Gas venting battery plug

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I claim: 1.
A storage battery gas venting plug having a liquid separator, and comprising; a nozzle; an impingement plate positioned to cooperate with the nozzle; means for ducting the liquid separated at the impingement plate back into the battery, the nozzle outlet and ducting means being so proportioned that the hydrostatic pressure in the ducting means is higher than the capillary pressure developed in the nozzle by a liquid droplet, and the impingement plate being in the form of a freely movable flat plate resting on the nozzle outlet.
2.
The plug of claim 1, wherein the plate is shaped so as to cover the nozzle exit regardless of the rotational positioning of the plate.
3.
The plug of claim 1, wherein the plug has annular symmetry and the plate is in the shape of a strip segment of a circle.
4.
The plug of claim 1, wherein the plate is of hydrophilic material.




Description:
This invention relates to gas venting plugs for storage batteries having liquid separators.
In the operation of storage batteries, especially during charging and over-charging, there takes place heavy gas evolution at the electrodes due to electrolytic decomposition of the water.
The rising gas bubbles burst at the electrolyte surface, causing the formation of liquid droplets of various sizes.
These liquid droplets penetrate to the outside of the battery through the gas venting plugs.
There they are capable of producing corrosion of important structural elements.
To prevent such escape of electrolyte droplets from the storage battery, various gas venting plugs have been devised.
For example, German Pat.
No.
877,785 discloses a device for preventing the escape of liquid vapors from enclosed storage batteries.
This involves a filter which is preferably made of porous materials and so positioned in the gas space of the storage battery and preferably in the plug which closes it that the gas containing this vapor must necessarily flow through it in the course of leaving the storage battery