Improvements in Primary Galvanic Batteries and in the Liquids used therein.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 6th June, 1894-Accepted, 7th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL DIECIFICATION.
Improvements in Primary Galvanic Batteries and in the Liquids
used therein.
1, WILLIAM HEATON LONGSDORF, of Grosvenor Club 135 New Bond Street
in the County of London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
which has been communicated to me by Gardner Hewett, of 29 Broadway in the
City of New York, United States of America, Electrical Engineer, to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to primary batteries of the zinc-carbon class with a porous
cell, and comprises the construction and arrangement of the battery itself and the
liquid to be used in such or similar batteries.
According to this invention the carbon element is placed within the porous cell
and is formed of a carbon plate or preferably of a series of flat carbon plates, four
or five is a convenient number but there may be more or less, placed very near each
other but separated just sufficiently to allow free access of the depolarizing fluid
between them. These plates I secure together by means of aluminium fittings a
strip of which metal may pass between the plates and be secured by a bolt or bolts
also of aluminium with a binding screw or the like attached to or forming part of
such bolt or one of them.
I prefer to paraffine the upper end of the plates-and I mount the plates in a
cover of non-conducting material in such wise that when placed in the cell the
plates are suspended by the cover which rests on the outer vessel of the cell and
thus the cover is held by the weight of the carbon element rather firmly down on
the top of the cell thereby preventing both the free access of air from without
and the too free escape of any gas or noxious fumes which may be generated in
the battery.
The zinc element may be cylindrical and surround the porous cell.
The outer vessel (containing the zinc element) I prefer to charge with a solution
of common salt, (chloride of sodium), with or without sulphuric acid and to which
a small quantity of bisulphate of mercury is added and I use within the porous cell
as a depolarizer a liquid prepared as follows:-
I make a saturated or nearly saturated solution of crude nitrate of soda and
I add to such solution an equal volume of commercial sulphuric acid of say
66° Baume.
Considerable heat is generated by the interaction of these substances and this is
allowed to subside and when the compound is thoroughly cool and after some hours
a crystalline deposit of sulphate of soda is formed. The clear liquid is then decanted
and to seven parts thereof one part of water is to be added.
My batteries constructed and charged as above described yield an exceedingly
powerful and uniform current and are more powerful steady and constant in their
action than any other battery I am acquainted with.
The zinc remains clean and bright and is consumed very slowly in proportion to
the current generated.
Dated the 20th day of February 1894.

page_text: Improvements in Primary Galvanic Batteries and in the Liquids:
used therein.
I. WILLIAM HEATON LONGSDORF, of Grosvenor Club, 135 New Bond Street
in the County of London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
which has been communicated to me by Gardner Hewett, of 29 Broadway in the
City of New York, United States of America, Electrical Engineer, 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 primary batteries of the zinc-carbon class with a porous
cell, and comprises the construction and arrangement of the battery itself and the
liquid to be used in such or similar batteries.
According to this invention the carbon element is placed within the porous cell
and is formed of a carbon plate or preferably of a series of flat carbon plates, four
or five is a convenient number but there may be more or less, placed very near
each other but separated just sufficiently to allow free access of the depolarizing
fluid between them. These plates I secure together by means of aluminium
fittings, a strip of which metal passes between the plates and is secured by a bolt
or bolts, also of aluminium, with a binding screw or the like attached to or forming
part of such bolts or one of them.
The employment of aluminium for the purpose above described is a feature in
my battery it being a peculiar quality of that metal to resist the action of the fluid
hereinafter described which I use in my battery and the fumes rising from it so
that it maintains a good electrical contact between the various pieces of the metal
and between them and the plates, and such contact does not become impaired by the:
formation of a layer of a salt or oxide of the metal between the parts in contact, to
nearly so serious an extent as do the equivalent fittings now in general use and
hence the loss of current generally due to this cause is avoided or lessened.
I prefer to paraffine the upper ends of the carbon plates for which purpose I dip
the top of each plate separately to the depth of about an inch into melted paraffine
at a high temperature and after it has become cold I scrape all the superfluous
paraffine off the surfaces of the plates and I mount them in a cover of nonconducting
material in such wise that when placed in the cell the plates are suspended by the
cover which rests on the outer vessel of the cell and thus the cover is held by the
weight of the carbon element rather firmly down on the top of the cell thereby
preventing both the free access of air from without and also the too free escape of
any gas or noxious fumes which may be generated in the cell and this seems to be
essential to the most advantageous working of my said batteries.
The zinc element may be, and I prefer that it should be either cylindrical or
parallelopiped and surround the porous cell.
The outer vessel containing the zinc element I charge either with solution of
common salt (chloride of sodium) with or without sulphuric acid, and to which a
small quantity of bisulphate of mercury is added or with a solution of the sulphate
of soda produced in the preparation of the depolarizing solution hereinafter
described to which has been added a small quantity of bisulphate of mercury and
with or without the addition of a little sulphuric acid but I make no claim to the
liquid used in the outer cell as forming any part of my invention.
Within the porous cell I use a depolarising liquid which I prepare as
follows:-
I make a saturated or nearly saturated solution of crude nitrate of soda and I
add to such solution an equal or nearly equal volume of sulphuric acid of about
66° Baume and I obtain a good result by adopting the proportion of 7 parts of
sulphuric acid to 8 parts of the solution or thereabouts.

page_text: it rest for 12 hours) a crystaline deposit of sulphate of soda is formed.
The clear liquid is then decanted and to seven parts thereof one part of water
or thereabouts is to be added. This forms the depolarizing solution, and I find
that the several proportions above mentioned give a good result in practice.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings
Fig. 1, is a vertical section of one of my said cells.
Fig. 2, is a horizontal section on the line y. z., in Fig. 1.
Fig.-3,-is-a-representation-of-the-zinc-plate.-
Fig. 4, is a representation of the carbon plates, four are represented but I may
use more or less; and
Fig. 5, is a plan view of the top of the carbon plates.
In these figures A is outer or containing vessel, preferably, but not necessarily
of glass; B, is the porous cell. C, C, C, C, are four carbon plates electrically
connected with each other and with the binding screw by means of a slip d of
aluminium or aluminium alloy, preferably about 16 of an inch thick, which is
passed to and fro between the plates so as to surround three sides of each plate.
Two screw bolts e and f, of the like metal, one of them f, being fitted with a
binding screw for connecting the line wire, bind the carbon plates firmly together
and keep their faces parallel.
The cover G of the cell I make of any suitable nonconducting material, I prefer
to use ebonite, and into this cover the carbon plates are fitted so that the aluminium.
band d rests on the cover G and prevents the plates C passing farther through..
The weight of the carbon plates thus rests on the cover which is thereby held
down closely on the edge of the vessel A. Through the cover is a hole through
which the aluminium wire h carrying the binding screw k passes from the zinc
plate J.
The cell shewn in the drawings is cylindrical but when the battery is intended
for locomotive purposes or for use in any circumstances in which space is.
important I prefer to make the cells with flattened sides, or of rectangular
section.
My batteries constructed and charged as above described yield an exceedingly
powerful and uniform current and are more powerful, steady and constant in their
action than any other battery I am acquainted with. The zinc remains clean and
bright and is consumed very slowly in proportion to the current generated.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. Primary galvanic batteries constructed in the manner and charged with the
materials substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
2. The depolarizing solution for use in connection with carbon plates in carbon-
zinc batteries substantially as described.
3. The combination in a primary battery such as described of the plates C and J,
the aluminium fittings de fand h, the depolarizing and exciting solutions, all
substantially as and for the purposes described and set forth.
Dated the 6th day of June 1894.
W. H. LONGSDORF..