Improvements in Electric Accumulators.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Electric Accumulators.
I, ANTHONY GEORGE NEW, of Palace Chambers, Westminster, Electrical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the present invention relates to the particular form of lead grid which
is described in the Specification accompanying Buckland's Letters Patent No. 6163
and dated March 26th 1895, in which the grid, before being pasted, consists partly of
shelves made of an insulating material. It has hitherto been the custom to secure
these insulating shelves on the wire shaped fingers of the leaden conductor and to
make these fingers straight.
The objection to these grids, now made, is that there is a tendency for the fingers
to become elongated or fractured when the active material expands as it does when in
Another disadvantage which is apparent, at the time being, is that the leaden
conductors are by no means equally adjacent to all the particles of the active material
and that consequently there is a tendency for certain portions to become fully formed
a considerable period before the rest.
The improvement which I claim is the construction of a grid on similar lines but
having the leaden, wire shaped, fingers zig zagged between the shelves to an acute
angle. This bending of the fingers may be done after placing the shelves in place or
the two processes may be done together. This arrangement obviates any pressing of
the fingers in order to secure the shelves since the angles formed by the zig zags hold
them in place. I thus obtain a grid in which there is a greater length of conductor
fingers, although the size of the plate when finished is the same as at present. The
general appearance of the grid when ready for pasting gives the impression of a
concertina inasmuch as it is capable of extension without putting any longitudinal
strain on the conductor fingers. Owing to there being a greater length of finger in
the same size plate I also obtain an increased ainonnt of conductor proportionately to
the amount of active material.
I do not bind myself down to any particular form of zig zag or any degree of
angularity but what I claim is the construction of a grid on the lines above mentioned
and in such a way as to secure freedom to expand in length without tending to break
any portion of the conductor, the increase in length of conductor fingers relatively
to the length of the complete plate and mechanical strength of grid without requiring
any additional process to secure the insulator shelves in place.
Dated this 10th dor of October 1900

page_text: Improvements in Electric Accumulators.
I, ANTHONY GEORGE NEW of Palace Chambers, Westminster, Electrical Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The object of the present invention relates to the particular form of lead grid which
is described in the Specification accompanying Buckland's Letters Patent No. 6163
and dated March 26th 1895, in which the grid, before being pasted, consists partly of
shelves made of an insulating material. It has hitherto been the custom to secure
these insulating shelves on the wire-shaped fingers of the leaden conductor and. to
make these fingers straight.
The objection to these grids as now made, is that there is a tendency for the fingers
to become elongated or fractured when the active material expands as it does when
in use.
The improvement which forms the subject of my invention is the construction of a
grid also having horizontal shelves of preferably insulated material but having the
leaden, wire-shaped fingers zig-zagged between the shelves.
The nature and construction of the grid as made in accordance with my invention
may be seen from the accompanying sheet of drawings to which I refer in order that
my invention may be the more readily and perfectly understood.
Figure 1 represents the grid as cast or it may be stamped consisting mainly of long
leaden wires or fingers united together at the top and as it appears before the
insulating shelves are secured in position.
Figure 2 represents a view of the grid with the shelves secured in position by
means of twisting the leaden wires into angles between them.
Figure 3 represents an end view of Figure 2 showing likewise the insulating shelves
in position.
To confer additional rigidity on the structure the ends of the leaden wires after all
the horizontal shelves are secured in position are riveted into a rod of similar insulating
material or it may be also of lead which may be seen in side and end views in
Figures 2 and 3.
The method of construction and of securing the shelves in position is as follows:-
The casting or stamping shown in Figure 1 has each of its wires twisted to about a
right angle at about half an inch or more (according to the size of the grid) from the
line of common junction. At about an equal distance they are then all twisted in the
same plane in the opposite direction and the first of the shelves of insulating material
which are perforated and manufactured as described in Buckland's Patent No. 6163
of 1895 is slipped on and brought up till it is in a horizontal position each of its
perforations being then situated in the angle formed by the second bend on each of
the leaden wires. The wires are then all bent parallel to one another in the same
plane and approximately at the same angle but in the opposite direction by which
means the first shelf is secured in position. The process of threading on the shelves
and securing each one in position is continued until the requisite number are fixed
horizontally and at preferably equal distances. The ends of the leaden wires are then
riveted or otherwise fastened into the bottom rod above described and the grid presents
the appearance shown in Figures 2 and 3 being then finished and ready for pasting.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said

page_text: invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
An accumulator-grid consisting partly of shelves made of an insulating material in
which these shelves are secured in position by bending the leaden wires or fingers
which pass through them substantially as shown and described.