Improvements in the Process of Coating or Cleaning Metals.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 9th June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 18th Jan., 1892-Accepted, 20th Feb., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Process of Coating or Cleaning Metals.
I, RICHARD HEATHFIELD of Darlaston in the County of Stafford Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object improvements in the process of coating or
cleaning metals and is intended to suppliment my previous Patent No. 500 dated
January 10th A.D. 1891 and as in that I proceed by treating the sheet which it is
desired to galvanize or coat with a current of electricity produced by a dynamo or
other means as is well known. The sheet or object of iron or steel or other metal
it is desired to operate upon is immersed in a suitable solution or bath for depositing
the particular metal about to be pickled and is treated as an "anode" in the
electro-plating process, that is to say the electric current engendered by the
dynamo or other agent being passed through the sheet about to be cleaned and
which being attached to the positive pole of the dynamo is acting as an "anode
gradually strips its outer surface sufficiently to prepare it for immersion in the
coating bath of molten metal or otherwise and causes the deposit of iron or steel
or other metal upon the cathode which of course is in connection with the negative
pole of the dynamo or other agent & the metal thus deposited which in the
ordinary pickling process would be lost may be re-worked into useful material.
The time for this intermediate step in the process for coating with molten metal or
otherwise will be regulated by the strength of the electric current passed through
the sheets or other objects a number of which may be connected up together and
operated upon at the same time in suitable tanks or baths.
For some purposes however I find an acid solution an essential feature of the
process and as there is a tendency from stoppages and otherwise even when starting
with an acid solution for the solution to gradually become neutral or nearly so I
secure its constant acidity to the required extent by employing one or more carbon
or other practically insoluble anodes in addition to the anodes which are the sheets
or other articles being pickled and by this means the solution is kept constantly
acid and the processes where acidity is essential or more convenient greatly
facilitated. It must be evident that the degree of acidity is entirely under the
control of the workman who can use more or less carbon anodes as may be required
to keep up the amount of free acid which is most convenient to him the effect of
the carbon anodes being of course to cause to be deposited on the cathodes in
conjunction with the metallic anodes of more iron than is deposited from the latter
which naturally increases the acidity of the solution in proportion to the number
of carbon or other insoluble anodes used. The cathodes coated by them as by my
previous Patent may if changed sufficiently often be afterwards averted with molten
metal without the necessity of pickling.
GEORGE BARKER,
77, Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Process of Coating or Cleaning Metals.
I, RICHARD HEATHFIELD, of Darlaston, in the County of Stafford, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention has for its object improvements in the process of coating or

page_text: cleaning metals and is intended to suppliment my previous Patent No. 500 dated
January 10th A.D. 1891, and as in that I proceed by treating the sheet which
it is desired to galvanize or coat with a current of electricity produced by a dynamo
o other means as is well known. The sheet or object of iron or steel or other
metal it is desired to operate upon is immersed in a suitable solution or bath for
depositing the particular metal about to be pickled and is treated as an "anode"
in the electroplating process that is to say the electric current engendered. by the
dynamo or other agent being passed through the sheet about to be cleaned and
which being attached to the positive pole of the dynamo is acting as an
is anode "
gradually strips its outer surface sufficiently to prepare it for immersion in the
coating bath of molten metal or otherwise and causes the deposit of iron or steel
or other metal upon the cathode which of course is in connection with the negative
pole of the dynamo or other agent and the metal thus deposited which in the
ordinary pickling process would be lost may be re-worked into useful material.
The time for this intermediate step in the process for coating with molten metal
or otherwise will be regulated by the strength of the electric current passed
through the sheets or other objects a number of which may be connected up together
and operated upon at the same time in suitable tanks or baths.
For some purposes however I find an acid solution an essential feature of the
process and as there is a tendency from stoppages or otherwise even when
starting with an acid solution for the solution to gradually become neutral or
nearly so,
I secure its constant acidity to the required extent by employing
one or more carbon or other practically insoluble anodes in addition to the
anodes which are the sheets or other article being pickled and by this means
the solution is kept constantly acid and the processes where acidity is essential
or more convenient greatly facilitated. It must be evident that the degree of
acidity is entirely under the control of the workman who can use more or
less of such carbon or other insoluble anodes as may be required to keep
up the amount of free acid which is most convenient to him the effect of the carbon
anodes being of course to cause to be deposited on the cathodes in conjunction
with the metallic anodes of more iron than is deposited from the latter which
naturally increases the acidity of the solution in proportion to the number of carbon
or other insoluble anodes used.
.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood & more easily carried into
practice I have appended hereunto a double sized sheet of drawings giving an
example in both plan & sectional elevation of one method of carrying out my
invention as adapted to the coating of sheets but from which the invention may be.
easily applied to other articles requiring similar treatment.
Figure 1, is a plan of a bath or tank somewhat similar in construction & arrange-
ment to that shewn in my previous Patent No. 500 A.D. 1891.
Figure 2, is a sectional longitudinal elevation through the tank B on the
line 2-3 which enables me to explain my present invention more fully of the use
of the supplimental anode or anodes of carbon, or other insoluble anode or anodes
which constitutes the difference between this and my former invention.
The plates which form the anodes according to this invention & as also in previous.
Patent are represented by E upon the plan & in the elevation & these are the plates
to be stripped in the bath by the electrical current & which are afterwards to be
coated with metal of various kinds. The cathodes are represented by K & would
not require to be often changed but the anodes E would be constantly removed &
replaced by others as the work proceeded & the sheets represented by E were
sufficiently cleaned or pickled. My supplimental anode or anodes are represented
by the letter S or s¹. ¹ becomes an anode only by contact with the sheet E &
there may be one or more according to the necessity of the case & they may be
applied at any suitable part of the tank or bath B. The carbon s¹ becomes an
anode only when the sheet is inserted & forms contact with it. The electrical
current is applied as in my previous Patent by the wire P being connected with
each anode from the positive pole of the dynamo, electrical or other equivalent

page_text: apparatus & the cathodes are connected to the negative pole by the conductor N
so that the current of electricity is connected in proper circuit & in such a
manner that the operation goes on irrespective of the number of anodes or cathodes
in position at any particular time that is to say if an anode E is removed or
exchanged the operation of the bath is not suspended. This is one of the
advantages of my arrangement of alternative anodes with the cathodes the carbon
or other insoluble ones being quite supplimental to the anodes proper.
It will of course be obvious that the form of the bath B is immaterial as well
as the number of anodes operated or their character. The solution used may be
composed of an acid solution of sulphate of iron or any other acid solution that is
most convenient.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
The improvements in the process of coating or cleaning metals by treating them
in the preliminary stage as anodes E in a bath in which are placed corresponding
cathodes K in combination with one or more supplimental carbon or other insoluble
anodes, substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 16th day of January 1905
GEORGE BARKER,
77, Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent.