Battery paste mixer and method
AssigneeWirtz Manufacturing Company, Inc.
InventorsStephen G. Baranyai, Timothy D. Magee, Robert N. Wirtz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine for and method of making a paste of active material for application to a grid to make a plate for a lead acid battery. In the machine and method sulfuric acid, at least one dry additive and red lead or leady oxide are mixed together and the mixture is cooled by a plurality of cooling zones to maintain the mixture at a temperature not greater than a predetermined maximum temperature.
Claims20
A machine for mixing ingredients for making a batch of paste for a lead acid battery comprising:
- a round container with a bottom wall having a diameter of at least 4 feet and with a sidewall;
- an apparatus at least in part in the container for mixing together a plurality of ingredients for making a batch of battery paste;
- and a plurality of separate cooling jackets each in heat transfer relationship with the bottom wall of the container and configured to transfer heat from the ingredients and through the bottom wall of the container to maintain a temperature of the ingredients throughout the mixing of the ingredients in the container of not greater than a predetermined maximum temperature;
- the plurality of cooling jackets collectively are in heat transfer relationship with at least 60% of the area of the bottom wall of the container in contact with the ingredients being mixed in the container to make a batch of paste;
- the average cross-sectional flow area of each cooling jacket perpendicular to the direction of flow is in the range of 0.5 to 5 square inches;
- and
- each cooling jacket is configured to receive a flow of liquid cooling fluid separate from the other cooling jackets and at a flow rate in the range of 5 to 60 gallons per minute, the liquid cooling fluid having an inlet temperature range of 40° F. to 90° F.;
- wherein at least some of the plurality of separate cooling jackets have a sinuous fluid flow passage through each of some of the cooling jackets, wherein the sinuous flow passage is formed by a portion of a rim of the sidewall, two sets of first bars and second bars, and an inlet portion of the fluid flow passage includes a third bar, wherein each second bar is perpendicular to the first bars and is sealed to an intermediate portion of an associated one of the first bars, and wherein the third bar is parallel to and laterally spaced from the adjacent first or second bar.
A method of making a batch of battery paste in a container with a bottom wall and with a sidewall with ingredients including particles of red lead and/or leady oxide, particles of at least one dry additive and sulfuric acid, the method comprising:
- mixing together the at least one dry additive and the red lead and/or leady oxide for at least 2 minutes before mixing with any sulfuric acid;
- mixing the sulfuric acid with the mixture of the at least one dry additive and the red lead and/or leady oxide for at least 6 minutes;
- cooling the mixture with the sulfuric acid therein to maintain a maximum temperature of such mixture of not greater than 195° F.;
- and
- completing all mixing of dry ingredients and sulfuric acid in 12 minutes,
- wherein the ingredients are mixed in the container, the container being a closed container, with a plurality of separate cooling jackets each in heat transfer with the bottom wall of the container with each cooling jacket having a separate coolant passage, and at least some of the plurality of separate cooling jackets have a sinuous fluid flow passage through each of some of the cooling jackets, wherein the sinuous flow passage is formed by a portion of a rim of the sidewall, two sets of first bars and second bars, and an inlet portion of the fluid flow passage includes a third bar, wherein each second bar is perpendicular to the first bars and is sealed to an intermediate portion of an associated one of the first bars, and wherein the third bar is parallel to and laterally spaced from the adjacent first or second bar.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.