Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 20th June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 29th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
I, WILHELM ALEXANDER BOESE, of 8 Waterloo-Ufer in the City of Berlin
and Kingdom of Prussia, Banker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in secondary or storage batteries, and the
object of my invention is to provide plates or electrodes of a superior stability and
capacity, having a comparatively small weight.
Nearly all of the storage batteries hitherto known and used possess the great
inconvenience that their capacity or storage power is but small as compared with
the size and weight of the plates. This fact must be chiefly attributed to the
necessity hitherto existing of employing a more or less heavy body or skeleton of
metal for supporting the active material and for obtaining a plate of sufficient
stability. The metal employed, generally lead, increases materially the weight
without adding in the same proportion to the storage power. The excessive
heaviness of storage batteries still forms the chief obstacle to a more general
adoption of storage batteries for many purposes of use, especially for those where
locomotive power is required.
The improved battery-plates of my invention are destined to overcome the
difficulties alleged.
According to my invention, 1 form the plates in the following manner :-
The substance which is to be employed as active material, and for which,
generally, oxide or peroxide of lead, or the lead metal itself, is used, is reduced to
a finely disintegrated state, preferably to a fine powder. To the said powder or
reduced material, I add a sufficient quantity of a solution in alcohol, or alcoholic
substance, of the solid residues, which remain, if coal-tar is subjected to distillation
by water. Mixed up with the said solution, the active material forms a strong
paste of which I form the plates by filling the paste into suitable forms. The said
forms are then exposed to a moderate heat not exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, for
the purpose of evaporating the alcohol, which, being easily expelled, leaves a dry
solid plate. The said plate, however, is not sufficiently hard, yet, to serve as a
battery-plate. The hardness is obtained by treated the plate with a suitable acid,
preferably sulphuric acid in a diluted state. The time of exposing the plate to
the action of the acid may vary according to the size and thickness of the plate
and the state of concentration of the acid bath. When removed from said bath,
the plate is ready for use, hard as cement, of great porosity, yet not the least liable
to breaking, bending or deformation.
For charging and discharging the plate, I prefer to surround the same by a bar
or frame of suitable metal, such as lead, serving as a conductor for the current.
The body of the plate is of a uniform porous structure and perfectly able to
increase and decrease in volume as the current is charged and discharged, without
the least tendency to bending or deforming or becoming crannied. Owing to the
great porosity, the material of the plate being all active, offers a comparatively
large surface to the electrolyte of the battery and a capacity is obtained which
has never been experienced before. No short circuiting can occur in the battery,
as there are no parts of the plate substance thrown off in the course of use, nor is
the battery liable to spontaneous discharge which frequently occurs with the metal
plates of accumulators.
Dated thin 10th dow of Lune 1902
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
I, WILHELM ALEXANDER BOESE of 8 Waterloo-Ufer in the City of Berlin
and Kingdom of Prussia, Banker, 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 secondary or storage batteries, and the
object of my invention is to provide plates or electrodes of a superior stability and
capacity having a comparatively small weight.
Nearly all of the storage batteries hitherto known and used possessed the great
inconvenience that their capacity or storage power is but small as compared with
the size and weight of the plates. This fact must be chiefly attributed to the
necessity hitherto existing of employing a more or less heavy body or skeleton of
metal for supporting the active material and for obtaining a plate of sufficient
stability. The metal generally employed for the purpose, lead, materially increases
the weight without adding in the same proportion to the storage power.
The improved battery plates of my invention are destined to overcome the
alleged difficulties.
According to my invention, I form the battery plates in the following manner:
The substance, which is to be employed as active material and for which,
generally, oxide or peroxide of lead, or the lead metal itself, is used, is reduced to
a finely disintegrated state, preferably to a fine powder. To the said powder, I
add a sufficient quantity of a solution in alcohol, or alcoholic substance, of the solid
residues which remain if coal-tar is subjected to distillation by water.
Mixed up
with the said solution, the active material forms a strong paste, of which I form the
plates by filling the paste into suitable forms. The said forms, then, are exposed to
a moderate heat, not exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, for the purpose of evaporating
the alcohol, which, being easily expelled, leaves a dry, solid and yet porous
plate. The said plate, however, is not sufficiently hard to serve as a storage
battery plate. The desired hardness is obtained by treating the plate by a suitable
acid, preferably sulphuric acid in a diluted state. The time of exposing the plate
to the action of the acid may vary according to the size and thickness of the plate,
and according to the state of concentration of the acid bath. When removed from
the said bath, the plate is ready for use, hard as cement, of great porosity, yet not
the least liable to breaking, bending or deformation in the course of being charged
and discharged, as is the case with most of the existing storage battery plates.
Instead of applying the sulphuric acid to the plate formed as before described,
the following modification may be adopted :-
-
Anthracene or equivalent residues obtained by the distillation of coal-tar are
mixed up with sulphuric acid, and the compound obtained is mixed with the powder
of lead, oxide of lead or peroxide of lead forming the active material. Or the
anthracene, sulphuric acid and active material may be all mixed up together from
the beginning. The sulpho-acid compounds developed by the action of the
sulphuric acid on the anthracene or equivalent substance are particularly useful in
the preparation of storage battery plates, because they enter into combination with
the metallic oxides and thereby form sulpho-acid salts, which not only have a
superior binding quality, so as to give the plate the hardness of stone, but also are
readily decomposed by the electric current, the decomposition proceeding much
more easily than is the case with the sulphate of lead usually employed in the
formation of storage battery plates.
To extract the anthracene from the residues of distillation of coal-tar, benzole or
similar products of petroleum or hydrocarbon oil may be employed, but I prefer to

page_text: use alcohol which dissolves only the anthracene and leaves undissolved such other
residues as would be objectionable in the formation of storage battery plates.
In mixing up the alcoholic solution of anthracene, with the active material (such
as oxide or peroxide of lead) and with sulphuric acid, as before described, the heat
developed by the action of the sulphuric acid on the alcohol is of itself sufficient to
enable the formation of sulpho-acid salts, and in this case the application of heat
may be dispensed with.
The raw battery plates, formed in the manner described, of a mixture of oxide
or peroxide of lead, with sulpho-acid anthracene, are subjected, before being used.
to the usual treatment of the electric current, the electrolyte, during such treatment,.
being sulphuric acid of a suitable concentration. In consequence of such treatment,
the compound of sulpho-acid anthracene and oxide of lead is transformed into
peroxide of lead in the positive electrodes, and into metallic lead in the negative
electrodes. By such transformation, the sulpho-acid of anthracene undergoes a
more or less complete decomposition, during which the sulphuric acid returns into
the electrolyte, while the anthracene is transformed into other compounds by the
active oxygen and hydrogen. The storage battery plates, when treated as
described, consist nearly entirely of pure metallic lead, the compounds of anthracene
being almost completely eliminated. But the stability and solidity of the finished
plates is not, or but very slightly, inferior to that of the raw electrode plates
prepared of the mixture of a solution of anthracene, oxide of lead and sulphuric
acid.
For charging and discharging the storage battery plates, I prefer to surround or
provide the same with a frame or bars of suitable metal, such as lead, serving as a
conductor for the current. The body of the plate is of a uniform, porous
structure and can easily increase and decrease in volume, as the current is charged
or discharged, without the least tendency of the plate to bend and become
deformed or crammed. The porosity of the material of the plate being very great,.
a capacity is obtained to such an extent as has never before been, and, owing to its
being active throughout, a comparatively large surface is offered to the electrolyte
of the battery.
No short-circuiting can occur in the battery, as not the least particles of the
Nor is the battery
plates are thrown off or crumble away in the course of use.
liable to spontaneous discharges, which frequently occur with the usual metal plates
of storage batteries.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven--
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The improvements in secondary or storage batteries, consisting in forming
their plates of a mixture of the active material (metallic lead or oxide or peroxide
of lead) in a finely disintegrated state, with an alcoholic solution of anthracene or
similar residues of distillation of coal-tar, subjecting the same to beat not
exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, and subsequently treating the same with sulphuric
acid, substantially as described.
2. The improvements in secondary or storage batteries, consisting in forming
their plates of a mixture of the metallic oxides (oxides of lead) with sulpho-acid of
anthracene or equivalent organic compounds capable of forming sulpho-acids,
substantially as described.
3. The improvements in secondary or storage batteries, consisting in forming
their plates of a mixture of metallic oxides (oxides of lead), sulphuric acid and a
solution in benzole or similar hydrocarbon ether of the residues of distillation of
coal-tar, and subsequently submitting the mixture to moderate heat for the purpose
of forming sulpho-acid salts, substantially as described.
4. The improvements in secondary or storage batteries, consisting in forming-
their plates of a mixture of metallic oxides (oxides of lead), sulphuric acid and a
solution in alcohol of the residues of distillation of coal-tar, whereby sulpho-acid

page_text: salts are formed by the heat spontaneously developed through the action of the
sulphuric acid on the alcohol, substantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of March 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.