Improvements in Secondary Batteries.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 24th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Jan., 1890-Accepted, 29th Mar.. 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Secondary Batteries.
I, VICTOR HUGO ERNST, of 705, Summit Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, in
the State of New Jersey, one of the United States of America, mechanical engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The object of my invention is to increase the exposed surface of active material in
a plate of a storage or secondary battery. This object I attain in the following
mauner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which :-Fig. 1. is a
face view partly in section of a storage battery plate, with my improvements; Fig. 2,
is an edge view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a transverse sectional view of Fig. 1.;
Figs. 4, 5, and 6, are diagrams illustrating the method of carrying out my invention;
Fig. 7, is a view showing the core of material that will be destroyed by the acid of
the battery; and Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11, are views showing modifications of my
invention.
A, is the shell or housing made in the manner shown clearly in Fig. 4. This shell
has a series of longitudinal openings, a, throughout its entire length, and a series of
transverse openings, b, connecting with the openings, a. The openings, b, preferably
extend from side to side of the plate as shown in Fig. 3, but in some instances, they
may extend only part way through the plate.
The active material, B, is placed in the cavities formed by the openings, a, and, b,
and a central passage, c, is formed in each bar of active material running
parallel with the openings, a, and preferably in the centre of the material as shown in
Fig. 2.
By this construction a great percentage of active material is exposed to the action
of the acid of the battery, without decreasing the actual surface exposure, and the
wall of the passages, c, being circular, the active material does not present an edge
to the acid except at each end of the battery plate.
The plate is filled in the following manner: After the plate, A, is cast or
otherwise formed, rods or cores, D, are placed in each longitudinal orifice, a,
preferably centrally situated therein, as in Fig. 4; these cores I prefer to taper
slightly, so they can be readily removed when the active material is set.
When the active material is placed in the plate, and around the cores as shown
in Fig. 5, it is allowed to set, after which the cores are removed leaving the
battery plate with a series of longitudinal openings as shown in Fig. 6, through
which the acid of the battery may gain access to the interior of the active
material.
The core may be made of metal or wood, or other material which can be readily
removed, or may be made of some material that will be destroyed by acid or burning
after the active material is set.
In Fig. 7, I have shown cotton fibre used as a core, which will be eaten away and
destroyed by the acid of the battery.
The cores can be of any shape, depending mostly upon the contour of the longitu-
dinal openings in the plate.

page_text: In some instances, the passages, c, may be at right angles to both openings, a,
and, b, as shown in Fig. 8, the result being the same as in the construction shown
in Fig. 1, as regards the surface exposed. But this construction of plate is more
difficult to make than that shown in Fig. 1.
The active material may be a series of independent balls, disks or slabs,
and the longitudinal passages, c, formed therein as shown in Figs. 9, and 10.
The longitudinal passages, c, can be connected to one or more transverse passages, c',
(Figs. 8, and, 9.) passing through to the surface in order to obtain better circulation
of the acid around the active material.
In Fig. 11, I have shown an irregular core zigzag in form, made in the present
instance of cotton fibre or other material that can be removed by the action of acid
or by burning.
The openings through the interior of the plate not only serve to expose more of
the active material to the action of the acid, but also allow the active material to coo!
to a certain extent, owing to the circulation of the acid through the openings, and
this circulation keeps the acid in a more uniform state.
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. A battery plate having the active material imbedded therein, with a passage in
the interior of said active material extending parallel with the surface of the plate,
whereby the acid of the battery can gain access to the interior of said active material,
substantially as specified.
2. A storage battery plate having longitudinal and transverse openings, active
material in said openings, with central passages in the active material confined in the
longitudinal openings, substantially as described.
Dated thin 24th day of Jonu 1900
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.