US4124479A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Bipolar unit
Assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd
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Filing: 1977-07-21
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Granted: 1978-11-07
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Expires: 1997-07-21
Abstract
Abstract A bipolar unit for an electrolytic cell comprising (a) an anode comprising a group of elongated members, e.g. wires or rods, of a film-forming metal carrying on at least part of their surfaces an electrocatalytically active coating, the members being electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a sheet of a film-forming metal so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet, and parallel thereto, and (b) a cathode comprising a group of elongated metal members electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a metal sheet so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet, The elongated members in at least one of the groups being flexible and the sheets of film-forming anode metal and of cathode metal being electrically conductively bonded to each other.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas W. Boulton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 19:06
CPC Classifications
C; C25; C25B; C25B11/00; C25B11/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 36
Claim 1
Independent Claim
164 words
A bipolar unit for an electrolytic cell comprising (a) an anode comprising a group of elongated members of a film-forming metal carrying on at least part of their surfaces an electrocatalytically active coating, each of the members being electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a sheet of a film-forming metal so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet, and (b) a cathode comprising a group of elongated metal members electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a metal sheet so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet, each of the elongated members in at least one of the groups being flexible and being mounted independently of the other members in that group, and said one group comprising a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of said members and the sheets of film-forming anode metal and of cathode metal being electrically conductively bonded to each other.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
164 words
A bipolar unit for an electrolytic cell comprising (a) an anode comprising a group of elongated members of a film-forming metal carrying on at least part of their surfaces an electrocatalytically active coating, each of the members being electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a sheet of a film-forming metal so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet, and (b) a cathode comprising a group of elongated metal members electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a metal sheet so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet, each of the elongated members in at least one of the groups being flexible and being mounted independently of the other members in that group, and said one group comprising a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of said members and the sheets of film-forming anode metal and of cathode metal being electrically conductively bonded to each other.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the metal of the cathode is iron or steel.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which a substantial part of each of the elongated members of the anode are laterally spaced from and substantially parallel to the sheet of film-forming metal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which a substantial part of each of the elongated members of the cathode are laterally spaced from and substantially parallel to the sheet of iron or steel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the parts of the elongated members of film-forming metal of the anode which lie in a plane are substantially parallel to each other and in which the parts of the elongated members of the cathode which lie in a plane are substantially parallel to each other.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the elongated members of the anode and cathode are in the form of wires or rods.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which flexibility in the elongated members is provided by loops in the members.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
49 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the elongated members in the group of members on the cathode are flexible and are mounted independently of the other members in the group, said groups comprising a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of said members.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 8 in which each of the elongated members in the group of members on the anode are rigid, said group comprising a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns of said members.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the elongated members of the anode are attached to the sheet of film-forming metal by capacitor discharge stud welding.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the elongated members of the cathode are attached to the cathode sheet by capacitor discharge stud welding.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
33 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which at least those parts of the elongated members which are laterally spaced from the sheet of film-forming metal carry an electrocatalytically active coating.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the film-forming metal is titanium.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
28 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the electrocatalytically active coating comprises a mixture of a platinum group metal oxide and a film-forming metal oxide.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 14 in which the coating comprises a mixture of ruthenium oxide and titanium dioxide.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
47 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the sheet of film-forming metal and the sheet of iron or steel are electrically conductively bonded to each other by soldering an ultrasonically pre-tinned sheet of the film-forming metal to a pre-tinned sheet of iron or steel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
33 words
A bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the sheet of film-forming metal and the sheet of iron or steel are bonded together by means of a plurality of copper studs.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
122 words
A bipolar electrolytic cell comprising (a) a terminal anode of a film-forming metal having on one surface an electrocatalytically active coating, (b) a terminal metal cathode substantially parallel to said anode, and (c) interposed between said cathode and anode at least one bipolar unit as claimed in claim 1, the cathode, the bipolar unit(s) and the anode being disposed in series such that each cathode surface is substantially parallel to and faces but is insulated and spaced apart from an adjacent anode surface by means of a separator thereby forming anode and cathode compartments, said anode compartment being provided with an inlet for electrolyte and outlets for liquids and gases and said cathode compartment being provided with outlets for liquids and gases.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the metal of the terminal cathode is iron or steel.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
33 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the terminal anode and terminal cathode are of substantially the same design as the anode and cathode parts respectively of the bipolar unit.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the separator is a porous diaphragm.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
16 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 21 in which the porous diaphragm is a fluoropolymer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
14 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 22 in which the fluoropolymer is polytetrafluoroethylene.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the separator is a cation exchange membrane.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
29 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 24 in which the cation exchange membrane is a perfluorosulphonic acid based on a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and a fluorinated vinyl ether.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
21 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the anode/cathode gap is in the range 3 mm to zero.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
67 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the terminal anode comprises a group of elongated members of a film-forming metal carrying on at least part of their surfaces an electrocatalytically active coating, the members being electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a sheet of a film-forming metal so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
46 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the terminal cathode comprises a group of elongated metal members electrically conductively mounted on and projecting from a metal sheet so that a part of the members lies in a plane laterally spaced from the sheet.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
39 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which a substantial part of each of the elongated members of the anode of the bipolar unit are laterally spaced from and substantially parallel to the sheet of film-forming metal.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
35 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which a substantial part of the elongated members of the cathode of the bipolar unit are laterally spaced from and substantially parallel to the cathode sheet.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
65 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which the parts of the elongated members of the film-forming metal of the anode of the bipolar unit which lie in a plane are substantially parallel to each other and in which the parts of the elongated members of the cathode of the bipolar unit which lie in a plane are substantially parallel to each other.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
30 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 31 in which in the bipolar unit the elongated members of the anode and cathode are in the form of wires or rods.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
26 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 32 in which in the bipolar unit flexibility in the elongated members is provided by loops in the members.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
22 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 18 in which in the bipolar unit the elongated members of the cathode are flexible.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
31 words
A bipolar cell as claimed in claim 34 in which in the bipolar unit the elongated members of the anode are rigid and the elongated members of the cathode are flexible.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-11-06 | 1982-05-08 | 1982-11-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-11-06 | 1986-05-08 | 1986-11-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-11-06 | 1990-05-08 | 1990-11-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |