Battery cell

Claim 1

AN ALKALINE STORAGE BATTERY CELL, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CASING; MEANS FOR HERMETICALLY SEALING SAID CASING; AT LEAST ONE POSITIVE AND ONE NEGATIVE ELECTRODE LOCATED IN SAID CASING; SEPARATOR MEANS BETWEEN ADJACENT ELECTRODES; AND AN ELECTROLYTE CONTACTING SAID ELECTRODES, SAID POSITIVE ELECTRODE INCLUDING POSITIVE ACTIVE MASS AND SAID NEGATIVE ELECTRODE INCLUDING NEGATIVE ACTIVE MASS, THE ENTIRE QUANTITY OF POSITIVE ACTIVE MASS OF SAID POSITIVE ELECTRODE MEASURED IN ELECTRO-CHEMICAL EQUIVALENTS BEING AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE ENTIRE QUANTITY OF SAID NEGATIVE MASS OF SAID MEGATIVE ELECTRODE, SAID NEGATIVE ELECTRODE BEING CAPABLE UPON CHARGING TO ACCPET A GREATER AMOUNT OF ELECTRIC ENERGY THAN SAID POSITIVE ELECTRODE SO THAT SAID NEGATIVE ELECTRODE POSSESSES A CHARGE RESERVE AND SAID POSITIVE ELECTRODE A DISCHARGE RESERVE, SAID POSITIVE ELECTRODE BEING IN ELECTRICAL CONTACT WITH AN ANTIPOLAR MASS, AND SAID NEGATIVE ELECTRODE BEING IN ELECTRICAL CONTACT WITH AN ANTIPOLAR MASS, THE QUANTITY OF ANTIPOLAR MASS OF SAID SAID NEGATIVE ELECTRODE BEING SUCH THAT UPON DEEP DISCHARGE OF SAID BATTERY CELL AND REVERSAL OF POLARITY IN THE SAME, OXIDATION OF SAID NEGATIVE ELECTRODE WILL TERMINATE AND OXYGEN FORMATION THEREON WILL START AFTER OXIDATION OF ITS ANTIPOLAR MASS AT A STAGE AT WHICH THE ANTIPOLAR MASS IN CONTACT WITH SAID POSITIVE ELECTRODE IS ONLY PARTIALLY REDUCED AND THUS DOES NOT EVOLVE HYDROGEN GAS.