New or Improved Storage Battery.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMI DID OF MCIFICATION.
A New or Improved Storage Battery.
I, ALFRED JAMES JARMAN of 158 High Street, Clapham, in the County of
Surrey, Electrician 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. :-
My invention relates to an improved construction of storage battery, which I term
a tertiary battery in contradistinction to those storage batteries hitherto styled
secondary batteries.
The term "tertiary" is derived from the three distinct and separate actions which
take place within the cell, viz.
First. Decomposition of the water forming the electrolyte, or the major part
thereof, into its constituent parts by electrolysis namely, hydrogen and oxygen.
Second. The storage of hydrogen and oxygen in the metal plates and their
component parts by the alloying of the hydrogen with one of the metal plates (this
gas being considered as a metal in a gaseous state) and the storage of oxygen in the
other plate.
Third. The generation or production of a current of electricity by the re-union, or
recombination of the hydrogen and oxygen stored in the metal plates.
Therefore, according to the foregoing explanation, the storage battery according to
my invention, and to be hereinafter described, is essentially a tertiary" battery,
since three distinct actions take place therein.
The objects of my said invention are, the attainment of greater efficiency, decrease
of bulk and weight, and greater durability and strength than obtains in the case of
secondary cells as hitherto made and used for purposes of electrical propulsion,
lighting, and the like.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood I have appended the accom-
panying sheet of drawings, in which Figure 1 represents cross sections of the
preferred forms of the pellets, discs or plates, hereinafter described. Figure 2 is an
elevation of a single element, Figure 3, a screwed rod forming part of said elements
when these are made in a block and afterwards cut or divided as shewn by Figure 4.
Figure 5 is a sectional view of a conducting bridge or terminal of special construction,
Figure 6 is an elevation thereof, Figure 7 shews the manner of attaching a plate to
said bridge or terminal, and also shews an alternative arrangement of the parts
thereof. Figure 8 is a side view of a set of plates, either positive or negative,
coupled together by means of the bridge or terminal, and Figure 9 is a plan of the
coupling or connecting piece.
In carrying my invention into effect I prepare the plates, electrodes, or elements,
in the following manner, that is to say-1 form, by compression precipitation or
fusion, pellets, rods, plates or discs of inactive, partly soluble material, preferably
shaped or formed as shewn by the cross sections, Figure 1, a b c d e f, with a central
hole as shewn for the purpose of allowing the electrolyte to circulate freely, and also
to render the pellets, rods, plates or discs more elastic when held in a metal frame,
although in some instances these may be used in a solid and coherent form. A
metallic, or other mould, shaped interiorly to suit the required conformation of the
plate when cast, is prepared, and a number of the pellets, plates, or discs placed
therein in proper order, so that spaces intervene between each of them. To facilitate
this arrangement, short pins may be fixed at regular intervals in one half of said
mould, so that the holes in the pellets or the like may correspond thereto, and so hold
the latter in position, or said pellets, rods, plates, or dises may be suspended within
the mould in such a manner as to allow the molten metal or alloy to flow around
them, and hold them in position when set. I extend the "gates" of said mould to a
LD
077

page_text: moderate height in order to procure compression and consequent solidity, of the fluid
metal when poured, due to the height of the runner above the normal level of the
casting. Said mould, arranged in this manner may now be filled-with molten lead,
an alloy of lead and copper, aluminium-lead alloy, aluminium-zinc alloy, aluminium,
lead and silver alloy, or any suitable combination of these metals. When the metal
has become sufficiently cool, and the cast plate is removed from the mould, the pellets
or discs will present a regular and even surface of inactive and partly soluble material,
held firmly within a metallic frame.
"
"
A piece of brass, copper, or other suitable metal or alloy may be placed in the
leading "gate" of the mould, having been previously flattened or spread out at the
lower end, so that when the superfluous length of the runner is cut off, a portion
of the aforesaid piece of metal may project, and which may be provided with a screw
thread, and a nut or thumb nut, as shewn by Figure 2, which represents a finished
plate or clement. The manner of retaining the Hattened portion of this terminal
screw is shewn by the dotted outline, Figure 2; this figure representing a finished
plate or element according to my method of construction when these are made
singly. The object of this device is mainly to avoid fracture, and rupture of contact
when in use, which, in cells as ordinarily employed, results from crystallization and
fatigue of the metallic structure generally, especially when subjected to vibration.
I may, however, as an alternative device employ a series of rods, formed of non-
active and partly soluble material by compression precipitation or fusion, preferably
made with a screw thread, or helical groove upon the external surface, and said rods
may also be provided with a central hole as shewn by Figure 3, at
9; or this may he
dispensed with. These rods are suspended, or otherwise supported in a suitable
mould, and the metal or alloy, as described in the previous example (which referred to
the construction of single plates only) poured in, so that the resultant casting takes
the form of a block as shewn by Figure 4, said rods being held longitudinally therein,
and perfectly enclosed by, and in perfect contact with, the surrounding metal or alloy.
The block so made, may be divided into a series of plates of suitable thickness, by
means of a parallol or circular saw, or other suitable mechanism for effecting the
required division. One plate, or element is shewn as partly divided or cut off, from
the block, in Figure 4. In this case, a sufficient number of screw threads, helical
grooves, or even parallel grooves or serrations upon the rods are enclosed by the
surrounding metal in the thickness of each single element when divided as above
described so as to retain the inactive, and partly soluble material within the frame.
I do not, however, confine myself to the circular formation of the rods as shewn by
Figure 3, but may make them of square or polygonal cross section, suitably serrated
to enable the detached portions to be firmly retained within the cast frame.
The inactive, and partly soluble material of which the pellets, plates, rods, or discs
hereinbefore described, are made consists of either of the following compounds,
which are here numerically indicated in order to avoid needless repetition in future
reference-

page_text: (6) Plumbie hypo sulphite
Sesqui-oxide of chromium and alumina
Plumbie acetate.
(7) Plumbic oxy-sulphate
Plumbic acetate or nitrate.
I preferably use these ingredients in the several formulæ in equal, or approximately
equal parts.
I may add plumbago or graphite to each or any of the above mentioned compounds
which may be made of any desired shape or size by direct fusion, precipitation, or
by compression, or may be cut from a solid block by means of a saw or other cutting
tool, but always employed in a perfectly dry state when making the plates.
Or I may take an admixture of any or all of the compounds as hereinbefore set
forth, and form them into pellets, rods, plates or discs by compression or fusion, said
compounds being in no case used as a paint, paste or cement,-within the meaning
of these terms, nor does these compounds become instantly spongy or porous, this
latter state being attained in the course of time by continued electrolytic action.
A current of electricity must not be passed through the elements until these have
been electro-chemically prepared so as to receive a full charge of hydrogen and
oxygen.
The conducting bars or bridges for connecting the elements in a cell'of the
battery are cast around a core of copper or other metal of high conductivity, as
shewn by Figures 5 and 6. I may use any alloy or metal in constructing said "bars
or bridges, and I provide two distinct terminals k. k which in practice are connected
by means of the coupling link or piece shewn by Figure 9, in plan, and thumb or
fly nuts are employed for securing the same. The attachment of the plates is shewn
by Figures 7 and 8. It will be seen that I have provided two distinct couplings for
each set of plates in a cell, with a core of great strength, conductivity and durability,
and I have further provided that a perfect metallic contact or conductor is established
by the coupler Figure 9, independently of the plate terminals. The thumb, or fly
nuts are preferably cast in the same metal or alloy as that forming the frame of the
plates or elements such as lead, lead and copper alloy, lead and zinc, lead and
aluminium or any of the aluminium bronzes.
The electrolyte used in the cells of a tertiary battery according to my invention
may be an acidulated solution of alum, (a generic term, comprising the double
sulphate of alumina and potash, soda, ammonia or chrome alum) or of hypo sulphite
of soda with water and alcohol, or with water alone, or an acidulated solution of
sulphate of magnesia.
The cells or containing vessels may be of ebonite, or of wood protected by a
coating of any substance that will render them fluid-tight, and is not chemically acted
upon by the electrolyte but I prefer to employ cells of brass, copper, aluminium
bronzes, or the like, internally covered or coated with lead, or made of an alloy of
copper and lead, or aluminium-lead alloy, suitable means being adopted for
insulating the plates or elements therefrom.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I do not claim the employment and use of an active and insoluble
material in the construction of the elements of a tertiary storage battery as herein
described, either as a paint, paste or cement, but what I claim is ---
First. The construction of the elements or plates of a tertiary battery, and the
arrangement and details thereof, substantially as herein described, with reference to
the drawings.

page_text: Second. In a tertiary storage battery, the use and employment of plumbic hypo
sulphite, monoxide, oxylate, oxy-chloride, carbonate, oxy-sulphate, zinc oxide, or
sesqui-oxide of chromium and alumina, in combination with plumbic acetate or nitrate,
and with or without graphite or plumbago, substantially as and for the purposes herein
set forth, and in the order enumerated by the formulæ numbered, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and 7, respectively.
Third. In a tertiary battery, the use and employment of an alloy of copper and
lead, aluminium bronzes, aluminium alone or aluminium lead alloy, for the plates,
elements or cells thereof, in combination with each or any of the compounds
referred to in the preceding claim, substantially as and for the purposes herein
set forth.
Fourth. In a tertiary storage battery the method of construction illustrated by
Figures 3 and 4 of the appended drawings substantially as herein described with
reference thereto.
Fifth. In a tertiary battery the method of forming single plates or elements,
substantially as herein.described, with reference to Figure 2 of the appended
drawings.
Sixtli. In a tertiary battery, the employment of a conductor or connecting bridge
with a solid core, in combination with a connecting piece shewn in plan by Figure 9
substantially as and for the purposes herein described with reference to the drawings
hereunto appended.
Seventh. In a tertiary battery as referred to in the preceding claims, the employ-
ment and use of an electrolyte formed by an acidulated solution of alum, or of alum
alone, hypo sulphite of soda with alcohol or water or an acidulated solution of sulphate
of magnesia, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 18th day of Awil 1890
FREDK. WALKER & HYDE,
4, Moorfields, Fore Street, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.
FREDK. WALKER & HYDE,
4, Moorfields, Fore Street, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.