Improvements in Electrical Accumulators or Secondary Batteries.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 28th Feb., 1890-Accepted, 30th May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Accumulators or Secondary Batteries.
I, FERDINAND BOSSHARDT of the firm of F. Bosshardt & Co. of 4 Corporation
Street, Manchester in the County of Lancashire, Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention, which has been communicated to me from abroad by
René Felix Verdier of Brussels in the Kindgom of Belgium Electrician, to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object to improve the general construction of electric
accumulators, and method of collecting and storing the electric energy, and consists
in the first place in forming the plate of the accumulator with a frame of lead, or
alloy with antimony or tin, square, rectangular round, or polygonal in shape.
This frame is suitably provided with isolating supports of india rubber or gutta-
percha and is arranged vertically in the accumulator, the conductors being connected
to the frame by means of lead or alloy joints.
The said frame is filled up with a suitable consistent substance, the latter being
afterwards perforated so as to form a perforated plate.
The ingredients used in the preparation of this substance are, oxyde of lead and
litharge or red lead well mixed and compounded with a siccative vegetable oil or
glycerine, solidifying like cement when out of contact with air.
Instead of employing the said substance in the frame, a layer of the same may be
applied to each side of a perforated sheet of lead.
The casing of the accumulator may be made of any suitable material, and according
to requirement, and the cover formed concave with an opening in the middle and
holes in the sides through which pass the conductors.
The bottom of the accumulator is provided with isolating legs of suitable material,
and the bath formed of a solution of sulphate of alkali (sodium, potash, magnesia), the
basis of which gives the combinations, soluble in water with the siccative oils, or
glycerine, under the action of the electric current.
Datad this 28th day of May 1889
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrical Accumulators or Secondary Batteries.
J, FERDINAND BOSSHARDT, of the firm of F. Bosshardt & Co. of 4, Corporation
Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancashire, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention which has been communicated to me from abroad by René
Felix Verdier of Brussels in the Kingdom of Belgium, Electrician, and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to improve the general construction of electric
accumulators, and method of collecting and storing the electric energy, and consists in
the first place in forming the plate of the accumulator with a frame of lead, or alloy.
with antimony or tin, square, rectangular, round, or polygonal in shape.
This frame is suitably provided with isolating supports of india-rubber or gutta-
percha and is arranged vertically in the accumulator, the conductors being connected
to the frame by means of lead or alloy joints.
The said frame is filled up with a suitable consistent substance, the latter being
afterwards perforated so as to form a perforated plate.

page_text: Fig. 31 elastic strip of india-rubber, glass or ebony, serving to bind the net and
rod support.
Fig. 32 connection piece of the accumulators through which the notched bands
project owing to the inclination of the interior sides and the angular form of the
end pieces.
Fig. 33 end pieces which carry the plates of one side and conduct the current; the
rectangular opening receiving the end pieces a' the extremity m³ of which are passed
in pairs into the ring 9.
in carrying out my invention the same consists principally, first, of frame supports ;
second, composition of active substance; third, of the arrangement of the active
substance in the frames; fourth, method of arranging plates in their casings ; fifth,
cover and locking of the casing; sixth, of the casing isolators; seventh, of the exciting
liquid.
1) FRAME SUPPORTS.
These frames of lead or alloy of lead with antimony or tin are obtained by directly
pouring the molten metal into casting moulds. They may also be constituted of charcoal
dust such as used in Bunsen piles or in other rigid material current conductor
unattackable by the liquor employed in the accumulator. The shape of these frames
can be square, rectangular round or polygonal. Figs. 1, 2 & 3 represent a square frame
furnished with isolator supports of india-rubber, or gutta-percha o, o, o, when used
in the casing in a vertical position. The characteristic effect being that of maintaining
the active substance well. The conductors m, m, round in section, are cast simul-
taneously with the frames and connected together by means of lead bars or an alloy
as shown in Figs. 9 & 10.
The set screws v, v maintain the conductors m, m and connect the same with the
wire conducting the current.
2) COMPOSITION OF THE ACTIVE SUBSTANCE.
The substances employed in the manufacture of the same, are organic salt of lead.
I preferably employ those obtained through softening of a mixture of oxyde of lead
litharge or minium with a vegetable siccative oil or glycerine with water and which
will solidify like a cement, when exposed to the contact of the air.
may use active
substance such as spongy lead applied on the forms of the frame supports; the
negatives are thus manufactured in the first instance while the positives are ultimately
transformed into peroxide by electrolysis.
3) ARRANGEMENT OF THE ACTIVE SUBSTANCE IN THE FRAMES.
As soon as, through softening, the paste formed of the mixture preceding has
arrived in a convenient pastic degree, it is run into the frames placed flat on paper.
As soon as the substance thus run is becoming a little consistent it is subjected to the
action of a press, the plate of which is provided with metal cones in such a manner
as to penetrate and thereby pierce and flatten the paste, at the same time greatly
increasing its density. Figs. 4, 5 & 6 represent a plate furnished and ready for
putting into the accumulator casing.
When arranging the plates horizontally, I may substitute the said frames by a
perforated lead plate each side of which is coated with fresh paste aforesaid and
afterwards subjected to pressure and formed with perforations corresponding with
those already in the said lead plate in a manner similar as is the case with the frame
plate aforesaid. Figs. 11 & 12 represent a plan and section respectively, of a plate
formed after this system. I preferably form these horizontal plates by casting the
perforated lead plates with a rim all round on each side thereof which determines the
thickness of the paste put onto each side of the perforated lead plate. If for example
I employ a plate of two millimeters in thickness, I would cause the rim or frame to
project from two to four millimeters, in such a manner that the finished plates

page_text: are five to ten millimeters thick after having been subjected to pressure and
perforation. Fig. 20 represents a portion of a plate with this kind of rim or frame.
The perforation and compression of the paste by hand or power may be well
understood.
4) METHOD OF ARRANGING THE PLATES IN THEIR CASINGS.
After the plates are made sufficiently hard, that is to say, treated with the glycerine
from 24 to 48 hours and 15 to 40 days with siccative oil I arrange same in the casing,
may they be vertical as ordinary or horizontal, one above the other. Figs. 16, 17, 18
& 19 represent an element of a vertical accumulator with five plates, all of which are
placed in position. In the horizontal position each plate is placed on a piece of loose
web, formed of a substance which is not susceptible to the exciting liquid used, for
instance such as asbestos or glass. The asbestos web rests also on a rigid plate of
unchangeable substance pierced with numerous holes, without diminishing the
rigidness of the support. I use for this support glass, porcelain, ebony, etc.
Another horizontal arrangement is represented in the drawings in Figs. 25 to 33.
Fig. 25 represents the parts shown separate, connected together. Support and plate P
are separated in small groups through the isolators of of of represented in Figs. 21, 22
& 24, which maintain the plate P a distance apart from each so that always a sufficient
bed of liquid exists between each of the same. The plate supports may be also cast
with a foot on each angle, which retains at the desired distance the groups and
replaces the isolator. The plate supports may also be fixed in frames of unchange-
able material (paraffined wood or varnished for example) after they are placed on the
web plates and the plates of active substance according to the Figs. 7 & 8. The space
left between the plates depends on their thickness, which may vary from one to
twenty and more accordingly for what the accumulator is used and the amount of
charge and discharge required in practice.
The holes in the paste and plate supports permit an easy circulation of the liquids
and of the gases liberated by electrolysis. The positive and negative plates are
arranged alternatively as may be well understood and the conductors are in such a
manner that the negative electrodes are on one side and the positives on the other
side of the casing. These conductors have shanks of round section m. m see
Figs. 21, 22, 23, & 24, of the same material as and cast with the frame supports. The
said shanks are coated by means of a solution of paraffin, india-rubber or gutta-percha
and afterwards furnished respectively with a sleeve of india-rubber, which extends to
the plate and through the cover of the receptacle.
The connections of electrodes of the same kind are formed by means of a bar
represented in Figs. 9 & 10.
5) COVER AND LOCKING OF THE CASING.
The various outside accessorys and the receptacles may be of any unchangeable
material such as glass, wood coated with lead, paper moulded and paraffined. (The
selection of the casing depends on the employment of the accumulator). The covers
I make of porcelain, glass, moulded, ebony or of paraffined wood for larger patterns
concave and with an opening of about ten "/m. The shanks of the conductors pass
through this cover and a rubber packing in connection therewith. The rim of the
cover in certain cases is provided with a packing of rubber placed on the casing in
such a manner as to close tightly. These covers also prevent agitation or loss of
liquid.
6) CASING ISOLATORS.

page_text: with the siccative oil or glycerine under the action of an electric current. The plates
are subjected, in these solutions to the action of the electric current, until the paste of the
negative plate is transformed into spongy lead and that of the positive plates into
peroxide of lead. As soon as this transformation is effected the exciting liquid of
sulphate of alkali is replaced by acidulated water, containing in 100 pounds of water
ten pounds of sulphuric acid and the current is passed through for twelve hours.
Then the plates are washed in water containing from 10 to 20 per cent. of sulphuric
acid, according to the active substance and the amount of electro motive power which
is to be produced. The treatment in the bath of sulphate of alkali has for its object
to avoid the frequent changing of the plates during this operation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim, is :—
"In electrical accumulators or secondary batteries."
1st. The general construction and combination of parts, substantially as set forth
with referenco to the annexed drawings.
2nd. The plates P formed with perforations, substantially as set forth.
Dated GIS
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicant.
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicant.