Semi-flooded lead acid battery cell
First Claim
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1. A lead acid battery, comprising:
- a sealed housing;
a positive electrode comprising PbO2 active material;
a negative electrode comprising lead active material;
a liquid electrolyte within said sealed housing in contact with said positive and negative electrodes, said electrolyte comprising sulfuric acid and having a liquid levels;
a gas space within said housing in which oxygen gas collects, said gas space having a bottom defined by said liquid level, a portion of said negative electrode being exposed in said gas space above said liquid level to thereby expose a portion of the lead active material to said gas space; and
a pressure relief valve disposed in said battery in communication with said gas space to allow gas to escape said sealed housing while preventing oxygen from outside the housing to contact said negative electrode.
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Abstract
A lead acid storage battery cell having a sealed housing in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are immersed in a liquid electrolyte. The negative electrode is partially exposed to a gas space within the battery cell housing. A pressure relief valve allows excess gas to escape the battery cell while preventing air from outside the cell from entering the gas space. Exposing a section of the negative plate to oxygen gas that evolves within the battery and collects in the gas space reduces water consumption of the cell and extends the maintenance-free life of the battery. The addition of a catalyst to recombine oxygen and hydrogen offers further improvement.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A lead acid battery, comprising:
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a sealed housing;
a positive electrode comprising PbO2 active material;
a negative electrode comprising lead active material;
a liquid electrolyte within said sealed housing in contact with said positive and negative electrodes, said electrolyte comprising sulfuric acid and having a liquid levels;
a gas space within said housing in which oxygen gas collects, said gas space having a bottom defined by said liquid level, a portion of said negative electrode being exposed in said gas space above said liquid level to thereby expose a portion of the lead active material to said gas space; and
a pressure relief valve disposed in said battery in communication with said gas space to allow gas to escape said sealed housing while preventing oxygen from outside the housing to contact said negative electrode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A lead-acid storage battery, comprising:
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a sealed housing;
a positive electrode comprising PbO2 active material;
a negative electrode comprising lead active material;
a fluid electrolyte comprising sulfuric acid within said housing and in contact with said positive and negative electrodes;
a gas space disposed within said housing wherein oxygen gas produced within the battery collects, and in which a portion of said negative electrode is exposed to said oxygen gas as it collects in said gas space;
a catalyst for combining oxygen gas and hydrogen gas to form water, said catalyst positioned to be in communication with said gas space; and
a pressure relief valve disposed in said housing to allow excess gas to escape from said housing. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of reducing water consumption in a lead-acid storage battery having a sealed housing in which a negative electrode comprising lead as the active material and a positive electrode comprising PbO2 as the active material are in contact with an electrolyte comprising sulfuric acid;
- said method comprising;
(a) collecting oxygen gas produced within the battery in a gas space wherein said housing;
(b) exposing a portion of the active material of said negative electrode to the oxygen gas collected within said gas space wherein at least a potion of said oxygen gas reacts with hydrogen ions to form water;
(c) venting excess gas from said sealed housing; and
(d) preventing gas outside said sealed housing from entering said sealed housing. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
- said method comprising;
Specification