Improvements in Electrolytic Apparatus.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Electrolytic Apparatus.
We, Dr. ALEXANDRE LE ROYER, Dr. AUGUSTE EUGÈNE BONNA, and
PAUL VAN BERCHEM, Licenciate es Sciences, all of 6 Rue St. Léger Geneva, in
the Republic of Switzerland, do hereby declare the nature of our invention to be
as follows:
In electrolytic apparatus heretofore in use for the generation of gaseous products
of any kind whatever, a diaphragm is necessary for the purpose of preventing the
mixture of the gases produced.
The object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the gases
generated in an electrolytic apparatus are selected as they are produced and before,
they escape from the apparatus.
To that effect we provide an improved form and arrangement of the electrodes
placed in the electrolyte, the said electrodes having approximately the form of
Venetian blinds composed of superposed inclined blades. The blades of one of
the electrodes are preferably inclined in an opposite sense to those of the other
electrode. The gas-bubbles formed on the surface of the several blades of one
electrode are guided by the blades in one and the same direction. If therefore
the directions of the blades in the two corresponding electrodes are not the same,
it is evident that two currents of gases will be produced in the electrolyte, the one
starting from the positive electrode in one direction and the other starting from
the negative electrode in another direction.
Instead of being formed like Venetian blinds the electrodes may be made of
other suitable forms capable of producing two streams of gas-bubbles starting
from each electrode in different directions and we do not limit ourselves to the
said form of electrodes but are now occupied with the construction of different
forms of electrodes disposed so as to cause the gas-bubbles escaping from one of
the electrodes to be guided in a different direction to those escaping from the other
electrode.
.
In the accompanying drawing which illustrates by way of example one form of
construction of the electrodes of our improved apparatus
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus with a portion of the tank broken
away, and
Figure 2 is a cross section of the same.
In this construction the electrodes are composed of pieces B B and C C of
suitable material, the pieces B B being connected with one another by means of
inclined superposed blades and the pieces C C being connected with one another
by means of inclined superposed blades c. The electrodes are placed one in front
of the other and are arranged so that the inclined blades b serve to direct the gas-
bubbles escaping from the electrode B B away from the centre of the tank A
toward the left hand side of the same, and the blades c serve to direct the gas-
bubbles escaping from the electrode CC away from the centre of the tank A toward
the right-hand side of the latter.
The upper surface of the lower edge of each of the blades b, c is covered with
a coating X of suitable insulating material which is intended to prevent the escape

page_text: of the gas-bubbles in a vertical direction from the lower edges of the blades-
without passing along the inclined surfaces of the blades.
Dated this 20th day of June 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
. We, Dr. ALEXANDRE LE ROYER of 21 Rue Loepfer, Dr. AUGUSTE EUGENE
BONNA of 3 Rue Daniel-Colladon, and PAUL. VAN BERCHEM of 14 Rue de
l'Hôtel de Ville, all of Geneva, in the Republic of Switzerland, Licenciate es
Sciences, 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 :-
In electrolytic apparatus heretofore in use for the generation of gaseous products
of any kind whatever, a diaphragm is necessary for the purpose of preventing the
mixture of the gases produced.
The object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the gases
generated in an electrolytic apparatus are selected as they are produced and before
they escape from the apparatus.
To that effect we provide an improved form and arrangement of the electrodes
placed in the electrolyte, the said electrodes having approximately the form of
Venetian blinds composed of superposed inclined blades. The blades of one of the
electrodes are preferably inclined in an opposite sense to those of the other
electrode. The gas-bubbles formed on the surface of the several blades of one
electrode are guided by the blades in one and the same direction. If therefore
the direction of the two corresponding electrodes is a different one, it is evident
that two currents of gases will be produced in the electrolyte, the one starting
from the positive electrode in one direction and the other starting from the negative
electrode in another direction.
Instead of being formed like Venetian blinds the electrodes may be made of
other suitable forms capable of producing the two streams of gas-bubbles starting
from each electrode in different directions and we do not limit ourselves to the said
form of electrodes but are now occupied with the construction of different forms
of electrodes disposed so as to cause the gas-bubbles escaping from one of the
electrodes to be guided in a different direction to those escaping from the other
electrode.
In the drawing accompanying our Provisional Specification is illustrated by
way of example one form of construction of the electrodes of our improved
apparatus.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus with a portion of the tank broken
away, and
Figure 2 is a cross section of the same.
In this construction the electrodes are composed of pieces B B and C C of
suitable material, the pieces B B being connected with one another by means of
inclined superposed blades b and the pieces C C being connected with one another
by means of inclined superposed blades c. The electrodes are placed one in front
of the other and so that the inclined blades serve to direct the gas-bubbles
escaping from the electrode B B away from the centre of the tank A toward the
left hand side of the same, and the blades e serve to direct the gas-bubbles

page_text: escaping from the electrode C C away from the centre of the tank A toward the
right-hand side of the latter.
The upper surface of the lower edge of each of the blades b and c is covered
with a coating X of suitable insulating material which is intended to prevent the
escape of the gas-bubbles in a vertical direction from the lower edges of the blades
without passing along the inclined surfaces of the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven--
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
An improved electrolytic apparatus having one or more electrodes formed
approximately like Venetian blind's, the blades of which have the upper surface
of their lower edge covered with a coating of suitable insulating material in order
to prevent the gas-bubbles formed during the electrolytic action escaping directly
vertically from the said lower edges in the direction of the opposite electrode,.
substantially as shown and described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants..