GB1595795A

GB1595795A - Hairdryers

Info

Publication number: GB1595795A
Application number: GB522577A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Firth Cleveland Ltd
Current assignee: Firth Cleveland Ltd
Priority date: 1978-05-02
Filing date: 1978-05-02
Publication date: 1981-08-19

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO HAIRDRYERS (71) We, FIRTH CLEVELAND LIMITED, a British company of GKN House, 22, Kingsway, London, WC2B 6LG, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to hairdryers and in particular to hand-held hairdryers.

According to one aspect of the present invention a hand-held hairdryer com prises : - a) an electric fan heater unit having a discharge outlet for a stream of drying air; and b) a handle for the fan heater unit, the handle having a gripping portion which has at least two operative positions in which a user can direct a stream of drying air in a drying operation, the gripping portion in one of said operative positions being located transverse to the discharge outlet and in the other operative position the gripping portion is located remote from and co-axial with the stream of drying air from the discharge outlet during the drying operation.

Preferably the fan of the fan heater unit is of the axial flow type, and it is preferred that the fan heater unit has only one discharge outlet.

In one form of hairdryer according to the invention the electric fan heater unit has a casing formed generally symmetrically about a central axis which also defines the general direction of flow of a stream of drying air at a discharge outlet of the fan heater unit.

It is preferred that the handle is attached to the heater unit in such a way that it can be pivoted between the operative positions; and in another of said operative positions the axis of the gripping portion is generally normal to the direction of flow of a stream of drying air.

Preferably the gripping portion is fast for rotation with the fan heater unit about the axis of the gripping portion so that rotation of the gripping portion, causes the hairdryer to rotate about this axis.

The hairdryer may be combined with an article for use in dressing hair, for example a comb, cylindrical brush, nozzle or curling tong. In a preferred embodiment the hairdryer is combined with a curling tong so that curling of the user's hair can be achieved by a simple operation involving the step of rotating the gripping portion of the handle about its axis, preferably simply by twisting the gripping portion between the user's fingers. Thus according to another aspect of the invention there is provided a hand-held hairdryer as defined above in which the fan heater unit is fast for rotation with the gripping portion about the axs of the gripping portion when located in said one position, in combination with an article for dressing hair attached to the discharge outlet in line with the axis of the gripping portion.This article may be a curling tong around which a user's hair can be rolled to be held thereby in a curling operation, mounted on the fan heater unit to lie within and substantially in line with a stream of drying air from the discharge outlet during a drying operation. It is envisaged that such a combination in accordance with the invention will facilitate hairdressing operations since the user will be assured that the drying air stream will inevitably be directed to hair engaged by the article and careful control of the orientation of the fan heater unit is rendered unnecessary.In the case of a curling tong mounted on the fan heater unit its central axis will be substantially coincident with the axis of the gripping portion and curling of the hair can be carried out by twisting the gripping portion causing rotation of the curling tong and gripping portion about a substantially common axis; feeding a length of wet hair onto the curling tong as it rotates; and then subjecting the hair on the curling tong to a stream of drying air from the fan heater unit. Since the curling tong will lie in the path of a drying air stream from the fan heater unit the only operations necessary to be carried out by a user are a) engaging the hair in the curling tong, b) twisting of the gripping portion and simultaneously rolling wet hair onto the rotating curling tong and c) switching on the fan heater unit.

The curling tong may be in the form of a perforated tubular member adapted to grip and then hold hair which is rolled thereon to cover the perforations and a skirt portion at one end for attachment to a discharge outlet of a fan heater unit. The curling tong need not, however, be perforated. The skirt portion may be perforated. In order to grip and hold a user's hair in the rolled state the tubular member may have pivotally attached thereto a wire or bar urged to lie lengthwise against its surface and hold hair between itself and the tubular member, but free to be pivoted against the urging force to allow hair to be inserted or removed from between the wire or bar and the tubular member. With such a curling tong air may be caused to flow into the tubular member and out through the perforation thus flowing through wet hair wound on the tubular member with a drying/curling effect.

The discharge outlet of a fan heater unit having a single discharge outlet may be adapted to be connected to a collapsible helmet of the kind having a head portion to be supported on the user's head, said head portion having a section for inflation by a drying air flow from the haidryer which helps maintain the helmet erect. In a helmet of this kind some or all of the air flow from the dryer is discharged inwardly over th user's head.

A further aspect of the invention is to use the above described hairdryer with a single discharge outlet in conjunction with a collapsible helmet of the kind referred to above, a tube, for example with an elbow joint, for connection of the discharge outlet to the helmet, and a strap connected to the hairdryer for location about the neck of the user to assist in supporting the hairdryer.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a side-elevation, partially in section, of a hand-held hairdryer showing the gripping portion of the handle in two operative positions in combination with an elongated element for use as a curling tong; FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the hairdryer of Figure 1 without the elongated element; FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the hairdryer as shown in Figure 2 with the handle in one operative position; FIGURE 4 is the same elevation as Figure 3 but with the gripping portion of the handle in another operative position; and FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a helmet type hairdryer including a hand-held hairdryer of the same type as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4.

Referring to the drawings Figures 1 to 4 show a hand-held hairdryer 1 having a fan heater unit 2 and a pistol grip handle 3 which includes a gripping portion 4. The fan heater unit 2 includes a generally barrel shaped cowling 5 of, for example, moulded plastics material formed about a central axis X-X' which houses a fan, for example of the axial flow type with a DC motor, and heating elements neither of which features are shown but which may be similar to those described in our British Patent Specification No. 1,440,932. Thus the motor may be connected with a rectifier in series with, or across a portion of the heating element, so that the latter forms a voltage dropper to apply a voltage at a fraction of the mains supply to the motor.

One end of the cowling 5 is formed with an air inlet 6 covered by a grille 7 and the other end is formed with a frustoconical shaped discharge nozzle 8 also covered by a grille 9. The discharge nozzle 8 may be formed integrally with the cowling 5. Two elbow shaped slots 10 are formed in the outer surface of the discharge nozzle 8 for receiving in snap fastening relationship complementary detents or buttons (not shown) of a curling tong or connector tube for a soft bonnet helmet to be described below.

The gripping portion 4 of the pistol grip type handle 3 is of hollow tubular construction and is of moulded plastics material.

The longitudinal axis of the gripping portion 4 is indicated by the line Y-Y'. Conven tional " on!off" and "hot/cold" switches in the form of trigger controls 11 and 12 are carried by the gripping portion 4. A power cable 13 is received through an opening 14 in the outer end 15 of the gripping portion 4, the connections between the cable 13 and switching units in the gripping portion 4 (not shown) being conventional. The inner end 16 of the handle 3 is divided into two symmetrical arms 17,18 which partially embrace the rear portion of the cowling 5 and are pivotally attached at their outer ends 19,20 to the cowling. In the illustrated embodiment the gripping portion 4 can pivot through an angle of 90 , from the position indicated by " A " to the "B" poistion, in a plane which contains the longitudinal axis X-X' of the cowling 5. The handle 3 is lockable in both "A" and "B" positions by any suitable locking means, for example a locking catch or a detent on the cowling or handle and a cooperating recess the other element.

Wires pass through the hollow arms 17, 18 of the gripping portion 4 to the inside of the dryer to complete the electrical circuit for supplying power to the fan motor and heating elements within the cowling 5. By this arrangement electrical contacts can be completed when the handle 3 is in either of the "A" or "B" positions shown in Figure 1. If desired electrical contacts from the handle to the inside of the hairdryer may be made via slip rings.

When the gripping portion 4 is in the '* A " position the longitudinal axis Y-Y' of the gripping portion 4 is normal to the direction of a stream of drying air from the discharge nozzle 8 when the dryer is in operation. By pivoting the handle 3 through 90" to the "B" position the axis Y-Y' of the gripping portion 4 is reorientated and lies substantially in line with a stream of drying air from the discharge nozzle 8.

The handle 3 is fast for rotation with the fan heater unit 2 about the longitudinal axis Y-Y' of the gripping portion 3. Thus when the gripping portion 4 is in the "B" position the dryer can be rotated about an axis common to the fan heater unit 2 and gripping portion 4.

This arrangement is particularly useful where the hairdryer is to be combined with an elongated element for use as a curling tong or is to be used as a blower unit for a helmet-type hairdryer as described below.

Referring again to Figure 1 an elongated member 23 for use as a curling tong consists of a tubular member 24 which may conveniently be perforated and is of any suitable heat resistant material, for example metal or a heat resistant plastics material, with a skirt portion 25 at one end constructed so as to fit snugly over the frustoconical discharge nozzle 8. Alternatively a cylindrical brush, comb, or nozzle may be used for performing other well-known hairdressing operations. The usual form of construction of the curling tong is in the form of a perforated tubular member, and a wire or bar arranged to lie lengthwise thereof to hold hair securely therebetween.

The wire or bar (not shown) is pivotally attached to the member at one end and is urged into engagement with the member by for example a spring. A user can pivot the wire or bar against the urging force to permit the insertion of hair therebetween or to free hair therefrom. Once hair is held between the tubular member and the wire a user can readilv roji his or her hair around the elongated member without the hair slipping free. The inner surface of the skirt portion 25 is provided with buttons which can be engaged in the elbow shaped grooves 6 to secure the curlng tong on the heater unit, as in the manner of snap fastening.

However, other suitable forms of mounting can be used, for example a bayonet fitting or a screw fitting. The outer end of the elongated member 23 is formed with a cap of similar material to the main body of the curling tong. The skirt portion 25 and tubular portion 24 of the elongated member are formed with perforations 27 which allow a drying air stream to pass through the wall and between any bristles thereof and consequently through any wet hair that has been rolled thereon. Drying air can also pass through the perforations on the skirt portion 25 also to have a drying effect, though it will be apparent that the skirt portion may be made without any openings so that all the drying air will pass through the wall of the perforated tubular member 24.

When fastened onto the discharge nozzle 8 the curling tong 23 is fast for rotation with the fan heater unit 2 in an anticlockwise direction about the axis X-X' of the unit and lies within, and substantially in line with a stream of drying air during op era- tion of the haidryer. With the handle in the "B" position the tubular member 24 lies longitudinally of the common axis of the fan heater unit 2 and gripping portion 4 and in the illustrated embodiment the longitudinal axis of the tubular member 24 is shown as being coincident with the common axis. Thus rotation of the gripping portion 4 about its longitudinal axis in an anticlockwise direction results in a corresponding rotation of the tubular member 24 about its lonigtudinal axis.

To carry out a hair curling operation the handle gripping portion 4 is rotated through 90 from a normal hairdrying position "A" in which the longitudinal axis X-X' of the gripping portion is normal to the direction of flow of a drying air stream to the poistion "B" in which the longitudinal axis X-X' is generally in line with a drying air stream. The handle is locked in this position by a suitable locking catch or detent as described above. The curling tong 23 is then mounted on the discharge nozzle 8 of the fan heater unit by sliding the skirt portion 25 over the frusto-conical discharge nozzle so that detent or buttons provided on the inside surface of the skirt portion engage in the elbow shaped grooves 6 formed in the outer surface of the discharge nozzle 8 to render the curling tong fast for rotation with the fan heater unit.

After operating the curling tong to grip hair between the tubular member and the aforementioned wire or bar wet hair can then be wound on the tubular portion of the curling tong by rotating the gripping portion of the handle with one hand while, if necessary, feeding wet hair on the tubular portion of the curling tong 21 with the other hand as it rotates with the gripping portion.

Once the hair has been rolled in this way operation of the trigger controls on the handle cause a stream of drying air to flow out of the discharge nozzle 8 and through perforations 27 on the tubular member 24 and skirt portion 25 of the curling tong to dry the hair wound thereon. Once the hair is dry and set in a curled condition it can be freed from the curling tong and the operation repeated on another portion of the user's hair.

Figure 5 shows a hairdryer of the kind described above used in conjunction with a soft bonnet of a helmet type dryer. The helmet 28 is conventional and similar to that described in our British Patent Specification No. 1,440,932 except that it is formed with only one tube 29 connecting the helmet heat portion 28 to the fan heater unit 2 which, as described above, has for this particular purpose only a single discharge outlet for drying air. A strap 32 connects the sealed end of duct 33 to the tube 29 to which it can be fastened, for example by a press stud fitting. This arrangement facilitates the donning of the helmet since it can be opened out upon disengagement of the fastening and when fastened helps to hold the helmet snugly around the user's head.Due to only one connection tube being provided there could be a tendency for the dryer so supported to hang in an oblique and possibly uncomfortable way.

To overcome this problem a connection tube with an elbw shaped adaptor 30 is provided and a strap 31 connected to the fan heater unit and located about the neck of the user to assist in supporting the fan heater unit. Use of the fan heater unit is of course also facilitated by locating the gripping position 4 in the position "B" in which its longitudinal axis lies in line with the stream of drying air from the discharge outlet. In this configuration the hairdryer hangs in the region of the user's chest with the handle 3 lying longitudinally of body of the fan heater unit 2 in which position it is easier for the user to operate and does not form an uncomfortable projection as it would if it lay in the position normal to the direction of flow of the drying air stream.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A hand-held hairdryer comprising: a) an electric fan heater unit having a discharge outlet for a stream of drying air; and b) a handle for the fan heater unit, the handle having a gripping portion which has at least two operative positions in which a user can direct a stream of drying air in a drying operation, the gripping portion in one of said opera tive positions being located transverse to the discharge outlet and in the other operative position the gripping portion is located remote from and co-axial with the stream of drying air from the discharge outlet during the drying operation.

2. A hairdryer as claimed in Claim 1 in which the fan heater unit is of the axial flow type.

3. A hairdryer as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the electric fan heater unit has a casing formed generally symmetrically about a central axis which also defines the general direction of flow of a stream of drying air at a discharge outlet of the fan heater unit.

4. A hairdryer as claimed in any preceding Claim in which the handle is attached to the heater unit in such a way that it can be pivoted between the operative positions and in which in the one of said operative positions the axis of the gripping portion is generally normal to the direction of flow of a stream of drying air.

5. A hairdryer as claimed in Claim 4 in which the gripping portion is fast for rotation with the fan heater unit about the axis of the gripping portion so that rotation of the gripping portion causes the hairdryer to rotate about this axis.

6. A hand-held hairdryer as claimed in any preceding Claim in which the fan heater unit is fast for rotation with the gripping portion aboutAhe axis of the gripping portion when located in said one position, in combination with an article for dressing hair attached to the discharge outlet in line with the axis of the gripping portion.

7. A hairdryer combination as claimed in Claim 6 in which the article is a curling tong around which the user's hair can be rolled to be held thereby in a curling operation.

8. A hairdryer combination as claimed in Claim 7 in which the curling tong is in the form of a perforated tubular member adapted to grip and then hold hair which is rolled thereon to cover the perforations and a skirt portion at one end of the perforated tubular member for attachment to the discharge outlet of the fan heater unit.

9. A hairdryer combination as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7 or Claim 8 in which the article for dressing hair incorporates a tubular member and a skirt portion at one end of the tubular member for attachment to a discharge outlet of a fan heater, the skirt portion being perforated to provide a flow of drying air around the tubular mem ber.

10. A hairdryer combination as claimed in Claim 8 in which the tubular member has pivotably attached thereto a wire or bar urged to lie lengthwise against its surface and hold hair between its self and the tubular member, but free to be pivoted

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. Once the hair has been rolled in this way operation of the trigger controls on the handle cause a stream of drying air to flow out of the discharge nozzle 8 and through perforations 27 on the tubular member 24 and skirt portion 25 of the curling tong to dry the hair wound thereon. Once the hair is dry and set in a curled condition it can be freed from the curling tong and the operation repeated on another portion of the user's hair. Figure 5 shows a hairdryer of the kind described above used in conjunction with a soft bonnet of a helmet type dryer. The helmet 28 is conventional and similar to that described in our British Patent Specification No. 1,440,932 except that it is formed with only one tube 29 connecting the helmet heat portion 28 to the fan heater unit 2 which, as described above, has for this particular purpose only a single discharge outlet for drying air. A strap 32 connects the sealed end of duct 33 to the tube 29 to which it can be fastened, for example by a press stud fitting. This arrangement facilitates the donning of the helmet since it can be opened out upon disengagement of the fastening and when fastened helps to hold the helmet snugly around the user's head.Due to only one connection tube being provided there could be a tendency for the dryer so supported to hang in an oblique and possibly uncomfortable way. To overcome this problem a connection tube with an elbw shaped adaptor 30 is provided and a strap 31 connected to the fan heater unit and located about the neck of the user to assist in supporting the fan heater unit. Use of the fan heater unit is of course also facilitated by locating the gripping position 4 in the position "B" in which its longitudinal axis lies in line with the stream of drying air from the discharge outlet. In this configuration the hairdryer hangs in the region of the user's chest with the handle 3 lying longitudinally of body of the fan heater unit 2 in which position it is easier for the user to operate and does not form an uncomfortable projection as it would if it lay in the position normal to the direction of flow of the drying air stream. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A hand-held hairdryer comprising: a) an electric fan heater unit having a discharge outlet for a stream of drying air; and b) a handle for the fan heater unit, the handle having a gripping portion which has at least two operative positions in which a user can direct a stream of drying air in a drying operation, the gripping portion in one of said opera tive positions being located transverse to the discharge outlet and in the other operative position the gripping portion is located remote from and co-axial with the stream of drying air from the discharge outlet during the drying operation.

against the urging force to allow hair to be inserted or removed from between the wire or bar and the tubular member.

11. A hairdryer as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 having a single discharge outlet, in combination with a collapsable helmet of the kind having a head portion to be supported on the user's head, said head portion having a section for inflation by a drying air flow from the hairdryer which helps to maintain the helmet erect, a tube for connection of the discharge outlet of the hairdryer to the helmet and a strap connected to the hairdryer for location about the neck of the user to assist in supporting the hairdryer.

12. A hairdryer combination as claimed in Claim 11 in which the tube has an elbow joint.

13. A hairdryer substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

14. A hairdryer as claimed in Claim 13 in combination with an article for dressing hair substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 4- of the accompanying drawings.

15. A hairdryer and helmet combination substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings. ~