A New or Improved Preparation of Active Material for Electric Accumulators.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 17th Sept., 1894-Accepted, 20th Oct., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Preparation of Active Material for Electric
Accumulators.
I, CLAUDE KENNEDY MILLS, of 23 Southampton Buildings, in the County of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, (a com-
munication to me from Charles Joseph Barbier, of 76 Cours Vitton, Lyons,
in the Republic of France, Chemist,) to be as follows:-
My invention consists in the employment of lead, divided or separated by special
means, to replace the minium or other oxides of lead generally employed in the
construction of accumulators.
The lead is divided or separated by pulverization in a molten state, either by
allowing it to fall in one or more jets on to the plates or floats of a quickly
revolving wheel, or under the action of a current of compressed air or steam
acting upon it at the mouth of an orifice as in ordinary pulverizers.
The accompanying drawing shows the arrangement employed for pulverizing
molten lead, Fig. 1 being a sectional view and Fig. 2 a plan of same.
The apparatus consists of a reservoir A, in the interior of which turns a wheel B
provided with plates or floats receiving rapid rotary motion, the speed of which
is always proportionate to the degree of pulverization it is desired to obtain. This
wheel may be replaced by a cylinder, the surface of which is covered with
projections or even by metallic brushes or other devices. The molten lead is led
into a funnel G arranged above the wheel and flows on to the plates or floats.
The reservoir contains a certain quantity of water, the level of which is kept a
little below the wheel provided with plates or floats by means of an outlet D, and
its sides are flooded by the water which flows from the perforated pipe E E, which
pipe is arranged all around the top of the reservoir.
The lead is led into the reservoir at a temperature sufficiently high to be still
of a dull red color when it drops on to the plates or floats; it is then projected in
very fine drops or particles, some of which fall directly into the water whilst others
strike against the sides of the reservoir. These latter would stick to the sides and
agglomerate there if they did not come into contact with the stream of water
running down the sides of the reservoir from the pipe E, which cools them and
carries them to the bottom.
The whole of the lead thus treated is found in the reservoir in the form of small
scales, very thin and capable of being easily separated.
This material may serve directly with which to make positive and negative
plates; the particles agglomerate very well when moistened simply with water and
may be applied to any support, or placed in an envelope, by means of pressure
varying with the degree of porosity to be obtained.
In certain cases this product might be subjected to a supplemental grinding
process in order to obtain finer powder and denser plates.
For negative plates it is possible to obtain directly by the same process, porous
agglomerations of separated or divided lead mixed or not with oxides already
formed. For this purpose the wheel described above is employed to project the
lead, not into water, but on to a solid metallic or other surface, to which is given a
progressive movement of variable speed.
The lead, in small drops or particles, agglomerates on this surface; it becomes
partially soldered and is of a thickness which varies according to the speed of
progression of the plate or surface; it forms consequently very porous plates, which
may be used without other support for negative plates.

page_text: In order to render the formation of these plates more active, oxides or salts of
lead may be mixed therein, during the manufacture. In order to accomplish this
it is sufficient to drop on to the wheel, at the same time as the molten lead, a thin
paste formed of these oxides, or of these salts, ground in water.
Dated this 18th day of December 1893.
CLAUDE K. MILLS,
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Preparation of Active Material for Electric
Accumulators.
I, CLAUDE KENNEDY MILLS, of 23 Southampton Buildings, in the County of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, a com-
munication to me from Charles Joseph Barbier of 76 Cours Vitton, Lyons,
in the Republic of France, Chemist, and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention consists in the employment of lead or other metals or alloys
finely divided, separated or pulverized by a new machine to compose the active
material of accumulators.
The lead or other metal or alloy is divided by pulverization in a molten state by
causing it to fall in one or more jets onto the plates or floats of a quickly
revolving wheel, which plates or floats act by shocks on the molten metal.
The drawing accompanying my Provisional Specification shows the arrange-
ment employed for the mechanical pulverization of the molten lead or other metal
or alloy, Figure 1 being a sectional view and Figure 2 a plan of same.
The apparatus consists of a reservoir A in the interior of which turns a wheel B
provided with plates or floats and receiving rapid rotary motion, the speed of
which is always proportionate to the degree of pulverization it is desired to
obtain. This wheel may be replaced by a cylinder the surface of which is covered
with projections of any suitable form or even by metallic brushes or other devices.
The molten lead, or other metal or alloy is led into a funnel C arranged above the
wheel and flows on to the plates or floats.
The receiver contains a certain quantity of water the level of which is kept a
little below the wheel B provided with plates or floats by means of an overflow or
outlet D, and its sides are flooded by the water which Hows from the perforated
pipe E E. which pipe is arranged around the top of the reservoir.
The lead or other metal or alloy is conducted into the reservoir at a temperature
sufficiently high to be still of a dull red colour when it drops on to the plates or
floats, it is then projected in very fine drops or particles some of which fall
directly into the water whilst others strike against the sides of the reservoir.
These latter would adhere to the sides and agglomerate thereon if they did not
come into contact with the stream of water running down the sides of the reservoir
from the pipe E, which cools them and carries them to the bottom.
The whole of the lead, or other metal or alloy thus treated is found in the
reservoir in the form of small scales very thin and capable of being easily
separated.
The object of this machine is therefore to obtain metals reduced into fine
powders for the purpose of serving as active material in electric accumulators.
These matters may serve directly with which to make the positive and negative
plates, the particles agglomerate very well when moistened simply with water and
may be applied to any convenient support or placed in an envelope, by means of
pressure varying with the degree of porosity to be obtained.

page_text: For negative plates it is possible to obtain directly by the same process porous
agglomerates of finely separated or divided lead or other metal or alloy mixed or
not with oxides already formed.
For this purpose the wheel described above is employed to project the lead, or
other metal or alloy, not into water, but on to a solid metallic or other surface to.
which is given a progressive movement of variable speed.
The lead or other metal or alloy in small drops or particles agglomerates on
this surface it becomes partially soldered to it and is of a thickness which varies
according to the speed of progression of the plate or surface; it forms consequently.
very porous plates which may be used without other support for negative plates.
In order to accelerate the formation of these plates, oxides may be mixed
therein during the manufacture.
In order to accomplish this it is sufficient to drop on to the wheel at the same
time as the molten lead, or other metal or alloy a thin paste formed of these oxides
or of salts ground in water.
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 :-
1. A new or improved preparation of active material by the employment of a
machine for mechanically pulverizing load, or other metal or alloy in a liquid state
by its projection upon a rapidly revolving wheel provided with floats or their
equivalents which latter act by shocks upon the molten lead or other metal or alloy
and thereby produce particles of a peculiar contexture; the said material being
capable of use in a pulverulent condition to form a paste to be applied to the
supports of the positive and negative plates of electric accumulators or in an
agglomerated condition to form negative plates without supports substantially as
herein described.
2. The new preparation of active material obtained by the employment of the
means herein shown and described.
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