Improvements in and relating to Primary Batteries.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 18th July, 1895
Complete Specification Left. 18th Oct., 1895-Accepted. 23rd Nov., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Primary Batteries.
We, WALTER ROWBOTHAM Electrician, and HYMEN LEVETUS, Manufacturer,
both of 47 Vittoria Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to primary batteries and has for one of its objects to
promote increased circulation of the exciting fluids and to prevent polarization.
Another important feature of the invention relates to the construction and
arrangement of the elements of the battery which elements consist preferably
of iron and carbou. Our invention is more especially, although not exclusively,
applicable to double-fluid batteries with which we employ specially prepared exciting
fluids as will be hereinafter set forth.
We will describe our invention by way of example in connection with a double-
fluid battery. We provide an outer containing cell of any suitable material and
shape for containing the iron and carbon elements and the battery fluids, the said
containing cell being divided into three compartments or chambers the middle one
of which is arranged to contain the iron and carbon elements, and the two other
compartments serving as reservoirs for the exciting fluids. The iron element is
preferably placed in the middle of the said inner chamber, the carbon elements.
being arranged on each side of the iron element but separated therefrom by porous
partitions.
The carbon element preferably consists of a number of hollow carbon rods which
are arranged in any suitable manner so as to expose a large surface to the action of
the exciting fluid.
The said hollow carbon rods are made of sufficiently porous carbon to allow the
hydrogen gas bubbles which are formed on their exterior surfaces to permeate the
walls of the said carbon rods and enter the hollow interior thereof, but the rods are
not sufficiently porous to allow the exciting liquid to pass through them.
The upper ends of the said rods are open to the atmosphere whilst their lower
ends are all connected to a hollow tube or chamber of carbon or other suitable
substance. By these means, as the temperature of the battery fluids rises owing
to the chemical action of the fluid on the iron element the air in the hollow space
within the carbons becomes warmed and rises up and passes into the atmosphere,
carrying with it the hydrogen gas that enters the interior of the hollow rods, its
place being taken by the entrance of fresh cool air. The fresh supply of oxygen
thus obtained and the continual circulation within the carbons materially assist in
the oxidization of the hydrogen gas and thus prevents depolarization. The fluids.
we prefer to employ in this battery consist of a solution of any salt or acid with a
base of chromium, in conjunction with sulphuric, hydrochloric, or nitric acid, or a
mixture of such acids, for the carbon elements, and a solution of dilute sulphuric
acid for the iron elements.
We find it advantageous to employ for the carbon exciting fluid a solution
composed of bichromate of soda and sulphuric acid in about the proportion of
1 part bichromate of soda to 3 parts of sulphuric acid diluted with 6 parts of water.
These proportions may however be varied to suit the desired output of the battery
and its economical working:
We enclose the iron element within a covering or bag of flannel or other
suitable material which is not acted on by the exciting liquids. By the use of the
said bag or covering the sulphate of iron crystals which are deposited on the iron

page_text: element will be contained in the said bag and can be readily removed, along with
the iron element, from the porous chamber, whereas if the iron were not covered
in this manner the crystals would be deposited upon the surface of and within the
pores of the aforesaid porous plates and increase the internal resistance of the cell
and in time would probably crack the porous plates.
We provide perforations or holes in the partitions separating the active chamber
from the two compartments containing the exciting fluids thereby putting the two
parts of the active chamber respectively in communication with the liquids
contained in the two reservoirs. One of the reservoirs contains the chromium
solution which is in communication with the carbon element whilst the other
reservoir contains the dilute acid which is in communication with the iron element.
By this means as the liquids become heated by chemical action on closing the
circuit, the warmed portion of the liquids rises in each of the two parts of the
active chamber whilst the cooled portion of the liquids in the reservoirs descends
and passes through the aforesaid perforations in the dividing partitions and reaches
the inner or active chamber or compartment thus setting up a circulation of the
liquids and thereby considerably reducing the polarization of the cell. Moreover
the circulation or flow of the liquid past the hollow carbon rods tends to disengage
any hydrogen bubbles which may be adhering to them.
The reservoirs aforesaid may sometimes be placed above the active cell instead
of at each side or end thereof. The active cell would then be a closed chamber
connected by inlet and outlet pipes at its top to the aforesaid reservoirs so
that circulation of the liquids is obtained on their becoming warmed by chemical
action.
We may furnish taps for drawing off the spent liquid from the battery but we
sometimes provide the active chamber with a false bottom formed by a porous
partition through which the spent battery solutions which settle down at the
bottom of the cell, can slowly permeate and thereby find their way into a
receptacle placed to receive it. It is obviously necessary that the porosity of the
said false bottom should be such that the liquids are able to permeate the said
false bottom at a predetermined rate. In this way the spent liquids from the
batter are automatically drawn off. Dripping taps or small perforations may be
provided in the bottom of the active cell for the same purpose.
In some cases we arrange a number of cells side by side and supply them all
from two large reservoirs arranged on opposite sides of the said cells in such a
manner that all the cells are common to the two reservoirs.
It will be found convenient to sometimes arrange the battery in circular form,
the cells then being disposed radially and the two reservoirs being situated
centrally and circumferentially with respect to the cells.
It is found that if the said holes in the partitions of the reservoirs are not made
too large or too plentiful that the resistance of the battery solution is sufficiently
great to prevent any appreciable loss of potential due to the various cells short-
circuiting one another through the battery fluids.
Our improvements may be applied to a single-fluid battery. Moreover in a
double-fluid battery as above described, by way of example, we may obviously
arrange the carbon elements between the porous partitions and the iron elements
outside the said partitions but in that case two or more iron plates would be
required which would largely increase the weight and also reduce the compactness
of the battery.
The aforesaid hollow carbon rods are connected together at their upper ends by 5
a suitable plate of metal.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Primary Batteries.
We, WALTER ROWBOTHAM, Electrical Engineer, and HYMEN LEVETUS,
Manufacturing Jeweller, both of 47 Vittoria Street, Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, 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:-
Our invention relates to primary batteries in which carbon and metal elements
are employed and has mainly for its object to prevent polarization by promoting
increased circulation of the exciting fluids and by oxidizing the hydrogen gas that
tends to collect on the carbon elements. An important feature of this invention
has reference to the construction and arrangement of the said elements, which
preferably consist of porous carbon or graphite, and iron. Our invention is more
especially, although not exclusively, applicable to double-fluid batteries with which
we employ exciting fluids of the kind hereinafter set forth.
In order that our invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which
Figure 1 is a plan of a double-fluid cell;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 1. 1 of Figure 1 ;
Figure 3 another longitudinal section taken on the line 2. 2 of Figure 1 ;
Figure 4 a horizontal section on the line 3. 3 of Figure 2;
Figure 5 a vertical cross section taken on the line 4. 4 of Figure 1 looking
towards the right;
Figure 6 a vertical cross section taken on the line 5. 5 looking towards the
left; and
Figure 7 another vertical cross section taken on the line 6. 6 of Figure 1.
Figure 8 is a horizontal section of a battery of cells of the kind above described,
the various elements being removed in order to avoid confusion.
Referring more particularly to Figures 1 to 7 A is an outer vessel or cell which
is divided by non-porous partitions A.' A2 into three main compartments. The
inner compartment contains the iron and carbon elements B and C and exciting
fluids while the outer compartments A³, A contain exciting fluids only. The
inner compartment is divided into three sub-compartments by two porous
partitions a a which are held in position by grooves formed in the inner surface of
the aforesaid partitions A' A². The partitions A¹ A² are provided with series of
circulation apertures A° A°. The aforesaid non-porous partitions A' A² separate
the exciting fluids within the active portion of the cells from the main body of
the solutions, the circulation apertures A establishing communication between the
compartment A3 and the sub-compartment containing the iron element, and the
circulation apertures A establishing communication between the compartment A
and the sub-compartments containing the carbon elements.
The carbon elements C consist of a number of comparatively small hollow rods
or tubes of porous carbon or graphite and are so arranged as to expose a large
surface to the action of the exciting fluid. The upper ends of these tubes lie above
the level of the exciting fluid, so as to be open to the atmosphere, and their lower
cuds enter and open into chambers C" of porous carbon or other suitable material
located at or near the bottom of the sub-compartments in which the carbon elements
are contained. The carbon of which the tubes C and chambers C¹ are composed
is sufficiently porous to allow the hydrogen gas bubbles that collect on their exterior
surface to permeate the said tubes and chambers and to come into contact with the
air flowing through the interior thereof. When the temperature of the exciting
fluids in the sub-compartments rises, owing to the chemical action that takes place

page_text: during the working of the battery, the air within the carbon elements becomes
warmed and by ascending carries with it any hydrogen gas that may enter the
hollow carbons, the place of the wanm air being taken by the entrance of fresh cool
air. The carbon tubes therefore not only constitute one of the elements of the cell
but also serve as conduits for air, the warmer air ascending in some of them while
the cooler air is descending in others. A fresh supply of oxygen is thus continually
entering the tubes, which materially assists in the oxidization of the hydrogen gas
and therefore aids in reducing polarization. The aforesaid carbon tubes are all
connected together at their upper ends by a metallic plate C2 which acts as a
current collector.
The iron element B is according to our invention enclosed in a covering or bag
of flannel or other suitable material B. We prefer to employ flannel because this
material is not much affected by the exciting fluid. The aforesaid bag or covering
serves to contain the sulphate of iron crystals that are deposited on the iron and
enables these crystals to be readily removed by withdrawing the iron element
without otherwise interfering with the battery. Moreover the said bag or covering
prevents deposition of the crystals upon the surface and within the pores of the
aforesaid porous partitions a a and thereby avoids the increase of the internal
resistance of the cell, as well as the deleterious effect of these crystals on the
porous partitions, which would otherwise occur.
The solution we employ for the carbon elements consists of bichromate of soda
and dilute sulphuric acid in about the proportion of 1 part of bichromate to 3 parts
of acid diluted with 6 parts of water. For the iron element we prefer to employ a
solution of dilute sulphuric acid in about the proportion of 1 part of acid to 20 parts
of water. These proportions may be somewhat varied.
These sclutions are fed respectively into the compartments A³, A* the dilute
acid solution entering the compartment A3 and the other solution the compart-
ment A When the external circuit of the cell is closed the rise in temperature
of the exciting fluids within the sub-compartments or active portion of the cell
causes a circulation of the exciting fluids to take place through the aforesaid
apertures A5 A6 in a similar manner to that set forth in the Specification of a
prior application for Patent filed jointly by ourselves and S. I. Levetus on the
16th April, 1895, No. 7600.
The aforesaid compartments A3 A4 may be arranged above the active portions
of the cell instead of laterally thereto. In this case the active portion of the cell
would be a closed chamber whose sub-compartments would be respectively
connected by inlet and outlet pipes with the compartments or chambers above.
In combining a number of the above described cells to form a battery we prefer
to construct the outer or containing vessel A in the manner shown in Figure 8,
that is to say we have only two compartments A³ A+ for the entire number of cells
employed. The cells are separated from each other by the partitions Ax..
AA are outlets with which each of these compartments is provided for the
purpose of facilitating the drawing off of the spent solutions without shifting the
battery. In other respects the battery consists substantially of a multiplication of
the cell already described. The aforesaid compartments A³ A may be divided at
suitable intervals by partitions having perforations therein these partitions serving
to increase the resistance between the various cells.
Instead of arranging the battery in rectangular form as shown in Figure 8 we
may arrange it in circular form, the cells being then disposed radially and one of
the compartments A³ A being located centrally and the other circumferentially
with respect to the cells.
If the aforesaid apertures in the partitions A2 A2 be not made too large or too
plentiful the resistance of the exciting fluids will be sufficient to prevent any
appreciable loss of potential due to the various cells short circuiting one another
through the said fluids.
The active portion of the cell or battery may be furnished with a bottom of
porous material through which the spent battery solutions, which have a tendency

page_text: to descend, can slowly permeate and thereby find their way into a receptacle
provided for them. The porosity of the said bottom must be such that the solutions
will not percolate too quickly, otherwise the solutions will escape before they are
sufficiently spent. In order to keep up the supply of the solutions we may employ
reservoirs for containing the fresh solutions, the said reservoirs being situated above
the battery to which they are connected by means of suitable pipes. The inflow of
the fresh solutions to the battery can be readily regulated by taps or cocks so as to
compensate for the outflow of the spent solutions. In this way the battery would
keep itself always properly fed with exciting fluids.
:
The position of the carbon and metal elements shewn in the drawings may be
reversed then only one set of carbon elements would be required for each cell but
the iron elements would require duplication which would greatly add to the total
weight of the battery.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. A primary battery divided into three main compartments by non-porous
partitions having circulation apertures therein, the circulation apertures in one
partition all communicating with the carbon element compartments and the
circulation apertures in the other partition all communicating with the metal
element compartments, substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
2. In a primary battery the construction of the carbon elements of porous
carbon or graphite in the form of tubes having their upper ends open to the
atmosphere and their lower ends communicating with a chamber or chambers of
porous carbon or other suitable material substantially as described and for the
purpose specified.
3. The use of a bag or covering of flannel or other suitable material for
enclosing the iron or other metal elements substantially as described and for the
purpose specified.
4. The battery solutions or exciting fluids consisting of bichromate of soda and
dilute sulphuric acid for the carbon elements and of sulphuric acid and water for
the iron elements, the ingredients composing the said solutions being used in
substantially the proportions specified.
5. The outer vessel for containing the elements of our improved battery
substantially as described with reference to Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.
6. A. primary cell or battery in which the elements are constructed and arranged
substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying
drawings and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 23rd day of Santamber 1805
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.