JP2010137001A - Hair dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hand-holding type hair dryer provided with a structure for plainly displaying that it is in a specific operating state. <P>SOLUTION: The hair dryer 1A includes a cylindrical body case 10 having a suction port 12 on one end and a blowout port 13 on the other end. On the outer face of the body case 10, an illumination plate 30 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is coincident with the axial line direction of the cylinder of the body case 10 and light is guided interlocking with a specific operation. The body case 1A is provided with a pair of outer shells 11 of a split shape along the axial line of the cylinder, and the illumination plate 30 is arranged at the joint of this pair of outer shells 11. On the blowout port 13, a mouth edge ring 18 surrounding it is provided. The mouth edge ring 18 is formed with a transparent substance, and at least a part of the light guided into the illumination plate 30 is guided into the mouth edge ring 18 from the illumination plate 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hand-held hair dryer.

Hand-held hair dryers are familiar appliances for everyday use. As the shape of a hair dryer that is commonly seen in general, there are a so-called pistol type as in the first embodiment of Patent Document 1 and a type with a brush as in the second embodiment of Patent Document 1. The main body case of a hair dryer is typically a cylindrical shape having an air inlet at one end and an air outlet at the other end. In the case of the pistol type, the handle portion protrudes from the main body case. The main body case is generally configured by combining a pair of synthetic resin outer shells that are divided into two along the axis of the cylinder, and an example thereof can be seen in Patent Document 2.
JP 2008-229176 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No.59-61702

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held hair dryer with a structure for easily displaying that it is in a specific operating state.

  The present invention provides a hair dryer having a cylindrical main body case having a suction port at one end and a blower outlet at the other end, and the outer surface of the main body case has its longitudinal direction coincided with the axial direction of the cylinder of the main body case It is characterized by being provided with an illuminating plate that is arranged in such a manner that light is introduced into the interior in conjunction with a specific operation.

  According to this configuration, when the hair dryer enters a specific operation state, the illumination plate disposed on the outer surface of the main body case is introduced into the inside so that the longitudinal direction of the hair dryer coincides with the axial direction of the cylinder of the main body case. The user can know at a glance that the hair dryer is in its operating state by shining with the light and displaying it.

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that, in the hair dryer configured as described above, the illumination plate is present from the vicinity of the one end to the vicinity of the other end of the main body case.

  According to this configuration, the illumination plate exists over a wide region from the vicinity of one end of the main body case to the vicinity of the other end, so that the display by illumination can be clearly recognized.

  According to the present invention, in the hair dryer configured as described above, the main body case includes a pair of outer shells that are divided into two along the axis of the cylinder, and the illumination plate has a pair of outer shells. Is arranged.

  According to this configuration, the illumination plate made of a translucent material can be arranged without difficulty in the opaque outer shell.

  According to the present invention, in the hair dryer configured as described above, the main body case has a polygonal cross section, and the illumination plate is disposed at a corner of the polygonal cross section.

  According to this configuration, the presence of the illumination plate stands out, and the user's line of sight is further attracted.

  According to the present invention, in the hair dryer configured as described above, the illumination plate is illuminated by a light emitting element from the inside of the main body case.

  According to this configuration, light can be introduced into the illumination plate without making the light emitting element conspicuous.

  According to the present invention, in the hair dryer configured as described above, the main body case has a built-in negative ion generating element, and light is introduced into the illumination plate when the negative ion generating element is operated.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to visualize the generation state of invisible negative ions.

  Further, the present invention is the hair dryer configured as described above, wherein the air outlet is provided with a lip ring surrounding the lip ring, the lip ring being formed of a translucent material, and at least of the light introduced into the illumination plate. A part is introduced into the lip ring from the illumination plate.

  According to this configuration, the lip ring shines in addition to the illumination plate during a specific operation, so that the user can know the operating condition of the hair dryer more clearly.

  According to the present invention, in the hair dryer configured as described above, an operation knob is provided in the main body case, and at least a part of the light introduced into the illumination plate is used for a backlight of the operation knob.

  According to this configuration, the user can clearly recognize the presence or selection position of the operation knob.

  According to the present invention, the user can know at a glance that the hair dryer is in a specific operation state.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view of the hair dryer, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view obtained by cutting the hair dryer along the axis of the cylinder of the main body case, FIG. 3 is a front view of the hair dryer, and FIG. 4 is a rear view of the hair dryer. 5 is a top view of the hair dryer.

  1 A of hair dryers of 1st Embodiment are a pistol type, and the handle | steering-wheel part 20 protrudes from the lower surface rear end of the cylindrical main body case 10. FIG. The handle portion 20 is connected to the main body case 10 by a hinge shaft 21 (see FIG. 2). The handle portion 20 is in a retracted state along the lower surface of the main body case 10 and is pulled out from the main body case 10 (that is, from FIG. 1 to FIG. 4). Two states (states shown in each figure) can be selected.

  The main body case 10 has a polygonal cross section. In the first embodiment, a pentagon is selected as a polygon. One side of the pentagon is selected as the base, and the corner facing the base is placed at the top of the whole. The main body case 10 is divided in two along the axis of the cylinder by a vertical plane including the corners of the apex, and each of the two parts constitutes the left and right outer shells 11. The main body case 10 is assembled by sandwiching necessary components between the left and right outer shells 11, fixing necessary components to the inner surface of the outer shell 11, and then fixing the left and right outer shells 11 with screws (not shown). The fixing is performed by connecting the outer shells 11 by fitting them.

  The main body case 10 has a suction port 12 at one end thereof (in the case of the present embodiment, an end on the back side) and has a blower outlet 13 at the other end (in the case of the present embodiment, an end on the front side). . The inlet 12 is covered with a grid-like suction grill 12a, and the outlet 13 is covered with a grid-like outlet grill 13a. As seen in FIG. 2, a propeller fan 14, a motor 15, and a heater 16 are disposed between the suction port 12 and the air outlet 13 in order from the suction port 12. When the motor 15 rotates the propeller fan 14, air is sucked from the suction port 12 and discharged from the air outlet 13. The heater 16 heats the discharged air to a predetermined temperature. A negative ion generating element 17 is attached to the inner surface of the blowing grill 13a so that negative ions can be mixed into the air as required.

  The blower outlet 13 is provided with a mouth ring 18 surrounding it. The rim ring 18 has a shape obtained by extending the main body case 10 as it is, and has a pentagonal cross section like the main body case 10. A pair of upper and lower airflow converging plates 19 are formed on the inner surface of the rim ring 18 so as to restrict the width of the airflow blown from the air outlet 13. The lip ring 18 is formed of a translucent material, specifically, a transparent or translucent synthetic resin.

  Similarly to the main body case 10, the handle portion 20 is divided into two by a dividing line that runs vertically in the center when viewed from the front, and each of the two portions constitutes left and right outer shells 21. On the front side of the handle portion 20, two upper and lower slide switches 22 and 23 are provided at the joint of the left and right outer shells 21. The switch 22 located below is a main switch, and the operation knob 22a moves to “OFF”-“COOL”-“HOT” to three switching positions. The operation knob 22a is placed at the “OFF” position when not in use. The upper switch 23 is a sub-switch, and its operation knob 23a moves to “Turbo OFF” − “Turbo ON” in two stages of switching positions. The operation knob 23a is normally placed at the “turbo OFF” position.

  On the outer surface of the main body case 10, there is provided an illumination plate 30 that is arranged in such a manner that its longitudinal direction coincides with the axial direction of the cylinder of the main body case 10. The illumination plate 30 exists from the vicinity of one end on the inlet 12 side to the vicinity of one end on the outlet 13 side. The illuminating plate 30 is made of a transparent synthetic resin, and is subjected to a process of diffusing light in the same manner as the light guide plate of the liquid crystal display panel, and is illuminated from the inside of the main body case 10 with a light emitting element (LED in this embodiment) 31. The whole part exposed on the outer surface of the main body case 10 appears to shine. However, it is needless to say that the whole does not shine uniformly, and it is bright in the vicinity of the light emitting element 31.

  The illumination plate 30 and the light emitting element 31 are arranged at the joint of the left and right outer shells 11, in this case, at the corner of the apex of the pentagonal cross section of the main body case 10. As seen in FIG. 2, one end of the illumination plate 30 faces the end portion of the rim ring 18. Thereby, at least a part of the light introduced into the illumination plate 30 is introduced into the rim ring 18 from the illumination plate 30.

  The operation of the hair dryer 1A of the first embodiment is as follows. When a cord (not shown) extending from the end of the handle portion 20 is connected to a power source and the operation knob 22a of the switch 22 is slid from the “OFF” position to the “COOL” position, the heater 15 is not energized and the motor 15 Then, the negative ion generating element 17 is energized, and cold air mixed with negative ions blows out from the air outlet 13. The light emitting element 31 is also energized, and the light emitting element 31 emits light. The light emitted from the light emitting element 31 is introduced into the illumination plate 30 and causes the illumination plate 30 to shine. Since the illuminating plate 30 that extends long along the axis of the cylinder of the main body case 10 shines, particularly in the case of the first embodiment, a wide area from one end of the main body case 10 to the vicinity of the other end shines. It can be seen at a glance that 1A is blowing cold air mixed with negative ions. In other words, the generation of invisible negative ions can be visualized.

  A part of the light introduced into the illumination plate 30 is introduced into the lip ring 18 and shines the lip ring 18. Thereby, the user can know more clearly that the hair dryer 1A is in the operating state. Even if the edge ring 18 is not subjected to special treatment, the edge of the pentagonal section and the edge of the airflow converging plate 19 appear to shine. If there is a place other than that to be lit, the same light diffusion process as that of the light guide plate of the liquid crystal display panel may be applied to the place.

  When the operation knob 22 a is slid from the “COOL” position to the “HOT” position, the heater 16 is also energized, and hot air mixed with negative ions blows out from the outlet 13. When the operation knob 23a of the switch 23 is slid from the “turbo OFF” position to the “turbo ON” position, the value of the current flowing through the motor 15 and the heater 16 increases, and a larger air volume and a larger amount of hot air are blown out. 13 will blow out.

  Regardless of whether the operation knob 22a is at the “HOT” position or the operation knob 23a is at the “turbo ON” position, the light-emitting element 31 continues to be lit to notify the user that negative ions are being generated. The width of the illumination plate 30 and the light emission amount of the light emitting element 31 are appropriately set so that the illumination plate 30 is recognized as a clear light band by the user. It is desirable to determine these values through experiments. In addition, for example, three types of light emitting elements 31 such as blue, yellow, and red are prepared. Depending on the operation, such as “COOL” lights blue, “HOT” lights yellow, “Turbo ON” lights red, and so on. The emission color may be changed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a perspective view of the hair dryer, FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the hair dryer, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the hair dryer obtained by cutting along the line of FIG. 7, and FIG. It is sectional drawing obtained by cut | disconnecting along the axis line.

  The hair dryer 1B of the second embodiment is the same type with a brush as that presented in Patent Document 1 as the second embodiment. The main body case 40 is not provided with a handle portion, and is used by directly grasping the main body case 40. The main body case 40 is cylindrical and has a polygonal cross section, and a hexagon is adopted as the polygon. The main body case 40 is divided into two along the axis of the cylinder by a horizontal plane including opposite corners of the hexagon, and each of the two parts constitutes upper and lower outer shells 41. The main body case 40 is assembled by sandwiching necessary constituent elements between the upper and lower outer shells 41 and fixing necessary constituent elements on the inner surface of the outer shell 41, and then mounting the upper and lower outer shells 41 with screws (not shown). The fixing is performed by connecting the outer shells 41 by fitting.

  The main body case 40 has a suction port 42 at one end thereof (in the case of the present embodiment, the rear side end), and has a blowout port 43 at the other end (in the case of the present embodiment, the front side end). (See FIG. 9). The suction port 42 is covered with a lattice-shaped suction grille 42a, and the outlet 43 is covered with a lattice-shaped suction grille 43a. As in the first embodiment, a propeller fan, a motor, and a heater are arranged between the suction port 42 and the blower port 43 in order from the suction port 12, but the illustration is omitted. When the motor rotates the propeller fan, air is sucked from the suction port 42 and discharged from the blower port 43. The heater heats the discharged air to a predetermined temperature. A negative ion generating element (not shown) is arranged between the heater and the air outlet 43 so that negative ions can be mixed into the air as necessary.

  A cap 50 is put on the air outlet 43. The cap 50 has a cylindrical shape, and an opening is formed on almost half of the circumference, and a brush 51 is attached thereto. The brush 51 is a synthetic resin molded part, and a large number of hair projections 52 are formed radially, and a plurality of blowout holes 53 are formed between the roots of the hair projections 52.

  On the outer surface of the main body case 40, there is provided an illumination plate 60 that is arranged so that its longitudinal direction coincides with the axial direction of the cylinder of the main body case 40. The illumination plate 60 exists from near one end on the suction port 42 side to near one end on the air outlet 43 side. The illumination plate 60 is made of a transparent synthetic resin, and is subjected to a light diffusing process, like the light guide plate of the liquid crystal display panel, and is illuminated from the inside of the main body case 40 by a light emitting element (LED in the present embodiment) 61. The whole part exposed on the outer surface of the main body case 40 appears to shine. However, it is needless to say that the entirety does not shine uniformly, and that it appears bright in the vicinity of the light emitting element 61.

  The illuminating plate 60 and the light emitting element 61 are arranged at the corner located on the right side of the hexagonal cross section when the main body case 40 is viewed from the outlet 43 when the upper and lower outer shells 41 are joined. The

  The illumination plate 60 is wide at a part of the front (the front side of the air outlet 43 is “front” and the side of the suction port 42 is “rear”), and there are two slide switches 44 and 45 in front and rear. Provided. The positions where the switches 44 and 45 are provided are positions where the thumb of the right hand can easily reach when the main body case 40 is gripped with the right hand. The illumination plate 60 located behind the operation knobs 44a and 45a of the switches 44 and 45 constitutes a backlight of the operation knobs 44a and 45a.

  The switch 44 located on the rear side serves as a heater switch, and its operation knob 44a moves to “HOT”-“COOL” and two-stage switching positions. The switch 45 located at the front is a motor switch, and its operation knob 45a moves to “HIGH”-“LOW”-“OFF” in three switching positions. The operation knob 45a is placed at the “OFF” position when not in use.

  The operation of the hair dryer 1B of the second embodiment is as follows. When a cord (not shown) extending from the rear end of the main body case 40 is connected to the power source and the operation knob 45a of the switch 45 is slid from the “OFF” position to the “LOW” position, the motor and the negative ion generating element are energized, A wind mixed with negative ions blows out from the outlet 43 into the cap 50. Since it is “LOW”, the air volume is small. At this time, if the operation knob 44a of the switch 44 is in the “HOT” position, the heater is also energized and hot air is blown out from the outlet 43, and if it is in the “COOL” position, the heater is not energized from the outlet 43. Cold wind will blow out. The negative ion mixed wind blown into the cap 50 is blown out from the blowing hole 53 of the brush 51 toward the scalp. The light emitting element 61 is also energized, and the light emitting element 61 emits light. The light emitted from the light emitting element 61 is introduced into the illumination plate 60 and causes the illumination plate 60 to shine. Since the illuminating plate 60 extending long along the axis of the cylinder of the main body case 40 shines, particularly in the case of the second embodiment, a wide area from one end vicinity of the main body case 40 to the other end shines. It can be seen at a glance that 1B is blowing a wind of negative ions. In other words, the generation of invisible negative ions is visualized.

  When the operation knob 45a of the switch 45 is slid from “LOW” to “HIGH”, the number of rotations of the motor increases and the amount of air blown from the outlet 43 increases.

  As with the lip ring 18 of the first embodiment, the cap 50 is formed of a translucent material, and a part of the light introduced into the illumination plate 60 is introduced into the cap 50 to make the cap 50 shine. It may be left. By doing so, the user can know more clearly that the hair dryer 1B is in an operating state. If there is a portion in the cap 50 where it is particularly desired to shine, a process for diffusing light similar to that of the light guide plate of the liquid crystal display panel may be applied to the portion.

  As long as the operation knob 45a is in the “LOW” or “HIGH” position, the light emitting element 61 continues to be lit to inform the user that negative ions are being generated. Since the illumination plate 60 is used as the backlight of the operation knobs 44a and 45a, the user can clearly recognize the presence or the selection position of the operation knobs 44a and 45a.

  The width of the illumination plate 60 and the light emission amount of the light emitting element 61 are appropriately set so that the illumination plate 60 is recognized as a clear light band by the user. It is desirable to determine these values through experiments. Alternatively, for example, two types of light emitting elements 61 may be prepared, for example, blue and red, and the light emission color may be changed according to the operation, for example, “COOL” lights blue and “HOT” lights red.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

    The present invention is widely applicable to hand-held hair dryers.

The perspective view of the hair dryer which concerns on 1st Embodiment Sectional drawing obtained by cutting the hair dryer which concerns on 1st Embodiment along the axis line of the cylinder of a main body case Front view of the hair dryer according to the first embodiment Rear view of the hair dryer according to the first embodiment Top view of the hair dryer according to the first embodiment A perspective view of a hair dryer according to a second embodiment Bottom view of hair dryer according to second embodiment Cross section of the hair dryer obtained by cutting along the line Sectional drawing obtained by cutting the hair dryer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment along the axis line of the cylinder of a main body case

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A Hair dryer 10 Main body case 11 Outer shell 12 Intake port 13 Outlet 14 Propeller fan 15 Motor 16 Heater 17 Negative ion generating element 18 Edge ring 20 Handle part 22, 23 Switch 22a, 23a Operation knob 30 Illuminating plate 31 Light emitting element 1B Hair dryer 40 Main body case 41 Outer shell 42 Suction port 43 Air outlet 44, 45 Switch 44a, 45a Operation knob 50 Cap 51 Brush 52 Hair projection 53 Air outlet 60 Illuminating plate 61 Light emitting element

Claims (8)

A cylindrical body case having a suction port at one end and a blowout port at the other end,
The outer surface of the main body case is provided with an illumination plate that is arranged so that its longitudinal direction coincides with the axial direction of the cylinder of the main body case, and light is introduced into the interior in conjunction with a specific operation. Hair dryer characterized by.   The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the illumination plate exists from the vicinity of the one end of the main body case to the vicinity of the other end.   The said main body case is provided with a pair of outer shells which are divided into two along the axis of the cylinder, and the illumination plate is disposed at the joint of the pair of outer shells. Or the hair dryer of 2.   The hair dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main body case has a polygonal cross section, and the illumination plate is disposed at a corner of the polygonal cross section.   The hair dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the illumination plate is illuminated by a light emitting element from the inside of the main body case.   6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the main body case contains a negative ion generating element, and light is introduced into the illumination plate during operation of the negative ion generating element. Hair dryer.   The blower outlet is provided with a rim ring surrounding the lip ring. The rim ring is formed of a translucent material, and at least a part of the light introduced into the illuminating plate is introduced into the rim ring from the illuminating plate. The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the hair dryer is a hair dryer.   The operation knob is provided in the main body case, and at least a part of the light introduced into the illumination plate is used for a backlight of the operation knob. Hair dryer.

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