EP0180689A1

EP0180689A1 - Improved hair-drier with inclined and revolving handle for professional and personal use

Info

Publication number: EP0180689A1
Application number: EP84830221A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Costa Giancarlo
Original assignee: OLIMPIC DI COSTA LORENZO AND C SNC
Current assignee: OLIMPIC DI COSTA LORENZO AND C SNC
Priority date: 1984-07-19
Filing date: 1984-07-19
Publication date: 1986-05-14

Abstract

57 The present invention relates to an improved type hair-drier (2) with slant and swing handle (4) which can be employed for professional as well as for personal use.

When employed for professional use, the haindle (4) is slanted in the rearward direction to provide a correct direction of the hair blow; by contrast, when employed for personal use, the handle is requested to be slanted in the forward direction, which provides the correct slope of the blowing body.

In the hair-drier of the present invention, the handle is formed by a small saddle-shaped base (3) which is an integral part of the central blowing body (2) of the appliance and a slant handle (4), pivoted under the base.

On the plane of the hangrip facing the saddle-shaped base, a semicircular groove (10) and a few hemispheric seats (12) are cutted to allow a rotation of 180° of the handle and its fastening in the different possible positions.

Description

The present patent relates to a hair-drier with a slant and swing handle which, because of the particular disposition and structure of its parts, can be employed for professional as well as for personal use.
The hair-drier is one of the most common appliances found in every home. In the past few years good quality hair-driers are found even in private houses, whereas before they were found only in places where they were used for professional work. As a consequence of this, the procud- tion of hair-driers has become highly standaridized. However, now that the power and the sturdiness of the hair-driers have become standard for private as well as for professional use, what is required from the appliance is to have a different handle or handgrip according to the different work situations. In the professional situation, in order to improve on its correct and less tiring regular use by an operator who is standing when drying hair of a seated person, the hair-drier's handle is advantageously slanted in the rearward dierction so that the air blows towards the hair. By contrast, in the personal use, the air from the hair-drier blows towards the head of the person who handles it with the arm. In this case, it has been found to be more convenient to have the hair-drier's handle slanted in the forward direction because, by holding it vertically, the air blows towards the hair. The available hair-driers either have a handle perpendicular to the blowing body, thus satisfying the requirement of both types of possible users, or they are built in two different types with the handle slanted in opposite directions. In the case, of course, there are the disadvantages of double production and inventory.
The present invention avoids the abovementioned drawbacks and limitations of the conventional appliance. In particular, the present invention provides a hair-drier with a handle that rotates around a pivot so that it can be used by the professional as well as by other persons. According to the present invention there is provided a hair-drier including a blowing body and handle which is adapted to axially rotate through an are of 180° and is slightly slanted relative to the perpendicular to the blowing body, so that is slants in the forward direction when the hair-drier is employed for personal use and in the rearward direction for professional use.
Thus, in the hair-drier of the present invention, the handle is formed by a small saddle-shaped base, which is an integral part of the central body of the appljance, and the handle per se slants and pivots under the base. In one embodiment of the present invention, on the plane of the handgrip facing the saddle-shaped base, a semicircular groove is cut in which a pin is engaged extending from the lower plane of such saddle-shaped base. Whenever the handle is turned for a rotation of up to 180°, the pin runs within the groove.
Moreover, on the plane of the saddle-shaped base facing the handle a few hemispheric seats are grooved along a nalf-circle where a small spiring-loaded sphere protruding from the plane of the handle itself during the rotation of the handle.
The present invention will be further illustrated by way of example which reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a hair-drier for professional use according to one embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the hair-drier of Fig. 1 for personal use;
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the hair-drier of Figs. 1 and 2; and
Fig. 4 is detailed view of the coupling between saddle-shaped base and handgrip un the hair-drier of Figs. 1 and 2.

The Figures show in its generality the hair-drier according to the invention, which comprises a central part represented by the blowing body 2, a saddle-shaped base 3 of the handle which is conventionally connected to body 2, and the handgrip 4 per se which is connected to base 3 by pivot 5. Pivot 5 has the functions of maintaining the sad- dla-shaped base 3 and handgrip 4 together and, at the same time, being the fulcrum for the hand-grip rotation. The connection between base 3 and handgrip 4 Must be sufficiently tight to give reliable use of the hair-drier and at the same time allow for a smooth rotation of the handle 4. This is achieved by the particular way pivot 5 is mounted onto the base and the handle. On base 3, pivot 5 is mounted from the top and held there by its head 5', whereas in the handle 4 it is held by a coaxial screw 8 which engages the pivot 5 in its hollow and internally threaded lower part. Screw 8 is provided with a washer that holds a spring 6 loaded against the plate 4' of the handgrip so that a force is present that keeps the two plates 3' and 4' in abutment. Pin 9 extending from plate 3', when this is in contact with plate 4', runs within groove 10 until, after a rotation of 180° one way or the other, it encounters walls 10' and 10" that act as a stop, thus avoiding entanglement of the wires 13, which cross the same groove 10, with the risk of breaking. During the rotation of the handgrip a spring-loaded sphere 11 extending out of plate 4' falls into a series of hemispheric seats 12 recessed in plate 3' and located on a semicircle.
In this way, one obtains a stable rotational positioning of the handgrip relative to the whole body of the hair-drier.

Claims

1.- A hair-drier including a blowing body and handle which is adapted to axially rotate through an arc of 180° and is slightly slanted relative to the perpendicular to the blowing body, so that it slants in the forward direction when the hair-drier is employed for personal use and in the rearward direction for professional use.

2.- A hair-drier according to claim 1, in which the handle comprises a saddle-shaped base which is an integral part of the blowing body and a slant handgrip pivoting over said base.

3.- A hair-drier according to claim 2, in which on an upper plate of the handgrip facing the saddle-shaped basr, a semicircular groove accomodates the end of a pin extending from a lower plate of the saddle-shaped base, said pin being arranged to move within the groove when the handle is rotated by up to 180°.

4.- A hair-drier according to claim 3, in which on the lower plate of the saddle-shaped base, a plurality of hemispherical seats sequentially disposed around a semicircle engage a spring-loaded sphere extending fromm the upper plate of the handle on rotation of the handle.