IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF POROUS OR SPONGY PLATES, PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN SECONDARY BATTERIES OR ACCUMULATORS AND ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frank Tamblyn Williams and John Charles Howell both
of Llanelly in the County of Carmarthen for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS
IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF POROUS OR SPONGY PLATES, PARTICULARLY
APPLICABLE FOR USE IN SECONDARY BATTERIES OR ACCUMULATORS AND ALSO
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frank Tamblyn Williams
and John Charles Howell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
23rd May 1883.
FRANK TAMBLYN WILLIAMS and JOHN CHARLES HOWELL, both of Llanelly in
the County of Carmarthen. IмMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF POROUS OR
SPONGY PLATES PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN SECONDARY BATTERIES OR
ACCUMULATORS AND ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
The object of this invention is to produce porous or spongy lead plates especially
applicable for use in secondary batteries or electrical accumulators When lead or
any suitable alloy of Lead and other metals is melted and allowed to cool slowly
and to crystalize, highly porous plates may be formed by inserting a suitably
perforated mould (of the size and pattern required to produce the plates) into the
mixture of lead and crystals of Lead or Alloys of Lead and Crystals. of the same,
and allowing the liquid metal to drain through the said mould, the crystaline or
granular plate thus formed is levelled by passing a suitable piece of Iron or other
material over its surface whilst it is still hot the plate being then allowed to cool
in the mould. To the rough edges of the plates the requisite finish may be given
either by dipping them for a short time in hot Lead or by compression (or by a
combination of these methods) or by other suitable means. The plates are then
ready for use or they may be passed through rolls or otherwise compressed if so
desired

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frank Tamblyn Williams and John Charles Howell in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 20th November:1883.
FRANK TAMBLYN WILLIAMS and JOHN CHARLES HOWELL both of Llanelly in
the County of Carmarthen IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF POROUS OR
SPONGY PLATES PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE FOR USE IN SECONDARY BATTERIES OR
ACCUMULATORS AND ALSO FOR OTHER PURPOSES
This Invention relates to the manufacture of porous or spongy lead or alloys of.
lead particularly adapted for use in secondary batteries or accumulators but
applicable also for use in the manufacture of white lead and for other purposes
The invention consists in manufacturing or treating the lead or its alloy in the
manner hereinafter described by which blocks and plates of any predetermined size
and shape may be obtained. When lead or any suitable alloy of lead and other
metals, is melted and allowed to crystallize slowly, highly porous blocks or plates
will be formed by simply inserting a suitable perforated mould of about the size
and pattern of the block or plate required into the mixture of molten lead and
crystals of lead, then raising said mould out of the bath and allowing the liquid
lead to drain through the mould Whilst the crystalline or porous block or plate
thus formed in the mould is still hot, the upper surface may be levelled by passing
a suitable piece of iron or other material over the surface The crystalline or porous
block or plate is then allowed to cool in the mould and can be removed when
required
The edges of the block or plate may be trimmed if required by means of a
circular saw and it is then ready for use. For the preparation of plates suitable
for electrical storage batteries or accumulators we prefer the following method,
that is to say we manufacture blocks of porous or spongy lead of any suitable size
.Into the before
which we subsequently cut into plates, in the following manner
described mixture of lead and crystalline lead alloyed or otherwise, we insert a
suitable ladle or mould preferably of an oblong or square shape with more or less
taper in the sides and having a suitably perforated bottom; the form of ladle or
mould shown in the accompanying drawings we have found by experiment will
answer well. Fig 1 representing a sectional elevation and Figure 2 a bottom view
showing the perforations The ladle or mould when sufficiently filled with the
said mixture is raised so as to allow the liquid metal to drain through the perforated
bottom leaving the ladle or mould more or less filled by a block of crystalline
porous or spongy lead. When this block has sufficiently cooled, it is removed and
is then ready to be cut into plates of any desired size, preferably by means of a
properly arranged circular saw, but other suitable cutting arrangements may be
employed If the said blocks of porous or spongy lead are exposed to the action of
a more or less damp atmosphere they become oxidized to a considerable extent thus
materially assisting in what is known as the "forming" process of the plates In
order to enhance the durability of the said porous or spongy plates when in use
we compress in a mould or die by hydraulic or other means the edges and portions
of the body of the said plates The indentations thus formed we may subsequently
paint or cover over with any suitable non-conducting material capable of resisting
the action of the electrolyte but we do not claim the painting or partial covering
over of the plates as part of our invention In Fig 3 is represented a plan of a
plate compressed as above described, the lines of compression being marked a. a. a.
said lines need not necessarily run in the directions shown but may form a net
work or otherwise divide the plate so as to form a series of porous portions separated
.

page_text: or partially separated by the compressed parts We do not confine ourselves to the
manufacture of plates of any particular degree of porosity, as such porosity can be
varied by the addition to the lead of a greater or less percentage of any metal
capable of forming a suitable alloy therewith, antimony being particularly
applicable We adopt the principle above described in the manufacture of porous
blocks, to the manufacture of porous plates or discs for the purpose of being converted
into white lead. These plates or discs taking the place of the lead crates such as
are used for conversion into white lead by the processes now in general use
The said plates or discs are obtained by inserting a suitably perforated ladle or
mould into a mixture of lead and crystallized lead of the required purity the ladle
or mould containing the porous plate or disc is then removed and allowed to cool, .
the plate or disc is detached and is ready for use We are aware that it has been
before proposed to use antimony in conjunction with lead for the manufacture of
plates for secondary batteries and we do not claim such admixture We are also
aware that in the separation of lead and silver, perforated ladles have been used
but not in the manner or for the purpose which we describe and what we therefore
claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is
The herein before described improvements in the manufacture of porous or
spongy blocks or plates of lead or alloys of lead particularly adapted for
use in secondary batteries or accumulators but applicable also for other
purposes, substantially as set forth
In Witness whereof we the said Frank Tamblyn Williams and John
Charles Howell have hereunto set our hands and seals this Nineteenth day
of November in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty
three.
Signed, sealed and delivered by
the said Frank Tamblyn
Williams and John Charles
Howell in the presence of
JOHN PRYOR MILLAR
Llanelly
Clerk to Nevill Druce & Co
FRANK TAMBLYN WILLIAMS (L.S.)
JOHN CHARLES HOWELL.
(L.S.)