Machines for Making Grids for Secondary Batteries.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 7th Nov.,
1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Machines for Making Grids for Secondary Batteries.
I, ALBERT FRANKLIN MADDEN, of 93, Mechanics Street, Newark, in the
State of New York, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machines for
making grids for secondary batteries, and has for its objects, first, to utilize in the
formation of the grid the pasty lead which collects in the melting-pot and is called
"putty" lead, and which has been heretofore considered as highly objectionable
and a hindrance to the process of casting; second, to force the lead into the form
by a rolling process as contradistinguished from simple casting; third, to provide
means novel in construction and method of operation for the heating of the lead
and the maintenance thereof at the proper working temperature; fourth, to
provide a novel construction of form in which the grid is shaped; and fifth and in
general, to provide a machine which shall be simple in construction and easy of
operation; and with these ends in view my invention consists and resides in the
novel features heretofore mentioned and hereinafter to be described in detail, and
then recited in the claims, and in the method of forming grids presently to be
pointed out and also incorporated in the claims.
In order that such persons as are skilled in the art to which my invention
appertains may be able to fully understand my improved machine and the method
which forms a part of my invention, I will now describe these, referring to the
accompanying drawings which form a part of this Specification, and to the
numerals and letters of reference marked upon said drawings.
Figure 1, is a central longitudinal section through my machine, certain parts
being shown in elevation,
Figure 2, is a plan view, the top of the crucible being removed, and the blast
connections likewise removed,
Figure 3, is a vertical section taken upon the line y-y of Figure 1,
Figure 4, is an enlarged sectional elevation of the parts shown at the centre of
Figure 3,
Figure 5, is an enlarged sectional elevation of the parts shown at the centre of
Figure 1,
Figure 6, is a detail plan view of the form, and the plate in which said form
is set,
Figures 7 and 8, are sections taken respectively upon the lines v-v and w—w of
Figure 6,
Figure 9, is a detail perspective showing the movable parts of the form, the
stationary bars being omitted for clearness of illustration,
Figure 10, is a plan view of a grid as removed from the form,
Figure 11, is a perspective of one of the stationary former bars,
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are enlarged about four times from the scale
of the first three figures.
In the drawings, the number of parts of the form have purposely been reduced
below that necessary to make merchantable grids, Figure 10 for instance, showing
the grid openings about half their proper number and twice their normal size.
Referring now particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3, 1 is a base upon which are
mounted side plates or standards 2. At one end is a pillar 3 having in its top a
bearing in which is mounted a horizontal transverse shaft 4. Near one end this
shaft is provided with a gear 5, and at the other end with a crank 6. The gear 5
13

page_text: is engaged and driven by means of a worm 7 mounted on a shaft 8 whose axis is
at right angles to that of the shaft. 4, and said shaft 8 bears a band wheel 9
whereby it may be driven. The crank 6 drives a connecting rod 10 whose forward
end is connected to and is adapted to operate a carriage presently to be described
in detail. Upon the tops of the side plates 2. is-supported a fixed top 11 whose
lower face is plane and which is adapted to support certain parts of the machine.
12 is a crucible supported within a jacket 13 which latter is set upon the top 11
heretofore referred to. Its outlet 14 is controlled by means of a plug 15, and by:
means of a short pipe said outlet is connected with a chamber 16 substantially
square in plan view and shown in longitudinal section in Figure 5. This chamber
is formed as to its lower part in the top 11 and is completed by means of a cover 17
suitably secured thereon. 18 and 19 are pipes adapted to convey gas and air to
compound blow-pipe-burners 20, three in number, which open into a tubular
heater 21 mounted within the chamber 16. This heater, as seen at Figure 2 and
Figure 5, is in triplicate as to the part where the flame enters from the burners.
but its three tubes at the other end thereof open into a common outlet 22, which
projects upward through the cover 17 and discharges against the bottom of the
crucible 12 inside its jacket. The function of this heater is to keep the contents of
the chamber 16 at the proper temperature for the making of the grids, and at the
same time to retain the metal in the crucible in a fluid state so that it may feed
downward freely into the chamber 16 as fast as the metal in the latter is used. In
the cover of this chamber is a mica-covered opening 23 by means of which the
condition of the interior of the chamber may be observed. Journaled transversely
in this chamber immediately beneath the tuyere and at one end of the heater is a
roller 24 mounted upon a shaft 25, said shaft being driven at a constant rate of
speed by a sprocket chain 26 driven from the shaft 4. The lower edge of this
roller is in substantially the same horizontal plane with the lower surface of the
top 11, and its function will be presently explained.
The carriage heretofore referred to is more particularly shown at Figures 1
and 3. It is denoted by 27 and is gibbed to the base in such manner as to give it
an accurately guided longitudinal movement from the connecting rod 10. The top
plate of this carriage fits closely against the bottom plane surface of the part 11;
and closes the bottom of the chamber 16, as will be readily understood from an
inspection of Figures 1, 3 and 5. 28 are openings cored in the top of the carriage
for the purpose of lightening the construction, and 29 are similar openings in the
part 11. Any or all of these may be provided with connections for the purpose of
applying hot air, or cold air, or water for affecting the temperature and fluidity of
the lead. The flat top-plate of the carriage I designate by the numeral 30).
Near its centre said plate 30 is provided with a square opening whose shape may
be readily seen at Figures 5 and 6. Within this opening is placed the form in
which the grids are made. In the first place this form consists of a series of
former bars 31 whose slightly extended ends 32 are seated in offsets in the opening
in the plate. Each of these bars is transversely slotted at regular intervals so
that its top is provided with a number of square projections which are shown at
Figure 6. The bars are set at a distance apart substantially equal to the width of
the slots in their faces. The transverse slots just referred to are, as to their upper
portions, denoted by 33. After extending downward a little below the surface of
the former bars, say for a quarter or a half an inch, said slots are widened and
enlarged, and said enlarged portione are numbered 34. Set between these former
bars are a series of thin ejector plates 35. They are strung upon a shaft 36 and are
separated by washers 37 whose thickness is substantially the thickness of the former
bars from side to side. Each ejector plate has in its upper surface a series of notches
or seats 38 whose lower ends are slightly enlarged, and in these are held a series of
partition strips or transverse ejectors 39 whose lower edges are enlarged to fit the
notches in the ejector plates. The ejector plates, their washers, and the partition
strips are shown in their assembled position at Figure 9, where I have omitted the
permanent and fixed bars for clearness of illustration. In placing the parts in

page_text: this assembled position the former bars are first set in place, then the ejector plates
are pushed up between the former bars from beneath with their notches registering
with the transverse slots in the mold bars, the washers are placed in position, the
shaft 36 inserted through the washers and ejector plates, and then the partition
strips 39 are inserted through their seats in the ejector plates, and also through
the slots in the former bars. 40 represents a pair of end ejectors which are
carried by the ejector plates, and co-operate with two plane former bars 41 in the
formation of the solid rim or edge around the grid.
When these parts are assembled it will be observed that all parts of the form
except the stationary former bars are attached to and carried by the ejector plates.
This movement is permitted to the transverse ejectors by reason of the fact that
while they are seated fast in the ejector plates they pass through the enlarged
slots in the former bars, and may thus have a limited vertical movement relative
thereto, as will be seen by a comparison of Figures 7 and 8. A tightening device
consisting of set screws 42 is shown at Figure 6. This is immaterial except that
it serves as a convenient means for adjusting the parts transversely to the length
of the former bars.
As has heretofore been stated, the ejector plates and the washers are strung
upon the shaft 36. This shaft, which is properly a large bolt, is connected by a
yoked link 43 with a shaft 44, which latter extends between a pair of levers 45
journaled to the carriage. The link just referred to is connected to the levers
eccentric to the journal of the latter, as may be seen at Figure 1, and this
eccentricity is sufficient to impart to the ejector plates a vertical movement in their
bearings between the bars when the levers are rocked upon their fulcrum. The
movement of the levers I prefer to effect by means of cams 46 secured upon the
bed in line with rollers 47 which are borne upon the ends of the levers, so that, as
the carriage moves, the rollers will ride upon the cams and thereby impart the
proper vertical movement to the ejector plates through the link.
Referring particularly to Figures 1 and 2, 48 is a planer tool journaled in
bearings at the end of the part 11, and adapted to be depressed by means of the
lever 49 and the connecting rod 50, which latter is connected to the lever 51
engaged by a face cam 52 of the shaft 4. The operation of this planer or
surfacing tool will be presently explained.
In the operation of my invention, the crucible 12 is first filled wholly or in part
with lead, and the heater started. The flame issuing from the heater beneath the
crucible will melt the lead in the latter, whereupon the inolten metal will flow
downward through the outlet and fill the chamber 16 around the heater and the
roller 2+. The bottom of the chamber is closed by the top of the carriage so
that either the plane surface of said top or the form which is set in said top is
opposite the bottom of said chamber and in contact with the lead. The carriage
has a movement beneath the chamber equal to twice the radius of the crank, and
this movement, by bringing different parts of the top in contact with the lead,
tends to chill the lowermost stratum of the molten metal and thereby decrease its
fluidity. This has heretofore been a great disadvantage in machines dependent
upon the ordinary method of casting, since the chilled or putty lead is thick and
does not readily flow into and fill the mold. I have shown this stratum of
thickened lead by a few heavily dotted lines at the centre of Figure 5.
Suppose the parts to be in the position shown at Figure 1. At this time the
right hand end of the operating lever 45 is raised upon the cam and the several
parts constituting the form are in the position in which they are shown at Figure 7,
that is to say, the ejector plates and the partition strips are withdrawn to their
downward limit of movement. Therefore the spaces between the former bars and
the transverse notches in said former bars are open to and in contact with the lead
as far down as the plane of the top of the ejector plates and the transverse partition
strips. From this position and by means of the rotation of the shaft 4 the carriage
is moved upon its ways, thereby carrying the form out from under the bottom of
the chamber, At the same time the roller 24 is revolving at a uniform rate of

page_text: speed by means of the sprocket chain 26. The open surface of the form may
partially fill and in its movement will carry with it a considerable amount of the
pasty thick lead at the bottom of the chamber, and as said form passes underneath
the roller this lead will be rolled solidly into the interstices of the form, thereby
forming a grid of great solidity and of a most homogeneous character. As the
form clears the bottom of the chamber the lead within said form is roughly
separated from the mass within the chamber by means of the oblique edge 53
shown at Figure 5, but as soon as the carriage passes into the field of the planer
tool 48 the latter is caused to operate in proper time by its cam and connecting rod,
and to engage and accurately surface the grid as it lies in the form. When the
stroke of the crank has projected the carriage outward until the form has cleared
the planer tool, the rollers 47 upon the left hand ends of the levers will ride upon
the cams 46 and through the links lift the ejector plates and the partition strips
upward relative to the former bars, and thereby eject the finished grid from between
said former bars. From its position upon the top of the carriage said grid may be
either removed by hand or by any suitable conveyor mechanism. The crank at
this time passes its centre and commences to withdraw the carriage toward the
position shown at Figure 1. During its backward stroke the ejector plates and
the partition strips remain in their raised position until the right hand rollers upon
the levers reach and ride upon the cams 46, at which time the movable parts of the
form will be drawn downward to the position shown at Figure 1, and particularly
in the enlarged view Figure 7. By the rotation of the shaft 4 the reciprocatory
motion of the carriage is continued, each forward movement rolling the lead into
the form and surfacing the grid and then ejecting the same from the form, and each
backward movement returning the form beneath the lead-filled chamber and with-
drawing the movable parts of the form to the position required to admit the metal
into it.
In a properly constructed secondary battery the positive and negative plates
should vary in thickness, and I propose to manufacture both thicknesses upon the
machine herein described by varying the throw of the movable parts of the form.
This may most easily be done by using rollers of different diameters upon those
ends of the levers 45 by which the downward withdrawal of the ejector plates and
their attached parts is effected. These are shown at the right hand of Figure 1.
As it is desired in the ejecting movement to raise the finished grid clear of the
form, the rollers which effect this movement and which are shown at the left hand
levers in Figure 1, may remain the same for both thicknesses of grids.
While the roller in conjunction with the other mechanism herein described is
competent to fill the form completely with the putty lead, at the same time if the
lower stratum be sufficiently fluid to enter the form by its own weight and partially
fill the same, the roller will force into it such additional lead as may be required to
complete the grid and will solidify the whole, and this whether the metal be of
greater or less fluidity.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a suitable
form, and means for moving the same, of a chamber for molten metal adjacent to
said form, and a roller adapted to force said metal into the form, substantially as
described.
2. The combination with the chamber adapted to contain metal, and having
means for applying heat thereto, of a sliding form, and a roller journaled in the
path of the form and impinging its upper surface, substantially as described.
3. The combination with the reciprocating carriage and the form arranged
therein, of the metal chamber, means for heating it, and a roller journaled in said
chamber with its lower surface in the same plane with the top of the form, substan-
tially as described.

page_text: 4. The combination with the reciprocating carriage having a form, of the
chamber, means for heating the same, the roller for pressing the metal into the form,
and a surfacing tool behind the roller, substantially as described.
5. The method of forming grids for secondary batteries and similar articles,
which consists in exposing a form to a body of pasty or partially fluid metal, and
then compressing said metal into the form, substantially as described.
6. The method of forming grids for secondary batteries, which consists in
exposing a properly shaped form to the body of wholly or partially fluid metal,
and then rolling said metal into the form, substantially as described.
7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with the movable
form, of the lead-containing chamber across which the form passes, the heater
arranged within said chamber, the burners connected with said heaters, substantially
as described.
8. The combination with the form, of the crucible, the chamber, a connection
between said crucible and the chamber, and the tubular heater seated in said
chamber and provided with burners, said heater having its open end contiguous to
the bottom of the crucible.
9. The combination with the form and the chamber, of the heater seated in said
chamber, and consisting of two or more separate inlets provided with burners, and
one or more outlets, and a crucible arranged above said outlet, substantially as
described.
10. The combination with the form, of the open-bottomed lead chamber the
heater provided with burners and seated in said chamber, a roller also seated in
said chamber, means for operating said roller, and mechanism for the reciprocation
of the form.
11. In a machine of the character described, the lead-containing chamber, and a
roller seated in said chamber, in combination with the form consisting of the
stationary bars, movable parts arranged between said bars, means for moving the
form bodily relative to the lead chamber, and additional means for actuating
the movable parts of the form, substantially as described.
12. In a machine of the character described, a form consisting of a series of
fixed bars provided with transverse notches or slots, in combination with a series
of ejector plates seated between the fixed bars, and transverse strips passing
through the ejector plates and the fixed bars and movable with said ejector plates
substantially as described.
13. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a series of
fixed bars, of ejector plates set and adapted to operate between said bars, and
transverse ejector strips carried by the ejector plates and intersecting the fixed bars
at right angles to their length, substantially as described.
14. The combination with the bars 31 having transverse slots 33 provided with
the enlarged portions 34, the notched ejector plates 35 and the partition strips 39
seated in and carried by the ejector plates and passing through and movable
relative to the fixed bars, substantially as described.
15. In a machine of the character described, the combination with the fixed
bars, of a series of ejector plates between and parallel with said bars, and
transverse ejectors at right angles to the length of said bars and secured to and
carried by the ejector plates, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 6th day of October 1891.
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.