IMPROVEMENTS IN GALVANIC APPARATUS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GALVANIC APPARATUS."-A communication from
abroad by Johann Jacob Dahms and Albert Rudolph Wittig, of Berlin,
in the Kingdom of Prussia.
Sealed the 2nd June 1863, and dated the 8th December 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th December 1862.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GALVANIC APPARATUS," being a communi-
cation to me from abroad by Johann Jacob Dahms and Albert Rudolph
Wittig, of Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of various improved arrangements of galvanic appa-
ratus adapted to every part of the human body. When applied to the head
we employ a wig spring, and solder to one end a silvered copper plate of
any required size and shape, having a shallow cavity formed in it for contain-
ing a conductor consisting of several folds of flannel sewed together. On the
rim outside the cavity we place a ribbon of silk and fasten it to the conductor,
over which and the silk we place a zinc plate and clasp.its edge by the rim of
the silvered copper plate, the said zinc plate fitting the part of the bead

page_text: against which it is to be placed. The two plates are insulated by the silk
between them, and the double folded rim is pressed air and water tight. The
same construction is applied to the other end of the spring, but the plates are
changed, that is, the plate having the cavity is formed of zinc, and the plate
which fits the head and covers the conductor and insulator of silvered copper
plate. At the top of each cavity there are two openings, one larger than the
other, the larger for the passage of the fluid for moistening the conductor, and
the smaller for allowing the air to escape, which openings are to be perfectly
closed when the cavity is filled. The fluid employed is vinegar or dilute
sulphuric acid, either of which may contain a small quantity of weak alcohol
to enable the fluid to be quickly imbibed by the conductor. When both
conductors are moistened the development of electricity is immediately per-
ceived by the crackling noise, and when the inner plates are fitted in opposite
positions against the head the galvanic current passes through it.
When the apparatus is to be used for passing a galvanic current through
the body from the foot to the wrist or other required parts, we use a similar
arrangement of plates and conductors and openings to those before described,
but make them of such size and shape as the requirements demand. When
to be applied to the arm near the wrist, and leg near the ankle, the outer
plates are joined together by a wire of about five feet or other suitable length,
placed in an india-rubber tube, and fasten the elements to the leg and arm,
and the tube to various parts of the body by silk ribbons.
In both arrange-
ments the apertures for the entrance of the fluid to the cavities and escape of
air are so placed that the fluid can be admitted when the apparatus is adjusted
to the person. I also apply certain additions to the electro pile or chain for
enabling the conductors to be moistened when the apparatus is attached to
the body.
.I
My improvements consist in placing a galvanic battery pile or chain of any
suitable construction within an india-rubber tube, having its ends closed by
plugs so as to be air and water tight. Through the plug at the negative pole
of the pile is passed a copper wire, connected at one end to the pile and at the
other end to a silvered copper plate fastened to a piece of pasteboard attached
to the india-rubber tube. Through the plug at the positive pole of the pile is
passed a zinc wire, connected at one end to the pile and at the other end
to a zinc plate attached to pasteboard fastened to the tube in the same
manner as at the other end, there being an interrupter between the plate and
pile when interruptions of the galvanic current are required. In the plug at
the positive end there is an opening provided with a stopper, through which
opening the tube may be filled with acid and afterwards emptied. The pieces

page_text: of pasteboard are covered with silk and have silk ribbons for attaching the
apparatus, so that the metal plates may be in contact with the body, and the
copper and zinc wires and interrupter are enclosed in small india-rubber tubes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Thomas Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents, 123,
Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eight day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special licence, that I, the said Edward
Thomas Hughes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Edward Thomas Ilughes, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN GALVANIC APPARATUS," a communication to me from abroad by
Johann Jacob Dahms and Albert Rudolph Wittig, of Berlin, in the Kingdom.
of Prussia, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward
Thomas Hughes, 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 Edward Thomas Hughes, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention consists of various improved. arrangements of galvanic appa-
ratus adapted to every part of the human body. When applied to the head
I employ a wig spring, and solder to one end a silvered copper plate of any

page_text: required size and shape, having a shallow cavity formed in it for containing a
conductor consisting of several folds of flannel sewed together. On the rim
outside the cavity I place a ribbon of silk and fasten it to the conductor, over
which and the silk I place a zinc plate and clasp its edge by the rim of the
silvered copper plate, the said zinc plate fitting the part of the head against
which it is to be placed. The two plates are insulated by the silk between
them and the double folded rim is pressed air and water tight. The same con-
struction is applied to the other end of the spring, but the plates are changed,
that is, the plate having the cavity is formed of zinc, and the plate which fits
the head and covers the conductor and insulator of silvered copper plate. At
the top of each cavity there are two openings one larger than the other, the
larger for the passage of the fluid for moistening the conductor, and the
smaller for allowing the air to escape, which openings are to be perfectly
closed when the cavity is filled. The fluid employed is vinegar or dilute
sulphuric acid, either of which may contain a small quantity of weak alcohol
to enable the fluid to be quickly imbibed by the conductor. When both
conductors are moistened the development of electricity is immediately per-
ceived by the crackling noise, and when the inner plates are fitted in opposite
positions against the head the galvanic current passes through it.
When the apparatus is to be used for passing a galvanic current through
the body from the foot to the wrist or other required parts, I use a similar
arrangement of plates, conductors, and openings, to those before described,
but make them of such size and shape as the requirements demand. When
to be applied to the arm near the wrist, and leg near the ankle, the outer plates
are joined together by a wire of about five feet, or other suitable length,
placed in an india-rubber tube, and the elements are fastened to the leg and arm,
and the tube to various parts of the body by silk ribbons. In both arrange-
ments the apertures for the entrance of the fluid to the cavaties and escape
of air are so placed that the fluid can be admitted when the apparatus is
adjusted to the person. I also apply certain additions to the electro pile or
chain for enabling the conductors to be moistened when the apparatus is
attached to the body. I place a galvanic battery pile or chain of any
suitable construction within an india-rubber tube, having its ends closed by
plugs so as to be air and water tight. Through the plug at the negative pole
of the pile is passed a copper wire, connected at one end to the pile and at
the other end to a silvered copper plate fastened to a piece of pasteboard
attached to the india-rubber tube. Through the plug at the positive pole of
the pile is passed a zinc wire, connected at one end to the pile and at the
other end to a zinc plate attached to pasteboard fastened to the tube in the

page_text: same manner as at the other end, there being an interrupter between the
plate and pile when interruptions of the galvanic current are required. In:
the plug at the positive end there is an opening provided with a stopper,
through which opening the tube may be filled with acid and afterwards
emptied.
.
This Invention will be clearly understood by referring to the figures and
letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are
outer and inner views of the galvanic apparatus to be applied to the head;
Fig. 3 an outer view of the galvanic apparatus to be applied to the wrist and
ankle; and Figs. 4 and 5, outer and inner views of the improvements applied.
to the galvanic pile or chain.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a represents the wig spring, which is covered with. silk
and intended to clasp the back of the head, to which spring is soldered a
silvered copper plate b, having a cavity pressed in it for containing the pieces-
of flannel forming the conductor. On the rim of the cavity is placed a silk
ribbon as broad as the rim, and fastened all round to the conductor. Over all
is laid the zinc plate c, a little smaller than the copper plate, and the pro-
jecting rim of the copper plate is bent over the zinc plate as at d, d, d, d, so
as to make the cavity air and water-tight; the rims of the two plates being
insulated by the ribbon between them and the zinc plate formed to fit the
head. At the other end of the spring there is a similar construction or
arrangement, with the exception that the positions of the plates are changed,
that is, the plate e is of zinc, and contains the conductor and the platef of
silvered. copper plate, over which the edges of the zinc plate are bent, as
at g, g. 9. g. At the top of each cavity there are holes h, i, the larger one h
forms a passage for the admission, by means of syringe, of vinegar or dilute
sulphuric acid and the smaller one i, for the escape of air during process of
moistening, but both openings are to be perfectly.closed after the conductors
are satuarated. Thus the two outer electro positive and negative plates are
joined together by the spring, and the two inner plates fitting close to the
head are insulated from the outer plates, and when the conductors are
moistened the galvanic current which is developed must pass through the
head.
The construction of the second apparatus shewn in Fig. 3 differs from that
before described in the shape of the plates and in the method of joining the
outer plates together. The inner plates are curved or shaped to fit the parts
to which they are to be applied, and the outer plates k, l, one of silvered
copper plate and the other zinc, have cavities for containing the conductors of
flannel, and holes m, n, for the admission of fluid and the escape of air. The

page_text: outer plates are joined by a wire o of. any, suitable length, and placed within
an india-rubber tube p, the ends of the wire being soldered to the plates so as
to leave spaces to which ribbons q, q, q, q, are attached for fastening the
elements to their places on the person. In this case one element is fastened.
to the wrist and the other to the ankle, and the tube is fastened to. various
parts of the body in order, to allow freedom of movement. When the con-
ductors of this apparatus are moistened the galvanic current passes from the
foot, to the wrist, and as not only the moistening but also the warmth of the
body produces electricity, the current is continual, and it is only required after
a lapse of twenty-four or thirty-six hours again to moisten the conductors,
which moistening can be effected when the apparatus is attached to the
body.
The additions or improvements connected to a galvanie battery pile or
chain for enabling it to be moistened when attached to the body are shewn in
Figs. 4 and 5.
The battery pile or chain is placed within an india-rubber tube r, the ends
of which are closed air and water tight by plugs. or bungs. Through the plug
at the negative pole is passed a copper wire connected at one end to the pile
and at the other end to. a silvered copper plate s, held to a piece of paste-
board t covered with silk and fastened to the india-rubber tube r, the copper
wire being enclosed in a small india-rubber tube u. Through the plug at the
positive pole of the pile there is an opening provided with a stopper v, through
which opening the tuber is filled with acid and afterwards emptied. A zine
..vire is passed through the plug, having one end connected to the pile and the
other end to an interrupter for making interruptions of the galvanic current
when required. The other end of the interrupter is also connected with a
zinc wire, having its other end in connection with a zinc plate w, which is
held to a piece of pasteboard a covered with silk and fastened to the tuber,
the same as at the other end. The zinc wire and also the interrupter are
enclosed in a small india-rubber tube y. To the pasteboards t, x, are attached
ribbons z, z, z, z, in order to fasten the apparatus to the body, so that the
metal plates s, w, shall be in contact with it. When no interrupter is required
the zinc wire is connected to the pile and to the zine plate itself, and the .wire
covered with an india-rubber tube. The pieces of pasteboard are covered
with silk and have silk ribbons for attaching the apparatus, so that the
metal plates may be in contact with the body, and the copper and zinc wires
and interrupter are enclosed in small india-rubber tubes.
Having now described the nature and particulars of the said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, as communicated to me

page_text: by my foreign correspondents, I desire it to be understood that I do not
claim the galvanic battery or electro pile or chain which is placed in the
india-rubber tube r, Figs. 4 and 5, as these are not new; but what I
claim is,
First, the improved arrangements of galvanic apparatus to be applied to
the head and other parts of the body.
And, secondly, the additions or improvements applied to the galvanic battery
or electro pile or chain, as all such improvements are herein described and
illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
E. T. HUGHES. (L.B.)