Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Processes and products – Electrostatic field or electrical discharge
Patent
1990-07-13
1992-03-17
Niebling, John
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Processes and products
Electrostatic field or electrical discharge
204130, 204265, 204266, 204295, 204292, 204293, 204228, 204231, 236 44A, 236 44E, C25B 102, C25B 104
Patent
active
050965492
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a dehumidifier which removes moisture from a moisture containing gas.
BACKGROUND ART
Moisture adsorbents such as silica gel and molecular sieves are generally used for removing moisture from gases. Silica gel is a gel of silicic acid having strong adsorptivity and composed of SiO.sub.2 .multidot.nH.sub.2 O. Silica gel is porous and in some cases has a surface area as large as 450 m.sup.2 per gram. The adsorptivity of silica gel depends upon the amount of water contained therein, and the more dehydrated it becomes, the greater its adsorptivity, so long as the gel structure is maintained. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the amounts of the water adsorbed by adsorbents in which the axis of ordinate represents adsorption and the axis of abscissa represents relative humidity. The adsorptivity of silica gel acts within a wider range than that with activated carbon and is superior to activated carbon with respect to such characteristics as incombustibilty and mechanical fastness.
Conventional moisture adsorbents have problems in that the corrosion of various types of adsorbents easily progresses in environments of high temperature and high humidity, and adsorbents such as silica gel have limited moisture adsorptivity and thus cannot remove moisture from a gas once they have reached the saturated adsorption state. In addition, fixed magnetic disk units which are conventionally installed in air-conditioned rooms exclusively used for such purposes have recently begun to be installed in more general environments, resulting in the need to remove with high reliability the moisture contained in these units.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A dehumidifier to which the present invention relates comprises a first electrode having first and second surfaces, the first surface thereof being in contact with a gas containing moisture and which produces protons from the moisture when a positive voltage is applied thereto, a proton conductive solid having first and second portions, the first portion connected to the second surface of the first electrode, which allows the protons to pass therethrough, and a second electrode having first and second surfaces, the first surface thereof being is connected to the second portion of the proton conductive solid and the second surface in contact with the air, the second electrode generating hydrogen or water from the protons passed through the proton conductive solid when a negative voltage is applied thereto.
In the dehumidifier of the present invention, when a given voltage is applied between the first positive electrode and the second negative electrode, electrolysis takes place at the first electrode to decompose water into oxygen and protons (hydrogen ions). The protons produced by the electrolysis pass through the proton conductive solid and reach to the second electrode where the hydrogen ions are changed to water or hydrogen molecules, whereby the moisture contained in the first electrode is removed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the dehumidifier of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of an arrangement in which the dehumidifier of the present invention is installed in a magnetic disk unit, and FIG. 3(b) is a sectional side view of the same;
FIG. 4(a) is a plan view of an arrangement in which the dehumidifier of the present invention is installed in a magnetic head, and FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c) are a front view and an enlarged view of a slider portion of the same, respectively;
FIG. 5 is a drawing of another arrangement in which the dehumidifier of the present invention is installed in a magnetic head;
FIG. 6 is a drawing of a further arrangement in which the dehumidifier of the present invention is installed in a magnetic head;
FIG. 7 is a graph showing the adsorption of moisture by adsorbents;
FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of th
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Hirooka Koichi
Mori Ken-ichi
Nagao Eiichi
Yamauchi Shiro
Gorgos Kathryn
Mitsubishi Denki & Kabushiki Kaisha
Niebling John
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