JP2019025144A - Hair Dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a hair dryer further suppressing damage on hair.SOLUTION: A hair dryer includes: an air blowing part blowing air; a hair detection part detecting whether or not the air blown from the air blowing part blows onto hair; a time measurement part measuring time when the hair detection part detects that the air is blown onto the hair; a determination part determining the dry condition of the hair on the basis of the time measured by the time measurement part; and an air control part controlling at least one of temperature and air velocity of the air blown by the air blowing part on the basis of a result determined by the determination part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a hair dryer having a function of controlling wind temperature or wind speed.

  Conventionally, what was described in patent document 1 is known as this kind of hair dryer, for example. In Patent Document 1, the temperature of the hair to which hot air is applied is detected, and when the temperature of the detected hair reaches a predetermined temperature, control is performed to simultaneously reduce the temperature of the hot air (heating power) and the wind speed. A hair dryer constructed in is described.

JP-A-7-289347

  However, the hair dryer of Patent Document 1 still has room for improvement in terms of further suppressing hair damage.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a hair dryer that can further suppress hair damage.

In order to achieve the above object, a hair dryer according to the present invention includes a blower that blows wind,
A hair detection unit that detects whether or not the wind blown from the blower unit hits the hair; and
A time measuring unit for measuring the time when the hair detecting unit detects that the wind is hitting the hair; and
A determination unit that determines a dry state of the hair based on the time measured by the time measurement unit;
A wind control unit that controls at least one of a temperature and a wind speed of the air blown by the blower unit, based on the result determined by the determination unit;
Is provided.

  According to the hair dryer according to the present invention, hair damage can be further suppressed.

It is a perspective view of a hair dryer concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the internal structure of the hair dryer of FIG. It is a block diagram regarding the control part of the hair dryer of FIG. It is a graph showing the relationship between drying time and the temperature of hair. It is a graph showing the relationship between drying time and the time which the time measurement part measured. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the moisture content of hair, and the temperature of hair. It is a graph showing the relationship between the time when the hair hits the hair when the wind is applied to each of the root and the tip of the hair and the wind hits the hair.

(Knowledge that became the basis of this disclosure)
As a result of intensive studies in order to further suppress hair damage, the present inventors have obtained the following novel findings.

  When heating the hair with warm air, in the initial stage of heating, the moisture contained in the hair functions to shield the heat, and the damage to the hair is suppressed. On the other hand, the amount of moisture contained in the hair decreases as the hair is heated by the warm air. For this reason, the function which shields the heat by the moisture content contained in hair weakens, and it becomes easy to damage hair. Therefore, the conventional hair dryer is configured to detect the temperature of the hair to which the hot air is applied, and when the detected temperature of the hair reaches a predetermined temperature, control is performed to simultaneously reduce the temperature of the hot air and the wind speed. Has been. However, the amount of water contained in the hair is not proportional to the temperature of the hair.

  For example, in hair to which hot air is applied, it is assumed that the amount of moisture (moisture content) contained in the hair is 35% and the temperature of the hair is 30 degrees at the start of heating. Also, at the end of heating, it is assumed that the optimum moisture content contained in the hair is 10%, and the hair temperature necessary to obtain the optimum moisture content is 60 degrees. In this case, when heating is started by a hair dryer, as shown in FIG. 5, the temperature of the hair rapidly rises, and when the temperature becomes about 50 degrees or more, the temperature change of the hair becomes small. When the temperature of the hair reaches about 60 degrees, the amount of moisture continues to decrease while maintaining the temperature almost constant. More specifically, when the amount of water contained in the hair is 10% to 20%, the temperature of the hair is maintained at about 60 degrees.

  For this reason, in the conventional configuration in which the temperature of the hot air and the wind speed are controlled to be simultaneously reduced when the temperature of the hair reaches a predetermined temperature (for example, 60 degrees), the amount of water contained in the hair is the optimum amount of water. Before reaching 10%, the temperature of the warm air and the wind speed are simultaneously reduced. For this reason, the user mistakenly recognizes that the portion of the hair to which the hot air is applied has been dried, and changes the portion to which the hot air is applied to another portion of the hair, or stops the operation of the hair dryer. In this case, the overall dry state of the hair becomes insufficient, which can cause damage to the hair.

  Also, the user usually changes the part of the hair to which hot air is applied in order to dry the entire hair more uniformly. At this time, the temperature of the part of the hair that has been heated by the warm air and has reached the optimum moisture content decreases while the hot air is not being applied. In this state, when hot air is again applied to the hair part, high temperature and strong wind speed are blown until the temperature of the hair part reaches 60 degrees, and the entire hair is excessively heated. Can happen. In this case, the hair is damaged.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the present inventors have a correlation between the dry state of the hair and the time that the wind hits the hair, and further, the correlation is at a place where the wind is applied to the hair. The new knowledge that it does not depend was obtained. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the weight of the hair and the time that the wind hits the hair when the wind is applied to each of the root and the tip of the hair. A change in the weight of the hair indicates a change in the amount of water contained in the hair. In FIG. 6, the solid line indicates the result when the wind is applied to the base of the hair, and the dotted line indicates the result when the wind is applied to the tip of the hair. From FIG. 6, it can be confirmed that there is a similar correlation between the time that the wind hits the root of the hair and the weight of the hair, and the time that the wind hits the tip of the hair and the weight of the hair. The following can be considered as this reason. When wind is applied to the base of the hair, the hair is dried in a fixed state by being pressed against the scalp with the wind. On the other hand, when the wind is applied to the tip of the hair, the hair is not fixed and flutters with the wind. Is done. As a result, the same correlation is obtained between the time that the wind strikes the hair and the weight of the hair, regardless of where the wind is applied to the hair. For this reason, hair can be dried without being particularly conscious of the location where the wind is applied to the hair.

  Based on this new knowledge, the present inventors determine the dry state of the hair based on the time that the wind hits the hair, and control the temperature or speed of the wind according to the dry state of the hair, thereby The inventors have found that the damage can be suppressed, and have reached the following invention.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a blower that blows wind;
A hair detection unit that detects whether or not the wind blown from the blower unit hits the hair; and
A time measuring unit for measuring the time when the hair detecting unit detects that the wind is hitting the hair; and
A determination unit that determines a dry state of the hair based on the time measured by the time measurement unit;
A wind control unit that controls at least one of a temperature and a wind speed of the air blown by the blower unit, based on the result determined by the determination unit;
A hair dryer is provided.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the hair detection unit includes a non-contact temperature sensor, and the temperature of the hair is set in advance from the ambient temperature around the hair based on the detection temperature of the non-contact temperature sensor. The hair dryer according to the first aspect, in which it is determined that the wind is hitting the hair when it is detected that the temperature is higher than the applied temperature.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the hair detection unit includes a distance sensor, and determines that the wind is hitting the hair when the detection distance of the distance sensor is shorter than a preset distance. A hair dryer according to an aspect is provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the determination unit determines the hair dry state based on whether or not the time measured by the time measurement unit has reached at least one reference value set in advance. The hair dryer according to any one of the first to third aspects is provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, further comprising a length input unit for inputting the length of the hair,
The determination unit provides the hair dryer according to the fourth aspect, in which the reference value is changed according to the length of the hair input by the length input unit.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the hair quantity input unit for inputting the hair quantity of the hair is further provided,
The determination unit provides the hair dryer according to the fourth or fifth aspect, in which the reference value is changed according to the hair amount input by the hair amount input unit.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it further comprises an environmental temperature detection unit for detecting the environmental temperature around the hair,
The determination unit provides the hair dryer according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, in which the reference value is changed according to the environmental temperature detected by the environmental temperature detection unit.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises an environmental humidity detector that detects the environmental humidity around the hair,
The determination unit provides the hair dryer according to any one of the fourth to seventh aspects, in which the reference value is changed according to the environmental humidity detected by the environmental humidity detection unit.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment.

  Further, in the following, for convenience of explanation, terms indicating directions such as “up”, “down”, “front”, “rear” and the like are used assuming a state during normal use, but the use of the hair dryer of the present invention is used. It does not mean limiting the state or the like.

<Embodiment>
The overall structure of the hair dryer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hair dryer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an internal configuration of the hair dryer 1 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hair dryer 1 according to this embodiment includes a main body portion 10 and a handle portion 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a blower 11 that blows wind is provided inside the main body 10. The blower unit 11 includes a fan 12, a motor 13 that is an example of a drive source, and a heater 14 that is an example of a heating unit. The fan 12 is rotationally driven by a motor 13 to take outside air into the main body 10 through a suction port 10 a provided at the rear end of the main body 10, and is provided at the front of the main body 10. It is comprised so that it may ventilate outside through the ventilation port 10b. The heater 14 heats the air blown from the fan 12 to generate hot air. In addition, about the detailed structure of the vicinity of the ventilation port 10b, since it is the same as that of the conventional hand dryer, it abbreviate | omits.

  Further, inside the main body 10, a room temperature sensor 15 that is an example of an environmental temperature detection unit that detects an environmental temperature around the hair, and a humidity that is an example of an environmental humidity detection unit that detects the environmental humidity around the hair. A sensor 16 is provided.

  A hair detection unit 17 that detects whether or not the wind blown from the blower unit 11 is hitting the hair is provided at the front of the main body unit 10. In this embodiment, the hair detection part 17 has the infrared sensor which is an example of a non-contact temperature sensor. Based on the detection temperature of the infrared sensor, the hair detection unit 17 confirms that the temperature of the hair is higher than a temperature around the hair (detection temperature of the room temperature sensor 15) by a preset temperature (for example, 2 degrees) or more. When detected, it is determined that the wind is hitting the hair. The environmental temperature around the hair is based on the assumption that the temperature of the hair when warm air is not applied (when not heated) is the same or substantially the same as the environmental temperature around the hair. Because.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a length input unit 18 that inputs the length of hair and a hair amount input unit 19 that inputs the amount of hair are provided on the upper part of the main body 10. For example, the length input unit 18 is configured to be able to input the hair length in three stages of “short”, “normal”, and “long”. The hair amount input unit 19 is configured to be able to input the hair amount in three stages, for example, “large”, “normal”, and “low”.

  The handle portion 20 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end portion 20 a of the handle portion 20 is rotatably attached to the rear lower end portion 10 c of the main body portion 10. A power cord 21 is connected to the lower end 20 b of the handle portion 20. When the power cord 21 is connected to an external power source, power for driving the hair dryer 1 is supplied.

  A switch 23, which is an example of an input unit, is provided on the front side surface of the handle unit 20. The user can operate the switch 23 to turn on / off the power source, switch between hot and cold air, switch the air volume, and the like.

  A control unit 22 that controls the operation of each unit and each device is provided inside the handle unit 20.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram relating to the control unit 22 of the hair dryer 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 22 includes a blower unit 11, a room temperature sensor 15, a humidity sensor 16, a hair detection unit 17, a length input unit 18, a hair amount input unit 19, and a switch 23. Is electrically connected. The control unit 22 controls driving of the air blowing unit 11 based on input information input through the switch 23, detection information of the room temperature sensor 15, the humidity sensor 16, and the hair detection unit 17. The control unit 22 includes a time measurement unit 24, a determination unit 25, and a wind control unit 26.

  The time measurement unit 24 measures the time when the hair detection unit 17 detects that the wind is hitting the hair.

  FIG. 4A is a graph showing the relationship between drying time and hair temperature. FIG. 4B is a graph showing the relationship between the drying time and the time measured by the time measuring unit 24. As shown in FIG. 4A, the temperature of the hair changes while the hair is being dried. Based on the detection temperature of the infrared sensor, the hair detection unit 17 determines that the wind is hitting the hair when the temperature of the hair is higher than the ambient temperature around the hair (the detection temperature of the room temperature sensor 15) by a predetermined temperature or more. to decide. Thereby, the hair detection part 17 can judge that the wind is hitting hair, without contacting with hair. As shown in FIG. 4B, the time measurement unit 24 measures (integrates) the time when the hair detection unit 17 detects (determines) that the wind is hitting the hair.

  The determination unit 25 determines the dry state of the hair based on the time measured by the time measurement unit 24. In the present embodiment, the determination unit 25 determines the hair dry state based on whether or not the time measured by the time measurement unit 24 has reached at least one reference value (for example, 3 minutes) set in advance. judge.

  The wind control unit 26 controls at least one of the temperature and the wind speed of the wind blown by the blower unit 11 based on the result determined by the determination unit 25. That is, the wind control unit 26 controls driving of the fan 12, the motor 13, and the heater 14 based on the result determined by the determination unit 25. For example, when the result determined by the determination unit 25 does not reach the reference value, the wind control unit 26 controls the blower unit 11 to maintain the wind temperature and the wind speed. For example, when the result determined by the determination unit 25 has reached the reference value, the wind control unit 26 controls the blower unit 11 to weaken at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed. Thereby, when the dry state of the hair reaches an optimum state, at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed is weakened, so that the hair can be further prevented from being damaged.

  In addition, the hair dryer of patent document 1 is comprised so that the temperature and wind speed of a warm air may be weakened when the temperature of the part which has applied the warm air reaches predetermined temperature. For this reason, the user needs to change the portion to which the hot air is applied to another portion each time the temperature and the wind speed of the hot air are weakened. That is, while the whole hair is heated by warm air, the temperature of the warm air and the strength of the wind speed are frequently switched. Further, as described above, the amount of water contained in the hair is not proportional to the temperature of the hair. For this reason, although the dry state of hair is inadequate, it may happen that the temperature and the wind speed of warm air are weakened. In this case, the user's comfort is impaired.

  On the other hand, the hair dryer 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to control at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed based on the time when the hair detection unit 17 detects that the wind is hitting the hair. ing. According to this configuration, for example, when the dry state of the hair approaches an optimal state, at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed is automatically weakened. Can be stopped. At this time, the user only needs to be aware that the wind is evenly applied to the entire hair, and since the blowing of the wind is automatically stopped, the dry state of the hair has reached an optimal state. I can know that. Further, since at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed is controlled based on the time when the hair detection unit 17 detects that the wind is hitting the hair, the wind temperature and the wind speed are weakened when the hair is not sufficiently dried. Can be suppressed. Therefore, user comfort can be improved.

  Next, a case where the hair length is input to the length input unit 18 will be described.

  When the length of the hair is different, the time required to apply the wind to the hair to bring the whole hair into an optimal dry state is also different. For example, when the length of the hair is long, the time required to apply the wind to the hair to make the entire hair dry optimally is shorter or longer than usual.

  For this reason, it is preferable that the determination part 25 changes a reference value according to the length of the hair input by the length input part 18. FIG. Accordingly, it is possible to more appropriately determine the dry state of the hair in consideration of the length of the hair, and by controlling at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed based on the determination result, the hair can be damaged. It can be further suppressed.

  Next, a case where the hair amount is input to the hair amount input unit 19 will be described.

  Similarly to the case where the lengths of the hairs are different, when the amount of the hairs is different, the time required for applying the wind necessary for bringing the whole hair into an optimal dry state is also different. For example, when the amount of hair is large, the time required to apply the wind to the hair in an optimal dry state on the hair is less or more than usual.

  In this case, the determination unit 25 preferably changes the reference value according to the hair amount input by the hair amount input unit 19. Accordingly, it is possible to more appropriately determine the dry state of the hair in consideration of the amount of hair, and by controlling at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed based on the determination result, the hair is further damaged. Can be suppressed.

  Further, depending on the user, the hair dryer 1 may be used so that the hair on one side is completely dried and then the hair on the other side is dried. In such a case, while the wind is being applied to one side of the hair, the other side of the hair is naturally dried under the influence of the surrounding environmental temperature (room temperature) or environmental humidity, and the entire hair is brought into an optimal dry state. The time required to apply the wind necessary to do so may be reduced.

  For this reason, it is preferable that the determination unit 25 changes the reference value according to the ambient temperature (room temperature) around the hair detected by the room temperature sensor 15. Accordingly, it is possible to more appropriately determine the dry state of the hair in consideration of the environmental temperature around the hair, and by controlling at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed based on the determination result, Damage can be further suppressed.

  The determination unit 25 preferably changes the reference value according to the ambient humidity around the hair detected by the humidity sensor 16. Accordingly, the dry state of the hair can be more appropriately determined in consideration of the environmental humidity around the hair, and by controlling at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed based on the determination result, Damage can be further suppressed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement in another various aspect. For example, in the above embodiment, the ambient temperature around the hair is detected by the room temperature sensor 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the ambient temperature around the hair may be detected by an infrared sensor of the hair detection unit 17. That is, the infrared sensor of the hair detection unit 17 may be configured to detect the temperature of the hair and the ambient temperature around the hair. Moreover, the control part 22 may be provided with the memory | storage part which memorize | stores beforehand the temperature assumed as the environmental temperature around hair. According to these configurations, the necessity of providing the room temperature sensor 15 can be eliminated.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, when the hair detection part 17 detects that the temperature of hair is more than the preset temperature than the environmental temperature around hair based on the detection temperature of an infrared sensor, a wind is hair However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the hair detection unit 17 includes a distance sensor instead of the infrared sensor, and determines that the wind is hitting the hair when the detection distance of the distance sensor is shorter than a preset distance (for example, 30 cm). Also good. According to this configuration, since it is determined that the wind is hitting the hair regardless of the temperature of the hair, the hair detection unit 17 determines whether the wind is hitting the hair even if the wind blown from the blowing unit 11 is cold. Can be detected.

  It is to be noted that, by appropriately combining any of the various embodiments, the effects possessed by them can be produced.

  Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the present invention, so long as they do not depart from the scope of the present invention according to the appended claims.

  Since the present invention can further suppress hair damage, it is useful for commercial and household hair dryers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hair dryer 10 Main body part 10a Suction port 10b Blower port 10c Lower back end part 11 Blower part 12 Fan 13 Motor 14 Heater 15 Room temperature sensor 16 Humidity sensor 17 Hair detection part 18 Length input part 19 Hair amount input part 20 Handle part 20a Upper end Unit 20b Lower end 21 Power cord 22 Control unit 23 Switch 24 Time measurement unit 25 Judgment unit 26 Wind control unit

Claims (8)

A blower for blowing wind;
A hair detection unit that detects whether or not the wind blown from the blower unit hits the hair; and
A time measuring unit for measuring the time when the hair detecting unit detects that the wind is hitting the hair; and
A determination unit that determines a dry state of the hair based on the time measured by the time measurement unit;
A wind control unit that controls at least one of a temperature and a wind speed of the air blown by the blower unit, based on the result determined by the determination unit;
Equipped with a hair dryer.   When the hair detection unit has a non-contact temperature sensor and detects that the temperature of the hair is higher than a preset temperature around the hair based on the detection temperature of the non-contact temperature sensor The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the hair is judged to hit the hair.   The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the hair detection unit includes a distance sensor, and determines that the wind is hitting the hair when a detection distance of the distance sensor is shorter than a preset distance.   The said determination part determines the drying state of hair based on whether the time measured by the said time measurement part has reached at least 1 reference value set beforehand. A hair dryer according to item 1. It further comprises a length input unit for inputting the length of the hair,
The hair dryer according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the length of the hair input by the length input unit. It further comprises a hair volume input unit for inputting the hair volume,
The hair dryer according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to a hair amount input by the hair amount input unit. It further comprises an environmental temperature detector that detects the environmental temperature around the hair,
The hair dryer according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the environmental temperature detected by the environmental temperature detection unit. An environmental humidity detector that detects the environmental humidity around the hair is further provided.
The hair dryer according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the environmental humidity detected by the environmental humidity detection unit.

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