US460933A - Machine for casting grids - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) '7 Sheeis-Sheet 1.

- A. F. MADDEN.

MACHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS.

No. 460,933. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

WITNESSES L3 is INVENTU Jladduo (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. F. MADDEN.

MACHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS.

No. 460,933. Patented (m. 6, 1891.

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A. P. MADDEN.

MACHINE FOR GASTING GRIDS.

' No. 460,933. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

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7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

A. F. MADDEN.

MACHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS.

No. 460.933. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

WITNESSES |N\/ENTDF\ dmmw.

7 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

A. F. MADDEN. MACHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS.

No. 460,933. Patented Oot.6, 1891.

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INVENTU WITNESSES (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet s.

A. F. MADDEN.

MAGHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS- No. 460,933. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

(No Model.)

7 Sheets-Sheet 7. A. F. MADDEN. MAGHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS.

Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

UUUUDDDDDDDU UUDDDDUUUD UUUDUDUDDUEI UUUDUUUUUHBUUUUU DUUUUUDDUUUJUD U UDUDUUUDDUUDUITU UUUDUDUDDDDUUUDU UUDUUDDUUUDDDDUU DUUUUUUUUDUDUDUU UDUDUDUUUUDUUDUU WITNESSES UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT FRANKLIB MADDEN, OF NE\VARK, NE\V JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR CASTING GRIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,933, dated October 6,1891.

Application filed May 25, 1891.

To (bZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT FRANKLIN hIAD' DEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Grids for Secondary Batteries; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invent-ion relates to certain new and useful improvements in machines for making grids for secondary batteries, and has for its objects, first, to utilize in the formation of the grid the pasty lead which collects in the melting-pot and is called putty lead, and which has been heretofore considered as highly objectionable and a hinderance to the process of casting; second, to force the lead into the mold by a rolling process as contradistinguished from simple casting; third, to provide means novel in construction and method of operation for the heating of the lead and r the maintenance thereof at the proper working temperature; fourth, to provide a novel construction of mold in which the grid is shaped, and, fifth and in general, to provide a machine which shallbe simple in construction and easy of operation; and with these ends in view my invention consists and resides in the novel features heretofore men tioned and hereinafter to be described in detail, and then recited in the claims, and in the method of forming grids presently to be pointed out, and also incorporated in the claims.

In order that such persons as are skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may be able to fully understand my improved machine'and the method which forms a part of my invention, I will now describe these, referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and to the numerals of reference marked upon said drawings.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through my machine, certain parts being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan View, the top of the crucible being removed and the blast connections likewise removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken upon the line y Serial No. 394,010. (No model.)

3 6f Fig. 1. Fig. at is an enlarged sectional elevation of the parts shown at the center of Fig. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the parts shown at the center of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the mold and the plate in which said form is set. Figs. 7 and 8 are sections taken, respectively, upon the lines 7; L and w w of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective showing the movable parts of the mold, the stationary bars being omitted for clearness of illustration.

Fig. 11 is a perspective of one of the stationary mold-bars. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are enlarged about four times from the scale of the first three figures.

In the drawings the number of parts of the mold have purposely been reduced below that necessary to make merchantable grids, Fig. 10, for instance, showing the grid-openings about half their proper number and twice their normal size.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, 1 is a base upon which are mounted side plates or standards 2. At one end is a pillar 3, having in its top a bearing in which is mounted a horizontal transverse shaft 4. Near one end this shaft is provided with a gear 5 and at the other end with a crank 6. The gear 5 is engaged and driven by means of a worm 7, mounted on a shaft 8, whose 4 axis is at right angles to that of the shaft 1,

and said shaft 8 bears a band-wheel 9, whereby it may be driven. The crank (3 drives a connecting-rod 10, whose forward end is con nected to and is adapted to operate ,a carriage presently to be described in detail. Upon the tops of the side plates 2 is supported a fixed top 11, whose lower face is plane and which is adapted to support certain parts of the machine.

1 2 is a crucible supported within a jacket 13, which latter is set upon the top 11, heretofore referred to. Its outlet 141- is controlled by means of a plug 15, and by means of a short pipe said outlet is connected with a chamber 16, substantially square in plan view and shown in longitudinal section in Fig. 5. This chamber is formed as to its lower part in the top 11 and is completed by means of a cover 17, suitably secured thereon.

18 and 19 are pipes ad aptedto convey gas and Fig. 10 is a plan view of a grid as removed from the mold.

air to compound blow-pipe burners 20, three in number, which open into a tubular heater 21, mounted Within the chamber 16. This heater, as seen at Figs. 2 and 5, is in triplicate as to the part where the fiame enters from the burners; but its three tubes at the other end thereof open into a common outlet 22, which projects upward through the cover 17 and discharges against the bottom of the crucible 12 inside its jacket. The function of this heater is to keep the contents of the chamber 16 at the proper temperature for the making of the grids and at the same time to retain the metal in the cruciblein a'fiuid state, so that it may feed downward freely into,the chamber 16.-as fast as the metal in the latter is used. 51 n the cover of :this chamber is a mica-covered. opening.23,by means of which .the condition of the interior of the chamber may be observed. .Journaled transversely in this chamber immediately beneath the tuyere and at oneend of the heater is a roller 2t,

wmounted upon a shaft 25, said shaftbei-ng driven at a constant rate of speed by asprockzs et-chain -26,driven from the shaft 4.

loweredge of this roller is in substantially [the-same horizontal plane-with the lower surfaceof the top 11, and its function will be presently explained.

Th e

The carriage heretofore referred to is more particularly shownatFigs. land 3. Itis denoted by-27 and is gibbed to the base in such manner as tov give it an accurately-guided longitudinal movement from the connectingrod "10. The top'plate of this carriage fits closely against thebottom plane surface of the part 11 and closes the bottom of the chamber 16, as will be readily'understood from a'n inspection of Figs. 1-, 3,'and 5.

.28 are openings cored in the top of the carriage for the purpose of lightening the'construction, and 29 are similar openings in the part 11. Any orall of these maybe provided with connections for the purpose of applying hotair or'cold air or water for affecting the temperature and-fluidity of the lead. The

7 flat top plate of the carriage I designate by the 'numeral 30. Near its center said plate 30::is provided with a square opening,'whose shape may be readily seen at Figs. 5 and 6. Vithin this opening is placed the mold in which the grids-are made. In the first place this mold consists of a series of mold-bars 31,

whose slightly-extended ends 32 are seated in offsets in the opening in the plate. Each of these bars is transversely slotted :at regular intervals, so that its top is provided with a -number of square projections, which are bered 34. Set between these mold-bars are a series of thin ejector-plates 35. They are strung upon a shaft 36' and are separated by washers 37, whose thickness is substantially the thickness of the mold-bars from side to side. Each ejector-plate has inv its upper surface a series of notches or seats 38, whose lower ends are slightly enlarged,and in these are held a series of partition-strips or transverse ejectors 39, whose lower edges are enlarged to fit the notches in the ejector-plates. The ejector-plates, their washers, and the partition-strips are shown in their assembled position atFig. 9,wherel have omitted the permanent and fixed bars for clearness of illustration. In placing the parts in this assembled position the mold-bars are first set in place, then the ejector-plates are pushed up between themold-bars from beneatlnwvith are carried by the ejector-plates and*co operate with two plane moldbars4l in the formation of the-solid rim or edgearound the'grid. When these parts are'assembled, it will be observed that all parts of the mold'except the stationary former-barsare attached to and carried by the ejector-plates. This movement is permitted to the transverse ejectors byreason of the fact that while they are seated fast in the ejector-plates they pass through the enlarged slots in the mold-bars,and may thus have a limited vertical movement relative thereto, as will be seen by a comparison. of Figs. 7 and 8. A tightening device consisting of set-screws 42 is shown at Fig. 6. This is immaterial, except that it serves as a convenient means for adjusting the parts trans- 'versely to the length of the mold-bars.

As has heretofore been-stated, the ejector plates and the washers are strung upon the shaft 36. This shaft,which is properly-alarge bolt, is connected by a yoked link 43 with a shaft 44, which latter extends between a pair of levers 45, journaled to the carriage. The link just referred to is connected to'thelevers eccentric to the journal of the latter, as may be seen at Fig. 1, and this eccentricity is sufficient to impart to the ejector pla-tes a Vertical movement in their bearings between the bars when the levers are rocked upon their fulcrum. The movement of the-levers I prefer to effect by means of cams 46, secured upon the bed in line with rollers 47, which the link.

Referring particularly to Figs'l and 2,48 is a planer-tool journaled in bearings at the end of the part 11 and adapted to be depressed by means of the lever 19 and the connecting-rod 50, which latter is connected to the lever 51, engaged by a face-cam 52 on the shaft 4:. The upper end of lever at?) is pro vided with any suitable means whereby the movement imparted by said lever to the planer-tool may be regulated. In Fig. 1 this is shown as consisting of a set-screw but this is an immaterial detail of construction. The operation of this planer or surfacingtool will be presently explained.

In the operation of my invention the crucible 12 is first filled wholly or in part with lead and the heater started. The flame issn ing from the heater beneath the crucible will melt the lead in the latter, whereupon the molten metal will flow downward through the outlet and fill the chamber 16 around the heater and the roller 24. The bottom of the chamber is closed by the top of the carriage, so that either the plane surface of said top or the mold which is set in said top is opposite the bottom of said chamber and in contact with the lead. The carriage has a movement beneath the chamber equal to twice the radius of the crank, and this movement by bringing difterent parts of the top in contact with the lead, tends to chill the lowermost stratum of the molten metal and thereby decrease its fluidity. This has heretofore been a great disadvantage in machines dependent upon the ordinary method of casting, since the chilled or putty lead is thick and does not readily flow into and fill the mold. I have shown this stratum of thickened lead by a few heavily-dotted lines at the center of Fig. 5. Suppose the parts to be in the position shown at Fig. 1. At this time the righthand end of the operating-lever 45 is raised upon the cam, and the several parts constituting the form are in the position in which they are shown at Fig. 7that is to say, the ejector-plates and the partition-strips are withdrawn to their downward limit of movement. Therefore the spaces between the mold-bars and the transverse notchesin said mold-bars are open to and in contact with the lead as far down as the plane of the top of the ejector-plates and the transverse partition-strips. From this position and by means of the rotation of the shaft 4 the carriage is moved upon its ways, thereby carrying the mold out from under the bottom of the chamher. At the same time the roller 23 is revolving at auniform rate of speed by means of the sprocket-chain The open surface of the mold may partially fill and in its movement will carry withit a considerable amount of the pasty thick lead at the bottom of the chamber, and as said mold passes underneath the roller this lead will be rolled solidly into the interstices of the mold, thereby forming a grid of great solidity and of a most homogeneous character. As the mold clears the bottom of the chamber, the lead within said mold is roughly separated from the mass within the chamber by means of the oblique edge 53, (shown at Fig. 5;) but as soon as the carriage passes into the field of the planertool 48 the latter is caused to operate in proper time by its cam and connecting-rod and to engage and accurately surface the grid as it lies in the mold. Vhen the stroke of the crank has projected the carriage out-- ward until the mold has cleared the planertool the rollers 47, upon the left-hand ends of the levers, will ride upon the cams 46 and through the links lift the ejector-platesand the partitionstrips upward relative to the formerbars and thereby eject the finished grid from between said former-bars. From its position upon the top of the carriage said grid may be either removed by hand or by any suitable conveyer mechanism. The crank at this time passes its center and commences to withdraw the carriage toward the position shown at Fig. 1. During its backward stroke the ejector-plates and the partition-strips remain in their raised position until the right-hand rollers upon the levers reach and ride upon the cams 46, at which time the movable parts of the mold will be drawn downward to the position shown at Fig. 1, and particularly in the enlarged view, Fig. 7. By the rotation of the shaft a the reciprocatory motion of the carriage is continued, each forward movement rolling the lead into the mold and surfacing the grid and then ejecting the same from the mold, and each backward movement returning the mold beneath the lead-filled chamber and withdrawing the movable parts of the mold to the position required to admit the metal into it.

In a properly-constructed secondary battery the positiveand negative plates should vary in thickness, and I propose to manufactu re both thicknesses upon the machine herein described by varying the throw of the movable parts of the mold. This may most easily be done by using rollers of different diameters upon those ends of the levers 45 by which the downward withdrawal of the ejector-plates and their attached parts is effected. These are shown at the right hand of Fig. 1. As it is desired in the ejecting movement to raise the finished grid clear of the mold, the rollers which effect this movement and which are shown at the left-hand levers in Fig. 1 may remain the same for both thicknesses of grids.

\Vhile the roller in conjunction with the other mechanism herein described is competent to fill the mold completely with the putty lead, at the same time, if the lower stratum be sufficiently fluid to enter the form by its own weight and partially fill the same, the roller will force intoit such additional lead as maybe required to complete the grid and will solidify the whole, and this whether the metal be of greater or less fluidity.

I claim- 1. The process of making grids for secondary batteries, which consists in placing a suitably-recessed mold in communication with a 'superincum-bent body of molten metaland simultaneously-therewith subjectingsuccessive portions of the metal to the pressure of a roller Within the body of -metal,-'Whereby metal front the massis driven into the mold'cavities,-

' substautially'as and for the purpose speci-fied.

fZbThe' combinationywith thecarriageha'ving the-mold arranged therein and-means for effecting, its reciprocating movements, of the open-bottomed metal chamber, means "for heati ng it, and a roller journaled in said'cha'mber-With its "lowersurface in the-same plane with thetop of the mold; substantially asdescribed.

The combination, With the carriage having a mo1d-andmeans for operatingsaidjoarria,. :e, of the open bottomed chamber, means heating the same, the'roller revolving in the"chamberand -adapted to force the metal intothe' mold, andasurfacingtool'behind 1 the roller in thei'plan'e of the upper surface of open-bo'ttomedchambeigof the tubular heater seated in said chamber'and'having two or more separate inlets provided 'With'burners, an outlet; and a crucible-arranged above said outlet in the' path of the issuing heat and 0011- nected to the chamber, substantially as do scribed.

. 6. The combination ,wit'h the mold, of the open bottomed lea'd chamber, the tubular heater-provided with burners andseated in said chamber,a roller journa-led in said chamber inposition to act upon the metal therein,

means for operating said roller, and mechan- 'ism for the reciprocation of the mold.

7. In a machine of the charaoterdescribed,

the open-bottomed lead-containing chamber an'da 'roller j ournaled in'said chamber in positiou' to -act upon the metal therein, incombination "Wit-l1 the-mold 'consisting'of the stationa'ry'bars movable parts arranged between said bars, means for moving the mold bodily relative to the'lead-chamber,--and additional means for actuating the movable parts of the mold, substantially as described.

8. -In a machineof the character-described,

a 'mold'consisting eta-series of fixed bars provided with transverse notches, in 'combinatiomwith a series of ejector-pla-tesseated between the'fixedbars; transverseejector-strips 'passi ngthrough the ejector-plates and the notches in the fixed bars an'd movablewvith said ej ector p'lates;and means for reciprocating-sa-id ejector'plates and -strips,"substantially as described.

"9. The combinationof the bars 31, having transverse notches 33, provided with the eulargedportions 34, the notched ejector-plates 35, lying between the bars, the ejector-strips 39,seate'd in and carried by the ejector-plates and passing through and movable in the notches of'the fixed barsyand means for operating said plates and strips, substantially as described.

10. Ina machine of the'characterdescribed, the combination, with the fixed bars having transverse notches, of a series of ejector-plates between and parallel with said bars, transverse ejector-strips having enlarged lower edges at right angles to the length of said bars and secured to and carried by the ejector-plat'es, and means for reciprocating said plates and strips, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimonywhereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT FRANKLIN MADDEN.

Witnesses:

SHERMAN HARTWELL HUBBARD, l\IINNA C. HINOHCLIFFE.

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