Certain Improvements in Electro-plating Apparatus.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Certain Improvements in Electro-plating Apparatus.
I, JESSE GUISE, of Evesham Street, Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Watch-
maker, Jeweller, and Optician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention consists of the herein described improvements in electro plating
apparatus for the electro deposition of nickel and other metals on small articles such
as knitting pins, crochet hooks, small parts of bicycles and many other small articles.
By my said apparatus I am enabled to plate and polish the articles at the same time
and this without having to thread the articles together or otherwise connect them to
wires as in an ordinary electro plating bath.
In carrying out my invention I provide a wooden barrel or vessel preferably
arranged with one fixed end and the other end removable both of these ends 'having a
short projecting central axle constituting the axis about which the barrel can revolve
the said axis being supported in suitable bearings in a frame work. The removable
end of the barrel forms a lid or cover which is made with a rim fitting in the barrel
and a flange outside the same provided with an indiarubber band or with other means
to make a water tight joint, the said lid being secured in position by screw cramps
jointed to the sides of the barrel or by other suitable means. Fixed round the outside
of the barrel and by preference near that end of the same where the removable cover
is situated there is a metal ring which is in electrical contact with, a brush on the
outside to which brush the cathode wire is fixed so that as the barrel revolves this
ring is in circuit with the cathode wire. Wound round the inside of the barrel and
secured thereto by metal staples or by other means I provide a copper or other wire,
one end of which is connected to the said ring. This wire is carried. round and
round or backwards and forwards the inside of the barrel and extends all along
the same so that as the barrel revolves the articles therein come in contact with this
wire.
The nickel or other anode is carried by the said cover or removable end of the
barrel and is made in the form of a disc or of other suitable shape so as to present a
large surface towards the articles which are being plated. The anode wires are
connected to a brush which bears against a collar on the said axle end to which the
anode is fixed so that the current can pass from the brush along the said spindle to
the anode.
In using my improved apparatus the barrel is first removed from its bearings and
stood up on end; the lid or cover which is fixed to the barrel by removable cramps or
by other means is then removed and the knitting needles or other small articles to
be plated are placed in the barrel with a certain quantity of solution this solution
being about sufficient to half fill the barrel and the articles to be plated being say
about of sufficient bulk to fill one fourth the barrel more or less.
The lid or cover is now placed in position on "the barrel and secured by the said
CD..

page_text: cramps or other means. The barrel and cover are now placed in position in the
bearings and revolved and electrically connected up so that the current passes from
the cathode wire into the said ring and then from the latter along the wire which is
fixed and coiled round the inside of the barrel. As the barrel revolves some of the
articles therein come in contact with 'the said wire which is fixed round the inside of
the barrel and these articles are in contact with others and thus the circuit is
completed from the cathode wire through the said ring and the wire inside the barrel
and through the articles or some of them and through the solution to the anode and
through the brush to the cathode wire. When the articles have been revolving for a
sufficient length of time with the current passing through the wires as aforesaid they
can be removed which can readily be accomplished after the barrel has been lifted off
its bearings and the cover removed therefrom.
The interior rim of the lid or cover is made with an internal annular flange to
prevent the articles which are being plated from working up against the anode.
Dated this 16th day of March 1897.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
Certain Improvements in Electro-plating Apparatus.
I, JESSE GUISE, of Evesham Street, Redditch, in the County of Worcester,
Watchmaker, Jeweller, and Optician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention consists of the herein described improvements in electro plating
ap paratus for the electro deposition of nickel and other metals on small articles such
as knitting pins, crochet hooks, small parts of bicycles and many other small
articles. By my said apparatus I am enabled to plate and polish the articles at the
same time and this without having to thread the articles together or otherwise
connect them to wires as in an ordinary electro plating bath.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on which
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an electro plating apparatus constructed according to my
invention; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same and Fig. 3 is a sectional side
elevation of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
In carrying out my invention I provide a barrel or vessel A preferably made of
wood and arranged with one fixed end a¹ and the other end a² removable both of
these ends having a short projecting central axle (marked respectively 61 62)
constituting the axis about which the barrel can revolve the said axis being supported
The removable end a²
in suitable bearings c¹ c² on the standards or frame work C.
of the barrel forms a lid or cover which is made with an indiarubber or other
suitable jointing band k to make a watertight joint against the end of the barrel, the
lid a² being secured in place by the fly nuts on the bolts m which are fixed to the
sides of the barrel and project through holes in the lid. Fixed round the outside of
the barrel A by preference near that end of the same where the removable cover a²
is situated there is a copper or other metal ring D which is in electrical contact with
a brush E¹ on the outside to which brush the cathode wire E2 is fixed so that as the
barrel A revolves this ring D is in circuit with the cathode wire E². Wound round
the inside of the barrel A and secured thereto by metal staples or by other means I
provide a copper or other wire f¹ one end 2 of which is connected to the ring D:

page_text: This wire f¹ is carried spirally round and round the inside of the barrel A or may be
arranged to run backwards and forwards over the surface of the barrel in zig-zag
fashion and extends all along the barrel so that as the barrel A revolves the articles
therein which are to be coated come in contact with this wire f¹. The coils of wire f¹
may be connected together at intervals by cross wires so as to increase the area of
the wire to come in contact with the goods.
The nickel or other anodes G¹ G2 are carried by the ends a¹ a² of the barrel and
each made in the form of a disc or of other suitable shape so as to present a large
surface towards the articles which are being plated. The anodes G1 G2 are fixed on
the inner ends of the shafts 61 62 so as to be in electrical contact therewith and they
are insulated from the barrel ends a¹ a² by the washers g. The positive wire I is
connected to a brush H which bears against a collar 63 on the axle end 62 to which
the anode G2 is fixed so that the current can pass from the brush H along the
spindle 62 to the anode G². The two anodes G¹ G2 are in electrical contact by the
insulated wire g¹ which connects the shaft 62 with a plate or washer g² under the fly
nut of the bolt m and from this bolt m there is another insulated wire g³ carried
along the outside of the barrel A under the band D to the other shaft b¹ which is in
electrical contact with the other anode G¹.
In using my improved apparatus above described the barrel A is first removed
from its bearings and stood up on end; the lid or cover a² is then removed and the
small articles to be plated are placed in the barrel A with a certain quantity of
electrolyte solution which is say about sufficient to half fill the barrel and the
articles to be plated being say about of sufficient bulk to fill one fourth of the barrel
more or less.
The lid or cover a² is now placed in position on the barrel A and secured by the
bolts m and nuts and the closed barrel is placed with its shafts 61 62 in position in
the bearings c¹ c² and revolved as by a band on the pulley N and electrically
connected up with the dynamo or battery, I being the positive wire and E2 the
negative. As the barrel A revolves some of the articles therein come in contact with
the said wire f¹ which is fixed round the inside of the barrel and these articles are in
contact with others and thus the circuit is completed and the anode metal deposited
on the articles. When the articles have been revolving for a sufficient length of time
with the current passing through them as aforesaid they can be removed which can
readily be accomplished after the barrel A has been lifted off its bearings and the
cover a² removed therefrom.
So as the better to prevent the revolving articles from coming in contact with the
anodes G G I may use two, canvas or other screens J¹ J2 which are stretched on
frames jj and fixed in the barrel at a short distance from the faces of the anodes as
shewn. The screen J2 is made so as to be readily removed for filling the barrel or
removing the plated articles therefrom.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. An apparatus for the electro deposition of metal on small articles comprising
in combination a water-tight barrel containing the electrolyte and articles to be
plated and made with a removable end, a central divided axle connected with the
positive terminal of a source of electricity and fixed to the barrel ends and about
which the barrel can revolve, anode discs or plates carried inside the barrel by the
barrel ends and electrically connected to the axle and to each other, a copper or other
metal band fixed outside of and surrounding the barrel in connection with the
negative terminal of the source of electricity, and a wire or wires connected to said
band and arranged and fixed in a spiral or zig-zag form round the interior of the
barrel for the articles to come into contact with as the barrel revolves, all arranged
and operating substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
2. In an electro-plating apparatus in which the electrolyte and the articles to be

page_text: plated and the anode and cathode are contained in a barrel adapted to 'revolve,
making the cathode in the form of a wire or wires fixed to and round the interior
surface of said barrel in a spiral or zig-zag form for the articles revolving in the barrel
'to come into contact with, substantially as described.
Dated this 13th day of January 1898