1. An apparatus for conditioning air, comprising:
a vertically elongated housing;
a vertical wire-shaped emitter electrode, disposed in said housing;
a collector electrode, disposed in said housing;
a voltage generator coupled between the emitter electrode and collector electrode; and
an electrode cleaning mechanism adapted to fictionally remove debris from said wire-shaped emitter electrode as said electrode cleaning mechanism is moved along the emitter electrode when said housing is rotated from an original position.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electrode cleaning mechanism comprises a member in which is defined an opening corresponding to said wire-shaped electrode, wherein an inner surface of said opening scrapes against an outer surface of said wire-shaped electrode as said electrode cleaning mechanism is moved.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electrode cleaning mechanism comprises a non-conductive member including an opening to substantially surround a portion of said wire-shaped emitter electrode, wherein an inner surface of said opening scrapes against an outer surface of said wire-shaped electrode as said electrode cleaning mechanism is moved.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said collector electrode is substantially parallel to said wire-shaped emitter electrode.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
a handle connected to said collector electrode;
whereby the collector electrode can be vertically removed from said housing when said handle is moved upward by a user, thereby providing cleaning access to said collector electrode.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said housing includes a base portion that is wider than a remaining portion of said housing to increase stability of said housing.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a control switch located on an upper most surface of said housing, thereby providing easy user access to said control switch.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said housing includes an inlet vent and an outlet vent.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said collector electrode is formed from sheet metal.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said collector electrode is substantially hollow, and
wherein an outer surface area of said collector electrode is significantly greater than outer surface area of said emitter electrode, the outer surface area of the collector electrode providing a substantial area for debris to adhere to.
11. An air conditioner system comprising:
an upstanding, vertically elongated housing having an air inlet vent, an air outlet vent, a top surface that includes an opening through which a user liftable handle is viewable and accessible;
an ion generation unit positioned in said vertically elongated housing; and
wherein said ion generating unit includes a first ion emitter electrode and a second particle collector electrode,
wherein said second particle collector electrode is removable from said vertically elongated housing, using said user liftable handle, through said opening to thereby allow an exposed surface of said second electrode to be cleaned, and is returnable to said vertically elongated housing through said opening, and
wherein said user liftable handle covers said opening when said second particle collector electrode is in an operational position within said vertically elongated housing.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein said first electrode is a wire.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein said second collector electrode includes a plurality of elongated fins extending along the elongated housing.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein said ion generating unit includes a high voltage pulse generator.
15. An air cleaning device comprising:
a housing with a top and a base;
at least one emitter electrode disposed within said housing;
at least one collector electrode disposed within said housing;
at least one pylon to secure each emitter electrode with the base of the housing;
a barrier wall adjacent to the base of the housing and located between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode; and a light source located within the housing that provides germicidal activity.
16. The air cleaning device in claim 15 wherein the barrier wall has a lip.
17. The air cleaning device in claim 15 wherein the pylons include insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
18. The air cleaning device in claim 15 wherein the pylons are formed from insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
19. The air cleaning device in claim 16, wherein the lip of the barrier wall is coated with insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
20. The air cleaning device in claim 16, wherein the lip of the barrier wall is formed from insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
21. The air cleaning device in claim 15, wherein the barrier wall is coated with insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
22. The air cleaning device in claim 15, wherein the barrier wall is formed from insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
23. The air cleaner of claim 16, wherein the pylons and the lip of the barrier wall are coated with an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
24. The air cleaner of claim 16, wherein the pylons and the lip of the barrier wall are formed from an insulating material-selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
25. The air cleaner of claim 15, wherein the pylons and the barrier wall are coated with an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
26. The air cleaner of claim 15, wherein the pylons and the barrier wall are formed from an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
27. The air cleaner of claim 16, wherein the pylons, the barrier wall, and the lip of the barrier wall are coated with an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic based composites.
28. The air cleaner of claim 16, wherein the pylons, the barrier wall, and the lip of the barrier wall are formed from an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic based composites.
29. An air cleaning device comprising:
a housing with a top and base;
at least one emitter electrode disposed in the housing;
at least one pylon disposed in the base of the housing, to secure the emitter electrode;
at least one collector electrode removably disposed in the housing in order to be cleaned;
a source of high voltage coupled between the emitter electrode and the collector electrode;
a barrier wall situated between the emitter electrode secured in the pylon, and the collector electrode, to avoid high voltage arcing;
a lip on an upper edge of the barrier wall; an object with a bore there through, through which bore the emitter electrode is provided such that the object can travel along and clean the emitter electrode; an object-lifting arm movably attached to the collector electrode and operably engageable with the object to move and raise the object along the emitter electrode as the collector electrode is removed through the top of the housing to be cleaned; and a germicidal light source.
30. The air cleaning device in claim 29, wherein the pylon is coated with insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
31. The air cleaning device in claim 29, wherein the pylon is cast from insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
32. The air cleaning device in claim 29, wherein the barrier wall is coated with insulation material is selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
33. The air cleaning device in claim 29, wherein the barrier wall is formed from insulation material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
34. The air cleaner of claim 29, wherein the pylons and the barrier wall are coated with an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
35. The air cleaner of claim 29, wherein the pylons and the barrier wall are formed from an insulating material selected from the group consisting of glass, ceramics, and ceramic-based composites.
36. The device of claim 29, wherein at least one of the pylon and the barrier wall are comprised an insulating material.
37. The device of claim 29, wherein at least one of the pylon and the barrier wall are coated with an insulating material.
38. The device of claim 29, wherein said pylon and the barrier wall are comprised of an insulating material.
39. The device of claim 29, wherein said pylon and the barrier wall are coated with an insulating material.
40. An air conditioning system comprising:
a. an emitter wire configured to be movable within a housing, wherein at least a portion of the emitter wire is cleaned when moved; and
b. a collector electrode downstream of the emitter wire in the housing, wherein the collector electrode causes the emitter wire to move when the collector electrode is moved in a desired direction.
41. The system of claim 40, wherein the emitter wire is configured in a loop having at least two pulleys on opposed ends of the loop.
42. The system of claim 40, further comprising a gear mechanism coupled to at least one of the pulleys, the gear mechanism adapted to mesh with a corresponding gear feature of the collector electrode, wherein the gear mechanism rotates the pulley when the collector electrode is moved in a desired direction.
43. The system of claim 40, wherein the emitter wire is configured in a loop and having a first wire portion and a second wire portion, wherein the first wire portion is downstream of the second wire portion.
44. The system of claim 40, wherein the emitter wire is configured in a loop and having a first wire portion and a second wire portion, wherein the first and second wire portions are substantially equidistant upstream of the collector electrode.
45. The system of claim 40, further comprising a cleaning element configured to clean the emitter wire when the emitter wire moves.
46. The system of claim 40, further comprising a cleaning element configured to clean the emitter wire when the emitter wire moves, wherein the cleaning element is a brush.
47. The system of claim 40, further comprising a cleaning element configured to clean the emitter wire when the emitter wire moves, wherein the cleaning element is a scraper.
48. The system of claim 40, further comprising a cleaning element configured to clean the emitter wire when the emitter wire moves, wherein the cleaning element is a rotatable member.
49. An air conditioning system, comprising:
an emitter electrode;
a collector electrode;
a high voltage generator to provide a high voltage potential difference between said
emitter electrode and said collector electrode; a cleaning member associated with said emitter electrode; and
a cleaning member projecting upward along said emitter electrode, wherein said cleaning member frictionally removes debris from said emitter electrode as it projects upward along said emitter electrode.
50. The system of claim 49, wherein said cleaning member include a channel through which said emitter electrode passes.
51. The system of claim 49, wherein said means for projecting said cleaning member upward comprises: a spring; and a plunger mechanism to compress said spring, and said spring to project said cleaning member upward along said emitter electrode when said spring is allowed to expand after being compressed.
52. The system of claim 40, wherein said means for projecting said cleaning member to travel upward comprises:
a lever including a first end and a second end, said second end resting at least partially under said cleaning member; and
a fulcrum positioned between said first and second ends of said lever;
wherein a downward force on said first end of said lever translates to an upward force on said second end of said lever, as said lever pivots about said fulcrum, thereby causing said cleaning member to project upward along said emitter electrode and to frictionally remove debris from said emitter electrode.
53. The system of claim 49, further comprising an actuating means for maneuvering said means for projecting said cleaning member upward.
54. The system of claim 53, further comprising a controller to control said actuating means so that said cleaning member is periodically projected upward along said emitter electrode to remove debris from said emitter electrode.
55. The system of claim 53, further comprising a controller to control said actuating means so that said cleaning member is projected upward along said emitter electrode to remove debris from said emitter electrode, in response to detecting arcing between said emitter electrode and said collector electrode.
56. The system of claim 53, further comprising a button or switch that activates said actuating means.
57. The system of claim 49, wherein said means for projecting said cleaning member upward can be manually operated.
58. The system of claim 57, further comprising an indicator that identifies to a user that they should manually operate said means for projecting said cleaning member upward.
59. The system of claim 49, further comprising: a freestanding housing within which said emitter electrode, said collector electrode, and said high voltage generator are contained, said housing including at least one air vent.
60. An air conditioner device, comprising:
a housing;
a first electrode, disposed in said housing;
a second electrode, removably disposed in said housing; and
a frictional cleaning member for cleaning said first electrode.
61. The device of claim 60, wherein said means for frictionally cleaning includes a length of flexible insulating material.
62. The device of claim 61, wherein said length of flexible insulating material is sufficiently long to span the distance between a removable member that can be lifted from the top of said housing second electrode is at least partially in said housing.
63. The device of claim 62, wherein said length of insulating material includes a first end, associated with said movable member, and a second end that frictionally cleans said first electrode.
64. The device of claim 63, wherein said second end defines a slit within which said first electrode fits when said movable member is disposed at least partially in said housing.
65. The device of claim 61, wherein said length of flexible insulating material comprises a strip or a sheet of flexible insulating material.
66. The device of claim 60, wherein said means for frictionally cleaning includes a length of material.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
We claim:
1. A tunable optical component, comprising:
a counter electrode;
a movable optical element;
a compliant member that supports the movable optical element, said compliant member being formed of a material that exhibits an entropic plateau region; and
an electrostatic actuator for applying an electrostatic force that deforms the compliant member and moves the optical element as a function of an electric command signal.
2. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the material comprises long chain polymers with at least 100 bonds per chain that are fully crosslinked at least 90% of the bonds.
3. The tunable optical component of claim 2, wherein the material is selected from one of an elastomer, aerogel or long chain polymer.
4. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the material exhibits a Young’s modulus less than 5 MPa in the entropic plateau region.
5. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein said optical element moves at a scan rate, the entropic plateau region extending over multiple frequency decade with an upper corner frequency at least one order of magnitude greater than the scan rate.
6. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein said movement deforms the compliant member over a deformation range, the material, hence the compliant member exhibits a linear elastic behavior over the entire deformation range.
7. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the material is incompressible and the compliant member undergoes no volume change during deformation, said material exhibiting an energy cost of misalignment of the movable optical element that is at least an order of magnitude greater than the energy cost of deformation thereby self-stabilizing the optical element.
8. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the material undergoes sheer deformation, said material exhibiting a normal stress that provides a force on the optical element perpendicular to the direction of motion thereby further self-stabilizing the optical element.
9. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein said movement scans the optical element with a time constant tscan, said material undergoes a volume change during deformation that causes a viscous flow with a time constant tresponse that is at least one order of magnitude less than tscan.
10. The tunable optical component of claim 9, wherein the material undergoes compressive stress during deformation, said material being doped with small molecules to reduce its viscosity such that tresponse is at least one order of magnitude less than tscan.
11. The tunable optical component of claim 9, wherein the material lies undergoes compressive stress during deformation, said material network is modified to reduce its viscosity such that tresponse is at least one order of magnitude less than tscan.
12. The tunable optical component of claim 9, wherein the material undergoes tensile stress during deformation, said material having a thickness such that tresponse is at least one order of magnitude less than tscan.
13. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the compliant member and the material lie outside an optical path.
14. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the compliant member forms a diaphragm that supports said movable optical element and undergoes tensilecompressive deformation response to said movement.
15. The tunable optical component of claim 14, wherein the diaphragm has an aspect ratio less than 1.
16. The tunable optical component of claim 1, wherein the compliant member forms a sleeve that supports the movable optical element and undergoes sheer deformation in response to the variable dimensioning.
17. The tunable optical component of claim 16, wherein the sleeve has an aspect ratio greater than 1.
18. The tunable optical component of claim 16, wherein the material undergoes no volume change during sheer deformation such that the energy cost of misalignment of the movable optical element is at least an order of magnitude greater than the energy cost of deformation thereby self-stabilizing the movable optical element.
19. The tunable optical component of claim 16, wherein the material exhibits a normal stress that provides a force on the movable optical element perpendicular to the direction of motion thereby further self-stabilizing the movable optical element.