Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6792692
-
Patent Number
6,792,692
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, June 17, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 21, 200419 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Lazarus; Ira S.
- O'Malley; Kathryn S.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 034 283
- 034 553
- 034 554
- 034 565
- 034 96
- 034 97
- 392 384
- 392 374
- 392 385
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A hair dryer includes an air outlet portion, a holding portion, a start switch, an airflow rate control switch, an airflow rate indication portion, an input power control switch, and an input power indication portion. Thus, when the user presses the start switch, the hair dryer will start to perform with its previous setting in memory for the airflow rate and its power input. And when the user presses the airflow rate control switch or the input power control switch, the system enters the manual control mode, and is forced into the safety mode immediately, so that the user can adjust the input power and the airflow rate according to the preset safety values, thereby achieving the safe requirement.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair dryer, and more particularly to a control method of the input power and airflow rate of a hair dryer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional hair dryer in accordance with the prior art is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,718, entitled “HAND HELD HAIR DRYER”. The above-mentioned conventional hair dryer comprises a negative ion generating device, a control button, and an airflow rate display. Thus, by generation of the negative ion and control of the airflow rate, the blown air has the ion effect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a control method of the input power and airflow rate of a hair dryer, wherein when the user presses the airflow rate control switch or,the input power control switch, the system enters the manual control mode, and is forced into the safety mode immediately, so that the user can adjust the input power and the airflow rate according to the preset safety values, thereby achieving the safe requirement.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a control method of the input power and airflow rate of a hair dryer, wherein the user can adjust the input power and the airflow rate according to the practical requirement, thereby facilitating the user operating the hair dryer, and thereby enhancing the versatility of the hair dryer.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a hair dryer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a plan view of a control panel of the hair dryer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3
is a flow chart of a control method of the input power and airflow rate of the hair dryer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 4
is a table of the preset safety combinations of the airflow rate and input power for controlling the input power and airflow rate of the hair dryer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings and initially to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a hair dryer
10
in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises an air outlet portion
11
, a holding portion
12
, and a control panel
20
mounted on the holding portion
12
.
The control panel
20
includes an On/Off switch
21
, an airflow rate control switch
22
, an airflow rate indication portion
24
aligning with the airflow rate control switch
22
, an input power control switch
23
, and an input power indication portion
25
aligning with the input power control switch
23
. Preferably, each of the On/Off switch
21
, the airflow rate control switch
22
and the input power control switch
23
is an electronic push button. Preferably, each of the airflow rate indication portion
24
and the input power indication portion
25
is a multi-stage light emitting diode (LED) or liquid crystal display (LCD).
Referring to
FIG. 3
, the control procedure
40
of the control method and
FIG. 4
, the values of preset safety combinations of the input power and airflow rate of a hair dryer in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps:
Start
41
: start with On/Off switch
21
;
Selection
42
of the manual control mode: Judge by if the user presses the airflow rate control switch
22
or the input power control switch
23
, so that if the user presses the airflow rate control switch
22
or the input power control switch
23
, the procedure enters into the manual control mode B, and if the user does not press the airflow rate control switch
22
or the input power control switch
23
, the procedure enters into the memory control mode A;
Enter into the memory control mode A: To drive the fan/motor
420
and the heater
421
according to the last setting in memory, so that the fan motor and the heater produce the airflow rate and input power the same as that of the last hair drying condition;
Enter into the manual control mode B: Force the procedure into the safety mode
43
, so that the user can adjust the values manually in accordance with preset safety input power-airflow combinations.
Adjust the airflow rate
44
: The user can press the airflow rate control switch
22
to adjust the airflow rate;
Judge the safety condition
440
: The inner program simultaneously judges whether the airflow rate is adjusted per given preset safety combinations of airflow and power-input. (
FIG. 4
)
If airflow is adjusted within the safety range corresponding to current power-input value in preset safety power-airflow combinations, the airflow will be adjusted as desired without changing the value of input power, (
442
) and the LED/LCD indicator will display the adjusted airflow rate and current value of power-input (
444
)
If the airflow rate is adjusted lower and/or further lower, out of the safety range corresponding to current power-input value in the preset safety power-airflow combinations (FIG.
4
), the airflow will be adjusted as desired, however the input power will be reduced automatically to the value corresponding to the adjusted airflow in the preset power-airflow combination (
441
), and the LED/LCD indicator will display the adjusted airflow and corresponding power-input. So that the airflow rate matches the input power, to prevent the temperature of the airflow from being excessively high, thereby achieving a safe purpose;
Adjust the input power
45
: the user can press the input power control switch
23
to adjust the input power;
Judge the safety condition
450
: The inner program simultaneously judges whether the input power is adjusted per given preset safety combinations of airflow and power-input (FIG.
4
).
If the input power is adjusted within the safety range corresponding to current value of airflow in preset safety combinations of airflow-inputpower, the input power will be adjusted as desired without changing the value of the airflow (
453
). And the LED/LCD indicator will display the adjusted power-input and current value of airflow (
454
).
If the input power is adjusted exceeding the safety range corresponding to current value of airflow in preset safety airflow-inputpower combinations (
FIG. 4
) the value of inputpower will be adjusted as desired, however, the value of the airflow rate will be increased automatically corresponding to the adjusted value of input power preset in safety airflow-input power combinations (
451
). And the LED/LCD indicator will properly display the adjusted input power and corresponding airflow (
452
). So that the input power matches the increased airflow rate to output a proper temperature, thereby achieving a safe purpose;
Memory
46
: The inner program will directly remember and store the adjusted setting; and
Close
47
: the user closing the start switch
21
.
At the next use, if the user presses the On/Off button but does not press the airflow rate control switch
22
or the input power control switch
23
, the procedure will immediately enter the memory mode, and start dryer's performance by the setting stored in memory. If the user then presses the airflow rate control switch
22
or the input power control switch
23
, it will directly enter the manual control mode B, to control and produce the airflow and input power that are described as above.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, the safety values of the hair dryer
10
of the present invention are preset according to the principle in that when the airflow rate is low, the adjustable allowance of the input power is small relatively in the low values, and when the airflow rate is high, the adjustable allowance of the input power is big relatively from the lower to the higher values. On the other hand, when the input power is low, the adjustable allowance of the airflow rate is big relatively from the lower to the higher values, and when the input power is high, the adjustable allowance of the airflow rate is small relatively in high values.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, when the airflow rate is at the minimum value (500 ft/min), the corresponding input power is at the minimum value (600 w), so that the input power only has one adjustable grade (600 w), and when the airflow rate is increased, the corresponding adjustable range of input power is increased too. When it is increased to the maximum value (850 ft/min), the corresponding adjustable range of input power has five adjustable grades (1700 w/(1500 w/(1100 w/(900 w/(600 w).
On the other hand, when the input power is at the maximum value (1700 w), the corresponding airflow rate is at the maximum value (850 ft/min), so that the airflow rate only has one adjustable grade(850 ft/min), and when the input power is decreased, the corresponding adjustable range of airflow is increased, and when it is at the minimum value (600 w), the corresponding adjustable range of airflow rate has five adjustable grades (850/800/700/600/500 ft/min).
For example, when the airflow rate is at the lower grade A
2
600 ft/min), the input power only has two adjustable grades (900 w/600 w). Thus, when the user performs the step of adjusting the input power
45
as shown in
FIG. 3
, the input power only has two adjustable grades (900 w/600 w). If the desired and thus adjusted input power exceeds the two adjustable grades (900 w/600 w), the desired input power is greater than the safety value
450
, so that the value of the airflow rate is increased automatically
451
as per given safety airflow-power combinations, and the adjusted power input and the corresponding airflow rate are indicated simultaneously
452
, thereby achieving the safe purpose.
Similarly, when the input power is at the higher grade H
4
(1500 w), the safety values of the airflow rate only has two adjustable grades (850/800 ft/min). Thus, when the user performs the step of adjusting the airflow rate
44
as shown
FIG. 3
, the airflow rate only has two adjustable grades 850/800 ft/min). If the desired and thus adjusted airflow rate gets out of the safety range of the two adjustable grades (850/800 ft/min), the desired airflow rate is lower than the safety value (
440
), so that the value of the input power will be decreased automatically as per given safety value combinations (
441
), and the adjusted airflow and the corresponding input power are indicated simultaneously
442
, thereby achieving the safe purpose.
In addition, the user can adjust the input power and the airflow rate according to the practical requirement, thereby facilitating the user operating the hair dryer, and thereby enhancing the versatility of the hair dryer.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.
Claims
- 1. A hair dryer, comprising:an air outlet portion; a holding portion; a start switch; an airflow rate control switch; an airflow rate indication portion aligning with the airflow rate control switch; an input power control switch; and an input power indication portion aligning with the input power control switch, each of the airflow rate indication portion and the input power indication portion being a multi-stage light emitting diode (LED).
- 2. The hair dryer in accordance with claim 1, wherein the start switch, the airflow rate control switch, the airflow rate indication portion, the input power control switch, and the input power indication portion are mounted on a control panel.
- 3. The hair dryer in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of the start switch, the airflow rate control switch and the input power control switch is an electronic push button.
- 4. A hair dryer comprising:an air outlet portion; a holding portion; a start switch; an airflow rate control switch; an airflow rate indication portion aligning with the airflow rate control switch; an input power control switch; and an input power indication portion aligning with the input power control switch, each of the airflow rate indication portion and the input power indication portion being a liquid crystal display (LCD).
- 5. The hair dryer in accordance with claim 1, wherein:the start switch is pressed by a user to turn on or turn off an electric power; the airflow rate control switch is pressed by the user to enter a manual control mode to adjust an airflow rate and to output a safety input power corresponding to the adjusted airflow rate; the input power control switch is pressed by the user to enter the manual control mode to adjust an input power and to output a safety airflow rate corresponding to the adjusted input power; the airflow rate indication portion is used to indicate the airflow rate; and the input power indication portion is used to indicate the input power.
- 6. A control method of the input power and airflow rate of the hair dryer in accordance with claim 1, comprising:a memory control mode step, the memory control mode step including the step of entering a memory control mode when both of the airflow rate control switch and the input power control switch are not pressed by the user after the start switch is pressed so as to obtain previous setting values in a memory and to drive a fan/motor and a heater to operate according to the previous setting values, so that the fan/motor and the heater produce the airflow rate and input power the same as that of the previous hair drying condition; and a safety mode step.
- 7. The control method of the input power and airflow rate of the hair dryer in accordance with claim 6, wherein the safety mode step includes judging if the corresponding airflow rate and input power match given preset safety airflow/input power values when either one of the airflow rate control switch or the input power control switch is pressed by the user after the start switch is pressed so as to adjust the corresponding airflow rate and input power according to the given preset safety airflow/input power values.
US Referenced Citations (5)