Method of making bipolar carbon-plastic electrode structure-containing multicell electrochemical device

Claim 1

A method of making a multicell electrochemical device having a plurality of bipolar carbon-plastic electrode structures, comprising: (a) forming a plurality of bipolar carbon-plastic electrode structures, each of said structures being formed by: (i) molding a thin conductive carbon-plastic electrode sheet from a heated mixture of particulate conductive carbon and plastic material, said mixture having sufficient carbon therein so as to produce a sheet having an electrical conductivity of at least about 0.1 mho-cm, said carbon having an average particle size of about 10 millimicrons to about 100 microns; (ii) establishing a frame of dielectric plastic material around said thin conductive carbon-plastic electrode sheet so as to encompass a portion of both sides of said thin conductive carbon-plastic electrode sheet, said frame having inner borders defining an open central area into which said sheet is disposed, and said frame having a front surface and a back surface, at least one of said surfaces having a projection formed thereon; and, (iii) sealing said frame to said sheet at the inner borders of said sheet so as to render the resulting structure liquid impermeable; (b) forming a plurality of electrochemical cell elements, each of said elements having an electrochemical cell-functional center portion circumscribed by a dielectric plastic frame having a front surface and a back surface, at least one of said surfaces having a projection formed thereon; (c) stacking said plurality of electrode structures and plurality of electrochemical cell elements with one another to form a group of items in an electrochemical cell-functional arrangement and in such a manner that the projection on the frame of each item contacts a frame surface of the next item in the stack; and (d) joining each of the items in the stack to one another by sealing each item to the next item at the point where its projection contacts the frame surface of the next item, said sealing being sufficiently established so as to form a continuous electrochemical device capable of holding liquid therein.

Claim 2

A method of making a multicell electrochemical device having a plurality of bipolar carbon-plastic electrode structures, comprising: (a) forming a plurality of bipolar carbon-plastic electrode structures, each of said structures being formed by: (i) molding a thin conductive carbon-plastic electrode sheet from a heated mixture of particulate conductive carbon and plastic material, said mixture having sufficient carbon therein so as to produce a sheet having an electrical conductivity of at least about 0.1 mho-cm, said carbon having an average particle size of about 10 millimicrons to about 100 microns; (ii) establishing a frame of dielectric plastic material around said thin conductive carbon-plastic electrode sheet so as to encompass a portion of both sides of said thin conductive carbon-plastic electrode sheet, said frame having inner borders defining an open central area into which said sheet is disposed, and said frame having a front surface and a back surface, at least one of said surfaces having a projection formed thereon; and, (iii) sealing said frame to said sheet at the inner borders of said sheet so as to render the resulting structure liquid impermeable; (b) forming a plurality of electrochemical cell elements, each of said elements having an electrochemical cell-functional center portion circumscribed by a dielectric plastic frame having a front surface and a back surface, at least one of said surfaces having a projection formed thereon; (c) stacking said plurality of electrode structures and plurality of electrochemical cell elements with one another to form a group of items in an electrochemical cell-functional arrangement and in such a manner that the projection on the frame of each item contacts a frame surface of the next item in the stack; and (d) joining each of the items in the stack to one another by sealing each item to the next item at the point where its projection contacts the frame surface of the next item, said sealing being sufficiently established so as to form a continuous electrochemical device capable of holding liquid therein.