JP2004055351A - Ion generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable ion generating device having an electrical discharge means 12 in a prescribed case body 10, blowing off anion generated at the electrical discharge means 12 from an ion release port 24 toward the outside of the case body 10, capable of enhancing the supply efficiency of anion to the hair while maintaining a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: The portable ion generating device comprises a discharge electrode 16 capable of generating anion by applying a high voltage in negative polarity, and a blowing means 30 in a case body 10, and a high voltage is intermittently applied to the electrical discharge electrode 16, and a discharge stop interval is changed corresponding to the size of the blow-off amount by the blast means 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ion generating device that includes an ion generating means inside a case and can spray ions from a short distance to a human body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, the discharge means is built into portable beauty tools, mainly for treating hair, such as a dryer, brush, iron, or blosser, and by spraying negative ions in parallel during hair treatment, It is known that hydration can be efficiently performed for each one.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
To supply water to the hair, a high voltage of negative polarity is applied to the pointed discharge electrode to cause corona discharge, and the negatively charged oxygen is combined with minute water in the air by this discharge to form negative ions. When negative ions are attracted and neutralized by drying and positively charged hair, water molecules constituting the negative ions are directly attached to each hair to supply water to the hair. It is considered.
[0004]
As the effects of such negative ions have become known, the means of generating negative ions have also been incorporated into various portable beauty devices, but this type of device has been reduced in size and weight. As a result, it is required to manufacture products with a view to battery operation as well. As a result, development of more efficient ion generating means has been desired.
[0005]
In response to such a demand, the present inventors have conducted research, and as a result, by intermittently generating negative ions, it is possible to minimize the supply of negative ions, such as hair and skin, to an excessively charged target. It was found that the generated negative ions were effectively used and fed to the hair without waste.
[0006]
The present invention has been made based on such knowledge, and by intermittently applying a high voltage of negative polarity to the discharge electrode, negative ions generated inside the case body can be removed from the hair or skin. An object of the present invention is to provide an ion generator that can efficiently supply a supply target.
[0007]
The present invention further provides a negative ion by setting a continuous discharge or pause time as short as possible immediately after the driving of the discharge means, and setting the pause time longer than the discharge time after the set time has elapsed. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ion generator capable of performing discharge control appropriately corresponding to the magnitude of the influence of ions at the supply target peripheral position and increasing the supply of negative ions in the initial stage of driving.
[0008]
Further, the present invention can generate a positive ion in response to a discharge for generating a negative ion while the discharge for generating the negative ion is paused, thereby strongly preventing an object to be supplied with a negative ion such as hair or skin from being excessively charged. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ion generating device that can prevent the generation.
[0009]
Furthermore, by making it possible to forcibly discharge ions by the air blowing means and controlling the pause period of negative ion generation or the generation period of positive ions in response to the change in air flow, the effect of diffusion due to the size of the air flow It is an object of the present invention to provide an ion generating device that performs control in consideration of the above.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the ion generating apparatus according to the present invention includes a discharge unit 12 inside a predetermined case body 10 and discharges ions generated from the discharge unit 12. It can be discharged from the outlet 24 to the outside of the case body 10.
[0011]
According to the present invention, the discharge means 12 further includes a discharge electrode 16 capable of generating ions in response to a discharge to which a high voltage having a predetermined polarity is applied. As described above, a high voltage of at least a negative polarity is intermittently applied. At this time, it is preferable that the ratio of the application of the high voltage to the discharge electrode 16 and the pause is set such that the application time of the high voltage is sufficiently longer than the pause time.
[0012]
In addition, a switch means 15 for regulating the drive start timing of the discharge means 12 is provided, and the ratio of the application of a high voltage to the discharge electrode 16 and the pause are changed in response to the lapse of time immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on. It is also possible to make it.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 7B, immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on, a high voltage is continuously applied to the discharge electrode 16, but after the elapse of a set time of, for example, about 1 minute, the above-described intermittent application of the high voltage is performed. The operation can be performed. In this case, the change of the high voltage application ratio is performed stepwise every time a set time elapses after the switch unit 15 is turned on, or continuously at a predetermined change ratio after the switch unit 15 is turned on. It may be made to perform it.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 7C, the time ratio between the application of the high voltage and the pause is set such that the application time immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on is longer than the pause time, and the application time after the set time has elapsed is shorter than the pause time. can do.
[0015]
Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, a positive high voltage may be applied to the discharge electrode 16 during part or all of the negative high voltage application suspension period.
[0016]
In this case, it is possible to alternately apply a high voltage of a negative polarity and a high voltage to the discharge electrode 16 or, as shown in FIG. 8, a first discharge in which a high voltage of a negative polarity is applied. There may be at least two of the electrode 16a and the second discharge electrode 16b to which a high voltage having a positive polarity is applied, and both may perform the discharge operation at different times.
[0017]
A switch means 15 for regulating the drive start timing of the discharge means 12 is provided. In response to the lapse of time immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on, the application time of the negative high voltage to the discharge electrode 16 and the positive high voltage Of the application time is changed. Immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on, a high voltage of negative polarity is continuously applied to the discharge electrode 16 as shown in FIG. 9B. The voltage application time is maintained at or above the set value. Further, the increase of the application time to the high-polarity high-voltage discharge electrode can be performed stepwise every time the set time elapses from the turning on of the switch means 15, or can be performed continuously at a predetermined change rate. it can.
[0018]
The ratio of the application time of the high voltage of the negative polarity and the high voltage is such that the application time of the negative polarity is long immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on, and the application time of the positive polarity is long after the set time has elapsed. Good.
[0019]
It further includes a blowing means 30 for forcibly releasing ions generated by the discharging means 12 to the outside of the case body 10, and the air flow in the blowing means 30 can be changed, while the air flow by the sending means 30 is detected. At 17, the pause time can be increased as the air volume in the air blowing means 30 decreases.
[0020]
Further, a switch means 15 for regulating the drive start timing of the discharge means 12 is provided. Immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on, a high voltage is continuously applied to the discharge electrode 16 regardless of the air volume. After the time elapses, the above-described intermittent high voltage application operation is performed.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention is configured so as to intermittently apply the high voltage of the negative polarity to the discharge electrode 16, so that the negative ions staying around the supply target of the ion during the pause of the discharge are reduced. In addition, the negative ions that are subsequently supplied prevent the effects of stagnant ions and prevent the generated ions from being wasted as much as possible while efficiently removing the negative ions to which minute moisture has adhered to the hair and skin. Etc. can be attached to the supply target. Since the elimination of the negative ions is performed in a very short time, the negative ions can be more efficiently supplied during a normal operation by setting the discharge pause period to be sufficiently short.
[0022]
Further, immediately after the discharge means 12 is driven, there is no charging due to negative ions, so that continuous discharge is performed or the pause time is set as short as possible, and after the set time elapses, the pause time is set longer than the discharge time. By doing so, the supply of the negative ions appropriately corresponding to the magnitude of the driving time is performed. In particular, in the case of an object such as hair that is likely to be positively charged, continuous operation is preferable because it takes time for neutralization after the supply of negative ions is started and for further negative charging. Thereafter, the negative ions can be supplied while preventing the negative ions from becoming excessive due to the intermittent operation. Conversely, if the driving is continued for a long time, the influence of the stagnation of the negative ions increases. Therefore, the effect of the stagnation can be reduced by setting the pause time of generation longer.
[0023]
In addition, by generating positive ions in response to the suspension of the discharge for generating the negative ions described above, the excess negative ions are positively neutralized by the positive ions, and are applied to the object (hair, skin). The excessively accumulated negative ions can be removed more strongly than when they are naturally eliminated. In addition, since moisture is also attached to the positive ions, more moisture can be supplied to the object (hair, skin) than when the discharge is simply stopped, and the moisturizing effect on the object can be increased.
[0024]
By alternately applying a high voltage of a positive polarity and a negative voltage to one discharge electrode in order to generate a negative ion and a positive ion alternately, the configuration of the discharge electrode can be simplified. Further, by providing two discharge electrodes for negative ions and for positive ions and using them properly, the degree of freedom in the generation timing of both ions is increased, and more accurate ion generation control becomes possible.
[0025]
Furthermore, the ions can be forcibly discharged by the blowing means 30 and the pause period of the negative ion generation or the generation period of the positive ions corresponding to the change of the blowing amount is controlled, so that the negative ions due to the change of the blowing amount are reduced. Control corresponding to the difference in the degree of diffusion of ions is performed.
[0026]
Especially in the case of a large air volume, in addition to the large negative ion diffusion effect due to the air volume itself, the strength of the air volume tends to unintentionally move the air outlet from the target, resulting in the The amount of negative ions staying in the vicinity of the battery does not cause much problem, and even if continuous discharge or intermittent discharge close to the continuous discharge occurs, there is little inconvenience due to the stay of negative ions.
[0027]
Conversely, in the case of a small air volume, in addition to the small negative ion diffusion effect due to the air volume itself, there is a tendency for the air outlet to approach the target unconsciously due to the small air volume. Yes, as a result, the amount of negative ions stagnating around the target increases, so that intermittent discharge is performed, and the effect of negative ion stagnation is set by setting the pause period to be sufficiently larger than in the case of large airflow. As a result, the supply of negative ions is performed efficiently regardless of the difference in air volume.
[0028]
Immediately after the switch means 15 is turned on, a high voltage is continuously applied to the discharge electrode 16 irrespective of the magnitude of the air flow. However, after the set time has elapsed, the above-described intermittent high voltage application operation is performed. With this configuration, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of ion supply at the beginning of the air blowing.
[0029]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the ion generator according to the present invention will be described in more detail based on an example in which the ion generator is applied to the hair dryer 32 shown in FIGS. Here, as schematically shown in FIG. 2, the hair dryer 32 includes a horizontally long tubular main body case 26 and a handle 28 which is swingably attached to a base end side of the main body case 26. .
[0030]
In the main body case 26, a motor that uses a commercial AC voltage Va supplied from the outside as a driving source, and has a heat generating portion 38 provided with a coil-shaped heater 36 at a front end side, and a blower capable of blowing air to the heat generating portion 38 A blower unit 44 including a fan 40 and a fan 42 is provided on the base end side, and a discharge unit 46 is provided in the heater 36 of the heat generating unit 38 to generate ions. Further, in conjunction with the electric circuit shown in FIG. 3 provided on the handle 28 and the switching operation of the changeover switch 48, the air temperature at the time of blowing can be changed in a plurality of steps.
[0031]
Here, the blower 44 performs full-wave rectification of the commercial AC voltage Va by a diode bridge 50 connected in series with the normally open first contact 52 of the changeover switch 48, and the DC motor 40 driven by the voltage rectifies the fan 42. In the present embodiment, the diode 53 and the normally open second contact 55 are further connected in series with the diode bridge 50.
[0032]
The first contact 52 and the second contact 55 are simultaneously closed in response to the first-stage sliding operation of the changeover switch 48, and the pulsating voltage subjected to full-wave rectification is applied to the motor 40. A large amount of air is blown at room temperature without heating.
[0033]
Next, the heating section 38 connects the normally open third contact 54 and the diode 56 in series with the heater 36, and connects the normally open fourth contact 58 in parallel with the diode 56.
[0034]
When the changeover switch 48 is slid to the second stage, the third contact 54 is turned on in addition to the first contact 52, so that the heater 36 is half-wave rectified by the diode 56 and is driven with half the rated power. As a result, a small amount of heat is generated. At the same time, the second contact point 55 on the side of the blower unit 44 is opened, so that the voltage rectified by the diode 53 is applied to the motor 40 to rotate at a low speed, so that the air is blown at a medium temperature with a small airflow.
[0035]
When the changeover switch 48 is further slid to the third stage, the fourth contact 58 is closed and the heater 36 is driven by the rated voltage to generate a large amount of heat. At the same time, the second contact 55 of the blower 44 is closed and the motor 40 is closed. As a result of the high-speed rotation, a large amount of air is blown by the high temperature.
[0036]
It should be noted that the air volume and the air temperature that are changed in conjunction with the switching operation of the changeover switch 48 are different from each other in that the two-stage change can be added as described above, and the two are individually and steplessly changed. For example, the number of steps or the combination of the steps can be changed as appropriate, for example, it can be changed continuously. Further, since the basic configurations of the above-described blowing unit 44 and the heat generating unit 38 are substantially the same as those of the related art, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, it is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented by replacing with another known configuration.
[0037]
The present invention has a feature in the configuration of the discharge unit 46. The contact 59 is closed in conjunction with the pushing operation of the ion switch 22 such as a slide type or a push type provided on the handle 28, and the blowing unit 44 6A, the commercial AC voltage Va shown in FIG. 6A is applied to the low-voltage rectifier circuit 60 to start the operation.
[0038]
The low-voltage rectifier circuit 60 performs a half-wave rectification of the input commercial AC voltage Va by the diode 62 and then integrates the same by the resistor 64 and the capacitor 66, thereby obtaining a pulse whose peak value fluctuates around 100V as shown in FIG. Since the flowing voltage Vb is formed, the pulsating voltage Vb is used as a driving voltage for the display circuit 70 and the pulse voltage generating circuit 72.
[0039]
The display circuit 70 includes a light emitting diode 74 on the main body case 26 or the handle 28, and displays the operation of the discharge unit 46 by lighting the light emitting diode 74 with the voltage Vb output from the low voltage rectification circuit 60.
[0040]
The pulse voltage generation circuit 72 has a configuration in which a capacitor 80 is connected in series with a primary coil 78 of a step-up transformer 76, and a Sidac 82 is connected in parallel with the series connection. The Sidac 82 is off when the applied voltage is low, but is turned on when the value of the input pulsating voltage Vb exceeds, for example, 80 V. The capacitor 80 is charged, and the charging current is rapidly discharged through the Sidac 82 and the primary coil 78 when the Sidac 82 is turned on, and the Sidac 82 is turned off. This operation is periodically repeated until the pulsating voltage Vb drops to 80 V or less and the Sidac 82 is always turned off, so that, for example, in response to the cycle of the commercial AC voltage as shown in FIG. A pulse voltage Vc generated intermittently at 1/60 second intervals is generated in the primary coil 78 of the step-up transformer 76.
[0041]
This pulse voltage Vc is boosted in accordance with the turn ratio between the primary coil 78 and the secondary coil 86 of the step-up transformer 76, and then a high voltage comprising a diode 88 and a capacitor 90 connected in series with the secondary coil 86. Applied to the rectifier circuit 92.
[0042]
The high-voltage rectifier circuit 92 integrates a high-voltage pulse voltage intermittently output from the secondary coil 86, and as shown in FIG. 6D, a negative-polarity high voltage Vd that fluctuates in a range of 2 to 4 kV. Is formed, and the voltage Vd is applied to the electrode portion 94. It should be noted that the specific circuit configuration for forming the high voltage Vd is not limited to the above, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented with appropriate changes, such as using a well-known booster circuit conventionally used. .
[0043]
The electrode unit 94 is unitized as shown in FIG. 5 and is installed in a wind guide tube 98 disposed at the center position of the hot air outlet 96 in the main body case 26 shown in FIG. If the discharge to the outside of the main body case 26 is possible, for example, a ventilation path dedicated to ion release is provided on the peripheral surface of the main body case 26, and the electrode portion 94 is disposed therein. Alternatively, the arrangement position is not limited.
[0044]
The electrode portion 94 in this embodiment has a needle-shaped discharge electrode 16 having a sharp tip as a center, a cylindrical counter electrode 20 disposed around the discharge electrode 16, and an insulation between the discharge electrode 16 and the counter electrode 20. It is isolated by the member 100. The insulating member 100 includes an insulating portion 102 that fills the inside of the counter electrode 20 except for a distal end portion of the discharge electrode 16, and a cylindrical isolation portion 104 that surrounds the distal end portion of the discharge electrode 16 toward the front. A corona discharge is started between the discharge electrode 16 and the counter electrode 20, but a sufficient distance for preventing other discharges such as a spark discharge is secured.
[0045]
Further, the negative electrode of the capacitor 90 of the high-voltage rectifier circuit 92 and the discharge electrode 16 are connected by a conductor 108 via a high resistance 106 of, for example, about several MΩ, while the positive electrode of the capacitor 90 and the counter electrode 20 are connected by a conductor 110. Connecting. With this configuration, a high voltage Vd of negative polarity is applied to the discharge electrode 16 to generate a corona discharge only at the tip end of the discharge electrode 16 and generate the negative ions 112 inside the isolation unit 104. And
[0046]
The air guide tube 98 is located in front of the above-mentioned isolation portion 104 and has a cylindrical first tube portion 114 having a slightly larger diameter than the first tube portion 114, and the electrode portion 94 diverging from the base end side of the first tube portion 114. And a second cylindrical portion 116 having a truncated cone shape and extending around the periphery of the second cylindrical portion 116.
[0047]
By maintaining a predetermined gap 122 between the air guide tube 98 and the electrode section 94 with the support arm 118, the airflow 120 sent from the blower section 44 through the air inlet 99 flows through the gap 122. When it passes through and is blown out from the ion discharge port 24 at the tip of the first cylindrical portion 114, it attracts the negative ions 112 generated in the isolation portion 104, and forms the ion flow 124 together with the air flow 120 in the main body case 26. It is released to the outside.
[0048]
The present invention is further characterized in that the control unit 2 is further provided so as to be able to regulate the generation time of the high voltage of negative polarity applied to the discharge electrode 16.
[0049]
The control unit 2 is connected, for example, to the output side of the low-voltage rectifier circuit 60 in the discharge unit 46, and operates in conjunction with the ON operation of the switch contact 59 that regulates the timing of generating negative ions. A step-down circuit 4 for converting the flowing voltage Vb into a low-voltage DC voltage, a control circuit 6 for performing a control operation described below, and a control signal S1 provided on the input side of the pulse voltage generation circuit 72 and output from the control circuit 6 And a switching element 8 such as a transistor or a relay that repeats an on / off operation.
[0050]
By the way, when the negative ions are continuously supplied, the negative ions stay around the object such as the hair and the skin and become excessive, and the next continuously supplied negative ions adhere to the object. Is likely to be inhibited. Therefore, the present invention is characterized in that the discharge performed by the discharge unit 46 is intermittently performed to prevent the influence thereof.
[0051]
For example, the control signal S1 output from the control circuit 6 is basically a rectangular wave that is turned on and off at intervals of 0.1 to several seconds as illustrated in FIG. , The input pulsating voltage Vb is interrupted at a predetermined cycle.
[0052]
Here, the intermittent cycle of the pulsating voltage Vb is set at the shortest in units of 0.1 seconds, while the fluctuation cycle is at the longest in the unit of 0.01 seconds. Therefore, the high voltage Vd output from the high-voltage rectifier circuit 92 and applied to the discharge electrode 16 is intermittently responded to the ON / OFF cycle of the control signal S1, so that the discharge performed at the discharge electrode 16 is also performed at the voltage application timing. Intermittently in response. As a result, the negative ions staying in response to the pause of the discharge disappear, and the effect of the staying is reduced or eliminated.
[0053]
The application cycle of the high voltage of the negative polarity to the discharge electrode 16 is not particularly limited, and can be set arbitrarily. However, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), by setting the pause time sufficiently longer than the discharge time, for example, the application time is 1 second and the pause time is 0.5 second, the discharge time can be reduced during the pause period of the discharge. It is possible to effectively supply negative ions to the hair during the discharge period while preventing the supply of negative ions such as hair and skin from being excessively charged as much as possible.
[0054]
Further, in the present embodiment, the drive start timing of the discharge unit 46 is detected by outputting the drive voltage when the ion switch 22 is turned on, and for about one minute immediately after the start of the discharge, for example, as shown in FIG. 7), no pause period may be provided, or the pause period may be set short as shown in FIG. 7 (c). Immediately after the start of the discharge unit 46, the influence of hair charging due to the stagnation of negative ions is small. The pause time can be set to be constant and changed stepwise, or the time can be gradually increased from the state where the pause time is zero.
[0055]
On the other hand, when the discharge is continued for a long time, the stagnation and charging of the ions around the hair become larger, so that the discharge continued after a set time of, for example, 1 minute or more. In this case, it is preferable that the pause time is set to be sufficiently longer than the discharge time, such as by providing a pause time of 3 seconds for a discharge period of 1 second.
[0056]
The timing at which the pause period is provided during the above-described discharge period is basically based on the assumption that the negative ions generated by the discharge are blown out as ion wind or the amount of air blown by the blower 44 is constant.
[0057]
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the air blowing amount in the air blowing unit 44 is configured to be switchable between two stages of a large air volume and a small air volume. The amount of ions varies.
[0058]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, an air flow detecting means 17 is provided, and the ratio of the pause period to the discharge period is automatically changed in accordance with the detected difference in the air flow. Various methods can be used as the airflow detecting means 17, such as a method of directly measuring the airflow, a method of measuring the voltage applied to the motor 40, and a method of determining the switching position of the switch 48 for switching the airflow.
[0059]
In the present embodiment, the two-stage switching between the large air volume and the small air volume is performed, and the small air volume is achieved only when the changeover switch 48 is at the second slide position. Therefore, a micro switch 9 that is turned on when the changeover switch 48 reaches the corresponding slide position is provided as a detection unit, and a signal S2 output from the micro switch 9 is input to the control circuit 6.
[0060]
Then, while the microswitch 9 is off, the discharge is continuously performed without any pause period, but when the microswitch 9 is turned on and the airflow is small, the discharge is intermittently performed. In addition, it is possible to intermittently discharge even in the case of a large air flow. In this case, control is performed to set the discharge pause period in the case of a large air flow to be shorter than in the case of a small air flow.
[0061]
For example, in the case of a large air volume, in addition to the large negative ion diffusion effect by the air volume itself, the strength of the air volume tends to unintentionally move the air outlet away from the target, and as a result, The amount of negative ions staying around the object rarely causes a problem. Even if the discharge is continuous or near-intermittent as described above, the inconvenience due to the stay of negative ions is small.
[0062]
Conversely, in the case of a small air volume, in addition to the small negative ion diffusion effect due to the air volume itself, due to the small air volume, the air outlet is unintentionally unnecessarily placed on the target object. And the amount of negative ions staying around the object increases. Therefore, by setting the intermittent discharge and setting the suspension period to be sufficiently longer than the case of the large air volume, the influence of the stagnation of the negative ions is reduced, and the negative ions are efficiently supplied regardless of the difference in the air volume. It is.
[0063]
The value of the duty ratio, which is the ratio of the pause time to the discharge time, and the absolute value of each time are determined by experiments, depending on the structure of the discharge unit 46 and the difference in the air volume in the blower unit 44. However, in the present invention, such specific values are not important, and the control procedure and control conditions should be emphasized.
[0064]
That is, the cycle of intermittent operation of the discharge unit 46 is maintained at a constant value of about 1 to several seconds. In this state, the idle period is reduced to zero or as short as possible within a set time of about one minute immediately after the driving of the discharge unit 46 as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, and when the drive continues beyond the set value, Increase the pause period.
[0065]
Conversely, if the drive time continues beyond the set time, control is performed to set the pause time longer than the discharge time. However, since the ions naturally disappear within a predetermined time, the maximum value of the length of the pause period is determined.
[0066]
The basic numerical values as described above are determined by an experiment or the like corresponding to a preset air flow, and the pause time is corrected in accordance with the increase or decrease of the air flow from the reference value. That is, when the air volume increases from the reference air volume, the pause time is reduced, and when the air volume decreases, the pause time is increased. Also, the change ratio and the number of steps can be appropriately changed depending on whether the air volume is changed in three or more steps or indefinitely.
[0067]
The control circuit 6 is of a program control type, a program is created for a plurality of control patterns, and the control of the discharge unit 46 is performed by a control pattern corresponding to the driving state of the device. In addition, if the control circuit 6 is of a fuzzy control type and the above-described control conditions are provided as rules, the automatic control operation can be performed while making a judgment corresponding to the drive conditions.
[0068]
FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the discharge unit 46, in which positive ions can be generated in addition to negative ions. As a method for generating positive ions, two sets of the booster coil 76 and the electrode portion 94 are provided. For generating positive ions, the direction of the diode 88b is reversed, and the pulse voltage is changed in conjunction with the switching operation of the switching element 8a. It is possible to switch between the step-up transformers 76a and 76b to be applied.
[0069]
In addition, it is also possible to provide only two sets of electrode parts 94 for negative ions and for positive ions, and to switch the electrode parts 94 to which a high voltage is applied by switching operation of the switching element 8 during a high voltage rest period, for example. is there. In the case where the number of the electrode portions 94 is one, the control can be performed by changing the polarity of the high voltage applied to the discharge electrode 16.
[0070]
The method of providing the above-described discharge pause period utilizes the fact that excessive negative ions staying around the hair naturally discharge and disappear, but in this embodiment, the positive By generating ions, it is intended to actively eliminate excess negative ions. Therefore, the generation time of the positive ions basically corresponds to the above-mentioned rest period, but the generation amount and the generation time of the positive ions are changed according to the generation position of the positive ions, the structure of the case, and the like. Of course. It is also possible to combine this with providing a rest period.
[0071]
Next, FIG. 10 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a hairbrush 130. The handlebar 28 is linearly extended in the axial direction from the base end center of the main body case 26 having a brush surface 132 on the lower surface side. And the discharge part 46 a is housed in the main body case 26. Note that members having substantially the same functions as those of the configuration of the hair dryer 32 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0072]
The brush surface 132 has an elliptical or rectangular shape that is long in the direction in which the handle 28 extends. The brush surface 132 has one or a plurality of ion emission ports 24, and brush bristles 134 are planted over substantially the entire surface excluding the ion emission ports 24. Is established.
[0073]
The configuration of the discharge portion 46a and the electrode portion 94a housed in the main body case 26 is the same or similar to the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5 applied to the hair dryer 32 except for the heating portion 38. It is also possible. That is, the air blowing unit 44 is driven by using the commercial AC voltage Va, and negative ions are forcibly blown out from the ion discharge port 24 as the ion flow 114 by the air flow 120.
[0074]
However, in this embodiment, various batteries 136 such as a dry battery or a secondary battery having an output voltage of about 3 V, for example, are built in the main body case 26 or the handle 28, and the output voltage from the battery 136 is not shown in an inverter (not shown). A commercial AC voltage Va is used by converting the AC voltage to about 100 V using a circuit, and using this voltage as the input voltage of the pulse voltage generating circuit 72 and the driving voltage of the display circuit 70 shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. It can be driven only by the battery 136 without performing. Further, without providing the blower unit 44 shown in FIG. 3, negative ions are supplied to the hair by utilizing the ionic wind generated at the time of discharge or the natural convection accompanying the hair styling.
[0075]
With this configuration, when the ion switch 22 provided on the handle 28 is turned on, the switch contact 59a is turned on to drive the discharge unit 46a, and at the same time, the light emitting diode 74 of the display circuit 70 is energized to drive the discharge unit 46a. Display inside.
[0076]
In this embodiment, since the blower unit 44 is not provided, only the basic control without the control by the blower is performed among the various controls described above.
[0077]
FIGS. 11 to 13 further show an example in which the present invention is applied to a hair iron 138. In this embodiment, the brush surface 132 of the hair brush 130 is replaced with the lower surface of the main body case 26. An ironing unit 140 is provided. Members having substantially the same functions as those of the hair dryer 32 and the hair brush 130 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0078]
The ironing section 140 includes a main body case lower surface 142 and a pair of an upper surface 146 of a holding arm 144 that is swingably attached to a rotating shaft 143 provided at a base end position of the handle 28. The holding arm 144 is normally urged to open by a spring body 145 such as a coil spring, and as shown in FIG. By sandwiching the hair 150, it is possible to heat and press the hair 150 with the rectangular heating surfaces 152 provided in the longitudinal direction of the center while combing the hair 150 with the hair trimming combs 148 provided on both sides in the width direction. I do.
[0079]
In the present embodiment, the heating of the heating surface 152 is performed by incorporating a heater 36a using a known heating element such as PTC in contact with the back surface side of the heating surface 152. It is not limited. Further, it is not necessary to provide the heater 36a on both of the upper and lower heating surfaces 152, 152. The heater 36a is provided on only one heating surface to generate heat, and is heated and pressed in pairs with the other heating surface. You can also. Even in such a case, since the overall configuration of the ironing unit 140 is substantially the same as that of the related art, detailed description will be omitted.
[0080]
According to the present invention, the discharge section 46b is further provided in the main body case 26 so that negative ions can be sprayed on the hair 150 being processed. The circuit configuration of the discharge unit 46b is the same as or similar to that of FIG. 4 or FIG. The difference from FIG. 4 is that there is no contact 59 that is turned on by the ion switch 22, and that all circuits can be operated simultaneously by operating the changeover switch 48.
[0081]
The electrode portion 94b provided in the discharge portion 46b is provided in parallel at a peripheral position of the lower surface 142 of the main body case and further outside the hairdressing comb 148 in parallel. In the embodiment, three (3) discharge electrodes 16 are provided, and a ring-shaped counter electrode 20 is provided slightly apart from each of the discharge electrodes 16, so that corona discharge can be caused near the tip of the needle-shaped discharge electrode 16. As a result, it is possible to generate negative ions in a substantially band shape.
[0082]
It is needless to say that the configuration of the electrode portion 94b is not limited as long as it can generate negative ions, such as that shown in FIG. It is not necessary to provide a plurality of electrode portions 94b outside the hair dressing comb 148, and it is sufficient that at least one electrode portion is provided at the center, for example.
[0083]
Here, the ion emission port 24 has a narrow slit shape corresponding to the disposition position of the electrode portion 94b, and negative ions generated in the vicinity of the discharge electrode 16 are generated by the air flow 120 by the fan 42 in the main body case. It is configured to be blown out as an ion flow 124 in a direction away from 26.
[0084]
With this configuration, when the switch 48 is turned on, the motor 40 of the blower 44 that rotationally drives the fan 42, the heater 36 a that heats the heating surface 152, the discharge unit 46, and the light emitting diode that indicates that the discharge unit 46 is being driven The driving power is simultaneously supplied to 74 and the operation starts. At this time, the power supply to the heater 36a is automatically controlled so that the temperature of the heating surface 152 is maintained at, for example, about 140 ° C.
[0085]
Then, the hair 150 is slid in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Then, the negative ions blown out from the ion emission port 24a on the leading edge side in the sliding direction adhere to the hair 150, so that the hair 150 is replenished with moisture and moisturized to become soft.
[0086]
The hydrated portion of the hair 150 passes between the upper and lower heating surfaces 152 as the hair iron 138 slides, and is compressed at the same time as the heating, so that the heating surface 152 is flat or corrugated. A predetermined habit corresponding to the difference in shape such as is performed. Further, the pressed hair 150 passes under the ion emission port 24b on the trailing edge side and is sprayed with the negative ions 112 again. As a result, the hair 150 compressed and dried between the upper and lower heating surfaces 152, 152 is compressed. It is possible to replenish the water and regain moisture.
[0087]
In addition, the ion generating device 14 to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the products for the purpose of hair care as described above, but may be any device that uses the negative ions 112 directly or indirectly sprayed on the human body. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.
[0088]
It is also possible to provide a means for detecting the amount of ions in the vicinity of the ion discharge port 24, and to automatically control the control contents of the control unit 2 in accordance with the magnitude of the detected amount of ions.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a basic configuration of a portable ion generator according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a hair dryer.
FIG. 3 shows an entire electric circuit provided in the hair dryer.
FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram showing an example of a discharge unit.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of a discharge electrode.
FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing an operation state of a discharge unit.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of control contents in a discharge unit.
FIG. 8 is an electric circuit diagram showing another configuration of the discharge unit.
9 is a graph showing an example of control contents in the discharge unit shown in FIG.
10A and 10B show an example in which the present invention is applied to a hairbrush. FIG. 10A is a plan view, FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 10A, and FIG. The figure seen in the BB line direction in a) is shown respectively.
FIG. 11 is a side view showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a hair iron.
FIG. 12 is a view of a lower surface side of a main body case in the curling iron.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 11;
[Explanation of symbols]
2 control unit
4 Step-down circuit
6 control circuit
8 Switching element
9 Detection sensor
10 Case body
12 Discharging means
13 control means
14 Ion generator
15 Switch means
16 Discharge electrode
17 Detecting means
20 Counter electrode
22 ion switch
24 ion emission port
26 Body case
30 Blowing means
38 Heating part
44 Blower
46 Discharge section
48 Changeover switch
70 Display circuit
72 pulse voltage generation circuit
76 Step-up transformer
92 High voltage rectifier circuit
94 Electrode section
112 Negative ion
124 ion flow
136 batteries
150 hair

Claims (18)

An ion generating device which has discharge means (12) inside a predetermined case body (10) and which can discharge ions generated from the discharge means (12) to the outside of the case body (10).
The discharging means (12)
A discharge electrode (16) capable of generating ions in response to a discharge to which a high voltage having a predetermined polarity is applied;
An ion generating apparatus characterized by intermittently applying a high voltage of at least a negative polarity to the discharge electrode (16). 2. The ion generator according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the application of the high voltage to the discharge electrode and the pause is set such that the application time of the high voltage is sufficiently longer than the pause time. 3. A switch means (15) for regulating the drive start timing of the discharge means (16);
2. The ion generator according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of application of a high voltage to said discharge electrode and a pause is changed according to a lapse of time immediately after said switch means is turned on. 4. A high voltage is continuously applied to the discharge electrode (16) immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on, but the intermittent high voltage application operation is performed after a lapse of a set time. Ion generator. The ion generator according to claim 4, wherein the change of the application ratio of the high voltage is performed stepwise at every set time from when the switch means (15) is turned on. 5. The ion generator according to claim 4, wherein the change rate of the high voltage is continuously changed at a predetermined change rate from when the switch means (15) is turned on. 4. The ion according to claim 3, wherein the time ratio between the application of the high voltage and the pause is such that the application time immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on is longer than the pause time, and the application time after the set time has elapsed is shorter than the pause time. Generator. The ion generator according to claim 1, wherein a high voltage of a positive polarity is applied to the discharge electrode (16) during a part or all of the suspension of the application of the high voltage of the negative polarity. The ion generator according to claim 8, wherein a high voltage having a negative polarity and a positive polarity is alternately applied to the discharge electrode (16). The discharge electrode (16) has at least two of a first discharge electrode (16a) to which a negative high voltage is applied and a second discharge electrode (16b) to which a positive high voltage is applied. 9. The ion generating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the discharge operation is performed at different times. Switch means (15) for regulating the drive start timing of the discharge means (12);
The ratio of the application time of the negative high voltage to the discharge electrode (16) and the application time of the positive high voltage to the discharge electrode (16) are changed in accordance with the lapse of time immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on. The ion generating device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein Immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on, a high voltage of negative polarity is continuously applied to the discharge electrode (16). The ion generating device according to claim 11, wherein the ion generating device is maintained at a set value or more. 13. The ion generator according to claim 12, wherein the application time to the high-polarity high-voltage discharge electrode (16) is increased stepwise every time a set time elapses after the switch means (15) is turned on. 13. The ion generating device according to claim 12, wherein the application time to the high-polarity high-voltage discharge electrode (16) is continuously increased at a predetermined change rate immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on. The ratio between the application time of the high voltage of the negative polarity and the high voltage of the positive polarity is set such that the application time of the negative polarity is long immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on, and the application time of the positive polarity is long after the set time has elapsed. The ion generating device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein A blower (30) for forcibly releasing ions generated by the discharger (12) to the outside of the case body (10) is further provided, and a flow rate of the blower (30) can be changed.
2. The ion generator according to claim 1, wherein the downtime increases as the air volume in the air blowing unit (30) decreases. 3. 17. The ion generator according to claim 16, wherein a positive high voltage is applied to the discharge electrode (16) during part or all of the negative high voltage application suspension period. Switch means (15) for regulating the drive start timing of the discharge means (12);
Immediately after the switch means (15) is turned on, a high voltage is continuously applied to the discharge electrode (16) irrespective of the magnitude of the air flow. 18. The ion generating device according to claim 16 or 17, which is performed.

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