Self-decontaminating electrostatic precipitator structures

Claim 1

AN ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR FOR CLEANING CONTAMINATED GAS, SAID PRECIPITATOR COMPRISING: (A) A COLLECTOR ASSEMBLY INCLUDING CONCENTRICALLY ARRANGED INNER AND OUTER COLLECTOR ELECTRODE TUBES DEFINING AN ANNULAR GAS CHANNEL, (B) MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID ASSEMBLY TO DRAW SAID CONTAMINATED GAS THROUGH SAID CHANNEL AND TO DISCHARGE THE RESLTING CLEAN GAS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, (C) AN ANNULAR FLUID DISTRIBUTOR MOUNTED ABOVE AND SECURED TO SAID OUTER TUBE TO FLOW A LIQUID FILM DOWN THE INSIDE SURFACE THEREOF, (D) MEANS MOUNTED ABOVE AND SECURED TO SAID INNER TUBE TO FLOW A LIQUID FILM DOWN THE OUTSIDE SURFACE THEREOF, (E) A DISCHARGE ELECTRODE STRUCTURE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID INNER AND OUTER TUBES WITHIN SAID ANNULAR CHANNEL AND CONNECTABLE TO A HIGH-VOLTAGE SOURCE TO ESTABLISH AN ELECTROTATIC FIELD RELATIVE TO SAID TUBES TO CAUSE MIGRATION OF PARTICLES IN SAID GAS TOWARD SAID FILMS THEREON, (F) AN ENCLOSED CASING SURROUNDING SAID ASSEMBLY AND SPACED FROM SAID OUTER TUBE, (G) A DECK DISPOSED PERPENDICULARLY TO SAID CASING AND IN PARALLEL RELATION TO THE SURFACE OF SAID FLUID DISTRIBUTOR TO DIVIDE SAID CASING INTO AN UPPER REGION COMMUNICATING WITH SAID CHANNEL AND A LOWER REGION WHICH IS DEFINED BY THE ANNULAR AIR SPACE BETWEEN SAID CASING AND THE OUTER TUBE, SAID DECK HAVING APERTURES THEREIN PROVIDING AIR PASSAGES BETWEEN SAID UPPER AN DLOWER REGIONS, (H) A FILTER MOUNTED ON SAID CASING TO EFFECT FLUID COMMUNICATON BETWEEN THE ATMOSPHERE AND SAID LOWER REGION, AND (I) MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID DECK IN SAID UPPER REGION TO DIRECT AIR CURRENTS EMITTED FROM SAID APERTURES AND DERIVED FROM AIR DRAWN FROM THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH SAID FILTER AS A RESULT OF A PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL CREATED WHEN GAS IS DRAWN THROUGH SAID CHANNEL, ONTO THE SURFACE OF SAID DISTRIBUTOR TO SCAVENGE PARTICLES THEREFROM.