Patent ID: 7608135

Claim:
An air filter, comprising: nonconductive dielectric material formed into spaced-apart parallel pleats cooperating to form a broad pleated body having opposed upstream and downstream faces and a shape; spaced-apart parallel pleat spaces formed by and between the spaced-apart parallel pleats; an electrode, to receive and impart a potential across the broad pleated body, comprising a flat conductive screen, defining an array of openings, adhered to, covering, and in full contact with the downstream face of the broad pleated body; a plurality of spaced-apart, non-conductive spacer elements applied to the filter in a direction toward the electrode to maintain the shape of the broad pleated body by preventing the pleats from collapsing into the pleat spaces in response to an air stream passing through the pleated body from the upstream face to the downstream face; and the spacer elements each comprising an elongate body applied exteriorly against the electrode, and a plurality of spaced-apart fingers extending in a parallel row from the elongate body each extending through one of the openings of the electrode and into one of the pleat spaces.