Apparatus for pasting battery plates

Claim 2

A BATTERY PASTING SYSTEM FOR PASTING LEAD-ACID BATTERY PLATES IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER COMPRISING: A SOURCE CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING A HIGHLY VISCOUS THIXOTROPIC BATTERY PASTE COMPRISING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF OXIDES OF LEAD SUSPENDED IN A MINOR PORPORTION OF AQUEOUS VEHICLE, A SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED LOOP NETWORD IN WHICH THE PASTE IS CIRCULATING, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED AND HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE LEAD GRID POROUS SUBSTRATE TO SAID SYSTEM, MEANS CONNECTED TO TH LOOP NETWORK FOR DIVERTIN A PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE OF PASTE FROM THE LOOP NETWORK, NOZZLE MEANS POSITIONED ABOVE THE SUBSTRATE FOR DISCHARGING SAID PASTE AT SAID PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE ONTO SAID SUBSTRATE WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY DEFORMING THE SUBSTRATE TO FORM A PASTED SUBSTRATE, SAID NOZZLE MEANS HAVING AN OUTLET PORTION IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID SUBSTRATE AND AN INLET PORTION CONNECTED TO AID DIVERTING MEANS, AND A SET OF OPPOSED DRIVEN ROLLS DISTINCT FROM AID DISCHARGING MEANS SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE APART AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE WITHIN ITS NIP THE PASTED SUBSTRATE AND TO COMPRESS THE PASTE WITHIN THE INTERSTICES OF THE PORES OF THE SUBSTRATE.

Claim 3

The pasting system of claim 1 wherein said rolls are made of a porous material and means for internally pressurizing said rolls with a fluid to inhibit adhesion of the paste to the rolls.

Claim 4

The pasting system of claim 1 wherein a thin, flexible material for resistance to adherence to said paste is interposed between said rolls and said pasted substrate.

Claim 5

The pasting system of claim 3 wherein said material is a cellulosic-based paper for wetting with a liquid compatible with the paste.

Claim 6

The pasting system of claim 1 wherein said substrate is composed of soft lead having a purity of at least 99.9 percent.

Claim 7

The pasting system of claim 1 wherein said substrate is composed of lead containing impurities which do not have the effect of substantially lowering the hydrogen overvoltage of the plate.

Claim 8

The battery pasting system of claim 1 wherein the nozzle means is freely pivoted about its inlet portion and rests upon the horizontally moving substrate without bearing with an appreciable downward component of force upon the substrate, said nozzle means forming an acute angle with the vertical plane transversely intersecting the substrate.

Claim 9

The battery pasting system of claim 7 wherein the nozzle means has an inner surface which tapers progressively with increasing cross-section from its said inlet portion to its said outlet portion.

Claim 10

The battery pasting system of claim 8 wherein the cross-section at the inlet portion is substantially circular and the cross-section at the outlet portion is substantially rectangular.

Claim 11

A BATTERY PASTING SYSTEM FOR PASTING LEAD-ACID BATTERY PLATES IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER COMPRISING: A SOURCE CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING A HIGHLY VISCOUS THIXOTROPIC BATTERY PASTE COMPRISING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF OXIDES OF LEAD SUSPENDED IN A CLOSED LOOP NETWORK IN WHICH THE PASTE IS CONTINOUSLY CIRCULATED, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED AND HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE SOFT LEAD GRID POROUS SUBSTRATE TO SAID SYSTEM, POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP MEANS CONNECTED TO THE LOOP NETWORK FOR DIVERTING A PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE OF PASTE FROM THE PASTE CIRCULATING WITHIN THE CLOSED LOOP NETWORK, NOZZLE MEANS POSITIONED ABOVE THE SUBSTRATE FOR DISCHARGING SAID PASTE AT SAID PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE ONTO SAID SUBSTRATE WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY DEFORMING THE SOFT SUBSTRATE TO FORM A PASTED SUBSTRATE, SAID NOZZLE MEANS HAVING AN OUTLET PORTION FOR RESTING UPON THE HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE SUBSTRATE WITHOUT BEARING WITH AN APPRECIABLE DOWNWARD COMPONENT OF FORCE UPON THE SUBSTRATE, AND AN INLET PORTION WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP MEANS, SAID NOZZLE MEANS BEING FREELY PIVOTED ABOVE ITS INLET PORTION AND FORMING AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH THE VERTICAL PLANE TRANSVERSELY INTERSECTING THE SUBSTRATE, SAID NOZZLE MEANS HAVING AN OUTLET FACE WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE GRID SUBSTRATE IS MOVABLE, A SET OF OPPOSED DRIVEN ROLLS SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE APART AND ADAPTED TO ECEIVE WITHIN ITS NIP THE PASTED SUBSTRATE AND TO COMPRESS THE PASTE WITHIN THE INTERSTICES OF THE PORES OF THE SUBSTRATE, AND PLATE CUTTING MEANS TO SEVER FROM THE CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF PASTED SUBSTRATE INDIVIDUAL PLATES OF DESIRED CONFIGURATION.

Claim 12

A BATTERY PASTING SYSTEM FOR PASTING LEAD-ACID BATTERY PLATES IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER COMPRISING: A SOURCE CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING A HIGHLY VISCOUS THIXOTROPIC BATTERY PASTE COMPRISING A MAJOR PROPORTION OF OXIDES OF LEAD SUSPENDED IN A CLOSED LOOP NETWORK IN WHICH THE PASTE IS CONTINOUSLY CIRCULATED, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AN ELONGATED CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED AND HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE SOFT LEAD GRID POROUS SUBSTRATE TO SAID SYSTEM, POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP MEANS CONNECTED TO THE LOOP NETWORK FOR DIVERTING A PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE OF PASTE FROM THE PASTE CIRCULATING WITHIN THE CLOSED LOOP NETWORK, NOZZLE MEANS POSITIONED ABOVE THE SUBSTRATE FOR DISCHARGING SAID PASTE AT SAID PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC FLOW RATE ONTO SAID SUBSTRATE WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY DEFORMING THE SOFT SUBSTRATE TO FORM A PASTED SUBSTRATE, SAID NOZZLE MEANS HAVING AN OUTLET PORTION FOR RESTING UPON THE HORIZONTALLY MOVABLE SUBSTRATE WITHOUT BEARING WITH AN APPRECIABLE DOWNWARD COMPONENT OF FORCE UPON THE SUBSTRATE, AND AN INLET PORTION WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMP MEANS, SAID NOZZLE MEANS BEING FREELY PIVOTED ABOVE ITS INLET PORTION AND FORMING AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH THE VERTICAL PLANE TRANSVERSELY INTERSECTING THE SUBSTRATE, SAID NOZZLE MEANS HAVING AN OUTLET FACE WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE GRID SUBSTRATE IS MOVABLE, A SET OF OPPOSED DRIVEN ROLLS SPACED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE APART AND ADAPTED TO ECEIVE WITHIN ITS NIP THE PASTED SUBSTRATE AND TO COMPRESS THE PASTE WITHIN THE INTERSTICES OF THE PORES OF THE SUBSTRATE, AND PLATE CUTTING MEANS TO SEVER FROM THE CONTINUOUS LENGTH OF PASTED SUBSTRATE INDIVIDUAL PLATES OF DESIRED CONFIGURATION.

Claim 13

The battery pasting system of claim 10 wherein the cross-section at the inlet portion of the nozzle means is substantially circular and the cross-section at the outlet portion is substantially rectangular.

Claim 14

The battery pasting system of claim 10 wherein the rolls are made of a porous sintered glass, porous carbon or porous graphite material and means for internally pressurizing said rolls with a fluid to inhibit adhesion of the paste to the rolls.