GB2574027A

GB2574027A - Hand held appliance

Info

Publication number: GB2574027A
Application number: GB1808451.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Haruna Waters Imhasly Nathan; John Thompson Daniel; Mcveigh Brian; Mark Brett Coulton Robert
Original assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Priority date: 2018-05-23
Filing date: 2018-05-23
Publication date: 2019-11-27
Also published as: GB201808451D0; WO2019224510A1

Abstract

A hand held appliance comprising an elongate body at least partially defined by a housing 220 which extends along a longitudinal axis (X-X), a motor 10 housed within the housing having a rotational axis (F-F) which extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and a heater 80 housed within the housing which extends along a longitudinal axis (H-H) within the elongate body wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater is non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing. The motor may be offset from the housing axis to make room for an ioniser 40 or user interface components 30. The heater may comprise an outlet assembly including an exit collar 82. The device is preferably a hair care appliance, especially a hot styling appliance. An appliance with cylindrical housing, motor and heater is also disclosed.

Description

This invention relates to a heater for a hand held appliance and in particular for a hair care appliance.

In a conventional hot styling appliance, air is drawn into an inlet by a motor and directed towards the hair by an outlet. Often, one appliance is provided with different attachments, each having a different outlet and thus a different function, for example drying, curling or volumising. Depending on the style desired, the air may or may not be heated. The attachment may include bristles onto which hair is wrapped and held for styling.

An object of the invention is to provide an appliance which balances the product length and diameter.

According to a first aspect, the invention provides a hand held appliance comprising an elongate body at least partially defined by a housing which extends along a longitudinal axis (X-X), a motor housed within the housing having a rotational axis (F-F) which extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and a heater housed within the housing which extends along a longitudinal axis within the elongate body wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater (H-H) is not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.

Preferably, the motor extends between a motor inlet and a motor outlet.

In a preferred embodiment, the heater extends between a heater inlet and a heater outlet.

Preferably, the heater inlet is aligned with the motor outlet. Thus fluid that flows from the motor enters the heater.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing has a housing inlet and a housing outlet and the heater outlet is aligned with the housing outlet.

By aligning the inlets and outlets of the motor, heater and the housing, turbulence in the fluid flow is reduced which results in lower noise and reduced pressure loss within the appliance.

Preferably, the heater comprises an outlet assembly at the heater outlet and the outlet assembly includes an exit collar. In a preferred embodiment, the exit collar comprises a flow directing surface for directing flow from the heater outlet to the housing outlet. Preferably, the exit collar comprises a first part which is adapted to engage with the heater outlet. In a preferred embodiment, the exit collar comprises a second part which is aligned with the housing outlet.

Preferably, the outlet assembly further comprises an end cap which incorporates an exit grille. It is preferred that the end cap comprises first locating features for locating the end cap with respect to the exit collar.

Preferably, the outlet assembly comprises second locating features for locating the outlet assembly with respect to the housing. It is preferred that the outlet assembly comprises a locating feature for locating the heater with respect to the outlet assembly.

Preferably, the housing additionally houses internal components of a user interface. In a preferred embodiment, the internal components of the user interface are positioned radially adjacent the motor within the housing.

Preferably, the housing additionally houses an ioniser. In a preferred embodiment, the ioniser is positioned radially adjacent the motor within the housing.

According to a second aspect, the invention provides a hand held appliance comprising a housing which is substantially cylindrical having an oval cross-section, a motor which is substantially cylindrical having a circular cross-section and comprises a rotational axis and a heater which is substantially cylindrical having a longitudinal axis wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater is angled with respect to the rotational axis of the motor.

According to a third aspect, the invention provides a hand held appliance comprising an elongate body, a motor and a heater both housed within the elongate body wherein, the motor comprises a rotational axis and the heater comprises a longitudinal axis and the rotational axis of the motor and the longitudinal axis of the heater are non-parallel.

Preferably the angle is between 1 and 10°. More preferably, the angle is between 2 and 6°. Most preferably, the angle is substantially 4°. Preferably, the angle is at least 1°. Preferably, the angle is at least 2°. Preferably, the angle is less than 10°. Preferably, the angle is less than 6°.

Preferably the housing has a fluid outlet and the fluid outlet is circular.

It is preferred that the longitudinal axis of the heater intersects the rotational axis of the motor.

In a preferred embodiment, the appliance is a hair care appliance and preferably, a hot styling device.

The invention will now be described by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 shows an example of an appliance in which the invention can be utilised;

Figure 2 shows a cross section through the side of part of the appliance of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows an exploded perspective view of a motor;

Figure 4 shows an exploded side view of some internal parts of the hand held appliance of Figure 1;

Figure 5a shows a cross section through the appliance of Figure 1 along line B-B;

Figure 5b shows a cross section through the appliance of Figure 1 along line C-C;

Figure 6a shows a first isometric view of an outlet assembly according to the invention;

Figure 6b shows a second isometric view of an outlet assembly according to the invention;

Figure 7 shows an enlarged portion of the outlet of Figure 2; and

Figure 8 shows an isometric view of parts of the heater of Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 1, an example of a hand held appliance 100 is shown. The appliance has a handle 210 and an attachment 120 for styling hair. In order to enable a user to create different styles and to give the appliance multi functionality, the attachment 120 is removable and can be replaced with an alternative attachment. In addition, the attachment 120 can be removed to allow easier storage of the appliance when not in use. The handle 210 includes a number of different user operated buttons 38 enabling the user to select between a number of different heat and flow settings. The handle 210 includes a motor 10 and heater 80 (Figure 2). In use the motor 10 draws fluid in through a fluid inlet 212 in the handle 210, through the heater 80 which optionally heats the fluid which is then emitted by the fluid outlet 122 in the attachment 120.

The handle 210 has an outer wall 200 which extends along a longitudinal axis X-X from the fluid inlet 212 towards the fluid outlet 202 and an inner wall 220 which houses the motor 10 and the heater 80. At the fluid inlet 212, the inner wall 220 extends radially inwards of the outer wall 200. However, in this embodiment, the outer wall 200 does not extend to the fluid outlet 202 thus for a portion 214 of the length of the handle 210, the inner wall 220 is an external wall of the appliance 100. For this portion of the length of the handle 210, the inner wall 220 is substantially the same diameter as the outer wall 200.

Referring to Figure 3, the motor 10 will be discussed in more detail. The motor 10 is cylindrical having a frame 12 which extends in an axial direction. For the sake of clarity, the term “axial” is intended to mean in the direction of an axis running along a rotational axis of the motor 10 as depicted by axis F-F in Figure 3. In addition, the directional terms “upstream” and “downstream” referred to herein refer to the direction of airflow through the motor and the heater when in use and for the motor are further clarified by the double headed arrow in Figure 3.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the motor 5. The motor 5 comprises a frame 10, a rotor assembly 20 and a stator assembly 26. The frame 10 comprises an inner wall 11 and an outer wall 12. A number of diffuser vanes 13 extend between the inner wall 11 and the outer wall 12. The frame 10 is formed of zinc and can be formed, for example, by machining or die-casting, or a combination of both machining and diecasting.

The rotor assembly 20 comprises a shaft 21, a magnet 22, a bearing assembly 23 and an impeller 24. The magnet 22, bearing assembly 23 and impeller 24 are all fixed directly to the shaft 21 by one or a combination of an interference fit and adhesive. The magnet 22 is a bonded permanent magnet of the sort typically used in permanent magnet brushless motors. Once the rotor assembly 20 is assembled into the frame 10, the inner wall 11 of the frame 10 acts as a protective sleeve around the bearing assembly 23.

The impeller 24 shown in the Figure is an axial impeller with a plurality of blades 27 spaced circumferentially around, and extending radially out from, a central hub 28. During operation of the motor 5, as each blade 27 spins, it creates sound waves at a specific frequency. It is therefore possible to design the impeller in such a way as to reduce its acoustic impact. The impeller 24 shown in the Figures comprises eleven blades. However, the number of blades 27 can differ according to the acoustic requirements of the motor and/or hair care appliance.

The rotational axis F-F of the motor 10 is parallel to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210 but offset from the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210. The rotational axis F-F of the motor 10 is displaced from but parallel to the longitudinal axis X-X. The heater 80 is cylindrical having a wall 180 which extends along and around a heater element 186 (which for clarity only one row is shown in Figure 8) and about a longitudinal axis H-H of the heater 80. The longitudinal axis H-H is non-parallel to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210 and the rotational axis F-F of the motor 10.

The handle 210 has a fluid outlet 202 which is centred about the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210. The fluid outlet 202 is in fluid communication with the fluid outlet 122 from the attachment 220 thus fluid exiting the fluid outlet 202 of handle 210 flows within the attachment 220 to the fluid outlet 122 from the attachment.

As the motor 10 is not concentrically aligned within the handle 210, the motor 10 is not aligned with the fluid outlet 202 from the handle 210. The heater 80 is positioned between the motor 10 and the fluid outlet 202 and is used to correct this misalignment so that fluid exiting at the fluid outlet 202 is aligned to the fluid outlet 202. Thus, in this embodiment the heater 80 is angled a at about 4° to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210 to direct fluid flowing within the handle 210 from being aligned to an outlet or upstream end 10b of the motor 10 to being aligned to the fluid outlet 202 from the handle 210. Obviously, the degree of inclination of the heater is dependent on the length of the handle and the offset of the motor to the longitudinal axis so for a different dimensioned handle a different angle may be required.

The rotational axis F-F of the motor 10 is displaced from the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210 in order to accommodate a UI (User Interface) 30 and an ioniser 40. The outer wall 200 is elliptical and the frame 12 of the motor 10 has a radius which is less than that of the minor radius of the outer wall 200. This provides the space for accommodating the UI 30 and the ioniser 40 adjacent the motor 10 i.e. within the same cross sectional space within the handle 210. This has the advantage that the length of the product can be reduced compared to a circular outer wall having a similar diameter as the minor axis of the outer wall 200. The motor 10 has a motor inlet 16 at a downstream end 10a which receives flow from the fluid inlet 212 into the appliance 100 and a motor outlet 18 at an upstream end 10b. The outlet 18 is aligned to a heater inlet 800 at an upstream end 80a of the heater which receives fluid from the motor 10. At the distal or downstream end 80b of the heater 80 is a heater outlet 802 which discharges fluid into an outlet assembly 50. As the motor 10 is offset or displaced with respect to the outlet 202 from the handle 210, the heater 80 is angled with respect to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210 and this aligns the fluid flowing through the handle 210 with the fluid outlet 202. Although the handle 210 cross section is elliptical, the fluid outlet 202 is circular.

As the heater 80 is non-parallel to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210, the downstream end 80b of the heater 80 is provided with an outlet assembly 50 comprising an exit collar 82 an exit grille 98 and an end cap 90. The exit collar 82 turns the fluid flowing within the handle 210 from a first direction defined by the longitudinal axis HH of the heater 80 to a second direction defined by the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210.

The exit collar 82 is adapted at a first end 82a to fit over an outer surface 180a of the wall 180 which extends along and around a heater element 186 of the heater 80. The inner surface 84 of the exit collar 82 is curved and provides a smooth transition for fluid flowing through the heater 80 to change direction from that of the axis H-H of the heater 80 to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210. The inner surface 84 of the exit collar 82 has a first part 182 which engages with the heater outlet 80b and provides a flow directing surface 88 from a downstream end 180b of the wall 180 of the heater 80 towards the fluid outlet 202.

The exit collar 82 has a first part 182 which connects to and is aligned with the heater 80 and a second part 184 which is aligned to the fluid outlet 202. The flow directing surface 88 directs fluid flowing through the heater 80 from the longitudinal axis H-H of the heater 80 to the longitudinal axis X-X of the handle 210 and the fluid outlet 202.

The fluid outlet 202 is covered by an exit grille 98 which extends across the fluid outlet 202. The exit grille 98 serves to prevent ingress of a finger into the heater 80 and is a grid that extends across the fluid outlet 202. The exit grille 98 comprises a pattern of apertures and is formed from a thin metal sheet. In this embodiment, the exit grille 98 is moulded onto an end cap 90 which fits over the second part 184 of the collar 82.

In this example, the end cap 90 and exit collar 82 include locating features which ensure that the heater 80 can only be inserted into the handle 210 in one orientation. This is obviously important as the heater 80 is angled with respect to the handle 210 thus, if it is inserted the wrong way fluid will not be smoothly directed from the motor 10 through the heater 80 and to the fluid outlet 202.

Referring now to Figures 6a, 7 and 8, the end cap 90 includes at least one finger 92 which extends over at least a portion of the first part 182 of the exit collar. In this example, the finger 92 has two functions, it maintains the correct orientation of the end cap 90 with respect to the exit collar 82 and it retains a thermistor 52 in its’ housing. At one end, the first finger abuts a second upstanding wall 56 provided on the exit collar preventing twisting of the end cap in one direction. The thermistor 52 monitors the temperature of fluid that exits the heater 80.

The thermistor 52 is provided within a moulded plastic housing 152 which is received in a correspondingly sized aperture within the exit collar 82 which is at least partially defined by the second upstanding wall 56.

A second finger 94 is also provided and this second finger 94 extends between the thermistor 52 and an upstanding wall 54 provided on the exit collar. The upstanding wall 54 and second upstanding wall 56 extend radially outwards from an outer surface 82c of the exit collar 82. The second finger 94 prevents the end cap 90 twisting with respect to the exit collar 82 in a second direction and, in addition, retains the location of an ioniser needle (not shown) which is housed in a sealing bung 42 that is inserted into an aperture provided in the exit collar 82. This aperture is at least partially defined by the second upstanding wall 56.

Power is supplied to the heater 80 via a live wire (not shown) which extends along a radially outer surface of the wall 180 from the upstream end 80a to the downstream end 80b of the heater 80. The live wire is routed between the exit collar 82 and the radially outer surface of the wall 180 via a channel 58 provided in the exit collar 82. The exit collar 82 fits tightly over the wall 180 of the heater 80 apart from where the channel 58 is provided. Thus the exit collar 82 can only fit over the wall 180 when the channel 58 and live wire are aligned. This means that the exit collar 82 and end cap 90 can only engage with the heater 80 in one orientation.

In order that the heater 80 along with attached outlet assembly 50 are aligned correctly with respect to the fluid outlet 202, the end cap 90 and inner wall 220 also comprise cooperating locating features. The end cap 90 is generally circular but comprises a pair of lugs 96 which extend radially outwardly towards the inner wall 220 and a flattened portion inbetween the pair of lugs 96 which forms a recess 196. The inner the wall 210 comprises a pair of arms 216 which extend radially inwards and are spaced to fit between the pair of lugs 96 and in the recess 196. This restrains the location of the end cap with respect to the heater.

In addition to all of the described location features, seals are provided at both the upstream end 80a and the downstream end 80b of the heater 80 (Figures 2 and 7). Near the upstream end 80a of the heater 80 a lip seal 150 is provided and it extends radially around the outer surface 180a of the wall 180 which extends along and around a heater element 186. The lip seal 150 extends between the wall 180 and the inner wall 220 to prevent any fluid that exits the motor 10 from bypassing the heater 80.

An exit seal 160 is provided between the exit collar 82 and the wall 180 of the heater 80. Both the lip seal 150 and the exit seal 160 are to prevent fluid recirculating around the heater 80 and to stop heated fluid entering the space between the inner wall 220 and the wall 180 of the heater 80.

In addition, an attachment seal 124 is provided between the end cap 90 and the portion 214 of the inner wall 220 that is an external wall of the appliance. This attachment seal 124 is a lip seal and is activated when an attachment 120 is attached to the handle 210. The attachment seal 124 prevents fluid that exits from the fluid outlet 202 from recirculating between the end cap 90 and the portion 214 of the inner wall 220 that is an external wall of the appliance.

The invention has been described in detail with respect to a hot styling device however, it is applicable to any appliance that draws in a fluid and directs the outflow of that fluid from the appliance.

The appliance can be used with or without a heater; the action of the outflow of fluid at high velocity has a drying effect.

The fluid that flows through the appliance is generally air, but may be a different combination of gases or gas and can include additives to improve performance of the appliance or the impact the appliance has on an object the output is directed at for example, hair and the styling of that hair.

The invention is not limited to the detailed description given above. Variations will be apparent to the person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A hand held appliance comprising an elongate body at least partially defined by a housing which extends along a longitudinal axis (X-X), a motor housed within the housing having a rotational axis (F-F) which extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and a heater housed within the housing which extends along a longitudinal axis (H-H) within the elongate body wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater is nonparallel to tire longitudinal axis of the housing.

2. An appliance according to claim 1, wherein the motor extends between a motor inlet and a motor outlet.

3. An appliance according to claim 2, wherein the heater extends between a heater inlet and a heater outlet.

4. An appliance according to claim 3, wherein the heater inlet is aligned with the motor outlet.

5. An appliance according to claim 4, wherein the housing has an inlet and an outlet and the heater outlet is aligned with the outlet of the housing.

6. An appliance according to claim 5, wherein the heater comprises an outlet assembly at the heater outlet and the outlet assembly includes an exit collar.

7. An appliance according to claim 6, wherein the exit collar comprises a flow directing surface for directing flow from the heater outlet to the outlet of the housing.

8. An appliance according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the exit collar comprises a first part which is adapted to engage with the heater outlet.

9. An appliance according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the exit collar comprises a second part which is aligned with the outlet of the housing.

10. An appliance according to any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the outlet assembly further comprises an end cap which incorporates an exit grille.

11. An appliance according to claim 10, wherein the end cap comprises first locating features for locating the end cap with respect to the exit collar.

12. An appliance according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the outlet assembly comprises second locating features for locating the outlet assembly with respect to the housing.

13. An appliance according to any of claims 6 to 12, wherein the outlet assembly comprises a locating feature for locating the heater with respect to the outlet assembly.

14. An appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the housing additionally houses internal components of a user interface.

15. An appliance according to claim 14, wherein the internal components of the user interface are positioned radially adjacent the motor within the housing.

16. An appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the housing additionally houses an ioniser.

17. An appliance according to claim 16, wherein the ioniser is positioned radially adjacent the motor within the housing.

18. A hand held appliance comprising a housing, a motor which is substantially cylindrical and comprises a rotational axis and a heater which is substantially cylindrical having a longitudinal axis line wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater is angled with respect to the rotational axis of the motor.

19. An appliance according to claim 18, wherein the angle is between 1 and 10°.

20. An appliance according to claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the angle is between 2 and 6°.

21. An appliance according to any of claims 18 to 20 wherein the angle is substantially 4°.

22. An appliance according to any of claims 18 to 21, wherein the housing has a fluid outlet and the fluid outlet is circular.

23. An appliance according to any of claims 18 to 22, wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater intersects the rotational axis of the motor.

24. A hand held appliance comprising a housing which is substantially cylindrical having an oval cross-section, a motor which is substantially cylindrical having a circular cross-section and comprises a rotational axis and a heater which is substantially cylindrical having a longitudinal axis wherein the longitudinal axis of the heater is angled with respect to the rotational axis of the motor.

25. A hand held appliance comprising an elongate body, a motor and a heater both housed within the elongate body wherein, the motor comprises a rotational axis and the heater comprises a longitudinal axis and the rotational axis of the motor and the longitudinal axis of the heater are non-parallel.

26. An appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the appliance is a hair care appliance.

27. An appliance according to claim 26, wherein the hair care appliance is a hot styling appliance.