Systems for preventing electrostatic accumulation

Abstract

The present invention provides a grounding system for discharging static electricity. The grounding system includes a body-contacting member which forms an electrical connection with at least a portion of a human body and a grounding cable. The grounding cable has an elongated conductive member with a first end for connection to ground potential and a second end for electrically communicating with the body-contacting member. At least one end of the elongated conductive member is embedded within a resistive material having an electrical conductivity of 10.sup.5 -10.sup.12 ohms/square. In one embodiment, the body-contacting member is a wrist or ankle strap while the resistive material is a polymer loaded with conductive and semiconductive particles. Exemplary conductive particles are selected from carbon, metals, and mixtures thereof.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.