Eveready Battery Company, Inc.

Timothy D Foley

John C Bailey

Brandon A Bartling

Ernest D Botos

Sonya C Pitts

An air depolarized battery with an improved sealing member for sealing the air inlet port(s) of the battery before use is disclosed. The sealing member has areas of relatively high and low permeability, with an area of low permeability over at least a portion of an air inlet port. The sealing member may comprise a plurality of layers, where the area of highest permeability includes a portion of the lowest permeability layer that has a higher permeability than a surrounding portion thereof. The rate of flow of air through the low permeability area and into the battery can be easily modified to maintain a desired battery open circuit voltage during battery storage to allow activation of the battery within a short time after removal of the sealing member, while minimizing losses in discharge capacity before use.

Air cell with modified sealing tab

Various embodiments of a metal-air cell having a tab system that covers an air entry port of the metal-air cell are provided. In one representative embodiment the tab system includes polymer layer and an adhesive layer between the metal-air cell and the polymer layer. The tab system has a loss stiffness of less than 55,000 N/m at 20&#xb0; C. to 25&#xb0; C.

Tab system for a metal-air electrochemical cell

A safety disconnect device for use in detecting a gas in a confined space, such as a flashlight, comprising the use of a catalytic gas recombination material, such as palladium, in conjunction with a heat-sensitive conductive element connected as a switch, in a circuit containing a power supply so that the heat generated by the reaction of the detected gas with a reactant on the surface of the catalytic material will alter the heat-sensitive conductive element to open the circuit.

Safety indicating device for flashlights

Disclosed is a method of forming porous carbon cathode collectors for electrochemical cells by mixing carbon black with binder and liquid to form a dough, drying it at an elevated temperature, compacting the dried mix at an elevated temperature, milling it to a particle size greater than 0.05 mm and preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and molding the dry milled mix, preferably by auger feeding, to form a collector having a pore size at least 50% by volume being 10 microns or larger and most preferably in the range of 10 to 90 microns.

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Wellington, OH, United States of America

Timothy D Foley