IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for an
A communication
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES."
from abroad by Lucien Alfred Wilhelmine Desruelles, of Paris, in the Republic
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Edward Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th November 1880.
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES."
[A communication from abroad by Lucien Alfred Wilhelmine Desruelles, of Paris,
in the Republic of France.]
In most batteries the electric current is excited by a liquid, which from its
corrosive action causes great inconvenience should it by accident be spilled. This
class of battery, by reason of its non-portable character, has therefore but a
restricted application.
Now the object of the present Invention is to render such batteries portable and
available for general use.
To this end the carbon and zinc plates are enclosed in some fibrous or spongy
substance which will not be affected by the acids used for exciting the battery,
but which will, by reason of capillary attraction or by molecular adherence, hold
the exciting liquid in suspension.
The fibrous materials which it is preferred to employ are asbestos and spun glass,
but other materials having the requisite qualifications may be used.
In constructing a Bunsen battery according to this Invention the zinc will be
surrounded with the fibrous material, which has previously been saturated with
dilute sulphuric acid, while the carbon will be enclosed in a similar manner with
fibrous material saturated with nitric acid.
For a Leclanchè battery it is preferred to fill the exterior jar with fibrous material
previously saturated with a solution of hydrochlorate of ammonia, and into this
moistened mass the zinc plate is inserted.

page_text: For a bichromate of potash battery it is preferred to cover the carbon with a
kind of paste made of the saturated fibrous material, and when the zinc is placed
in contact with this layer of fibrous paste the battery is charged.
To facilitate the application of the present Invention to all kinds of batteries
the saturated fibrous substance may be made up into small cakes, which are then
compressed to get rid of any excess of acid; the cakes are then covered with a thin
coating of dextrine, which in drying gives them great solidity. When it is desired
to use such a cake it is only necessary to moisten it with pure water, and place it
in the battery.
The following description of a bichromate of potash battery will serve as an
example-The battery is composed of a cylindrical jar of vulcanized india rubber,
in the bottom of which is cemented a carbon disc. A hole is made through the
carbon and the bottom of the jar to receive a tinned copper bolt, by which the
carbon is connected to a strip of copper passing outside under the bottom of the jar,
and up one side thereof. A. cover of vulcanite is provided for the jar, and this
cover is pierced to receive a copper tube, in which slides a rod. To the lower
end of this rod is secured a zinc disc corresponding to the carbon disc, and to and
from which the zinc may be approached or withdrawn by moving the rod up or
down.
The copper tube is in communication with the copper strip connected with the
carbon. When it is desired to work the battery a cake of the fibrous material,
saturated with bichromate of potash solution, is placed on the carbon disc, and on
pressure being applied to the rod carrying the zinc disc, this latter is brought into
contact with the exciting medium, and the battery is charged.
By constructing batteries as before described so as to render them portable they
may be used for many purposes to which it has hitherto been impossible to apply
them, such as for pocket batteries for railway travellers, whereby on connecting
them to a special wire suitably placed in the carriage the traveller may commu-
nicate with the guard of the train; or they may be used on board ship for various
purposes, as they would be unaffected by the rolling or pitching of the vessel; or
in mines, where the engineer may fire the blasting charge without the necessity for
cumbersome apparatus; or physicians can make use of them for curative purposes
more conveniently and extensively than heretofore.
A simple apparatus may also be constructed in this manner for lighting purposes,
both domestic and public, and many other applications of the Invention, too
numerous to mention, but which experience may reveal, may be made.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th May 1881.
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRIC BATTERIES.”
A communication from abroad by Lucien Alfred Wilhelmine Desruelles, of Paris,
in the Republic of France.
In most batteries the electric current is excited by a liquid, which, from its
corrosive action causes great inconvenience, should it by accident be spilled. This
class of battery, by reason of its nonportable character, has therefore had but a
restricted application.
Now the object of the present Invention is to render such batteries portable and
available for general use.
To this end the carbon and zinc plates are enclosed in some fibrous or spongy
substance which will not be affected by the acids used for exciting the battery, but
which will, by reason of capillary attraction, or by molecular adherence, hold the
exciting liquid in suspension.
The fibrous materials which it is preferred to employ are asbestos and spun glass,
but crystallized silica obtained by precipitation in treating a dissolved silicate by
a suitable acid may also be used.
In constructing a Bunsen battery according to this Invention the zinc will be
surrounded with the fibrous material, which has previously been saturated with
dilute sulphuric acid, while the carbon will be enclosed in a similar manner with
fibrous material saturated with nitric acid.
For a Leclanchè battery it suffices to fill the exterior jar with fibrous or other
material previously saturated with a solution of hydrochlorate of ammonia, and into
this moistened mass the zinc plate is inserted.
For a bichromate of potash battery it suffices to cover the carbon with a kind of
paste made of the fibrous or other material saturated with a concentrated solution
of bichromate of potash, and strongly acidulated, and when the zinc is placed in
contact with the layer of this paste the battery is charged.
It is remarkable that all batteries thus constituted lose nothing of their intensity,
but, on the contrary, acquire increased tension.
To facilitate the application of the present Invention to all kinds of batteries the
fibrous or other substance saturated with the exciting liquid suitable for each kind
of battery may be made up into small cakes, from which the excess of acid is
removed by compression. The cakes are then covered with a thin coating of
dextrine, which in drying gives them great solidity. When it is desired to use
such a cake it is only necessary to moisten it with pure water, and place it in the
battery.
The following description of a bichromate of potash battery will serve as an
example:-The battery is composed of a cylindrical jar of vulcanized indiarubber,
A hole is made through the
in the bottom of which is cemented a carbon disc.
carbon and the bottom of the jar to receive a tinned copper bolt, by which the
carbon is connected to a strip of copper passing outside under the bottom of the jar
and up one side thereof. A cover of vulcanite is provided for the jar, and this
cover is pierced to receive a copper tube, in which slides a rod. To the lower end
of this rod is secured a zinc disc corresponding and parallel to the carbon disc, and
to and from which the zinc may be approached or withdrawn by moving the rod
up or down.
The copper tube in which the rod slides is in communication by means of a
blade or strip of copper with a binding screw placed on the cover of the jar, and
another binding screw (also placed on the cover) is provided, with a blade of

page_text: copper which forms a spring, and communicates with the blade or strip in connec-
tion with the carbon. When it is desired to work the battery a cake of the fibrous
material, saturated with a concentrated solution of bichromate of potash acidulated
with sulphuric acid, is placed on the carbon disc, and on pressure being applied to
the rod carrying the zinc disc this latter is brought into contact with the exciting
medium, and the battery is charged.
It is easy to understand the immense advantages which will be gained, and the
revolution which will be produced in the electric batteries by the use of the
principle above enunciated for from this date new fields of application will be found
for electricity. If the principle applied to only one kind of battery it would be
incomplete, for each style of battery has its particular properties and its deter-
mined uses, which are inherent to its constitution. Some however give quantity,
others intensity; some are constant, others polarise rapidly, so that it is necessary
to subordinate the employment of each battery to the purpose for which it is
required. It is thus possible to obtain batteries of quantity or of intensity, or of
both quantity and intensity, and in most cases a much greater constancy in every
battery.
Among others the following uses to which a portable battery may be applied
may be mentioned; thus the constantly expressed wish of railway travellers to be
able to communicate with the guards or driver of the train in cases of accident,
sickness, and robbery may be at last realized by means of these batteries, which
are not affected either by jolting or shocks, and which may be used to set electric
bells ringing.
On board ship also by means of these batteries, which are not affected by the
rolling or pitching, electric signals of all kinds may be established; the firing of
torpedoes and guns may be effected, and all kinds of apparatus animated by
electricity may be employed.
In mines the engineer can by means of a pocket battery fire the blasting charge
without the necessity for using any cumbersome apparatus.
The doctor can also make use of electricity for curative purposes more conve-
niently and extensively than heretofore. Batteries thus constructed may also be
used as domestic or pocket lighting apparatus, in which case they will be provided
with a piece of platinum, which, when heated to redness by the electric current,
may be employed for lighting lamps, as pipe lights, and for igniting combustible
materials of all kinds.
An apparatus may also be constructed for lighting the gas lamps in streets, shops,
and other places, and many other applications too numerous to mention, but which
experience will reveal, may be made.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Electric Batteries,"
as communicated to me by ny foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim,―
The use of asbestos, spun-glass, or any other fibrous materials which are unaffected
by acids, or silica obtained as above described, to retain the exciting liquids in
electric batteries, substantially as herein described, whereby the said batteries are
rendered portable and available for many purposes to which they have been
hitherto inapplicable, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Edward Newton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
H. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)