AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING THE INTERIOR OF LEAD AND OTHER METAL TUBES OR PIPES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hamilton E. Towle, of the City and State of
New York, United States of America, now of Newgate Street, in
the City of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING THE INTERIOR OF LEAD
AND OTHER METAL TUBES OR PIPES."
Sealed the 10th March 1871, and dated the 15th September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hamilton E. Towle at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th September 1870.
I, HAMILTON E. TOWLE, of the City and State of New York, United
States of America, now of Newgate Street, in the City of London,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING THE INTERIOR OF LEAD
AND OTHER METAL TUBES OR PIPES," to be as follows:-
To coat or line a long length of lead or other pipe with silver the pipe
is first made straight or nearly so and placed on a table inclined at an
angle of about 20°; the lower end is closed by a ground glass stopper,
and dilute nitric acid or other suitable solution to clean the surface
properly for the adhesion of the coating of silver is poured into it from
the upper end until it is full; after a few moments the stopper is with-

page_text: drawn, and the pipe emptied. Immediately after the acid has been
withdrawn the pipe is washed by a current of pure water. An anode of
peculiar construction, which will be presently described, is next inserted
within the pipe, the glass stopper forced into the lower end of the same,
the negative pole of a galvanic battery attached to the said pipe, and the
positive pole to the interior anode. The pipe is next filled with a
solution of silver, cyanide of silver, for example, and the anode is
then slowly drawn forward, as will be described. The time required to
complete the coating will depend upon the thickness of the coating
desired, the electrical force of the battery, and the character of the solution.
employed.
The anode, if silver is to be deposited, is made of silver, and consists
of a rod of the metal or a tube insulated by washers of india-rubber,
gutta percha, glass, porcelain, or other suitable material, so as to keep
the metal ingot at equal distances in every part from the lead pipe. A
copper wire insulated with gutta percha or otherwise is attached to this
ingot for the double purpose of conveying the electrical current and also
to move the anode within the bore of the pipe; if the ingot is in the
form of a tube the washers may be simply in the form of rings tightly
adhering to the ingot but not to the walls of the pipe, as in this case on
moving the ingot or anode forward the solution will pass through the
centre of it, but if the ingot is solid the outer edges of the washers
should be grooved or perforated, or the ingot should be in the form of a
star or be provided with projecting ribs between which the solution may
pass.
The precise length of the anode or ingot is not material. For a pipe
of five-eighths of an inch diameter of bore I prefer to employ an anode
not more than two feet long and three-eighths of an inch in diameter.
When the pipe is of larger calibre the diameter of the anode is propor-
tionately increased.
When the anode is properly adjusted, the attachments to the battery
made, and the pipe filled with the solution, the ingot is moved forward
within the pipe by means of the insulated wire at a uniform rate of
speed depending upon the conditions of the battery and the solution and
the thickness of the coating desired. The forward motion of the anode
may be effected by the hand of the operator directly, or by means of
pinching or drawing rollers actuated by clockwork or other suitable
machinery.

page_text: By my Invention pipes of fifty or even one hundred feet long may be
uniformly coated.
From the foregoing description the mode of coating the pipe with
other metals than silver will readily be understood, for the process is the
same, the only difference being in the nature of the solution and the
anode employed to coat with any particular metal. The uses for pipes
so coated are various; for example, the conveyance of water for domestic
purposes, the construction of soda water fountains, and apparatus for
drawing beer, and for the laboratory of the pharmaceutist.
It has not before been practicable to plate pipes of more than 4 or 5
feet long by electrical precipitation. If a long wire were stretched
through the whole length of the pipe it would be likely to touch its
surface somewhere, and if it did not the precipitation of the metal would
only take place at a few feet in the end where connection was made with
The same
the battery, all the remaining portion not being coated.
would be true of a jointed anode to be withdrawn in sections, because the
surface is so great that all the current is expended or passes over before
it reaches the farther end of the anode, electricity always taking the
shortest route, provided the conducting medium will permit it to do so,
and is of sufficient capacity to accomodate it.
By my Invention, however, all these difficulties are removed, for the
anode is comparatively short and has the electricity brought to it by an
insulated wire; moreover, it is insulated so as to be held at an equal
distance on every side from the walls of the pipe to be coated, and is
caused to travel gradually through the pipe by means of the insulated
wire, which serves the double purpose of conveying the current to the
anode through the liquid, and also of moving it forward. The anode
will thus cause the deposition of a coating of metal to take place opposite
to it in a uniform manner or thickness corresponding precisely with its
motion through the pipe.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hamilton E. Towle in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HAMILTON
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hamilton E. Towle in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Hamilton
5 E. TowLE, of the City and State of New York, United States of America,

page_text: How of Newgate Street, in the Oity of London, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Hamilton E. Towle, Her special
licence, that I, the said Hamilton E. Towle, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Hamilton E. Towle,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
_exercise,_and_vend, within the United Kingdom_of_Great Britain_and_
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN
IMPROVED MODE OF AND MEANS FOR ELECTRO-PLATING THE INTERIOR OF LEAD
AND OTHER METAL TUBES OR PIPES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Hamilton E. Towle, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hamilton E. Towle, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
To coat or line a long length of lead or other pipe with silver the pipe
is first made straight or nearly so and placed on a table inclined at an
angle of about twenty or more degrees; an anode of peculiar construction
which will be presently described is next inserted within the pipe at
the lower end, the negative pole of a galvanic battery is attached to
the pipe, and the positive pole to the interior anode of silver. The
pipe is next filled with a solution of silver (cyanide of silver in a
solution of cyanide of potassium, for example) at the lower end, so
that it will not quite reach to the upper end of the anode; the anode
is then slowly drawn forward as will be described, and the lead pipe

page_text: is occasionally jarred or rolled over to bring its sides alternately
uppermost. The time required to complete the coating will depend
upon the thickness of the coating desired, the electrical force of the
battery, and the character of the solution employed. The anode, if silver
is to be deposited, is made of silver, and consists of a rod of the metal
(or a tube) insulated by washers of india-rubber, gutta percha, glass,
porcelain, or other suitable material, so as to keep the metal ingot at
about equal distances in every part from the lead pipe. In using
expensive solutions I prefer to attach to the lower end of the anode or
ingot an india-rubber hollow cone filled with dry sponge, which when
dipped in water expands and forces the sides of the rubber against the
pipe sufficiently tight to prevent any of the solution from leaking past
it as it is carried forward with the anode. A copper wire insulated with
gutta percha or otherwise is attached to this ingot or anode, for the
double purpose of conveying the electrical current and moving the
anode within the bore of the pipe. The upper washer should not fit
the pipe closely, but a little space, whether the ingot be solid or tubular,
should be above it. The rear end of the anode may be provided with
a tight washer or an elastic bag or follower to prevent the solution from
passing below it, and compel it to be carried up with the anode as
the same progresses. With inexpensive solutions the hollow cone
follower may be dispensed with and a solid stopper may be used.
The precise length of the anode or ingot is not material. For a pipe
of five-eights (%) of an inch diameter of bore, I prefer to employ an
anode not more than two feet long and three-eights (%) of an inch
diameter. When the pipe is of larger calibre the diameter is propor-
tionately increased. When the anode is properly adjusted the attach-
ment to the battery made, and the pipe around the anode filled with
the solution through a small aperture just forward of the rubber cone,
to which a gutta percha tube has been attached, the ingot is moved
forward within the pipe by means of the insulated wire at a uniform
rate of speed depending upon the conditions of the battery and the
solution and the thickness of the coating desired. The forward motion
of the anode may be produced by means of pinching or drawing rollers
actuated by clockwork or other suitable machinery.
By this arrange-·
ment pipes of 50 or more feet long may be uniformly coated.
In the accompanying Drawing which is added in order to more fully
illustrate my Invention, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional

page_text: view of the pipe to be plated, the anode, the supporting table, and the
battery connection.
The pipe A to be coated is placed upon the inclined bed B and its lower
end is closed by the india-rubber cone attachment or stopper a. The
anode C insulated and kept at an equal and uniform distance from the
pipe by washers of rubber, or other suitable material is within the
pipe, and is fastened to an insulated wire c which places it in connection
with the positive pole of a galvanic battery D, and also serves as a cord
by which the anode can be drawn gradually forward. The level of the
solution of silver is represented at x, x. The negative pole of the
battery is connected with the pipe A. as shown; d is the pipe for intro-
ducing the solution at the lower end of the tube to be plated.
Figure 2 represents a transverse section of the pipe, anode, and washer
shown in Figure 1 drawn to an enlarged scale. The anode in this
instance is tubular; Figure 3 represents a like view of the same parts
also drawn to an enlarged scale, the construction of the anode and washer
being modified. In this case the anode is solid and the washers are
grooved or star shaped. Many other modifications in the form of both
the anode and washer to accomplish the same result may be made.
Figure 4 shows the anode provided with an elastic bag or follower d, in
which I place a cork e, a metal washer f, and sponge g.
From the foregoing description the mode of coating the pipe with
other metals than silver will readily be understood, for the process is
the same, the only difference being in the nature of the solution and
the anode employed to coat with any particular metal, as will be readily
understood by those familiar with the art to which this Invention
relates.
The uses for pipes so coated are various. A very important one,
for example, is conveying water for domestic use; they may also be
advantageously.employed in the construction of soda water fountains and
apparatus for drawing beer, and in the laboratory of the pharmaceutist. It
has not before been practicable to plate pipes of more than 4 or 5 feet long
by electrical precipitation. If a long wire were stretched through the
whole length of the pipe it would be likely to touch the wall somewhere,
and if it did not it would necessarily present but a small area of surface
compared with the wall of the pipe to be plated. The same objections are
true also of a jointed anode. By my Invention the difficulties formerly
met with have been removed, the anode is comparately short electricity is

page_text: brought to it by an insulated wire, moreover it is insulated so as to be
held at an equal distance on every side from the wall of the pipe to be
coated, and it is caused to travel gradually through the pipe by means
of the insulated wire, which serves the double purpose of conveying the
current to the anode and of moving it forward. The anode will thus
cause the deposition of a coating of metal to take place opposite to it
in a uniform manner and thickness, corresponding precisely with its
motion through the pipe.
The machinery for moving the anode forms no part of this Invention
as it is obvious that motion may be imparted and regulated by many
machines now in common use, for example by a clock movement or a
steam piston.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner in
which the same may be advantageously carried into effect, I claim,-
First. The local and progressive electro-plating of the interior of pipes
as and for the purpose described.
Second. In the electro-plating (for coating or lining purposes) of pipes
and tubes, the use of an anode held within the pipe by suitable insu-
lating devices and moved by hand or machinery, substantially as and for
the purposes set forth.
Third. Lead or other metal pipe or tubing the interior of which is
coated or lined in the manner and by the means substantially as herein
described with silver, nickel, or other metal for protecting the pipe from
oxydation and for other purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hamilton E. Towle, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
E. W. TYNDALL.
HAMILTON E. TOWLE. (L.S.)