US429895A - Galvanic battery - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. H. FELT.

A GALVANIG BATTERY.

No. 429,895. Patented June 10, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. FELT, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE FELT ELECTRICAL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

GALVAN lC BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,895, dated June 10, 1890.

Application filed November 13, 1889. Serial No. 830,118. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. FELT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefullmprovementin Primary Cells or Batteries, of which the followmg is a specification.

My invent-ion is concerned with improvements 1n primary cells or batteries of the twoliquld type, and covers certain details of construction, which will be fully described in the specification which follows, and more particularly pointed out in the claims. The cell wh ch I show and describe is of the class in which the two electrodes are located one above the other in the exciting-liquid; but this feature is not essential, and the electrodes may be located side by side with a vertical part1t1on between them instead of being placed one above the other with a horizontal separating-wall. Y

In my invention I sustain one liquid in a removable receptacle formed of bond or parchment paper. I prefer to use this substance because I find in practice that it oflers little or no perceptible resistance to the passage of the current through the cell,while at the same time it keeps the liquids from intermingling. This property I find very useful and important for my purposes. Some distance below the top the jar is reduced in size, so as to form an interior ledge on which the bondpaper diaphragm constituting the receptacle for one of the liquids is supported. The portion of the jar above the ledge forms a chamber within which the diaphragm is contained. The upper part of the diaphragm is pressed against the inner surface of the chamber by a hoop or ring of hickory or other elastic material, between which and the diaphragm is a band of waterproof paper or similar material, to provide an additional safeguard against the mixing of the liquids by reason of their creepmg up the sides and over the edges of the diaphragm. The band referred to effectually prevents such creeping and insulatesthe liquids. The band and hoop also help to give the necessary stiffness for rendering it possi-.

ble and easy to remove the diaphragm and its contents. By a special coupling arrangement, which will be described hereinafter, I

am able to preserve the continuity of the hand all around the vessel without leaving an opening at the joint. Below the ledge referred to is a chamber of considerable size and below that another of still smaller diameter. On the ledge which divides the last-named chambers I support perforated metallic plates or sheets of wire-netting and press them down into contact with the negative electrode in the lowermost chamber.

In setting up my battery my cathode, consisting, preferably, of a bunch of copper plates joined together, so as to present as much surface as possible to the action of the liquid, is placed in the lowest chamber and an insulated Wire is carried from it along the walls of the jar and out at the top. The perforated plates or sheets of wire-netting are then put in place on the lower ledge and pressed and held down by an elastic hoop, say, of hickory. Afterthis an exciting-liquid, preferably consisting of a sulphuric-acid solution, is poured in until it passes slightly above the top of the middle chamber. The diaphragm is then set in and the hickory hoop inserted with the band of water-proof paper between the two. The pouring in of the upper liquid say sulphate of zincand the insertion of the anode, which is preferably of zinc in the form of a circular grate having a grooved upper surface for containing mercury to keep the electrode amalgamated, completes the process. One or more tubes between the dia phragm and the Wall of the jar for assisting in the replenishing of the liquid in the lower chamber and for admitting of the escape of gas therefrom may be added, though they are not absolutely essential.

I have illustrated my invent-ion in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of a batterycell constructed in accordance with my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively details of the positive and negative electrodes on a reduced scale, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective of the water-proof band.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A is the jar, made of some good insulating material, preferably glass.

Bis the upper chamber of the jar, C the middle, and D the lower chamber. In the I cathode.

chamber D is the negative electrode E, which consists of a series of leaves or plates e 6, preferably of copper, joined centrally and bent out, as shown, so as to present as much surface as possible to the exciting-liquid F. The extremities of the plates or leaves are so bent as to press against the sides of the jar and hold the electrodes firmly in place. Their tops extend slightly above or at least as high as the top of the ledge, which separates the middle and lower chambers. A liquid which surrounds the negative electrode is preferably a sulphuric-acid solution. It fills the lower chamber and also the chamber 0, extending slightly beyond the same, as will presently appear. At the top of the chamber D is a ledge or shoulder c, on which is supported one or more (in this instance, two) perforated metallic plates or sheets of wire-netting G. The wire-netting or its equivalent, when of copper, as I prefer for battery purposes, forms, practically, an extension of the A hoop J, of hickory, holds the plates G against the top of the copper plates, which form the body of the cathode.

In the upper chamber B is contained a diaphragm H, preferably of bond or parchment paper. This diaphragm is formed into a receptacle the walls of which rest against the inner surface of the chamber 15. \Vithin the rim of the diaphragm is a band Z of some water-proof substance-such as still water-proof paper-which is pressed against the diaphragm by an elastic hoop or ring I., say of hickory. From Fig. at it will be seen that the band is slit at s and that one end is folded longitudinally in a double fold and passed through the slit. The folds are afterward removed and then one end laid along the body of the band, the other end being left long enough to pass around and cover the joint at the slit.

At K is shown the positive electrode in the shape of a circular grooved grate, the grooves of which are filled with mercury. I find that the application of mercury in this way is quite sufficient to amalgamate the entire surface of the zinc below the liquid. The binding-posts k, of which I have shown four, are for obvious reasons arranged far enough from the edge of the grate to escape touching any part of the receptacle.

M is a tube which passes down between the diaphragm H and the inner wall of the jar. This tube can be used in supplying the lower liquid either in the first instance or when it has run low. In general, however, the filling is accomplished by the process already described, and when the liquids are to be changed the upper receptacle with its contents is removed and the jar emptied, after which the refilling takes place by precisely the same process. The tube or tubes may do service in permitting the escape of the gases set free in the lower and middle chambers by the decomposition at the lower electrode.

\Vhen the receptacle II is put in place, the

liquid below is forced up along the sides about as high as the top of the liquid within the diaphragm. Thus the pressure of the liquids is about equal on both sides of the diaphragm.

An insulated wire 20 passes from the lower electrodes up through the jar, traversing the lower liquid and passing next to the wall of the jar outside the diaphragm.

Having now described myinvention, what I claim is- 1. In a galvanic battery, an insulating cell or jar and a cathode of copper plates joined centrally and bent apart at the edges, the length and arrangement of the plates being such that their ends press against the sides of the jar and hold the cathode in place, as set forth.

2. In a galvanic battery, a cathode of vertical copper plates joined centrally and bent apart at the edges, in combination with one or more horizontal copper plates forming an extension of the cathode.

In a galvanic battery, a cathode of vertical copper plates joined centrally and bent apart at the edges, in combination with one or more perforated horizontal copper plates forming an extension of the cathode, as set forth.

t. In a galvanic battery, a cathode of vertical copper plates joined centrally and bent apart at the edges, in combination with one or more horizontal copper plates, and a spring holding the horizontal plates in contact with the vertical plates, as set forth.

5. In a galvanic battery, a jar or cell having an interior ledge or shoulder, a diaphragm resting on the said ledge and held against the walls of the jar by a spring, in combination with a band of water-proof material between the spring and the diaphragm, as set forth.

6. In a galvanic battery, a diaphragmatic receptacle containing one of the battery-liquids, a spring pressing the diaphragm against the walls of the battery jar or cell, and a band of water-proof material within the diaphragm, as set forth.

7. The combination, with a battery-cup, of an interior band or lining of water-proof material, the said band being slit and having one of its ends passed through the slit and laid along the body of the band and the other end brought around to cover the joint at the slit, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE lL-FELT. Witnesses:

ALLAN McCULLoH, EDWARD W. CADY.

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