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US 5,672,440 AGranted
Cell tester device employing a cathodically depositable metal ion electrolyte solution
AssigneeEveready Battery Company, Inc.
InventorJohn C. Bailey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cell tester device for use on an electrochemical cell which comprises an electrolyte containing a cathodically reducible metal ion that changes its visible appearance when it is reduced upon application of a power source.
Claims24
A cell tester device for an electrochemical cell having a first terminal and a second terminal of opposite polarity;
- said device comprising a first electrically conductive electrode adapted to contact the first terminal of the cell;
- an electrically conductive layer spaced apart from said electrode and adapted to contact the second terminal of the cell;
- and an immobilized metal ion electrolyte disposed between and in contact with the electrode and the conductive layer, said electrolyte comprising a solution of at least one salt of at least one metal which can be cathodically deposited from the solution of one of its simple or complex ions at least at the interface of the electrode and the electrolyte and the deposited metal ion having a different color than the electrolyte so that when the electrode makes contact with the first terminal of the cell and the conductive layer makes contact with the second terminal of the cell, the metal ion in the electrolyte will be reduced to provide a deposit at said interface that has a different visual appearance than the electrolyte that can be used to indicate the condition of the cell and which different visual appearance is observable to the user.
The cell tester device of claim 7 wherein the polymer resin is selected from the group consisting of hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol.
A cell tester device for an electrochemical cell having a first terminal and a second terminal of opposite polarity;
- said device comprising a first electrically conductive electrode adapted to contact the first terminal of the cell;
- an electrically conductive layer spaced apart from said electrode and adapted to contact the second terminal of the cell;
- and an immobilized metal ion electrolyte disposed between and in contact with the electrode and the conductive layer, said electrolyte comprising a solution of at least one salt of at least one metal which can be cathodically deposited from the solution of one of its simple or complex ions at least at the interface of the electrode and the electrolyte and the deposited metal ion having a different color than the electrolyte so that when the electrode makes contact with the first terminal of the cell and the conductive layer makes contact with the second terminal of the cell, the metal ion in the electrolyte will be reduced to provide a deposit at said interface that has a different visual appearance than the electrolyte that can be used to indicate the condition of the cell which different visual appearance is observable to the user comprising a substrate and wherein said electrode is disposed on said substrate.
A cell tester device for an electrochemical cell having a first terminal and a second terminal of opposite polarity;
- said device comprising a first electrically conductive electrode adapted to contact the first terminal of the cell;
- an electrically conductive layer spaced apart from said electrode and adapted to contact the second terminal of the cell;
- and an immobilized metal ion electrolyte disposed between and in contact with the electrode and the conductive layer, said electrolyte comprising a solution of at least one salt of at least one metal which can be cathodically deposited from the solution of one of its simple or complex ions at least at the interface of the electrode and the electrolyte and the deposited metal ion having a different color than the electrolyte so that when the electrode makes contact with the first terminal of the cell and the conductive layer makes contact with the second terminal of the cell, the metal ion in the electrolyte will be reduced to provide a deposit at said interface that has a different visual appearance than the electrolyte that can be used to indicate the condition of the cell which different visual appearance is observable to the user at least one of the electrode and conductive layer being an elongated member that functions as a variable resistance component for the cell tester device so that the electrical resistance can be varied for the cell tester device depending on the amount of resistance placed in the circuit when the cell tester device is connected to an electrochemical cell.
A cell tester device for an electrochemical cell having a first terminal and a second terminal of opposite polarity;
- said device comprising a first electrically conductive electrode adapted to contact the first terminal of the cell;
- an electrically conductive layer spaced apart from said electrode and adapted to contact the second terminal of the cell;
- and an immobilized metal ion electrolyte disposed between and in contact with the electrode and the conductive layer, said electrolyte comprising a solution of at least one salt of at least one metal which can be cathodically deposited from the solution of one of its simple or complex ions at least at the interface of the electrode and the electrolyte and the deposited metal ion having a different color than the electrolyte so that when the electrode makes contact with the first terminal of the cell and the conductive layer makes contact with the second terminal of the cell, the metal ion in the electrolyte will be reduced to provide a deposit at said interface that has a different visual appearance than the electrolyte that can be used to indicate the condition of the cell which different visual appearance is observable to the user and wherein said conductive layer functions as the variable resistance component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.