JP6990884B2 - Hair Dryer - Google Patents

Description

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

Conventionally, as this kind of hair dryer, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. Patent Document 1 detects the temperature of hair to which warm air is applied, and when the detected hair temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, controls to simultaneously weaken the temperature (heating power) and wind speed of the warm air. The hair dryer configured in is described.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-289347

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

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hair dryer capable of further suppressing hair damage in solving the above-mentioned problems.

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

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

It is a perspective view of the hair dryer which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view which shows the internal structure of the hair dryer of FIG. It is a block diagram about the control part of the hair dryer of FIG. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the drying time and the temperature of a hair. It is a graph showing the relationship between the drying time and the time measured by the time measuring unit. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the water content of a hair, and the temperature of a hair. It is a graph showing the relationship between the weight of the hair and the time when the wind hits the hair when the wind is applied to each of the root and the tip of the hair.

(Findings underlying this disclosure)
The present inventors have obtained the following new findings as a result of diligent studies in order to further suppress hair damage.

When the hair is heated by 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, as the heating of the hair by warm air progresses, the amount of water contained in the hair decreases. For this reason, the function of shielding heat due to the amount of water contained in the hair is weakened, and the hair is easily damaged. Therefore, the conventional hair dryer is configured to detect the temperature of the hair to which the warm air is applied, and when the detected hair temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, the temperature of the warm air and the wind speed are simultaneously weakened. Has been done. However, the amount of water contained in the hair is not proportional to the temperature of the hair.

For example, in hair to which warm air is applied, it is assumed that the amount of water (moisture content) contained in the hair is 35% and the temperature of the hair is 30 degrees at the start of heating. Further, it is assumed that the optimum amount of water contained in the hair at the end of heating is 10%, and the temperature of the hair required to obtain the optimum amount of water is 60 degrees. In this case, when the hair is started to be heated by the hair dryer, the temperature of the hair rises rapidly as shown in FIG. 5, and when the temperature reaches 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 water continues to decrease while keeping 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.

Therefore, in the conventional configuration in which the temperature of the warm air and the wind speed are simultaneously weakened 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 a certain 10%, the temperature and speed of the warm air will be weakened at the same time. Therefore, the user erroneously recognizes that the portion of the hair to which the warm air is applied has finished drying, and either changes the portion to which the warm air is applied to another portion of the hair, or stops the operation of the hair dryer. In this case, the dry state of the entire hair becomes insufficient, which may cause damage to the hair.

Also, the user usually changes the portion of the hair to which warm air is applied in order to dry the entire hair more evenly. At this time, the temperature of the portion of the hair that has been heated by the warm air and has reached the optimum amount of water decreases while the warm air is not applied. In this state, when warm air is applied to the hair portion again, warm air having a high temperature and a strong wind speed is blown until the temperature of the hair portion reaches 60 degrees, and the entire hair is excessively heated. Can occur. In this case, the hair will be 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 when the wind hits the hair, and further, the correlation is in the place where the wind is applied to the hair. I got a new finding that it does not depend. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the weight of the hair and the time when the wind hits the hair when the wind is applied to each of the root and the tip of the hair. The change in the weight of the hair indicates the change in the amount of water contained in the hair. In FIG. 6, the solid line shows the result when the wind is applied to the root of the hair, and the dotted line shows 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 when the wind hits the root of the hair and the weight of the hair, and the time when the wind hits the tip of the hair and the weight of the hair. The following can be considered as the reason for this. When the root of the hair is exposed to the wind, the hair is pressed against the scalp by the wind and dried in a fixed state. On the other hand, when the wind is applied to the tips of the hair, the hair is not fixed and flutters in the wind, but the fluttering of the hair causes the hair bundles to loosen, and the contact area between the wind and the hair increases and the hair dries. Will be done. As a result, a similar correlation can be obtained between the time the wind hits the hair and the weight of the hair, regardless of where the wind hits the hair. Therefore, the hair can be dried without being particularly conscious of the place where the wind is applied to the hair.

Based on this novel finding, the present inventors determine the dry state of the hair based on the time when the wind hits the hair, and control the temperature or the wind speed of the wind according to the dry state of the hair. He found that the damage could be suppressed, and came up with the following invention.

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

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the hair detection unit has a non-contact temperature sensor, and the temperature of the hair is set in advance of the ambient temperature of the hair based on the detection temperature of the non-contact temperature sensor. The hair dryer according to the first aspect is provided, which determines that the wind hits the hair when it detects that the temperature is higher than the specified temperature.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the hair detecting unit has a distance sensor, and when the detection distance of the distance sensor is shorter than a preset distance, it is determined that the wind hits the hair. The hair dryer according to the embodiment is provided.

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

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

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

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

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, an environmental humidity detecting unit for detecting the environmental humidity around the hair is further provided.
The determination unit provides the hair dryer according to any one of the fourth to seventh aspects, which changes the reference value 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. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

Further, in the following, for convenience of explanation, terms indicating directions such as "upper", "lower", "front", and "rear" are used assuming a state during normal use, but the hair dryer of the present invention is used. It does not mean to limit 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 vertical cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the hair dryer 1 of FIG.

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

As shown in FIG. 2, a blower portion 11 for blowing wind is provided inside the main body portion 10. The blower unit 11 includes a fan 12, a motor 13 which is an example of a drive source, and a heater 14 which is an example of a heating unit. The fan 12 is rotationally driven by the motor 13 to take in external air into the main body 10 through a suction port 10a provided at the rear end of the main body 10, and is provided at the front of the main body 10. It is configured to blow air to the outside through the air outlet 10b. The heater 14 heats the air blown from the fan 12 to generate warm air. The detailed configuration in the vicinity of the air outlet 10b is the same as that of the conventional hand dryer, and will be omitted.

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

A hair detecting unit 17 for detecting whether or not the wind blown from the blowing unit 11 hits the hair is provided on the front portion of the main body portion 10. In the present embodiment, the hair detection unit 17 has an 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 determines that the temperature of the hair is higher than the ambient temperature around the hair (detection temperature of the room temperature sensor 15) by a preset temperature (for example, 2 degrees) or more. When it is detected, it is determined that the wind is hitting the hair. It should be noted that the environmental temperature around the hair is used as a reference because it can be assumed that the temperature of the hair when it is not exposed to warm air (when it is not heated) is the same as or substantially the same as the environmental temperature around the hair. Because.

As shown in FIG. 1, a length input unit 18 for inputting a hair length and a hair amount input unit 19 for inputting a hair amount are provided on the upper part of the main body unit 10. The length input unit 18 is configured to be able to input the length of the hair in three stages of, for example, "short", "normal", and "long". The hair amount input unit 19 is configured to be able to input the amount of hair in three stages of, for example, "more", "normal", and "less".

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

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

Inside the handle unit 20, a control unit 22 that controls the operation of each unit and each device is provided.

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 to. The control unit 22 controls the drive of the blower unit 11 based on the input information input through the switch 23, the room temperature sensor 15, the humidity sensor 16, and the detection information of 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 measuring unit 24 measures the time when the hair detecting unit 17 detects that the wind hits the hair.

FIG. 4A is a graph showing the relationship between the drying time and the temperature of the hair. 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 hits the hair when the temperature of the hair is higher than the ambient temperature around the hair (detection temperature of the room temperature sensor 15) by a preset temperature or higher. to decide. As a result, the hair detection unit 17 can determine that the wind hits the hair without coming into contact with the hair. As shown in FIG. 4B, the time measuring unit 24 measures (integrates) the time when the hair detecting unit 17 detects (determines) that the wind hits 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 dry state of the hair based on whether or not the time measured by the time measurement unit 24 reaches at least one preset reference value (for example, 3 minutes). 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 the drive 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 so as to maintain the wind temperature and the wind speed. Further, for example, when the result determined by the determination unit 25 reaches the reference value, the wind control unit 26 controls the blower unit 11 so as to weaken at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed. As a result, when the dry state of the hair reaches the optimum state, at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed is weakened, so that the damage to the hair can be further suppressed.

The hair dryer of Patent Document 1 is configured so that the temperature and the wind speed of the warm air are weakened when the temperature of the portion to which the warm air is applied reaches a predetermined temperature. Therefore, the user needs to change the portion to which the warm air is applied to another portion each time the temperature and the wind speed of the warm air are weakened. That is, while the entire hair is being heated by the 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. Therefore, the temperature and the wind speed of the warm air may be weakened even though the dry state of the hair is insufficient. In this case, the user's comfort is impaired.

On the other hand, according to the hair dryer 1 according to the present embodiment, it is configured to control at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed based on the time when the hair detecting unit 17 detects that the wind hits the hair. ing. According to this configuration, for example, when the dry state of the hair approaches the optimum state, at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed is automatically weakened, and when the dry state of the hair reaches the optimum state, the wind is blown. Can be stopped. At this time, the user only needs to be conscious of applying the wind to the entire hair more evenly, and the air blowing is automatically stopped, so that the dry state of the hair has reached the optimum state. You 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 hits the hair, the wind temperature and the wind speed are weakened when the hair is in an insufficient dry state. It can be suppressed. Therefore, the comfort of the user can be improved.

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

When the length of the hair is different, the time required to blow the wind to the hair to make the whole hair optimally dry is also different. For example, if the length of the hair is long, the time required to apply the wind necessary for optimally drying the entire hair to the hair is short or longer than in the normal case.

Therefore, it is preferable that the determination unit 25 changes the reference value according to the length of the hair input by the length input unit 18. This makes it 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 is 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.

Similar to the above-mentioned cases of different hair lengths, when the amount of hair is different, the time required for applying the wind necessary for optimally drying the entire hair to the hair is also different. For example, when the amount of hair is large, the time required to apply the wind necessary for optimally drying the entire hair to the hair is small or longer than in the normal case.

In this case, it is preferable that the determination unit 25 changes the reference value according to the amount of hair input by the hair amount input unit 19. This makes it 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 damage to the hair is further reduced. It can be suppressed.

Further, depending on the user, the hair dryer 1 may be used so as to completely dry the hair on one side and then dry the hair on the other side. In such a case, while the hair on one side is exposed to the wind, the hair on the other side is naturally dried under the influence of the ambient temperature (room temperature) or the environmental humidity, and the entire hair is in an optimum dry state. It may reduce the amount of time it takes to blow the wind on the hair.

Therefore, it is preferable that the determination unit 25 changes the reference value according to the environmental temperature (room temperature) around the hair detected by the room temperature sensor 15. As a result, the dry state of the hair can be more appropriately determined 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, the hair can be determined. The damage can be further suppressed.

Further, it is preferable that the determination unit 25 changes the reference value according to the environmental humidity around the hair detected by the humidity sensor 16. As a result, 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, the hair can be determined. The damage can be further suppressed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be carried out in various other embodiments. 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 environmental temperature around the hair may be detected by the 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 environmental temperature around the hair. Further, the control unit 22 may include a storage unit that stores in advance the temperature assumed to be the environmental temperature around the hair. With these configurations, it is possible to eliminate the need to provide the room temperature sensor 15.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the hair detection unit 17 detects that the temperature of the hair is higher than the ambient temperature of the hair by a preset temperature or higher based on the detection temperature of the infrared sensor, the wind blows the hair. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the hair detection unit 17 has a distance sensor instead of the infrared sensor, and when the detection distance of the distance sensor is shorter than a preset distance (for example, 30 cm), it is determined that the wind hits the hair. May be good. According to this configuration, it is determined that the wind hits the hair regardless of the temperature of the hair. Therefore, the hair detection unit 17 determines whether or not the wind hits the hair even if the wind blown from the blower unit 11 is cold. Can be detected.

By appropriately combining any of the various embodiments, the effects of each can be achieved.

Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, various modifications and modifications are obvious to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that such modifications and modifications are included within the claims of the invention, as long as they do not deviate from the scope of the invention according to the appended claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for commercial and household hair dryers because it can further suppress hair damage.

1 Hair dryer 10 Main body 10a Suction port 10b Blower 10c Rear lower end 11 Blower 12 Fan 13 Motor 14 Heater 15 Room temperature sensor 16 Humidity sensor 17 Hair detection 18 Length input 19 Hair volume input 20 Handle 20a Upper end Part 20b Lower end 21 Power cord 22 Control part 23 Switch 24 Hours measurement part 25 Judgment part 26 Wind control part

Claims (7)

The blower that blows the wind and the blower
A hair detection unit having a distance sensor or a non-contact temperature sensor that detects whether or not the wind blown from the air blowing unit hits the hair.
A time measuring unit that measures the time when the hair detecting unit detects that the wind hits the hair, and a time measuring unit.
Whether or not at least one reference value based on time, not a reference value based on hair temperature, is preset, and the time measured by the time measuring unit reaches at least one preset reference value. Judgment unit that determines the dry state of hair based on the temperature
The determination unit determines that the time measured by the time measurement unit has reached a predetermined range from the reference value indicating the dry state in which the hair is assumed to be in the optimum state among the at least one reference value. When it is determined, at least one of the wind temperature and the wind speed is automatically weakened, and the time measured by the time measuring unit reaches the reference value indicating the dry state in which the hair is assumed to be in the optimum state. When the determination unit determines that the wind has been blown, the wind control unit for stopping the ventilation of the wind by the ventilation unit and the wind control unit.
A hair dryer. The air blown from the blower unit is warm air, and is
The hair detection unit has a non-contact temperature sensor, and when it detects that the temperature of the hair is higher than the ambient temperature of the hair by a preset temperature or higher based on the detection temperature of the non-contact temperature sensor. The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that the wind hits the hair. The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the hair detecting unit has a distance sensor, and when the detection distance of the distance sensor is shorter than a preset distance, it is determined that the wind hits the hair. It also has a length input section to input the length of the hair.
The hair dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the length of the hair input by the length input unit. Further equipped with a hair amount input unit for inputting the amount of hair,
The hair dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the amount of hair input by the hair amount input unit. It also has an environmental temperature detector that detects the environmental temperature around the hair.
The hair dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the environmental temperature detected by the environmental temperature detection unit. It also has an environmental humidity detector that detects the environmental humidity around the hair.
The hair dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the determination unit changes the reference value according to the environmental humidity detected by the environmental humidity detection unit.

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