Cell having coated valve metal electrode for electrolytic galvanizing

Claim 1

In an apparatus for electrolyte deposition of metal from aqueous solution of a metal salt onto an elongated strip of metal as the strip is drawn longitudinally past a positively charged anode submerged in a bath of electrolyte solution, an anode structure, comprising: at least one current feed, at least one current distributor electrically conductively connected to said feed; an active surface on said distributor which is directed towards the metal strip; the active surface being oriented in comformity with the predetermined path of the metal strip; the active surface being formed as lamellas of valve metal having an active surface coating; the entire coated surface of the lamellas F A and the surface F P assumed by the overall arrangement of the lamellas (length times breadth of the electrode surface) having a surface factor such that 20≧F A /F P ≧4; the larger portions of the coated surfaces of the lamellas being directed perpendicularly to the surface of the strip to be coated; the current feed consisting of a rod having a core of highly electrically conductive metal and cladding of a valve metal; the current distributor being formed from a rod of a valve metal; and the current distributor being mechanically and electrically conductively connected to the current feed via at least one sheet-like connection element of a valve metal in such manner that the connection element is welded both to the cladding of the current feed and to the current distributor.