af Improvements in Apparatus for the Electro-deposition of Metals.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
af
Improvements in Apparatus for the Electro-deposition of Metals.
We, FRANK FISHER, of 259, Ickmeld Street, in the City of Birmingham,
Electro-plater, and BENJAMIN JOHN ROUND, BENJAMIN JAMES ROUND, and
ALEXANDER ROUND, trading as B. J. Round and Sons, of Northampton Street,
Birmingham aforesaid, Electro-platers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improved apparatus or appliances to be employed
in the process of electro-deposition of metals by electrolysis, principally upon small
articles, which are placed loose within a vessel or vat, containing an electrolyte or
depositing solution, anodes. and cathodes, and to which a rotatory movement is
imparted so that both the electrolyte and the work being plated are constantly
agitated or in a state of motion, whereby the best results are obtained with a
comparatively small quantity of electrolyte.
In carrying out one form of the invention, a wooden vat, vessel or tub, open at
the top and having preferably taper sides (so that the mouth is of less diameter
than the closed bottom) is mounted upon the top end of an inclined spindle or
shaft, mounted in suitable bearings and adapted to be driven by bevel or other
gearing. Upon the bottom of the vat, a metal cathode plate or ring is secured by
screws or otherwise, having the negative or return-current wire connected to it
and passing to an insulated metal ring mounted upon, and turning with, the
rotating spindle, from which the current is conducted by frictional contact to a
second and stationary insulated metal bush, also strung upon the said spindle and
from which the return current wire passes away to the dynamo or other source of
electrical energy.
The conical sided vessel is set at such an angle that sufficient quantity of
electrolyte or plating solution can be placed therein as to cover or nearly cover the
bottom without overflowing the lowest part of the edge at the open mouth, the
surface of the said electrolyte preferably coming just a little below the said edge
and exposing only a small part of the bottom.
The anode, which is preferably of a circular disc form, and has the positive
conductor in connection with it, is immersed a suitable distance below the surface
of the electrolyte, and is suspended from an adjustable support arranged above
the mouth of the vat and so constructed as to admit of the anode being easily
removed when required. The bottom part of the vat is provided with a tap or other
means for running off the electrolyte.
In operation, the vessel or tub is charged with the required quantity of electrolyte
and the articles to be plated are placed therein, and the suspended anode is
immersed to the proper depth. The machine is then set in operation and the vat
or vessel is rotated at a uniform speed until the required quantity of metal has been
deposited thereon, after which the rotatory motion is stopped, the solution run off
and the articles removed. The top of the vessel being open admits of the work
being removed for inspection from time to time without stopping or interfering.

page_text: with the operation of the apparatus, which cannot be effected in rotating and
entirely closed plating barrels such as are now commonly employed.
Instead of the rotating vessel being carried by an inclined shaft, it may be set
and driven in an erect position in which case the sides may either be tapered or
parallel and instead of mounting the electrolytic vat directly upon the end of a
spindle, the same may be placed and secured within a cage or frame carried on a
rotating spindle and from which the said vat may be released and removed when it
is required to charge, empty or clean the same."
The vat may be driven by bevel, spur or worm gearing, and the conductors may
be connected up with the anode and cathode plates in any convenient manner.
Dated this 1st day of February 1898.
FRANK FISHER,
BENJAMIN JOHN ROUND,
BENJAMIN JAMES ROUND,
ALEXANDER ROUND,
By Arthur T. Sadler.
Improvements in Apparatus for the Electro-deposition of Metals.
We, FRANK FISHER, of No. 259, Ickmeld Street, in the City of Birmingham,
Electro-plater, and BENJAMIN JOHN ROUND, BENJAMIN JAMES ROUND, and
ALEXANDER ROUND, trading as B. J. Round and Sons, of 8, Northampton Street,
Birmingham aforesaid, Electro-platers, 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 reference to apparatus to be employed in the process of electro-
plating (principally) small articles, such as nuts, pins, washers and other cycle work,
pens, hooks and eyes and the like, and more particularly to that class of electrolytic
apparatus in which the articles to be plated are placed loose and without any
previous "wiring-up" within a vessel containing a suitable depositing solution or
electrolyte and having anode and cathode elements in connection with it and to
which vessel, a rotatory motion is imparted, whereby both the electrolyte and the
work under treatment are constantly agitated or kept in motion so that efficient
results are obtained with a comparatively small quantity of solution.
The object of our invention is to provide an apparatus which shall be thoroughly
efficient in its action, simple and not liable to get out of order by use and which
shall admit of the ready introduction of the electrolyte and work thereinto and
the easy removal of the said work when finished. Our apparatus is also so designed
as to admit of a part of the work being removed from time to time for inspection
without having to stop or otherwise interfere with the working of the machine,
which cannot be accomplished in the various types of rotating barrel apparatus
now in use.
In order to fulfil these requirements we propose to employ an apparatus
consisting of a vessel, vat or tub, made of wood or other suitable material, which
is constantly open at one end and permanently closed at the other end. This vat
is mounted, preferably in an inclined position, upon a rotating shaft or spindle
driven by suitable gearing and has within it a cathode element in connection with
the negative or return-current wire of an electrical circuit, whilst a removable
anode element connected to the positive wire is adjustably suspended within the
solution contained within the said vat or rotating vessel,

page_text: Figure 1 in the two sheets of drawings hereto annexed represents in side
elevation, and in its working position, one form of apparatus constructed according
to our invention and adapted particularly for nickle plating small cycle component
parts, pen-work, hooks and eyes, safety pins or the like.
Figure 2 represents a complete section of the said apparatus, in the same posi-
tion as Figure 1, shewing the arrangement of the anode and cathode elements of
the system more clearly.
Figure 3 is another elevation of the apparatus but shewing the vat tipped or
swung over upon the joint by which it is connected to its spindle, for removing the
electrolyte and the finished work therefrom.
Figure 4 represents upon a larger scale, a plan of the bottom of the vessel,
showing the arrangement of the joint connection between it and the spindle and
the means employed for transmitting the current from the vat to the return
circuit wire.
Figure 5 represents upon a still larger scale, a section of the bottom of the vat,
showing the connection between the cathode element and its exterior conductor
from which the current is taken up by a rolling contact device on the framing of
the apparatus and thence transmitted to the circuit wire.
Figure 6 represents a front elevation and Figure 7 a side view of the anode
element and its adjustable suspension means, separately.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures
of the drawings.
a is a vat, vessel or tub, of suitable capacity, made of wood or other material,
open at the top and preferably having taper sides a', so that the mouth or upper
open end a, is of less diameter than the closed bottom a³. This vessel, which is
adapted to contain the electrolyte or plating solution b, is mounted, by means of a
hinge connection c, hereinafter described, upon an inclined spindle or shaft d,
running in suitable bearings c¹, of a framing and being driven through bevel
wheels d, do, from a band pulley d, although other well known forms of gearing
may obviously be employed for this purpose. Upon the inside of the bottom of the
vat is the cathode element, which, in this arrangement, is in the form of a metal
ring e, secured in position by bolts el, passing through the said bottom and form-
ing electrical connections between the cathode and an external conductor f, which
is in the form of a circular rack or ring of teeth, engaged by one or more toothed
wheels or rolling contacts 9, carried by metal brackets g', bolted to, but insulated
from the framing, and from which the negative return current wire h, of the
circuit proceeds to the dynamo or other source of electrical energy.
The anode i, consists of a plate of metal either nickel or otherwise according to
the nature of the work of approximately circular form, suspended within the
vat and lying either upon or just below the surface of the electrolytic solution b. It is
attached by suitable means to the lower section i¹, of an adjustable suspension rod,
comprising two telescoping sections 2, 3, affixed in their relative adjusted positions
by means of a binding screw or other clamp or clip, whilst the upper end of the
section, is adjustably connected to a cross bar 3, carried in brackets, attached
to the ceiling of a workshop or other convenient support, thus forming a joint about
which the anode suspension rod and the anode at its lower end may be swung.
The positive current wire j, is connected to the anode suspension device at any
convenient part.
The joint or tipping connection c, by which the solution vat is coupled to its
carrying shaft consists of a four-armed bracket c. bolted or otherwise secured to
the top end of the spindle, with a pair of the arms c¹¹, jointed at, to the bottom of the
barrel, whilst the other arms take over screw pins or bolts projecting from the
bottom of the barrel and are there secured by fly-nuts c, thus forming a connection
which may, by simply removing the nuts, be readily unfastened when it is required
to tip the vat for removing its contents.
In operation, the electrolyte solution is first poured into the vessel or vat to
á suitable height and then the work to be plated is placed loose therein. The anode

page_text: is then lowered through the open mouth until it comes, in contact with the solution,
where it is secured by clamping together the sliding sections of its suspension rod.
The apparatus is now sent in motion, thus keeping both, the electrolyte and the
work constantly in a state of agitation and meanwhile the current flows into the
suspended anode, through the electrolyte to the cathode element on the bottom of
the vat and thence to the conductor ring on the outside of the said vat, from which
it is collected by the rolling contact wheel and passes away through the return
circuit wire. From time to time a portion of the work under treatment is examined
which may be readily accomplished by raising the anode for a short time without
stopping the apparatus-and when sufficiently plated the rotation of the vat is
stopped and the anode raised and swung upon its joint clear of the vat. The work
may then be removed from the solution, or if necessary, the fastenings of the joint
are undone and the vat tipped bodily forwards into the position shown in Figure 3,
whereby the solution is poured away before the work is removed. In this way the
interior of the vat is rendered easily accessible for cleansing.
The, open mouthed vat or vessel may be of any other shape than circular and
taper-sided as described and may be set at any suitable inclination as may produce
the best results although preferably it is placed, as shown, at such an angle that
a sufficient quantity of electrolyte to plate the work in hand can be placed
therein so as to cover or nearly cover the bottom without overflowing out of the
open end, whilst the cathode element may be in the form of a plate or a ród or
rods, or the like arranged upon the bottom or across the inside of the vat in any
convenient position. Further instead of employing the circular rack and toothed
wheel arrangement for conducting the current away from the cathode element, we
may employ brush contacts or other known devices for the purpose, or a conductor
wire may be arranged to pass from the said cathode through the bottom of the vat
to an insulated metal ring mounted upon and turning with the shaft, from which
said ring the current is transmitted by frictional contact to a second and stationary
insulated metal bush, also strung upon the spindle and from which the return
current wire passes.
Instead of providing a tipping joint connection between the vat and its shaft,
the said vat and shaft may be permanently connected in which case a tap or other
outlet may be provided for emptying away the electrolyte.
When plating small articles, such as flat washers, pens or the like that are liable
to adhere to one another in the vat, we may provide the bottom of the said, vat with
a series of upstanding pegs which break up the work and keep it constantly on the
move. The vessel or vat may be caused by suitable gearing to partake of a rolling
or gyratory movement in lieu of the simple rotatory motion herein described.
By the employment of a vessel which is always open at one end, the gas generated
by the electrolytic action can freely escape instead of being retained as in vessels
that are completely closed and by having no perforations in the work container
there is no loss of power, and the smallest articles can be plated without fear of
loss whilst by running the vat at an angle a greater friction is set up by the work
and a brighter finish results.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
First: The employment, as an apparatus for the electro-deposition of metals,
of a rotating electrolytic vat or vessel (preferably set in an inclined position) having
an open mouth and a closed bottom, in combination with a cathode element carried
by the said vessel and an anode element suspended within the solution.
Secondly: An apparatus for the deposition of metals by electrolysis, consisting
of a rotating vat or vessel, for containing the electrolyte and the work to be plated
arranged in connection with an inclined driving shaft and having an open mouth,
preferably of less diameter than the closed bottom, which latter is provided with
an attached metal ring or equivalent cathode element in connection with an outside

page_text: conductor for the return current, whilst the anode element is suspended
within the electrolyte in the vat by means of an adjustable and swinging rod or
equivalent means, substantially as and for the purpose herein described and set
forth.
Thirdly The combination with a rotating electrolytic vat provided with anode
and cathode elements substantially as referred to in the preceding claims, of a
tipping joint connection between the said vat and the shaft on which it is mounted,
substantially as and for the purpose described and set forth.
Dated this 26th day of Sentemler 1898
FRANK FISHER.
BENJAMIN JOHN ROUND.
BENJAMIN JAMES ROUND.
ALEXANDER ROUND.
FRANK FISHER.
BENJAMIN JOHN ROUND.
BENJAMIN JAMES ROUND.
ALEXANDER ROUND.