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US 6,659,283 B1Granted
Capacitor grade powders
AssigneeWilson Greatbatch Ltd.
InventorsBarry C. Muffoletto, Ashish Shah
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method of purifying capacitor grade powders. The capacitor grade powder is initially placed into a purifying machine that disperses at least one contaminate into the capacitor grade powder. The powder is then placed into a magnetic separation device that separates at least one contaminate from the capacitor grade powder. The capacitor grade powder is then processed into an electrical energy storage device, wherein the capacitor grade powder has minimal contaminates therein.
Claims19
A method for purifying capacitor grade powders, comprising the steps of:
- a) placing a capacitor grade powder into a purifying machine that disperses at least one contaminate into the capacitor grade powder;
- b) moving the contaminated capacitor grade powder through a magnetic separation device comprising spaced apart pole pieces having their respective longitudinal axes aligned perpendicular to an intended travel direction of the capacitor grade powder, wherein the magnetic separation device establishes a nonuniform magnetic field between the pole pieces and along the travel direction, the nonuniform magnetic field providing a magnetic energy gradient having, in contiguous sequence, a katadynamic field region, an isodynamic field region, and an anadynamic field region, whereby the magnetic energy gradient along the travel direction is at a maximum at a locus of the isodynamic field region and decreases therefrom on either side thereof towards the katadynamic field region and towards the anadynamic field region, wherein the contaminated capacitor grade powder enters the magnetic energy gradient at either the katadynamic field region or the anadynamic field region and moves along the travel direction to exit the magnetic energy gradient at the other of the katadynamic field region or the anadynamic field region as a product capacitor grade powder having less contamination than the contaminated powder entering the magnetic separation device;
- and
- c) processing the product capacitor grade powder into an electrical energy storage device.
1 more element
A method for purifying capacitor grade powders, comprising the steps of:
- a) placing a capacitor grade powder into a purifying machine that disperses at least one contaminate into the capacitor grade powder, wherein one of the capacitor grade powder and the contaminate is a relatively more magnetic material and the other of them is a relatively less magnetic material;
- b) moving, by means of a nonmagnetic force traveling in a force direction, the contaminated capacitor grade powder through a magnetic separation device comprising a plurality of magnetic structures, each having a surface aligned along a first plane, the magnetic structures providing a plurality of regions, each of which comprises a relatively stronger magnetic field and a relatively weaker magnetic field, wherein the magnetic structures are arranged such that a relatively stronger magnetic field is adjacent to a relatively weaker magnetic field having a width of at least 0.05 times the width of the stronger magnetic field, and wherein the magnetic structures are arranged such that their respective longitudinal axes are aligned at an angle of other than 90° in the first plane relative to the force direction of the nonmagnetic force, and wherein the capacitor grade powder and the contaminant move in substantially a second plane spaced from the first plane as they travel under the influence of the nonmagnetic force through the alternating relatively stronger magnetic fields and the relatively weaker magnetic fields of the plurality of magnetic structures to thereby separate them from each other and provide a product capacitor grade powder having less contamination than the contaminated powder entering the magnetic separation device;
- and
- c) processing the product capacitor grade powder into an electrical energy storage device.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.