Improvements in Electric Resistances.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1892-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Resistances.
I, FRIEDERICH WILHELM AUGUST SCHNEIDER, residing at Number 12 Nelson
Street, in the City of Toronto, in the County of York, and Province of Ontario,
Canada, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
It often happens that a telephone wire becomes crossed with an electric light wire
and the current leaks from the electric light wire to the telephone wire and the office
apparatus within the central telephone station and the subscriber's telephone
station not being provided with satisfactory protection against such electric light
currents, said currents often cause excessive damage to the instruments in said
stations before the current can be switched off or the wires burnt through, and the
object of my invention is to produce a solidified composition to be used for electrical
purposes which composition will offer a very high resistance to all electrical
currents; and said composition consists essentially of a mixture or composition
commonly known as soap and consisting of fat and caustic soda, or fat and any of
the other crystal salts having like properties such as-pot-ash, pearl-ash, alkali,
binoxalate of pot-ash and the like. The fat in this mixture offers a high resistance
to the current passing through said composition, which resistance amounts almost
to insulation, but when the fatty substance is combined with any of the above
crystal salts, said salts break up the fatty globules and form a pathway through
said fatty substance for the current; it is also possible to use as conductors any of
the above crystal salts when moistened by water or other suitable agents, but the
destructive properties of these salts when moistened are so great that they cannot
be economically or satisfactorily used separately for such purposes, but by com-
bining said crystal salts with a fatty substance, which fatty substance predominates
in the combination, the destructive properties of said salts are so greatly reduced
in force that they are prevented from eating away or destroying any of the parts of
the apparatus, whilst they accomplish the desired result; this composition is usually
mixed to the consistency of what is commonly known as soap so that it can be used
in a solidified form and the danger arising from evaporation, breakage, and such
like evils is entirely avoided and the resistance offered to the current always
remains the same; this composition also acts as a regulator for the current, so that
in case the current is at any time increased to a strength that would endanger the
instruments, said current during its passage through the composition is so weakened
that the danger arising from such increased strength is entirely avoided, the
resistance of this composition can also be regulated by the density and length of
the substance; for instance a compact body of this composition one and one-half
inches in length by five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter offers a resistance to
galvanic, electric and induced currents of 28,500 Ohms equal in resistance to
the resistance of an ordinary telephone line 2,850 miles in length, and for some
unexplainable reason its resistance to undulatory or telephonic currents is not
sufficient to interfere with the successful working of the telephone line on which
it may be interposed between the working telephone instruments, the resistance of
this medium may be increased or diminished by respectively increasing or
diminishing the density or by lengthening or shortening the pathway for the
current through the same; I find that the best results are obtained by encasing
this composition in a chamber composed of an insulatory material, such as, hard
rubber, ivory or other suitable non-conducting substance, which chamber is fitted
at the opposite points with a terminal or binding post, which binding posts are so
constructed that they enter the composition and said composition acts as a

page_text: conductor between said binding posts or terminal; the whole being constructed and
arranged as hereinafter more fully set forth and more particularly pointed out in
the claims.
In the drawings
Figure 1 is a view of an insulated chamber showing the composition provided
with a terminal at opposite points to conduct the current from the line wires to said
composition.
Like numerals of reference refer to like parts throughout the Specification and
drawings.
In the drawings, 1, refers to a tubular chamber the casing of which consists of
hard rubber, ivory or other suitable non-conducting material. Within the
chamber 1 is placed the composition 2, which composition consists of a mixture of
any fatty substance and caustic soda. Instead of using caustic soda with the fatty
substance, I may if I so desire, use the fatty substance and any other of the
crystal salts having properties analogous to the properties of the caustic soda, such
as alkali, pot-ash, pearl-ash, binoxalate of pot-ash, and the like-these crystal salts
and the fatty substance are thoroughly combined and the composition formed by
their combination acts as a high resistance.
At the opposite points of the tubular chamber 1 are binding posts or terminals 3,
to which are connected the line wires 4, said binding posts or terminals at one end
conducting the current from the line wires to the composition and at the other end
from the composition to the line wire.
These binding posts or terminals 3 are provided with elongated points 5, which
enter said composition at opposite points of said tubular chamber. When the
terminal at one end of said chamber is of one kind of metal of certain properties
and the binding post or terminal at the opposite side of said chamber is of any metal
of opposite properties, the composition in said chamber acting upon these metals
generates a current of electricity, and if sufficient of the composition and of the
materials forming the anodes and cathodes are used sufficient current will be
generated to operate any electrical apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:―
1. The composition for resistance purposes herein described.
2. The improved resistance medium composed of the composition herein described
contained in the casing herein described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
3. A resistance medium composed of saponified fat contained in a suitable casing in
an electric circuit and fitted with terminals to which the circuit wires are connected.
Dated this 31st day of May 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.