IMPROVEMENTS ELECTRIC BATTERIES."
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bouneville, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire
of France, and 10, Sackville Street, Piccadilly, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
ELECTRIC BATTERIES." _ A communication from Théophile Chutaux,
residing at Rue Beauregard, in Paris, aforesaid, Electrician.
IN
Sealed the 8th March 1870, and dated the 9th September 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th September 1869.
I, HENRI ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent
Offices, 18, Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire of France, and 10,
Sackville Street, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
ELECTRIC BATTERIES," a communication from Theophile Chutaux, a

page_text: person resident at Rue Beauregard, in Paris, aforesaid, Electrician, to
be as follows;-
The Invention communicated to me relates to certain improvements
in electric batteries, which consist in the first place in arranging the
cells one above the other on shelves fixed to a wall or upright, and in
placing the elements of each cell in a vessel having a hole in its bottom,
through which the exciting fluid runs from one cell to the other, being
originally placed in a reservoir above the first cell, and from there passing
by means of a pipe through a porous cylinder and dropping through the
pores of the same into the first cell.
The second part of said improvements is that the cells consist, firstly,
each of those of the upper half of the number of a piece of iron, and of
the other half of a piece of zinc, which pieces of metal are of a volume
proportional to the duration desired; secondly, of a piece of retort coal
covered with a layer of red copper on its upper end by the electro-
metallurgic process, to which layer is soldered the screw connecting two
cells together; thirdly, of fine sand filling the vessel containing the
elements; fourthly, of a half oblate sphere reversed and placed at the
bottom of the said vessel, upon which sphere are the elements, and under
which collects the exciting fluid, which drops as described through the
holes from one cell to another after passing through the sand.
The exciting fluid employed is either azotic or nitric acid diluted in
water, but in certain cases iron or zinc may be used exclusively for all
the cells, and when iron is used exclusively azotic acid is preferred; but
if on the other hand zinc is used exclusively the bichromate of potassia,
the bisulfate of mercury, and sulphuric acid combined and diluted in
water is preferred.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters l'atent,
filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th March 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 18,
Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire of France, and 10, Sackville
Street, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, Her special
licence that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES," a communication from Théophile
Chutaux, a person resident at Rue Beauregard, in Paris, aforesaid,
Electrician, upon the conditions (amongst others) that I, the said Henri
Adrien Bonneville, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE. that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The Invention communicated to me relates to certain improvements
in electric batteries, which consist in the first place in arranging the
cells one above the other on shelves fixed to a wall or upright, and in
placing the elements of each cell in a vessel having a hole in its bottom,
through which the exciting fluid runs from one cell to the other, being
originally placed in a reservoir above the first cell, and from there
passing by means of a pipe through a porous cylinder and dropping
through the pores of the same into the first cell.
The second part of said improvements is that the cells consist, 1st,
each of those of the upper half of the number of a piece of iron, and of
the other half of a piece of zinc, which pieces of metal are of a volume
proportionate to the duration desired; 2ond, of a piece of retort coal
covered with a layer of red copper on its upper end by the electro-

page_text: metallurgic process, to which layer is soldered the screw connecting
two cells together; 3rd, of fine sand filling the vessel containing the
elements; 4th, of a half oblate sphere reversed and placed at the
bottom of the said vessel, upon which sphere are the elements and
under which collects the exciting fluid, which drops as described through
the holes from one cell to another after passing through the sand.
The exciting fluid employed is either azotic or nitric acid diluted in
water, but in certain cases iron or zinc may be used exclusively for all
the cells, and when iron is used exclusively the azotic acid is preferred;
but if on the other hand zinc is used exclusively the bichromate of
potassia, the bisulfate of mercury, and sulphuric acid combined and
diluted in water is preferred.
Having thus briefly described the nature of the said Invention, I will
now proceed to describe the same more fully, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view of this
improved battery, the cells represented being placed one above the
other; and Fig. 2 a sectional view of another battery applied horizontally,
a row of cells being represented above another row of the same number.
In these Figures similar letters indicate corresponding parts.
Before referring to the letters marked on the said Figures it must be
remarked that instead of the layer of red copper on the top of the block
of retort coal an ordinary cap may be used, and instead of filling the
vase with sand alone it has been found more advantageous to surround
the iron or zinc with the sand, and the coal with bruized retort coal.
In these Drawings the apparatus is represented with these two
modifications.
A is the piece of iron proportionate in size to the time the battery is
desired to last placed in the upper cells; B, the piece of zinc for the
lower ones; C is the block of retort coal in each cell, whose end, as
represented, is adjusted with a cap of red copper, as has been explained,
to which is soldered the screw D connecting the contrary poles of the
battery; E is the vessel or cell containing the elements, the sand, and
the bruised retort coal, through which passes the exciting fluid; F is
the reversed half oblate sphere made of porcelaine, glass, or earthenware
at the bottom of each vessel; G, the receptacle above the uppermost
cell containing the exciting fluid in reserve; H, the porous cylinder
connected to the neck of said reservoir, through which the liquid escapes
by its pores; I, the other receptacle into which the impoverished and

page_text: used fluid flows after traversing all the cells and which is placed under-
neath the lowest cell; J is the pipe or aperture at the bottom of each
vessel underneath the half oblate sphere F, by means of which the
fluid flows from one cell into another. The exciting fluid issuing from
the receptacle G filters through the porous cylinder H, spreads through
the first cell, damping the sand and bruised retort coal, and finally
collecting under the half oblate sphere F passes through the aperture J
into the next cell, where it produces a similar effect and successively
passes into each cell.
In order to arrange the elements and to separate so as to prevent
their mixing together the sand and the coal, the following system must
be followed: A moveable partition divides the vessel into two parts,
and the sand or coal is then introduced, and when the iron or zinc
and the solid block of coal are completely surrounded by the sand and
the bruised coal respectively the partition is withdrawn and the sand
and coal left in contact with one another's vertical surfaces without
mixing together. If azotic acid or nitric acid diluted with water is
used for the exciting fluid after being in contact with the sides of the
elements in the upper half of the cells containing the iron it becomes,
from the simple fact of this contact, nitrate of iron, which by its contact
with the zine in the lower cells suffices of itself to produce the electric
action. As has been stated the metal subject to the action may be
made to last as long as desired by calculating its volume proportionately.
It is evident the economy of time and of the exciting fluid employed
resulting from this arrangement is immense.
The arrangement represented in Fig. 2 consists in simply placing the
cells containing the iron above and those containing the zinc below; the
construction and action of this battery in other respects perfectly
resembles the one just described. The impoverished and used liquid runs
off through the pipes or apertures under the half oblate spheres into
any suitable long trough placed underneath the lower row of cells. This
battery may be particularly well adapted for marine use or for military
telegraphic work, as the shaking to which a battery is always subject in
these cases produces but little effect on this battery in consequence of
the cohesion produced by the damp sand and bruised retort coal filling
up the empty spaces.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood I do not

page_text: confine myself to the precise details herein indicated and represented
in the Drawings, as these may obviously be modified without departing
from the principle of the said Invention; but what I claim and desire to
secure by the said Letters Patent is,-
1st. The arrangement of the cells one above the other on a horizontal
or vertical frame, as described and set forth.
2ond. The novel combination of zinc and iron in electric batteries, the
iron in the upper half of the cells, and the zine in the lower half of
the same, as described and set forth.
3rd. The introduction of fine sand and bruised retort coal into the
cells of electric batteries, the sand surrounding the iron or zinc and
the bruised coal, the block of retort coal forming the elements, said
sand and bruised coal being in contact at their vertical surfaces, as
described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have
hereto set my hand and seal, this Second day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
H. BONNEVILLE. (L.S.)