EP1286607A1

EP1286607A1 - Catalytic gas combustion device for an appliance for personal use

Info

Publication number: EP1286607A1
Application number: EP01925428A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Peter Janouch; Peter Lange; Dieter Liebenthal; Silvia Kamalla; Heinz Kern; Peter Ruppert; Friedrich Henninger; Jürgen SENG
Original assignee: Braun GmbH
Current assignee: Braun GmbH
Priority date: 2000-06-03
Filing date: 2001-03-13
Publication date: 2003-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 2021-03-13
Also published as: ATE258756T1; KR20030004454A; JP2003534862A; KR100642097B1; US20030138750A1; CA2410312A1; CA2410312C; DE50101446D1; EP1286607B1; US6805552B2; AU2001252186A1; DE10027719A1; WO2001093719A1

Abstract

A catalytic gas combustion device for an appliance for personal use with a gas supply device and a catalyst connected to the gas supply device is disclosed. To ignite the gas/air mixture and therefore to initiate catalytic combustion at the catalyst, an ignition device which can be controlled by an ignition system is provided. The gas supply device has a bypass for branching off part of a gas stream which flows onto the ignition device. In this way, the ignition system is actuated even shortly after the gas valve device is opened, and the catalyst is brought to its operating temperature as a result of the explosion of the gas/air mixture.

Description

Catalytic gas combustion device for a device for personal use

The invention relates to a catalytic gas combustion device for a device for personal use, in particular a hair styling device, such as a hair curler or hairdryer, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such catalytic gas combustion devices are used in devices for personal use, which generate heat energy without gas using gas. Such a device is sold, for example, by the applicant itself under the name HS3 Plus as a "Braun Style Shaper". A catalytic gas combustion device according to the preamble of claim 1 is integrated in this hair styling device, in which the ignition device consists of a piezo igniter with two ignition electrodes arranged next to one another. These ignition electrodes are arranged in the chamber surrounding the catalyst.

In order to put the device into operation, the gas supply is first opened mechanically via a valve device arranged on the gas supply device. Gas, mixed with air, flows through the gas supply device and enters the space of the catalyst. Since the catalytic converter consists of a tubular sieve part, the gas-air mixture can also get into the chamber, where it is distributed and thus also flows around the ignition electrodes. Now the piezo igniter is ignited by hand and sparks jump from one to the other electrode, which cause the gas-air mixture in the chamber to ignite and thus initiate the catalytic combustion process on the catalytic converter. In order to initiate the ignition process, a certain time must elapse in this device before the gas-air mixture has reached the electrodes. Only then is it possible to cause the gas-air mixture to explode.

The object of the invention is to provide a catalytic gas combustion device for a domestic appliance, in particular gas curlers or hair dryers, in which shortly after opening the gas supply, the gas-air mixture can be made to explode by initiating the ignition process, so that catalytic combustion sets in quickly. This object is achieved by the characterizing features of claim 1. The bypass in the gas supply device branches off a partial flow from the main flow of the gas-air mixture and feeds it directly to the ignition electrode arranged in the vicinity of the bypass outlet, in order to cause the gas located there to explode after a very short time by actuating the ignition device. As a result, the air and gas mixture surrounding the catalytic converter and the air surrounding the catalytic converter suddenly burn and the catalytic converter thus reaches its operating temperature, which is required for perfect catalytic combustion. The ignition device can be of any nature. For example, a piezo ignition device, an electrical ignition device formed by a filament or a purely mechanical ignition device are conceivable. Another advantage is the very reliable ignition system, since the ignition process is reproducible due to the short gas path and the gas / air mixture flows quickly around the igniter, and ignition failures are avoided, and can be reproduced in the same way through the short gas path. The gas supply device is to be understood as those components of the gas combustion device which are connected to the gas valve for controlling the gas flow. It is also conceivable that a part of the catalyst into which the gas-air mixture flows can be provided with a bypass.

In order to optimize the flow conditions and at the same time to supply the ignition device with a sufficient amount of the gas-air mixture, the features of claim 2 are provided. The gas-permeable cover acts like a throttle valve so that a certain amount of the gas-air mixture reaches the ignition device safely and quickly via the bypass. The greater the gas permeability of the first cover, the more of the gas-air mixture is fed to the chamber of the catalyst and the less reaches the ignition device.

The features of patent claim 3 also limit the output of the bypass from a second gas-permeable cover, the permeability of which is chosen in coordination with the first cover so that sufficient gas-air mixture still reaches the ignition device via the bypass. This second cover also has the advantage that the gas explosion proceeding from the ignition device does not reach the catalytic converter via the bypass into the chamber of the catalytic converter, but only from the outside via the space surrounding the catalytic converter. According to the features of claim 4, the first and second cover consist of a metallic sieve, the passages of which allow a sufficient amount of the gas-air mixture to pass both to the catalyst and to the ignition device. The metallic screen of the second cover also serves as a type of gas flow limiter in order not to allow the ignition device to receive too much gas. The two covers also serve to improve the mixing of the gas-air mixture as it flows through the covers.

The features of claim 5 result in a particularly simple manufacture of the gas supply device connected to the catalytic converter and the cover, since this is easy to manufacture and simple to assemble.

The features of patent claim 6 also enable simple production of the bypass on the gas supply device, in that a slot is formed only on the side of the bore and is delimited at its opening by the second cover.

According to the features of claim 7, the one-piece design of the first and second cover as a cover part simplifies the manufacture, parts storage and assembly of the device considerably. This lowers the cost of the device.

The features of claim 8 allow a simple connection of the catalyst to the cover and the gas supply device, in that the cover is centered on the gas supply device and the catalyst is in turn centered on the cover. In this way, the catalyst can be firmly connected to the gas supply device, for example by means of a screw connection, adhesive bonding, plastic deformation or any other known fastening device.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and will be described in more detail below. Show it:

1 shows a partial longitudinal section through a gas-operated curling iron according to the cut YY according to FIG. 2, in which only the gas supply device connected to the catalyst, the warm air pipe and a base part are shown, 2 shows a section across the gas-operated curling iron according to the cut XX of FIG. 1,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the catalyst with its gas supply device and the attached electrodes and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cover part consisting of the first and second cover.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, the curling iron or hair curler 1, which is only partially shown, consists of a tube 3 provided with passages 2 distributed around the circumference, in the chamber 4 of which a tubular catalyst 5 consisting of a grid-shaped material is arranged. The heat-air-permeable tube 3 is pushed onto a centering pin 7 formed on a base 6 and centered there. The free end 8 of the tube 3 strikes an end face 9 formed on the base 6 and is fixedly connected to the base 6 in this position by means of actuating means (not shown in the drawing). The base 6 is preferably made of a plastic part molded from temperature-resistant plastic. The base 6 serves as a receptacle for an ignition device (not shown in the drawing), a valve device and a gas cartridge with a housing which is formed in a handle, as is the case with the device described at the beginning.

1 to 3, a centering mandrel 10 is formed on the base 6, on the outer surface 11 of which a gas supply device 12 is centered and fastened in a sealing manner. The gas supply device 12 is firmly connected to the base 6 by means of fastening means, not shown in the drawing. The gas supply device 12 essentially consists of a central tube 13, the bore 14 of which tapers from right to left up to a step 15, which ensures better flow and mixing ratios of the gas-air mixture. From stage 15, the bore 14 then runs with a constant diameter to the free end 16 of the central tube 13 on the outlet side.

At the outlet-side free end 16 of the gas supply device 12, three arms 17, 18, 19 are formed, in particular according to FIGS. 2 and 3, which have at their front end a stop surface 20 at the same height (FIG. 3). On the stop surface 20 there is an annular collar 21 which extends vertically away from the tubular catalyst 5 and which has radially protruding fastening arms 22, 23, 24 in the region of the arms 17, 18, 19. The fastening arms 22, 23, 24 are provided with holes 25, 26, 27, which are penetrated by pins 28, 29, 30 protruding from the arms 17, 18, 19. In this way, the catalyst 5 is centered on the gas supply device 12 and kept stationary. The attachment of the catalyst 5 on the gas supply device 12 takes place in that the pins 28, 29, 30, after they have penetrated the holes 25, 26, 27 according to Figures 1 to 3, are mechanically deformed such that they are similar to a rivet Establish positive connection. In the drawing, the condition is shown shortly before the deformation. In order to make the deformation easier, the ends of the pins 28, 29, 30 are provided with inclined surfaces 63, 64, 65.

According to FIG. 1, a cap 33 is inserted into the bore 32 of the free end 31 of the catalytic converter 5, which cap consists of the same sieve material as the catalytic converter 5. At the free end 31 of the catalytic converter 5, fine wire hairs 34 protrude, which due to their ignition process Small mass serve as a starting aid and so bring the catalyst 5 itself to its annealing temperature in a simple and quick manner. 2, the tube 3 is essentially oval in cross section and has a curved wall 35 which extends from the inner wall 66 inwards to near the catalyst 5 and which partially covers a thermostat 36 which partially protects the catalyst 5 against heat radiation , The thermostat 36 and the wall 35 run in the longitudinal direction and parallel to the catalytic converter 5.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, a sheet metal strip 37 provided with bends 67, 68 runs from the right, one section 69 of which extends to the level of the arms 17, 18, 19 and ends there at an angle with an arrowhead 38. At a short distance, a laterally arranged pin 39 with a small diameter protrudes from the gas supply device 12. The pin 39 forms with the arrowhead 38 the ignition electrodes of the ignition device, via which one or more sparks flash over to the pin 39 when, for example, a sufficiently high voltage is applied to the metal strip 37. The sheet metal strip 37 is, of course, insulated from the gas supply device 12 and the housing parts of the curling iron 1 by means of insulating means (not shown). A bypass 40 is formed on the cylindrical section of the bore 14 in the gas supply device 12 and is bounded on the outside by a second cover 41 consisting of a wire mesh. The second cover 41, as clearly shown in FIG. 4 in particular, describes part of a hollow cylinder cutout; the surface of the outlet opening of the bypass 40 runs parallel to it, so it is equally curved. The bypass 40 has an inlet opening 42 and the outlet opening 43, the outlet opening 43 adjoining the second cover 41. A brim 44 which runs transversely to the second cover 41 and forms the cutout of an annular disk runs laterally away from the edge 45, 46 in accordance with FIG. 4, the central axis 70 of the brim 44 simultaneously being the central axis 70 of the second cover 41. A cup-shaped first cover 47 adjoins the brim 44.

The first cover 47 with its brim 44 essentially forms a structure 62 with a hat with an edge, but the brim 44 is cut at two points 48, 49 and this part, which forms the second cover 41, is perpendicular to the brim 44 downwards bent over the bending line 50 and thus forms a flap 61. In the not yet angled state, however, the second cover 41, which is essentially rectangular in cross section, already protrudes radially outwards at the edge 51 of the brim 44, in order to later in the bent state to cover the entire cross section of the outlet opening 43. However, it is also quite conceivable that only a part of the second cover 41 covers the area of the outlet opening 43, even if enough gas-air mixture reaches the electrodes 38, 39 and thereby also a sufficient amount of gas-air mixture before the ignition process in the Space 52 and from there flows into the chamber 4 via the gas-permeable openings 53 of the catalyst 5.

At this point it should also be mentioned that in FIG. 3 a cutout 54 was made on the surface of the catalyst 5 on an enlarged scale to show that the wall of the catalyst 5 is provided with many small openings 53, for example as a wire mesh, through which the gas-air mixture can enter the chamber 4 before the ignition process. The same applies to the first and second covers 47, 41, which are combined to form a single cover part 55 and in which the material is also lattice-shaped with small passages 56. The cover part 55 is a stamped, bent and embossed part, preferably made of fine wire mesh. The first cover 47 has a cylindrical section 57, which is centered on the outer diameter 58 of the free end 16 of the gas supply device 12. The disc-shaped section 59 adjoining the cylindrical section 57 completely covers the inlet opening 60 of the catalyst 5 in this area and the bore 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Since the inlet opening 60 of the catalyst 5 is larger than the outer diameter of the free end 16 of the central tube 13, an annular Einzw. Outlet opening 71, through which the gas-air mixture can also enter or leave the space 52 of the catalyst 5.

The mode of operation of the catalytic gas combustion device for a curling iron or hair curler 1 is as follows:

First, a gas valve, not shown in the drawing, is opened via a valve actuating element (not shown) that is rotatably or displaceably arranged on the base 6. Gas flows through the valve device through the valve device (not shown in the drawing), mixes with air and then reaches the bore 14 of the gas supply device 12 via a channel (not shown) formed in the base 6 in the drawing and is accelerated there (conically tapering bore section 14 serves as a Venturi nozzle). The gas-air mixture now flows on the one hand through the disc-shaped section 59 into the space 52 of the catalytic converter 5 and on the other hand also via the inlet opening 42 into the bypass 40 to the outlet opening 43 and from there into the chamber 4 surrounding the outer surface of the catalytic converter 5 of the ignition electrodes 39, 40 are adjacent to the bypass 40, the gas-air mixture flows around them immediately after leaving the gas-air mixture from the outlet end 16 of the bore 14. At the same time, the gas-air mixture located in the space 52 passes through the openings 53 of the catalyst 5 into the chamber 4, is distributed there and therefore also flows in the direction of the ignition electrodes 38, 39.

Just a few seconds after opening the gas valve device, an actuation button attached laterally to the base 6 in the drawing can be actuated in order to actuate an ignition system, not shown in the drawing. As a result, high tension is applied to the sheet metal strip 37 and thus also to the arrowhead 38. Due to the voltage difference from the arrowhead 38 to the pin 39 on the housing side and connected to the earth, sparks (not shown) jump over from the arrowhead 38 to the pin 39, through which the gas-air mixture located in the vicinity of the ignition electrodes 38, 39 is immediately detonated.

The explosion wave now proceeds from the ignition electrodes 38, 39 up to the wire hairs 34, which are immediately made to glow due to their low mass. From there, the annealing process continues over the edge of the free end 31 of the catalyst 5 until the entire catalyst 5 glows. The catalytic combustion has started and the combustion gases emitted by the combustion flow in the chamber 4 and ultimately emerge as a still hot gas from the passages 2 of the tube 3 to the outside. The tube 3 heats up and after a short time the curling iron 1 is ready for operation, ie hair can be placed around the outer surface of the tube 3, which can then be heated or even additionally moistened by means of an evaporator device (not shown) integrated in the curling iron to be able to quickly form durable curls in the strands of hair.

The gas-air permeability of the first and second covers 47, 41 is dimensioned such that a sufficiently large amount of gas-air mixture reaches the ignition electrodes 38, 39 in a particularly short time. At the same time, a sufficient amount of gas-air reaches space 52 of catalyst 5. This ratio of the gas-air mixture distribution must be well coordinated in order to accelerate the time of the explosion process on the one hand and to improve it in general and on the other hand in spite of the bypass 40 also to cause sufficient catalytic combustion in the catalyst 5. The gas-air mixture flowing through the bypass during operation then additionally supplies the chamber 4 with fuel in order to obtain a particularly uniform catalytic combustion also on the outer surface of the catalyst 5.

After the hair of an operator has been treated by the curling iron 1, the gas valve can be closed again and the catalytic combustion is ended, i.e. the curling iron 1, but especially the tube 3, cool down again. The Lokkenstab 1 can be put aside. At this point it should also be mentioned that an end cap (not shown) is present on the left free end of the tube 3. However, this can also be replaced by an evaporator device (not shown).

Claims

claims:

1.Catalytic gas combustion device for a device of personal need, in particular hair styling device, such as a curling iron (1) or hair dryer, with a gas supply device (12) and a catalyst (5) connected to the gas supply device (12) and with an ignition device which can be controlled by an ignition system ( 38, 39), which serves to ignite the gas-air mixture and thus to initiate catalytic combustion on the catalytic converter (5), characterized in that the gas supply device (12) has a bypass (40) for branching off a partial gas flow which ignites the ignition device ( 38, 39) flows.

2. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claim 1, characterized in that a first gas-permeable cover (47) is formed in the gas supply device (12) behind the bypass (40).

3. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claim 1, characterized in that a second gas-permeable cover (41) is formed in the bypass (40).

4. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the first (47) and second (41) cover consist of a metallic sieve.

5. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the gas supply device (12) consists of a tubular housing body with a gas mixture conducting bore (14), that the catalyst (5) further consists of a pot-shaped sieve body with an inlet opening ( 60), that the inlet opening (60) is connected to the outlet end (16) of the bore (14) and that at the transition from the outlet end (16) of the bore (14) to the inlet opening (60) the gas-permeable first cover ( 47) is formed.

6. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claim 5, characterized in that a slot is formed at the outlet end (16) of the bore (14) of the gas supply device (12) as a bypass (40) and that the slot from the outside with the second cover (41) is covered.

7. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claim 5 and 6, characterized in that the first (47) and second (41) cover consist of a single cover part (55), that the first cover (47) consists of a cross-sectionally pot-shaped structure ( 62), with a subsequent annular brim (44) and that the second cover (41) consists of a tab (61) angled on the brim (44).

8. Catalytic gas combustion device according to claim 7, characterized in that in the inlet opening (60) of the catalyst (5) a cup-shaped structure (62) of the first cover (47) of the cover part (55) centers and that the cover part (55) so is positioned on the gas supply device (12) that at the same time the tab (61) largely covers the slot (40) from the outside and that in this position the catalyst (5) is fastened (12) to the gas supply device.