US3578000A

US3578000A - Combination manicuring and hair-drying appliance

Info

Publication number: US3578000A
Application number: US701347*A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stanley V Horecky; Thomas Howe Hayes
Original assignee: Sunbeam Corp
Current assignee: Sunbeam Corp
Priority date: 1968-01-29
Filing date: 1968-01-29
Publication date: 1971-05-11
Anticipated expiration: 1988-05-11
Also published as: GB1251401A

Abstract

A compact, portable hair dryer and manicure appliance having a housing for a motor-driven blower unit with compartments provided for storing an air delivery hose, a collapsible hair-drying hat, and a manicure attachment including a flexible drive shaft and nail-treating implements. The housing is formed by three molded plastic parts which form the housing with its storage compartments and a closure for two of the compartments.

Description

United States Patent Inventors Stanley V. l-lorecky Oak Park, Ill.;

Thomas Howe Hayes, Indianapolis, Ind. 701,347

Jan. 29, 1968 May 11, 1971 Sunbeam Corporation Chicago, Ill.

Appl. No Filed Patented Assignee COMBINATION MANICURING AND HAIR- DRYING APPLIANCE 14 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 132/7912, 34/90 Int. Cl A45d 29/18 Field of 34/90, 91,

[56] References Cited V UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,304,625 2/1967 Gesmar et a1 34/99 3,348,317 10/1967 Copeland et a1. 34/99 3,386,184 6/ 1968 Ponezek 34/99 OTHER REFERENCES Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue, Fall & Winter 1963, p. 338

Primaly ExaminerFrederick L. Matteson Assistant Examiner-Harry B. Ramey Attomey-Ge0rge R. Clark ABSTRACT: A compact, portable hair dryer and manicure appliance having a housing for a motor-driven blower unit with compartments provided for storing an air delivery hose, a collapsible hair-drying hat, and a manicure attachment including a flexible drive shaft and nail-treating implements. The housing is formed by three molded plastic parts which form the housing with its storage compartments and a closure for two of the compartments.

- PATENTEDNAYHIQTI 33578.000

sum 2 or 3 PATENTED MAY] 1 IBZI SHEET 3 OF 3 Jive.) liars-- 7 mnas fifj lyes COMBINATION MANICURING AND HAIR-DRYING APPLIANCE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known in the art to provide hair dryers having motor-driven blower units equipped with air-heating means which are interconnected by means of a flexible hose to a fabric cap or bonnet designed to be placed on the head of the person whose hair is to be dried. The cap serves to distribute the heated air around the head so as to dry the hair effectively. Since the commercialization of this type of hair dryer a little more than years ago, many arrangements have been made to increase the utility or reduce the cost of this type-of hair dryer.

One of the principal advantages of the flexible hose and the fabric cap is that it makes the hair dryer far more portable than the hair dryers utilizing rigid hoods and rigid supporting means and duct work to deliver air to the hood. The fabric cap may be folded and compressed into a volume having little more than a few cubic inches. Similarly, the flexible hose may be stored in a relatively compact area thus permitting the entire hair dryer to be enclosed within a relatively small casing. One of the more significant developments in this field in recent years involved the use in a hair dryer of this type of an air delivery hose which is axially collapsible so that it may be compressed from a length of 2 or 3 feet to a length of from 6 to 10 inches. A hair dryer utilizing such a hose is disclosed and claimed in the US. Pat. No. 3,348,317, to Copeland et al., filed July l 1, 1966, and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.

The Copeland et al. patent discloses and claims a hair dryer having a casing or housing provided with convenient and compact storage compartments for receiving both the air. delivery hose and the fabric cap. The result is a complete hair dryer which is received within a housing having substantially the same size as a lady's handbag. The instant invention involves an improvement over the Copeland et al. invention whereby with a relatively small increase in size a manicure attachment has been added to the hair dryer.

When ladies are involved in styling, setting, and drying their hair, they also attend to the grooming of the fingers and nails. This manicuring of the fingers and nails is frequently done during the period in which their hair is being dried, and they are thus required to be relatively inactive. Because of this rather natural relationship between hair drying and manicuring, there developed a demand for an appliance which would perform both the hair-drying and manicuring functions. Initial attempts at such appliances were rather crude and simply included the manicuring attachment along with the hair dryers which were not specifically designed to accommodate the manicuring attachment. It would be desirable to have a combination appliance which is specifically adapted to perform the hair-drying and manicuring functions.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved compact portable hair dryer having storage means within the hair dryer housing for receiving the hair dryer hose, the flexible cap, and a manicuring attachment.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved housing for a portable hair dryer wherein the housing members are formed with suitable compartments and recesses to store all of the accessories necessary for the hair dryer and a manicuring attachment.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair dryer housing having adjacent storage compartments for the hair-drying cap and a manicuring attachment, there being a single cover for closing both of these compartments and a slidable partition for selectively closing one or the other of the compartments.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a hair dryer having a manicuring attachment and having means in the hair dryer housing for delivering slightly heated air for the purposes of drying nail polish.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 'dition, there is provided within the storage compartment for the manicure attachment a passageway communicating with the motor-driven blower adjacent the heater in order to deliver somewhat preheated air for use in the drying of nail polish. Closure means are provided to shut off the flow of air through the air delivery passageway.

The hair dryer housing with its various compartments is formed by only three plastic parts which have integral wall portions forming separate compartments for the motor-driven blower unit, the stored flexible hose, the hair dryer cap, and the manicure attachment. One of these three parts serves as a closure for the compartments in which the cap and the manicure attachment are stored. A slidable partition is provided so that the user may close either the manicure attachment compartment or the cap compartment depending on whether or not the manicure attachment is being used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a hair dryer and manicure appliance embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 3 with the housing cover in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the hair dryer shown in FIG. 1 with the housing cover removed and portions of the housing cut away to expose the interior portions thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the escutcheon plate which covers and retains the manicuring implements; and,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a portable hair-drying and manicuring appliance which is designated generally by reference numeral 11. The appliance 11 is formed by three molded plastic parts which make up a housing 12; these three parts are a lower housing member 13, an upper housing member 14, and a cover 15. The lower housing member 13 is formed by a generally flat body portion 13a which is surrounded by upstanding sidewalls 13b forming a somewhat dish-shaped rectangular member. Similarly, the upper housing member 14 includes a central body portion 14a and depending sidewalls 14b which abut the sidewalls 13b of the lower housing member to form the continuous sidewalls of the housing 12. As is shown in FIG. 2, the abutting wall portions are provided with overlapping edges to assure a relatively airtight junction an to assure a good appearance at the abutting edges of the

housing members

13 and 14.

Enclosed within the housing 12 is a motor-driven blower unit 16 which includes a motor 18 having an armature shaft 19 with centrifugal fan or blower 20 secured to the upper end of the armature shaft for rotation therewith. The motor-driven blower unit 16 includes a supporting plate 22 which additionally supports at one comer an electric resistance heater unit 24. The resistance heater may be of any well-known conblower unit 16.

The support plate 22 for the blower unit 16 is seated on vertical wall portions extending from the lower housing member 13 and is held in position by wall portions on the upper housing member 14 which are aligned vertically with the wall portions on the lower housing member 13 to form a scroll 30 or the fan or blower 20. Air is drawn in through openings 26 in the bottom of the lower housing 13 and drawn up through a central opening 28 in the plate 22 and delivered outwardly by the fan or blower 20. The scroll walls 30, only the outline of which is shown in FIG. 3, direct the air outwardly into the elongated hose storage compartment 32.

The hose storage compartment 32 serves as the air outlet of discharge through which the heated air circulated by the blower unit 16 passes before entering air delivery hose 34. The air delivery hose is shown in FIG. 3 in its collapsed or stored position when it is axially compressed and completely received within the compartment 32. As is more completely explained in Copeland et al. US. Pat. No. 3,348,317, the hose 34 is removed from the storage compartment by rotating an outer coupling 36 on the hose 34 to align retaining lugs 38 with suitable clearance slots. With the coupling 36 and its retaining lugs 38 disengaged from the walls of the hose storage compartment 32, the hose may be extended from an initial length of 8 inches to a length of approximately 3 feet. A coupling 40 secured to the inner end of the hose 34 moves lengthwise in the passageway or compartment 32 to the outer end thereof so that the full length of the hose 34 extends from the housing 12, the coupling 40 being in the use position at the left end of the passageway 32 as shown in FIG. 3. As was mentioned above, the details of the hose 34 and the manner in which it cooperates with the blower unit and storage compartment 32 are more specifically set forth in the above-mentioned Copeland et al. patent. in addition, reference may be made to the Copeland et al. patent for a more complete disclosure of the motor-driven blower unit and the heater 24.

The outer coupling 36 of the hose 34 is adapted to couple to a flexible hairdrying cap 42 which is shown only in its folded condition in FIG. 3. The cap 42 may be of the same type disclosed and claimed in Ritter US. Pat. No. 3,335,502, and it may be coupled to the hose 34 by merely inserting the outer coupling 36 into a suitable grommet provided on the cap 42.

The lower housing member 13 and the upper housing member 14 are secured together by means of suitable screws 44 which extend through the body portion 140 of the upper housing member into upwardly extending bosses in the body portion 13a of the lower housing member. At the upper edge of the housing 12, there is provided a loop handle 46 which cooperates to give the housing 12 the general appearance of a ladys handbag. The housing 12 is relatively flat and has a generally rectangular configuration.

In order to provide a closure for the various storage compartments in the housing 12, the cover is pivotally attached to the upper housing 14. For the purpose of giving the cover 15 rigidity since it is a molded plastic part, it is provided with side edges 15a, a top edge 15b, and a hinge edge 150. The stiffening effect of these

edges

15a, 15b, and 150 permits the relatively thin cover to be used as a support for a mirror 48. An oval flange 15d surrounds the mirror 48. Due to the curvature of the cover 15, the center of the mirror is spaced from the cover; to provide additional support means, a rib 15e extends into engagement with the center of the mirror 48 which is cemented to the cover 15.

For the purposes of receiving and storing the manicure attachment, the upper housing member 14 is formed with a recess 14c which occupies approximately half of the upper surface of the housing member 14. As is best shown in FIG. 1, the recess 14c is formed with centrally located partitions 50 which separate it into a number of compartments which may be used for various purposes. The large central compartment 51 serves as a storage place for a coiled flexible shaft 52 which has an inner bearing sleeve 53 at one end and a knurled grip portion 54 at the other end. Adjacent the knurled grip portion 54 is a coupling sleeve 55 which permits the flexible shaft 52 to be detachably connected to'the manicure implements designated generally by reference numeral 56. A short projecting wall 50a in the compartment 51 is designed to retain the bearing sleeve 53 so that the flexible shaft 52 will remain in the stored position in which it is shown in H6. 3. Located within the compartment 51 of recess Me is a hole 57 which provides access to the upper end of the armature shaft 19 for the purpose of coupling the flexible shaft 52 thereto. For the purpose of accurately locating the bearing sleeve 53 of the flexible shaft 52 with respect to the armature shaft 19, there is provided a bearing sleeve bushing 58 which is cemented to the bottom of the recess 14c after the housing 12 has been completely assembled and using the bearing sleeve 53 as a locating means. As may best be seen in FIG. 2, the opening 57 at the bottom of recess 41c is large enough to permit limited movement of the bushing 58. Since the bushing 58 performs an important support and alignment function, it is necessary that the opening therein be accurately located coaxially with the shaft 19. This accurate location is accomplished by using the bearing sleeve 53 assembled to the upper end of the armature shaft 19 as a means of locating the bushing 58 while it is being cemented to the upper housing member 14.

The recess 14C is divided into

additional compartments

59 and 60 which may serve for storage of bobby pins and other accessories which may be used in hair-grooming and manicuring activities.

At the edge of the compartment 51 formed in the recess 14c, there are a plurality of pockets 61 formed by upwardly extending wall portions. Superimposed over the pockets 61 is an escutcheon plate 63 which extends across the entire width of the recess 14c and covers the four pockets 61, two of which are shown in FIG. 3. As is best shown in FIG. 7, the escutcheon plate 63 has on its lower edge a plurality of semicircular cutouts 64 which register with the pockets 61 to form inwardly facing passageways or sockets 65. These passageways or sockets 65 are dimensioned to receive the inner ends of the manicuring implements 56. These implements may consist of a buffing or polishing head 66, a cylindrical emery or abrasive tool 67, a soft bristle brush 68, and a circular emery or abrasive head 69.

ln order to retain the manicuring implements 56 in position within the passageways 65, there is provided a U-shaped retaining spring 71 for each of the pockets 61. These springs 71 are made of a configuration to be trapped within the pockets 61 and retained there by virtue of the escutcheon plate 63 which prevents the springs from being removed upwardly from the pockets 61. As is evident from FIG. 3, the manicuring implements are tapered somewhat toward their outer ends so that the inwardly formed engaging portions of springs 71 exert retaining forces against the manicuring implements 56.

The escutcheon plate 63 is retained in assembled relationship to the upper housing member 14 by means of integally formed retaining legs 72 which are formed with hook-shaped retaining portions 720 extending through openings into locking engagement with the body portion 14a of the upper housing member, as is best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The walls at the end of the recess 14c and the partition 50 prevent lateral displacement of the escutcheon plate 63 and cooperate with the retaining legs 72 to secure the escutcheon plate 63 rigidly with respect to the upper housing member 14.

For the purpose of controlling the energization of the motor 18 and the heater 24, there is provided a switch 73 which is connected in circuit in a well-known manner to provide three different levels of heat as well as an on-off position for the energization of the motor. In order to mount the switch 73 with respect to the housing 12, it is positioned between the base of the recess 14c and the cover plate 63 where it is held in place by virtue of the sandwiched relationship of the parts. The switch 73 is provided with a manually operable control knob 74 which extends upwardly through an opening 75 in the escutcheon plate 63. Suitable leads 76 extend downwardly through an opening in the base of the recess 14c to connect the switch 73 in circuit with the motor 18 and the resistance heater 24.

At the end of the escutcheon plate remote from the control knob 74, there is provided a transversely extending slot 77 which is adapted to permit delivery of heated air for the purposes of drying nail polish. The body portion 14a of the upper housing member 14 is formed with a plurality of air discharge openings 78 in the area beneath the slot 77 in the escutcheon plate 63, as may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The air discharge openings 78 communicate with the fan chamber in which the fan 20 and the heater 24 are located. Since this portion of the housing 12 is at a higher pressure as a consequence of the action of the fan 20, the air within the fan chamber tends to flow upwardly through the discharge openings 78 and the slot 77.

As will be noted in FIG. 3, the openings 78 are positioned intermediate the fan 20 and the heater 24. The purpose of this arrangement is to obtain air for nail drying which air is only slightly heated by the effects of the heater 24. If the air discharge openings 78 were located closer to the heater 24 or even on the downstream side of heater 24, the air discharge through the openings 78 would be excessively heated so that it would cause blistering of the nail polish. This positioning of the openings 78 intermediate the fan 20 and the heater 24 pro vides warm air which gives optimum naiI-poIish-drying results.

Since there are only occasional instances in which the air for drying nail polish is desired, it would be advantageous to provide means for shutting off the passage of air through the slot 77. Accordingly, there is mounted an elongated shutter member 79 in the slot 77. The shutter 79 consists of a channelshaped member which is trapped within the slot 77 so that it pivots or slides about opposed protuberances 80 which are located at either end of the slot 77. A manually operable bar 81, best shown in FIG. 4, permits the operator to move the shutter 79 from the open position shown in FIG. 4 to a closed position in which it is rotated approximately 90 clockwise from the position shown in FIG. 4. In the open position, a notched-out portion or elongated recess 82 in one edge of the shutter 79 is aligned with slot 77 thereby permitting air to exit therethrough. In the closed position, the channel-shaped portion of the shutter 79 completely closes the slot 77 preventing any air from passing therethrough. The shutter 79 and the depressed portion of the escutcheon plate 63 adjacent the slot 77 creates an arrangement in which the air issues somewhat horizontally so that it may readily be directed against nails which are rested on the escutcheon plate 63 adjacent to the slot 77 and recess 82.

In order to provide a closure for the recess 14, a slidable door or partition 83 is mounted on the upper housing member 14 immediately beneath the cover 15. The partition 83 is a generally flat plastic member having downwardly extending flanges or walls 84 on two opposite edges. The flanges or edges 84 are received in elongated guide slots 85 which extend across the spaced portions on the upper housing member 140, best shown in FIG. 3. The lower edges of the flanges 84 are formed with outwardly extending ledges 86 which are received against the underside of body portion 140 of the upper housing member 14 to retain the slidable door or partition assembled to the upper housing member. The natural resilience of flanges 84 is such that slidable partition 83 may be assembled to the upper housing member by merely inserting the flanges 84 into spaced slots 85. Flanges 84 are completely received in the slots 84, whereby the ledges 86 will snap beneath the portions of housing member 14 adjacent the slots 85 to retain partition 83 assembled thereto.

With the slidable partition 83 mounted'with flanges 84 engaged in slots 86, it may be displaced lengthwise of the slots 85 so that it is positioned at either end of these slots. When displaced to the right from the position occupied in FIG. 3, it will completely cover the manicure attachment including the flexible shaft 52 and the manicuring implements 56. In this position, with the door or partition 83 slid to the right and the cover pivoted upwardly as shown in FIG. 1, there is exposed a cap storage compartment 90 to which access is gained through an opening 91 in the body portion 140 of the upper housing member. As is best shown in FIG. 8, the cap storage compartment-is relatively deep and occupies the space within housing 12 adjacent the hose storage compartment 32 and adjacent to the motor and fan compartment as defined by the fan scroll walls 30. This space is more than adequate in which to store the hair dryer cap 42, a power cord 92 which is suitably connected to the motor 18, the heater 24, and the switch 73 as is well known in the art.

While the prior art hair dryer disclosed in the above-cited Copeland et al. patent included a storage compartment for the cap and the power cord, this compartment was of limited volume and had a small access opening. It is now considered desirable to provide curling attachments for hair dryers. These attachments involve nothing more than curlers which are provided with means for connecting the air delivery hose 34 to the curlers to deliver heated air to the inside of the curler. Since it is normally required to have curlers of several different sizes, the storage requirements of a truly portable hair dryer are increased considerably. The cap storage compartment 90 is large enough to accommodateboth the cap 42, the power cord 92, and a plurality of curlers 93 along with a coupling member 94 adapted to connect the hose 34 to any one of the curlers 93.

It should be appreciated that when the hair dryer is being used and the manicure attachment is not required, the slidable partition 83 may be moved to the right to a position in which it completely covers the portion of the recess 140 within which the flexible shaft 52 and the manicuring implements 56 are stored. Similarly, when the manicuring attachment is being used and the hair-drying portion of the appliance is not being used, the slidable partition 83 may be placed in the position shown in FIG. 1 where it retains the cap and curlers within the storage compartment 90.

In order to accommodate the cover 15 on the housing 12 so that it is secure from a mechanical standpoint and aesthetically appealing, the upper housing member 14 is formed with a deep groove or slot 95 which extends around three sides of the opening 91 and the adjacent recess 140, as is best shown in FIG. 3. As is evident from FIG. 3, the slot 95 is generally U- shaped in arrangement as it extends around the opening 91 and the recess 14c. The outer legs of the U-shaped slot 95 are narrower than the bight portion which receives the edge 150 of the cover 15 when it is pivoted to its open position. The edges 15a of the cover are provided with outwardly extending projections 96 which are received in aligned openings in the sides of the slot 95 to hinge or pivotally support the cover 15 with respect to the upper housing member 14. In the closed position of the cover 15, the sidewalls 150 are received within the spaced parallel legs of the slot 95.

In the closed position of the cover, the front or top edge 15b of the cover overlies the edge of the housing adjacent to the handle 46, as is shown in FIG. 2. In order to retain the cover 15 in the closed position shown in FIG. 2, there is provided a latch member 97 which is of generally T-shaped configuration and is fabricated from a resilient plastic material. Extending sidewardly from the crossbar of the T is an actuating shaft 98 which is received in opposed grooves in the

housing members

13 and 14 and is trapped therein. The lower end of the crossbar of the T comprises a biasing portion 99 which is received in a recess 100 in the lower housing member 13. Extending in the opposite direction but aligned with the biasing portion'99 is a latch portion 101 which is adapted to engage an undercut edge on the cover 15 to retain it in the closed position.

When it is desired to open the cover 15, it is necessary only to depress the actuating shaft 98 which is located within the loop handle 46. Upon depressing the shaft 98, the latch portion 101 is urged to the left as shown in FIG. 2 out of latching engagement with the cover 15. In moving the latch 97 to the released position, enough force must be applied to overcome the biasing force exerted by the integral biasing portion 99. Thus, there is provided a simple and effective latch which consists of a one-piece plastic member which is merelyfitted into and retained between the two

housing members

13 and 14.

The simplicity of the appliance described in detail above may be best understood by considering the relatively few number of molded plastic parts which form the complete housing for the hair dryer and manicure attachment. The lower housing member 13, the upper housing member 14, and the cover are designed to provide the enclosure for the motor-driven blower unit, the conduit means for air passing through the blower, storage means for the housing, the hair dryer cap, the curling attachments, and the manicure attachment. The simple cover 15 provides access to both the hat and curler storage compartment as well as the manicuring attachment. The simple sliding partition snaps into place to selectively close the storage area for the manicure attachment or the storage area for the cap and curlers. The air delivery for the drying of nail polish is accomplished simply and provides air of the optimum temperature for the drying of polish,

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention, and that it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A portable electric hair dryer comprising a lower housing member and an upper housing member which are assembled together to form a housing for motor-driven blower unit, said housing members each including a substantially flat body portion surrounded by upstanding peripheral sidewalls, the sidewalls of said two members abutting to form an enclosure, said housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, said air inlet being formed in said lower housing member adjacent said motor-driven blower unit, a flexible hose connected to said air outlet and a collapsible haiHirying cap adapted to be con nected to said hose whereby said blower unit delivers air to said cap, a storage compartment in said housing for said hairdrying cap, an opening in said upper housing member providing access to said compartment for inserting and removing said cap, a manicure attachment including a flexible shaft and a plurality of nail-treating implements adapted for driving connection to said shaft, a hole in said housing into which said flexible shaft is inserted for detachable driving connection with the motor of said blower unit, an outwardly facing recess formed in the body portion of said upper housing member, said hole being positioned within said recess, means for supporting said flexible shaft and implements in stored position in said recess, and a cover pivoted to said upper housing member, said cover forming a closure for said recess and said storage compartment opening and being substantially coextensive with and overlying said body portion of said upper housing member, said air outlet being spaced from said recess and said storage compartment.

2. The portable hair dryer of claim 1 wherein said housing includes an additional storage compartment for storing said flexible hose, said storage compartments and said recess being formed and separated from each other by integral walls provided on said housing members.

3. The portable hair dryer of claim 1 having a latch for retaining said cover in a closed position with respect to said recess and storage compartment opening, said latch comprising a one-piece member captured in assembled relation to said housing between said housing members with a manually actuable portion extending outside of said housing, a retaining portion extending into engagement with said cover.

4. The hair dryer of claim 1 wherein upper housing member is fonned with a channel extending partially around said recess, said cover being formed with inwardly directed flanges which are received in said channel, and hinge means in said channel for pivotally connecting said cover to said housing member.

5. The hair dryer of claim 1 wherein said recess is formed with integrally molded pockets for receiving said implements, a trim plate overlying said pockets to form with said upper housing member elongated and sidewardly facing passageways, spring means retained in each of said passageways by abutting portions of said pockets and said trim plate, said spring means engage said implements to retain them in stored position in said passageways.

6. A compact portable hair dryer and manicure set comprising a housing which is generally flat with a rectangular configuration and a loop handle on one of the long edges giving the housing the appearance of a ladies handbag, a motordriven blower unit enclosed in said housing, an elongated flexible hose connected to the air outlet of said blower unit, a collapsible hair-drying cap with means for connecting it to the output end of said hose, a power cord for connecting said motor to an electrical outlet, a first storage compartment which is elongated and adapted to store said hose in an axially collapsed condition, a second storage compartment for storing said cap in a collapsed condition and said power cord, a manicure attachment including a flexible shaft and a plurality of nail-treating implements adapted for driving connection with said shaft, a third storage compartment for storing said flexible shaft and said implements, an opening in said third compartment providing access to said motor-driven blower unit whereby said flexible shaft may be detachably connected to said motor for driving said implements, a hinged cover member which is substantially coextensive with one side of said housing and is pivoted thereto, said second and third compartments opening on said one side of said housing and said cover member providing a closure for said second and third compartments, and a sliding partition beneath said cover member, said partition being movable between a first position closing said second compartment and a second position closing said third compartment, said partition in said second position retaining said manicure attachment in stored condition while making available said cap and power cord for hair drying.

7. The combination of claim 6 including an air passageway between said motor-driven blower unit and said third compartment to provide high-velocity air for use in drying nail polish, movable shutter means in said air passageway to shut off air flow through said passageway when not required for nail polish drying.

8. The combination of claim 6 wherein said cover comprises a substantially flat body portion inwardly extending sidewalls and a top wall, an elongated channel extending around said second and third compartments to receive said cover sidewalls and the hinge means for pivoting said cover with respect to said housing, said top wall extending over said one long edge, and latch means on said handle extending into engagement with said cover to retain it in the closed position.

9. A combination hair dryer and manicure apparatus comprising a motor-driven blower and heater assembly, said assembly including a mounting plate which supports said motor and said heater assembly, a plastic housing enclosing said assembly including means for rigidly attaching said plate to said housing, a plurality of nail-treating implements, a flexible drive shaft having a first end provided with means for detachably coupling selected ones of said implements thereto, a second end on said shaft having a bearing sleeve and a shaft end adapted for detachable driving connection with the armature shaft of said motor, an oversize hole in said housing through which said shaft extends into driving connection with said motor, a support sleeve cemented to said housing with a cylindrical passageway positioned coaxially with respect to said armature shaft, said support sleeve receiving said bearing sleeve and locating said second end of said flexible shaft coaxially with respect to said armature shaft independently of the position of said motor with respect to said housing.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said plastic housing comprises an upper housing member and a lower housing member, said mounting plate being received on and located by said lower housing member, said upper housing member have an outwardly facing recess formed therein for storing said flexible drive shaft and said nail-treating implements, said hole for said shaft and said support sleeve being positioned in said recess with said support sleeve being aligned with said armature shaft independently of the position of said upper housing member and said hole.

11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said mounting plate is seated on integrally molded walls on said lower housing member, said plate being retained in seated position on said walls by aligned walls on said upper housing member which engage the upper surface of said plate.

12. The hair dryer of claim 10 wherein said housing includes closure means for said discharge orifice, said closure means comprising an elongated shutter with manually operable means for moving said shutter into and out of obstructing relation with said orifice.

13. A portable electric hair dryer comprising a motordriven blower enclosed in a housing, air inlet and air outlet means provided in said housing, air conduit means extending between said air inlet and air outlet means and enclosing said blower, an electric resistance heater in said air conduit means between said blower and said air outlet means to heat the air circulated by said blower through said air conduit means from said air inlet to said air outlet means, ahair-drying hat for distributing warm air around the head for the purpose of drying the hair, duct means interconnecting said air outlet means in said housing with said hair-drying hat to deliver warm air to said hat, a nail polish dryer in said housing including a discharge orifice positioned to deliver air across a finger-supporting surface, a passageway extending from a position between said heater and said blower to said discharge orifice to deliver to said orifice air which is only slightly heated by said heater and which is of lower temperature than the air delivered through said duct to said hair-drying hat.

14. The hair dryer of claim 9 wherein said blower is positioned in a substantially flat cylindrical chamber the outer wall of which is defined by a fan scroll of gradually increasing radius, said scroll terminating in an outlet opening in which said heater is positioned, said passageway for the nail-polishdrying air opening into chamber adjacent said heater.

Claims

1. A portable electric hair dryer comprising a lower housing member and an upper housing member which are assembled together to form a housing for motor-driven blower unit, said housing members each including a substantially flat body portion surrounded by upstanding peripheral sidewalls, the sidewalls of said two members abutting to form an enclosure, said housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, said air inlet being formed in said lower housing member adjacent said motor-driven blower unit, a flexible hose connected to said air outlet and a collapsible hair-drying cap adapted to be connected to said hose whereby said blower unit delivers air to said cap, a storage compartment in said housing for said hair-drying cap, an opening in said upper housing member providing access to said compartment for inserting and removing said cap, a manicure attachment including a flexible shaft and a plurality of nail-treating implements adapted for driving connection to said shaft, a hole in said housing into which said flexible shaft is inserted for detachable driving connection with the motor of said blower unit, an outwardly facing recess formed in the body portion of said upper housing member, said hole being positioned within said recess, means for supporting said flexible shaft and implements in stored position in said recess, and a cover pivoted to said upper housing member, said cover forming a closure for said recess and said storage compartment opening and being substantially coextensive with and overlying said body portion of said upper housing member, said air outlet being spaced from said recess and said storage compartment.

4. The hair dryer of claim 1 wherein upper housing member is formed with a channel extending partially around said recess, said cover being formed with inwardly directed flanges which are received in said channel, and hinge means in said channel for pivotally connecting said cover to said housing member.

6. A compact portable hair dryer and manicure set comprising a housing which is generally flat with a rectangular configuration and a loop handle on one of the long edges giving the housing the appearance of a ladies'' handbag, a motor-driven blower unit enclosed in said housing, an elongated flexible hose connected to the air outlet of said blower unit, a collapsible hair-drying cap with means for connecting it to the output end of said hose, a power cord for connecting said motor to an electrical outlet, a first storage compartment which is elongated and adapted to store said hose in an axially collapsed condition, a second storage compartment for storing said cap in a collapsed condition and said power cord, a manicure attachment including a flexible shaft and a plurality of nail-treating implements adapted for driving connection with said shaft, a third storage compartment for storing saId flexible shaft and said implements, an opening in said third compartment providing access to said motor-driven blower unit whereby said flexible shaft may be detachably connected to said motor for driving said implements, a hinged cover member which is substantially coextensive with one side of said housing and is pivoted thereto, said second and third compartments opening on said one side of said housing and said cover member providing a closure for said second and third compartments, and a sliding partition beneath said cover member, said partition being movable between a first position closing said second compartment and a second position closing said third compartment, said partition in said second position retaining said manicure attachment in stored condition while making available said cap and power cord for hair drying.

13. A portable electric hair dryer comprising a motor-driven blower enclosed in a housing, air inlet and air outlet means provided in said housing, air conduit means extending between said air inlet anD air outlet means and enclosing said blower, an electric resistance heater in said air conduit means between said blower and said air outlet means to heat the air circulated by said blower through said air conduit means from said air inlet to said air outlet means, a hair-drying hat for distributing warm air around the head for the purpose of drying the hair, duct means interconnecting said air outlet means in said housing with said hair-drying hat to deliver warm air to said hat, a nail polish dryer in said housing including a discharge orifice positioned to deliver air across a finger-supporting surface, a passageway extending from a position between said heater and said blower to said discharge orifice to deliver to said orifice air which is only slightly heated by said heater and which is of lower temperature than the air delivered through said duct to said hair-drying hat.

14. The hair dryer of claim 9 wherein said blower is positioned in a substantially flat cylindrical chamber the outer wall of which is defined by a fan scroll of gradually increasing radius, said scroll terminating in an outlet opening in which said heater is positioned, said passageway for the nail-polish-drying air opening into chamber adjacent said heater.