Electrostatic air cleaning apparatus

Claim 1

An electrostatic air cleaner comprising a casing having an inlet and an outlet enabling air to be treated by the cleaner to flow through the casing, said casing serving as an enclosure for certain of the parts of the cleaner, an ionizer including a supporting frame having opposed sides and opposed ends arranged within the casing, a collector assembly including a supporting frame having opposed sides and opposed ends arranged within the casing in spaced relation to the ionizer, spaced screen members defining an electrostatic field therebetween, a pad of fibrous material interposed in the space between the screens, means associated with the frame for receiving an electrical charge and imposing same on one of said screens, electrical power supply means including a transformer, electrical conducting means for transmitting electrical energy from the transformer to the collector assembly and the ionizer, said ionizer further including a plurality of spaced structural members having a pair of relatively flat parallel surfaces connected by a flat surface confronting the path of air flow into the casing so as to define a plurality of spaced air passages, the structural members being dimensioned so that air flow through the ionizer is restricted to a range between 45 percent and 85 percent of the total face area of the ionizer, means connecting the structural members to the frame, a plurality of wires, one of which is arranged in each of the ionizer air flow passages, electrical conducting means disposed within the ionizer frame in mechanical and electrical engagement with the wires, electrical post means mounted on the frame for connecting the ionizer electrical conducting means to the electrical power supply means through the electrical conducting means associated with the electrical power supply means.