Improvements in Storage Battery Plates.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th June, 1894
--Complete Specification-Left, 29th Mar,-1895-Accepted, 4th May, 1895-
Improvements in Storage Battery Plates.
We BERNARD MERVYN DRAKE and JOHN MARSHALL GORHAM Electrical
Engineers, both of 66 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W. do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of our invention is to provide an accumulator plate of great strength
The
and durability, having at the same time a large effective working area.
plates in use at the present time are rarely more than a quarter of an inch in
thickness, because the electrolitic action only takes place efficiently to the depth
that the acid can circulate freely, the interior of the plate doing very little useful
work. For instance we have found that plates made an inch thick have very little
more capacity than our standard pattern of 6" thick, although if made sufficiently
porous, a greater capacity can be temporarily obtained. To overcome these
difficulties, we take an accumulator plate of any pattern and saw it into strips of
say one inch in width, i.e. the thickness of the plate to be made, or the strips can
be rolled, stamped, or cast of the required width if desired. These strips are
placed facing each other with sufficient clear space between each and the next to
allow electrolitic action to take place, say one eighth of an inch, and are then
burnt together top and bottom so as to form one long composite plate, say one inch
thick. The positive and negative plates may be similarly treated as above, or the
composite plate may be used as the positive pole with the ordinary negative, or
vice versa.
These composite plates are connected up in the form of an accumulator
in the usual way but it will be seen that whereas the active surface of an ordinary
plate is usually exposed directly to the active surface of the other plate, in the
above arrangement the part of the plate directly facing the plate consists of the
edges alone, the electrolitic action taking place through the column of acid
separating the strips and thence into the active faces. These edges could if desired
be varnished or treated so as to prevent any possible scaling at this part. To
explain more clearly, if we were to pack these one inch strips close together we
should then have the action taking place mainly on the edges of the strips and to a
certain depth only on the surfaces, and even then inefficiently. Another object in
using this type of plate is to avoid the ill effects resulting from possible buckling,
for should any of the strips composing the composite plate buckle due to unequal
expansion, it will be seen that they will touch only strips of the same polarity and
the electrolitic action of the cell will not be affected.
Dated this 27th day of June 1894
BERNARD MERVYN DRAKE.
JOHN MARSHALL GORHAM.

page_text: We BERNARD MERVYN DRAKE and JOHN MARSHALL GORHAM Electrical
Engineers both of 66, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W. do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to he
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The object of our invention is to provide an accumulator plate of great strength
and durability, having at the same time a large effective working area. The plates
in use at the present time are rarely more than a quarter of an inch in thickness,
because the electrolitic action only takes place efficiently to the depth that the acid
can circulate freely, the interior of the plate doing very little useful work. For
instance, we have found that plates made an inch thick: have very little more
capacity than our standard. pattern of " thick, although if made sufficiently
porous, a greater capacity can be temporarily obtained. To overcome these
difficulties, we take an accumulator plate of. any. pattern and saw it into
strips.A AA of say one inch in width, as shown at B, i.e., the thickness of the
plate to be made or the strips A can be rolled, stamped, or cast of the required
width if desired. These strips are placed facing each other with sufficient clear
space C between each and the next to allow electrolitic action to take place, say
one eighth of au inch, and are then burnt together top and bottom so as to form
one long composite plate, say one inch thick. The positive and negative plates
may be similarly treated as above, or the composite plate may be used as the
positive pole with the ordinary. negative, or vice-versa. These composite. plates are
connected up in the form of an accumulator in the usual way but it will be seen.
that whereas the active surface of an ordinary plate is usually exposed directly to
the active surface of the other plate, in the above arrangement the part of the
plate D directly facing the next plate consists of the edges alone, the electrolitic
action taking place through the column of acid separating the strips and thence
into the active faces. These edges could if desired be varnished or treated so as
to prevent any possible scaling at this part. To explain more clearly, if we were
to pack these one inch strips close together we should then have the action taking
place mainly on the edges of the strips and to a certain depth only on the inner
surfaces, and even then inefficiently. Another object in using this type of plate is
to avoid the ill effects resulting from possible buckling, for should any of the
strips A A A composing the composite plate buckle due to unequal expansion, it
will be seen that they will touch only strips of the same polarity and the electrolitic
action of the cell will not be affected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
A secondary battery plate consisting of a number of strips or plates arranged
with their edges to the front and back and a clear space between each and the next
the said space being sufficient to allow of free electrolitic action.
Dated this 28th dex of March 1905
BERNARD MERVYN DRAKE.
JOHN MARSHALL GORHAM.