Method and apparatus for use in electronically enhanced air filtration

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I claim: 1.
A method for electronically enhancing the ability of a filter to remove airborne particulate, said method comprising the steps of: charging airborne particles to provide charged particles; creating a potential difference between an electrode pair that includes an insulated electrode and an uninsulated electrode separated by a filter; inducing a polarization state in said filter, in response to said creating step, wherein surfaces of said filter proximal to said insulated electrode have a dipole oppositely charged with respect to the charge of said charged particles, and wherein surfaces of said filter remote from said insulated electrode have a dipole of the same charge with respect to the charge of said charged particles; contacting said filter in said polarization state with an air flow that includes naturally charged particles to impart net charges provided by said naturally charged particles to said filter medium; and removing a portion of said net charges from said filter through contact between said filter and said charged particles.
2.
The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said naturally charged particles include positively charged particles and negatively charged particles, and said contacting step includes a step of separating a negative charge and a positive charge imparted to said filter by said naturally charged particles.
3.
The method as set forth in claim 2 including a step of draining one of said positive charge and said negative charge from said filter to said uninsulated electrode subsequent to said separating step.
4.
The method as set forth in claim 2 wherein said removing step serves to remove a trapped charge from filter surfaces proximal to said insulated electrode.
5.
The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said creating step includes said potential difference having a ratio greater than about 30:1 determined as potential difference in kilovolts to filter thickness in inches.
6.
The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said filter is a fibrous filter