Improvements in Electric Batteries.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 20th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 28th May,
1898
PROVISIONAL DIMITIVATION
Improvements in Electric Batteries.
I, WALTER ROWBOTHAM, Engineer, of 24, Harleyford Road, Vauxhall, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to primary batteries intended for continuous use, and my
object is to utilise the nitrous fumes or gases evolved where nitric acid is used as
a depolariser, or other depolarising fumes or gases evolved where other depolaris-
ing substances are used.
My invention consists in arranging the acid supply reservoir in such a manner
The
that it is divided into two chambers, one of which is larger than the other.
smaller chamber I fill in the first instance with a mixture strong in nitric acid.
A valve opens
The mixture may consist of nitric acid, sulphuric acid and water.
at the bottom of this chamber into the large chamber, but it closes with pressure
from the small chamber. The large chamber I fill with a mixture of sulphuric
acid and water, and I arrange within the large chamber a float with jointed or
other pipe connection. This jointed or other pipe connection leads by a pipe to
the upper part of the acid compartments of the battery cells, that is, the upper
parts of the depolarising fluid or acid compartments. The nitrous and nitric
fumes from the depolariser pass up through this pipe and bubble through the
sulphuric acid solution by way of the float and a pipe within it.
Sometimes I admit air into the large chamber to assist in decomposing the
fumes.
In starting, the battery is fed from the smaller chamber containing nitric acid,
but after a time, when the acid in the large chamber becomes charged with nitrous
fumes, it passes by increase of pressure into the smaller chamber, whence it
passes to the battery. By this arrangement I effect a great saving in the depolariser,
and I greatly improve the action and economy of my batteries.
100%
Improvements in Electric Batteries.
I, WALTER ROWBOTHAM, Engineer, of 24, Harleyford Road, Vauxhall, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
77

page_text: 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 intended for continuous use, and my
object is to utilise the nitrous fumes or gases evolved where nitric acid is used
as a depolariser, or other depolarising fumes or gases evolved where other depolaris-
ing substances are used. And it is applicable more especially to the class of
primary batteries described in my previous Patent No. 2378/97.
My invention consists in arranging the acid supply reservoir in such a manner
that it is divided into two chambers, one of which is larger than the other. The
smaller chamber I fill in the first instance with a mixture strong in nitric acid.
The mixture may consist of nitric acid, sulphuric acid and water.
A valve opens
at the bottom of this chamber into the large chamber, but it closes with pressure
from the small chamber. The large chamber I fill with a mixture of sulphuric acid
and water, and I arrange within the large chamber a float with jointed or other
pipe connection. This jointed or other pipe connection leads by a pipe to the
upper part of the acid compartments of the battery cells, that is, the upper parts
of the depolarising fluid or acid compartments. The nitrous and nitric fumes
from the depolariser pass up through this pipe and bubble through the sulphuric
acid solution by way of the float and a pipe within it.
Sometimes I admit or force in air into the large chamber to assist in decompos-
ing the fumes.
In starting, the battery is fed from the smaller chamber containing nitric acid,
but after a time, when the acid in the large chamber becomes charged with
nitrous fumes, it passes by increase of pressure into the smaller chamber, whence
it passes to the battery.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings;-
;-
The figure shows a diagrammatic sectional elevation of one method of carrying
out my invention.
I provide an acid supply reservoir A, B, divided into two chambers, one of
which A is larger than the other B.
The smaller chamber B, I fill at first with a mixture strong in nitric acid. The
mixture may consist of nitric acid, sulphuric acid and water.
A ball or other valve as C opens at the bottom of this chamber but it closes
with pressure from the small chamber B. The large chamber A. I fill with a
mixture of sulphuric acid and water and I arrange within the large chamber A,
a float D with jointed or other pipe connection as shown at E. This jointed or
other pipe connection leads by a pipe to the upper part of the acid compartments F
of the battery cells, that is the upper parts of the depolarising fluid or acid com-
partments.
The nitrous and nitric fumes from the depolariser pass up through the pipe G
and bubble through the sulphuric acid solution in A by way of the float pipe G¹.
Sometimes I admit or force in air, into the large chamber A to assist in decom-
posing the fumes.
In starting, the battery is fed from the chamber B containing nitric acid, but
after a time when the acid in the chamber A becomes charged with nitrous fumes,
it passes by increase of pressure into the chamber B whence it passes to the
battery.
The pressure in the cell is controlled by the exit trap H. By this arrangement
I. effect a great saving in the depolariser, and I greatly improve the action and
economy of my invention.
I may cause air to be sucked in by a pipe leading to a contracted part of the
acid supply pipe and which will thereby find its way into the upper part of the cell
and thence will bubble up through the acid in the reservoir with the gases rising
from the cell, or air may be forced direct into the cell by a pump or other suit-
able contrivance.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
In electric batteries, a constant pressure trap to cause the depolarising gases to
come in contact with the acid in a supply chamber as and for the purposes
described.
Dated this 20th day of April 1898.
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.