Self-baked annular anode for melting furnaces

Claim 1

IN A CELL FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCTION OF METALS AND MORE PARTICULARLY OF ALUMINUM, SAID CELL COMPRISING A CARBON PAN ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A SALT MELT AND A SUBJACENT BODY OF METAL CONSTITUTING ONE POLE OF THE CELL, A WALL STRUCTURE SURROUNDING SAID PAN, AND AT LEAST ONE NEGATIVE CATHODE CONTACT FIXEDLY SECURED WITHIN A CAVITY FILLED OF THE SAME METAL IN SAID STRUCTURE BEYOND THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID PAN, AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID PAN, THE IMPROVED MEANS COMPRISING A SELFBAKED ANNULAR ANODE ARRANGED TO DIP INTO THE SALT MELT CONTAINED IN SAID CELL, A FIXED XYLINDRICAL METAL CASING SURROUNDING SAID ANNULAR ANODE, A CERTICAL CYLINDRICAL CHIMNEY ARRANGED COAXIALLY WITHIN THE INNERMOST ANODE, CYLINDRICAL METAL PARTITIONS ARRANGED BETWEEN SAID CASING AND SAID CHIMNEY AND COAXIAL WITH THEM AT INCREASINGLY WIDER RADIAL SPACING INTERVALS STARTING FROM THE OUTSIDE, RADIAL METAL PARTITIONS DIVIDING SAID ANODE INTO A PLURALITY OF COAXIAL UNIFORMLY THICK SECTOR-SHAPED PRISMATIC CHAMBERS FILLED WITH A BLOCK OF SINTERED CARBON PASTE SUCCESSIVELY RAW THEN COOKED FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM, MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE PRISMATIC BLOCKS OF EACH ANNULAR LAYER AT THE SAME LEVEL, THE BASIC LEVEL OF EACH LAYER CONCERNED BEING ADJUSTED TO A PROGRESSIVELY INCREASING HEIGHT FROM THE OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE, ACCORDING TO A MODIFIED ADJUSTMENT OF EACH ANNULAR LAYER WHICH DECREASES FROM THE OUTSIDE TO THE INSIDE.