CN213215774U

CN213215774U - Hair care appliance

Info

Publication number: CN213215774U
Application number: CN202020032126.8U
Authority: CN
Inventors: A.F.阿特金森; D.J.汤普森
Original assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-11
Filing date: 2020-01-08
Publication date: 2021-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 2030-01-08
Also published as: GB201900392D0; CN111434267A; GB2580416B; GB2580416A

Abstract

A hair care appliance is disclosed comprising a control switch and a user operated button adapted to engage with the control switch, wherein the control switch controls two different functions and each of the two functions is selected by a different interaction between a user and the user operated button. The two different functions include a first function selected through a first interaction and a second function selected through a second interaction. The first function may be selected by a user activating a user operated button. The second function may be selected by the user activating and holding the user operated button.

Description

Hair care appliance

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a hair care utensil especially relates to a hair-dryer.

Background

Conventionally, a hair dryer has a housing and a handle, wherein the housing accommodates components such as a filter, a fan unit, and a heater. Fluid flow through the blower may be controlled through a user interface to provide different combinations of heat and fluid flow out of the blower. With the heater powered off, it is also common to provide a cooling function while the button is depressed, which can quickly cool the hair and thereby set it. Alternatively, cold shots are formed as one of a series of thermal functions that are achieved by cycling through the thermal settings until one of the thermal functions is reached.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a hair care appliance, it includes control switch and be suitable for with the user operation button of control switch joint, wherein, two different functions of control switch control to select through the different interactions between user and the user operation button each of two functions.

According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a hair care appliance having a user interface comprising at least one user operated button, wherein the button has two functions, a first function comprising enabling a user to cycle between a plurality of control settings, and a second function providing cold shot.

The control settings include both mode and personal settings. The mode is that the manufacturer specifies the temperature and flow rate for a specific purpose; for example, a wet mode for wet hair or a dry mode for styling dry hair. Personal settings include temperature and flow rate.

Preferably, the control is arranged for temperature. There are typically two to four temperature settings, one of which may be unheated.

Preferably, the two different functions include a first function selected by a first interaction and a second function selected by a second interaction.

In a preferred embodiment, the first function is selected by the user activating a user operated button. Activation occurs by, for example, pressing or sliding a user operated button.

Preferably, the second function is selected by the user activating and holding the user operated button. The activation may also be a press or slide action. Both the first function and the second function may be activated by pressing, pushing, sliding or a combination of two of these actions.

Preferably, the length of time a user interacts with the user operated button is used to identify different interactions.

In a preferred embodiment, the appliance further comprises a controller comprising a timer and a memory, wherein the memory stores a threshold value, whereby the threshold value is used to distinguish between different interactions with the user operated buttons.

Preferably, the threshold is a predetermined time value. In a preferred embodiment, the threshold is at least twice the nominal activation of the user operated button. More preferably it is at least four times the nominal activation of the user operated button. This avoids the opportunity to accidentally interpret the first interaction as the second interaction and cause an expected change in, for example, temperature setting to cause a cold shot.

Preferably, the second function is activated until the user operated button is deactivated. Typically, this is achieved by the user releasing a user operated button.

Preferably, the memory additionally stores current control settings. Thus, when the user operated button is deactivated, the control setting will be reset to the previous level.

The current control settings may be set in a non-volatile memory within the controller and the current control settings may be set in an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM).

In one embodiment, the appliance further comprises a further control switch activated by a further user operated button. Preferably, the further control switch is a cold fire switch. Typically, the further control switch is located in a different region of the appliance. This function enables the user to select which button to use depending on convenience and the position of the user's hand relative to each button.

In a preferred embodiment, the appliance is a hair dryer.

Preferably, the appliance is a heat-set brush.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method for controlling a heater, comprising: starting a timer in the controller in response to activation of a user operated button; the time the button is activated is compared to a threshold value, and if the button is activated for at least the threshold value, the power to the heater is turned off.

Preferably, the power supply to the heater is turned off by opening a switch.

In a preferred embodiment, the power is turned off until the button is deactivated.

Preferably, the heater is turned on when the button is deactivated.

In a preferred embodiment, the heater has at least two heat settings and when the heater is turned on, the heater reverts to the last used setting.

Preferably, the thermal setting is changed if the button is activated for less than a threshold.

In a preferred embodiment, the heater is in a hair care appliance.

Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a side view of a hair dryer;

figure 2 shows a cross-section of the blower of figure 1;

figure 3 shows an end view of the blower of figure 1;

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing components of the heater system;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of the steps of controlling a heater; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the steps for controlling a heater.

Detailed Description

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show a hair dryer 10 having a handle 20 and a body 30. The handle has a first end 22 connected to the body 30 and a second end 24 remote from the body 30, the second end 24 including a primary fluid inlet 40. Power is supplied to the hair dryer 10 via the cable 50. At the distal end of the cable 50 relative to the blower 10, a battery pack or plug (not shown) is provided which may provide an electrical connection to a mains power supply.

The handle 20 has an outer wall 200, the outer wall 200 extending from the body 30 toward the distal end 24 of the handle. Within the outer wall 200 and downstream of the primary fluid inlet 40, a fan unit 70 is provided. The fan unit 70 includes a fan and a motor. The fan unit 70 draws fluid through the primary fluid inlet 40 towards the main body 30 via a primary fluid flow path 400 extending from the primary fluid inlet 40 and into the main body 30, wherein the handle 20 and the main body 30 are joined 90. The main body 30 has a first end 32 and a second end 34, and the primary fluid flow path 400 continues through the main body 30 around the heater 80 towards the second end 34 of the main body and to a primary fluid outlet 440 where fluid drawn by the fan unit exits the primary fluid flow path 400. The primary fluid flow path 400 is non-linear and flows in a first direction through the handle 20 and in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction through the body 30.

The body 30 includes an outer wall 360 and an inner conduit 310. The primary fluid flow path 400 extends along the body from the junction 90 of the handle 20 and the body 30 between the outer wall 360 and the inner conduit 310 toward the primary fluid outlet 440 at the second end 34 of the body 30.

In this example, another fluid flow path 300 is provided within the body 30; however, this airflow is not directly handled by the fan unit 70 or heater 80, but is drawn into the blower 10 by the action of the fan unit which generates the primary airflow through the blower. This fluid flow is carried into the blower by the fluid flowing through the primary fluid flow path 400. This second fluid flow path is not necessary to the present invention.

The first end 32 of the body includes a fluid inlet 320 and the second end 34 of the body includes a fluid outlet 340. The fluid inlet 320 and the fluid outlet 340 are each at least partially defined by an inner conduit 310, the inner conduit 310 being an inner wall of the body 30 and extending within and along the body. The fluid flow path 300 extends within the inner conduit 310 from a fluid inlet 320 to a fluid outlet 340. At the first end 32 of the body 30, a sidewall 350 extends between the outer wall 360 and the inner conduit 310. The sidewall 350 at least partially defines the fluid inlet 320. The primary fluid outlet 440 is annular and surrounds the fluid flow path 300.

A PCB 75 is provided that includes control electronics for the blower. In this example, the PCB 75 is located in the body 30 proximate the sidewall 350 and the fluid inlet 320, but this is not required. The PCB 75 is annular and extends around the inner conduit 310 between the inner conduit 310 and the outer wall 360. The PCB 75 extends around the fluid flow path 300 and is isolated from the fluid flow path 300 by the inner conduit 310.

The PCB 75 controls parameters such as the temperature of the heater 80 and the rotational speed of the fan unit 70. Internal wiring (not shown) electrically connects the PCB 75 to the heater 80 as well as the fan unit 70 and the cable 50. Two user operated

buttons

60, 62 are provided and connected to the PCB 75 to enable a user to select from a range of temperature settings by a first user operated button 60 and to select a flow rate by a second user operated button 62. Additionally, a user operated on/off button 64 and a further user operated button 66 are provided, and in this example the further user operated button 66 provides a second cold fire function.

In use, fluid is drawn into the primary fluid flow path 400 by the action of the fan unit 70, optionally heated by the heater 80, and exits from the primary fluid outlet 440. The treated gas flow causes fluid to be entrained into the fluid flow path 300 at the fluid inlet 320. The fluid is combined with the treated gas stream at the second end 34 of the body. In the example shown in fig. 3, the treated air exits the primary fluid outlet 440 and the blower as an annular air stream that surrounds the entrained flow exiting the blower via the fluid outlet 340. Thus, the fluid handled by the fan unit and the heater is increased by the entrained flow.

Referring now to fig. 4, the PCB 75 houses a microcontroller 100, the microcontroller 100 including a processor 110, a memory device 120, and a plurality of peripheral devices 130 (e.g., ADCs, comparators, timers 132, etc.). Storage device 120 stores software instructions that are executed by processor 110. Storage device 120 may also include an EEPROM memory area in which flags may be set and cleared.

The power supply 240 enters the blower 10 via the cable 50 and is routed to the PCB 75. Each of the user operated

buttons

60, 62, 64 and 66 cooperates with a switch 106 (one switch shown for clarity) connected to the PCB 75. User interaction with the user operated

buttons

60, 62, 64, 66 results in a change of state of the switch 106, which is detected by the microcontroller 108 on the PCB 75, and this causes a change of state. For example, user interaction with the first user operated button 60 results in a change in the power supplied to the heater 80, which results in a decrease or increase in the temperature of the fluid exiting the blower 10; user interaction by the user via the second user operated button 62 results in a change in the power supplied to the fan unit 70, which results in an increase or decrease in the amount of fluid exiting the blower 10; user interaction with the on/off button 64 causes the blower to turn off or on; and user interaction with another user operated button 66 turns on the power to the heater 80 to provide a second cold shot function.

The system may identify the requirements of the user in a number of different ways. One way is to use the processor 110 of the microcontroller 100 directly and the other way is to use the peripherals 130 connected to the microcontroller 100, the skilled person will appreciate that there are many alternatives, but two versions will be described here.

Referring now to fig. 5, in one approach, the peripheral device 130 includes a timer 132. When the button is activated, for example by being pressed 134, a timer is started 136. To detect when a button is pressed, there is an initial software delay so that any bounce of the switch is not mistaken for a user interaction. If the first threshold is not reached, the timer is reset to zero 140.

When the first threshold is reached 138, the button is considered to have been activated by the user. At this point, the current settings may be stored 142 in the storage device 120. The first threshold 138 indicates a press or push of a button and is set to approximately 100 ms. Values less than this are considered bounce events. The first threshold may be higher, for example up to 250 ms.

A second threshold is preset and indicates that the user keeps the button pressed, which is thus a different interaction between the user and the button compared to the first threshold. In this example, the second threshold is approximately 650 ms. This is longer than the time that the button is pressed (approximately 200-.

If the button is released before the second threshold is reached, the control settings 144 are changed and the timer is reset 146 to zero. The control settings are altered by changing the power provided to the appliance, heater and/or fan unit.

If the second threshold 148 is reached, the heater is turned off 150 until the button is deactivated 152, providing a cold shot function. When the button is deactivated 152, the heater is switched back on 154, and if the current settings are stored 142, the heater may be set to the heat level before the cold shot function is activated. The timer is reset to zero 156. The heater is turned off by opening the switch of the power circuit of the heater 80.

The first and second thresholds may be measured by the same timer, or a separate timer may be used for the second threshold, which separate timer may be activated together with the timer, or activated once the first threshold is reached.

In a second method, shown in fig. 6, the processor 110 checks the state of the switch 106 at regular time intervals and marks the change of state in the memory 120. In this example, the regular interval is typically set to 50ms, since multiples of this value represent the bounce event, the first interaction (press) and the second interaction (hold). Different regular intervals may be more appropriate for different systems.

The processor 110 checks the state 160 of the switch 106 at a count of 50 milliseconds to see if the button has been activated 162. If not, the counter is turned back on 164 and the processor 110 rechecks the state 160 every 50ms until the button is activated and the flag 166 is set in the memory 120. In addition, a counter point 168 is maintained. After another 50ms, the processor will recheck the state 170, remove the flag 172 and restart the counter 164 if the switch 106 indicates that the button is not activated. If the processor re-checks the state 170 and if the switch 106 indicates that the button is still active, the flag state is unchanged and the counter point is incremented by one 174. At this point, the bounce threshold has been passed and a first interaction by the user with the switch 106 has occurred.

When the processor rechecks the status 176, if the switch 106 indicates that the button is not activated, the control settings 178 are changed, the flag 172 is removed, and the counter 164 is restarted.

The processor rechecks the state until the counter point reaches 5 or 250ms, and any number of points between 2 and 4, the control settings will change 178, which is considered a different interaction between the user and the button, i.e. hold, rather than press once the counter reaches 5. At this point, the heater is turned off 180 because the cold shot is considered to be activated. Cold shot is activated until the button 184 is deactivated. The processor continues to recheck state 182 every 50ms, only if button 184 is deactivated, the heater is turned on 186, flag 172 is removed, and the counter is turned back on 164.

While the number of points for different interactions between the user and the button is set to 5, those skilled in the art will appreciate that different numbers of points can be readily used. In addition, if different counts are used between status checks, different numbers of points will be appropriate.

The present invention has been described in detail with respect to a hair dryer, however, the present invention is applicable to any appliance that draws fluid and directs the fluid out of the appliance.

The fluid flowing through the appliance is typically air, but may be a different combination of one or more gases, and may include additives to improve the performance of the appliance or the effect of the appliance on the subject to which the output is directed, e.g., hair and styling of the hair.

The present invention is not limited to the detailed description given above. Variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A hair care appliance comprising a control switch and a user operated button adapted to engage with the control switch, wherein the control switch controls two different functions and each of the two functions is selected by different interactions between a user and the user operated button.

2. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the two different functions comprise a first function selected through a first interaction and a second function selected through a second interaction.

3. The appliance of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first function is selected by a user activating the user operated button.

4. The appliance of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second function is selected by a user activating and holding the user operated button.

5. The appliance of claim 1 or 2, wherein the length of time a user interacts with the user operated button is used to identify different interactions.

6. The appliance of claim 2, wherein the second function is activated until the user operated button is deactivated.

7. The appliance of claim 1 or 2, wherein the appliance is a hair dryer.

8. The appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the appliance is a heat-set brush.

9. A hair care appliance comprising a control switch and a user operated button adapted to engage with the control switch, wherein the control switch controls two different functions and each of the two functions is selected by different interactions between a user and the user operated button, the two different functions comprising a first function selected by a first interaction and a second function selected by a second interaction, the first function being selected by user activation of the user operated button, the second function being selected by user activation and retention of the user operated button, the different interactions being identified using the length of time the user interacts with the user operated button.