Electrostatic gas filter

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED GAS FILTER ARRANGEMENT FOR REMOVING SMALL PARTICLES SUSPENDED IN A GASEOUS STREAM, SAID ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A GAS-PERVIOUS LOOSELY PACKED MASS OF FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS, SAID MASS COMPRISING A FIRST GROUP OF FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS, AT LEAST THE SURFACE PORTIONS OF WHICH ARE FORMED OF A GIVEN COMPOSITION, SAID FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS OF SAID FIRST GROUP EACH HAVING A HIGH NET NEGATIVE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE DENSITY, SAID MASS FURTHER COMPRISING A SECOND GROUP OF FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS, AT LEAST THE SURFACE PORTIONS OF WHICH ARE FORMED OF A COMPOSITION TRIBOELECTRICALLY DIFFERENT FROM SAID GIVEN COMPOSITION, SAID FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS OF SAID SECOND GROUP EACH HAVING A PREDOMINANT HIGH NET POSITIVE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE DENSITY, SAID FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS OF SAID GROUPS BEING THOROUGHLY INTIMATELY MIXED, INTERANGLED AND INTERENGAGED AT A NUMBER OF POINTS THROUGHOUT SAID MASS, SAID COMPOSITIONS EACH HAVING VERY HIGH ELECTRICAL SURFACE AND VOLUME RESISTIVITIES SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT SIGNIFICANT DISSIPATION OF THE CHARGES ON THE FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS, SAID FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS OF SAID MASS HAVING A PAIRED NET CHARGE DENSITY WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THE NET CHARGE DENSITY OF SAID ELEMENTS, SAID FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS OF SAID MASS HAVING SUFFICIENT RESISTANCE TO BENDING TO MAINTAIN SPACES BETWEEN SAID POINTS OF INTERENGAGEMENT AND BETWEEN SAID ELEMENTS OPEN AGAINST THE FORCES ACTING BETWEEN SAID ELEMENTS AND CAUSED BY THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGES, SAID FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS SO ARRANGED WITHIN SAID MASS WITH RESPECT TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHARGES OF SAID ELEMENTS THAT SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE OPEN SPACES IN THE MASS ARE SUBJECTED TO ELECTRICAL FIELD EFFECTS EXISTING BETWEEN SPACED CHARGED PORTIONS OF ADJACENT FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS, SAID ARRANGEMENT FURTHER COMPRISING MEANS IN OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION AND COOPERATION WITH SAID MASS OF FILAMENTARY ELEMENTS FOR PREVENTING GAS IONS IN A GASEOUS STREAM BEING FILTERED FROM REACHING SAID ELEMENTS AND REDUCING THE CHARGES THEREOF.