Improvements in Tubular Galvanic Batteries.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Oct., 1895-Accepted, 30th Nov., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Tubular Galvanic Batteries.
I, EDWARD STANLEY BOYNTON, of No. 464, Lafayette Avenue, in the City of
Brooklyn, in the County of Kings and State of New York, one of the United
States of America, Electrical Engineer, 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 galvanic batteries for generating electric currents, and
the object is, in the main, to provide a battery in which all of the cells or elements
are merged or combined into the form of a common receptacle for the liquid
electrolyte, one of the electrodes forming a fixed part of said receptacle and the
other being removable.
The invention will be fully described hereinafter and its novel features carefully
defined in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the
invention,
Figure 1 is a side view of the battery, in longitudinal vertical mid-section at the
left-hand end; and Figure 2 is a cross-section of the same on line 2, 2, in
Figure 1.
In this battery, 6' is a casing of hard rubber, or any suitable material, here shewn as
cylindrical, although this form is not essential. This casing is continuous and serves
as an envelope for electrodes, c, of carbon, which are in the form of open-ended hollow
cylinders, placed end-to-end and separated and insulated from each other at their
abutting ends by rings or washers, 63, of insulating material. The ends of the casing
are both closed, and preferably the carbon electrodes at the extremities of the battery
will have their outer ends closed, as seen at the left in Fig. 1. The liquid
electrolyte, B, is contained within the single, continuous chamber formed by the
hollow carbon electrodes.
The zinc electrodes, z, are provided with insulating stoppers, e, which fit into
holes formed in the casing and in the respective carbons c, as shown, and each
electrode z is provided with a binding-post, d. The binding-post, d', of the carbon
electrodes are set in the carbons in the usual way.
This battery may be made by adding elements, of any length desired, and also,
by enlarging the elements laterally, of any diameter desired. The elements or
cells of the battery have a common electrolyte, but the battery yields a voltage,
due to all of the elements when they are connected up in series as shown in
Figure 1.
It will be observed that the carbon elements are separated from each other by
the insulating rings or washers b, and these rings have each a circular aperture
less in diameter than the hollow or bore of the tube-like carbons, whereby the ring
forms a sort of flange or circumferential rib between adjacent carbons, about the
inner wall of the chamber containing the electrolyte. This chamber may be charged
with the liquid electrolyte at an inlet j, and the liquid be drawn off, for cleansing
and renewal, at an outlet g.
The elongated cylindrical form of the battery is advantageous for some special
uses to which the battery is to be put; but it may as well be rectangular, or
polygonal in cross-section.
It will be noted that my battery does not consist merely of a series of isolated
elements enclosed in a tube or casing and connected in series-which is a

page_text: well known construction-but a series o elements enclosed in a tubular casing,
the positive and negative elements of the several elements being directly connected
through the medium of a liquid electrolyte which is common to all of the
elements and extends throughout the continuous chamber within the series of
open-ended tubular carbons of the elements. The coupling up in series is exterior
to the casing.
I do not limit myself to any special liquid electrolyte as there are several which
may be used. The ordinary bichromate solution will serve.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what mauner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A galvanic battery having a common exterior casing for the elements,
wholly closed at its sides and ends, and having a series of tubular, open-ended,
carbon electrodes arranged end-to-end within said casing and insulated from
each other at their abutting ends, whereby a continuous chamber for a liquid
electrolyte is formed, said chamber extending through all of the carbons, substan-
tially as set forth.
2. A galvanic battery comprising a series of hollow, tube-like, carbon electrodes,
arranged end-to-end and separated at their adjacent ends by iusulating material,
whereby an electrolyte-chamber, common to all the cells or elements, is formed,
electrodes, inserted in apertures in the walls of the respective carbon electrodes
and extending into the said chamber, and a suitable casing enclosing the series of
hollow electrodes, substantially as set forth.
3. A galvanic battery having the chamber to contain the liquid electrolyte for,
and common to, all of the elements, formed of similar, open-ended, hollow carbons
arranged end-to-end and separated from each other by insulating material, the
hollows in the several carbons communicating and being continuous whereby the
electrolyte is free to flow from one earl of the series of carbons to the other,
substantially as set forth.
Inting ring, Tefta
4. The combination to form a galvanie battery, of a clused easing, a series of
hollow, car clericole, i pasing and arrangel en -te-end therein, insu-
tus of the carbon, and the electrodes :,
removably yet in aperture, in the respective erindinult from the latter,
a chamber to contain an elucidyte ng th formel within the hollows of the
series of e
net forth.
;
11.
4
Dated this 25th day of October 1995.
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Agent for the Applicant.