Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
I, WILLIAM MOORE MCDOUGALL, of No. 43, Sussex Avenue, East Orange, in
the County of Essex, State of New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to secondary or storage batteries, its object being to
provide a battery in which the internal resistance will be low, the surface of
contact between the active material and the conductor of the plate will be large,
the tendency of the active material to become detached and free from the plate
will be reduced to a minimum, the weight of the plate will be small and the
tendency of the plate to warp or buckle will be slight.
I provide for the construction of the plate as follows, that is to say I mould
or otherwise form a case or frame of non-conducting material, preferably a mix-
ture of rubber and powdered charcoal, which is to contain within it the con-
ducting or metallic portion of the plate. The said conducting portion which is
constructed as hereinafter described is inserted into and sealed in place in this
case.
The said case is a rectangular frame provided with a series of uniformly dis-
The bars
posed transverse apertures arranged in horizontal and vertical rows.
or webs between the horizontal rows of apertures and at the top and bottom of the
case or frame are perforated so as to form continuous vertical straight passages
extending across the said apertures through the interior of the frame from top to
bottom of the same. The top bar of the frame is provided with a groove into
which these vertical passages lead and the corners of the plate have lugs through
which binding rods are to be passed for securing together the plates used in a cell.
The aforesaid conducting or metallic portion of the plate is formed of lead in
the shape of a grid-iron that is to say it consists of a straight bar with rods or
wires projecting at right angles therefrom, the said bar being provided with a
lug through which electrical connection therewith may be effected. This con-
ducting portion of the plate is applied to the aforesaid non-conducting portion
or casing by passing the rods or wires through the vertical perforations in the
horizontal webs or bars of the case, the straight top bar finally resting in the
groove in the top of the case, in which groove it is sealed or covered by asphaltum
or similar non-conducting material to protect it from the solution in the cell.
When the case and conducting portion of the plate have been thus placed
together those portions of the conducting wires which are exposed in the trans-
verse apertures of the casing are flattened or enlarged in such a manner as to
prevent any movement or displacement of the metallic portion within the other
portion of the plate and also to increase the exposed surface of the metallic
portion.
The plate thus constructed is ready for the active material which is then
inserted into the said transverse apertures and pressed into intimate contact with
the lead surfaces contained therein. The portions of the active material inserted

page_text: from the opposite sides of the casing will meet around the lead portions and will
thus become firmly secured in the plate.
For separating the plates in the battery Isometimes employ division plates
such as those described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 18796,
A.D. 1897.
T
1
T
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries...
T
I, WILLIAM MOORE MCDOUGALL, of East Orange, New Jersey, United States
of America, Mechanical 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:-
'
This invention relates to secondary or storage batteries, its object being to
provide a battery, in which the internal resistance will be low, the surface of
contact between the active material and the conductor of the plate will be large,
the liability of the active material to become detached and free from the plate
will be reduced to a minimum, the weight of the plate will be small and the
tendency of the plate to warp or. buckle will be slight.
According to my invention I mould or otherwise form in one piece a case or
frame of non-conducting material having. rows of uniformly disposed transverse'
apertures extending from front to back thereof, the bars or webs between the
horizontal rows and at the top and bottom of the case or frame, being perforated
to form vertical passages so that the conducting or metallic portion of the plate
can be inserted edgewise into the non-conducting portion.
The conducting or metallic portion of the plate is formed somewhat in the
shape of a gridiron, that is to say it has a straight bar with rods or wires pro-
jecting at right angles therefrom. The said rods or wires are adapted to pass
through the vertical passages in the aforesaid frame or case when the metallic
portion is inserted into the latter as aforesaid and the parts of the said wires
exposed in the transverse apertures of the case are flattened or enlarged to
prevent movement of the metallic portion within the other portion of the plate
and also to increase the exposed surface of the metallic portion.
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the non-conducting case or frame of the
plate.
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line 1-1 of Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the conducting or metallic portion of the plate
as it appears prior to its application to the non-conducting case.
Figure 5 is a similar view of the said conducting portion as it appears after
the rods or wires thereof have been flattened or enlarged; the outer or non-
conducting case being shewn in dotted lines for sake of clearness.
Figure 6 is a transverse section of a part of the plate complete with the active
material in place.
A A are the transverse apertures in the non-conducting case or frame which

page_text: is moulded or otherwise formed in one piece from plastic material consisting
preferably of a mixture of india-rubber and powdered charcoal. A¹ A¹ are the
vertical passages extending through the bars or webs A2 A2 between the hori-
zontal rows of apertures. The top bar A³ of the said frame is provided with a
groove A into which the various vertical passages A¹ lead and the corners of the
plate have lugs A5 A5 through holes in which, binding rods are passed for
securing together the plates in a battery cell.
The conducting portion B of the plate is preferably made of lead; b being
the straight bar thereof and 61 61 the rods or wires projecting at right angles
therefrom. is a lug formed on the bar b and serving to enable electrical con-
nection to be made with the plate.
When the said conducting or metallic portion B is inserted into the non-
conducting case, the rods or wires 61 pass through the holes A' and the portion b
rests in the groove A in the top of the case, wherein it is sealed or covered by
asphaltum or similar non-conducting material to protect it from the solution in
the battery cell. The exposed portions of the said rods or wires b', that is to
say, the portions which extend through the apertures A are then flattened as
represented at 6* * in Figure 5, or are otherwise enlarged in any suitable
manner, so as to increase their exposed surface. The active material C (Figure 6)
is then inserted into the aforesaid transverse apertures A from opposite sides of
the plate and pressed into intimate contact with the lead surface contained therein
so that it will meet around the lead portion as represented in Figure 6 and thus
become firmly secured in place.
In making the non-metallic portion of the plate I prefer to take a plastic sheet
of the india-rubber and charcoal compound of the proper thickness and cut
therefrom a blank having the contour of the plate illustrated in Figure 1. This
blank while still in a plastic condition is then placed in a suitable combination
die and the apertures A are punched out of it by appropriate punches having
transverse holes therein. The position of these holes is such that when the
punches complete their punching stroke, the said holes lie in a position to per-
mit the insertion, through a suitable lateral opening in the said die of another
punch similar in shape to the metallic portion B whereby the passages A¹ and
the groove A are formed. I do not wish to confine myself to this manner of
forming the non-conducting portion of the plate as other methods of making said
plate will readily present themselves to persons acquainted with the moulding
of plastic substances.
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:-
1. A secondary battery-plate in which the outer non-conducting portion having
transverse apertures therein for receiving the active material, is provided with
vertical passages for enabling the inner or metallic portion to be inserted edge-
wise into the outer portion substantially as described.
2. A secondary battery-plate constructed substantially as
reference to the accompanying drawings for the purposes specified.
T
T
1
2011
T1900
described with
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,.
45, Southampton Buildings, London, WC.,
Agents for the Applicant.