The benefit of Swedish patent application 0401551 -7, filed 16 of June 2004, is claimed.

Field of the Invention.

This application regards an electrode for anti-static equipment. Anti-static equipments are used for removing or adding static charges to the surroundings. In this application the description "anti-static equipment" will be used to refer to all the equipments used to limit, or in some cases add, static charges, especially in industrial applications. Industries working with all kinds of plastic, or textiles, paper or electronics, all have problems with static charges. When you want to add static charges, it could be in order to temporary attaching plastic films in different ways. The here presented innovation shows an all new design of the electrode for so called anti¬ static equipments. Background of the Invention.

There are many types of equipment made for removing static charges, and not so many made to add static charges. The known equipments often have a similar design. Around the tip of a needle a Corona effect is generated, that ionises the molecules in the surrounding air. The here mentioned electric field or Corona zone, develops around tips of needles, as well as at protruding parts, and more or less sharp edges when high voltage is connected to the object. A needle-like electrode used in such equipment is worn out with time, the lifespan of it depends on the voltage and the power it carries. The lifespan can be short if there is a shortcut to something, with a different electrical potential, in the surroundings.

One problem with using needle-like electrodes is that you get an unwanted Corona zone around the shaft of the needle, because of the small diameter. What you want is a Corona effect/zone at a well defined spot, that is at the active part, where you can make use of it.

In today's equipments you will find any number of needle like objects, like in US-patent 4757422 from 1988, where a lot of pointy objects are used as electrodes. US patent 4333123 also uses electrodes looking like needles/pins. Again in US patent 4498116 we find a similar solution.

The needle has several disadvantages, it can easily hurt a person, if you touch the needle, also the thin point of the needle is worn out quickly. A thin needle can also easily be bent or broken, which in both cases will make the equipment more or less useless. Furthermore it is not easy to improve a worn out needle, if you can make the tip of the needle sharp again, the needle will be somewhat shorter. This means the position of the needle must also be adjusted in order to have the right distance to the treated material. If the equipment has a number of needles, they should all have the same length in order to achieve the best efficiency. Because of such problems the user often buys a new equipment instead of adjusting the old. Description of the Invention.

Electrode for anti-static equipment. The purpose of this innovation is to solve the problems mentioned earlier. This is done by using an electrode designed as shown in Fig 1, instead of the needle-like ones, the mechanical stability is much greater compared to a thin needle. This greater mechanical stability makes it possibly to manufacture, for instance, longer and bent electrodes. Because of the greater diameter, the risk for personal injuries is much limited. First because it will not be as sharp as a needle, secondly the bigger electrode is more easily detected, and can thus be avoided more easily.

This improved electrode has a greater diameter, compared to the normal needle model, thus there will be less losses in the electrode and the Corona effect will be concentrated to the active part, that is the active edge, Fig 1(1). This electrode is cylindrical, and normally has a diameter of 8 millimetres, but it can also be made substantially bigger or smaller, it has a cavity or a hole in it's centre. This cavity (or hole) has a bevel / chamfer, Figl(2), so shaped that it forms an even edge around the peripheries of the electrode. This edge can easily be cleaned, and even sharpened with a suitable tool (like a beveling tool) if the edge, after long use, would need so in order to keep its best efficiency.

This electrode can be manufactured in many different materials, it lays in the nature of electrodes to be conductive, and this can be achieved by choosing a conductive material or by suitable treatment, for example applying a layer/a coating of conductive material on to it. Many plastic materials can be made conductive by mixing the plastic with metal particles.

The power you can connect to this electrode is considerably greater than that of a so called needle electrode, this gives you the possibility to increase the working range compared to a normal needle electrode. An other possible design of this innovation would be one with a bevel on the outside, and a cavity or a hole in the centre, the vital thing for good function is the fact that an reasonably sharp edge is formed, resembling the edge of a hollow punch. To achieve maximal ionising power the edge should be sharp, but the sharpest edge will have the shortest lifespan, why a compromise should be considered. A hole through the body of the electrode, Fig 1, with threads, is one of many possible ways of mounting /attaching the electrode in its position, other possible ways of fixing the electrode in position may be riveting, soldering, welding, or a male thread. With or without a through bore the above mentioned ways of mounting can be applied. The electrode can be connected electrically by it's mounting device, for example a screw which also holds the electrode in position, other ways of connecting it electrically are a contact pin or a contact spring or through the mounting chassis where the electrode has been riveted or mounted on a thread or by a wire to the electrode. The design of this improved electrode makes it possible to have the lifespan prolonged and a greater active Corona field and a possibility to increase the power compared to the normal needle like electrodes. Description of the Drawing.

Drawing; Fig 1 (also called A628A10) shows a possible way of manufacturing this improved "Electrode for anti-static equipment". There are two views, a side view and a top view. Total number of drawings 1 pes.