Optimized electrostatic pinning and/or charging
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorsMark Blitshteyn, Edward Anthony Oldynski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Electrostatic charging performance may be improved by determining a satiation charging current for objects/products passing through a charging system and then applying the determined satiation charging current the objects/products. Charging performance may be improved in either or both of discontinuous product train applications or continuous web applications.
Claims20
A method of electrostatically charging plural products that form a discontinuous product train of substantially similar products moving through at least one charge applying device which applies a charging current to the product train in response to the application of an ionizing voltage, the method comprising:
- determining a satiation charging current flowing from the charge applying device to at least one of the products of the discontinuous product train, the satiation current being that amount of charging current that will deposit substantially maximum charge on the surfaces of at least one product in the time it takes the product to move through the at least one charging device;
- and
- applying a substantially constant charging current to the discontinuous product train as the product train moves through the at least one charge applying device, the charging current being substantially equal to the satiation current.
An apparatus for electrostatically charging products that form a discontinuous product train of substantially similar products moving in a downstream direction, the apparatus comprising:
- means for charging at least one of the products in response to the application of an ionizing voltage;
- means for determining a satiation charging current of at least one of the products of the discontinuous product train, the satiation current being that amount of charging current flowing from the means for charging that will deposit substantially maximum charge on the surfaces of at least one product in the time it takes the product to move through the at least one charging device;
- and
- means for applying a charging current, that is at least substantially equal to the satiation current, to the product train as the product train moves through the means for applying.
A method of electrostatically tacking together plural continuous webs of material moving at substantially the same rate through at least one charge applying device which supplies a charging current in response to the application of an ionizing voltage, the method comprising:
- placing a first continuous web against one or more additional continuous webs to thereby form a layered continuous web;
- determining a satiation charging current of the layered continuous web, the satiation current being that amount of charging current that will deposit substantially maximum charge on the surfaces of an area of the layered web in the time it takes the area to move through the at least one charging device;
- and
- applying a substantially constant charging current to the layered web as the web move through the at least one charge applying device to thereby tack the first continuous web to the one or more additional continuous webs, the charging current being at least substantially equal to the satiation current.
An apparatus for electrostatically tacking together adjacent layers of material that form a continuous web comprising:
- at least one charge applying device which supplies a charging current in response to the application of an ionizing voltage;
- means for determining a satiation charging current of the layered continuous web, the satiation current being that amount of charging current that will deposit substantially maximum charge on the surfaces of an area of the layered web in the time it takes the area to move through the at least one charging device;
- and
- means for applying a substantially constant charging current to the layered web as the web moves through the at least one charge applying device to thereby tack together adjacent layers of continuous web, the charging current being at least substantially equal to the satiation current.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.