US1329590A - Secondary or storage battery - Google Patents

Description

B. FORD.

SECONDARY OR STORAGE BATTERY. APPLICATION FILED APR.14,19T6.

RENEWED JUNE 21,1919.-

Pated Feb. 3,1920.

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B. FUND.

SECONDARY 0H STORAGE BATTEHY.

APPLICATION msn 111111.14, 1916. RENEWED 11111521, 19191v l 1329,59@ .Patented .F011 :5, 15131),

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, the same with BRUCE FORD, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SECONDARY OR STORAGE BATTERY.

Application filed April 14, 1916, Serial No. 91,025.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, BRUCE FORD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful. Improvementsun Seconda-ry or .Storage Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

The principal objects yof the present 1nvention are to improve :secondary or stor age batteries in regard to structure and operation in such a way that they can be successfully operatedv by unskilled users and in such a way that they are structurally capable ofwithstanding incidents of usage while comparativelyv inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

The invention will be claimed at the end hereof, but willl be first described in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof and in which Figure 1, is an elevational view, principally in section, of a battery embodying eatures of the invention.

Fig. 2, is a horizontal sectional view of parts omitted and their location indicated in broken lines.

Fig. 3, is an end view with parts broken away, and

Fig. f1, is a detached view, partly in section, illustrating a modification.

The jar 1, as of glass, is provided on its bottom with three depressions 2, arranged at the points of an imaginary triangle and constituting a three-point support, so that the jar will remain steady when placed upon an uneven support. The jar is also provided with a lateral bulge 3, constituting a sight gage. Around the outside of the jar and near its open end is a bead or *ange 5 and above the bead the outside surface of the jar is slightly beveled or contracted as at 6. When the jar is blown, which is the usual wayto make a glass jar the contracted surface at 6 above the bead 5 is true because it is made so by being blown against the mold. The cover 7 may consist of hard rubber or other suitable material and may be reinforced as by depending ribs 8, shown as arranged in parallel pairs. At the center of the cover plate there is a depression 9, with a hole at the bottom, which receives the filling and vent plug 10, the depression acting as a funnel. The edge of the cover is turned or offset, forming a iiange 11. From the cover the plates 12 and 13 de- Specification of Letters Patent.

, which imparts lightness,

Patented Feb. 3, 1920. Renewed .Tune 21, 1919. Serial No. 305,871.

pend, by means of posts 14 and bus-bars 15. The posts 11 are secured to the cover by nuts 16 and collars or enlargements 17 arranged on opposite sides of the covers, and the enlargements 17 may be fitted between the ribs S. The plates are suspended in this way clear of the bottom and walls of the cell and the separators 18 are arranged between the plates and are preferably larger than the plates to prevent connection across .their edges. The bottom edge of each plate is provided with hook-like projections 1!) and 20, and 21 and 22. On one set ot plates, in the present instance, the negative plates, the projections 19 and 2O are comparatively near the vertical edges. On the other set of plates, in the present instance the positive plates, the projections 21 and 22 are nearer to the center of the plates and are faced in opposition to the projections 19 and 20. 23 are rods of insulating material as hard rubber engaged by the various pro jections and extending crosswise of the plates. These rods areshown as of generally V-shape and as of hollow section and they are iitted to the hook-like projections. The rods serve to support the separators and also to mutually support and interlock the plates in such a way that they remain in proper position and may not swing or turn about the unions of the posts 14 with the cover as a center. Vhere each plate is provided with two projections, as shown in Fig. 1, the plates are held against swinging be inverted.

As shown in Fig. 4, each plate is provided with but one projection 19a or 21a and in this case the plates are only mutually held in position by the rod 23- when the battery is in upright position. So far as the projections are concerned they are the same on each plate, but of course the plates of unlike polarity are oppositely turned.

Between the parts 6 and 7 of the jar and cover and extending over the top edge of the jar there is a sealing compound 24 which is prevented from accidentally working out by the joint formed between the flange 5 and bead 11 so that when the cover is put on with its offset flange 5 even if the battery outside of the top of the jar there is no danger of squeezing out gravity to respond in buoyancy to changes of density ot the electrolyte. These balls Whilefreely movable are retained in the bulge by the edges ot' the electrode structure and are, of course, t'r-eely exposed to the path of circulation of the electrolyte and therefore susceptible to changes in its density.

lVhere a number ot cellsI are connected up together and subjected to similar treatment it is not necessary to provide each cell with a bulge and with balls. The terminal 27 of one of the posts 14 may be rigid while the terminal 28 of the post H of unlike polarity is of flexible material and comparatively long. In this Way any confusion in connecting up a number of cells is avoided and the cells may be connected by means of a single bolt or the like passed through the apertures 2E) and 30 in the terminals and this is a simple, expeditious and safe method of connecting up the cells.

When the cell is fully charged the specific `gravity of the electrolyte is great so that both balls rise to the top of the bulge. This position ot the balls indicates that the battery is fully charged. As soon as current is taken from the battery the specific gravity of the electrolyte is not so great so that one ot the balls drops and indicates that the battery is not Jfully charged. When the battery is so tar discharged that it is advisable to recharge it the specific gravity of the electrolyte is not so great, and both balls tall thus indicating that it is desirable to recharge the battery.

It Will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that moditications may be made in details of construction and arrangement Without departing trom the spirit of the invention, whichl lat* ter is not limited other than as required by the appended claim and the prior state ot' the art.

What I claim is:

In a storage battery the combination ot a cover provided with an oifset and tlanged rim, a jar having an external bead and provided above the bead with a contracted surtace fitting the margin of the rim and ot which the inclination is more acute than the angle of the inner face of the flange of the cover to provide a V-shaped space, sealing compound arranged in the V-shaped space and retained by the joint made by the liange and bead, and a plate structure suspended from the cover and of which the Weightin cooperation VWith the shape of said space tends to force the compound inward, substantially as described.

BRUCE FORD.

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