Year: 1886

page_text: I, JOHN SCUDAMORE SELLON of The Hall Sydenham, in the County of Kent
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to secondary batteries or electrical accumulators and has
reference to the employment of vessels in the form of trays dishes troughs or shallow
Tanks of lead or of lead alloys (such as antimony and lead) which may be of any
convenient size and shape and suitably made for placing or fixing in stacks one above
the other in any desired number and which vessels are so constructed that
the exterior bottom of each may either have in itself cavities receptacles cells grooves
or interstices or have cast upon attached to or fixed against it projecting plates pieces
supports or frames of lead or lead alloy which may also be perforated interstical
cellular grooved indented woven or in laminæ of such form or forms that suitable
active material or materials to be rendered active such for instance as spongy lead or
oxides or admixtures of lead may be held in place be attached to or be packed in on
or against or be formed upon it or them such surface surfaces or projections to be
used as one electrode preferably as the negative pole plate of a couple and when fixed
in place dipping into the Electrolyte contained in the under vessel upon which it stands
(insulated) or over which it is supported-the interior of such under vessel having
packed or placed in or formed upon it a layer of suitable active material which may
be in a mass or in divisions interstices grooves or cells and forming the other electrode
preferably the positive plate pole-The vessels thus constructed vizt. each with interior
and exterior active surfaces are superimposed one upon or over the other filled to the
required height with a suitable electrolyte and thus they form a series of secondary
battery cells occupying little space and very suitable for employment as regulators or
to guard against the inconvenience of stoppages or breakdowns in machinery as well
as for the usual purposes served by electrical accumulators.
In preparing the active material for my negative pole plate I sometimes admix
with the lead ingredients Carbon or pumice stone and for my positive plates I
sometimes add with or without either of the materials an Oxide of Manganese.
1
1000

page_text: Improvements in Secondary Batteries.
I, JOHN SCUDAMORE SELLON, of The Hall, Sydenham, in the County of Kent,
Gentleman, 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 secondary batteries or electrical accumulators and has
reference to the employment of vessels in the form of trays, flat dishes troughs or
shallow tanks of lead or of lead alloys (such as antimony and lead) which may be of
any convenient size and of square circular or other shape suitable for being placed
fixed or supported in stacks one above the other in any desired number and which
vessels are so constructed that the exterior bottom of each may either be roughened
chemically, electro-chemically or mechanically or may have in itself cavities receptacles
cells grooves or interstices or have cast upon attached to or fixed against it projections
or projecting plates pieces supports or frames of lead or lead alloy which may also be
roughened perforated interstical cellular grooved indented woven or in laminæ of
such form or forms that suitable active material or materials to be rendered active
such for instance as spongy lead or oxides or admixtures of lead may be formed upon
it or be held in place or be attached to or be packed in on or against it or them such
surface surfaces or projections to be used as one electrode preferably as the negative
pole plate of a couple and when fixed in place being immersed in or dipping into the
electrolyte contained in the under vessel upon which it stands (insulated) or over
which it is supported the interior of such under vessel having formed upon it or
packed or placed in it a layer of suitable active material which may be in a mass
or in divisions interstices grooves or cells and forming the other electrode preferably
the peroxide or positive pole plate.-The vessels thus constructed viz.: Each with
interior and exterior active surfaces are superimposed one upon or over the other
filled to the required height with a suitable electrolyte and thus they form a series of
secondary battery cells occupying little space and very suitable for employment as
regulators or to guard against the inconvenience of stoppages or breakdowns in
machinery as well as for the usual purposes served by electrical accumulators.
It will be understood that each vessel as in the case of the cone form of battery
described and illustrated by me in my Specification No. 5069 183 thus forms the
positive electrode of one pair and the negative electrode of the adjacent pair or vice
versa and at the same time contains the electrolyte dispensing with the use of glass
or other containers and thus a great saving in cost is effected and short circuiting and
the destruction of the peroxide plate by disintegration of the active material through
overcharging can be entirely guarded against. The evaporation of the electrolyte is
also reduced to a minimum and no splashing over of spray need take place as the
vessels can be practically closed by suitable construction and superposition one above
the other. Leakage of electricity through the spreading or aggregation of moisture
over the edges from any cause such as capillary attraction or atmospheric condensation
may be guarded against by the surrounding trough herein shewn or by the means
described in my above referred to Specification.
It is evident that by a simple arrangement in connection with the said trough or
gutter the level of the electrolyte in each tray may if desired be regulated and
maintained constant

page_text: Such trays tanks or vessels may obviously be made of very large size if required
and are practically proof against injury by such misusage as may affect cells of
ordinary construction such as overcharging or discharging or being left in an
uncharged condition for any long period.
In preparing the active material for my negative pole plate I sometimes admix with
the lead ingredients carbon or pumice stone and for my positive pole plates I sometimes
add with or without either of such materials an oxide of manganese.
I will now describe with reference to the accompanying drawings a suitable form
of construction for carrying my invention into effect.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of a battery arranged according to my Invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of two trays. Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the trays.
A are trays (or the like) of lead (or lead alloy) mounted_one_above the other by
being supported upon projections b on framing or supports B. The said trays A have
on their under surface depending perforated ribs a and on their upper surface they
have slight ribs a². The active material or material to be rendered active is supported
held or carried by the perforated ribs a forming the negative pole plate and active
material is placed or packed in the trays A so as to form the positive pole plates. The
Electrolyte is put into the trays and when they are placed one over the other the ribs α,
holding the spongy metallic lead enter the electrolyte and approach closely to the
peroxide layer at bottom of the next tray. Any moisture which may creep over the
edges of the trays is received in the channel a³ there-around and runs out by an
outlet pipe a (see the enlarged detail, Figure 4) into the tray next beneath it. For
this purpose, as also for convenience in filling up with liquid, and for observation the
trays have one corner or angle removed (see figure 2,) the trays being so arranged
that the outlet pipes are situated alternately at different sides of the stack. The top
and bottom trays of each stack, to which the connections are made, may of course be
of single construction as negative and positive pole-plates respectively.
A very convenient form of projecting rib in lieu of the straight ribs a a is shewn in
Figure 5, consisting of a series of V shaped attachments a which may be readily
made by sharply corrugating or bending a perforated plate and attaching it to the
bottom of the tray. In such a form the active material may be packed not only in
the perforations, but partially in the troughs so formed and similarly in trays or tanks
of sufficiently large dimensions, the layer of active material on the inside bottom of
each vessel, may be, as it were, hillocked up in alternating ridges and be held in
position by means of perforated sheets bent or corrugated into suitable form.
I have illustrated what I consider a very convenient form of my battery, but I do
not limit myself to the precise details as they may it will be evident be considerably
varied without departing from the nature of my invention as herein stated before the
description of the drawings.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
First-In secondary batteries or electrical accumulators elements in the form of
shallow trays or other suitable vessels which form hold or support the respective
elements of the battery and contain the electrolyte and so constructed that the under
part of the one tray or the like forming or holding the one element dips into the
electrolyte contained in the next vessel beneath which forms or holds the opposite
element the whole being arranged or combined substantially as hereinbefore indicated.
Second-The arrangement or combination of parts constituting the secondary
battery or electrical accumulator substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings.