Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Chemical reactor – With means applying electromagnetic wave energy or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2001-08-21
Gorgos, Kathryn (Department: 1741)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Chemical reactor
With means applying electromagnetic wave energy or...
C204S297010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06277336
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a mountable contact element for a tube of an electrically nonconductive material, which has an encompassing external electrically conductive coating as its electrode.
2. Prior Art
In certain technical applications, the problem arises of establishing a mountable, mechanically stable and electrically very highly conductive, high-voltageproof contact means with an electrode that is mounted as an electrically conductive encompassing external coating on a tube of an electrically nonconductive material, especially glass or glass ceramic.
One such application is for instance in a tube ozonizer of the kind described in German Patent Disclosure DE 195 11 001 A1. The following demands are made of a contacting means for such externally coated glass cylinders that are used as ozone tubes:
high ozone resistance
high voltage strength
low transfer resistance between contact and glass tube despite great roughness of the conductive glass coating
contacting over the entire circumference of the cylinder in the contact region
firm mechanical seat on the glass tube
minimal external dimensions
assurance that neither the coating nor the glass can be damaged when the contact is being assembled
lowest possible expense for assembly and disassembly.
In other applications, comparable demands must be met. The aforementioned German patent disclosure does not show any constructively specific embodiment of a contact element that would meet the above demands.
In particular the demand for low transfer resistance precludes the conventional contacting means, such as contacts in the form of sleeves that surround the region to be contacted in jacket-like fashion.
One such contacting means has become known for instance from German Patent Disclosure DE 26 06 731 B2, which discloses a tubular ozone generator with an external electrode, preferably in the form of a metal foil on a glass tube. This external electrode is surrounded by an axially segmented outer jacket. The segments are held together by clamping devices, which press the external electrode onto the glass tube and also press the external jacket onto the external electrode. One pole of the high-voltage source is then connected to this outer jacket. It is impossible in principle to create a continuous areal contact between the outer jacket and the external electrode in this way.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to embody the mountable contact element defined at the outset in such a way that it meets the above demands in a application-specific way.
This object is attained according to the invention in that two axially spaced-apart contact rings with electrically conductive and mechanically stabilizing connection elements to the electrode are provided, which for at least one contact ring are embodied as peripherally encompassing contact brushes, and that the contact rings are connected to one another mechanically and electrically conductively via axially extending ribs that are carried to a common connection point.
The two axially spaced-apart contact rings joined together by ribs assure a firm mechanical seat on the externally coated tube, with minimal external dimensions. The contact brushes assure a low transfer resistance, despite the quasi-natural roughness of the conductive external coating, and also assure a high-voltage proof contacting over the entire circumference of the cylinder in the contact region. The contact element can be mounted on the coated tube and removed from it again, both at little effort or expense, and the construction assures that in the assembly/disassembly, neither the coating nor the tube itself can be damaged.
By a suitable choice of material, it can also be assured that the contact element has high resistance to ambient aggressive media, such as ozone.
In a preferred, advantageous feature of the invention, both contact rings are provided with peripherally encompassing contact brushes. However, it is fundamentally conceivable instead to embody only one contact ring as a brush ring, which primarily forms the electrical contact, and merely to provided solid guide elements on the second contact ring, which assure primarily a secure mechanical, or in other words “non-wobbling” hold on the coated tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,588 describes a tube ozonizer, which comprises a dielectric cylinder coaxial with and surrounded in spaced-apart fashion by a conductive cylindrical partition acting as an external electrode. The dielectric cylinder has a plurality of conductive regions on the inside acting as an internal electrode, to which a high voltage can be applied. The high voltage supply line comprises a rigid conductor, which is disposed in the center of the dielectric cylinder and has an external high-voltage contact and which in each case at the level of the internal conductive regions of the dielectric cylinder has brush contacts, extending radially in an arc of 360°, for transmitting the high voltage from the central conductor to the internal electrode.
Since in the known case the brush contacts are provided only for making contact in stationary fashion and are also embodied accordingly, they cannot provide any suggestion toward solving the technical problem on which the invention is based, namely of furnishing a mechanically stable and electrically very highly conductive, high-voltage proof, mountable contacting means to an electrode, which is applied in the form of an electrically conductive encompassing external coating onto a glass tube.
An especially favorable low transfer resistance and especially high resistance to aggressive media, especially ozone, can be attained according to a further feature of the invention if the contact rings, along with the contact brushes and the ribs, comprise steel having the designation ST 1.4571, and if in conjunction with this the bristles of the contact brushes have a diameter on the order of magnitude of 0.2 mm. The individual bristles, because of their slight diameter and their natural resilient properties, conform very well to a rough surface and therefore assure secure
A symmetrical contact pressure and thus also guide pressure is obtained, in accordance with a further feature of the invention, if three ribs, peripherally offset by 120° each, are provided, or in other words if a three-point support is achieved.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4650573 (1987-03-01), Nathanson
patent: 4877588 (1989-10-01), Ditzler et al.
patent: 5002739 (1991-03-01), Ditzler et al.
Guenther Siegfried
Henrich Peter
Riege Guenter
Gorgos Kathryn
Schott-Geraete GmbH
Striker Michael J.
Tran Thao
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