IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO PRIMARY ELECTRIC OR VOLTAIC BATTERIES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Michael Radcliffe Ward at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th January 1883,
MICHAEL RADCLIFFE WARD of Northumberland Street Strand in the County of
Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO PRIMARY ELECTRIC OR VOLTAIC
BATTERIES
"
The main object of this invention is to provide means for keeping up the supply
of liquids used in what are known as primary electric or voltaic batteries. A great
inconvenience in the use of these batteries arises from the fact that the strength of
the liquids rapidly goes down and so the current from this cause, if from no other,
gradually falls.
Now if a means could be supplied of changing the liquid as required and of
flushing" the cells a battery may be made to work continuously for a considerable
length of time without the usual trouble of recharging each cell in fact the battery
would generally only require overhauling when it became necessary to renew the
metals or other equivalent substances used.
According to my invention reservoirs are placed in any convenient position
relatively to the battery and an arrangement of pipes and valves or taps so arranged
that fresh liquid can be turned into the battery when required and also the waste
liquid drawn off I also provide incans for actuating these appliances.
In the case when the battery used is a double cell battery I arrange two cisterns
or reservoirs and these being connected with a water supply they are filled with the
proper quantity of water and acid, exciting salt solution, or other fluid, different
solutions being required for the inner and outer cell, different mixtures are made
in each cistern. From each cistern there is arranged a main pipe running by all
the different cells. of the battery (battery being understood to mean a collection of
cells) one main pipe from one cistern is to supply the inner cells and one main pipo
from the other cistern is to supply the outer cells; from the main pipes in
connection with each cell there is a branch pipe so that when the supply is turned
on the liquid runs into each cell simultaneously and I so arrange these pipes that
the pressure on every individual branch is practically the same.
By this means, by simply turning a cock I can supply any number of cells
simultaneously in a very short time with fresh liquid.

page_text: The waste or drawing off pipes main and branch are arranged in a similar way,
so that I can also simultaneously and equally draw off from the cells the spent
liquid at the same time that fresh liquid is going in, the level of liquid need not
therefore sensibly alter during the change, I also in some cases provide a mechanical
connection between the supply and waste cocks so that one movement simul-
taneously draws off and refills.
I also provide a connection with a pure water supply so that I can when desirable
flush the cells and thoroughly cleanse them before putting in fresh liquid I use the
same supply pipes mains and branch but so connect that I can shut off the fresh
charging liquid reservoirs and run fresh water through from either the water mains
or from a water cistern.
The waste pipe I arrange so that the two different liquids from the inner and
outer cells may go into two different reservoirs whence anything valuable in tho
liquids either held in suspension or in solution can be taken out if necessary or I
can run the liquid right away into drains or elsewhere; this latter means might be
used in flushing with pure water if it was not desired to retain anything that might
be washed out.
By means of an electric arrangement consisting of an electro magnet and levers
or motor and connections or solenoid and levers or their equivalent I can make the
current automatically to change the liquids.
I can also by means of a current indicator arrange that the reservoir taps can be
operated from a distance by means of a small electric motor actuated either by the
current from the battery itself or elsewhere.