Apparatus and method for fabricating cathode collectors for lithium/oxyhalide electrochemical cells

An apparatus for contacting an electrically conductive material to a collector substrate, the apparatus comprising:

• a) first and second feed hoppers that initially contain the electrically conductive material, each of them comprising an outlet;
• b) first and second chutes that receive the electrically conductive material from the outlets of the first and second feed hoppers and have angled distal chute edges;
• c) a calender hopper that receives the electrically conductive material from the first and second chutes, the calender hopper comprising front and back hopper walls meeting with first and second sidewalls extending downwardly to first and second lower edges thereof;
• d) a pair of side-by-side first and second counter rotatable calender rollers, wherein the lower edges of the first and second hopper sidewalls are in a closely-spaced relationship with respective ones of the first and second calendar rollers at locations spaced from a nip there between;
• e) a gate comprising first and second side-by-side gate plates dividing the calender hopper into a first hopper portion and a second hopper portion, wherein the first and second gate plates provide an axial path from a proximal gate end that receives a leading end of the collector substrate to a distal gate end comprising first and second distal plate ends provided in an adjustable, spaced relationship at locations above the nip, but axially distal of an imaginary horizontal line defined by the lower edges of the first and second hopper sidewalls provided in the closely-spaced relationship with the respective first and second rollers and wherein the angled distal edges of the first and second chutes evenly distribute the electrically conductive material into the calender hopper and across a width of the opposed majors sides of the conductive substrate;
• and
• f) wherein the collector substrate is moveable in an axial direction through the gate from the proximal gate end to the distal gate end by counter rotatable movement of the first and second rollers contacting opposed major sides of the collector substrate at the nip of the rollers with a regulated quantity of the electrically conductive material being contactable from the first and second hopper portions to the opposed major sides of the collector substrate by adjusting a calender distance between the first and second distal plate ends and the respective first and second rollers.

An apparatus for contacting an electrically conductive material to a collector substrate, the apparatus comprising:

• a) a calender hopper containing the electrically conductive material and comprising a hopper sidewall extending from an open upper end to first and second lower edges thereof;
• b) a pair of side-by-side first and second counter rotatable calender rollers, wherein the first and second lower edges of the hopper sidewall are in a closely-spaced relationship with respective ones of the first and second calendar rollers at locations spaced from a nip there between;
• c) a gate comprising first and second side-by-side gate plates dividing the calender hopper into a first hopper portion and a second hopper portion, wherein the first and second gate plates provide an axial path from a proximal gate end that receives a leading end of the collector substrate to a distal gate end comprising first and second distal plate ends provided in an adjustable, spaced relationship at locations above the nip, but axially distal of an imaginary horizontal line defined by the first and second lower edges of the hopper sidewall provided in the closely-spaced relationship with the respective first and second rollers;
• and
• d) wherein the collector substrate is moveable in an axial direction through the gate from the proximal gate end to the distal gate end by counter rotatable movement of the first and second rollers contacting opposed major sides of the collector substrate at the nip of the rollers with a regulated quantity of the electrically conductive material being contactable from the first and second hopper portions to the opposed major sides of the collector substrate by adjusting a calender distance between the first and second distal plates ends and the respective first and second rollers.