Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Nov., 188
Complete Specification Left, 31st Jan., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1889
A communication from abroad by CHARLES HENRY THOMPSON, of Detroit, in the
County of Wayne, in the State of Michigan, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester both
in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The invention relates to the elements of a secondary or storage battery and to the
process for manufacturing the same.
The foundation for the storage battery or secondary battery element is a lead
plate or support while the ingredient designed to be supported by the plate is the
usual salt of lead or may be any other suitable ingredient.
It must also be understood that the support instead of being made of lead may
be of any other metallic substance or alloy.
The invention consists essentially:
First In the process for manufacturing the supporting plate.
the
Second In the plate itself as made by process.
Third In the plate itself combined with the filling salts or ingredients.
:
The description of the same will now be proceeded with.
It will be presumed that the supporting plates are to be eight inches square and
a quarter of an inch thick each. A mould is taken of any suitable dimensions, say
for instance 18 inches long and 8 inches square in cross section. This mould is
filled up with coarse granular salt or other similar substance which will stand a con-
Then it is
siderable degree of heat and which may be subsequently dissolved out.
preferable to heat the mould with its contents so that the metal afterwards run in
may remain fluid until it fills all the interstices between the grains. The lead or
other metal in a molten state is then poured into the mould, and the pouring con-
tinued until the molten metal has reached and filled all the spaces between the grains

page_text: of salt or other substance. When this is fully accomplished, the mass is allowed to
cool and then with a suitable saw or gang saws, the mass is sawn into plates, say a
quarter of an inch thick. This will make the plates eight inches square and a quarter
of an inch thick, the plates thus severed are then introduced into a bath of the proper
solvent, which in the case of salt, is water, until the salt or other granular substance is
thoroughly dissolved out.
This leaves the plate in a highly porous condition ready for the reception of the
salts of lead or other ingredient used as a filling.
These plates have their interstices then thoroughly filled with the salts of lead and
are completed ready for the action of the dynamo upon them. The plate may have
either cast with it originally, a projection for the terminals, or these terminals may
be cast onto the plates after they are cast as above. The latter course is preferable,
as by it the terminals may be made somewhat thicker and stiffer, than the plate
itself.
Dated this 5th day of November 1888..
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: A communication from abroad by CHARLES HENRY THOMPSON, of Detroit, in the
County of Wayne, in the State of Michigan, United States of America.
I WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.L.M.E. of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors & Lord Street Liverpool and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in the
County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil
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 :―
The invention relates to the elements of a secondary or storage battery and to the
process for manufacturing the same..
The foundation for the storage battery or secondary battery clement is a lead plate or
support, while the ingredient designed to be supported by the plate is the usual salt
of lead or may be any other suitable ingredient.
It must also be understood that the support instead of being made of lead may be
of any other suitable metallic substance or alloy.
The invention consists essentially:
First In the process for manufacturing the supporting plate.
Second In the plate itself as made by the process.
Third In the plate itself combined with the filling salts or ingredients.
The description of the same will now be proceeded with.
It will be presumed that the supporting plates are to be eight inches square and a
quarter of an inch thick each. A mould is taken of any suitable diminsions, say for
instance 18 inches long and 8 inches square in cross section. This mould is filled up
with coarse granular salt or other similar substance which will stand a considerable
degree of heat and which may be subsequently dissolved out. Then it is preferable
to heat the mould with its contents so that the metal afterwards run in may remain
fluid until it fills all the interstices between the grains. The lead or other metal in a
molten state is then poured into the mould, and the pouring continued until the molten
metal has reached and filled all the spaces between the grains of salt or other sub-
stance. When this is fully accomplished, the mass is allowed to cool and then with a
suitable saw or gang saws, the mass is sawn into plates, say a quarter of an inch thick.
This will make the plates eight inches square and a quarter of an inch thick, the
plates thus severed are then introduced into a bath of the proper solvent, which in
the case of salt, is water, until the salt or other granular substance is thoroughly
dissolved out.
This leaves the plate in a highly porous condition ready for the reception of the
salts of lead or other ingredient used as a filling.
These plates have their interstices then thoroughly filled with the salts of lead and
are completed ready for the action of the dynamo upon them. The plate may have

page_text: either cast with it originally, a projection for the terminals, or these terminals may be
cast onto the plates after they are cast as above. The latter course is preferable,
as by it the terminals may be made somewhat thicker and. stiffer, than the plate
itself.
In the drawings :-
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of a mould filled with salt and showing
the uolten metal partially filled into the intervening interstices.
Figure 2 shows the plate as it appears when first sawn from the moulded block
before the salt is dissolved out.
Figure 3 shows a section of the plate after the salt has been dissolved out, and
Figure 4 shows a section of the plate after the salt has been dissolved out and the
interstices refilled with salts of lead or other excitant.
In the said drawings, A represents the mould filled with salt.
B represents the lead or other metal run in to fill the interstices.
C represents the interstices left after dissolving out the salt.
D represents the salt of lead or other substance with which the interstices are
refilled.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what 1 claim is :-
1. The method of making the supporting plates of a storage or secondary battery
element, the same consisting in providing a suitable mould, of a size sufficient for
several of said plates, then filling the mould with coarse granular salt or other similar
soluble material, then filling in the mould with molten lead or other suitable metal
until it fills the interstices between the grains, then sawing the block when cool into
plates of the desired thickness, and subsequently dissolving out the salt or granules,
substantially as described.
2. A supporting plate for a storage or secondary battery element, the same formed
by sawing from a block made by pouring molten metal into a mould filled with coarse
salt or other soluble granules from which the said salt is dissolved out after sawing,
substantially as described.
3. An element for a secondary or storage battery, the same consisting of a plate
formed by sawing from a block made by pouring metal into a mould filled with coarse
granular salt or equivalent soluble substance, the said salt being dissolved out sub-
sequent to the sawing and the interstices refilled with salts of lead or other exciting
substances, substantially as described.
4. In the manufacture of porous lead plates as described, a mould filled with
granular salt or similar substance, the said mould and its contents being heated
previously to the pouring of the metal, substantially as described.
Dated this 30th day of January 1889.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.