JPH09173132A - Hot air device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance responsiveness to a change in an air quantity, and prevent a temperature from becoming an abnormal high temperature by arranging an air quantity detecting means to detect an air quantity from an air blower in wind tunnel, and controlling current-carrying to a heater by its detecting signal. SOLUTION: A thin plate body 8a to constitute an air quantity detecting means 8 arranged on the delivery side of an air blower 6 is deformed according to the size of wind pressure from the air blower 6, and this is detected by a strain gauge, and when its detecting signal is sent to a control part 9, the control part 9 controls current-carrying of a heater 10 on the basis of its detecting signal. In this way, when an electric current is carried to the heater 10 after an air quantity is detected at starting time, responsiveness to a change in an air quantity is remarkably enhanced. In a hot air device 1, a suction port 3 is arranged on one end side of a housing 2 formed in a cylindrical shape, and a delivery port 4 is arranged on the other end side, and a cylindrical wind tunnel 5 to communicate with the suction port 3 and the delivery port 4 are formed inside the housing 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a warm air device provided with air flow rate detecting means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a warm air device provided with an air flow detecting means, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-54713, a wind tunnel having a suction port and a discharge port,
It is known that a blower fan and a fan motor, a heater, and a heat-sensitive element are arranged in this order from the suction port toward the discharge port.

[0003]

However, in the conventional warm air apparatus, since the heat sensitive element operates by the ventilation temperature of the local space around the heat sensitive element in the warm air flow, the air volume of the blower fan fluctuates. When the air volume decreases, the operation of the heat-sensitive element tends to be delayed from the request, and when the air volume increases, the heat-sensitive element tends to operate earlier than the request. In some cases, it is not immediately reflected in the (thermal environment). Therefore, the conventional warm air device has a problem that the detection response control cannot be immediately performed against a rapid temperature rise.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a warm air device capable of immediately responding to a rapid temperature rise by immediately detecting the amount of air blown from the air blower and controlling the energization of the heater. It is another object of the present invention to provide a warm air device capable of preventing an abnormally high temperature by energizing a heater after detecting the air volume at the time of starting.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a warm air generating mechanism 1 including a heater 10 and a blower 6 in a wind tunnel 5 having a suction port 3 and a discharge port 4.
2 and an air volume detecting means 8 for detecting the air volume from the blower 6.
The air volume detection means 8 is composed of a thin plate member 8a that is deformed by wind pressure. The air volume from the blower 6 is directly detected by the deformation of the thin plate member 8a, and the heater 1 is detected by the detection signal.
It is characterized in that it is provided with a control unit 9 for controlling the energization to 0, and thus the thin plate body 8a constituting the air volume detection means 8 directly detects the air volume from the air blower 6,
The control unit 9 controls the energization of the heater 10 based on the detection signal, so that the responsiveness to the change in the air volume can be improved.

Here, in order to more reliably prevent the abnormally high temperature, the controller 9 shuts off the energization of the heater 10 when the measured air volume by the thin plate member 8a is equal to or less than a preset set air volume. Preferably, the control unit 9 controls the energization amount of the heater 10 according to the detection amount of the thin plate member 8a. Further, in order to detect the air volume with high sensitivity and easily, the thin plate member 8a is provided on the back surface of the thin plate member 8a.
It is preferable to provide a strain gauge 8b for detecting the amount of deformation.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the warm air device 1 of the present embodiment, a suction port 3 is provided at one end of a housing 2 formed in a tubular shape, and a discharge port 4 is provided at the other end.
Is provided, and the suction port 3 and the discharge port 4 are provided inside the housing 2.
A cylindrical wind tunnel 5 that communicates with is formed. In the wind tunnel 5, from the suction port 3 toward the discharge port 4 side, the blower device 6, the fan motor 7, the air amount detecting means 8 for detecting the air amount from the blower device 6, and the air amount detecting means 8 are provided. A control unit 9 to which a detection signal is input and a heater 10 whose energization is controlled by the control unit 9 are arranged in this order. The heater 10 is wound in a coil around an outer peripheral portion of a heater base frame 11 having a cross section, for example, and the heater 10 and the blower 6 constitute a warm air generating mechanism 12.

The air volume detecting means 8 is arranged on the discharge side of the blower 6 and on the suction side of the heater 10 and is composed of a thin plate 8a which is deformed by wind pressure. One end of the thin plate member 8a is directly supported by the case portion of the control unit 9, and the other end is a free end. The thin plate member 8a is made of a material that is directly deformed by receiving the wind pressure from the blower 6. As an example of means for detecting the deformation amount of the thin plate member 8a, as shown in FIG.
Strain gauge 8b for detecting the amount of deformation of the thin plate 8a on the back surface of the
Is preferably provided, and the strain gauge 8b directly detects a change in the deformation amount of the thin plate member 8a, and a detection signal is input to the control unit 9, and the control unit 9 controls energization of the heater 10.

Therefore, the thin plate member 8a constituting the air volume detecting means 8 arranged on the discharge side of the air blower 6 is deformed according to the magnitude of the air pressure from the air blower 6, and this is detected by the strain gauge 8b. Then, when the detection signal is sent to the control unit 9, the control unit 9 detects the heater 10 based on the detection signal.
Energization control is performed. By thus energizing the heater 10 after the air volume is detected at the time of starting, the responsiveness to the air volume change is significantly improved. Further, by energizing the heater 10 after the air volume is detected at the time of starting, it is possible to reliably prevent an abnormally high temperature, and when the air volume is reduced, it is possible to stop the energization of the heater 10 by an early operation. When there is a change in the air volume, it is possible to immediately reflect it in the ventilation temperature in the wind tunnel 5 by the deformation operation of the thin plate member 8a.

Here, the controller 9 controls the heater 1 when the measured air volume by the thin plate member 8a is less than or equal to a preset set air volume.
It may operate so as to cut off the energization of 0. In this case, the control unit 9 immediately cuts off the energization of the heater 10 when the air volume below the set air volume is detected, so that the air volume is small. Regardless, it is possible to prevent the heater 10 from being heated more than necessary and becoming an abnormally high temperature. Further, the control unit 9 may operate so as to control the energization amount of the heater 10 according to the detection amount by the thin plate member 8a, and in this case also, the abnormal high temperature can be prevented and the optimum amount suitable for the air volume can be obtained. Since it is possible to eject hot air at various temperatures, usability is further improved.

Further, in this embodiment, since the thin plate member 8a which is the air volume detecting means 8 and the strain gauge 8b are arranged on the suction side (the discharge side of the blower 6) of the heater 10, the thin plate member 8a is heated by the heat of the heater 10. There is also an advantage that the strain gauge 8b does not have to be heated, a failure due to heat can be prevented, and the measurement accuracy of the air volume detection means 8 can be maintained. In the present embodiment, the strain gauge 8b is attached to the back of the thin plate member 8a as a unit for detecting the deformation amount of the thin plate member 8a constituting the air volume detecting unit 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, for example, a piezoelectric element may be used, or an encoder may be used to mechanically measure the amount of deformation of the thin plate member 8a, or other optical method may be used.

The warm air device according to the present invention can be widely used in, for example, a hair curler attachment or a hair dryer to which a hair brush can be detachably attached.

[0013]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the hot air generating mechanism including the heater and the air blower and the air volume from the air blower are detected in the wind tunnel having the suction port and the discharge port. An air flow rate detection means is provided, and the air flow rate detection means is composed of a thin plate member that is deformed by wind pressure. The air flow amount from the air blower is directly detected by the deformation of the thin plate member, and the control unit that controls the energization of the heater by the detection signal Therefore, it is possible to improve the responsiveness to the change in the air volume, and to prevent the abnormally high temperature by energizing the heater after detecting the air volume at the start.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the controller of the first aspect cuts off energization of the heater when the measured air volume by the thin plate member is equal to or less than a preset set air volume.
In addition to the effects described above, the heating of the heater is stopped immediately when an air volume less than the set air volume is detected, so that an abnormally high temperature can be reliably prevented. The invention of claim 3 is:
The control unit according to claim 1 controls the energization amount of the heater according to the detection amount by the thin plate member, so that in addition to the effect according to claim 1, it is possible to prevent an abnormally high temperature, which is convenient and easy to use. It can be used safely.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, a strain gauge for detecting the deformation amount of the thin plate member is provided on the back surface of the thin plate member of claim 1, so that in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, the air flow amount detection is enhanced. It can be performed with high sensitivity and ease of use, and further ease of use and safety of use can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of a state in which a strain gauge is attached to the above thin plate body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Suction Port 4 Discharge Port 5 Wind Tunnel 6 Blower 8 Air Volume Detection Means 8a Thin Plate 8b Strain Gauge 9 Controller 10 Heater 12 Hot Air Generating Mechanism

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A warm air generating mechanism comprising a heater and an air blower and an air flow rate detecting means for detecting an air flow rate from the air blower are provided in a wind tunnel having a suction port and a discharge port. A warm air device, comprising a thin plate member that is deformed by, and including a control unit that directly detects the air volume from the blower device by the deformation of the thin plate member and controls energization to the heater by the detection signal. 2. The warm air apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit shuts off the energization to the heater when the measured air volume by the thin plate member is less than or equal to a preset set air volume. 3. The control unit controls the energization amount to the heater according to the detection amount of the thin plate member.
The warm air device described. 4. The warm air device according to claim 1, further comprising a strain gauge provided on a back surface of the thin plate member for detecting a deformation amount of the thin plate member.