EP4016765A1

EP4016765A1 - Ionizer for emitting negative ions from carbon filaments protected by a plastic barrier

Info

Publication number: EP4016765A1
Application number: EP21212687.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lorena Leonardos
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-12-21
Filing date: 2021-12-07
Publication date: 2022-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-07
Also published as: EP4016765C0; EP4016765B1; SI26129A

Abstract

The subject of the invention is an ionizer that includes a carbon brush (2) with carbon filaments (2a), a transformer (5), an electrical cable (6) connecting the carbon brush (2) to the transformer (5), and an electrical cable (7) connecting the transformer (5) to the mains, the carbon filaments (2a) in the carbon brush (2) being protected by a protective plastic barrier (3) that allows the carbon brush (2) to be easily fixed into the housing (1) of the ionizer or onto an air-conditioning system damper and at the same time the carbon filaments (2a) are sufficiently fixed so that they cannot be pulled out of the carbon brush (2), while at the same time breakage and eventual fall-out of the carbon filaments (2a) from the carbon brush (2) of the ionizer is prevented. The protective plastic barrier (3) thus allows the carbon brush (2) to function correctly and thus allows the ionizer to function correctly and reliably, thus ensuring a sufficient number of negative ions in the room.

Description

Subject of invention

The subject of the invention is an ionizer comprising a carbon brush which emits negative ions from its carbon filaments into the ambient air, the carbon filaments in the carbon brush being protected by a protective plastic barrier that allows the carbon brush to be easily fixed in the ionizer and at the same time the carbon filaments are sufficiently fixed so that they cannot be pulled out of the brush, while at the same time breakage and eventual fall-out of the carbon filaments from the carbon brush of the ionizer is prevented.
Each carbon filament of the carbon brush has the task of emitting negative ions into space. When the contact between the power source and the individual carbon filaments of the carbon brush is interrupted, for example when individual carbon filaments are broken, the latter stop emitting negative ions, thus impairing the performance of the ionizer. The same happens if the carbon filaments in the carbon brush are too loose and can be easily pulled out of the brush.
Therefore, the carbon brush with carbon filaments is inserted into a protective plastic barrier that keeps all the carbon filaments inside the protective barrier, thus keeping the carbon filaments connected to the power source. This ensures their function, i.e. the emission of negative ions into space from the ionizer. The protective plastic barrier is fixed into the base of the ionizer by two fixing elements, preferably screws, which further fix it so that it can ensure smooth operation of the ionizer without the carbon filaments moving or falling out of the carbon brush, thereby reducing the number of negative ions. Carbon filaments are also the only ones that do not emit harmful ozone when ionized, but only negative ions, as proven by measurements at the Institute for Occupational Safety in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
As it emits negative ions, the ionizer must be present in people's residential and business premises. A lack of negative ions is harmful to both humans and animals, as demonstrated by Prof. Krueger of Philadelphia, who stated there is no life without negative ions. Negative ions are also the only ones capable of removing harmful and dangerous particles from the ambient air - from carcinogenic exhaust fumes and aerosols, to bacteria and viruses, including the corona virus, which has killed a huge number of the world's population. Negative ions stick to particles in the air and remove them to the surface, from where they can no longer rise when ionized. In this way, the negative ions protect the lungs, as dangerous particles are permanently removed from the air and can no longer be inhaled by humans. According to many medical authorities, negative ions have a healing effect on the body. That is why a good quality ionizer is an essential part of residential and business premises.

Technical problem

The technical problem solved by the invention is how to fix a carbon brush with carbon filaments into an ionizer so that the filaments do not break and consequently fall out of the carbon brush and so that individual filaments cannot be pulled out of the brush, while at the same time allowing the carbon brush to be fixed into the ionizer, and while at the same time making the fixing simple and suitable for large-scale production with a guaranteed long service life.
A carbon brush contains individual carbon filaments, each of which is important for emitting negative ions into the air. The high voltage in the ionizer splits the carbon atom in the carbon filament and throws an electron - called a negative ion - out of the atom's last orbit into the air. If the individual filaments lose contact with the high voltage of the ionizer during operation, the process of atom splitting and negative ion elimination cannot take place in the filaments, in which case the ionizer has no function. Therefore, additional protection of the carbon brush and thus the carbon filaments is necessary to ensure that they are always in function and that the ionizer continues to operate reliably.
Carbon brushes are currently implemented by placing the carbon filaments around a metal wire and inserting them into a metal housing, with the metal wire fixed against the wall of the metal housing. Carbon filaments are then simply placed in the metal housing by means of the metal wire, which means that they can be easily pulled out. The metal housing and metal wire are needed for conductivity, so that electricity reaches the carbon filaments, from which negative ions are then extracted. Carbon filaments are made of an extremely delicate and fragile material and can break if too much pressure is applied on them by the metal housing. Therefore, it is not desirable that the metal housing also fixes the carbon filaments sufficiently to prevent the carbon filaments from being easily pulled out of the brush. The metal housing cannot fix the carbon filaments sufficiently and not break them and prevent the carbon filaments from being easily pulled out of the brush.

Prior art

Emitters are known that emit negative ions from a metal needle, metal membrane or plasma (flashover of electricity between two metal needles). The metal reacts with moisture in the air over time, resulting in harmful ozone, this is why these negative ion emitters are unsuitable for use in the vicinity of humans. Carbon filaments have been proven not to emit ozone harmful to health, as proven by ozone measurements at the Institute for Occupational Safety, Ljubljana, and are therefore the only suitable for use in all areas where people live or work.
A negative ion emitter for an atmospheric ionization device is disclosed under Slovenian patent SI-20043 , which is designed to generate negative ions in a living space. A disadvantage of this solution is that the carbon brush is free-standing, without protection and loses carbon filaments with frequent use. A reduced number in carbon filaments also reduces the efficiency of the carbon brush and ionizer.
A negative ion emitter for an atmospheric ionization device is disclosed under Slovenian patent 24890 , which is designed to generate negative ions for installation into vehicles. The disadvantage of this solution is that the carbon brush is free-standing, without protection and loses carbon filaments with frequent use. A reduced number in carbon filaments also reduces the efficiency of the carbon brush and ionizer.

Solution to the technical problem

Said technical problem is solved by a protective plastic barrier, into which a carbon brush with carbon filaments is inserted. The protective plastic barrier is formed of two parts, an upper part and a bottom part, each part having a recess with a step. At the contact of the upper and bottom parts, the recesses with the two steps delimit a cavity adapted to receive the metal housing of the carbon brush, in such a way that, when the metal housing is placed in the cavity, the carbon filaments protrude from the protective plastic barrier through the opening delimited by the two steps. The protective plastic barrier thus protects the carbon filaments of the carbon brush in such a way that the movement, breakage and loss of individual carbon filaments from the carbon brush is prevented. The protective plastic barrier with an inserted and fixed carbon brush with carbon filament is covered by the ionizer's protective cover, so that only the carbon filaments of the carbon brush, which emit negative ions into the air, project from the ionizer. On the rear wall, the protective plastic barrier has an opening for an electrical cable connecting the carbon brush to a transformer. The transformer is connected to the mains via an electrical cable. The protective plastic barrier with an inserted and fixed carbon brush with carbon filaments is fixed into the ionizer housing, e.g. at the bottom of the ionizer, by means of two fixing elements, preferably two screws, to further prevent movement of the carbon brush inside the ionizer and thus possible damage or loss of the carbon filaments. The function of the fixing elements is twofold, first, to allow the carbon brush to be fixed into the ionizer housing and second, to allow the pressure on the carbon filaments to be regulated via the two steps of the protective plastic barrier. In one embodiment, a protective plastic barrier with an inserted and fixed carbon brush with carbon filaments can be attached to an air-conditioning system damper and the rest of the ionizer is arranged inside the air-conditioning system and thus inaccessible to users.
The amount of carbon filaments in the carbon brush is very important, as each carbon filament in the carbon brush emits negative ions into the air from the ionizer. The high voltage in the ionizer splits the atom in the individual carbon filaments of the carbon brush and throws the negative ions out of the ionizer into the air. The negative ions bind to floating sub-micrometre particles in the air, stick to them, weigh them down and remove them from the air onto a surface, while the excess negative ions are available for the user to inhale and have a beneficial effect on the body. The protective plastic barrier allows the ionizer to protect the amount of carbon filaments in the carbon brush so that they cannot fall out and thus reduce the performance of the carbon brush and the ionizer, and allows the number of negative ions to correspond to the measurements carried out at the responsible institution, the Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, and allows the ionizer to function properly and without any problems. The new attachment provides for the integrity of the carbon filaments in the carbon brush of the ionizer and thus for an improved performance of the ionizer.
The invention will be explained in more detail by way of an embodiment and the enclosed drawings representing in:

Figure 1: perspective view of an ionizer with a carbon brush arranged in a protective plastic barrier of the invention
Figure 2: cross-section of the ionizer of Figure 1
Figure 3: upper part of a protective plastic barrier
Figure 4: bottom part of a protective plastic barrier
Figure 5: embodiment of a plastic protective barrier with an integrated carbon brush
Figure 6: embodiment of a plastic protective barrier with an integrated carbon brush - cross-section
Figure 7: embodiment of a plastic protective barrier with an integrated carbon brush - side view.

Figures 1 and 2 show an ionizer with an integrated protective plastic barrier 3 of the invention. The ionizer includes a carbon brush 2 with carbon filaments 2a inserted in a protective plastic barrier 3 which is fixed to the bottom of the ionizer by means of screws 9, a transformer 5, an electrical cable 6 connecting the carbon brush 2 to the transformer 5, and an electrical cable 7 connecting the transformer 5 to the mains. All elements are located inside an ionizer housing 1. In one embodiment, a protective plastic barrier 3 with an inserted and fixed carbon brush 2 with carbon filaments 2a can be attached to an air-conditioning system damper and the rest of the ionizer elements are arranged inside the air-conditioning system and thus inaccessible to users.
The carbon brush 2 is implemented in a way that the carbon filaments 2a are arranged around a metal wire 2c and inserted into a metal housing 2b, with the metal wire 2c fixed against the wall of the metal housing 2b.
The protective plastic barrier 3 is formed of two parts, an upper part 3a and a bottom part 3b. The upper part 3a is formed with an upper recess 4a which is provided with an upper step 4c on its upper side. The bottom part 3b is formed with a bottom recess 4b which is provided with a bottom step 4d on its bottom side. At the contact of the upper 3a and bottom parts 3b, the recesses 4a, 4b with the two steps 4c, 4d delimit a cavity 4 adapted to receive the metal housing 2b of the carbon brush 2 and at the same time define an opening 8 in such a way that, when the metal housing 2b is placed in the cavity 4, the carbon filaments 2a protrude from the protective plastic barrier 3 through the opening 8 delimited by the two steps 4c, 4d. The edges of the opening 8 are preferably rounded to prevent possible damage to the carbon filaments caused by a sharp edge.
The dimensions of the two cavities 4a, 4b are dimensioned in each case in such a way that the metal housing 2b of the carbon brush 2 is entirely contained within the cavity 4 and only the carbon filaments 2a protrude through the opening 8. The heights of the two steps 4c, 4d are dimensioned in each case to extend beyond the inner edge of the metal housing 2b so as to compress the carbon filaments 2a with their lower faces to allow sufficient fixation of the carbon filaments 2a.
For the attachment of the upper 3a and bottom parts 3b of the protective plastic barrier 3, the upper 3a and the bottom parts 3b are provided with boreholes 10 at their ends to receive a screw 9. The function of the 9 screws is twofold. First, the screws 9 allow the protective plastic barrier 3 and thus the carbon brush 2 to be fixed into the housing 1 of the ionizer, either to its bottom or another surface, such as the air-conditioning system damper. Second, by tightening the screws 9, it is possible to regulate the pressure on the carbon filaments 2a across the two steps 4c, 4d by bringing one step closer to the other and thereby reducing the height of the opening 8. In this way, it is also possible to adjust to the quantity of the carbon filaments 2a in the carbon brush 2, it is namely possible to regulate the pressure of the protective plastic barrier 3 on the carbon brush 2 depending on the quantity of carbon filaments 2a, in order to allow sufficient fixation of the carbon filaments 2a and, at the same time, to prevent the individual carbon filaments 2a from breaking and falling out.
On the rear wall, the protective plastic barrier 3 has an opening 11 for an electrical cable 6 connecting the carbon brush 2 to the transformer 5, the cable 6 being soldered to the metal housing 2b.
It is understood that a person skilled in the art may, on the basis of knowledge of the above description of the invention, configure alternative embodiments, in particular in terms of industrial design, without circumventing the features of the invention as defined in the following patent claims, where the operation is the same as in the above description of the invention.

Claims

A ionizer for emitting negative ions, the ionizer including a carbon brush (2) with carbon filaments (2a), a transformer (5), an electrical cable (6) connecting the carbon brush (2) to the transformer (5), and an electrical cable (7) connecting the transformer (5) to the mains, wherein the carbon brush (2) is implemented in a way that the carbon filaments (2a) are arranged around a metal wire (2c) and inserted into a metal housing (2b), with the metal wire (2c) fixed against the wall of the metal housing (2b), characterized in that the carbon brush (2) with the carbon filaments (2a) is inserted into a protective plastic barrier (3), the protective plastic barrier (3) being formed of an upper part (3a) and a bottom part (3b), the upper part (3a) being provided with an upper recess (4a) having an upper step (4c) from its upper side, and the bottom part (3b) being provided with a bottom recess (4b) having a bottom step (4d) from its bottom side, wherein at the contact of the upper (3a) and bottom parts (3b), the recesses (4a, 4b) with the two steps (4c, 4d) delimit a cavity (4) adapted to receive the metal housing (2b) of the carbon brush (2) and at the same time the steps (4c, 4d) define an opening (8) in such a way that, when the metal housing (2b) is placed in the cavity (4), the carbon filaments (2a) protrude from the protective plastic barrier (3) through the opening (8) delimited by the two steps (4c, 4d).
The ionizer according to claim 1, characterized in that the dimensions of the two cavities (4a, 4b) are dimensioned in each case in such a way that the metal housing (2b) of the carbon brush (2) is entirely contained within the cavity (4) and only the carbon filaments (2a) protrude through the opening (8).
The ionizer according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the heights of the two steps (4c, 4d) are dimensioned in each case to extend beyond the inner edge of the metal housing (2b) so as to compress the carbon filaments (2a) with their lower faces to allow sufficient fixation of the carbon filaments (2a).
The ionizer according to preceding claims, characterized in that the edges of the opening (8) are preferably rounded to prevent possible damage to the carbon filaments (2a).
The ionizer according to preceding claims, characterized in that the upper (3a) and bottom parts (3b) are provided with boreholes (10) at their ends to receive a screw (9) for fixing the upper (3a) and bottom parts (3b) of the protective plastic barrier (3) and at the same time for regulating the pressure on the carbon filaments (2a) across the two steps (4c, 4d) and for simultaneous fixing the protective plastic barrier (3) into the housing (1) of the ionizer or to an air-conditioning system damper.
The ionizer according to preceding claims 1, characterized in that the protective plastic barrier (3) is provided on its rear side with an opening (11) for an electrical cable (6) connecting the carbon brush (2) to the transformer (5), the cable (6) being soldered to the metal housing (2b).