Ionic wind delivery device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10870334-B2
Application number	US-201615743829-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2016
Priority date	Aug 19, 2015
Publication date	Dec 22, 2020
Grant date	Dec 22, 2020

Abstract

An ionic wind delivery device includes a first discharge electrode; a reference electrode arranged separate from the first discharge electrode; a first power supply circuit configured to output a voltage to induce a corona discharge between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode; a control electrode arranged on a delivery path of an ionic wind of ions that are generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode; a second discharge electrode arranged between the reference electrode and the control electrode; and a second power supply circuit configured to output a voltage to accelerate the ions generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and to induce a corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ionic wind delivery device comprising:
a first discharge electrode;
a reference electrode that is arranged separate from the first discharge electrode;
a first power supply circuit that is configured to output a voltage to induce a corona discharge between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode;
a control electrode that is arranged on a delivery path of an ionic wind of ions that are generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode;
a second discharge electrode that is arranged between the reference electrode and the control electrode; and
a second power supply circuit that is configured to output a voltage that accelerates the ions generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and induces a corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode, wherein
the first power supply circuit and the second power supply circuit are configured to be controlled in such a manner that:
the first power supply circuit is switched to output the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and the second power supply circuit is switched to output the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode, so that an ionic wind of ions that are generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and the corona discharge induced between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode is emitted as a jet stream; and
after the ionic wind is emitted, and before the second power supply circuit is switched again to output the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode, the second power supply circuit is controlled to output a voltage so as to move ions present between the reference electrode and the control electrode toward the reference electrode.

2. The ionic wind delivery device according to claim 1 , comprising:
a case that accommodates at least the control electrode, and has a jet opening to emit the ionic wind of the ions generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and the corona discharge induced between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode; and
a control unit that is configured to switch an output voltage of the second power supply circuit between a voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode and the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode.

3. The ionic wind delivery device according to claim 2 , wherein
the control unit controls the first power supply circuit to output a voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode at least in a part of a period of time in which the output voltage of the second power supply circuit is controlled to the voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode, and
the control unit controls the first power supply circuit to output the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode at least in a part of a period of time in which the output voltage of the second power supply circuit is controlled to the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode.

4. The ionic wind delivery device according to claim 2 , wherein
the control unit switches an output voltage of the first power supply circuit to the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and switches the output voltage of the second power supply circuit to the voltage that induces the coronal discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode, so that the ionic wind of the ions generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode and the corona discharge induced between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode is emitted out from the jet opening as a jet stream, and
after the ionic wind is emitted out from the jet opening, and before the control unit again controls the second power supply circuit to output the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the control electrode, the control unit controls the second power supply circuit to output a voltage so as to move the ions present between the reference electrode and the control electrode toward the reference electrode.

5. The ionic wind delivery device according to claim 1 , wherein
the control electrode is referred to as a first control electrode,
the ionic wind delivery device further comprising:
a second control electrode that is arranged on a delivery path of the ionic wind of the ions generated by the corona discharge induced between the second discharge electrode and the first control electrode;
a third discharge electrode that is arranged between the first control electrode and the second control electrode; and
a third power supply circuit that is configured to output a voltage to accelerate ions generated by a corona discharge induced between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode and to induce the corona discharge between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode.

6. The ionic wind delivery device according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a case that accommodates at least the second control electrode, and has a jet opening to emit an ionic wind of the ions generated by the corona discharge induced between the first discharge electrode and the reference electrode, the corona discharge induced between the second discharge electrode and the first control electrode, and the corona discharge induced between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode; and
a control unit that is configured to switch an output voltage of the second power supply circuit between a voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the first control electrode and the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the first control electrode, and to switch an output voltage of the third power supply circuit between a voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode and a voltage that induces the corona discharge between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode.

7. The ionic wind delivery device according to claim 6 , wherein
the control unit controls the output voltage of the third power supply circuit to the voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode at least in a part of a period of time in which the output voltage of the second power supply circuit is controlled to the voltage that prohibits the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the first control electrode, and
the control unit controls the output voltage of the third power supply circuit to the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the third discharge electrode and the second control electrode at least in a part of a period of time in which the output voltage of the second power supply circuit is controlled to the voltage that induces the corona discharge between the second discharge electrode and the f

Assignees

• Denso Corp
• Soken Inc

Inventors

• Maeda Noboru
• Ito Koji

Classifications

• F24F8/30

  by ionisation · CPC title

• F24F13/06

  Outlets for directing or distributing air into rooms or spaces, e.g. ceiling air diffuser · CPC title

• B03C3/68

  Control systems therefor {(electricity supply or control systems for cleaning the electrodes B03C3/746, B03C3/763)} · CPC title

• H01T19/04

  having pointed electrodes · CPC title

• B60H3/0071 Primary

  Electrically conditioning the air, e.g. by ionizing · CPC title