Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – With measuring – testing – or indicating means
Patent
1993-07-16
1995-05-02
Kalafut, Stephen
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
With measuring, testing, or indicating means
429 91, 429 92, 429 93, 324435, H01M 202
Patent
active
054118174
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to batteries, and is particularly concerned with indicators which can be used with batteries to show how much battery life remains.
It is known to determine battery power by measuring the voltage of the battery when it is under load, or alternatively by measuring the temperature that a conductor reaches when connected to the battery. Both the measurement of voltage and temperature require the use of a device which is external to the battery, and if such a device is permanently built-in to the battery, it may present a serious risk of accidental battery discharge. Furthermore, such devices do not work well when used to determine the power of a battery which has a flat power discharge characteristic. Moreover, such devices are intrinsically expensive in terms of power use of the battery itself, and cannot be used in conjunction with batteries which operate at very low power levels, for example batteries which are used in watches and hearing aids.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing a simple, inexpensive device which indicates remaining battery life.
It is a further object that such a device can be used on any type of battery.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of producing a battery which provides a visual indication of its remaining life characterized in that an electrochemical device is attached to the battery, so that as charge is drawn from the battery through the device, an electrochemical process produces an optical change in the device.
The electrochemical action may be either an oxidized reaction at the anode or a reducing reaction at the cathode.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrochemical device for providing a visual indication of the remaining life of a battery, the device comprising an electrode pair with a layer therebetween, the layer comprising a mixture of a photographic color coupler dispersion, an antioxidant and a photographic color developer in a binder.
The electrodes may take several forms, for example they may be in the form of a mesh electrode and a flat electrode. Alternatively, the electrodes can be formed as printed circuit electrodes, preferably on a transparent substrate.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a battery incorporating an electrochemical device according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a further battery incorporating a further electrochemical device according to the invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of an electrochemical device according to the invention;
FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of an electrochemical device according to the invention;
FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of an electrochemical device according to the invention; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram of a battery incorporating the electrochemical device of any one of FIGS. 3 to 5.
FIG. 1 shows a dry cell battery 1 which includes an electrochemical device 2 according to the invention. The battery 1 comprises an anode 3, a cathode 4, and an electrolyte 5 positioned between the anode and the cathode, the anode 3, cathode 4, and electrolyte 5 all being mounted in a casing 6.
The electrochemical device 2 is attached to the battery 1 by an end cap 7 at the base of battery, namely adjacent the cathode 4. The end cap 7 has an aperture 8 formed in it through which electrical connections (not shown) can be made to the device 2.
The device 2 is connected in series with the battery, so that at least a proportion of the current being drawn from the battery 1 passes through it.
In FIG. 2, a second dry cell battery 10 incorporating an electrochemical device 11 is shown. The battery 10 is constructed as described with reference to FIG. 1 and like components are labelled the same. In this embodiment, an insulating spacer 12 is formed in the anode 3. A connection 13 runs from the anode 3 to t
REFERENCES:
patent: 1497388 (1922-11-01), Sterling
patent: 4917973 (1990-04-01), Yoshimoto et al.
patent: 5156931 (1992-10-01), Burroughs et al.
Edwards Stephen J.
Moore Christopher P.
Ridgway Michael
Eastman Kodak Company
Everett John R.
Kalafut Stephen
Nuzzolillo M.
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