AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING WITH NICKEL
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED PROCESS AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING WITH NICKEL."
-A communication from abroad by William Henry Remington, of
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 1st December 1868, and dated the 10th October 1868.
5
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 10th October 1868, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING WITH NICKEL," and have petitioned
Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn
Declaration that it has been communicated to me from abroad by
William Henry Remington, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of
America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand
and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings
making part of this Specification:-
The employment of nickel as a substitute for silver in the process of
electro-plating presents many great advantages, the principal of which
are that nickel is extremely hard and susceptible of a high polish, while
it will not become tarnished by age or exposure to the air; it will also
withstand the action of intense heat as it cannot be readily fused by fire;
and furthermore its cost is trifling compared with that of silver. It has,
however, hitherto been found impossible to practically employ nickel for
the reason that it can only be obtained in small particles, and cannot on
account of its infusibility be formed into a plate for a positive electrode
as is required to present the necessary amount of surface, while if the
attempt is made to fuse it with copper or other metal for which it has
an affinity the plate so formed would be unfit for use, as the. deposit :
would not be pure and the desired result could not be attained.
My Invention has for its object to overcome these difficulties, and to
enable me to successfully employ nickel in the process of electro-plating,
and consists, firstly, in' suspending or supporting a mass of the particles
of nickel within the solution so as to present an extended surface, and
connecting them with the positive pole of the battery by means of
platinum or other suitable conductor of electricity not materially affected
by the electric current or the solution employed.
The second part of my Invention consists in lining the whole
or a portion of the interior of the vat or vessel which contains the
solution with carbon or other suitable conductor of electricity not
materially affected by the electric current or solution, so that the

page_text: particles of nickel instead of being suspended or supported, as above
described, may be placed upon the lining at the bottom of the vat in
such a manner as to present the desired surface, the lining of the vat
being connected with the positive pole of the battery.
The third part of my Invention: consists in the employment of a plate of
metal carbon, or other conductor of electricity, upon which a coat of nickel
of sufficient thickness shall have been deposited as a positive electrode, to
be suspended in the ordinary manner, and connected with the positive
pole of the battery, instead of suspending or supporting the particles of
nickel or placing them upan, the bottom of the vat, as above described..
The fourth part of my Invention consists in a new and improved
solution to be used in my process of electro-plating with nickel.
To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my
Invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have
carried the same into practice..
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus which I employ in
practising my Invention; Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section
through the same; Figure 3 is a plan of the vat for containing the
solution; Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line x, x, of
Figure 3; Figure 5 represents a plate coated with nickel to be used as a
positive electrode.
A represents the vat or receptacle for containing the solution; B
(Figure 1) is a battery, the positive pole of which is connected by means
of the wire a and screw cups b, c, with a metallic rod. C,. the extremities
of which rest in. grooves in the upper edges of the vat A. The negative
pole of the battery is connected by means of a wire d and screw cups e,f,
with a rod D placed at the opposite end of the vat,. and from this rod
the negative electrodes or articles to be coated are suspended in the
solution by wires 6 in the ordinary manner..
I will now describe the manner in which the particles of nickel which
form the positive electrode are suspended or supported in the solution or
'bath," so as to present the extended surface necessary to produce the
required result. E is a basket or receptacle (of the form shown in
Figure 1) composed of woven. platinum wire, and suspended from the

page_text: rod C by means of platinum wires g; within this wire basket E are
placed the particles of nickel, the mass of nickel thus suspended in the
solution and forming the positive electrode presenting an extended
surface to the action of the electric current and solution, and from this
surface the nickel will be readily "thrown down" and deposited upon
the negative electrodes suspended from the rod D. I do not, however,
confine myself to the use of platinum for the purpose of suspending or
supporting the particles of nickel, as any other suitable conductor of
electricity not materially affected by the electric current or the solution
employed may be used instead; neither do I confine myself to the use of
a wire basket or receptacle for containing the nickel, as it may be
suspended in some other manner so as to present the desired surface.
Instead of suspending the particles of nickel within the solution, as
above described, they may be placed on the bottom of the vat, which in
such case is to be covered or lined with carbon G, as seen in Figures 3
and 4, the carbon lining G being provided with a post or standard h of
the same material, having a screw cup i at its upper extremity by which
it is to be connected with the positive pole of the battery, the electric
current being by this means connected with the nickel, which may be
thickly spread over the bottom of the vat, as seen in Figures 3 and 4, so
as to present an extended surface as required.
Instead of a post h extending up from the lining G, the side or sides
as well as the bottom of the vat may be lined with carbon, the lining
being connected at any suitable point with the positive pole of the
battery; or instead of the above a shelf of carbon connected with the
positive pole of the battery may project out from the side of the vat and
the nickel be spread thereon, in which case the lining G at the bottom
of the vat will not be required, and in lieu of carbon any other suitable
conductor of electricity not materially affected by the electric current or
the solution employed may be used if preferred as a lining or surface
upon which to spread the particles of nickel; or the entire vat or any
portion thereof may be composed of platinum, carbon, or other conductor
of electricity not materially affected by the electric current or solution.
Instead of suspending the particles of nickel from the rod C, or
otherwise supporting them, as above described, a plate of metal, carbon,
or other conductor of electricity, upon which a coat of nickel of sufficient
thickness shall have been deposited, may be employed as a positive

page_text: electrode, the plate H, Figure 5, so coated being suspended from the
rod C and connected with the positive pole of the battery, so that the
nickel may be "thrown down" or deposited from this plate in the same
manner as from a plate of silver or other metal, care being taken. to
remove the plate before its coating of nickel has become exhausted.
In the above-described process I prefer to first employ a strong current
of electricity for "striking" or "whitening," similar to that employed
in the process of electro-plating with silver.
The solution which I employ, and which I have ascertained to produce
the best results, is made in the following manner :-I take refined nickel
and dissolve it in nitric acid slightly diluted with water, say about one-
twentieth part of the latter, adding the liquid to the nickel by degrees
until it is entirely dissolved. The nickel is then precipitated by the
addition of a suitable quantity of carbonate of potash. The precipitate
thus obtained is then thoroughly washed with pure water, after which it
is dissolved in a strong solution of sal ammoniac and filtered, when it
will be ready for use. I do not, however, confine myself to the use of
the above-described solution, as other solutions of nickel may be
employed instead.
By means of the process above described I am enabled to effect a
perfect deposition of nickel upon the negative electrode or article to be
coated in a simple, expeditious, and inexpensive manner, which has been
a desideratum hitherto unattained, and by thus overcoming the diffi-
culties heretofore experienced I am enabled to extensively employ
nickel in the process of electro-plating. The peculiar properties of this
metal, viz., extreme hardness and consequent length of wear, susceptibility
of high polish, freedom from liability to tarnish, power to withstand
intense heat, and trifling cost compared with that of silver render it
eminently useful and of great value for all general purposes, and especially
as a substitute for silver, which as it can only be deposited in a pure state
is necessarily soft, and consequently liable to abrasion and rapid wear,
besides being extremely liable to become tarnished.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,—
Suspending, supporting, or holding a mass of the particles of nickel
within the solution so as to present an extended surface, and connecting

page_text: them with the positive pole of the battery by means of platinum of
other suitable conductor, of electricity not materially affected by, the
electric: current or the solution employed, substantially as described.
.: I also claim a positive electrode composed of a plate of metal, carbon,
or other conductor of electricity upon which a coat of nickel of sufficient
thickness shall have been deposited, substantially as set forth..
I also claim the within described solution prepared of the ingredients
and in a manner substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight..
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE.. (L.S.)
Witness,
THO. W. PALMER,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
8, Southampton Buildings,
W.C.