Patent attributes
An ionizer includes a high voltage AC generator, and a planar ion emitter mounted on an insulating substrate and having an array of planar needles that protrude from an edge of the substrate. The high voltage AC generator may be actuated by a switch having a pair of mutually insulated planar contacts located near an edge of the insulating substrate and configured to be contacted by an electrically conductive coil spring. The coil spring is supported by a slider that is moveable toward the ion emitter from an initial position wherein the planar contacts are shorted by the spring so as to actuate the high voltage AC generator. Continued movement of the spring collects dust in its coils while breaking the switch contacts and de-energizing the high voltage AC generator.
