Aerosol charge adjusting apparatus employing a corona discharge
US6544484B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 16, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 16, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2015/0046
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system for analyzing aerosols incorporates a corona discharge ion generator with a positively or negatively charged corona discharge needle formed of platinum or a platinum alloy. A high speed (40-210 meter per second) air flow sweeps the ions away from the corona discharge, and propels the ions into a mixing chamber in a turbulent jet that encounters an aerosol, also provided to the mixing chamber. In one version of the ion generator, the ions are carried into the mixing chamber through an orifice formed in a positively or negatively biased plate. In another alternative, the aerosol droplets are electrostatically generated, and propelled into the mixing chamber as an aerosol jet that confronts the ion jet to enhance a mixing of the charged droplets and the ions. In this version the droplets are advantageously neutralized to leave predominantly singly charged positive and negative particles, to provide a neutralized aerosol particularly well suited for analysis with a mass spectrometer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.