US2488763A - Electrochemical condenser - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 22, 1949 5, CHARLlN 2,488,763

ELECTROCHEMICAL CONDENSER Filed July 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.

Nov. 22, 1949 A, M B, CHA QN 2,488,763

ELECTROCHEMICAL CONDENSER Filed July 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fNVE/V TOR A/VMi/WQ/i Biz/mm U/mRL/N Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application July 16, 1947, Serial N 0. 761,392 In France November 20, 1941 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires November 20, 1961 3 Claims. 1

Electro-chemical or electrolytic condensers are generally made in the shape of an aluminum tube Which is closed at its base by crimping over a part provided with a screw-threaded portion serving for mounting the condenser on the apparatus. A hole drilled in the screw-threaded portion enables the leads to be brought out which are used to connect the condenser. This mounting has the drawback of making it necessary to remove the chassis on which the condenser is mounted in order to change it in case of failure; this case is of comparatively frequent occurrence since an electrolytic condenser is designed for a predetermined working voltage and it is only necessary for there to be a slight over-voltage in order to damage it.

To facilitate the changing of such condensers, attempts have been made to mount them on pins, but they have been abandoned owing to the drawbacks they involved, the chief of which was the deficiency of insulation in the pin bases due to the oozing of the chemical products with which the condensers are filled. Furthermore, the bases used did not enable the pins to be marked in a practical manner, which is very important owing to the fact that the condensers are polarized.

The present invention overcomes these drawbacks. It has for its object to provide an electrochemical or electrolytic condenser enclosed in a metal casing which is closed at one end, characterised in that said casing contains one or a plurality of elements, each of which is placed in an insulating vessel (made of Bakelite, trolitule, etc.) and each of the conductors of which is connected to one of the pins of a multiple-pin base, said pins being provided with reference marks, and said base being adapted to close the open end of the casing, in combination with sockets provided with stationary connections effecting the various desired couplings between the pins and the condenser elements connected to said pins.

Said condenser, which has Various other characteristics which will be referred to hereinafter, has numerous advantages.

As hereinbefore stated, an electrolytic condenser designed for a given voltage easily breaks down if a slight over-voltage occurs. In some cases, it is necessary to provide for the use of two condensers in series in order to have a sufficient safety margin. Thus, for a potential of 600 volts, it is possible to connect two condensers designed for 400 volts in series. It is found that, in these conditions, even if the condensers have unequal leak currents, they tend to become equal and after a certain time, each condenser operates very substantially on half the total voltage (which is not the case with paper condensers). However, an ac'sident may damage these condensers. The user who does not notice that they are connected in series, might thus replace only one of them and finding that the device of which the condensers form a portion starts operating nor- .mally again, would be convinced that he had effected the necessary repair. In reality, there would be a serious risk of the condenser he had just connected failing almost immediately afterwards, owing to the fact that it would have to support the total voltage load alone.

As the condenser according to the invention comprises two or more capacitances fixed in one and the same casing, it ensures a reliable repair of the equipment in the event of its having to be replaced, eliminating the aforesaid risk. The invention thus provides a very rational instrument which can fulfil multiple functions (capacitances in series, in parallel, in series-parallel) and which has universal interchangeability without any risk of error, while beingper se very reliable as regards electric losses.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

In the drawing, in which an embodiment of my invention is illustrated-- Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a double electrolytic condenser according to the invention.

the coupling in parallel of the two condenser elements.

Fig. 4 is a similar View to Fig. 3, showing the series coupling of the two elements.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a modification.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of 'an insulating vessel.

Fig. '7 is a section along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

The condenser according to Figs. 1 to 4 is enclosed in a cylindrical metal casing 9, for example of aluminum, with a closed end l0. Each of the electrolytic condenser elements I 1, l2 is placed in a vessel I3, M of insulating material such as syntheticresin, trolitule, etc., the closed ends l 5, H; of which are turned towards the open end of the casing 9. The open ends of said vessels, which are turned towards the closed end ll] of the casing 9, are closed by means of pitch or wax plugs l1, l8 which prevent the chemical products contained in said vessels from oozing. The vessels l3, l4 are provided with fiat portions I9, 20, 2|, 22 (Fig. 2) forming empty spaces between them and the cylindrical casing 9. Leads 23, 24 extending from the condenser H, and 25, 26 extending from the condenser 12 are brought through the empty spaces to the open end of the condenser, which is closed by a base 21 provided with eight pins l to 8. Said base has a cavity on the inside thereof into which is poured a mass of wax 28. Said wax is chosen in order to unite with the insulation of the leads so as to prevent any electric leakage from one pin to the other. A resilient wedge 29 may be placed at the bottom of the casing 9 in order to retain the condensers II, l2 without play.

The leads 23, 24 and 25, 26 are provided with insulating material which is not attacked by pitch or wax. The pitch plugs I1, [8 closing the vessels, and also the mass of wax 28 provide a perfectly fluid-tight closure and hold said leads apart from one another, thereby preventing any electric loss due to the oozing. The mass of wax 28 surrounds in particular the soldered connections between the leads and the pins.

In the modification of Figs. to 7, two condenser elements 3|, 32 are also placed in a cylindrical metal casing 9, made of aluminum for example, with an end If). Said elements are formed by winding the armatures with filter paper and aluminum in the shape of a cylinder. It is known that it is advantageous not to wind such armatures with too small a radius, so that there always remains an empty cylindrical space at the centre. invention, said elements are placed in insulating vessels of annular cross-section, forming at their centre a passage 35 through which are passed the leads 23-24 and -26 extending from the two elements 3l-32. periphery of the insulating vessels 33, 34 can retain a cylindrical shape and exactly fit into the metal casing 9, so that no space is wasted and the condenser can be constructed of very small size, the passage 35 serving for passing the leads since this passage is normally vacant along the axis of the winding of the armatures.

Member 35 is a plug formed of pitch or other suitable insulating material, and member 31 is an insulating washer, preventing the pitch from running inside the element while it is being closed; 38 is an insulating plug (of trolitule for example) cemented in place by means of a solvent. Said plug is provided with two small cylindro-conical passages 39, 40 enabling the rubber-insulated leads 23, 24 to be brought out. The two plugs 36-31 and 38 are only shown as identical by way of example. A cork or rubber wedge 29 is arranged at the top of the casing 9 to hold all the elements in place.-

To place the device in use it is necessary to attach the condenser by inserting the pins 1 to 8 into socket 30, see Fig. 3, or into socket 3!, see Fig. 4, fixed to the device of which the condenser is a part. The contacts of either socket are permanently coupled in the desired manner, so that by merely inserting the condenser, the elements I I, I2 are inevitably correctly coupled. In Fig. 3, the two capacitances l l, l 2 which are respectively connected to the pins l-4 and 8-5, are in parallel; their capacities are added together. The Working voltage is equal to the formation voltage of each element. The pin 3 is connected to ground through the casing l6, In Fig. 4, the socket 3| connects the positive terminal I of the Consequently, according to the In this manner, the outer 1 condenser II to the negative terminal 5 of the condenser i2. The two condensers are therefore connected in series and the final capacity is connected to the instruments by means of the pins 8-4, the pin 3 being grounded. In this case, the total capacity is half that of the individual elements, but the permissible voltage across the terminals 8-4 is equal to twice the formation voltage of each of the elements. In this latter case, if the condenser were to fail, the user would be obliged to change the two capacitances as a unit, without having to trouble to ascertain how each element is connected.

Taking as one of the uses of this condenser, a conventional radio telephone receiving set is provided with three capacitances, the two first capacitances being subjected to a fairly high voltage, which are coupled in series by the Wiring of the set and the two other capacitances, (for example decoupling capacitances of comparatively low voltage) which are coupled in parallel. The user of this set, with a single spare condenser, constructed according to the instant invention, can in case of accident, instantly replace any of the four.

The casing 9 need not only contain two elements Il-IZ, or 3-32, as in the examples illustrated, but it may also contain three, four or a larger number of elements, the leads of which are soldered to the pins of the base '27 which may be provided with any desired number of pins (the eight-pin base has only been shown by way of example). Consequently, by making the connections in a suitable manner in the socket intended to accommodate the base, the condenser elements can be coupled in series or in parallel or in series-parallel (with an even number of elements). The connections being thus made in the socket which is permanently fixed to the set, it is possible to fit into sockets provided with different couplings interchangeable multiple condensers according to the invention without any other care than that of replacing a faulty condenser by another.

The condensers according to the invention can be used for numerous purposes, in particular in sound kinematograph apparatus, radio receiving and transmitting sets, measuring instruments using voltage rectifying devices, starters for motors, etc.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A composite condenser device, including a plurality of electrolytic condensers having individual connecting leads extending from a single end of each, an insulating vessel substantially tightly surrounding each condenser, said condensers being mounted vertically over one another and each having the end from which said leads extend lying uppermost, a common outer casing embracing all said condensers and leaving free a vertical channel extending longitudinally of each condenser, said condenser leads extending through said channel, a pin-mounting base closing the bottom of said casing, connections from each condenser lead to a discrete pin of said base, and an insulating mass immediately over said pins of said base, whereby extruded fluid from said condensers is prevented from reaching the junction point between said leads and said pins.

2. A condenser device according to claim 1, in

which said insulating vessels are polygonal cross section, and said outer casing having a circular cross section, circumscribing said polygon, whereby said channels for said leads are constituted by the spaces thus afforded between said casing and saidyessels.

3. A condenser device according to claim 1, in which said vessels are of annular cross section, having an axial passage therethrough, said axial passages together constituting said connection 10 channel.

ANDRE MARIE BERNARD CHARLIN.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Waterman July 21, 1942 Abeel l Jan. 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar. 8, 1934 Great Britain Mar. 20, 1935 Great Britain Sept. 22, 1937

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