IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THERMO- PILES OR THERMO-ELECTRIC BATTERIES OR Apparatus for PRODUCING OR EXCITING ELECTRIC CURRENTS
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Camille Alphonse Faure at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th June 1872.
I, CAMILLE ALPHONSE FAURE, of 14, Brook Street, in the Parish of
Lambeth, and County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THERMO-
PILES OR THERMO-ELECTRIC BATTERIES OR Apparatus for PRODUCING OR EXCITING
ELECTRIC CURRENTS," to be as follows:-
The Invention comprises a certain new form or forms or dispositions
of parts in the construction of a thermo-pile or battery, and the process
or mode of erecting or putting the parts together, and certain new com-
pounds or combinations of metals to be used in the construction of a
thermo-pile or battery. These forms or dispositions, and the process,
and the compounds or combinations, together with the manner in which
they are to be performed I will now describe. As is frequently or some-
times done, I designate each member (or piece of metal) of the thermo-
pile or battery an element, and I employ the elements in short lengths
of two different metals, conveniently in the form of wire, or strips, or
plates, alternating one metal with the other metal, and soldering,
brazing, or uniting them end to end zig-zag fashion, or like a series of
"

page_text: letters VVV joined together, and generally in a plane, observing that
the elements Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, et cetera, of the series be in character or
nature (positive or negative) different to the alternate clements
Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, et cetera,. of the series.
The arrangements thus far I designate a "band," and such band will
have a number of joints at each edge. Now it is well known that an
electric current will flow from the positive to the negative element of
such a band if the joints at one edge be heated or raised to a higher tem-
perature than those at the other. Now I dispose a number of such
bands respectively to each other in the following manner :-First, a strip
of slate, or earthenware, or metal, or any other suitable substance, in
width about one-fourth the width of the band, then a layer of clay, or
cement, or any suitable non-conducting material. And upon this I
place one band, with one edge nearly flush with the edge of the slab;
then I place upon the band another layer of clay or other substance, as
aforesaid, and then another slab. Other bands are then laid upon this
after the same fashion, with interposing material so as to form, when
completed, a block or brick-shaped arrangement, which is to be dried
and slightly baked. All the several bands are next jointed together, so
that the last clement of positive metal in one band is coupled with the
first element of negative metal in the next, and so on. In a block or
brick so formed the several clements will be held at one end, but their
other ends and the greater part of their length (width of the bands) will
project from the slate and clay, or cementing material. Having pre-
pared a number of such blocks I dispose them along the side of a
furnace, or of its flues, or I otherwise expose them to the action of heat
on one face of the block, while the other face is cooled by the air outside,
or may be cooled by artificial means.
In cases where economy of fuel is an object I encase the whole so as
to form a channel around, and in which the cooling current of air is
gathered and conducted to the fire for the purpose of regaining the
hcat.
Sometimes I modify the above described arrangements by making the
several positive elements of one length, and the several negative elements
of a different length, using for the longer that which is the cheaper, and
instead of uniting them end to end, as above described, I unite the ends
of the shorter elements to the longer elements (alternately as before) at
some distance from the ends of the longer elements, leaving the ends

page_text: projecting, and I pour in plaster or apply any convenient non-conducting
material for spacing or blocking the elements apart from contact other-
wise than as united.
When built into a furnace or hot flue the projecting ends at one edge
of the band may then protrude therein, so as to be more directly exposed
to the heat, and conduct it to the united elements, and the projecting
ends at the other edge of the band may protrude into the external air, or
into a current of cold air travelling towards the furnace or the chimney,
and produced by a fan or by any convenient means, and become (from
the extent of surface exposed) the more effectually cooled, or into water,
or any convenient cooling medium provided for the purpose.
The materials I use for the positive elements or metal are the ordinary
nickel of commerce (which is comparatively impure), or an alloy of
nickel with any metal, or an alloy of any of the metals now used.
I am well aware that alloying the positive metal with other metals
more or less negative in themselves is contrary to the received opinions
as to the method of obtaining the greatest electric power, and I may
here explain that I agree with these opinions, and am willing to sacrifice
in degree the advantage which a pure or unalloyed metal yields, with
the view of much more than compensating for the loss by the multipli-
cation at an economical rate of the number of elements employed, and in
a manner which will permit a very considerable heat to be applied
without injury. My object is to obtain a material easy to roll, or draw,
or cast, or work, which will not oxidize easily, will not melt at a low
temperature, but which may be made or procured at a cheap cost.
The alloys I prefer are one part of nickel and three parts of copper, or
one part of nickel with somewhat less copper and some zinc, being what
is called in the trade German silver. I can use these substances in my
alloy, although they are negative to nickel, because I have found by
experience that they scarcely reduce the amount of work otherwise per-
formed by the pure metal, their chief disadvantage, so far as I am aware,
being their conductivity for heat; but this is compensated for by multi-
plication of parts, et cetera, and partly reduced by my proposed arrange-
ments for utilising or absorbing the heat by the cold air travelling
towards the furnace.
For the negative metal I use any metal already known, such as iron,
or an alloy of negative metals, such as antimony and zinc.

page_text: In order to obtain a current sufficient to give onc-horse power, probably
some thousands of elements are required, and with a view to manufacture
so large a number at a moderate price my process or mode of erecting or
putting the parts together is as follows:-I first cut the wires or strips
of metal for the elements to the desired size, and I then dispose them in
a box having pegs and marks for receiving and spacing them. Two bars
of iron having grooves properly disposed are then introduced, one below
the surface of the elements, and one above, and pressed together so as to
hold them in the position they are to occupy subsequently in the several
bands. Each edge of the band is then dipped in soldering or brazing
and molten metal, or each pair of elements may be slightly twisted
together, or jointed singly one after the other.
I sometimes do the same work by placing all the wires or strips of
metal in long length in a parallel position upon a frame, while all the wire
or strips of the other metal are placed across these so as to intersect the
former at the proper distance, and in such a manner that when all the
points of contact are jointod the metallic grating so formed can be cut in
bands of the proper zig-zag shape and arrangement.
Another method I contemplate is to have several strands of wires
wound on two separate rollers placed at such an angle that when
unrolling the wires they will cross each other at the fixed distance,
forming the length of one element. And I cut off the end of the grating
formed by the wires to the proper length, at the same time holding them
in their respective positions by means of two grooved pieces of metal, so
as to form the proper bands, which are afterwards to have their edges
jointed at each point of crossing of the elements.
I would remark that when the electric current is desired in a large
quantity the elements are to be wide plates instead of wires, or strips, or
narrow plates, and in such cases each band will of itself form a "block"
or "brick" of sufficient size, by interposing cement, or spacing non-
conducting material between the positive and negative elements, onc or
both of which are to project beyond the points or places of contact, so as
to gather and disperse the heat as before explained.