Patent ID: 8498548

Claim:
A blower comprising: a fan that blows air; and an air duct having a passage formed therein, the air duct guiding the air blown by the fan to a corona discharger and blowing the air onto the corona discharger, the corona discharger including a discharge wire stretched therein, the air duct including an increasing-width portion in which a passage width gradually increases downstream in an air flow direction, the passage width being a dimension of the passage along a direction in which the discharge wire is stretched, a decreasing-height portion in which a passage height gradually decreases downstream in the air flow direction, the passage height being a distance between a top and a bottom of the passage, the decreasing height portion being included in a region of the increasing-width portion or included in a region including the increasing-width portion, an extension portion extending from a downstream end of the decreasing-height portion to a position near the corona discharger, the passage height of the passage throughout the extension portion being the same as the passage height at the downstream end of the decreasing height portion, a bent portion that is bent from a downstream end of the extension portion toward the corona discharger so as to be connected to the corona discharger, an opening formed at a downstream end of the bent portion in the air flow direction, the opening having a width at least corresponding to an effective length of the discharge wire, and a plate-shaped member disposed in the passage at a position on an inner wall of any of the decreasing-height portion and the extension portion, the inner wall being on the corona discharger side, the plate-shaped member extending over the entire passage width.