Patent ID: 6887113

Claim:
Contact element for supplying electric current to substantially board-shaped objects that are to be treated in an electrolytic process, the board-shaped objects each having an electrically conductive surface, the contact element comprising: one or more contact areas, at least one of said one or more contact areas having a shape configured in such a way that no damages occur in areas of the electrically conductive surface adjacent to said at least one of said one or more contact areas contact areas when large currents are transmitted from said contact element to the electrically conductive surface at least in part through said at least one of said one or more contact areas contact area placed in contact with the electrically conductive surface, said at least one of said one or more contact areas being bounded by a single closed boundary line, the shape of said at least one of said one or more contact areas being designed in such a way that the ratio V of the square of the overall length L of said single closed boundary line to the size F of said at least one of said one or more contact areas as given by the expression: V = L 2 F is at least 25.