Year: 1886

page_text: I, LEON NAPOLEON LOEB of St Michael's House, Church Alley Basinghall Street
in the City of London American Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this
Invention, a communication to me from abroad by James H. Howard of 95 Milk
Street, Boston, United States of America, Gentleman to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in Galvanic Batteries by which they are,
in addition to other purposes, adapted for use in connection with the incandescent
electric light.
The Invention consists principally in the production of a new depolarizing
fluid, or in the combination with the other element of an electric battery of
bichromate of soda.
The Invention also consists of a ring or clamping device to hold in position the
carbon plates, or negative element of the battery. By this means, I am enabled to
arrange the carbon-plates close to the porous cup and so decrease the internal
resistance caused by necessitating the passage of the electric current through a
large amount of fluid.
The positive element-a slab of zinc-is immersed in a solution composed of one
part sulphuric acid to five parts of water contained in a rectangular porous cup.
In the bottom of this cup is placed a small amount of mercury which serves to
keep the zinc well amalgamated and so. prevent waste. The porous cup is placed
in an outer jar, which is preferably composed of glazed earthenware though it
may be made of any suitable material such as vulcanite or glass. This jar is
partially filled with the following fluid mixture and preferably of the following
proportions;
Bichromate of soda -
-
Four pounds.

page_text: as to slide out and in for convenience in cleaning the jar. In this reservoir is
placed a quantity of the dry crystals of bichromate of soda which will be leached
out by the fluid in the adjoining cell, and, passing through the porous partition,
continually replenish that fluid and keep it in a state of concentration.
The negative element of the cell is composed of two plates of carbon connected
by a ring or frame provided with ears having clamping screws by which the plates
are firmly held in place. In order to prevent the corrosion of the connection, the
carbon plates are treated as follows;-The carbon is heated to a point slightly
higher than the melting point of paraffine, and the melted paraffine then applied
with a brush to the upper end of the carbon only. The carbon is then allowed to
cool. When partially cool, the plate is rubbed with solid paraffine, the object
being to form a superficial coat which will extend sufficiently deep to insure its
firm adherence to the plate, and yet leave the conductivity of the central part of
the carbon unimpaired. The thickness of the coating need only be sufficient to
form a glaze upon the surface of the carbon. Stearine, wax, or any similar non-
conducting substance, may be used instead of paraffine.
Bichromate of soda is a very desirable material as an element in electric
batteries, as it is extremely soluble, contains a large per-centage of chromic acid,
and is, in comparison with other material, inexpensive. Likewise the salt which
is produced by the reduction of the bichromate of soda is very soluble; in fact it
is difficult to cause it to crystallize at all. This last fact is an important feature
in the action of the bichromate of soda, as it does away with the labor of cleaning
the battery consequent upon the crystallizing of the salts now in use on the
electrodes and porous cup, and allows the bichromate of soda to be exhausted.

page_text: I, LEON NAPOLEON LOEB of St Michael's House, Church Alley Basinghall Street
in the City of London American Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this
Invention (a communication to me from abroad by James H. Howard of 95, Milk
Street Boston United States of America Gentleman) 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 improvements in galvanic batteries, by which they are,
in addition to other purposes, adapted for use in connection with the incandescent
electric light.
The Invention consists principally in the production of a new depolarizing fluid,
or in the combination with the other element of an electric battery of bichromate
of soda. I have shown in the drawings an outer cell provided with a reservoir.
This feature, however, is not an essential or important part of the Invention.
The Invention also consists of a ring or clamping device to hold in position the
carbon plates or negative element of the battery. By this means I am enabled to
position the carbon plates close to the porous cup and so decrease the internal
resistance caused by obliging the electric current to pass through a large amount
of fluid. I do not however consider this an essential feature of the Invention.
In the accompanying drawings figure 1. is a vertical section of the cell, figure 2
is a horizontal view of the same. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the ring by
which the carbon plates are held in place.
Referring to figures 1 and 2 A is the positive element-a slab of zinc. This is
immersed in a solution composed of one part sulphuric acid to five parts of water
contained in the rectangular porous jar B. In the bottom of this cup B is placed
a small amount of mercury which serves to keep the zinc well amalgamated and so
prevent waste. The porous cup B is placed in the main jar E F which is pre-
ferably composed of glazed earthenware, though it may be made of any suitable
material such as vulcanite or glass. This jar is partially filled with the following
fluid mixture preferably of the following proportions;-bichromate of soda four
pounds, sulphuric acid twelve pounds, water six pounds. Other acids may be used
but I preferably use sulphuric acid.
At one side of the jar is the reservoir E which is separated from the rest of the
cell by the partition F which is composed of some porous material preferably of
earthenware (unglazed) and is so arranged as to slide out and in for convenience in
cleaning the jar. In this reservoir is placed a quantity of the dry crystals of
bichromate of soda which will be leached out by the fluid in the adjoining cell and
passing through the porous partition continually replenish that fluid and keep it in
a state of concentration.
At D D is shown the negative element of the cell composed of two plates of
carbon connected by the ring C. The ring C is also shown in detail in figure 3.
It will be observed that each plate is firmly attached to the ring C by clamping
screws arranged for that purpose. In order to prevent the corrosion of the con-
nection the carbon plates are treated as follows; The carbon is heated to a point
slightly higher than the melting point of paraffine, and the melted paraffine then

page_text: applied with a brush to the upper end of the carbon only. The carbon is then
allowed to cool. When partially cool the plate is rubbed with solid paraffin, the
object being to form a superficial coat which will extend sufficiently deep to insure
its firm adherence to the plate and yet leave the conductivity of the central part of
the carbon unimpaired. The thickness of the coating need only be sufficient to
form a glaze upon the surface of the carbon. Stearine, wax, or any similar non-
conducting substance may be used instead of paraffine.
It will be observed that in the accompanying drawings I have made the cell
square. This is done in order to economize space as the battery is intended to be
put up in groups of ten cells each; it does not however, form an essential part of
the Invention.
Bichromate of soda is a very desirable material as an element in electric-batteries
as it is extremely soluble, contains a large percentage of chromic acid, and is quite
inexpensive in comparison with other material. Likewise the salt which is
produced by the reduction of the bichromate of soda is very soluble, in fact, it
is difficult to cause it to crystallize at all. This last fact is an important feature in
the action of the bichromate of soda, as it does away with the labor of cleaning the
battery consequent upon the crystallizing of the salts now in use on the electrodes
and porous cup, and allows the bichromate of soda to be exhausted. The element
bichromate of soda allows the most desirable galvanic results to be obtained, great
electro-motive force, quantity, and constancy.
In a bichromate of potash battery, it is a well known defect that it clogs up and
ceases to work before its chemicals are exhausted. This is not so in the improved
battery of this Invention.
I am aware that it has been proposed to use crystals of tri-chromate of soda
prepared in a certain manner in connection with the zinc element in a perforated
porous cup of a battery. This however if possible, exhausts the zinc and acids and
requires a frequent cleaning of the battery.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is;
1. The combination in a galvanic battery of bichromate of soda with an acid,
preferably sulphuric acid.
2. In a galvanic battery a fluid, one element of which is bichromate of soda.
3. The combination in a galvanic battery of electrodes, a mixture of bichromate
of soda, sulphuric acid, and water, as set forth.
4. A galvanic battery having a reservoir, with a slotted partition, a mixture of
bichromate of soda, sulphuric acid and water, the elements A in a cell B, and the
elements D D connected by a ring C as set forth.
5. In a galvanic battery, the ring C provided with arms and clamping screws in
combination with the plates D D substantially as described.
6. A galvanic battery consisting of an outer cell, an inner porous cup, a positive
and negative electrode bichromate of soda and an acid preferably sulphuric acid,
in aqueous solution.