Abstract: A flooded lead acid battery includes a casing enclosing a plurality of cells having liquid electrolyte therein and a cover incorporating negative and positive terminals and having a plurality of vent holes. The vent holes are covered by at least one closure having a vent cavity therein, and a relatively rigid porous polytetrofluorethylene disc having hydrophobic properties is sealed within the vent cavity.

Abstract: In a battery configuration including a casing having bottom, side and top surfaces, the top surface having a plurality of cell openings therein, an improved flowpath is provided for liquid electrolyte when the battery is tilted onto any one of its side surfaces. The flowpath includes a cover chamber for each cell opening defined by a substantially rectangular peripheral wall surrounding the cell opening; a cylindrical wall surrounding and substantially concentric with the cell opening and located within the substantially rectangular wall, the cylindrical wall interrupted by a relatively small circumferential gap, and a wall extending between the cylindrical wall and an adjacent side of the peripheral wall, the wall tangential to the cylindrical wall and adjacent the gap.

Abstract: Heavy metals substantially free from heavy metal chloride contaminants are recovered from electric arc furnace (EAF) dust by bringing the dust into contact with a carbonaceous reductant utilizing a plasma arc of a DC sealed atmosphere plasma arc furnace so as to volatilize (vaporize) the hazardous heavy metals therein, and then bringing the vaporized heavy metals into contact with an alkali metal gettering agent to thereby form alkali metal chlorides and thereby substantially inhibit the formation of heavy metal chlorides in the off-gas.

Abstract: A nozzle assembly for use with injection molding apparatus includes an outer sleeve having a relatively large bore extending from an open rearward end forwardly to a substantially closed forward end, and having an injection orifice therein. An inner nozzle tip is located within the sleeve, and has a radial flange and an internal extending from a rearward open end to a forward tip having a plurality of flow orifices upstream of the injection orifice. A manifold insert is located within the outer sleeve and includes a through bore in axial alignment with the bore of the nozzle tip. The manifold insert has a forward end which receives the nozzle tip and which abuts the radial flange. A coil heater is located radially between the manifold and the outer sleeve, a forward end of the coil heater seated on the radial flange. The manifold insert, nozzle tip and coil heater form a subassembly which is easily removed and reinserted vis-a-vis the outer sleeve.

Abstract: A battery grid plate composition comprising by percent weight:______________________________________ Calcium .035-.085 Tin 1.2-1.55 Silver .002-.

Abstract: Lead-contaminated soil and battery casings are remediated using a plasma arc furnace which pyrolyzes the soil and waste battery casings so as to form a vitrified slag and a combustible gas, respectively. The combustible gas along with volatilized lead (and other heavy metals which may be present) are transferred to, and used as a primary fuel by, a conventional smelting furnace. The volatilized lead that is entrained in the combustible gas is thus transferred to the recovery and environmental protection/control equipment associated with the smelting furnace. The soil, on the other hand, is converted into a non-toxic (i.e., according to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) vitrified slag by the plasma arc which may be crushed and used as a commercial material (e.g., roadway aggregate, asphalt filler material and the like) or simply transferred to a landfill where it poses no environmental threat.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided which does not rearwardly move a stack of plates (e.g., a stack of lead acid battery plates) upon approach of a vacuum pick-up head associated with a rotary carrier assembly. Instead, the apparatus maintains a predefined gap between the forwardmost plate in the stack and the rotary carrier assembly until a pick-up head is aligned substantially with the stack. At that time, a movable detent member releases the forwardmost one of the plates in the stack allowing it to be drawn across the gap by the vacuum force of the pick-up head. The timing of the detent member is such that it returns to its detent position to halt advance of the remaining plates in the stack toward the rotary carrier and thereby maintain the established gap between the rotary carrier assembly and the next forwardmost plate in the stack.

Abstract: Lead-contaminated soil and battery casings are remediated using a plasma arc furnace which pyrolyzes the soil and waste battery casings so as to form a vitrified slag and a combustible gas, respectively. The combustible gas along with volatilized lead (and other heavy metals which may be present) are transferred to, and used as a primary fuel by, a conventional smelting furnace. The volatilized lead that is entrained in the combustible gas is thus transferred to the recovery and environmental protection/control equipment associated with the smelting furnace or other conversion system. The soil, on the other hand, is converted into a non-toxic (i.e., according to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) vitrified slag by the plasma arc which may be crushed and used as a commercial material (e.g., roadway aggregate, asphalt filler material and the like) or simply transferred to a landfill where it poses no environmental threat.

Abstract: Chemical agents, such as chemical munitions, are decomposed by bringing them into contact with a plasma arc of a DC plasma arc furnace operated at a temperature of greater than about 30,000.degree. F.

Abstract: A storage battery and handle assembly includes a battery housing having a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, a bottom wall and a cover. Each end wall has a socket formed by a pair of flanges parallel to and spaced from the one end wall, the flanges having edges facing each other and defining a narrow slot therebetween opening into a wider slot formed by the flanges and the end wall. The end wall is also provided with a horizontal rib located below but in general vertical alignment with the wider slot. A flexible strap with relatively rigid connectors at each end thereof is employed, each connector including a plate portion with a strip extending across a bottom of the plate portion, the strip extending beyond side edges and a front face of the plate portion, and lying flush with a back face of the plate portion, thereby forming a smooth horizontal shoulder extending across the front face of the plate portion.

Abstract: Battery plate envelopes include a sheet of porous film material having a folded widthwise bottom edge and overlapped lateral edges to thereby form a pocket for receiving a battery plate therein. The overlapped lateral edges are joined to one another by a lengthwise extending series of discontinuous joining regions with adjacent ones of the discontinuous joining regions being separated by respective unsealed regions. These unsealed regions thereby establish respective lateral channels through which fluid (e.g., electrolyte employed in a wet storage battery) may pass to the interior pocket, and hence to the battery plate. The discontinuous joining regions are most preferably formed by passing the sheet material through the nip between opposed joining rings, each of which is provided with a series of triangularly-shaped teeth with smooth land areas formed between adjacent teeth series.

Abstract: Battery plate envelopes include a sheet of porous film material having a folded widthwise bottom edge and overlapped lateral edges to thereby form a pocket for receiving a battery plate therein. The overlapped lateral edges are joined to one another by a lengthwise extending series of discontinuous joining regions with adjacent ones of the discontinuous joining regions being separated by respective unsealed regions. These unsealed regions thereby establish respective lateral channels through which fluid (e.g., electrolyte employed in a wet storage battery) may pass to the interior pocket, and hence to the battery plate. The discontinuous joining regions are most preferably formed by passing the sheet material through the nip between opposed joining rings, each of which is provided with a series of triangularly-shaped teeth with smooth land areas formed between adjacent teeth series.

Abstract: A laminated windshield in which thin solar cells are sandwiched between the glass layer. The solar cell is electrically connected to a vehicle battery to provide recharging current to the battery from the electrical current generated by the solar cells. The solar cells may be formed of dendrite solar cells arranged in flexible strings. These solar cell strings may be positioned in the windshield proximate to an edge of the windshield and superimposed over windshield tinting or darkened border areas of the windshield.

Abstract: A multiple vent plug assembly for vent ports of an electrical storage battery, the assembly includes a gang vent insert having a base wall and an upstanding peripheral rim defining a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls; an overcap including an inner rib for engagement with the upstanding peripheral rim of the gang vent insert; the insert including first and second parallel partitions extending between the pair of side walls to thereby divide the insert into three vent chambers including end chambers on either side of a center chamber, each chamber having a hollow vent barrel extending downwardly from the base wall and terminating at a drain hole.

Abstract: A lead-acid battery formed of lead, acidic and basic materials, wherein these materials are in certain ratios by weight. The battery is intended for seasonal use applications, in which the battery may be idle for many months of each year. The battery includes positive and negative battery plates immersed in a sulfuric acid solution. The plates are formed of lead alloys and are coated with positive and negative, respectively, active materials. In addition, the acid solution includes small amounts of Sodium Sulfate that is set in certain proportions to the amount of positive lead oxide materials in the battery.

Abstract: A storage battery is provided which includes a casing and a cover secured to the casing. The cover includes a body having a top surface and a peripheral skirt; the top surface having a plurality of vent apertures, at least one negative terminal and at least one positive terminal, and an elongated recess having a bottom, four side walls and an open top. The negative and positive terminals have extensions exposed at opposite ends of the recess, and a state-of-charge indicator assembly is mounted in the recess and electrically connected to the negative and positive terminal extensions. The state-of-charge indicator assembly is sealed in the recess by relatively thin adhesive seal or membrane applied over the open top and adhered to the top surface of the cover. The membrane is provided with percent charge and test switch indicia thereon.

Abstract: A mobile system for the remediation of a mixture of lead-contaminated soil and waste lead-acid battery casings includes a plasma arc furnace unit having a plasma arc torch which operates at a sufficiently elevated temperature to (i) convert the battery casings in the mixture into a combustible gas, (ii) volatilize lead contaminants which are present in the mixture and entrain the volatilized lead contaminants as a vapor in the combustible gas, and (iii) vitrify the soil, whereby lead contaminants that were present in the mixture are substantially removed therefrom. An internal combustion engine-driven generator supplies the plasma arc furnace with electrical power. In this regard, the internal combustion engine-driven generator receives the combustible gas from the plasma arc furnace as a fuel source in order to drive the generator.

Abstract: In a method of forming expanded metal mesh from a deformable strip which includes the steps of preforming and slitting the strip by intermeshing tooth segments of at least an upper disk and a lower disk with the strip passing therebetween, wherein the tooth segments each include linear leading and trailing surfaces joined at an apex defining a nose angle, and intersecting respective tangents to a radius of the disk at circumferentially spaced locations defining entry and exit angles, respectively, an improvement which includes selecting the exit angle in accordance with the formula: ##EQU1## where R=radius of tooth root;D=depth of tooth; andT=strip thickness.

Abstract: Lead-contaminated soil and battery casings are remediated using a plasma arc furnace which pyrolyzes the soil and waste battery casings so as to form a vitrified slag and a combustible gas, respectively. The combustible gas along with volatilized lead (and other heavy metals which may be present) are transferred to, and used as a primary fuel by, a conventional smelting furnace. The volatilized lead that is entrained in the combustible gas is thus transferred to the recovery and environmental protection/control equipment associated with the smelting furnace. The soil, on the other hand, is convened into a non-toxic (i.e., according to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) vitrified slag by the plasma arc which may be crushed and used as a commercial material (e.g., roadway aggregate, asphalt filler material and the like) or simply transferred to a landfill where it poses no environmental threat.