GB2315019A

GB2315019A - Hair drier with adjustable air flow nozzle

Info

Publication number: GB2315019A
Application number: GB9614457A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gregory John Mcdougall; Anthony John Walker
Original assignee: STAR FIRE INTERNATIONAL LIMITE
Current assignee: STAR FIRE INTERNATIONAL LIMITE
Priority date: 1996-07-10
Filing date: 1996-07-10
Publication date: 1998-01-21
Also published as: GB9614457D0

Abstract

The nozzle of a hair drier is formed as two concentric shells 12,13, the inner shell being rotatable. The shells have wall apertures 14,15 and grid members 19,20 across the air path. When the grid members are aligned the apertures are out of alignment so that air passes through the outlet 16. Progressive rotation of the inner shell de-aligns the grid members and aligns the wall apertures so as to force air through the wall apertures, eg to allow curling of hair wound on the surface of the outer shell.

Description

HAIR DRIER The invention relates to hair driers.

Most hair driers comprise a hand holdable central housing incorporating an electric heater and a motor and having a nozzle or passage extending from the housing for directing hot air out of the housing towards hair to be dried. Various attachments can be provided either permanently fixed to the body or releasably and replaceably attached such as air diffusers, combs and the like that make use of the hot air exhausting from the hair drier. Normally the attachments are provided to serve one particular purpose which means a separate hair drier unit or a separate attachment is needed for normal drying and each other function that is required.

It is an object of the invention to provide a dual purpose drier and/or dual purpose attachment for a drier.

According to the invention there is provided a hair drier having a cylindrical nozzle with an exit at one end, the nozzle being formed by two concentric shells the one being relatively rotatable inside the other, in which the shells have apertures in their surfaces that can be selectively aligned by relative rotation of the shells to allow air to pass through the wall of the nozzle, and in which the relative rotation simultaneously alters the resistance to flow of air out of the exit of the nozzle so as to vary the air flow through the wall.

The outer shell may have a number of small apertures distributed over each of two or three separated sectors of its surface, and the inner shell has two or three open sectors which can be respectively aligned with corresponding apertured sectors of the outer shell to allow air to pass through the wall.

The outer shell may be formed with a grid that extends over the exit end of the nozzle and the inner shell is formed with a grid that has grid members that can lie in correspondence with some or all of the grid of the outer shell at a chosen relative orientation of the shells to minimise the resistance to flow of air through the exit.

The grid members of the inner shell are preferably streamlined to provide minimum resistance to air passing towards the exit.

A peripheral nozzle exit ring may be included that is rigidly fixed to the inner shell and rotatable with respect to the outer shell, the ring being manually grippable to enable the inner shell to be rotated relative to the outer ring by rotating the ring.

A number of comb prongs may be provided that are integrally formed and upstanding from an outer surface of the outer shell.

A hair drier according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the drier; Figure 2 is an exploded isometric view of a nozzle element for the drier; and Figure 3 is a sectional view of the components of Figure 2 in an assembled configuration.

Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1 the hair drier comprises a hand holdable body 10 incorporating an electric motor, heating elements and a fan (not shown).

A cylindrical nozzle 11 is fixed or releasably attachable to the body 10.

In Figures 2 and 3, it can be seen that the nozzle 11 is formed of two concentric shells 12 and 13, the shell 13 being relatively rotatable inside the shell 12. The shell 12 has a plurality of small apertures 14 distributed over three separated sectors of its surface and the shell 13 has three open sectors 15 that correspond to the apertured sectors 14. In a first relative rotational position of the shells, the open sectors 15 are each opposite a respective apertured sector 14, so that a maximum amount of air can flow through the wall of the nozzle in a direction generally at right angle to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle.

In a second relative rotational position, about 600 from the first position, the small apertures are in effect closed off by the surface of the inner shell 13. In the second position no air can escape or pass through the wall of the nozzle. All the hot air produced by the hair drier then passes along the nozzle and through an outlet ring 16 at an exit of the nozzle.

The outlet ring 16 is rotatably fixed to the inner shell 13 by spring clips 17 and rotatably mounted in the exit end of the outer shell 12. The outlet ring 16 provides a convenient manually operable adjuster for relatively rotating the inner shell to allow air to pass through the wall of the nozzle or not. Intermediate rotational positions can be chosen where the apertures in the outer shell 12 are in effect partly open or partly closed if required. The outer surface of the outer shell 12 is integrally formed with rows of comb prongs 18 and in practice these prongs are used to guide strands of hair over or around the outer surface of the outer shell.

When hair is wound or drawn across the outer surface, which in normal circumstances is quite hot itself, and hot air is diverted into the hair through the walls of the nozzle. The strands of hair can thus be curled or straightened in a manner general practised with conventional hot curling irons of the prior art.

It will be noted that the outer shell 12 has a grid 19 adjacent its exit end and the inner shell 13 has grid members 20 that can fit in alignment with the grid 19.

The grid members 20 are completely aligned when the apertures in the shell 12 are closed off. When the inner shell 13 is rotated from this position, the apertures become unobscured and air flowing through the nozzle is presented with an increased obstructing area. This increases the resistance to flow through the nozzle which is sufficient to divert a proportion of air out of the nozzle through the wall. The precise design of the grid members can subtly influence how the resistance to flow can be varied. It will be noted that the upstream surface 21 of each grid member 20 is streamlined in this specific embodiment. When the grid members 20 are not aligned with the grid 19, the air flow is not only resisted by an effectively increased area of obstruction but obstruction of the grid is then formed in part by transverse surfaces of the grid 19 which are more obstructive to air flow than their streamlined counterparts. That is to say, the or some of the transverse surfaces of the gird 19 are normally obscured and in effect streamlined by the grid members 20 when the apertures are closed off.

It will be appreciated that the wall of the nozzle is in effect opened and closed by simple relative rotation of the inner shell 13. Such rotation at the same time simultaneous alters the resistance to air flow along or out of the exit of the nozzle. It is generally imperative overall not to close off the through flow of air too much and certainly not totally, otherwise during restricted flow, the air temperature may rise too much and damage the user's hair or the fan motor. The described arrangement is generally self-regulating, and fail-safe, because even if hair curled around the outer shell blocks off the air significantly or totally, the air can continue to flow relatively freely out of the nozzle through the grid 19. In other words, although the misalignment of the grid members 20 with the grid 19 provides sufficient change in resistance to through flow of air when the apertures of the outer shell are open, it does not lead to any serious changes or risks if air cannot exhaust satisfactorily through the wall of the nozzle for any reason.

Embodiments of the invention provide a relatively conventional hair drier with a permanent cylindrical nozzle, or with such a nozzle as an attachment, where the hair drier can be used in a normal manner. In addition however, hair driers of the present invention enable a hairdresser to use the outer surface of the nozzle to curl, straighten and generally style hair by enveloping the outer surface with the hair, drawing strands of hair across the surface and so forth. The hairdresser thereby makes use of the heat of the surface of the shell 12 and the heat and passage of hot air selectively passing through the wall of the nozzle as explained above.

It will be appreciated that the inner shell may be apertured in sectors and the outer shell have open sectors. Indeed, the arrangement of the apertures, gaps or holes in the shells can be varied extensively provided that relative rotational positions of the shells enable the opening and closing, in effect of the wall of the nozzle as required.

Claims

1. A hair drier having a cylindrical nozzle with an exit at one end, the nozzle being formed by two concentric shells the one being relatively rotatable inside the other, in which the shells have apertures in their surfaces that can be selectively aligned by relative rotation of the shells to allow air to pass through the wall of the nozzle, and in which the relative rotation simultaneously alters the resistance to flow of air out of the exit of the nozzle so as to vary the air flow through the wall.

2. A hair drier according to claim 1, in which the outer shell has a number of small apertures distributed over each of two or three separated sectors of its surface, and the inner shell has two or three open sectors which can be respectively aligned with corresponding apertured sectors of the outer shell to allow air to pass through the wall.

3. A hair drier according to claim 1 or 2, in which the outer shell is formed with a grid that extends over the exit end of the nozzle and the inner shell is formed with a grid that has grid members that can lie in correspondence with some or all of the grid of the outer shell at a chosen relative orientation of the shells to minimise the resistance to flow of air through the exit.

4. A hair drier according to claim 3, in which the grid members of the inner shell are streamlined to provide minimum resistance to air passing towards the exit.

5. A hair drier according to any of claims 1 to 4, including a peripheral nozzle exit ring rigidly fixed to the inner shell and rotatable with respect to the outer shell, the ring being manually grippable to enable the inner shell to be rotated relative to the outer ring by rotating the ring.

6. A hair drier according to any of claims 1 to 5, including a number of comb prongs integrally formed and upstanding from an outer surface of the outer shell.

7. A hair drier substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.