JP7404580B2 - hair dryer - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hair dryer that can suitably remove foreign matter from an intake port.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, hair dryers are known in which a fan of an air blower disposed within the main body generates a flow of air from an air intake port to an air outlet. Also, there are known devices equipped with a filter that can remove foreign matter such as dust attached to the intake port.

JP2013-111226A

However, there is a possibility that there is room for improvement in the structure of the filter for removing foreign matter from the intake port.

The present invention was devised to solve such problems. That is, the object of the present invention is to provide a hair dryer that can suitably remove foreign matter from the intake port.

The hair dryer (1) according to claim 1 comprises:
a main body (6) having an air intake port (3) and an air outlet (2);
a blower device (8a) provided within the main body (6);
The hair dryer includes a handle (7) provided on the main body (6) so as to protrude from the main body (6) in a direction intersecting a direction in which air is blown by the blower device (8a). hand,
The intake port (3) of the main body (6) includes:
A main filter section (a main filter section configured by providing a large number of holes in a position corresponding to the upstream side along the air blowing direction with respect to the blower device (8a) so as to be able to prevent the advance of foreign matter of a certain size or more; 21); a filter (14) having a cylindrical body (22);
A cover (4) in which a hole larger than the hole in the main filter part (21) is formed outside the main filter part (21),
The main filter part (21) is constructed using a flat metal part (23) in which a large number of holes are provided in a grid or mesh shape, and the cover (4) is used for the body part (22). ) is provided so as to cover one end surface of the body (22), and the surface direction is directed toward the direction in which the handle (7) is provided with respect to the air blowing direction. It is composed of an inclined surface slanted to
The body portion (22) is provided with a sub-filter portion (25) that allows air to pass therethrough;
A plurality of lateral holes (16) are provided in the main body (6) at positions overlapping the sub-filter section (25) on the outside and are penetrated through the holes to allow air to flow in toward the sub-filter section (25). provided,
In addition to the horizontal holes (16), pseudo horizontal holes (16a) that have holes in appearance but do not communicate to the inner surface are provided in line with some of the horizontal holes (16),
It is characterized in that a hole larger than the horizontal hole (16) is provided on the suction side of the air intake port (3) and at a position overlapping the outside of the main filter part (21).

The hair dryer (1) according to claim 2 is the hair dryer (1) according to claim 1, in which the filter (14) and the cover (4) are configured to be removable from the main body (6), and are fitted together . The filter (14) can be cleaned by removing the fixed cover (4) from the main body (6), and the filter (14) fixed with screws is removed from the main body (6). This makes it possible to clean and replace the filter (14) .

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hair dryer that can suitably remove foreign matter from an intake port.

It is a front view showing a hair dryer of the present invention, (a) shows a usage form, (b) shows a storage form. (a) is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the hair dryer of the present invention, (b) is a right side view of the hair dryer seen from the air intake side, and (c) is a right side view of the hair dryer with the cover removed. . It is a figure which showed the structure of a filter, (a) is a front view, (b) is a perspective view, and (c) is an exploded perspective view. It is a figure which showed the flow of the air of the hair dryer seen from the front side, (a) is a use state, (b) is a reverse jet state. It is a figure which showed the flow of the air of a hair dryer seen from the upper surface side, (a) is a use state, (b) is a reverse injection state. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a hair dryer. It is a flowchart which shows an example of control of a hair dryer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a hair dryer according to a second embodiment.

In the hair dryer 1 of the present invention, when in use, air is discharged from the air outlet 2, and in some cases when the termination operation is performed, the air blowing direction is changed to a reverse injection state in which air is discharged from the air inlet 3 side. It is configured to be able to execute control for terminating the operation of the blower device 8a after passing through the air blower 8a.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Overall configuration of hair dryer 1>
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a hair dryer 1 of the present invention, with FIG. 1(a) showing a usage form and FIG. 1(b) showing a storage form. 2(a) is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the hair dryer 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2(b) is a right side view of the hair dryer 1 seen from the intake port 3 side, and FIG. 2(c) is a right side view of the hair dryer 1 with the cover 4 removed. It is a right side view of the hair dryer 1 showing a state. Note that FIG. 1(a) also shows the arrow VA when the handle 7 is viewed from the side of the blower operation section 5a.

The hair dryer 1 of the present invention includes a main body 6 having an inlet 3 and an outlet 2, and a handle 7 that projects downward with respect to the main body 6. The air blowing direction S1 when using the hair dryer 1 is from the side of the main body 6 where the intake port 3 is provided (the right side in FIG. 1(a)) to the side where the air outlet 2 is provided (the left side in FIG. 1(a)). is set in a linear direction.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), inside the main body 6, an air blowing/heating unit 8 having an air blowing device 8a is provided. When the hair dryer 1 is in use, air is sucked into the main body 6 from the air intake port 3 by the blower device 8a, and the air is warmed by passing through the heater device 8b built in the blower heating unit 8, and then the air is heated. Air is discharged from outlet 2.

A plurality of operation parts 5 for operating the hair dryer 1 are arranged on the handle 7. Specifically, a case is illustrated in which a blower operation section 5a that operates the blower device 8a, a temperature adjustment operation section 5b, an air volume adjustment operation section 5c, and a cold air operation section 5d are provided. The blower operation part 5a can be slid to the upper or lower operation position with respect to the handle 7, and when moved upward, it becomes a start operation and the hair dryer 1 is turned on, and warm air at an initially set temperature is sent to the blower outlet. It is discharged from 2. On the other hand, when the air blowing operation section 5a is moved downward, the use state is terminated and the air blowing is stopped. The blower operation section 5a is not a mechanical device that directly turns on and off the power of the hair dryer 1, and the blower device 8a is configured to be operable even after the end operation for the blower operation section 5a is completed. The blower operation section 5a has a built-in blower switch, and the operation of the blower device 8a is controlled by the control section 9 based on the state of the blower switch.

Note that the start operation and the end operation are not limited to those described above, and may be other operations such as operations on a push button type operation section, and the number of operation sections is not limited to the above, but it is possible to provide a larger number of operation sections. or, conversely, a part of it may be omitted.

The main body 6 is formed into a cylindrical shape that communicates between the air intake port 3 and the air outlet 2. Further, the main body 6 has a total length L1 along the air blowing direction S1 set to be three times or more longer than the vertical width L2 of the cylindrical portion of the main body 6. The overall length L1 is also set to be three times or more the width L3 (see FIG. 2(b)) of the cylindrical portion of the main body 6. This allows the hair dryer 1 to have a slim appearance.

Further, the vertical width L2 of the main body 6 is not too large and is set to approximately twice or less than the thickness width L4 of the handle 7, which also helps give a slim impression to the user. Further, in the main body 6, the vertical width L2 is set to be shorter than the horizontal width L3, thereby giving a slim impression when viewed from the user side, while arranging the air heating unit 8 etc. inside the main body 6. It makes it easy to secure an area.

In the usage pattern shown in FIG. 1(a), the handle 7 is disposed continuously downward from a portion of the main body 6 near the suction port. The main body 6 is provided with a connecting portion 11 that protrudes toward the side where the handle 7 is provided, and the handle 7 rotates about a rotation axis R with respect to the tip portion (lower end portion) of the connecting portion 11 of the main body 6. possible to be connected. When the user rotates the handle 7, the handle 7 rotates in a twisted manner around the rotation axis R from the usage mode shown in FIG. 1(a) (in the direction of the arrow T in FIG. 1(a)). ), the handle 7 can be rotated to a storage configuration in which the main body 6 and the handle 7 are disposed close to each other, as shown in FIG. 1(b).

The external appearance of the connecting portion 12 between the main body 6 and the handle 7 is, as shown in FIG. , it is formed in a straight line. As shown in FIG. 2(a), this linear portion has a shape in which the tip of the connecting portion 11 of the main body 6 and the upper end of the handle 7 face each other at a plane portion cut along the imaginary plane P. The connecting part (mating surface) is configured. For this reason, when the hair dryer 1 is visually recognized in the usage mode, the appearance of the connecting portion 12 has a straight, short and neat appearance, and the mating surface and the outer circumferential shape of the connecting portion 12 are more closely aligned than connecting with a curved surface. Since it is easy to match the main body 6 and the handle 7, it is possible to reduce the gap and easily set it, thereby enhancing the aesthetic appearance.

In the connecting portion 12, the rotation axis R is located in a direction perpendicular to a virtual plane P that includes a linearly visible portion when viewed in the direction shown in FIG. 1(a). In both the connection part 11 of the main body 6 and the handle 7, the outer periphery of the facing part of the connection part 12 is formed into a substantially circular shape centered on the rotation axis R and has substantially the same outer diameter. The outer shape of the connection part does not change before or during the rotation operation, so a good-looking appearance is achieved, and no undulating parts are formed on the connection part 12 during operation. A sense of unity between the main body 6 and the handle 7 is realized.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), the rotation axis R is set so that the main body 6 side is located on the side closer to the air intake port 3, and the handle 7 side is located on the side closer to the air outlet 2. In the usage mode, the handle 7 is continuous downward from the rotation axis R. FIG. 2(a) shows an example of a rotation mechanism, in which a groove-shaped portion that is one size smaller than the tip side is formed on the protruding shaft 13 that protrudes from the handle 7 side to the inside of the connecting portion 11 of the main body 6. A configuration is illustrated in which the handle 7 can be rotated on the main body 6 by inserting the distal end portion of the connecting portion 11 of the main body 6 into the groove-like portion and being connected thereto.

When the hair dryer 1 rotates around the rotation axis R, the orientation of each operating section 5 with respect to the main body 6 is reversed. Specifically, in the usage mode, as shown in FIG. 1(a), the air blowing operation section 5a and the cold air operation section 5d, which were located on the side of the handle 7 in the air blowing direction S1, are not in the storage mode. , as shown in FIG. 1(b), it will move to the side far from the main body 6. As a result, in the usage mode, the cold air operating section 5d and the air blowing operating section 5a can be operated by operating the push button with a fingertip such as pulling a trigger, or by sliding operation by moving the fingertip up and down, and in addition, it is in a storage mode. Also, the blower operation section 5a and the like can be easily operated from the outside of the hair dryer 1. Here, since the hair dryer 1 has an elongated and slim shape, it is easy to hold even the hair dryer 1 in the stored form. Therefore, even in the storage form, the hair dryer 1 can be used in a variety of ways by enabling the air blower 8a and the heater device 8b to operate based on the operation of each operation part 5 including the air blower operation part 5a, as in the usage form. can be converted into

The handle 7 is provided with a control section 9 that is connected to each operating section 5 and controls the operation of the blower/thermal unit 8 . The control unit 9 is configured by arranging a plurality of elements including a one-chip microprocessor unit (MPU) on a printed circuit board. The control unit 9 executes control such that air is discharged from the air outlet 2 in the usage mode, and air is discharged from the intake port 3 side in a reverse injection state in a part of the case where the termination operation is performed. The configuration of the control unit 9 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 and subsequent figures.

<Configuration of intake port 3>
Next, a specific configuration of the intake port 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 in addition to FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the filter 14, with FIG. 3(a) being a front view, FIG. 3(b) being a perspective view, and FIG. 3(c) being an exploded perspective view.

A cover 4 having a plurality of holes through which air can pass, and a filter 14 having holes smaller than the cover 4 are attached to the intake port 3. The cover 4 and the filter 14 are detachably fixed to the main body 6. For example, the cover 4 is fitted and fixed to the main body 6, and the filter 14 is fixed by screws not shown. Both the cover 4 and the filter 14 can be removed by the user for maintenance such as cleaning or replacement, and the cover 4 is configured to be more easily removable than the filter 14, making frequent cleaning easier. It is possible to implement it.

The cover 4 has a function of preventing large foreign matter from entering, and the cover 4 prevents long hair from entering the inside of the hair dryer 1. Dust, short hair, etc. that have passed through the cover 4 are prevented from advancing into the interior of the hair dryer 1 by the filter 14.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the cover 4 is configured by combining a plurality of horizontally elongated elliptical shapes when viewed along the air blowing direction S1. Specifically, the cover 4 is formed by sequentially combining the large elliptical annular parts 15 such that a small elliptical annular part 15 is located on the inside and surrounding the annular part 15 with a gap. ing. Each annular portion 15 is connected by a partition portion 15a. The gap portion formed by the annular portion 15 and the partition portion 15a serves as an air passage hole, and air enters the inside of the hair dryer 1. The number of partitions 15a is set to be larger (for example, 6) to connect large annular parts 15 than to connect small annular parts 15 (for example, 4), and The difference in size of the passage holes is reduced.

Note that the outer shape of the cover 4 is exemplified as a horizontally elongated ellipse so as to match the shape of the intake port 3; The cover 4 may have an oval or substantially rectangular shape, and each annular portion 15 may also have a circular or oval shape that matches the outer shape of the cover 4. Further, the hole shape of the cover 4 does not necessarily have to be formed by the shape of the gap portion of the annular portion 15, and may be formed into another shape (for example, a lattice shape or a mesh shape).

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the annular portion 15 has an upper portion located on the upstream side (on the right side in FIG. 2(a)) along the air blowing direction S1 in a cross-sectional view seen from the front side. , are arranged so that the lower part is located on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 2(a)) along the air blowing direction S1 than the upper part. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the lower part (lower part 15b) of each annular part 15 is disposed offset from the upper part (upper part 15c) of each annular part 15 in the air blowing direction S1. Among the parts 15, the surface of the filter 14 (main filter part 21) is located vertically above the lower part of the three annular parts 15 excluding the smallest annular part 15.

As shown in FIG. 3(c), the filter 14 is constructed by attaching three plate-shaped metal parts 23, each of which has a large number of holes in a grid or mesh pattern, to a resin base 24. . As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), one end side (the right side in FIG. 3(a)) where the cover 4 is located with respect to the cylindrical body 22 has a diagonally lower side. An inclined surface is formed by the metal part 23 so that the surface thereof is oriented toward the metal part 23.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the filter 14 is attached inside the main body 6 so that the continuous direction of the body 22 coincides with the air blowing direction S1. Further, the filter 14 is attached to the main body 6 by a flat metal part 23 that closes the opening on the side where the cover 4 is provided so that the surface direction of the inclined surface is diagonally downward.

As shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c), the body 22 of the filter 14 has a curved metal component 23 on both sides in the horizontal direction (front side) so as to close the opening provided in the base 24. and the rear side). In the following, as part of the filter 14, a part that covers one end surface of the body part 22 and forms an inclined surface to allow air to pass through will be referred to as the main filter part 21, and a part of the body part 22 will be referred to as the main filter part 21. A portion through which air can pass will be described as a sub-filter portion 25.

The cover 4 is located upstream of the main filter section 21 in the air blowing direction S1. The hole provided in the cover 4 is formed to be considerably larger than the hole in the main filter section 21 (for example, to have an inner diameter five times or more larger). Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of lateral holes 16 communicating with the sub-filter part 25 are formed in the outer surface portion where the main body 6 overlaps with the sub-filter part 25. The side hole 16 is provided separately from the intake port 3 so that air can pass into the main body 6. Here, since the body part 22 of the filter 14 has a continuous shape along the air blowing direction S1, the amount of air passing through the side hole 16 to the sub-filter part 25 is set to be small compared to the main filter part 21. has been done. Note that the side hole 16 and the sub-filter section 25 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), an air heating/heating unit 8 is provided downstream of the filter 14 in the air blowing direction S1. The blower thermal unit 8 is rotatably provided with a fan 17 having a plurality of blades as part of the blower 8a. The outer diameter of the fan 17 of the blower 8a is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the hole 19 in the wall 18 located between the filter 14 and the blower 8a, and the fan 17 is provided near the hole 19. The hole 19 is formed in a circular shape, as shown in FIG. Air enters the inside of the air blowing/thermal unit 8 through the air heating unit 8, becomes warm air warmed by the heater device 8b, and advances toward the air outlet 2. Further, by rotating the fan 17 in the opposite direction to the forward direction, the air can be made to advance in the opposite direction to the air blowing direction S1, and the air can be discharged from the intake port 3. In addition, in FIG. 2(c), for ease of understanding, the metal parts 23 constituting the main filter section 21 are omitted.

Regarding the relationship between the sizes of the fan 17 and the holes 19 in the wall section 18 and the size of the main filter section 21, within the range of the outer diameter of the fan 17 or within the range of the inner diameter of the holes 19 of the wall section 18, The size of the main filter section 21 is set so as to include the entire range along the air blowing direction S1. As shown in FIG. 3(c), the body portion 22 of the filter 14 is set to a size that surrounds the hole 19 of the wall portion 18, and the main filter portion 21 has a size that surrounds the outer diameter of the fan 17 and the hole 19 of the wall portion 18. is set larger. This facilitates the flow of air to the blower 8a, and allows the main filter section 21 to efficiently remove foreign matter mixed into the air moving linearly toward the blower 8a over a wide range.

<Foreign object removal by reverse injection state>
Next, foreign matter removal using the reverse injection state will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the air flow of the hair dryer 1 as seen from the front side, with FIG. 4(a) showing the used state and FIG. 4(b) showing the reverse jetting state. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the air flow of the hair dryer 1 viewed from the top side, with FIG. 5(a) showing the state in use and FIG. 5(b) showing the state of reverse jetting.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), when the hair dryer 1 is viewed from the front, the main filter part 21 is located diagonally downward with respect to the air blowing direction S1 (that is, toward the direction in which the handle 7 is provided). It forms an inclined surface that is oriented so that the surface direction is oriented. When the hair dryer 1 is in use and air advances along the blowing direction S1 so as to enter the blower device 8a, foreign matter B such as dust mixed in the air easily enters the inside of the cover 4. However, its progress is blocked by the main filter section 21. Then, when the air blowing is stopped, there is no force for moving the foreign object B in the air blowing direction S1, so that the foreign object B tends to fall downward due to its own weight. At this time, since a portion (lower portion 15b) of the annular portion 15 of the cover 4 is located vertically below the main filter portion 21, the foreign matter B is easily supported by the annular portion 15. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of foreign matter B falling from the air intake port 3 of the hair dryer 1 when air blowing is stopped.

Furthermore, since the main filter section 21 is provided at an angle with respect to the air blowing direction S1, the foreign matter B is more likely to fall on the main filter section 21 than in the case where the filter surface is provided perpendicularly to the air blowing direction S1. The area that can be contacted with the surface increases. Therefore, the pressure at which the foreign matter B comes into contact with the main filter section 21 is suppressed, making it difficult for the foreign matter B to enter the hole. It can be made easier to fall.

Further, since the surface of the main filter section 21 that the foreign matter B comes into contact with is arranged to face diagonally downward, it is difficult for the user to visually recognize the main filter section 21 when storing the hair dryer 1 or the like. Therefore, it is difficult to notice that the foreign matter B is attached to the main filter portion 21, and the appearance of the hair dryer 1 can be easily maintained in a clean state.

Here, the relative angle A between the air blowing direction S1 and the surface direction of the main filter section 21 is approximately 37 degrees in this embodiment. This relative angle A is preferably set to approximately 20 degrees or more, preferably approximately 30 degrees or more, and preferably approximately 35 degrees or more.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the annular portion 15 has a cross-sectional shape having a constant cross-sectional length in the blowing direction S1 so that the air blowing direction S1 is the longitudinal direction. It is preferable to include an annular portion 15 having a portion whose cross-sectional length is twice or more the thickness of the annular portion 15, and preferably a structure having a portion whose cross-sectional length is three times or more the thickness of the annular portion 15. Furthermore, it is preferable to set the cross-sectional length of the annular portion 15 along the air blowing direction S1 to be longer than the gap width of the annular portion 15. Thereby, the foreign matter B supported by the cover 4 becomes difficult to visually recognize from the outside, and it is possible to prevent the foreign matter B from adhering to the cover 4 and spoiling the beauty of the hair dryer 1.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), in the reverse injection state, air advances in the opposite direction S2 from the blower device 8a side toward the filter 14. As a result, the foreign matter B attached to the filter 14 (main filter part 21) or supported by the cover 4 is discharged to the outside through the hole in the annular part 15, and the inner part of the filter 14 and the cover 4 can be cleaned.

Here, as described above, the main filter section 21 is arranged obliquely with respect to the air blowing direction S1, so that it is easy to capture the foreign matter B, and the cover 4 having the annular section 15 is attached. Therefore, even if the foreign matter B adheres to the main filter section 21, the aesthetic appearance can be easily maintained. Therefore, it is not necessary to control the reverse injection state frequently, and the reverse injection state may be executed infrequently, such as after multiple uses when a certain amount of foreign matter B adheres to the main filter section 21. Also, the hair dryer 1 can be used with less deterioration in function and maintaining a beautiful appearance.

5(a) and 5(b) show that when the hair dryer 1 is in use, air flows inside the main body 6 through not only the main filter section 21 but also the sub filter section 25 and the side hole 16. The figure shows the situation in which traffic occurs between the inside and the outside. As shown in FIG. 1(a), the horizontal hole 16 is provided on the front side of the main body 6 of the hair dryer 1, and is also provided on the back side. Thereby, when the hair dryer 1 is in the reverse spray state, a small amount of air is blown toward the user, and the user can easily identify that the hair dryer 1 is in operation because the hair dryer 1 is in the reverse spray state. That is, it is possible to recognize that the operation of the hair dryer 1 is in a reverse jetting state after performing a sliding operation to stop the air blowing operation part 5a, not only on the side of the air intake port 3 but also in a wide range around the hair dryer 1. Can be done. In addition, since the sub-filter section 25 is arranged continuously along the air blowing direction S1, it is possible to blow air with a slight strength to the front side and the back side of the hair dryer 1. Therefore, it is difficult for the foreign matter to move toward the user with great force, and a large amount of air is allowed to pass through the intake port 3 side, so that the foreign matter B can be efficiently removed.

Here, in addition to the lateral hole 16 that penetrates to the inner surface where the filter 14 is provided, the lateral hole 16 is provided with a pseudo lateral hole 16a that does not communicate to the inner surface, although it has a hole in appearance. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to easily arrange the side holes 16 that correspond to the slim appearance of the main body 6, and the aesthetic appearance of the main body 6 can be further enhanced.

Although the horizontal hole 16 is schematically shown in a large size in FIG. 1, the size (inner diameter) is preferably 2 mm or less, and preferably 1 mm or less. The hole diameter (or hole area) of the metal part 23 provided in the filter 14 is preferably smaller than the horizontal hole 16, and preferably has a diameter (or area) that is less than half the size of the horizontal hole 16. The size of the hole in the cover 4 is preferably set to be larger than the hole diameter (or hole area) of the metal component 23 and the horizontal hole 16, with a gap width of about 2 mm between the inner and outer annular portions 15.

Moreover, the sub-filter part 25 and the side hole 16 are provided only on the front side and the back side of the hair dryer 1, and are not provided on the upper side. When the sub-filter section 25 is provided on the upper side and the horizontal hole 16 continues upward, a force sufficient to lift the foreign matter on the upper side is required, and in the reverse injection state, force is required to lift the foreign matter on the user side. There is a possibility that strong winds may develop and make the user feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, by setting no holes on the upper side of the main body 6, it becomes difficult for foreign matter to adhere to the upper side of the main body 6, making it possible to maintain a clean appearance. The air flow can be set to a slight strength to suitably indicate to the user that there is a reverse injection state.

<Configuration of control unit 9>
Next, the configuration of the control section 9 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the hair dryer 1, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of control of the hair dryer 1. As part of the termination operation, the control unit 9 executes control to terminate the operation of the air blower 8a after passing through the reverse injection state when the usage state is accumulated for a certain period of time or more.

The control unit 9 is constituted by a control board on which a one-chip MPU including a central processing unit is mounted, and includes a timer for measuring cumulative time, and a ROM and a RAM as storage devices. A control program is stored in the ROM, and a blow control process for controlling the operation of the blower device 8a, a heater control process for controlling the operation of the heater device 8b, etc. are stored as part of the control program. The RAM temporarily stores information necessary for executing the program, and stores the values of various counters necessary for executing the ventilation control process. Further, the RAM is constituted by a flash memory or the like that can maintain stored contents even when the external power source and the hair dryer 1 are not connected through a power outlet and the power is off. The control unit 9 is electrically connected to each operation unit 5, an external power source, and the blower heating unit 8, and detects operations on each operation unit 5 by switches provided for each operation unit 5. Then, based on the detection result, the blower device 8a and heater device 8b that constitute the blower heat unit 8 are controlled to operate the hair dryer 1.

The ventilation control process is triggered by a termination operation on the ventilation operation unit 5a, and includes two cases: stopping the operation of the ventilation device 8a from the usage state without executing the reverse injection state, and changing the operation of the ventilation device 8a from the usage state to the reverse injection state. This is a process that makes it possible to execute both the case of stopping and the case of stopping. The air blow control process is executed, for example, as part of a periodic process that is executed at fixed time intervals (for example, 10 ms) as an interrupt process using a timer.

In the ventilation control process, first, it is determined whether the system is in a normal state (S11), and if it is not in a normal state (S11:N), an abnormality response process is performed (S12), and then the ventilation control process is ended. . The abnormality response process includes an emergency shutdown when the heater device 8b becomes abnormally high in temperature, or when the state in which the inflow of air from the intake port 3 is abnormally low continues for a certain period of time or more (for example, 2 seconds or more). Examples include a process of stopping the operation of the blower device 8a and setting the power off as a forget-to-turn-off function when the blower operation unit 5a remains on for a certain period of time (for example, 30 minutes or more). Ru.

When it is determined that the state is normal in the process of S11 (S11: Y), it is determined whether the blower switch built in the blower operation unit 5a is on (S21). If the blower switch is on (S21: Y), the fan 17 is rotated in the forward direction to be in use (S22), and the cumulative rotation time counter is updated (S23). The cumulative rotation time counter is updated, for example, by counting up, so as to measure the time during which the fan 17 rotates in the forward direction in accordance with the output time interval of the timer. After the process of S23, other processes (S24) are performed and the ventilation control process is ended. Other processes (S24) include, for example, a counter update process for implementing a function to prevent forgetting to erase the data.

In the process of S21, if it is determined that the blower switch is off (S21: N), it is determined whether it is the timing when the blower switch is turned off (S31). If the timing is when the blower switch is turned off (S31: Y), the rotation of the fan 17 is stopped (S32), and the cumulative rotation time is set to the time for executing the reverse injection state (reverse injection execution time, for example, 1 hour). It is determined whether the rotation time has been reached based on the value of the cumulative rotation time counter (S33). If it is determined that the cumulative rotation time has not reached one hour or more (S33: N), the power is set to be turned off as normal end control (S65), and then the process moves to S24.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the process of S33 that the cumulative rotation time has reached 1 hour or more (S33: Y), a value corresponding to a certain interval time (for example, 2 seconds) is set in the interval counter that measures the interval time. input (S34), and enables execution of reverse injection termination control (processes from S42 to S64) that stops the operation of the blower 8a after passing through the reverse injection state.

In the process of S31, if it is determined that it is not the timing when the blower switch is turned off (S31: N), it is determined whether the reverse injection termination control that causes a reverse injection state is being executed (S41), and the reverse injection termination control is executed. If it is not being executed (S41: N), the process moves to S24. When a reverse injection state is generated, a non-initial value is stored in either the interval counter or the reverse rotation time counter, so it is possible to determine whether reverse injection termination control is being executed based on these values. It can be determined whether or not.

If it is determined in the process of S41 that the reverse injection termination control is being executed (S41: Y), it is determined whether the interval time has elapsed (S42). The elapse of the interval time can be determined by whether or not the interval counter is zero. If the interval time has not elapsed (S42: N), the interval counter is updated (subtracted) and then the process proceeds to S24. Migrate.

If the interval time has elapsed in the process of S41 (S42: Y), it is determined whether the fan 17 is rotating in the reverse direction (S51), and the fan 17 is rotated in the reverse direction. If not (S51: N), a reverse rotation time counter that measures the reverse rotation time is set to a value corresponding to a certain time (for example, 5 seconds) (S52), and the fan 17 is rotated in the reverse direction (S53). ), initiating a reverse injection condition. After the process of S53, the process moves to S24.

In the process of S51, if the fan 17 is rotating in the reverse direction (S51: Y), the reverse rotation time counter is updated (S61), and it is determined whether the reverse rotation time has elapsed (S62). If the reverse rotation time has not elapsed (S62: N), the fan 17 continues to rotate in the reverse direction, and the process moves to S24.

In the process of S62, if it is determined that the reverse rotation time has elapsed (S62: Y), the rotation of the fan 17 is stopped (S63), and the cumulative rotation time counter is set to an initial value (for example, "0") ( S64), after setting the power off (S65), the process moves to S24. After the power off setting is made, the air blow control process is no longer executed, and then the power is turned off.

In this way, in the hair dryer 1, if the blower operation section 5a is switched from on to off by the blower control process of the control section 9 before the cumulative rotation time reaches the reverse injection execution time, the air blower will not be in the reverse injection state. Control (normal termination control) is executed to terminate the operation of the device 8a. On the other hand, when the blower operation unit 5a is switched from on to off after the cumulative rotation time reaches the reverse injection execution time, the operation of the blower 8a is terminated after passing through the reverse injection state (reverse injection termination control). ) is executed. For example, if hair dryer 1 is used for 5 minutes each time when the reverse injection execution time is set to 1 hour, then once in every 12 uses the hair dryer 1 will be turned on after entering the reverse injection state. It turns off.

Therefore, when the user performs a termination operation on the air blower operation section 5a, the operation of the air blower 8a basically stops immediately, and sometimes the operation of the air blower 8a stops after entering the reverse injection state. be able to recognize that. Therefore, after the termination operation, the blower device 8a does not stop after going through the reverse rotation operation every time, and the situation where the hair dryer 1 becomes dissatisfied with the model that does not stop immediately is avoided. can do. That is, it is possible to easily remove foreign matter from the intake port 3 by using the reverse injection state, and to increase the chances that the blower device 8a will stop promptly after the end operation of stopping the blower.

Further, when the user performs a termination operation on the blower operation unit 5a, the reverse injection execution time is reached after a predetermined time or more has elapsed in the operating state in which the fan 17 rotates in the forward direction. A determination process (processing in S33) is provided to determine whether the usage status is the same, and if it is determined by the determination process that the usage status is such that the reverse injection execution time has been reached, the blower device is activated after passing through the reverse injection status. The reverse injection control process (each process from S34 to S65) is executed to end the operation of 8a. Therefore, the reverse spray state can be caused to occur at a low frequency for users who use the hair dryer 1 for only a short time, and at a high frequency only for users who use the hair dryer 1 for a long time.

Further, in the case where the operation of the air blower 8a is ended after passing through the reverse injection state, the reverse injection state is started after a predetermined interval time has elapsed after the use state. Therefore, the user can use the interval time to move the hair dryer 1 to a lower position away from the head. This avoids a situation in which the rotation of the fan 17 is immediately switched to the opposite direction and the hair dryer 1 is placed in a high position, resulting in a reverse jetting state, thereby making it difficult for dust attached to the filter 14 to be ejected from a high position. be able to.

<Example 2>
Next, a second embodiment different from the first embodiment described above will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the hair dryer according to the second embodiment. The hair dryer 101 according to the second embodiment is different from the hair dryer 1 according to the first embodiment described above in that a communication function is added, and the control regarding the reverse jet state is executed using a device different from the hair dryer 101. They differ in some respects. A configuration different from that of the first embodiment described above will be explained below.

As shown in FIG. 8, the hair dryer 101 is provided with a communication device 102 and is configured to be able to communicate information with a mobile communication terminal 103. Examples of the communication device 102 include devices capable of wireless communication such as wireless LAN and Bluetooth (registered trademark), and devices that use wired cables and connectors. The usage status, such as the cumulative rotation time of the blower device 8a of the hair dryer 101, is configured to be manageable by a mobile communication terminal 103 that is separate from the hair dryer 101.

The mobile communication terminal 103 is constituted by a smartphone or a mobile phone that has the function of executing an installed application program. The mobile communication terminal 103 stores a control program (reverse injection control process) regarding the reverse injection state in the air blow control process described in the first embodiment, and provides instruction commands for the hair dryer 101 to operate the air blower 8a and the heater apparatus 8b. Send. This control program is downloaded and installed on the mobile communication terminal 103 via a communication line such as the Internet. The results of monitoring the usage status of the hair dryer 101 using the mobile communication terminal 103 are configured to be displayable on a display section such as a liquid crystal display device provided in the mobile communication terminal 103. The display unit provided in the mobile communication terminal 103 may display selectable time settings such as the cumulative rotation time until the reverse injection state is reached, and the user may be able to change the conditions for the reverse injection state. Further, in the hair dryer 101, a counter or the like for measuring the time until the reverse injection state is reached may be omitted to reduce the manufacturing cost of the hair dryer 101.

Further, the hair dryer 101 may be configured to include air blow control processing that enables basic use other than control to generate a reverse jet state even in a situation where it is not communicating with the mobile communication terminal 103. The hair dryer 101 side also includes control for generating the state, and as in the first embodiment, when the cumulative rotation time of the hair dryer 101 alone reaches the reverse injection execution time, the blower device goes through the reverse injection state and then restarts the air blower. The operation of 8a may be stopped. In this case, the control program of the hair dryer 1 can be updated through communication using the mobile communication terminal 103, and a new function (for example, a function of adding another condition until the reverse injection state is set) can be easily added to the hair dryer 101. It may be possible to do so. The manufacturer of the hair dryer 101 may distribute a new control program for controlling the reverse jet state to the mobile communication terminal 103, thereby making it easier for users to use the hair dryer 101 with new functions. can be provided to

In addition, as a device other than the hair dryer 101, a stand on which the hair dryer 101 can be placed is provided instead of the mobile communication terminal 103, and the hair dryer 101 has a built-in rechargeable battery and the hair dryer 101 is charged through the stand. A configuration may also be adopted in which a control section for executing control to generate a reverse injection state is provided inside.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments of the invention described above, and it goes without saying that it can be modified to other embodiments that provide the same effects as those described above.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the cover 4 and the filter 14 are provided is illustrated, but it is not always necessary to provide the cover 4 and the filter 14, and either one may be omitted. Further, the side hole 16 of the main body 6 is not necessarily required, and in this case, the sub-filter portion 25 of the filter 14 may be omitted.

Further, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the main filter section 21 is formed in a flat plate shape, but it may have a curved shape. However, along the air blowing direction S1 within the range of the outer diameter of the fan 17 of the blower 8a or within the range of the inner diameter of the hole 19 of the wall portion 18 located between the filter 14 and the blower 8a. The main filter section 21 is shaped such that the entire area faces in the same direction (diagonally downward side in front view), and there is no area facing horizontally or diagonally upward. It is preferable to form

In addition, in the above embodiment, the air blowing direction S1 is the same at the inlet 3, the outlet 2, and the intermediate portion, and is linear, but the air blowing direction S1 is linear. It may also include sections that are curved or line-shaped. Even in this case, it is preferable that the main filter part 21 of the intake port 3 be arranged so as to face diagonally downward when the main body 6 is located vertically upward and the handle 7 is located below. .

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the cumulative rotation time of the fan 17 is equal to or longer than a certain time has been described as the condition for generating the reverse injection state, but instead of or in addition to this, The reverse injection state may be generated under other conditions, or the reverse injection state may be generated when any of two or more conditions are satisfied. For example, by counting the number of times the use state has been reached with respect to the previous reverse injection state, and on the condition that the number of times has reached a preset number or more (for example, 10 times or more), the operation can be performed via the reverse injection state. The configuration may be such that the operation of the blower device 8a is stopped immediately, or the configuration may be configured such that the reverse injection state is generated when there is a special operation on the operation section 5. For example, it may be configured to include control for executing a reverse injection state when the cold air operating section 5d is pressed in for a certain period of time (2 seconds or more) or more while the air blowing operating section 5a is in the OFF state. Good too. Further, an operation for stopping the reverse injection state may be set, for example, a configuration in which the reverse injection state is stopped when the user operates an operation part 5 other than the blower operation part 5a during the reverse injection state. You can also use it as

Further, in the above embodiment, the condition for determining that the cumulative rotation time has exceeded a certain time is exemplified in the case where the time in which the fan 17 is in the rotating state is accumulated, but the condition is not limited to this. Other conditions may also be used. For example, when the wind force of the blower 8a is set to multiple levels, the conditions for measuring the cumulative rotation time may be changed depending on the strength of the wind force; for example, the wind force is set to three levels: weak, medium, and strong. In the case where the wind force is higher than a certain level ( For example, a configuration may be adopted in which only the cumulative rotation time in the operating states (medium and strong) is measured to enter the reverse injection state. It may be configured such that it is possible to select whether or not to perform control to bring about the reverse injection state, or to select the conditions for creating the reverse injection state, and the conditions for creating the reverse injection state can be changed by the user's mode selection operation.

In the embodiment described above, as a preferable control for the operation of the operation unit 5, when the air blower operation unit 5a is operated to start, warm air is output, and in a situation where hot air is being output, the cold air operation unit 5d A control is added to the control unit 9 so that hot air is switched to cold air by a single push operation on the cold air operation unit 5d, and when a single push operation is performed on the cold air operation unit 5d again, the output is switched to hot air at the original temperature. This is preferable because the hair dryer 1 can be operated easily.

Regarding the temperature setting when the air blowing operation unit 5a is operated to start, the output of hot air is started at a set temperature lower than the highest set temperature among the temperatures set in multiple stages, and the temperature adjustment operation unit It is preferable that the temperature can be switched to the highest temperature setting by an operation on the air blower operation section 5b, and the temperature setting can be changed by an end operation on the blower operation section 5a or by turning off the power of the hair dryer 1, so that the previous temperature setting is not memorized. It is preferable to return to the initial settings. As a result, the high temperature setting, which would cause an abnormal stop if the output is continued for a long time, can be limited to the timing that the user deems necessary. As with the temperature setting, the air volume setting may also be controlled to return to the initial setting (for example, the strongest setting among the three levels) when the end operation or power off is performed, or the previous air volume setting is maintained. You can do it like this.

The hair dryer of the present invention can be used to dry human hair and animal hair, and can also be used for drying other than hair, such as drying paint when manufacturing or repairing industrial products. can be used.

1,101 Hair dryer 2 Air outlet 3 Inlet port 6 Main body 7 Handle 8a Air blower 9 Control section 21 Main filter section (filter section)
R rotation axis

Claims (2)

a main body (6) having an air intake port (3) and an air outlet (2);
a blower device (8a) provided within the main body (6);
The hair dryer includes a handle (7) provided on the main body (6) so as to protrude from the main body (6) in a direction intersecting a direction in which air is blown by the blower device (8a). hand,
The intake port (3) of the main body (6) includes:
A main filter section (a main filter section configured by providing a large number of holes in a position corresponding to the upstream side along the air blowing direction with respect to the blower device (8a) so as to be able to prevent the advance of foreign matter of a certain size or more; 21); a filter (14) having a cylindrical body (22);
A cover (4) in which a hole larger than the hole in the main filter part (21) is formed outside the main filter part (21),
The main filter part (21) is constructed using a flat metal part (23) in which a large number of holes are provided in a grid or mesh shape, and the cover (4) is used for the body part (22). ) is provided so as to cover one end surface of the body (22), and the surface direction is directed toward the direction in which the handle (7) is provided with respect to the air blowing direction. It is composed of an inclined surface slanted to
The body portion (22) is provided with a sub-filter portion (25) that allows air to pass therethrough;
A plurality of lateral holes (16) are provided in the main body (6) at positions overlapping the sub-filter section (25) on the outside and are penetrated through the holes to allow air to flow in toward the sub-filter section (25). provided,
In addition to the horizontal holes (16), pseudo horizontal holes (16a) that have holes in appearance but do not communicate to the inner surface are provided in line with some of the horizontal holes (16),
A hair dryer characterized in that a hole larger than the horizontal hole (16) is provided on the suction side of the air intake port (3) and at a position overlapping the outside of the main filter part (21). The filter (14) and the cover (4) are configured to be detachable from the main body (6), and the filter (14) can be removed by removing the fitted and fixed cover (4) from the main body (6). Claim 1 characterized in that the filter (14) can be cleaned and the filter (14) can be cleaned or replaced by removing the filter (14) fixed by screws from the main body (6). The hair dryer described in.

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