Abstract: A carrier rack is provided for transporting electric storage battery plates through the storage battery manufacturing process. The rack is provided with spaced vertical slots for supporting the plates in upright parallel positions spaced from one another, with the positive and negative plates alternately interspersed with one another, and with the lugs of the positive plates extending upwardly along one side of the rack, and the lugs of the negative plates extending upwardly along the other side of the rack. The lugs on each side of the rack are interconnected at the top of the rack by respective ones of a pair of conductive bars. The rack is immersed in an electrolyte, and an electric voltage is applied across the bars to cause charging current to flow through the plates.

Abstract: A nonspill vented closure assembly is provided for a wet cell type of storage battery which normally provides a venting hole to the interior of the battery, and which includes a tiltable weight that lifts a valve to close the vent hole whenever the battery is tilted with respect to the vertical beyond a certain angular displacement, so as to prevent leakage of the liquid electrolyte through the closure assembly. The closure assembly includes a tubular casing which is threaded into the normal fill hole of the battery. A lead weight which constitutes the tiltable mass is supported in the casing. A valve stem connects the lead weight to a valve member, and it serves to move the valve member against an annular valve seat surrounding an orifice in the lower end of the casing whenever the lead weight is tilted. The valve stem includes a ball at its upper end which extends into a cavity in the bottom of the lead weight, and which is held in the cavity by a plastic disc which forms a bearing surface for the ball.