CA1261799A - Automatic filling device for battery cells - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A device for the automatic filling of battery-cells with water comprising a filling cup or plug to be inserted into the filling orifice of the battery cell, a cup-housing being provided with fixing means for mounting in the filling orifice, a connection for the water supply, and a valve actuated by a float, the valve body being con-nected by means of a pivotably mounted lever to the float disposed centrally in the cup-housing, characterized in that fitted to the lower end of the cup-housing is a sleeve exhibiting the fixing means. Also, the float may be secured to a central guide-rod which, solely for guiding the slid-ing of the float, runs, with. a certain amount of play, through an opening provided centrally in the bottom of the cup-housing, the upper end of the said guide-rod being hinged to the lever, designed as an amplifying lever, for transmitting the float-movement to the valve body.

Description

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1 This invent1on relates to a device for the auto-matic filling of battery-cells with wa-ter comprising a filling cup or plug to be inserted into the filling orifice of the battery cell, a cup~housing heing provided with fixing means for mounting in the filling orifice, a con-nection for the water supplyr and a valve actuated by a float, the valve body being connected by means of a pivot-ably mounted lever to the float disposed centrally in the cup-housing, characterized in that fitted to the lower end 1~ of the cup-housing is a sleeve exhibiting the fixing means.
The water in the diluted sulphuric acid in the battery cells evaporates due to the current density, i.e.
the cyclic load of batteries driving vehicles, forklift trucks etc. To prevent the electrolytic level in the -'; 15 cells sinking below the minimum level, the batteries have to be checked at regular intervals and the cells refilled ; with chemically clean water.
}~utomatic devices as described above are already known to help save time and work in refilling. For this, the inlet of the filling cup or plug of each battery cell is con-nected by a common pipe with a central tank from which the water is pumped by means of a pressure generator and fed into the cells. When the required electrolytic level is reached, the float closes the valve of the particular battery cell.

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1 It is the purpose of the invention to pro~ide a filling cup or plug designed in such a manner that it may be used universally for widely difering ~attery-cells~
with no need to provide a diferen-t filling cup or plug for each type of battery-cell.
It is also the purpose of the invention to provide a device for automatically filling battery-cells with water, the float of which comprises a smoothly operating, reliable guide which cannot tilt or become blocked. E~en if the float guide ceases to move freely, the force applied by the float will be enough to ensure proper operation of the val~e and to prevent valve-flutter.
This and other purposes are accomplished, in the case of a filling cup or plug, in that a sleeve comprising fixing means is fitted to the lower end of the cup-housing.
This ma~es it possible to produce a standard filling cup or plug for all filler orifices in battery cells, it being necessary to fit to the lower end only the rele~ant sleeve, the fixing means on which match the dimensions of 23 the filler-orifice. This eliminates the need for adapters, the use of which has the disadvantages of making the filling cup or plug too high for many applications~ Furthermore, the use of an adaptor greatly reduces the structurally possible diameter of the float and thus the buoyancy thereof.
Rapid assembly is possible if the sleeve is held to the cup-housing by a snap-fastener.

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1 According to ~ particularly advant~geous develop-ment of the invention, the cup-housing is rotatable in relation to the sleeve. This allows the connections for the water-supply ~nd connecting hoses to be ~ligned with each other, with no s~arp curves or kinks in the said hoses or the like. In additîon to this, batteries having their terminals extremely close together may also be equipped with the device according to this invention.
The fixing means on the sleeve may be in the form of a thread or a bayoner-fastener.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the float is secured to a central guide-rod which, solely for guiding the sliding of the float~ runs, with a certain amount of play, through an opening provided `I 15 centrally in the bottom of the cup-housing, the upper end of the said guide-rod beiny hinged to the lever, designed as an amplifying lever, for transmitting the float-move-ment to the valve body.
Since the float, with its guide-rod, is held centrally in a sliding guide in the bottom of the cup-housing, the danger of the float tilting as it moves vert ; ically is eliminated. This sliding guide may be kept so small that adhesion, or blocking by particles suspended in the electrolyte, is largely prevented.
According to a further development of the inven-tion, the transmission-ratio between the guide-rod and the amplifying leve- is in excess of 1:1 and is preferably ol - : .

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1 the order of 1:16~ This means that, with ~ float ~eighing about 15g, the buoyancy of the said float, which îs required to close the valve, is amplifed to more than 2QOg~
According to another characteristic of the inven~
tion, for the purpose of transmitting force from the amplifying lever to the valve-body, a shaft, mounted in the cup-housing, is secured to the said amplifying lever, the said shaft engaging~ with a toothed segment, in a notch in the valve~body-shaft.
This also contributes to an easy running trans-mission of power so that an ass~red opening and closurè
of the valve without jamming, is guaranteed.
A further feature of the invention is that the valve body is arranged in a cylindrical inlet pipe of the i 15 cup housing which contains a conical seat for the valve head against which it rests, sealing it in the closed position with the help of a gasket. Preferably, the con-ical seat should have an angle of 120.
During the realization of the invention, these measures have shown that optimal sealing is obtained when - a closing force of about 200g is applied to the valve-body; this sealing effect is also promoted by the water-pressure, usually between 1.5 and 2.0 bars, acting upon the valve-head.
According to the invention, a throttle tube is built into the water inlet pipe. Preferably, a baffle plate is placed between the throttle tube exit and the valve head to direct the water flow to the wall of the inlet pipe.

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l Thus, unrequi.red pressure forces acting in the closing direction of the valve are avoided as the w~ter jet does not hit the valve head with full force~
This advantageous effect is fortified by the trumpet-shaped exit of the throttle tube which. reduces the inlet speed of the feeding jet still further.
If a labyrinth. water-supply is provided after the tube-exit, the entry into which is lower than the said tube-exit, this provides protection against fixe-damp and a hydraulic seal is formed which, in the event of a vacuum arising in the hose-system, prevents water from being drawn out of the cup-housing.
Longitudi.nal grooves are cut into the guide rod : of the float to provide an unobstructed flow of the water from the cup housing into the battery cells and to avoid a settling of foreign particles in the sliding guide of the yuide rod of the float It is particularly desirable for an indicator . disc to be formed o~ the upper end of the float-guide-rod, the said disc being visible, when the valve is closed, through a window in the cup-housing. This provided for rapid checking of the electrolyte-level in the battery-cell.
It is an advantage for the window to be located in the lateral wall of the cup-housing. As compared with ; 25 fitting the said window in the cover of the cup-housing, this has the advanta~e that the inner wall of the window always remains clear since condensate-water easily runs : -5-., .

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1 down the verti.cal surface thereof without settling and thus affecting the transparency of the window.
Another characteristic of the invention is the provision of very fine slots, preferably star~shaped, in the bottom of the cup houslng, which at least partlyj run into dirt collecting chambers on the upper bottom surface and are all sharp-edged on the loWer bottom surface.
The remaining water, which did not flow along the longitudinal grooves of the guide rod, reaches the battery cells via these slots. The free slots thereby hold back possible foreign particles which will settle in the dirt collecti.ng chambers without reaching the guide channel between the guide rod of the float and the bottom of the cup housing. The sharp edging of the slots on the ~ 15 lower side has the advantage of acting as fender and pre ~ venting a feed back of dirt particles from the battery cells into the cup housing through these slots. In addition to this, these very fine slots a~e an escape route for gas or acid fumes without the attachment of liquid particles so that the dried gas can rise through vent holes in the cup housing and escape without spilling onto the outside of the device or the battery.
The invention is explained hereinafter in con-junction with the examples of embodimen-t illustrated in the drawings attached hereto, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective, partly sectional, open view of the invented device.

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l Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the device shown in figure l~
Figure 3 is a sc~ematic enlarged representation of the connection between the shaft of the amplifying lever and the valve body~
Figure 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the baffle plate.
Figure 5 is a side view of the guide rod of the float.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through an inlet duct to an enlarged scale.
Figure 7 is a perspeckive view of a variant of a filling cup or plug according to the inventlon.
- Figure 8 is a longitudinal section through a filling cup or plug similar to that in Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a part-sectional view of a modîfied example of embodiment.
Figure lO is a sectlonal representation of a filling cup or plug wi-th an openiny for removal.
As shown by figures l and 2, the device for the automatic filling of battery cells with water consists of a filling cup or plug lO, of which the cylindrical cup housing 12 is placed into the filling opening of the battery cell, which is not shown. The lower edge of the cup housing 12 is made of sprung tongues 14 of which the lower edges 16 are enlarged and which after insertion of the cup housing .
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1 12, elas-tically grip the lower edge of the filling opening of the battery cell~ For sealing the gap between the filling opening and the casing of the cup housing 12 a gasket 18 is provided which is placed in a groo~e of the cup housing -i2. ~bove the gasket .18 the cup housing 12 is enlargened and rests with this part on the cell surface.
It is to be seen in figure 1 that the pressurized water intake from the water suppl~ ~not shownl is through a T-formed connection 20 on the outside of the cup housing 12 which has two pipe connections 22 and 24 to which. water hoses can be fitted in the known manner. The connection 22 serves to feed chemically clean water to the filling cup or plug while the connection 24 passes the water not fed into the filling cup or plug 10 to the next filling cup or plug ~not shown~.
Figure 2 shows that the internal end 26 of the T-formed connection 20 is inserted into an inlet pi.pe 28.
Inside the end 26 is a throttle tube 30 which, in the shown example, has a length of 14 mm and adiameter of 1~2 mm. The tube exit 32 is trumpet shaped. Around the throttle tuhe 30 wi-thin the internal end 26 is a circular : dirt collecting chamber 34.
Figure 2 also shows that at the exit of the throttle tube 32, looking at in the flow direction, is a ~affle plate 36 ~shown in figure a~ which is force ~itted into a notch at the internal end 26 of the tube. The : baffle plate 36 has on its circumference, four outlet slot~ 38.

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7~3 1 The inlet pipe 28 has on its end, approximately central, a conical seat 42 for a valve head ~4 of a valve 46 whose shaft 48 is movable in a horizontal direction as shown by the double arro~s in a narrow bore 50 of the inlet tube 28. The valve head 44 has a circular groove for a gasket 52 which in the closed position of the valve 46 forms a seal with the conical seat 42 at an angle of 120.
The valve sha~t ~8 is connected through an amplifying lever 54 to a guide rod 56 which is centrically seated in the cup housing 12 and protrudes through a circular opening 58 in the bottom 60 of the cup housing 12 A float 62 îs placed onto the lower end of th~ guide rod 56.
~elatively large-volume float 62 is a hollow body made of welded synthetic material. In the example of embodiment illustrated, the volume is such that the buoy-ancy acting upon guide-rod 56 amounts to about 15 g~
The centre part of the guide rod 56 which slides through a nearly linear guide formed by the circular open-ing 58 in the bottom 60, has four longitudinal quadranted shaped grooves 66. These longitudinal grooves 66 have ; the two functions of feeding water ~rom the cup housing 12 into the battery cell and to keep the guide of the opening 58 free so that no foreign particles can settle. The water film formed on the guide rod 56 insures easy movement ~ of the guide.
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1 Figure 5 shows that the thickened upper end of the guide rod 56 passes into an arm 68 of which, with the help of a bolt 70, rests the amplifying lever 54. To transmit the vertical float movement to the horizontally slidable valve body 46, the upper end of the amplifying lever 54 is connected to a horizontal shaft 72 which rests in the cup housing 12. This shaft 72 has at least ~n the area of the valve shaft 48, a toothed segment 74 which gears into a notch. 76 of the valve shaft 48. Figure 3 shows that the notch 76 has -two vertical walls 78 onto which rests a corner edge 8Q and 82 of the toothed segment which widens as from the shaft middle to the outside. The corner edge 80 of the toothed segment 74 moves the valve body 4B into a closed position when the shaft 72 turns ,. 15 anti-clockwise and lies in a radial plane 84 which stands vertically in thè opening position of the valve 46 while it, as shown in figure 3, forms an angle ~ of 71 to the horizontal plane passing through the shaft centre point in ; its closed position. This means that the shaft 72 turns itself 19 from the open to the closed position and ~ice versa.
Figure 3 shows further that the edge 82 of the toothed segment 74 moves the valve 46 into an open position ' when the shaft 72 turns clockwise and lies on a radi,al plane of the shaft 72 which forms an angle ~ of 59 to 2S the hori~ontal plane passing through. the shaft centre in the closed position of the valve 46. Therefore, it follows that by the above-mentioned ~urning of the shaft 72 by ,:~
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1 19 the angle B i.n the opening positi.on of the valve body 46 will be 40.
~he width of the toothed segment 74 and the notch 76 amount in the cited example 1.3 mm while the height of the notch 76 is 1~25 mm and that of the toothed segment is 1.5 mm.
The bottom 60 of the cup housing 12 has fine star-shaped slots 86 which. are rounded on their upper edges and radiate inwards to end in the circular dirt collecting chamber 88~ The lower edge of those slots 86 ~on the underside of the bottom 60~ are sharp-edged and therefore prevent the return flow of foreign particles.
On the upper end of the guide rod 56 or to be more precise, on the upper end of the arm 68, an indication disk 90 is fixed which in the uppermost position of the float 62, that means closed valve, is visible through a window 92 in the lid 94 of the housing 12.
The device works as follows:
When the float 62 sinks because of a low electro-lytic level, ~its lowest position is indicated in figure 2 with hmin and its highest position with hmaX, whereby the lift of the float 624h is very high and in the cited . example amount to 11 mm~ the amplifying lever 54 having in the cited example, an effective length of 24 mm, turns clockwise on the easy going swivel joint 96 so that it :~ turns the shaft 72 clockwise and the edge 82 of the toothed segment 74 moves the valve body 46 to the right into its ; . , ' - '~

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1 opening position. ~ transmission ratio of 1:16 is obtained by the mentloned transmission from the guide rod 56 thxough the amplifying lever 54 to the valve body 46.
The water fed by a pressure tank through a pipe (not shown) to the T~formed connection 20, has a pressure of approximately 0.15 to 2.0 bar and is reduced in the thro-ttle tube 30. The trumpe-t-shaped tube exit 32 ensures a velocity reduction. The baffle plate 36 guides the water to the four outlet slots 38 wherefrom it passes along the inside wall of the inlet pipe 28 and therefore no direct pressure is brought to bear against the surface of the valve head 44. The water is then fed through a large opening 98 in the upper part of the inlet pipe 28 behind the valve seat 42 underneath the lid 94, where it reaches tangentially under the window 92.
From here the water in the cup housing 12 flows down whereby a part of it flows along the guide rod 56 through the opening 58 while the remaining water flows through the fine slots 86 which cleanses the water by pre-venting the possibility of floating particles. The water flow is indicated in figure 1 by arrows.
When the flQat has reached the required electro-lytic level as indicated hmaX, the amplifying lever 54 has meanwhile been moved anti-clockwise so that the edge 8Q of the toothed segment 74 has moved the valve shaft 48 to t~e left and thereby closing the valve.
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l The above described and shown form of the taothed segment 74 and its interaction with the vertlcal walls 78 of the notch 76 in the valve shaft 48 ensures that the valve in the opening position is kept open if the inflowing water rushes in, in an abrupt manner. Due to the limited, very small horizontal movement of the toothed segment 74 in the notch 76, a secure closure o~ the valve is possible without jarmming.
During the filling operation, the indication disk 90 has moved towards the window 92 so that the filling state as well as a too low electrolytic level at which the indication disk is not visible can be checked. The water flow at each filling keeps the window 92 clean.
The battery, when used e.g. during driving of lS the vehicles, fork lift truck or similar, moves constantly and with the electroly-tic level and therefore provides a "trimming" of the system. It prevents a settlement of floating particles on the swivel ~oint 96, on the toothed segment 74 and the guide near the opening 58 whereby the long lift of the float 62 is very advantageous.
For ventilation, slots I00 are provided in the cup housing 12.
Figure 6 shows a preferred example of the inlet duct in longitudinal section. Provided after exit-tube 32, as seen in the direction of flow, is a labyrinth water--~ supply in the form of a labyrinth--duct-insert 124~ i~let 126 thereof being lower than tube-exit 32 whereas outlet .:: :
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In the filling cup or plug shown in figures 7 and 8, a cylindrical sleeve 108 made of a synthetic material is pressed onto lower end 102 of cup-housing 12 which is smaller in diameter than upper part 104. Attachment is effected by means of a bead 110 on the innerwall of sleeve 108 engaging, after the unit has been assembledt in a peripheral groove 112 in lower end 102 of cup-housing 12 in the manner of a snap-fastener. Sealing is effected ~y means of a sealing ring 16 inserted into another peripheral groove 114 in lower end 102 of cup-housing 12. The attach-ment described and illustrated not only permits rapid fitting of sleeve 108 to cup-housing 12, but also allows the said cup-housing to be rotated in the said sleeve. Grips 18 on the exterior of sleeve 108 make it possible to rotate the said sleeve when filllng cup or plug 10 is being dismantled.
In the example of embodiment illustrated in figures7 and 8, two flange-like, diametrically opposed, bayonet-fastener elements 122 are arranged at lower, tapered end 102 of sleeve 108. With the aid of these ~- elements the whole filling cup or plug can be inserted into a bore, containing a corresponding element~ in the filler-orifice of the batter~-cell.
The variant in figure 9 comprises a sleeve 108, lower end 120 of which carries a complete external thread , : : : :

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1 122 which can be screwed into a threaded hole in the filler-orifice of the battery-cell. When filling cup or plug 10 is in the screwed-in condition, annular area 106 of sleeve 108, tapered end 120 of which adjoins the upper part thereof, is seated upon the surface of the cell Furthermore, in this example of embodiment, window 92~
through which indi.cator-dïsc 9~ can be checked, is located in the lateral wall of upper part 104 o cup-housing 12.
The example in Figure 10 shows a cup-housing 12 with a removal opening 134 whicn is adapted to closed by a plug 132 and is in the form of a through-passage 136.
This makesit possible to use a siphon, or the like, to remove water in order to check the acid conten:t thereof.
Figure 10 also shows that float 22 is secured to guide-rod 56 by means of a snap-seat 138, allowing the sai.d float to be removed from the said guide-rod.
- Polycarbonates have been found to be particularly advantageous materlals for sleeve 108 and cup-housing 12.
Although the disclosure describes and illustrates embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to these particular embodiments.
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Claims (27)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Device for the automatic filling of battery-cells with water comprising a filling cup or plug to be inserted into the filling orifice of the battery cell, a cup-housing being provided with fixing means for mounting in the filling orifice, a connection for the water supply, and a valve actuated by a float, the valve body being connected by means of a pivotably mounted lever to the float disposed centrally in the cup-housing, characterized in that fitted to the lower end of the cup-housing is a sleeve exhibiting the fixing means.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the sleeve is held to the cup-housing by a snap-fastener.

3. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cup-housing is rotatable in relation to the sleeve.

4. A device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fixing means on the sleeve is a thread.

5. A device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fixing means on the sleeve is a bayonet-fastener.

6. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the float is secured to a central guide-rod which, solely for guiding the sliding of the float, runs, with a certain amount of play, through an opening provided centrally in the bottom of the cup-housing, the upper end of the said guide-rod being hinged to the lever, designed as an amplifying lever, for transmitting the float-movement to the valve-body.

7. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the transmission ratio for the force applied by the guide-rod, through the amplifying lever, to the valve-body is substantially in excess of 1:1.

8. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the transmission-ratio is of the order of 1:16.

9. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein for the power transmission from the amplifying lever to the valve body a shaft is mounted in the cup housing, said shaft being attached to the amplifying lever and having a toothed segment which seats in a notch provided in the valve shaft.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the valve shaft is mainly horizontally movable and the notch in the valve shaft is defined by two vertical walls, the edges of the toothed segment resting on said walls, said toothed segment widening outwards from the center of the shaft.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the edge of the toothed segment which moves the valve body into its closed position lies in a radial plane of the shaft which extends vertically in the open position of the valve and in the closed position forms an angle .alpha. of approximately 70° and preferably 71° with. the horizontal plane passing through the shaft center.

12. A device as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the edge of the toothed segment which moves the valve body into its open position lies in a plane of the shaft which forms in the open position of the valve an angle .beta.
of approximately 40° with the horizontal plane passing through the shaft center and in the closed position an angle .beta. of approximately 60°, preferably 59°.

13. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the valve body is disposed in a cylindrical inlet pipe of the cup housing, said inlet pipe having a conical seat for the valve head, a gasket being disposed at the valve head which rest on said seat in closed position.

14. A device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the conical seat defines an angle of approximately 120°.

15. A device as claimed in claim 13, wherein a throttle tube is secured in the inlet pipe, the throttle tube being adapted for connection to the water supply.

16. A device as claimed in claim 15, wherein a baffle plate is disposed between an exit of the tube and the valve head for deflecting the impact of an incoming water jet towards the wall of the inlet pipe.

17. A device as claimed in anyone of claims 15 or 16, wherein the tube exit is trumpet shaped.

18. A device as claimed in anyone of claims 15 or 16, wherein a dirt collecting chamber is disposed around the throttle tube.

19. A device according to claim 15, characterized in that a labyrinth water-supply is provided after an exit to the tube.

20. A device according to claim 19, characterized in that an entry to the labyrinth water-supply is lower than the tube-exit.

21. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a plurality of longitudinal grooves are provided in the guide rod of the float.

22. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein an indication disk is fixed to the upper end of the guide rod of the float and wherein a window is provided in the cup housing, the disk being visible through the window when the valve is closed.

23. A device according to claim 22, characterized in that the window is provided in the lateral wall of the cup-housing.

24. A device according to claim 22, characterized in that the window is provided in the cover of the cup-housing.

25. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that cup-housing comprises a closable orifice for taking liquid-samples.

26. A device according to claim 25, characterized in that the orifice is in the form of a continuous passage.

27. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of narrow slots are provided in the bottom of the cup housing, one or more of said slots on the upper side of the bottom surface leading to dirt collecting chambers, said slots being sharp-edged on the lower side of the bottom surface.