Patent Application
20150189967
The present disclosure relates generally to hair dryers and specifically to a hair dryer with non-parallel air flow and a hair dryer with multiples modes of operation including a mode with non-parallel air flow.
Conventionally, users or consumers use the combination of a brush and a hair dryer to dry, straighten and smooth their hair. The user pulls the hair tight and keeps tension on the hair with the brush. The user then applies warm air directionally onto the tensioned hair with the hair dryer. This process requires two tools (i.e., the brush and the hair dryer) and two hands.
Conventional hair dryers discharge air from the end of a barrel in only one direction. Air is discharged from a relatively small surface area, which limits the amount of hair that may be dried at a particular moment in time slowing down the hair drying process.
To make up for the relatively small surface area and speed up the hair drying process, conventional hair dryers discharge air at relatively high speeds and temperatures. The relatively high speeds cause the hair to move away from the air in various directions even when held in place with the brush. This causes the hair to become frizzy and tangled. The relatively high temperatures may be uncomfortable for the user and may be unhealthy to the hair and the scalp. In some cases hair may be held in place against the high speed hot air by pushing the hair against the scalp with the end of the barrel of the hair dryer. This, however, focuses additional heat on the hair and the scalp which may be uncomfortable for the user and may be unhealthy to the hair and the scalp.
Accessories that attach to the hair dryer such as diffusers and concentrators have been devised to address some of these problems. These devices, however, may not completely address the above-described issues and, moreover, attaching these accessories to the hair dryer or brush adds complexity and time to the hair drying process.
The present disclosure describes a hair dryer that may operate in a single mode or multiple modes.
The hair dryer may operate in a through mode that allows for hair to pass through a gap to which warm air is directed from multiple directions. This mode of operation may dry the hair faster and may result in less tangles. The through mode of operation may also allow for heat to be less focused on the scalp, which may be more comfortable and perhaps healthier for the user's hair and scalp.
The hair dryer described in the present disclosure may also include a panel mode in which the hair dryer discharges air from a panel-like surface area. The panel-like surface area is significantly larger than the surface area of a barrel of a conventional hair dryer. This may allow for relatively faster drying and may help smooth the cuticle of the hair providing a smooth look and added shine to the hair. It may also allow for preserving natural curl patterns of the hair.
The hair dryer described in the present disclosure may provide the above-described modes of operation in addition to a mode of operation that resembles conventional hair dryers. This makes for a versatile device that offers different modes of operation without the need to acquire or replace attachments such as diffusers or concentrators. The hair dryer described in the present disclosure may allow for hair drying with only one tool and potentially one hand.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various example systems, methods, and so on, that illustrate various example embodiments of aspects of the invention. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. An element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.
Construction
The hair dryer 10 also includes a switch 50, apertures 60 and a blower (not shown). The blower may include a motor, a fan, a turbine, etc. and is mounted within the body of the hair dryer 10. The blower is operatively connected to the switch 50 such that operation of the switch 50 causes the blower to operate. Operation of the blower generates a forced flow of air that enters through the apertures 60, flows through at least a portion of the air duct portions 30a and 30b and is discharged through at least one of the nozzles 32 or the apertures 34 depending on the set mode of operation as described below.
In the illustrated embodiment, the hair dryer 10 includes a power cable 70 to transfer power from, for example, a power outlet to the dryer 10. In other embodiments (not shown), the dryer 10 receives power from sources other than a power cable connected to a power outlet such as, for example, a battery disposed within or outside the hair dryer 10.
Modes of Operation
The hair dryer 10 may operate in at least three different hair drying modes: a) a traditional mode, b) a through mode, and c) a panel mode, each of which is discussed in detail below. The hair dryer 10 may operate in only one or only two of the traditional mode, the through mode or the panel mode by themselves or in combination with other modes not disclosed herein.
As its name suggests, the traditional mode provides hair drying similar to that of conventional hair dryers. The hair dryer 10, however, includes the air duct portions 30a and 30b instead of a conventional barrel included in conventional hair dryers. The air duct portions 30a and 30b effectively divide the air flow output into two air flows. The void created between the two air flows may create a ripple effect on the targeted hair and may help manipulate and move the hair in a manner that helps to dry the hair faster.
In particular,
Through mode operation, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, the gap G is variable. The gap G may be controlled by a button or switch such that the user may widen or close the gap G. In one embodiment, the gap G is be controlled for the walls 36 of the air duct portions 32 to become very close together or touch with the hair in the gap G to effectively clamp onto the hair.
In one embodiment, the force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34b of the second air duct portion 30b in generally the same direction that the force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34a of the first air duct portion 30a. In one embodiment, the force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34a and 34b of the air duct portions 30a and 30b, respectively, in a direction generally parallel to a central axis Lc of the handle portion 20. In other embodiments, the force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34a and 34b of the air duct portions 30a and 30b, respectively, in a direction between 25 and 115 degrees (including 25 and 115 degrees) relative to the central axes La and Lb and between 25 and 115 degrees (including 25 and 115 degrees) relative to axes perpendicular to the central axes La and Lb.
In one embodiment, the force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34a and 34b of the air duct portions 30a and 30b such that the air flowing from the apertures 34a of the air duct portion 30a converge with the air flowing from the apertures 34b of the air duct portion 30b. In one embodiment, the force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34a and 34b of the air duct portions 30a and 30b such that the air flowing from the apertures 34a of the air duct portion 30a does not converge with the air flowing from the apertures 34b of the air duct portion 30b.
Panel mode operation provides a much larger surface area from which air flows to the hair as compared to conventional hair dryers. Thus panel mode may potentially help dry hair faster and may allow for effective hair drying using lower speeds and temperatures than conventional hair dryers. Panel mode operation may also allow for effective hair drying while preserving natural curl patterns. For example, natural curl may be preserved or enhanced if air flow in panel mode is such that the hair is allowed to lay onto the walls 36 and be dried in a coiled curled state.
In one embodiment (not shown), the air duct portions 30a and 30b may be rotated such that force air flow F discharges through the apertures 34 on the walls 36 in a direction non-parallel to the central axes La and Lb, but in the opposite direction as that shown in
In the illustrated embodiment (see for example
As may be seen from
As may be seen from
In other embodiments, the air duct portions 30a and 30b may be dialed into the through mode position or the panel mode position by means other than a dial.
The hair dryer 10 includes an air directing mechanism (not shown) that directs the air flow from the blower through the nozzles 32 in traditional mode and from the blower through the apertures 34 in through mode and panel mode. This air directing mechanism may also block air flow to the apertures 34 in the traditional mode and may block air flow to the nozzles 32 in through mode and panel mode.
In one embodiment, the air directing mechanism includes a set of flaps (not shown) that blocks or allows air flow to the nozzles 32 or the apertures 34 depending on the set operational mode. In one embodiment, flaps close off the nozzles 32 in through mode and panel mode to direct air from the blower through the apertures 34. In this embodiment, when the flaps are opened air flows from the blower through the nozzles 32. Thus, in this embodiment, both the nozzles 32 and the apertures 34 are open in traditional mode, but the air flows naturally from the blower through the nozzles 32.
In the illustrated embodiment, the hair dryer 10 includes a switch 90 that operates the flaps and thus, at least in part, controls the mode of operation together with the dial 80 as described above. Operation of the switch 90 transitions the hair dryer from traditional mode to through mode, from through mode to traditional mode, from traditional mode to panel mode or from panel mode to traditional mode. In another embodiment, transition of operation from a first mode to another mode of operation is controlled by means other than the dial 80 and/or the switch 90.
While example devices, methods, and so on, have been illustrated by describing examples, and while the examples have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the devices, methods, and so on, described herein. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific details, and illustrative examples shown or described. Thus, this application is intended to embrace alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, the preceding description is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “or” is employed in the detailed description or claims (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. When the applicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the term “only A or B but not both” will be employed. Thus, use of the term “or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (2d. Ed. 1995).
