Improvements in Primary Batteries, and in their Application to Miners' and like Portable Electric Lamps.
Year: 1893

page_text: The decision of the Comptroller-General, of the 11th day of April 1894,
allowed, under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883, an Amendment of
this Specification.
Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 7th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Primary Batteries, and in their Application to
Miners' and like Portable Electric Lamps.
I, SAMUEL WILLIAM MAQUAY of 1 Whittingstall Road, Fulham, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in primary batteries and in their application
to miners and like portable electric lamps.
In many primary batteries at present in use it is customary to provide means
for removing the zinc plates from the liquid when the battery is not in use in
order to prevent the zincs being uselessly destroyed by the solution.
Owing to the length of the zinc plates the amount of lift which is required to
remove these is considerable and adds to the size and expense of the parts.
According to my invention I employ what I may term horizontally arranged zinc
plates or plates so arranged that their width is greater than their depth such as
discs of metal used on the flat.
These discs or plates are attached to rods or are otherwise suitably supported
so that when in use they will be just under the surface of the liquid in the cell;
which is a point where the liquid is most active while a very trifling lift will suffice
to remove them therefrom.
As one means of carrying these plates so that they may be readily removeable
I may arrange them on rods which may be attached to a spring frame the arrange-
ment being such that on pressing down the frame all the plates will be immersed
while on releasing it the action of the spring will remove them.
In a portable battery or miners lamp constructed according to this invention
this operation of pressing down the plates may be carried out by means of a stud
or button on the lid of the battery which upon being pressed down will act on the
spring frame, a pin or pins being secured to the shank of the button to hold
beneath the lid when the button is turned so as to hold the plates in the liquid.
In a portable battery it is necessary to provide a liquid tight cover and to this
end I provide the cover to which the zincs and carbons are attached with the usual
sheet of rubber beneath same and employ a nut for tightening the lid and holding
it to a central or other screw, and in one form of portable lamp constructed
according to my invention I so arrange the nut that it may be loosened to release
the cover without entirely removing it from the screw, or it may be arranged to
released
work on a ring supported by two or more pins so that when the nut
from the screw it may be removed with the cover when it will not be liable to
be mislaid.
"

page_text: For securing the outer lid of the battery case I may employ a bayonet joint or
joints a spring stud being provided to seat in the upright slot of the joint to prevent
it coming apart by an accidental turn of the cover. The spring stud may be
actuated by a thumb piece conveniently arranged close to the handle.
Dated the 13th day of February 1893.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements in Primary Batteries, and in their Application to
Miners' and like Portable Electric Lamps.
I, SAMUEL WILLIAM MAQUAY of 1 Whittingstall Road, Fulham, in the
County of Middlesex, 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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in primary batteries and in their application
to miners and like portable electric lamps.
In many primary batteries at present in use it is customary to provide means for
removing the zinc plates from the liquid when the battery is not in use in order to
prevent the zines being uselessly destroyed by the solution. Owing to the length
of the zinc plates the amount of lift which is required to remove these is considerable
and adds to the size and expense of the parts.
According to my invention I employ what I may term horizontally arranged
zinc plates, or plates so arranged that their width is greater than their depth, such
as discs of metal used on the flat. This and other improvements forming part of
my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which shows an improved
portable lamp from the cells of which the zinc plates may be removed when not in
use, and which is liquid tight.
Fig. 1 is a scctional elevation showing my improvements applied to a combined
portable battery and lamp such as would be applicable for miners use.
Fig. 2 is a plan of same with the cover removed.
Fig. 3 is a plan of Fig. 1 on the line Y Y.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portable lamp showing another method of holding
the cover in place, and
Fig. 5 a front view of a portion of same.
In these drawings a three cell battery is shown, the carbons a being of angular
form in section (though they may be of any convenient shape while the zincs bas
shown are made in the form of discs and are carried by rods c attached to a frame d,
said rods passing through stuffing boxes e carried by a plate having a sheet
rubber face, the object being to prevent the liquid escaping when the battery is
reversed or tilted. The discs b are preferably so arranged that when the battery
is in action they will be just under the surface of the solution which is the point
where the liquid is most active, and this object may be attained by securing a small
block g inside the wall of each cell, such block indicating the height to which the
cell is to be filled. The frame d and zincs & may be arranged to be raised when
the battery is not in use by means of springs which may be placed around the
rods c or otherwise, means being provided for holding the frame down against the
pressure of the springs, but I prefer to employ the stuffing boxes e which when
properly packed permit the zincs to be moved up and down and to remain in the
desired position.
For the purpose of operating this frame from the outside a stud h passing
through the cover i may be employed, the shank of said stud carrying a disc
having three lugs on its edge which pass under projections arranged around a central
opening in the frame d. By dropping this disc j into the opening and turning it

page_text: partly around it will engage with the projections, and the frame may be raised
and lowered by means of the stud, thus affording a means of turning on and off the
light.
By releasing the disc j from the frame, the opening left in the latter will enable
a screw driver, wrench, or tool to be passed through it for the purpose of reaching
the nut k. This nut screws upon the rod k¹ secured in the centre of the battery,.
and as will be seen serves to secure the plate f which closes the cells. The nut k
is arranged so that while it may be released from the rod k it need not be wholly
removed therefrom. This may be effected by leaving a flange on the base of the
nut and allowing the nut a certain amount of play in a recess in the plate f, a
flanged ring secured to the plate preventing the nut from being entirely removed.
As shown in Fig. 1 the cover i is secured in place by a fixed stud m and a screw n,
the former passing into the casing and the latter passing from a block on the
outside of the casing on to the cover, the screw being turned by a key to lock or
unlock the cover.
It is necessary in batteries of this class to provide means for the escape of gas
from the solution, and this may be done by means of a tube or passage o in the
plate for each cell. With this arrangement however there is a danger of the
liquid escaping when the battery is tilted, and thus corroding the connections. To
avoid this I place over the tubes o receptacles p2 provided with a small perforation
or pin holes, the receptacle holding the liquid if any escapes from the tube o when
the battery is tilted and allowing it to run back into the cell when the battery is.
held vertically again. These receptacles are preferably of india rubber.
The rods care of metal but cased with vulcanite to prevent their corroding by
the liquid or gases, the metal portion being in contact with a metal ring r suitably
insulated from the frame d as is also the metal portion of the rod passing through
said frame. To the metal ring is soldered a short piece of springs which makes
contact with the metal stuffing box e. The connections will be readily understood
by persons familiar with batteries of this class, and also by reference to Fig. 2,.
from which it will be seen that the zinc of one cell is connected through the
stuffing box e, as before explained, with the carbon of the other cell next in order,.
such connections being made by metal strips or wires, the carbon of the last cell
being in connection with the spring strip t (Figs. 1 and 2), while the zinc of the
first cell is in connection with the strip t¹. Each of these strips make a spring
contact with studs in the case of the battery, such studs forming the lamp.
terminals.
In Figs. 4 and 5 the lid or cover i carries two fixed studs m at opposite points,
such studs holding in slots in the case after the fashion of a bayonet joint. To
prevent the cover coming off by an accidental turn of the handle a stud v is
pivoted to the front of the handle, such stud dropping into the vertical portion of
the slot, but being capable of removal therefrom by pressure upon a thumb piece w
provided with a spring u which will remove the stud v from the slot and allow the
lid to be turned.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven--
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The employment in a primary battery in conjunction with means for removing
the zincs from the liquid of zines in the form of plates or discs used on the flat,.
substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. In a primary battery provided with two or more cells a frame d earrying
the zines, means for raising or lowering the frame for the purpose of removing
the zines from the solution or replacing them therein and a liquid tight-plate
or cover, substantially as described (provided with suitable means for raising and
lowering it) carrying the zincs b by means of rods c passing through a liquid tight
plate f such parts being combined and arranged so that the connections are preserved.
from contact with the liquid substantially in the manner hereinbefore described.

page_text: 3. The employment in a primary battery having a closing plate of a fixed
central rod and a nut carried by the plate in such a manner that it is removable
from the rod but remains held by the cover, substantially as described:
4. 3. In a primary battery arranged substantially as hereinbefore described the
means for securing the cover consisting of the studs m m, slots, stud v and spring
controlled thumb piece, substantially as described.
5. 4. The improvements in general arrangement and construction of improved
primary battery and in their its application to miners and like portable lamps,
substantially as described and illustrated.
1000
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agent for the Applicant.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agent for the Applicant.