IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon and
Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ELECTRIC BATTERIES." A communication from abroad by Colonel William
Fitz-Charles McCarty, of 1. Rue Laffitte, Paris.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Morgan-Brown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th August 1879.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 1, Rue Laffitte,
Paris. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES." A communication from abroad
by Colonel William Fitz-Charles McCarty, of 1, Rue Laffitte, Paris.
This Invention refers to the compositions for and methods of arranging electric
batteries as well as to the mode of using such batteries for electric purposes' in
general, and more particularly for the production of electric light.
It has been generally supposed that the creation of electric currents for different
special purposes by means of batteries is either entirely impracticable on.account of
the inconveniencies resulting from the frequent changing or renewing of the
materials, and on account of the costliness of their inaintenance and the unsteadi-
ness of the currents produced; or at least when such batteries are employed they
must always be connected with condensers or regulators in order to render the
current produced more steady. The present Invention overcomes these difficulties
in great measure and renders the use of electric apparatus possible in many cases
where it formerly appeared to be out of question, and especially in some circum-
stances where the amount of electricity required is not large enough to warrant the
use of machines for the production of the current.
The principle of this Invention is based upon the peculiar qualities of the
currents produced by different elements. It is well known that certain elements
act with pushing power, that is to say, they force or push the current away from
one of their poles on the conducting wire, whilst other elements have a strong
tendency to attract the current from its conducting wire towards one of their.
poles. The object of this Invention is to utilize these peculiar qualities, and the

page_text: combination in one single battery of two classes of elements, which exhibit in a high
degree these different qualities forms an important part of. this new system.
.... In: ordinary batteries, and particularly when the current produced has to
encounter on its passage great resistances, and still more so when it is entirely
broken, so that it has to jump from one branch of its conductor over to the other,
as is the case in the production of electric light, a state of things soon takes place
which is generally known under the name of polarisation; from such polarisation,
that is to say, from an undue accumulation of electricity in certain poles, results
not only a gradual decrease in the amount of fluid passing along the conductor to.
the place where it is to become effective in the production of light, or for any other
purpose, but also a gradual diminution in the effectiveness of the battery, which, if
this term may be used, becomes clogged, and consequently unable to continue the
generation of the current. When the polarisation has thus once taken place in a
battery, this latter can only be made effective again by changing the elements, an
operation which, as it has to be repeated comparatively often, gives rise to, con-
siderable waste of the material and time, thus increasing the difficulties connected
with the use of batteries. To these inconveniences must be added the rapid
variations in the strength of the current, which can only be partly overcome by
interposing a condenser or regulator in the conductor between the battery and
the place where the electricity becomes effective. The difficulties of such arrange-
ments are too evident to require special enumeration.
By the combination above referred to of two classes of elements which act the
one with pushing and the other with attracting power, the polarisation can
evidently not take place as rapidly as in ordinary batteries, because the elements
of the second class serve to draw the clcetricity which has a tendency to accumulate
in the poles of the elements of the first class out of these said poles, and to compel
in this manner the current to circulate uninterruptedly; thereby the poles are kept
comparatively free, and they remain much longer effective in producing the electric
fluid. A battery thus composed will consequently remain in working order much
longer, and its elements need be changed only at long intervals for the purpose of
destroying the polarisation because some of its elements act as depolarizing agents.
At the same time the two classes of elements act upon each other as regulators, the
current produced by a compound battery arranged as described being perfectly
steady as regards its strength and not exhibiting the slightest variation, so that the
use of a condenser becomes unnecessary. An electric light for instance produced by
the current of this compound battery will burn with constantly uniform intensity
until the candles are consumed or the current is broken, provided of course that the
candles are placed at proper distance apart from each other and maintained in such
position.
The combination of pushing and attracting elements offers, especially in the pro-
duction of electric light, another important advantage by properly arranging the
elements or cells, that is to say, by placing one or more of the cells with attracting
power, so that the return wire from the lamp conducts to one of these attracting
cells, the formation of the voltaic arc is greatly facilitated, because the current on
its passage from one candle to the other is attracted beyond the point of resistance
by the said cell. From the fact that the electric fluid returns thus easily to the
battery results a considerable economy, and furthermore it has been found by
experiment that the light obtained presents qualities which heretofore have not
been attainable by any other method. It is not only absolutely steady as regards
its intensity but it is also perfectly white and mild, and mild without prejudicing
its illuminating qualities.
The two classes of elements used for this compound battery may be variously
composed as long as they have in a sufficient degree the above described properties.
But it has been found in practice that the best results are obtained with
elements formed on the Bunsen principle plunged into the ordinary solutions for
the class with attracting power, whilst for the class with pushing power a new
element is preferably employed, is formed as follows:-The negative pole or carbon
'

page_text: consists of, first, fine iron filings about 20% by weight; second, plumbago 25 % by..
weight; and, third, pulverized coke or coal about 55°. These three ingredients
aro well mixed and formed in moulds into the proper shape.
The positive pole is formed of zinc in the well known manner.
These poles are plunged into a liquid composed of :-First, salt water, say, sea.
water, about 75% of the whole weight; second, bichromate of potash 3 to 5%;
third, vinegar or diluted sulphuric acid about 10%; fourth, inineral oil, for instance,
petroleum, about 10% The mineral oil swims of course on the top, so that when
the poles, the zinc, and the composition of carbon and other materials as above
described are plunged into the liquid they will before coming into contact with the
heavier solution below receive a thin coating of the mineral oil, which partly
penetrates into the pores of the two poles and has the effect to prevent the hydrogen
from penetrating into these bodies, whilst the oxygen becomes free by the action of
the acids in solution, whereby the electricity is created and liberated.
In order to augment the strength of the current thus produced filings of zinc
and iron well mixed together are placed at the bottom of the cells. The carbon or
negative poles project downward from the board on which they are secured to a
somewhat greater distance than the pieces of zinc, so that when the poles are
plunged into the liquid the carbon rests on this layer of filings and take up the elec-
tricity generated by the action of the liquid on the filings and transmit and combine
it with the current produced by the poles, the carbon, and zinc.
In the same manner a quantity of filings may be introduced in the inner cells of
the Bunsen, that is to say, the elements with attracting power, the carbons of these
cells being so arranged that when lowered they come in contact with their respective
layers of filings and produce a similar effect.
The accompanying Drawing shows in three Figures what is considered and what
has in practice been found to be a very favorable arrangement of a compound
battery constructed according to the above description.
Figure 1 is a plan of the same; Figure 2, front elevation; and Figure 3, an end
elevation.
The battery is composed of twenty clements, of which sixteen, 1 to 16, act with
pushing force, whilst the other four, 17 to 20, are ordinary Bunsen elements, acting
with attractive power. These elements are arranged in a suitable case 21 of wood
or other appropriate material. A shaft 22 carrying on one of its extremities a
ratchet wheel 23, and a hand crank 24 is supported in the end pieces of this case
and in a central standard. A pawl 25 turns on a pin set in the end piece nearest
the ratchet wheel and is engaged in the teeth of the latter, thus preventing it from
turning in one direction unless the pawl is pressed out of contact with the ratchet
wheel by pressure exerted upon its tail piece by the thumb or finger of the attendant.
A spring 26 serves to engage it again as soon as this pressure ceases. A board 27
suspended by means of three cords or chains 29 on the shaft 22 carries on its under
face all the poles of the battery, whilst on its upper face are arranged the connec-
tions 28. This board can be raised and lowered on slides 30 formed on the walls of
the case 21, as shown. It will be understood that with this mechanism the poles
can at any given moment be easily and rapidly lowered and raised. The poles 31
to 46 of the pushing elements 1 to 16 consists of two pieces of carbon A and one
piece of zinc B; all form as thin plates, the carbon pieces A being a little longer than
the zinc pieces B, whilst the poles 47 to 50 of the Bunsen elements 17 to 20
consist of a stout piece of carbon C of any convenient shape and of a bent
plate of zinc D.
The elements are so arranged that the positive conducting
wire 51 leaves the battery from one of the Bunsen elements 17 and that tho
negative conducting wire 52 returns to the element 20 of the same nature. The
two other Bunsen cells 18 and 19 are arranged between the pushing cells 8 and 9,
thus dividing the row of the latter into two equal halves.
The liquid in the cells 1 to 16 and their poles 31 to 46 are preferably composed
in the manner described above with reference to the pushing elements, and the
parts are so proportioned that when the carbons A are lowered they rest on the

page_text: layers 53 of filings in their respective cells. In the same manner the carbons C of
the Bunsen elements should rest on the layers 54 in their cells.
It is evident that in carrying out this Invention the elements can be arranged
differently from what has been above described, and that the mechanism for raising
and lowering the poles can be modified or even entirely omitted, so that the board
is raised and lowered by liand by the attendant. Also the entire number of
elements and the relative numbers of those with attracting and those with pushing
power as well as their relative positions may be modified in wide limits without
departing from the principle of the Invention.
'
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that
what I claim is,―
First. A compound battery composed of two classes of elements, one with pushing
and the other with attracting power, whereby the battery corrects itself in a great
measure as to its polarisation.
Second. The employment of a compound battery without the use of a condenser
or regulator for the production of electric light or for any other purposes where a
current of constant steadiness is required.
- Third. The composition of the carbons or negative poles of an electric battery
consisting of metallic filings and plumbago and pulverized coke or coal, the whole
intimately mixed in about the proportions above stated, and moulded into. proper
shape.
Fourth. The composition of the liquid for electric batteries consisting of a mixture
of salt water, bichromate of potash, and vinegar, or diluted sulphuric acid, with
an addition of mineral oil mixed in the proportions stated, and for the purposes set
forth.
Fifth. The method of augmenting the strength of the currents produced by
batteries by placing in the cells a layer of finely pulverized zinc and iron or other
metallic filings, and arranging the poles so that the carbon or negative poles touch
this layer and take up the electricity generated therein, while the zinc or positive
poles are kept out of contact with it.
Sixth. The general arrangement of a compound electric battery, as above described,
and represented in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty first day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN. (L.S.)