Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Secondary or Storage Batteries.
I, STANLEY CHARLES CUTHBERT CURRIE, a subject of the Queen of Great
Britain, but now residing at Drexel Building in the City of Philadelphia, in the
County of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, Electrical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN SECONDARY OR
STORAGE BATTERIES, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statements :-
My present invention relates to the electrodes or elements of a secondary or
storage battery and more particularly to the composition, construction and arrange-
ment thereof.
It is well known by electricians that the result of repeatedly charging and
discharging the clements of a secondary or storage battery is to cause the elements
and more especially the positive ones to disintegrate or scale off, so that the active
material is loosened and separated from the central portions thereof and in falling
to the bottom of the cell, impairs the efficiency of the battery by short circuiting
the elements, and in other well understood ways.
The principal object of the present invention is to prevent the active material or
material adapted to become active susceptible of being used for the storage of
electric energy from becoming detached from its support and consequently to obviate
short circuiting of such elements mounted in battery, whereby the life of the same
is prolonged and the efficiency of the battery increased.
My invention consists of a battery element comprising an interior support provided
with a shoulder, an exterior woven tube fitting onto said shoulder and extending
beyond said support and a porous metallic substance or materials cast within said
tube and around said support.
My invention further consists of an electrode comprising a lead or other connection
having lugs or other terminal devices and supports cast therewith and woven tubes
of insulating material mounted on said supports and having a metallic salt or salts
cast within said tubes and reduced to a porous crystallized metallic state or condition,
for usc.
My invention further consists of a secondary battery having as the positive
elements thereof a series of supports cast integral with lead or other connections
and terminal devices and provided with woven tubes mounted thereon and filled
with a cast porous metallic material or materials, and having as the negative
elements thereof a series of similar elements or a series of lead plates; and
My invention further consists of the improvements in a secondary or storage
battery hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.
In producing elements embodying my invention use is made of woven tubes of
asbestos or other suitable material. These tubes are placed upon a brass rod
provided with a shoulder adapted for their reception and with a tapering pro-
jection- or core of less diameter than the interior of the tubes, so that a space
is afforded between the core and the inner walls of the tube. This space serves
as a mould into which fused chloride of lead or salt or salts of other metals or
materials is or are poured. When the mass has become cool the brass rod is
A series
withdrawn, leaving a cavity or matrix in the centre of the cast mass.
of these partially completed elements is then placed in a suitable appliance or
mould and molten lead or other suitable metal is poured into the cavities or
matrices formed by the withdrawal of the brass cores and which constitutes a
All these central supports may be
central conducting support for the elements.
united by means of a connection provided with a lug or other terminal device
so as to constitute an electrode which may be readily mounted in a battery

page_text: cell or vase.
After the cast metallic mass has been reduced either chemically
or electrolytically or by both modes of treatment to the metallic state or
condition in order to constitute the active material of the element, the same
can be mounted in battery, for use..
The nature and characteristic features of my invention will be more fully under-
stood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings forming part hereof; and in which
Figure 1, is a transverse section of a metallic rod provided with a shoulder and
with a core, and showing a surrounding tube of woven material applied thereto so
as to form a mould for the reception of the molten metallic salts adapted to be
reduced to a state to constitute the active material or portion of the clement.
Fig. 2, is a similar view showing the tube filled with the cast salts of a material
adapted to be reduced to a metallic state to constitute the active material or part
of the element.
Fig. 3, is a view on the line c, c, of Fig. 4 showing to the left an elevation and
to the right a section of an electrode comprising a series of elements embodying the
particular features of my invention and attached to connections having terminal lugs
formed integral therewith.
Fig. 4, is a top or plan view of a battery comprising two systems of electrodes or
elements embodying features of my invention and attached to arms or connections
provided with terminal lugs and as so arranged adapted for use in a battery cell ;
and
Fig. 5, is a top view of two systems of electrodes or elements with their con-
nections. The negative elements or electrodes in this instance being composed of
ordinary lead plates provided with suitable connections.
In the drawings a, is a tube of woven material as asbestos. , (Figs. 1 and 2)
is a brass or other rod provided with a shoulder 61, for the reception of the
tube a, and with a tapering projection or core 12. This core 2, extends upward
nearly to the top of the tube a, and is of less diameter than the tube so as to
afford an annular space 63, between the interior walls of the tube and core.
This annular space 3, constitutes a mould for the reception of the fused salts
of a metallic material or materials as the chloride of lead, or the chlorides of
other metals and which when reduced to the metallic state, constitutes the porous
crystallized active portion or material d, of the element. e, is a central support
formed by casting suitable material, as lead into the matrix or cavity formed by
the removal of the brass rod 2. f, is a connection provided with arms f', and
with terminal lngs f, and preferably cast integral with the supports e.
battery cell or vase of the usual or of any preferred construction. 1, is a lead
plate or element. h', is a conductor attached to and connecting the plates h.
9, is a
In order that the nature and characteristic features of an element embodying
my invention may be fully understood, a brief description of the process of manu-
facturing the same, will now be given.
The tube a, of woven asbestos or other suitable material is fitted onto the
shoulder b', of the rod b, and the fused salts of a metallic material or materials
as chloride of lead or the chlorides of other metals is or are poured into the
space 3, between the core 6, and the tube a, and the mass then allowed to cool
and crystallize therein. It may be remarked that in practice the fused material
in cooling becomes firmly embedded in and attached to the meshes of the tube a,
thereby increasing the mechanical strength and durability of the element. The
central rod b, is then withdrawn from the cast mass and the cavity or matrix
formed by its withdrawal is filled with fused lead or other suitable conducting
material, which constitutes a central support for the element.
The salts of the
metallic material or materials is or are then reduced to the metallic state by
electrolysis or in any other preferred manner to constitute the porous crystallized
active portion d, of the element.
In use. two connections f, provided with terminals f³, and with arms f', attached
to the supports e, of a series of elements are mounted in a vase or cell g, so as to

page_text: constitute the positive and negative electrodes of a secondary or storage battery,
as will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, or if preferred,
my improved elements and connections therefor may be employed as the positive
electrode in connection with a negative electrode comprising a series of lead or
similar plates h, connected together by a conductor ', as shown in Fig. 5.
The tubes a, not only serve to form a mould as has been explained, but also
prevent the active material from falling away from the elements. Moreover, these
tubes in use insulate the positive and negative elements from each other and permit
of the free access of the electrolyte to all parts of the active surface of the elements
constituting the positive and negative electrodes of the battery.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A battery element comprising an interior support, an exterior insulating woven
tube fitted onto said support and an integral mass of metallic material or materials
cast within said tube and around said support, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
2. A battery element comprising a conducting support, an exterior tube of woven
asbestos fitting onto said support and a metallic salt cast within said tube and
around said support, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
3. A battery element comprising an interior conducting support provided with a
shoulder, an exterior woven insulating tube fitting thereon and extending beyond
said support, and metallic material cast within said tube around said support and in
contact with the meshes of said woven tube and adapted to become the active
material of said element, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
.
4. A battery electrode comprising a connection provided with a lug or other
terminal device and with supports, woven insulating tubes mounted on said supports
and metallic material cast between said supports and wholly or partially filling
the meshes or interstices of said woven tubes, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
5. A battery electrode comprising a lead connection provided with a lug or other
terminal device and with supports, woven asbestos. tubes mounted on said supports
and a salt of lead cast between said supports and tubes and adapted to become
porous and metallic, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
6. A battery electrode comprising a connection provided with a lug or other
terminal device and with arms, supports cast integral with said arms, woven tubes
mounted on said supports and a material cast between said supports and tubes
and adapted to become porous and metallic, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
7. The combination of a vase or cell, an electrolyte, two series of supports cast
integral with connections and woven insulating tubes mounted on said supports and
filled with porous crystallized metallic material or materials, substantially as and
for the purposes set forth.
8. The combination in a secondary battery, of a cell, a suitable electrolyte, one
electrode provided with connections, supports, woven insulating tubes and cast
crystallized porous material or materials and the other electrode composed of a
series of lead or other plates, substantially as described.
9. A battery element comprising a core of conducting material having a metallic
mass cast around the same and surrounded by a tubular woven insulating fabric,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated at Philadelphia, Pa., this 28th day of January A.D. 1891.