Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ionizers, which are designed to remove or minimize static charge accumulation. Ionizers remove static charge by generating air ions and delivering those ions to a charged target. This invention uses a collimator in combination with ionizer fans to improve the effectiveness of ion delivery to the target.
2. Description of Related Art
Ionizers remove static charge by ionizing air molecules, and delivering those generated air ions to a charged target. The air ions are typically created by high voltage applied to emitter tips, by nuclear disintegration, or by ionizing radiation. The location wherein the air ions are created is referred to as the source of air ions. Positive air ions neutralize negative static charges, and negative air ions neutralize positive static charges. Delivering the ions to the target is a major factor in overall ionizer effectiveness since air ions are lost during the transport time. Air ion losses explain why static charge removal may occur in a fraction of a second at close distances from the ionizer, yet require 30 seconds at large distances. There are two primary mechanisms responsible for air ion loss: recombination and grounding.
Recombination occurs when positive air ions collide with negative air ions. The products are two neutral air molecules that have no capability to remove static charge. Recombination is a function of air ion density and transport time. Higher air ion density increases the recombination rate, and more transport time increases the period over which that recombination rate operates.
Grounding occurs when ions contact a grounded surface. This happens when ions are delivered into a large area containing a small target of interest. Only those air ions directed to the small target are useful. Those air ions delivered outside the target circumference miss the target, and are eventually grounded. Hence, they performed no useful work.
A partial solution to reduce recombination and grounding is to employ fans in the ionizer. This solution is prior art, and commercial products are available. The fan provides a stream of fast moving air that carries the ions toward the target. Recombination is reduced because ions are diluted into the airflow of the fan. That is, air ion density is reduced by additional air, and reduced air ion density leads to a lower recombination rate. Also, transport time is reduced because the air ions are blown toward the target by the fan's average velocity.
However, fans by themselves miss the opportunity for even better ionizer performance. Without modification, fans introduce problems that limit the available benefit.
For example, fans produce turbulent air, not smooth laminar air. Turbulent air creates mixing, and mixing increases the rate of recombination. It is a generally known principle of chemistry that mixing or stirring increases the speed of reaction. More ions would be available for static charge removal if the turbulence could be reduced.
Ionizers with fans also produce a wide conical profile of ions moving toward the target. Hence, many of the generated ions are blown outside the target, and are eventually grounded. In essence, these ions are wasted.
Unmodified fans do not make use of inherent high velocity zones. Fan blades create the highest velocity in the outer ⅓ of the fan's radius. Fan blades are typically wider at the circumference than at the motor hub connection. So, there is more surface area imparting momentum to the air. The outside of the blade also moves faster than the inside. Again, more momentum is supplied to the air from the outside of the blade. If air ions could be maintained in the high flow zones, they would move faster toward the target, and air ion recombination would be minimized. Unfortunately, the high flow zones in unmodified fans quickly degenerate into turbulence. Also, these high flow zones tend to blow ions outward rather than straight at the target.
If the fan's high velocity zone is maintained, air entrainment occurs. Bernoulli's model describes this phenomenon. Fast moving air has lower pressure than surrounding still air. So, the still air of the environment is pulled into the fast moving air. More air means more dilution of the ions. As the density of the air ions decreases, recombination decreases. As noted previously, unmodified fans do not maintain a high velocity zone.
Fans without modification do not provide a mechanism to delay the mixing of positive and negative ions. Fans possess no barriers that can briefly separate positive and negative ions. Yet the ability to briefly separate positive and negative ions is known to decrease recombination loses. This fact is evident from the behavior of pulsed DC ionizers. Low pulse frequencies deliver more useful ions to the target than high pulse frequencies because mixing is delayed.
The present invention improves the performance of ionizers with integrated fans by adding an ion collimator. Addition of the ion collimator increases ionizer performance by delivering generated ions more effectively. The increased performance results from decreasing air ion recombination losses and focusing the air ions directly upon the target of interest.
The collimator is a hollow outer shell, typically cylindrical, with straightening vanes contained within the hollow outer shell. The collimator can also be viewed as an ensemble of holes, hollow spaces, channels, or compartments which are formed by the combination of a hollow outer shell and segmenting vanes. These holes, hollow spaces, channels, or compartments are distributed around a central axis. The inlet side of the collimator fits downwind of an ionizer fan. The exit of the collimator faces the target. Generated air ions are delivered through the collimator.
Objects of the invention include (1) delivering the majority of ions to the target of interest, (2) minimizing ions which miss the target and are lost to grounding, and (3) minimizing air ion losses by recombination.
Objects of the invention are realized by reducing turbulence, delaying the mixing of ions, reducing outward ion flow paths, and introducing air entrainment.
However, the use of fans does not give the optimal charge removal performance. Fans introduce problems of their own as shown in
Fans also propel the some of the air ions outward from the axial flow line 6. The ion delivery distribution has the form of a cone, which is narrow at the fan and wide at the target. These outward flow paths 8 miss the target 5. Hence, the air ions within these outward flow paths 8 are lost, and do not remove static charge from the target 5. Outward flow is particularly detrimental because the volume of air near the fan's circumference contains a disproportionately high level of ions. Note that the corona electrodes 4 are located immediately behind the fan's circumference. The fan blades 9 also create their highest velocity near the circumference.
The optimal discharge time for a collimated ionizer with fans varies with the number of emitters employed, the height of the collimator, the number of vanes, and the number of fan blades.
The plane of each vane may or may not contain the central axis of the collimator. Alternately stated, a plane which contains the collimator's central axis 14 is not necessarily parallel to the plane of any vane.
A two piece collimator is also possible. That is, the vanes may be separate from the collimator's outer shell. However, the single piece collimator described in,
No mechanical connection from the vanes to the central axis is required for alternate embodiments. However, the single piece collimator described in
The vanes 12 perform two main functions. First, they break up the angular momentum of air ions that are propelled by the fan. That is, the air ion profile is straightened, which reduces turbulence mixing and recombination. Second, the vanes delay air ion mixing until the exit of the collimator is reached. This further reduces recombination.
The collimator's outer shell 13 is useful to minimize outward flow paths 8 that result in wasted air ions. The optimal length of the collimator's outer shell varies with the application. The length of the collimator's outer shell is measured along the direction of the axial flow line 6. Longer lengths focus the ions into a smaller area. Smaller lengths focus the ions into a wider area. Practical outer shell lengths range from 0.1 diameters to 2.0 diameters. Where the perimeter is not cylindrical, the practical perimeter lengths are 0.1 diameters to 2.0 diameters of a circle whose area equals the cross sectional area of the collimator's outer shell.
In alternate embodiments, corona electrodes may also be positioned between the fan and the collimator. In this case, air flows from the fan toward the corona electrodes and then through the collimator. This still positions the collimator downwind of the source of air ions. However,
An ion collimator may be constructed from conductive, static dissipative, or insulative materials. Insulative material is used in the current best mode contemplated.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060158819 A1 | Jul 2006 | US |