Method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conducting particles
First Claim
1. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
- allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode, wherein the force has a direction and the particle contacting surface is at an angle between about 15 and 85°
relative to the direction of the force;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a device and method for electrolytic deposition of metals on conducting particles. The conducting particles are completely immersed in a liquid and allowed to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support. The particles flow across the surface and into a reservoir. Electrical contact is made between the negative pole of a DC power supply and the conducting particles. An anode mesh is placed above and parallel to the top face of the particle bed such that the mesh does not touch the particle bed but remains a controlled distance from it. The anode mesh is connected to the positive terminal of the DC power supply. A significant aspect of the present invention is that the device does not require a separator between the particle bed and the anode.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode, wherein the force has a direction and the particle contacting surface is at an angle between about 15 and 85°
relative to the direction of the force;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support;
wherein said particle contacting surface is an inner surface of a rotating generally funnel-shaped element, and the particles are caused to move upwards along the surface through a centrifugal force.
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20. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support;
wherein said particle contacting surface is an upper surface of a rotating generally disk-shaped element, and the particles are caused to move outwards along the surface through a centrifugal force.
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21. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a gravitational force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support;
wherein said particles have an average diameter, and said bed has an upper surface spaced a distance from the anode which distance is between about 1 to 50 times the average diameter of the particles. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support;
wherein said bed has an upper surface spaced a distance from the anode which distance is between about 1 and 15 mm. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support;
wherein said particle contacting surface has a roughness parameter of between about 0 and 10. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode, wherein the force has a direction and the particle contacting surface is at an angle between about 15 and 85°
relative to the direction of the force;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support;
wherein said particles have an average diameter, and said bed has an upper surface spaced a distance from the anode which distance is between about 1 to 50 times the average diameter of the particles; and
wherein said particle contacting surface has a roughness parameter of between about 0 and 10.
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30. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode, wherein the particle contacting surface is at an angle between about 5 and 75°
relative to horizontal;
avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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33. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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a step for allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode, wherein the force has a direction and the particle contacting surface is at an angle between about 15 and 85°
relative to the direction of the force;
a step for avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
a step for providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support.
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34. A method of electrodepositing metal on electrically conductive particles, comprising:
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a step for allowing a force to cause a bed of electrically conductive particles to flow across a particle contacting surface of a cathode support spaced from an anode, wherein the particle contacting surface is at an angle between about 5 and 75°
relative to horizontal;
a step for avoiding sustained contact between the particles and the anode without use of a separator; and
a step for providing an electrical current between the bed of particles and the anode, thereby electrodepositing metal on said electrically conductive particles as they flow across the particle contacting surface of the cathode support.
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Specification