US760756A - Leading-in device for vapor-conductors. - Google Patents

Description

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LEADING-IN DEVICE EUR VPOR GONDUGTORS.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 20, 1903.

No MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 24, 1904.

PATENT QEEIOE.

MAx vON REOKLTNGHAUSEN, or NEW YORK, N. Y., AssrGNOR To COOPER l HEWTTT ELEOTRIOOOMRANY, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

'LEADING-m DEvlCE Fon VAPOR-GONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,756, dated May 24, 1904.V

Appnc'aaon fina February 20,1903. serai No. 144,201. ci@ model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern: l

Be it known thatI, MAX voN REOKLING- HAUSEN, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and a resident of New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Leading-In Devices for Vapor-Conductors, of which the following is a specification.

. This invention is intended as an improvement in the leading-in devices for gas or vapor electric apparatus wherein a conducting fluidmsuch as mercury, for example-'constitutes one of the electrodes and either a fluid or some solid material may constitute the positive electrode. y

The invention will be described in connecnection .with an apparatus in which mercury constitutes one of the electrodes; but it should be understood that in every instance where mercury is mentioned any conducting fluid is intended to be included.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a path of better conductivity through a portion of a mercury electrode, leaving a portion of the mercury exposed beyond'the limits of the better conducting-path to serve as the electrode-surface. In accomplishing this object I may make use of a good cond ucting metal, such as copper, or I may use iron or some other metal having greater conductivity than mercury. Similarly I may constitute the metal or other conductor 1 described into one of the electrodes by itself and may protect the said electrode by a mercury seal which also admits of the external circulation.

described orwhichneed not be included in the circulation system. In any case the physical features of my invention may very conveniently and advantageously be made use of -to facilitate cooling not only by the means invented by others, but by means devised by myself, as herein disclosed. Incidentally the external distribution system which I prefer to utilize in connection with-the present invention involves the use of tubular extensions running from the main body of the container of the apparatus, and such extensions are most conveniently applied by attaching them, as by screw connections, to the container itself, it

or by reason of iaws in the casting.

being understood that the container or a considerable portion of it is made of metal and that the extensions are also metallic. Diiiculty has. been experienced in securing a proper seal for the joints vbetween the container and the extensions, and a part of the present invention relates to means for obtaining an eiiicient seal at the junction-points of theparts mentioned and also to provide a suitable, seal for the entire container-body wherever leakage is made possible either by imperfect joints or by the porosity of the material Broadly considered, this feature involves the idea of using for a seal a liquid which should it enter the container would produce no injurious effect upon the apparatus or its operation. Ac-

cordingly other liquids besides mercury might -be used provided care were taken to select a.

liquid which should not involve the danger of injury, as indicated. It is preferred that the liquid employed for the seal'should be of the same character as the liquid constituting all or a part of the electrodes of the device. Should some other material besides mercury be chosen for any of the electrodes, it would be lwell to utilize for the seal the same materia panying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of-` an apparatus comprising a container'inclosinga suitable conducting gas or vapor and electrodes of the character above described, and Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification.

The apparatus illustrated is designed, primarily, as a rectifier or so-called vapor-converter, and the container in the present instance is illustrated at l and its tubular extensions at 2 and 3. At one end Of the container is an electrode 5, the upper part of which is of mercury. Extending into the electrode 5 is a rod 6, of metal, such as copper, which is a better conductor than mercury itself. The copper rod is surrounded by a column of mercury inclosed Within a tube 7, of glass, silicia, or other insulating material. The tube 7 is iiared at the bottom and formed into a cup 8, into Which dips the lower end My invention. is illustrated in the accomof the metallic extension 3. The tube 7, together with the cup 8 thereon, terminates inside a vessel 9, containing mercury. The cup is partially filled with mercury, so as to constitute a seal for the lower end of the tube 3. The described construction makes it possible to insulate the negative-electrode column from the tubular extension of the container within which it is held and at the same time seals the leads to the terminals of the conducting gas or vapor.

The height of the mercury in the vessel 9 is such that atmospheric pressure will carry its upper portion 5 to av level, as shown, where it is adapted to constitute the surface of the negative electrode, as already described.

Connection with the external circuit is made either through the vessel 9 or through a wire dipping into the mercury in the said vessel.

rIfhe passage of current from the negative electrode to the external circuit will be assisted by the presence of the rod 6, having greater conductivity than the mercury column, within which it is held. At the same time the rod will exercise a cooling effect upon the mercury column, and this may be still further aided by surrounding' the extension 3 with a water-jacket 10 for still further lowering the temperature by locally-applied means. Moreover, the rod 6 may be provided with ducts, as shown in dotted lines, through which a cooling' fluid may be caused to pass in constant or interrupted circulation. Connections to the lower outlets for the said ducts may be Vmade through the pipes 11 and 12, as indicated in the drawings.V

The structure at the left of the drawings is in the main similar tothat already described. 1n this instance, however, the solid rod, whether of copper or some other material, extends above the surface of the mercury and itself constitutes the positive electrode of the apparatus. a y y Separate cooling devices may or may not be applied on the outside of the extension 2. As before, however, I have shown ducts extending through the solid rod for permitting an internal circulation of cooling fluid through the rod. In this part of the ligure the tube 13 corresponds to the tube 7, the vessellll to the vessel 9, and the pipes 15 and 16 to the pipes 11 and 12. Manifestly the system of pipes last mentioned might be combined to form a continuous system embracing in the circuit both the ducts of the rod 6 and the ducts of the corresponding rod 17. In that case, however, care should be taken to prevent short circuits, and this might be done by selecting a non-conducting fluid for the cooling process and causing it to pass through pipes of insulating material. Other means will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. rI`he latter rod as it appears in Fig. 1 differs from the rod 6 in that it extends up through the mercury and is somethe said rod and the walls of the tube 13 differs from that of the mercury column at the other side of the apparatus in that the mer- .cury around the rod 17 serves simply as a seal and forms no part of the electrode, except so far as it may convey a portion of the current on its way to the upper endof the rod 17, whereas the mercury surrounding the rod 6 presents at its summit a surface which constitutes the actual negative-electrode surface.

In Fig. 2 the rod constituting the positive electrode may be inserted into the apparatus in the form of'a pipe having coils 29 inside the container and passing' out of the container through a third extension'30, having the same character as the extensions shown in Fig. 1. In this instance the tube connected with the electrode 5 will be insulated from the lrest of the container, as indicated at 31 31 in Fig. 2. rIhe advantages of this construction are that the positive electrode may have an extended surface, which is desirable in apparatus of this class, and may also be readily cooled by the circulation of a cooling fluid through the pipe constituting the said electrode.

I may surround the container 1 and the upper part of the extensions 2 and 3 with a suitable receptacle, as 19, having screw connections with the extensions 2 and 3. By lilling this receptacle with mercury I provide an adequate seal not only as between the receptacle and the tubular extensions, but also between the tubular extensions and the main body of the container. The mercury also serves as a seal for the container as a whole. In this connection it should be repeated that the advantages of using a mercury seal are due in great measure to the fact that the substance employed for the seal -is of the same character as that constituting all or a part of the electrode-surfaces within the container'. Consequently such mercury as leaks into the apparatus does no injury to its operation.

rIhe usefulness of the liquid seal will obviously be extended to gases in which it may be desired to cause more than one lead to enter the container through a single extension thereof. It is not thought necessary to illustrate this form of apparatus, as it will be apparent without illustration that-two or more tubes might pass through the tube 7, for example, and still maintain their insulation with respect to each other and to the surrounding tube.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container consisting wholly or in part of metal, one or more extensions of the said container, one or more electrodes within the container, consisting of a vaporizable fluid, and a fluid seal for the said container.

2. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a

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container consisting wholly or in part of metal, one or more extensions of the said container, one or more electrodes within the container, consisting of a vaporizable fluid, and a fluid seal for the said container, the fluid constituting the seal being of the same character as the fluid constituting one or more of the electrodes. A

3. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container made up of two or more parts provided with a suitable joint or joints, one or more electrodes within the container, consisting of a vaporizable fluid, and a fluid seal for the said container, the Huid constituting the seal being of the same character as the fluid constituting one or more of the electrodes.

4. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, av

container, a conducting gas or vapor therein, a liquid seal, and leads composed wholly or in part of material of greater conductivity than the sealing fluid.

5. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container, a conducting gas or vapor therein, a liquid seal, and leads composed wholly or in part of material of greater conductivity than the sealing fluid, in combination with means for cooling the solid conductor or conductors.

6. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container, a conducting gas or vapor therein and electrodesfor the said conducting gas or vapor, one or both of the said electrodes being composed in part of a conducting fluid, a conducting-rod inside the fluid, whereby a partial cooling is eiected and better conduction is obtained, in combination with additional cooling means outside the fluid.

7 The combination with a suitable container and a conducting gas or vapor therein, of a liquid electrode, 'in combination with external and internal cooling means therefor.

8. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container, a conducting gas or vapor therein, and electrodes for the said conducting gas or vapor, one or both of the said electrodes being formed wholly or in part of a material which 10. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container, a conducting gas or vapor therein, and electrodes for the said conducting gas or vapor, one or both of the said electrodes being composed in part of mercury, a conducting-rod inside the mercury, whereby a partial cooling is keected and better conduction is attained, in combination with additional cooling means outside the mercury.

11. The combination with a suitable container, and a conducting gas or vapor therein,

of an electrode of mercury, in combination with external and internal cooling means therefor.

12. The combination with a suitable container and a conducting gas or vapor therein, of a tubular extension of the said container, an electrode passing through the extension, an insulating-tube separating the electrode and the extension, and mercury seals protecting both the extension and the electrode.

13. The combination with a suitable container, and a conducting gas or vapor therein, of a tubular extension of the said container, an electrode passing through the said extension, an insulating-tube separating the electrode and the extension, and liquid seals protecting both the extension and the electrode.

14:. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus of the character described, wherein an external circulation through a metallic extension of the containeris possible, an electroderwithin the extension, an insulating-wallsurrounding the electrode, and liquid seals for protecting the-parts mentioned.

15. The combination with a suitable container and a .conducting gas or vapor therein, of a tubular extension oi' the said container, and two or more conductors whose leads pass through the said extension and are insulated from each other.

16. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container constructed wholly or in part of metal, and an insulated tubular inlet protected by a liquid seal.

17. In a gas or vapor electric apparatus, a container constructed wholly or in part of metal, and an insulated tubular inlet protected by a mercury seal.

Signed at New York, in the county of New fio IOO

York and State of New York,.this 13th day of February, A. D. 1903.

MAX VON RECKLINGHAUSEN.

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