MANY people await the even greater changes in car design and performance that will come with electric automobiles. But manufacturers now say that some sort of hybrid vehicle will be on the roads before a purely electric car is perfected. The hybrid would run on a gas-fueled internal-combustion engine, but would use a highly efficient battery to raise mileage to about 80 miles a gallon.
A Ringwood, N.J., company said it has patented just such a cell using technology from space satellite batteries. Philip A. Burghart, a senior vice-president of Ergenics Inc., predicted his company's battery would allow drivers to travel up to 300 miles before recharging, and would vastly increase mileage performance in hybrid gas-electric cars.
"The battery makes it possible for a car to get 80 miles to the gallon because it will be used for the power surges," Mr. Burghart explained. "You'll use the same internal-combustion engine to run at a steady speed, but that engine is not capable of an efficient power surge needed for going up a hill or accelerating onto a freeway. If you want to accelerate to 65 in a hurry, this battery is capable of a high power pulse, of delivering a chunk of energy in a hurry."
Car batteries now use sulfuric acid and lead oxide to produce electricity. A car's gas-driven alternator constantly recharges those batteries.
"Our battery is a nickel hydroxide and hydrogen reaction," Mr. Burghart said. "That reaction has been used in satellite space batteries for the past 20 or 25 years. They combine to produce electrons, and are reversible -- meaning the reaction goes in two directions, charge and discharge."
But satellite batteries are heavy and generate a lot of heat and pressure. Mr. Burghart said his company modified the technology to suit cars by cycling the hydrogen out of the battery and storing it separately as a solid material.Continue reading the main story
"Doing that enables us to make a low-pressure battery with no corrosion," Mr. Burghart said. "It's a cheaper, simpler and safer cell." Ergenics received patents 5,419,981 and 5,250,368 for its battery technology. Lessening the Mess In Checking the Oil
Here's a low-tech device that could make life easier for just about any car owner. Ron DeGasperis, an inventor in Wheeling, W. Va., has designed a small, cup-shaped well filled with an absorbent material. His idea is that this small unit can be attached to a car's engine near the motor oil dipstick. When a driver, mechanic or gas station attendant wants to check the oil level, the dipstick is first cleaned by simply dragging it through Mr. DeGasperis' wiper. Nobody has to go looking for a rag. The absorbent material cleans the dipstick and the old oil drips into the well. Mr. DeGasperis suggests that a cap attached to the underside of the car's hood would cover and protect the well when the hood is closed. He won patent 5,419,002.
Patents are available by number for $3 from the Patent and Trademark Office, Washington 20231.Continue reading the main story