Apparatus for continuous electrolytic treatment of articles

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC TREATMENT OF ARTICLES COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF METAL ELEMENTS OF RELATIVELY LARGE SURFACE AREA ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED ONE TO ANOTHER BY A METAL WIRE OF RELATIVELY SMALL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA COMPRISING IN COMBINATION AN ELECTROLYTIC TANK FOR CONTAINING A MAIN VOLUME OF ELECTROLYTE, AT LEAST ONE ELECTRODE BEING LOCATED WITHIN SAID TANK, MEANS ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID ELECTRODE TO ONE POLE OF A SOURCE OF ELECTRIC CURRENT, A CHAMBER FOR CONTAINING A SEGREGATED VOLUME OF ELECTROLYTE AND ADAPTED FOR PASSAGE THERETHROUGH OF A RUN OF ARTICLES, SAID CHAMBER HAVING A WALL IN CONTACT WITH THE MAIN VOLUME OF ELECTROLYTE AND APERTURED FOR PASSAGE OF THE ARTICLES THERETHROUGH WITH CLEARANCE AND DIRECTLY INTO THE MAIN VOLUME OF ELECTROLYTE WITHIN THE TANK, AT LEAST ONE ELECTRODE IN SAID CHAMBER AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID ELECTRODE TO THE OTHER POLE OF SAID SOURCE, AN ELECTORDE CHAMBER FOR CONTAINING A FURTHER SEGREGATD VOLUME OF ELECROLYTE AND ADAPTED FOR PASSAGE OF SAID ARTICLES THERETHROUGH, SAID ELECTRODE CHAMBER LOCATED AT LEAST PARTILY WITHIN SAID TANK AND HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSED WALLS EACH OF WHICH IS APERTURED FOR PASSAGE OF THE ARTICLES THERETHROUGH WITH CLEARANCE AND DIRECTLY INTO THE MAIN VOLUME OF ELECTROLYTE WITHIN THE TANK AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER WALL BEING SPACED FROM THE WALL OF THE TANK AND, AT LEAST ONE ELECTRODE LOCATED WITHIN SAID ELECTRODE CHAMBER AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID ELECTRODE TO SAID OTHER POLE OF SAID SOURCE, AND MEANS FOR ADVANCING SAID METAL ELEMENTS THROUGH THE APERTURES IN SAID WALLS OF SAID FIRST-MENTIONED CHAMBER AND THE ELECTRODE CHAMBER IN SUCCESSION, SAID CHAMBERS EACH CONSTITUTING A LIQUID CONTACT WHEREBY A FRACTION ONLY OF THE TOTAL ELECTRIC CURRENT SUPPLIED FROM SAID SOURCE IS SUPPLIED TO SAID METAL ELEMENTS AT EACH LIQUID CONTACT.