Patent Application
20140298670
The present invention relates to haircare apparatuses such as hairdryers and hair irons.
An example of a haircare apparatus of the related art is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-254844 (PTL 1). This haircare apparatus includes, inside a casing having an air outlet and an air inlet, a blower device, an ion generator that generates negative ions, a heater, and a Peltier element that cools the air. Electrons are emitted from the ion generator toward the air that has been cooled by the Peltier element and allowed to bond with agglomerated water molecules, and negative ions having a large mass are generated.
PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-254844
However, in the haircare apparatus of the related art, there has been a problem in that because only negative ions can be generated, the user's hair becomes excessively negatively charged by the negative ions, negative ions that should be supplied to the user's hair receive a repulsive force from the negative charge with which the user's hair has become excessively charged and the negative ions and moisture accompanying the negative ions can no longer be supplied to the user's hair.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a haircare apparatus that prevents hair from becoming excessively charged and can thoroughly supply moisture to the hair.
In order to solve the above-described problem, a haircare apparatus of the present invention is provided with
a casing having an air outlet and an air inlet,
a blower device that is provided inside the casing, a heater that is provided inside the casing,
an ion generator that is provided inside the casing and is capable of generating positive ions and negative ions,
a penetrating mode selection unit that is for selecting operation of a penetrating mode that promotes penetration of the positive ions and the negative ions generated by the ion generator into hair, and
a control unit that, when the penetrating mode is selected using the penetrating mode selection unit, controls the heater such that a temperature of air blown out from the air outlet becomes a predetermined promotion temperature at which penetration of the positive ions and the negative ions generated by the ion generator into the hair is promoted while driving the ion generator and the blower device.
With this configuration, an ion generator that is capable of generating positive ions and negative ions is provided inside the casing and therefore both positive ions and negative ions are supplied to a user's hair, only one of positive charge and negative charge does not excessively accumulate on the user's hair and therefore there is little repulsive force from charged hair and positive and negative ions can be thoroughly supplied to the hair.
In addition, if operation in the penetrating mode in which penetration of positive ions and negative ions into the hair is promoted is selected by using the penetrating mode selection unit, the control unit controls the heater such that the temperature of hair blown out from the air outlet reaches a promotion temperature at which penetration of positive ions and negative ions into the hair is promoted. Thus, the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet becomes the promotion temperature and penetration of the positive ions and negative ions generated by the ion generator into the user's air is promoted and therefore moisture accompanying these ions is thoroughly supplied to the hair, denaturation of keratin and so forth can be prevented and damage to the hair can be greatly reduced.
In addition, in an embodiment of the haircare apparatus,
the positive ions are H+(H2O)m (m being any natural number) and the negative ions are O2−(H2O)n (n being any natural number).
According to this embodiment, the ion generator is capable of generating positive ions that are H+(H2O)m (m being any natural number) and negative ions that are O2−(H2O)n (n being any natural number). These positive ions and negative ions attach to the surfaces of bacteria floating in the air and generate H2O2 or .OH (hydroxyl radical), which are active species, through chemical reactions. H2O2 or .OH exhibit a very strong activity and therefore are capable of surrounding, inactivating and removing mold and saprophytic bacteria, which are bacteria floating in the air.
In addition, in an embodiment of the haircare apparatus,
55° C. is an upper limit of the promotion temperature.
According to this embodiment, since the promotion temperature is 55° C. when the penetrating mode is selected, penetration of moisture accompanying positive ions and negative ions into the hair can be promoted with more certainty and denaturation of keratin in the hair can be suppressed.
In addition, in an embodiment of the haircare apparatus,
the promotion temperature is from 38° C. to 55° C.
This embodiment is preferable, since the promotion temperature is from 38° C. to 55° C. when the penetrating mode is selected, and therefore penetration of moisture accompanying positive ions and negative ions into the hair can be promoted with more certainty, and depletion of heat from the body does not occur.
In addition, in an embodiment of the haircare apparatus, the haircare apparatus is a hairdryer.
According to this embodiment, a hairdryer can be realized that can prevent hair from becoming charged with just positive charge or negative charge at the time of use, that can promote penetration of moisture accompanying positive and negative ions into the hair, and that can greatly reduce damage to the hair.
As has been made clear above, according to a haircare apparatus of the present invention, since positive and negative ions can be generated, the hair can be prevented from becoming excessively charged with just positive charge or negative charge at the time of use, and in addition the temperature of blown out air is controlled to a temperature at which penetration of moisture accompanying positive and negative ions into the hair is promoted and therefore moisture accompanying positive and negative ions is thoroughly supplied to the hair, denaturation of keratin and so forth can be prevented and damage to the hair can be greatly reduced.
Hereafter, a haircare apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail using an illustrative embodiment.
A hairdryer of this embodiment, as illustrated in
The casing 1 substantially has the shape of a truncated cone, has an air outlet 11 and an air inlet 12, and is composed of a plastic that is excellent in terms of heat resistance. The air outlet 11 is provided on a front surface side of the substantially truncated cone shape, the front surface having a small area, and the air inlet 12 is provided on a rear surface side of the substantially truncated cone shape, the rear surface having a large area.
The handle 2 is attached so as to be freely rotatable toward the bottom and toward the air inlet 12 side of the casing 1 and can be folded away against the casing 1 in the direction of the arrow R. In addition, one end of a power cord 4 is connected to the air inlet 12 side of the handle 2. In addition, a sliding-type actuator 21, which is an example of a penetrating mode selection unit, is provided on the air inlet 11 side of the handle 2 in the center in the length direction of the handle 2.
The air filter 3 is composed of a metal or plastic and is detachably attached to the air inlet 12 side of the casing 1. The air filter 3, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The heater 5 is arranged between the air outlet 11 and the blower fan 6 inside the air passage 8 and is provided on side walls on the left and right inside the air passage 6. In
The blower fan 6 is arranged substantially in the center inside the casing 1 and generates an air flow that flows from the air inlet 12 to the air outlet 11. Air that has been heated by the heaters 5 is blown out to outside of the casing 1 from the air outlet 11 by the air flow generated by the blower fan 6.
The ion generator 7 is provided in a base portion of the casing 1 on the air inlet 12 side and is arranged between the air filter 3 and the blower fan 6. The ion generator 7 emits positive ions, which are H+(H2O)m (m is any natural number) and negative ions, which are O2−(H2O)n (n is any natural number). These ions attach to the surfaces of bacteria floating in the air and generate H2O2 or .OH (hydroxyl radical), which are active species, through chemical reactions. H2O2 or .OH exhibit a very strong activity and therefore are capable of surrounding, inactivating and removing mold and saprophytic bacteria, which are bacteria floating in the air.
In addition, although not illustrated, a control unit 22, which controls a power supply unit 23, the heaters 5, the blower fan 6 and the ion generator 7, is provided inside the handle 2. The power cord 4, which is illustrated in
As illustrated in
In addition, a locking unit 14 is provided on the upper side of the air inlet 12 side of the casing 1. The air filter 3 is locked in the casing 1 by the locking unit 14.
The ion generator 7, as illustrated in
The positive ion generating unit 15 includes a needle electrode 25, which has shape of a needle with a sharp tip, and a donut-like disk-shaped induction electrode 35 arranged so as to surround the needle electrode 25. The needle electrode 25 is arranged substantially in the center of the induction electrode 35 with a gap of 8 mm between the needle electrode 25 and the inner periphery of the induction electrode 35.
The negative ion generating unit 16 includes a needle electrode 26, which has the shape of a needle with a sharp tip, and a donut-like disk-shaped induction electrode 36 arranged so as to surround the needle electrode 26. The needle electrode 26 is arranged substantially in the center of the induction electrode 36 with a gap of 8 mm between the needle electrode 26 and the inner periphery of the induction electrode 36.
Next, operation of the hairdryer will be described. In the thus-structured hairdryer, first, the actuator 21 on the handle 2 is operated. The hairdryer can be switched on and off and switched between a “normal mode” and a “penetrating mode” by operating the actuator 21. The normal mode is a mode in which the hairdryer is operated such that the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 is around 130° C. and the penetrating mode is a mode in which the hairdryer is operated such that the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 is around 50° C.
In this specification, the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 is the temperature of blown out air measured using a method stipulated by JISC9613 (7.6.1 normal temperature experiment).
When the user selects a desired mode by operating the actuator 21, as illustrated in
The control unit 22 separately controls the heaters 5. That is, it is possible for just a single heater 5 to be driven and it is possible for both heaters 5 to be simultaneously driven. Consequently, the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 can be freely regulated by changing the number of heaters 5 being driven. The control unit 22 performs control so as to drive both of the two heaters 5 in the normal mode and so as to drive only one of the heaters 5 in the penetrating mode.
In addition, the control unit 22, as illustrated in
Current is supplied to both the positive ion generating unit 15 and the negative ion generating unit 16 of the ion generator 7, which has been made to transition to an operating state, and the positive ions, which are H+(H2O)m (m is any natural number) and negative ions, which are O2−(H2O)n (n is any natural number) are caused to be simultaneously generated.
At this time, in the positive ion generating unit 15 of the ion generator 7, for example, an alternating current voltage of 60 Hz that switches between an effective voltage of 2 kV or more and 0 V is applied to the needle electrode 25, and a direct current voltage of 0 V is applied to the induction electrode 26. When an effective voltage of 2 kV or more is applied to the needle electrode 25, a corona discharge occurs due to the potential difference between the needle electrode 25 and the induction electrode 26, water molecules in the air in the vicinity of the tip of the needle electrode 25 are ionized and hydrogen ions (H+) are generated. The hydrogen ions bond in clusters with water molecules in the air (clustering) and positive ions composed of H+(H2O)m (m is any natural number) are generated.
On the other hand, in the negative ion generating unit 16 of the ion generator 7, for example, an alternating current voltage of 60 Hz that switches between an effective voltage of −2 kV or less and 0 V is applied to the needle electrode 35 and a direct current voltage of 0 V is applied to the induction electrode 36, and as a result negative ions are generated. The negative ions are oxygen ions O2− that are formed by ionization of oxygen molecules or water molecules in the air. These oxygen ions bond with water molecules in the air (clustering) and negative ions composed of O2−(H2O)n (n is any natural number) are generated.
The positive ions and the negative ions generated by the ion generator 7 are emitted into the inside of the casing 1 from the ion generator 7, ride along the airflow formed by the blower fan 6, and are blown out to outside the casing 1 from the air outlet 11 so as to be supplied to the user's hair. Therefore, both positive ions and negative ions are simultaneously supplied to the user's hair and therefore only negative charge or positive charge does not accumulate on the user's hair and therefore there is little repulsive force from charged hair and positive and negative ions can be thoroughly supplied to the hair.
Regarding the positive and negative ions, the hydrogen ions and oxygen ions are surrounded by a plurality of water molecules. It is thought that if the temperature of the air blown out from the air outlet 11 is too high, the positive ions and the negative ions will be activated and the number of water molecules surrounding the hydrogen ions and the oxygen ions will decrease. Consequently, the positive ions and the negative ions will be liable to bond with each other and disappear and as a result the amount of ions blown onto the user's hair will decrease.
This was discovered via the following experiment. In the following experiment, the temperature of the air blown out from the air outlet 11 increases from low to high in the order of a cool mode, a set haircare mode, a dry haircare mode, a set mode and a dry mode. In addition, the flow rate of air that is blown out is made a normal flow rate by turning turbo off and the flow rate of air that is blown out is increased by around 15% over that of the normal flow rate by turning the turbo on.
The changes in ion concentration in each mode in a first test device in which the turbo is turned off are illustrated in
In
Similarly, the changes in ion concentration in each mode in the first test device in which the turbo is turned on are illustrated in
In
In addition, the changes in ion concentration in each mode in a second test device in which the turbo has been turned off are illustrated in
In
Similarly, the changes in ion concentration in each mode in the second test device in which the turbo is turned on are illustrated in
In
From
On the other hand, it is thought that if the temperature of the air that is blown out from the air outlet 11 is decreased, ionization of water molecules by electrical discharge will not proceed and the amount of ions that are blown onto the hair of the user will be decreased as a result.
In addition, if the temperature exceeds around 55° C. denaturation of keratin in the hair begins to occur. The hair is damaged by the denaturation of the keratin in the hair.
Consequently, in order to promote penetration of moisture accompanying positive ions and negative ions into the hair, it is preferable that the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 be within a certain temperature range (hereafter, promotion temperature). The promotion temperature is from 38° C. to 55° C. It is preferable that the promotion temperature be 38° C. since this does not remove heat from the body.
In an experiment, first, a bundle of around 5 g of hair that had been dried by being left in a desiccator containing a desiccant was hung up and subjected to blow drying from 15 cm thereabove. After fifteen minutes, the bundle of hair was brushed ten times with a PP brush and the charge potential of the bundle of hair was measured. The results are illustrated in Table 1 and
When the hairdryer is used, if operation in the penetrating mode in which penetration of moisture accompanying positive and negative ions into the hair is promoted is selected by using the actuator 21, the control unit 22 controls the heaters 5 such that the temperature of hair blown out from the air outlet 11 is at the promotion temperature at which penetration of positive and negative ions into the hair is promoted. Thus, the temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 comes to be at the promotion temperature, and penetration of the positive and negative ions generated by the ion generator 7 into the user's hair is promoted and therefore moisture accompanying these ions is thoroughly supplied to the hair, denaturation of keratin and so forth is prevented and damage to the hair can be greatly reduced.
In this embodiment, the penetrating mode and the normal mode are switched between using the actuator 21, but a penetrating mode selection button may be separately provided to allow selection of the penetrating mode. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which the rotational speed of the blower fan 6 can be adjusted to a plurality of levels (for example, two levels of “strong” and “weak”) by operating the actuator 21, whereby the strength of the blown out air can be regulated. In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which whether cold air or warm air is to be blown out can be appropriately selected by turning the heaters 5 on or off.
In this embodiment, two heaters 5 are provided but not limited to this for example three or more heaters 5 or just a single heater 5 may be provided.
In this embodiment, the temperature of the air blown out from the air outlet 11 is regulated by regulating the number of heaters 5 that are being driven, but for example a configuration may be adopted in which the temperature of the blown out air is measured by providing a temperature detector in the vicinity of the air outlet 11. The temperature of air blown out from the air outlet 11 can be freely regulated with more certainty by performing control so as to stop supply of power to the heaters 5 when the temperature of the blown out air detected by the temperature detector reaches a certain value and so as to supply power to the heaters 5 when the temperature of the blown out air drops below a certain value.
In this embodiment, the ion generator 7 that generates positive ions of H+(H2O)m (m being any natural number) and negative ions of O2−(H2O)n (n being any natural number) is provided, but not limited to this, an ion generator that generates simple positive and negative ions may be provided.
In this embodiment, both the positive ion generating unit 15 and the negative ion generating unit 16 of the ion generator 7 are driven at the same time, but not limited to this, a configuration may be adopted in which just the positive ion generating unit 15 or just the negative ion generating unit 16 can be driven. With this configuration, the user can appropriately select whether the ions to be blown out from the air outlet 11 are to be just positive ions, just negative ions or both positive and negative ions by operating the actuator 21.
In addition, in this embodiment, the ion generator 7 may be configured such that the amounts of ions generated per unit time by the positive ion generating unit 15 and the negative ion generating unit 16 can be appropriately changed or may be configured such that they cannot be changed.
In this embodiment, the present invention has been described using a hairdryer as an example, but a haircare apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a hairdryer and for example may be a hair iron or a roll brush, or may be any apparatus that blows out air and can be used in haircare.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-246823 | Nov 2011 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2012/075627 | 10/3/2012 | WO | 00 | 5/5/2014 |
