Improvements in Primary Batteries.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Primary Batteries.
WALTER ROWBOTHAM, 24, Harleyford Road, Vauxhall, London, S.E., in the
County of Surrey, Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to produce an easily manipulated primary battery.
capable of giving a big & constant output at a low price (say under sixpence per
Board of Trade unit) with a minimum of local action.
For this purpose my cells, which consist of two compartments one being gas-
tight, are placed alongside each other. To supply the cells I have two large
reservoirs, one containing water & the other a solution of water & acids. Each
of these reservoirs is connected by a pipe to a number of small reservoirs arranged
in steps & communicating with each other & with one compartment of my cell, a
break or space occurring between the liquid in each.
I use for my solution nitric acid (specific gravity about 1.4) & sulphuric acid (specific
gravity about 1-8). The former is in proportions varying from 2-18 % & the
latter in proportions varying from 70-54 %, the percentage of water rarely vary-
ing. For my anodes I use turnings or scrap metal preferably iron. These aro
placed in a metal current collector coated with or made of metal (for example
aluminium) not readily attacked by acid.
Improvements in Primary Batteries.
I, WALTER ROWBOTHAM, of 24, Harleyford Road, Vauxhall, in the County of
Surrey, 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 primary batteries and has for its object the production of
an easily manipulated primary battery capable of giving a large and constant out-
put at a low cost per unit.
My invention consists in providing means for using turnings or scrap metal in a
battery of the kind described in my previous Specification No. 2378 of 1897, and
the accompanying sheet of drawings illustrates a battery of that type with the
present improvements applied.
Figure 1 is a transverse section through the active plates of the battery showing
the arrangement of the carbon within the porous tubes and the position of the
scrap metal, and its container.

page_text: Figure 2 is a plan of the battery shown in the previous figure.
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic section of one set of compartments (on the line a b
Figure 2) to which water is supplied illustrating the step by step arrangement of
tho cells.
Figure 4 is a similar diagrammatic section of an adjacent set of gas tight com-
partments (on the line c d Figure 2) to which acid and water is supplied and
illustrates also the step by step arrangement of the cells.
To carry my invention into effect as illustrated in the drawings I provide a set
of cells of the kind described in the specification hereinbefore referred to. These
cells each consists of two double compartments A, A¹, and E, E', and the compart-
ment E, E, is arranged gas tight: and further the individual cells are placed
alongside each other step by step as clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4, so that each
cell is on a slightly lower level than the one preceding it. To supply the cells I
provide two large reservoirs, A³ containing water, and E³ a solution of water and
acids. These reservoirs A3 and E3 are connected by pipes respectively to the com-
partments or small reservoirs A¹, E, arranged in steps each communicating with
one another and with their respective compartments A and E in each cell by their
pipes A² E². The level of the pipes is always above the level of the liquid so as to
give an air break or space to prevent the passage of the current. By this arrange-
ment and for the reasons hereinbefore more fully explained with reference to the
previous patent already cited there is an automatic supply of the exciting fluid.
I use for my solution nitric acid (sp. gr. about 1·4) and sulphuric acid (sp. gr. about
1.8). The former is in proportions varying from 2 to 18 % and the latter in propor-
tions varying from 70 to 54 %, the percentage of water being nearly constant. For
my anodes I use turnings or scrap metal preferably iron (such as Z Figure 1), and
to use these I place them in a metal current collector Y coated with or made of
metal (for example aluminium) not readily attacked by acid. By the use of such
a metal case Y I ensure the electrical conduction from the active scraps to the
current collector, as the current collector is not attacked in the solution.
The carbon rods C are contained in the porous pots D and are in communication
with the acid solution in the compartments E, E¹, and the said solution is forced
through the porous pots by the pressure of the gas generated according to the
amount of current, all in a manner already described with reference to the Letters
Patent herein before cited.
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 :-
A primary battery of the kind described provided with a continuous supply of
acid and a continuous circulation of water, and having anodes consisting of turnings,
or scrap metal supported by a metal case, the metal case not being appreciably
acted on by the exciting fluid, substantially as described.
Dated this 29th day of April 1898
Dated this 29th day of April 1898
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.