US1027169A - Battery-zinc. - Google Patents

Description

1,027,169. Specification of Letters Patent.

No Drawing.

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To all whom time comm.-

' Be it known that I, JOHN BEATTIE, a citizenof the United States, residing at Leete Island, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new, and useful Improvements in Battery- Zines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to amalgamated battery zines, and more particularly to a process for manufacturing the same, and has for its object the production of amalgamated zincs adapted for use in galvanic batteries, and the like, which are substantially free from deleterious matter, and which are,

further, more highly electro-positive than amalgamated zines as produced by processes heretofore in use. These and other objects of my invention will be hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 7

In the United States Letters Patent No. 359,838, dated March 22, 1887, I disclosed a process for making battery zines which involved the use of lead 'and arsenic. The said process was found to be fairly efiicacious and the zines manufactured by means of the same were quite thoroughly.amalgamated. There were present, however, in such zines certain impurities, necessitated by the process, which were objectionable, and I now disclose an improved processwhereby amalgamated zines may be produced which arenot only substantially free from deleterious mat ter, but which are actually more highly electro-positive than even an amalgamated zinc comprising simply zinc and mercury.

In amalgamat-ing mercury and zinc, it is highly desirable that the process be conducted in such a manner that the mercury shall not bevolatilized to any considerable degree before complete amalgamation thereof with the zinc has been "brought about. In the present process this is preferably effected by first forming an amalgam of mercury and a light metal such as sodium, which may be readily accomplished at a low heat; and the quantity of sodium, if that be the metal used, present in such amalgam need not be in excess of. four per cent. This sodiummercury amalgam may be then cast into sticks or blocks of determined size, the small quantity of sodium present therein being sulficient to impart considerable tenacity to it when cold. If desired the application of heat to the sodium and mercury, when forming the amalgam thereof, may be effected man a-a Ma 21, 1912;

Application filed June 17, 1911. Serial No. 633,749.

a closed receptacle and in a non-oxidizing atmosphere inorder to completely prevent any oxidation of the. sodium or volatilization of the mercury. This is not however absor lutely essential if care be exercised in theheating operation. A determined quantity of zinc or spelter of good quality is. then; I

heated to fusion in a crucible or melting pot, which latter should preferably be of some material not adapted to alloy with the zinc;

since, for example, if the melting pot be of iron, such metal will combine with the zinc to form a thick sediment of zinc-iron alloy, which settles to the bottom of the pot and thereby causes considerable waste. A rela-' tively small quantity of the sodium-mercury amalgam is now added to the molten zinc to form an amalgam comprising from two to four per cent. of mercury; the heat at which this second step of the operation is conducted being also relatively-quite low.

While I have specified sodium as the preferred metal to be amalgamated with the mercury in the first step of the operation, I do not wish to be limited to this particular metal since other elect-ro-positive metals may be utilized; said metals, of course, having the like property of forming with mercury a firm and solid amalgam when cold, which amalgam need have but a small percentage of such electro-positive metal present therein. The alkali metals appear to be best adapted for this purpose; and sodium, being the cheapest of these metals, is preferred.

In any event it is most desirable that the uct less highly electro-positive than zinc alone; while furthermore both the lead and the arsenic constituted impurities which were otherwise objectionable.

The process as herein described is somewhat simpler than that set forth in my said patent, and the product resulting therefrom is also preferable. I'described in my former Patent 466,820, an amalgam consisting of zinc, mercury and magnesium, but the element to Which the present application relates possesses advantages over that described in said patent, in that the alkali metal, sodium, for example, is more highly electro-positive than magnesium. It Will also be observed that the present element is substantially homogeneous throughout by reason of its mode of preparation or manufacture.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A substantially homogeneous electropsoitive element for batteries Which comprises an amalgam of zinc, sodium and mercury.

2. A substantially homogeneous electropositive element for batteries Which comprises an amalgam of zinc, mercury and an alkali metal.

8. An electro-positive element for batteries, the surface and also the interior portions of which comprise an amalgam of zinc, mercury and a metal more highly electropositive than magnesium.

In Witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN BEATTIE.

WVitnesses:

A UILA H. HULL, ALFRED R. GRIsWoLD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.