GB2268060A

GB2268060A - "Pulsator for a hair dryer"

Info

Publication number: GB2268060A
Application number: GB9311938A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gregory John Mcdougall
Original assignee: AUSWORLD CONSULTANTS Ltd
Current assignee: AUSWORLD CONSULTANTS Ltd
Priority date: 1992-06-16
Filing date: 1993-06-09
Publication date: 1994-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 2013-06-09
Also published as: GB2268060B; GB9311938D0

Abstract

An adjustable pulsator for a hair dryer has a rotatable disc 14 with an open sector 22 and peripheral blades 17. A housing 18 has apertures 26 which may be more or less effectively closed by protrusions 27, when a ring 19 supporting the protrusions 27 is rotated relative to the housing 18. The more open the apertures, the faster will the disc 14 rotate in use. <IMAGE>

Description

Hair Drvers The present invention relates to hair dryers.

The invention relates more particularly to a pulsator for a hair dryer which is driven by a stream of air from a blower and causes the air to be dispersed in a manner to simulate or cause pulses of air to applied at an outlet of the blower. It is already known to provide such pulsators and one such pulsator is described in European application 441752. The pulsator comprises a centrally supported disc which is caused to rotate by the stream of air in a manner to interfere with the stream so that the air delivered to the user is non-laminar to simulate pulses emitting from the hair dryer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pulsator for a hair dryer in which the speed of rotation is

controllable without significantly interfering with the g pattern of the outflowing air and in a manner that is readily adaptable for providing a same pulsator as a builtin or detachable component of a hair dryer.

According to the invention there is provided a pulsator for a hair dryer comprising a rotatably mounted generally circular disc which has an open sector to allow air to pass through the disc, a plurality of blades disposed around a peripheral rim of the disc to cause the disc to rotate when air flows past the blades, a housing with a central bearing

for supporting the disc and having a number of apertures disposed around an imaginary circle opposite the blades, and a ring member mounted adjacent the housing with a number of protrusions which fit at least partially over respective of the apertures, in which the protrusions of the ring member are arranged to be movable relative to the apertures about the rotational axis of the disc to allow more or less air to pass through the apertures so as to alter the speed of rotation of the disc in use.

The central open sector may extend over substantially half of the disc.

The disc may be rotationally counter-balanced in a manner to compensate for the missing material of the open sector.

The pulsator may include an adapter which is fixed to the housing and is releasably attachable to an air outlet of a hair dryer.

Pulsators according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a hair dryer having a pulsator attached ; Figure 2 shows an exploded side elevation of components of

the pulsator ; Figure 3 shows end views of some of the components of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a side elevation of an air diffuser for a hair dryer with a built-in pulsator.

Referring to the drawings in Figure 1, the hair dryer 10 is a generally conventional hand holdable drier incorporating a fan, electrical heating coils and controls and other components which are not shown and well-understood in the art. An on-off button 11 is provided on a handle 12. The pulsator 13 releasable fits on an air outlet of the dryer 10. The pulsator 13 may alternatively be permanently attached to the dryer or"built-in"to the air outlet.

In Figure 2, the pulsator 13 comprises a circular disc 14 mounted on a central hub 15 and having a plurality of blades 17 mounted on its periphery. An axle (not shown) fits in the hub to support the disc 14.

A housing 18 fits over the blades 17 in the assembled pulsator and a ring 19 which fits over the housing 18 is rotationally slidable around the housing 18. An adapter 20 is fixed to a rear champered edge of the housing 18 and releasably attachable to the outlet of the dryer by springs (not shown) which grip a slot in a rear collar 21.

In Figure 3, the disc 14 has a open sector 22 comprising substantially half the disc 14. A small weight 23 acts to rotationally balance the disc 14. The housing 18 has a central boss 24 in which a bearing is mounted for receiving the axle in the hub 15. A number of apertures 26 are arranged around an imaginary circle and provided in the housing 18 to lie opposite the blades 17 in the assembled pulsator. The ring 19 has a number of protrusions 27 which fit partially over respective of the apertures 26. As the ring 19 is turned relative to the housing 18, the protrusions move to close off the apertures to a greater or lesser extent.

In use. the disc 14 is caused to rotate by air from the blower of the hair dryer passing over the blades 17 and escaping through the apertures 26. When the apertures are fully open, the disc 14 will rotate at its maximum speed and as the ring 19 is rotatably adjusted to partly close off the apertures, the speed of the disc 14 will decrease accordingly. In this manner, the speed of the disc 14 can be controlled by the user.

In the described embodiment, the general pattern of air flow out of the dryer is not significantly altered. The air will of course be pulsed by the action of the spinning opening 22 as before. Pulsing is the more noticeable or significant at slower disc speeds but the user may often

require at some times only slight pulsing and therefore the higher disc speeds are then required.

The described pulsator in providing control or adjustment by relative rotation of the ring 19 enables a speed control which is simple to provide and easily adaptable for use with current designs of hair dryer. The arrangement of blades only at the periphery of the disc 14 makes the disc design relatively simple and straight forward and allows for a large open sector, sector 22, to be provided which is highly preferable for enhancing the pulsing effect.

The terms"aperture"and"protrusion"have been used in the specification, and are used in the claims. It is intended that such terms are interchangeable as is reasonable because the apertures can be formed in effect by. say, the separations between the pairs of protrusions. and the protrusions can be formed in effect by solid parts bounding each aperture. Indeed, relatively movable overlapping protrusions or overlapping apertures may be used effectively to control the flow of air over the blades as required. Further, the air flow upstream of the blades may be adjusted to control the speed of the disc, in which case the apertures and relatively movable protrusions are positioned between the disc and the blower of the hair dryer.

In Figure 4. an air diffuser 28 has a pulsator 29 fitted at

its inlet. The pulsator 29 is generally the same as described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, and may be releasably attached or permanently fixed to the air diffuser itself. The adapter 20 provides an attachment of the air diffuser to the dryer 10. The disc 19 (not shown) has a finger 30 attached thereto which protrudes to enable the user to rotate the disc 19 sufficiently to control the air flow past the blades as required.

As the pulsator may be provided as an accessory or attachment, and/or as part of a diffuser, for use with a number of different hair dryers which have different fixed or adjustable blower speeds, it is an important feature that the effective speed of the disc, and therefore, the pulsing effect, can be readily altered by the user. in the manner described.

It will be appreciated that the apertures 26 can be arranged"up-stream"of the blades 17, as well as downstream as described. This means that the flow of air from the fan towards the blades is controlled by adjusting the rotational position of the ring 19. Also, where in the described arrangement one ring 19 is provided two or more rings could be provided with protrusions 27 rotationally movable to close off or partially close off the apertures together. This allows in a practical way for the aperture 26 to be generally wider in a circumferential direction.

Claims

1. A pulsator for a hair dryer comprising a rotatably mounted generally circular disc which has an open sector to allow air to pass through the disc, a plurality of blades disposed around a peripheral rim of the disc to cause the disc to rotate when air flows past the blades, a housing with a central bearing for supporting for the disc and having a number of apertures disposed around an imaginary circle opposite the blades, and a ring member mounted adjacent the housing with a number of protrusions which fit at least partially over respective of the apertures. in which the protrusions of the ring member are arranged to be movable relative to the apertures about the rotational axis of the disc to allow more or less air to pass through the apertures so as to alter the speed of rotation of the disc in use.

2. A pulsator according to claim 1, in which the central open sector extends over substantially half of the disc.

3. A pulsator according to claim 1 or 2, in which the disc is rotationally counter-balanced in a manner to compensate for the missing material of the open sector.

4. A pulsator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, including an adapter which is fixed to the housing and is

releasably attachable to the an outlet of a hair dryer.

5. An air diffuser for a hair dryer including adjacent its inlet end a pulsator according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A hair dryer having mounted thereto a pulsator according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. Pulsators substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.