KR100993921B1 - Hair dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A hair dryer with a nozzle designed to effectively spread out the wetted hair strands for enhanced drying capability. The nozzle is configured to have its interior space divided into a plurality of individual ducts by a separation plane extending radially about a center axis. A weak flow zone where no direct air flow is given from the nozzle is formed downstream of the separation plane and between strong flow zones respectively formed downstream of the individual ducts to flow the forced air flow directly therefrom. With the provision of the localized strong flow zones separated by the weak flow zone, the nozzle can develop a waved air flow of varying flow rate, thereby enabling to spread out the wetted hair strands and therefore increase chances of exposing the hair to the air flow for expediting the hair drying.

Description

Hair Dryer {HAIR DRYER}

The present invention relates to a hair dryer, and more particularly to a hair dryer having a nozzle specifically designed to spread wet hair effectively to promote hair drying.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-137613A discloses a hair dryer having a nozzle configured to have a slat for adjusting the airflow toward a user's hair. Basically, the nozzle is a unit determined by the drying efficiency of the hair, ie Q = H · A · ΔT (H is the heat transfer coefficient, A is the hair contact area, and ΔT is the temperature difference between the hair temperature and the heated air temperature). Designed to improve heat transfer per hour (Q). At least one of A and ΔT needs to be increased in order to increase the amount of heat transfer per unit time (Q) to promote drying of wet hair and to achieve rapid drying. However, increasing ΔT is not appropriate because it requires a rise in the temperature of the heated air and may generate excessive heat, which may be uncomfortable for the user and damage hair. Therefore, increasing the hair contact area is the best option. To this end, the nozzles of conventional hair dryers are designed to increase the flow rate of airflow. Nevertheless, it was found that a simple increase in flow rate was not effective at spreading wet hair and increasing the hair contact area, but rather leading to pressure loss through the nozzle. Therefore, it was necessary to effectively spread wet hair to increase the hair contact area for rapid hair drying.

The present invention, in view of the above problems, to provide a hair dryer that can effectively spread wet hair for improved drying capacity.

A hair dryer according to the invention comprises a tubular casing with a flow channel, a blower mounted inside the casing to generate forced airflow through the flow channel, and a shaft of the casing connected to the flow channel. A tubular nozzle disposed at one end in the direction, wherein the flow channel extends along the axis of the casing. The nozzle has a central axis aligned with the axis of the casing to discharge the forced air flow through the discharge end. It is a feature of the present invention that the nozzle is configured to have an interior space divided into a plurality of individual ducts by a dividing plane extending radially around the central axis. With this arrangement, a weak flow zone is provided downstream of the individual ducts in which no air flow is provided directly from the nozzle, from which the forced air flow flows directly. By the presence of a fragile flow zone between the strong flow zones, each of the strong flow zones can be partitioned, thereby promoting the spreading of the wet hair, thus enabling rapid hair drying.

The nozzle preferably has a partition wall extending in the dividing plane to divide the internal space into two ducts. Thus, the fragile flow zone can be optimized by the dimensions of the septum with respect to the dimensions of each duct for the optimal effect of spreading wet hair.

Preferably, each duct is tapered such that the outlet end side of the opening is narrower than the axially opposite end to provide a strong flow zone.

In addition, each duct has an inner side wall formed by the partition wall, and the downstream portion of the inner side wall is flat. This flat face preferably extends parallel to the dividing plane. Due to the presence of the flat surface, it was confirmed that the interference between the air streams respectively discharged from the duct is effectively prevented.

In a preferred embodiment, each duct is configured to have an opening extending along the diameter of the nozzle so that the user can orient the nozzle in a direction that effectively blows air according to his hairstyle.

The nozzle further has a vent disposed on the outside of the duct to send additional airflow to promote drying of the hair.

Preferably, the casing includes an inner barrel defining a flow channel therein, the inner barrel forming an outer flow channel even with the casing. In this regard, the duct is configured to receive forced airflow through the flow channel inside the inner barrel and the vent is configured to receive forced airflow through the outer flow channel. Inside the flow channel, which is surrounded by one of the flow channels and the outer flow channel, preferably the inner barrel, cold air flow simultaneously with the hot air flow to ensure rapid hair drying while minimizing damage by hot air flow. ), A heater is provided.

Preferably, the opening of the vent is configured such that the discharge end of the nozzle along the central axis is narrower than the opposite axial end. Thus, the nozzle can provide additional airflow with increased flow rate around the individual airflows coming out of the duct, thereby enhancing the effect of spreading wet hair. In this regard, the vents converge toward a point downstream of the discharge end of the nozzle to interact with the airflow from the individual ducts through the partitioned strong airflow zone to increase the airflow discharge flow rate of the vent to effectively spread the wet hair. It may be configured to.

These and other preferred features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and variations thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 4 show a hair dryer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The hair dryer includes a casing 10 extending along an axis and a grip 20 extending at an angle from the casing 10. The casing 10 axially generates forced air flow from the air inlet 12 at the rear end of the casing 10 toward the nozzle 60 provided at the front end of the casing 10. A blower 30 in the form of an axial fan driven by the housing is accommodated therein. As shown in FIG. 2, the casing 10 is configured to form a flow channel 42 directed to the nozzle and an outer flow channel 14 therein between the barrel 40 and the outer shell of the casing 10. And a coaxial inner barrel 40 disposed downstream of the blower and upstream of the nozzle 60. Outer flow channel 14 receives forced air through port 42 at the rear end of barrel 40 to direct forced air to nozzle 60. In order to heat the airflow sent through the flow channel 44 to provide hot air flow, a heater 46 is disposed inside the barrel 40 and the heater 46 to send cold air flow through the outer flow channel 14. Is disposed upstream of the port 42. A grip 20 is provided with a switch 22 for the operation of the blower 30 and the heater 46.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the casing 10 is disposed adjacent to the outer end of the inner barrel 40 and the front upper end of the casing 10 to discharge the mist, which is charged fine water particles. A mist generator 50, which is discharged through 15, is received. The mist generator 50 comprises an emitter electrode 52 configured to condense water from ambient air and receive a high voltage from the high voltage generator 54 to electrostatically refine the water into charged fine water particles. Have

The nozzle 60 is disposed at an axial end of the casing 10 downstream of the flow channel 44, the central axis of which is aligned with the axis of the casing 10, and at the front end to discharge hot and cold air. Has a discharge end. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the nozzle 60 is connected to the outer tube 62 by a cylindrical outer tube 62 and ribs 61 coaxially spaced apart from the outer tube 62. It has the shape of a double tube consisting of the inner tube 63 to be joined. A vent 64 is formed between the outer tube 62 and the inner tube 63 and is connected to the outer flow channel 14 at its rear end to allow cold air to pass therethrough. The inner tube 63 is shaped to connect with the flow channel 44 at its rear end to allow hot air to pass therethrough. The inner tube 63 is divided into two ducts 65 by partition walls 66 in which the inner space lies in a split plane S extending radially about the central axis X of the nozzle. As shown in FIG. 4, the inner tube 63 tapers toward the discharge end so that the discharge end side of the opening of the duct 65 is narrower than the rear end. The outer tube 62 is also tapered towards the discharge end such that the vent 64 converges towards a point downstream of the discharge end.

The partition 66 extends over the entire diameter of the inner tube 63 and the flat section, ie the cross section perpendicular to the length, converges to the closed tip edge 69 at the axial rear end. The inner tube 63 has an annular opening concentric with the axis of the barrel 40 at its rear end such that hot air flow from the barrel 40 can be uniformly guided into the inner tube 63 and at the tip edge 69. Vortex does not occur and branches to flow into the individual ducts 65. The partition 66 has an increased width W at the front opening end, and both sides of the front end portion are formed with flat surfaces that respectively form the inside of the duct 65 adjacent to the discharge end. A cap 67 having a round protrusion is fitted to the front opening end of the partition 66. Since the ducts 65 are divided from each other by the width W of the partition 66 at the discharge end, the hot air flows out of the duct respectively and flows through the strong airflow zone downstream of the discharge end, with weak airflow between the strong airflow zones. Zone is left. That is, each individual duct 65 forms a strong flow zone partitioned downstream of the discharge end to let hot air out, and the partition 66 forms a fragile flow zone that divides the partitioned strong flow zone. A strong flow zone is thus formed compartmentally around the fragile flow zone to form a corrugated airflow with varying flow rates, which promotes drying of the hair by spreading wet hair and increasing the chance of hair exposure to heat. do. The vent 64 surrounding the duct 65 discharges the cold air flow from the inside of the casing so that the cold air flows around the partitioned strong flow zone, thereby promoting the spreading of the wet hair and at the same time preventing heat damage to the hair. Alleviate In this regard, the presence of a flat face 68 on the inner side of each duct near the discharge end prevents interference between individual air streams immediately after discharge from the duct, thus tapering the duct 65 through the strong flow zone. Along with this structure, effective airflow can be realized. Each duct 65 formed by the inner sidewall and the arcuate outer sidewall extends to have a length along the length of the partition and a reduced width perpendicular to the length of the partition. Thus, the nozzle 60 is selected in the direction to provide the optimum hair drying effect so that the nozzle can be oriented in relation to the user's hairstyle for effective hair drying.

5 to 7 show an optimum relationship between the various dimensions of the nozzle 60, i.e. (a), (b), (a) along the line P passing through the central axis X at right angles to the dividing plane S; c), (d) and (e) along a line Q extending parallel to the dividing plane S and passing through the maximum length of the duct 65, extending parallel to the dividing plane S and line P (F) along the line (R) passing through the width center of the vent 64 on the (). Dimension (a) is the distance from the central axis to the flat face 68 of the duct 65, and dimension (b) is the distance from the flat face 68 to the outer face of the duct 65, i.e. the maximum width of the duct. And dimension (c) is the distance from the outer side of the duct to the outer side of the vent 64. The dimension (d) is the distance from the line P to the inner side of the duct 65 along the line Q, and the dimension (e) is of the duct along the line Q from the outer side of the vent 64. It is the distance to the inner side, and the dimension (f) is the distance from the line P to the inner side of the vent 64 along the line R.

6 is a schematic diagram of the flow velocity distribution along the line P for dimensions (a), (b) and (c) along the line P, shown in abscissa. As shown in the diagram, it can be seen that the optimal relationship is a: b: c = 1: 3: 2. Dimension (a) is preferably between 3 mm and 5 mm, most preferably 4 mm, to promote drying of the hair without causing excessive heat and unpleasant feeling to the user. Therefore, the width W (W = 2a) of the partition 66 is preferably 6 mm to 10 mm, most preferably 8 mm, to form a strong flow zone sufficient to spread wet hair.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the flow rate distribution along the lines P, Q, and R for the dimensions (d), (e), and (f) shown in the ordinate. It can be seen that the optimal relationship for effectively providing the strong flow zone is d: e: f = 8: 1: 4. Dimension (d) is from 15 mm to 17 mm in association with dimensions (d) and (f) satisfying the above relationship.

Although not shown, the opening of the vent 64 is configured such that the discharge end of the nozzle along the central axis is narrower than the opposite end in the axial direction, so that the flow rate of the airflow from the vent 64 is increased, and the effect of spreading the wet hair is increased. Is improved.

FIG. 8 shows an alternative nozzle according to a variant of the embodiment described above, except that a pair of vents 64 are formed substantially parallel to the duct 65 on the lateral outside of the duct 65. Basically similar to the embodiment. Other configurations and functions are the same as the above-described embodiment, and thus descriptions thereof will not be repeated. Identical parts are denoted by identical reference numerals.

9 is another modification of the nozzle similar to the above embodiment, in which the vent is omitted. Identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals and redundant descriptions are omitted. In this variant, the nozzle branches into two separate tubes divided by the partition 66 but the rear end is shaped to merge into the annular opening and connect with the front end of the casing.

FIG. 10 shows another variation of the above-described embodiment, which is similar to the above-described embodiment except that three or more ducts are formed symmetrically around the central axis X. Identical parts are denoted by identical reference numerals. The nozzle 60 is divided into five ducts 65, each having a rear end that is merged into one annular opening to connect with the front end of the casing. The duct 65 is configured such that each discharge end side has a smaller triangular cross section than at the rear end, each in a split plane S1 to S5 extending radially about the central axis X of the nozzle. It is divided into each other by the distance of W and spaced apart in the circumferential direction around the central axis (X). In this case, the inner sidewall of each duct together with the facing inner sidewall of the adjacent duct constitutes a partition having a width of W. In this configuration, three or more strong flow zones are formed spaced circumferentially by the vulnerable flow zones downstream of the individual ducts, resulting in an effective shift airflow for spreading the wet hair.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with reference to the above-mentioned Example and the modified example, this invention is not limited to these Example and the modified example, Combination of each characteristic of these Example and the modified example can also be considered.

1 is a front sectional view of a hair dryer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a plan sectional view of the hair dryer.

3 is a perspective view of a nozzle used in the hair dryer.

4 is a plan sectional view of the nozzle.

5 is a side view of the nozzle.

6 and 7 are diagrams showing flow rates at various points of the nozzle, respectively.

8 is a side view showing a deformation of the nozzle.

9 is a perspective view showing another modification of the nozzle.

10 is a perspective view showing another modification of the nozzle.

Claims (9)

Tubular casing 10 with flow channel 44, A blower 30 mounted inside the casing to generate forced airflow through the flow channel, and A tubular nozzle 60 connected to the flow channel and disposed at an axial end of the casing for discharging the forced air flow through the discharge end. Including, The flow channel extends along the axis of the casing, The nozzle has a central axis aligned with the axis of the casing, The nozzle has an internal space divided into a plurality of individual ducts 65 by a split plane S extending radially around the central axis, The nozzle includes a partition 66 extending in the dividing plane to divide the internal space into two ducts, The ducts each having an inner side wall formed by the partition wall to provide a flat face 68 downstream of the inner side wall, the flat piece extending in parallel with the dividing plane. Hair dryer. The method of claim 1, The ducts each tapered such that the discharge end side has an opening narrower than the opposite axial end. The method of claim 1, The ducts each having an opening extending along the diameter of the nozzle. Tubular casing 10 with flow channel 44, A blower 30 mounted inside the casing to generate forced airflow through the flow channel, and A tubular nozzle 60 connected to the flow channel and disposed at an axial end of the casing for discharging the forced air flow through the discharge end. Including, The flow channel extends along the axis of the casing, The nozzle has a central axis aligned with the axis of the casing, The nozzle has an internal space divided into a plurality of individual ducts 65 by a split plane S extending radially around the central axis, And the nozzle further comprises a vent (64) disposed outside the duct. The method of claim 4, wherein The casing includes an inner barrel 40 defining the flow channel therein and forming an outer flow channel 14 between the casing, The duct receives forced airflow through the flow channel, The vent receives forced airflow through the outer flow channel, One of the flow channel and the outer flow channel is provided with a heater Hair dryer, characterized in that. The method according to claim 4 or 5, Wherein said vent has a narrower opening at said discharge end along said central axis than at an axially opposite end. The method of claim 6, And said vent converges toward one point downstream of the discharge end of said nozzle. delete delete

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