Patent ID: 6986969

Claim:
A primary alkaline cell comprising a negative and a positive terminal, and an outer housing having a closed end and opposing open end, an anode comprising zinc and a cathode comprising MnO 2 within said housing, a separator between said anode and cathode, and an end cap assembly sealing the open end of said housing; said end cap assembly comprising an insulating sealing member and an anode current collector in communication therewith, with at least a portion of said current collector penetrating into said anode; wherein at least a portion of said current collector extends outwardly to within at most 2 mm of said housing inside surface, wherein said outer housing has a pair of opposing flat sides running along a portion of the length of said housing; said housing having a closed end and opposing open end and said housing not having any integral cylindrical sections; wherein the cathode comprises at least one cathode slab having an opening defined therethrough devoid of cathode material, wherein anode material is inserted into said opening in said cathode slab and a portion of said anode current collector penetrates into said anode, wherein said housing is of cuboid shape; wherein said cathode comprises a plurality of cathode slabs of rectangular shape, each slab having an opening defined therethrough devoid of cathode material; wherein said slabs are aligned so that said openings are in alignment forming a core devoid of cathode material, with the outer surface of said cathode contacting the inside surface of said housing.