US1295475A - Dry cell. - Google Patents

Description

DRY CELL.

APPLICATION men AUG.23, 191a Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

INVENTOR. H-F. FRENCH M m. mmzn ;.a0/W ATTORNEY TTNTTED @TATE% PATENT FFTCE.

HARRY F. FRENCH AND RAYMOND C. BENNER, OF FREMONT, OHIO, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, IN C., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DRY CELL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 25, ll9il9.

Application filed August 23, 1916. Serial No. 116,429.

Toall whom it may concern: I

Be it known that wve, HARRY F. FRENCH and RAYMOND C. BENNER, citizens of the United States, residing at Fremont, in the county of Sandusky and State of Ohio, have invented. a certain new and useful Improvement in Dry Cells, of which thewfollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to dry cells of the Leclanch type. Dry cells, as usually made, consist of a carbon electrode inside a zinc container, having a paper lining in which is packed a mixture of manganese peroxid and carbon moistened with an electrolyte of ammonium and zinc chlorids.

There is also a type of cell in which the mix of pyrolusite and carbon is molded into cartridge-form around the carbon rod. This is .wrapped with cheesecloth, or similar fabric, and placed in the zinc can Without the paper lining. An electrolyte of paste or liquid is then poured into the cell to fill up the spaces between the cartridge and the zinc.

We have devised an improvement whereby the paper lining and the cheesecloth wrapping can be omitted, thereby giving a cell of superior quality. In the appended description, reference is made to the drawings in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal section of a dry cell embodying the invention. I

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the cartridge used in the cell.

To make a cell in accordance with the invention, one or more bibulous disks 8 are placed on the bottom 9 of the zinc can 2, and then the can is poured full of a paste that may vary according to the purpose to wvhich the cell is put. .The paste that we have used to advantage consists of from 25 to 40% flour and 7 to 60% water. The can is next placed in boiling water for a period of from 5 to seconds, which cooks a thin film 1 of the raw paste immediately adjacent to the zinc 2. The can is then removed from the boiling water and inverted to pour out all of the paste that does not stick to the zinc can. The thin cooked film of paste adheres very tenaciously to the zinc and therefore practically the remainder of the paste is poured out of the cell.

A cartridge (Fig. 2) consisting of a mix 3 of depolarizer and carbon molded around a central carbon rod 4, is then added to the can. This cartridge has no bibulous wrapping as is usual and is made of such size that water where it is allowed toremain for about one and one-half minutes. It is then removed and the usual packing 6 of paper,

sawdust or sand, is placed on top of the cartridge as shown. The customary pitch seal 7 completes the manufacture of the cell .with the exception of an inclosing jacket of paper which is not. shown on the drawing as it forms no part of the invention.

Cells made in this way have a low resistance as there is no layer of paper or cloth between the zinc and the mix.

Many other pasty or jelly-like materials have been or may be used in dry cells as substitutes for the flour paste described. For example, the following are well known The vegetable pastes, such as gelatin, starch, agar; the animal materials such as glues; the mineral gels such as coloidal silicic acid, etc. Our invention is applicable to such and and therefore the claims are not to be re stricted to any particular paste.

As a Variation, the paste can be applied to the zinc by a brush or by a spray, and then cooked in the way outlined.

The cooking of the second addition of paste can be avoided by employing chemical thickening agents such as zinc chlorid solution. F or this purpose we have used 5 volumes paste and 3 volumes zinc chlorid with good results, the latter being 60% chlorid and .water.

Instead of following the exact process outllned it will be permissible to place the unwrapped cartridge in the can, keeping it central by spacers or otherwise, and then to pour the paste into the annular space. The paste can be afterward cooked as previously outlined.

As a further modification, we propose to tamp the mix into the can after the lining of paste has been cooked on the can and dried, or otherwise su'liiciently hardened, as by means of glue or other hardening agent.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. The steps in the process of making a dry cell, which consist in molding a mix around a carbon electrode to form a cartridge, applying pasty material to the inside of a zinc can, adding the said cartridge and cooking the paste to form an adherent layer on the inner surface of the zinc.

2. The steps in the process of making a dry cell, which consist in molding a mix around a carbon electrode to form a cartridge, applying pasty material to the inside of a zinc can, cooking it to form a thin adherent lining on the inner surface of the zinc, placing the cartridge in the zinc and pouring additional pasty material between said cartridge and the zinc can.

3. The steps in the process of making a dry cell, which consist in filling a zinc can with paste, placing the same in boiling Water to cook a thin adherent film of paste on the inner surface of the zinc can, pouring out the remainder of the paste, applying an unwrapped cartridge to the inside of the can and pouring the paste around the cartridge to fill up the space between the cartridge and the zinc can.

In testimony whereof, We hereunto aflix 25 our signatures.

HARRY F. FRENCH. RAYMOND O. BENNER.

Images