Continuous-duty brush polarizer

Claim 1

Improved apparatus for regulating electrostatic charges on charge-retaining materials, comprising: a common electrical conductor; means for establishing an electrically conductive reference surface; a multiplicity of electrically conductive elongated bristles supported over said reference surface with one end of said bristle being in an electrically coupled relation to said common conductor, said bristles extending from their said one end toward said reference surface with the free ends of said bristles being adjacent said reference surface; a DC power source connected between said common electrical conductor and said reference surface, the potential of said power source having a predetermined magnitude and polarity for establishing an electric field that will adjust the electrostatic charge to the desired charge level on charge-retaining material passed between said free bristle ends and said reference surface; and means for limiting the electrical current available to said bristles from said power supply to less than a magnitude that will cause a deformation of a free end of said bristles when the said free end comes in contact with conductive material electrically coupled to said reference surface.