of our
invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN GALVANIC BATTERIES to be as follows:—
This invention has for its object, improvements in gas batteries and relates more
especially to batteries which are maintained in an active condition by the passage
of gaseous chlorine through the cells.
It is requisite to the proper working of such a battery that there should be
efficient means for storage and also for passing the gas through the cells indepen-
dently of the generator or vessel in which it is compressed.
The generator may consist of an earthenware glass or leaden still, placed in a
water bath this arrangement has the two fold advantage of requiring no attention
since the contents of the still cannot become heated above the boiling point of
water, and also of causing more uniform evolution of the gas.
According to our invention we cause the gas to be delivered from the generator
into the lower part of a high column or vertical pipe or pipes open at the top and
also connected near the bottom by a suitable tube with the battery or batteries to
be supplied-At the outlet from each battery we provide an aspirator or other
form of pump in which a jet of water operates to propel the air and we also provide
an electric governor which controls the water current of the aspirator in accordance
with the electric current delivered by the battery; the aspirator may be fixed to
any ordinary water tap.
The chlorine gas delivered into the store vessel from the generator or vessel in
which it is compressed being considerably heavier than air, displaces air, and so fills
the gas container, such intermixing of gas and air as practically occurs in no way
affects the efficiency of the battery which the receiver supplies.
This intermixture also may if desired be lessened by introducing pebbles or
granules into the receiver, or by placing discs at intervals inside the receiver to
prevent currents.
The aspirator or pump produces a slight vacuum in the battery cells and gas
enters from the gas receiver to supply the void; the vacuum also has the advantage
IPQ31

page_text: of preventing any leakage of the gas and consequent offensive smell—When the
electric current delivered by the battery is insufficient the governor opens wider
the water supply valve, more water then passes to the jet and more rapid gaseous
flow through the battery cells and more intensity therein results.
If on the other hand the activity be already too great the governor partly closes &
the water tap and as a consequence less gas enters the battery cells.
We ALFRED RENÉ UPWARD, Electrical Engineer of No 10 Talgarth Road West
Kensington and CHARLES WILLIAM PRIDHAM, Physician of 10 Cromwell Crescent
Kensington both in the County of Middlesex 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 has for its object improvements in gas batteries and relates more
especially to batteries which are maintained in an active condition by the passage
of gaseous chlorine through the cells.
It is requisite to the proper working of such a battery that there should be
efficient means for storage and also for passing the gas through the cells indepen-
dently of the generator or vessel in which it is compressed.
The generator may consist of an earthenware glass or leaden still, placed in a
water bath, this arrangement has the twofold advantage of requiring no attention
since the contents of the still cannot become heated above the boiling point of
water and also of causing more, uniform evolution of the gas.
According to our invention we cause the gas to be delivered from the generator
into the lower part of a high column or vertical pipe or pipes open at the top and
also connected near the bottom by a suitable tube with the battery or batteries to
be supplied several such columns arranged in series may be employed the top of
the first being connected with the bottom of the second and so on. At the outlet
from each battery we provide an aspirator or other form of pump in which a jet of
water operates to propel the air. The aspirator may be fixed to any ordinary
water tap.
We also provide an electric governor which controls the water supply to the
aspirator in accordance with the electric current delivered by the battery.

page_text: The chlorine gas delivered into the store vessel being considerably heavier than
air displaces air and so fills the gas container such small intermixing of gas and air
as practically occurs in no way affects the efficiency of the battery which the
receiver supplies.
The aspirator or pump produces a slight vacuum in the battery cells and gas
enters from the gas receiver to supply the void, the vacuum also has the advantage
of preventing any leakage of the gas and consequent offensive smell.
În order that our said invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect we will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed..
Figure 1 is a front elevation of apparatus forming part of a system of gas
batteries intended to develope electric energy by the action of a stream of chlorine
gas maintained through cells in which positive and negative elements are arranged
as is described in the Specification of our former Patent No 7461 in the year
1885.
Figure 2 is a section of a generator in which chlorine gas is produced by the
action of super-oxide of manganese on inuriatic acid.
The generator consists of a stone ware vessel a it is to be set within an
exterior vessel b containing water which is kept heated whilst the generator is at
work.
a¹ is an aperture at the top of the vessel for introducing the charge of oxide of
manganese and muriatic and in the usual proportions a³ is a water trap around the
aperture a c is a moveable leaden dome and c¹ is a pipe connected with the dome
by which the gas is lead away to the receiver.
When the dome is in place its edges dip into the water in the trap a². d is a
water pipe connected with the vessel a, it is intended to supply water to wash
away the residue when the charge is expended so that it may be got rid of without
lifting the vessel a from its place which would be troublesome on account of the
weight of the vessel and also without lifting the dome c before the vessel is empty
as inconvenience would in that case result from escape of gas. In the use of this
generator the heat of the water bath causes the gas to be liberated more or less
rapidly according to the temperature maintained and the gas passes off until in
some hours the charge is expended.
The apparatus is cleared out ready to receive another charge by opening the
cock s connected with an opening in the bottom of the vessel a and with a drain
the residue is then run off without smell and the vessel a is afterwards completely
cleared by opening the water tap d. The gas passing off by the pipe c¹ is taken to
feed the battery cells and so much of it as is not immediately required is stored in
the receivers shown by figure 1.
"
In place of charging the vessel b with water sand or other slow conductor of heat
may be employed.
This apparatus as represented in the drawings consists of six upright columns
each consisting say of seven earthenware pipes nine inches in diameter and twenty
four inches long. They are well glazed on the inside and are put together with
gas tight joints made with pitch and marine glue or it may be with Portland
cement. Each column is furnished at the top with a descending pipe g serving to
connect one column with another.
The last column of the series may be however entirely open at the top in any
case there is a passage by which air can enter or escape freely. h is the pipe by
which the gas arrives at the receiver and a branch from the same pipe passes to.
the cells to feed them as they require. The pipes g connect the top of one column
to the bottom of the next throughout the series.. In the course of these pipes-
glass vessels i whitened at the back are introduced in which the charge of gas can
be seen, the colour of the gas rendering it clearly visible. Thus when the first
column is full the gas is seen in the vessel i flowing from the first to the second
column and so on as each column fills. When the fifth column is full it is'
time to lessen the production of gas by cooling the generator: Similarly when the

page_text: production of gas is proceeding slowly or is intermitted the progressive emptying of
the columns can be observed in the vessels i the colour disappearing progressively
as an inflow of air at the far end of the series sweeps the chlorine before it from
column to column towards the battery cells.
We interpose also a glass vessel similar to i between the generator and the first
column but in this vessel we place a little water and the pipe from the generator
just dips into this water. The object in this case is that the bubbling of the gas
through the water may indicate the activity of the generator. The arrangement
of the battery cells we prefer to be such as is described in our Specification N° 7461
in the year 1885.
In working the apparatus it is often convenient to employ a weighed charge in
the generator so proportioned to the capacity of the receiver that it will fill it
without waste.
The aspirator which it is preferred to employ is of well known construction and
in common use in chemical laboratories:-it consists of a glass pipe of say the of
an inch internal diameter and drawn out to a tapering end with say one eighth of
an inch aperture or less. Water from a main or cistern is supplied to it and issues
in a jet. The water jet is delivered into the mouth of another pipe which it descends
vertically for some distance.
The mouth of the latter pipe receives the drawn out extremity of the jet pipe
leaving a narrow annular passage all around.
The descending pipe is tapered from the upper end downward for a short
distance and below the tapering part it may be of the same diameter as the pipe
connected with the water main. The jet and the receiving mouth are within an
egg shape enclosure of glass and with this the battery cells are connected. The
descending pipe is usually bent at its lower end with two right angle bends which
break the descent of the water.
"
Beneath the lower end of this pipe we place a small cistern in which is a float.
There is an outlet near the bottom of the cistern and it is connected with a pipe
which dips down into a mercury cup. The mercury cup is supported on a scale
beam and is held up by a counterpoise so that the mercury in the cup supports the
water in the cistern and the cistern remains full. Connected with the scale beam
however there is the core of a solenoid-and the core hangs suspended within the
solenoid coil. The current from the battery passes through the coil and when the
flow is sufficient the core is drawn down and the mercury cup removed so as to
permit the cistern to empty. The float then falls in the cistern and by its weight
it moves the water tap and cuts of the supply to the aspirator leaving only a very
small flow.
Little or no chlorine gas is then drawn from the receiver and the electric current
soon commences to decrease. The mercury cup is then again lifted by the counter-
poise into position to check the outflow from the cistern and the float rises setting
the aspirator again to work.
The aspirator described will be found suitable for a series of say twenty cells of
two gallon capacity, this series being connected at one end with the gas receiver
and at the other with the aspirator. The solenoid and core and other parts of the 4
electric governor are so adjusted as to permit the escape of water from the cistern
somewhat before the battery comes up to its maximum flow and then no gas is
drawn to waste from the end of the series of battery cells. The aspirator and
governor should be fixed solidly against a wall.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said 5
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. Our improvements-in galvanic batteries in which chlorine gas is employed
consisting in armbining with the hattar alla a

page_text: 2.-The combination with the cells of a gas battery of a columnar or dis-
placement gas receiver and an aspirator or like apparatus substantially as
described.
3. The combination with the cells of a gas battery, of a columnar or dis-
placement gas receiver, an aspirator or like apparatus and an electric governor
controlling the action of the said apparatus substantially as described.
4. The combination with a gas battery of a generator having parts a a¹ a² b
cold and e substantially as described.