The present invention is directed to static eliminators and more particularly to an ionized air blower for neutralizing and removing statically charged particles from a surface to be cleaned.
Static is the accumulation of electrical charges on the surface of a non-conductive material. Static can be produced when two different non-conducting materials are rubbed together. It is well known that static charge may cause unwanted dust particles to be attracted and held to a surface such as a camera lens or a digital imaging sensor.
Attempts to merely blow dust off of a statically charged surface is a temporary solution at best. Because the static charge remains, additional dust particles will be attracted and held to the surface. Moreover, attempts to wipe or brush dust from a statically charged surface may aggravate the problem by increasing the static charge on the surface.
Numerous methods and devices have been developed to reduce or eliminate static charge. One such method uses ionized air to neutralize static charge on a surface or the dust particles attracted to the surface. Devices for producing ionized air are well known and include high voltage electronic devices that use a corona discharge and radioactive devices that emit alpha particles. It is also known to use these devices in combination with electric fans or compressed air sources to direct the ionized air at the surface to be cleaned. Several examples of known ionizers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,731,030, 3,156,847, 3,179,849, 4,258,408, 4,333,123, 4,438,479, 4,665,462, 5,095,400, 5,388,769, 5,508,880, 6,118,645, 6,373,680, 6,739,530 and 6,850,403 and U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2004/0118428.
Known ionizers that use “shop air” from a feed line attached to a pump or compressed air tank suffer from lack of mobility. Ionizers that utilize an electric fan or pump are often heavy or bulky and require access to a power source or batteries. Likewise, ionizers that use canned compressed air, although mobile, are expensive due to the cost of replacement air cans.
Therefore, a new ionized air blower is desired that is lightweight, mobile and does not require a separate air source.
According to a first aspect an ionized air blower is provided comprising a compressible air chamber and an ionizer. When the chamber is compressed, a stream of air is produced through an exhaust opening in the chamber. The ionizer, which may be any conventional ionizer known in the art, ionizes air molecules passing through the exhaust opening to provide a stream of ionized air.
According to a second aspect an ionized air blower is provided comprising a hand-compressible resilient bulb for producing a stream of air when compressed and an ionizer for ionizing air molecules passing through an exhaust opening in the bulb.
According to a third aspect an ionized air blower is provided comprising a hand-compressible resilient bulb for producing a stream of air when the bulb is compressed and a tubular nuclear ionizer for ionizing air molecules that pass out of the bulb and through the ionizer.
An ionized air blower 10 is disclosed for removing dust and neutralizing static charge on a surface to be cleaned. The ionized air blower 10 comprises a compressible air chamber 12 and an energy source or ionizer for ionizing air molecules. When compressed or squeezed, the chamber 12 produces a stream of air with moderate velocity at essentially ambient pressure. The air stream passes through, over or across the ionizer to pick up ionized air molecules. A nozzle 14 may be provided for directing the ionized air at a surface to be cleaned.
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The ionized air blowers disclosed herein are designed to simultaneously neutralize static charge and dislodge particulate matter, such as dust, from a surface to be cleaned. Because the described ionized air blowers do not require a separate source of air, they are portable, reusable and less expensive over time than typical anti-static guns. They further provide the advantage of being lightweight, compact, and self-contained.