Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6389710
-
Patent Number
6,389,710
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Date Filed
Monday, March 29, 199925 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, May 21, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 034 266
- 034 267
- 034 268
- 034 269
- 034 96
- 034 97
- 392 380
- 392 383
- 392 384
- 392 385
- 219 222
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International Classifications
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Abstract
An infrared hair drier having a front barrel and a rear barrel mounted with a grille defining the main body of the hair drier, wherein the main body is a conic shape enclosing a tapered inner barrel having a smooth surface for directing air, a first fixing frame having a tapered shape being formed by two vertical boards mounted across from each other and then being mounted within the inner barrel, the larger end of the fixing frame is provided with a recess for the adaption of a conductive metal rim, a second fixing frame, together with the first fixing frame, is used to enclose a heat emitting element, a motor for a fan is mounted to the external edge of the second fixing seat to provide air from an air-inlet when the motor is turned on, and the rear barrel is connected to the front barrel to form the hair drier.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair drier and in particular, to an improved structure of an infrared hair drier having a ceramic heat emitting element enclosed by a pair of fixing frame.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional hair driers have substantially similar design as that shown in
FIG. 4
, which comprises a body
30
, an air-outlet
31
at one end of the body
30
, an air-inlet
33
provided at the other end of the body
30
, and being mounted with a filter cap
32
, and a motor
34
having a fan
35
to provide an air stream. The stream of air is released via the air outlet
31
. A heat emitting device
36
formed from a resistance coil is provided adjacent to the air-outlet
31
. The heat emission device
36
is operated by a control switch
38
mounted on a handle
37
located below the body
30
. The speed of the air steam and the selection of cold/hot air stream is selected by pressing the control switch
38
.
The drawback of the conventional hair drier is that it is a high heat energy consuming product, and no temperature control is available to control the temperature of the emitted heat. In other words, the simple heat emission coil does not provide a constant temperature. The temperature is varied in accordance with the speed of the fan. At a lower speed, the temperature of air is usually too hot.
Another disadvantage is that the shape and material of the air outlet
3
are often deformed as a result of excessive heat from the hot air.
In view of the above, the conventional hair drier is not safe after a period of use.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved structure of an infrared hair drier having a front barrel and a rear barrel mounted with a grille defining the main body of the hair drier, characterized in that the main body is substantially a conic shape enclosing a tapered inner barrel of a smooth surface for air-directing, a first fixing frame having a tapered shape being formed by two vertical boards mounted across each other and is mounted within the inner barrel, the larger end of the fixing frame is provided with a recess for the adaption of a conductive metal rim, a second fixing frame, together with the first fixing frame, is used to enclose a heat emitting element, a motor for a fan is mounted to the external edge of the second fixing frame to provide air from an air-inlet when the motor is turned on, and the rear barrel is connected to the front barrel and forms the hair drier.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of an infrared hair drier, wherein the heat emitting element is designed into a beehive shape which provides rapid heat transfer, and the heat emitted from the ceramic material provides a temperature which is controllable and thus the hair drier is a safety electrical appliance.
It is another object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of an infrared hair drier, wherein the temperature of the emitted heat is consistent and can be easily controlled, and the cost of manufacturing is lower but the safety of the hair drier is upgraded.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved structure of an infrared hair drier, wherein the application of the ceramic material as the heat emitting element allows convenient mounting and the hot air thus produced is comfortably used to dry hairs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is an exploded perspective view of the structure of hair drier of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a sectional view of the hair drier of the present invention;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of the hair drier of the present invention; and
FIG. 4
is a sectional view of a conventional hair drier.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular,
FIGS. 1
to
3
, which depict the structure of an infrared hair drier comprises a hollow front barrel
10
, a rear barrel
11
, an inner barrel
25
, and a heat emitting element
22
. The front barrel
10
and the rear barrel
11
can be mounted together and with a handle
17
mounted at the bottom face thereof defining an L-shaped main body of the hair drier. The extreme end of the front barrel
10
is a tapered air-outlet
12
mounted with an air-guiding flat tube
13
to direct the air stream produced by the hair drier. The hollow inner barrel
25
has a tapered shape substantially similar to the front barrel
10
so that is can be inserted within the front barrel
10
and to direct air stream to the air-outlet
12
. A first fixing frame
20
formed by the mounting of two vertical boards mounted perpendicularly and across each other is mounted within the inner barrel
25
. The first fixing frame
20
has a tapered shape, wherein the larger end of the frame
20
is provided with a recess
201
for the adaptation of a metal rim
202
being connected to electrical wires (not shown) so that the metal rim
202
is used as a current conductive rim
202
.
In accordance with the present invention and referring to
FIG. 1
, the heat emitting element
22
is mounted onto the metal rim
202
and is in contact with the metal rim
202
. The heat emitting element
22
is made from a ceramic material (which is a product from Taiwan Patent No. 69696). The two ends of the heat emitting element
22
are coated with conductive silicon rubber to form a heat conduction. When the ceramic material is heated and the temperature thereof is elevated to a pre-set temperature, a great amount of infrared radiation will be released. By means of the emission of the infrared radiation and the characteristics of constant high temperature of the heat emitting element
22
, the drying effect of the hair drier does not produce uncomfortable dried hot air to the user. In addition, at the external edge of the heat emitting element
22
, a second fixing frame
21
is mounted. The shape and structure of the second fixing frame
21
are substantially similar to that of the first fixing frame
22
. Similarly, a recess
211
is formed at the larger end of the second fixing frame
22
to mount a conductive metal rim
212
and to enclose the heat emitting element
22
.
By means of the two metal rims
202
,
212
connected to an electrical source (not shown), a positive and a negative terminal are formed. At the smaller end of the second fixing frame
21
, a shaft seat
23
is formed to mount a fan motor
24
having a flange
241
. In accordance with the present invention, the motor
24
is mounted at the axis of the main body of the hair drier. The motor
24
is secured by a plurality of screws
16
within the barrels
10
,
11
. The front barrel
10
and the rear barrel
11
are mounted together by means of a plurality of screws
16
via their respective screw holes
15
provided on the rear barrel
11
. The extreme end of the rear barrel
10
is mounted with a grille
14
.
In accordance with the present invention, the wiring setup, and the hot/cool air adjustment are connected to a on-off switch
18
at the handle
17
. The on-off switch
18
is used to control the selection for hot/cool air, and the required speed of the air stream provided by the hair drier.
FIG. 3
illustrates a sectional view of the hair drier in accordance with the present invention. As shown in the figure, the heat-emitting element
22
is secured by the first fixing frame
20
and the second fixing frame
21
mounted within the inner barrel
25
. The inner barrel
25
lowers the temperature of the front barrel
10
such that a great safety is attained by the hair drier of the present invention.
In accordance with the present invention, the heat emitting element
22
is coated with a special coated heat membrane which provides a constant heat emission characteristics, and therefore a lower voltage can be applied to the heat emitting element
22
. As a result, when the speed (rpm) of the motor
24
has achieved at several thousands, the noise thus produced can be lowered to a minimum.
In accordance with the present invention, the heat emitting element
22
is designed into a beehive-shaped structure and the volume of the element
22
can be reduced to a practical size.
The on-off switch
17
provides a multi-stage control such that constant temperature at varies speeds can be selected. In other words, the hair drier can comfortably provides air to the user.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
- 1. An improved structure of an infrared hair drier having a front barrel and a rear barrel mounted with a grille defining the main body of the hair drier, characterized in thatthe main body is substantially a conic shape enclosing a tapered inner barrel having a smooth surface for air-directing, a first fixing frame having a tapered shape being formed by two vertical boards mounted across each other and is mounted within the inner barrel, the larger end of the fixing frame is provided with a recess for the adaption of a conductive metal rim, a second fixing frame, together with the first fixing frame, is used to enclose a heat emitting element, a motor for a fan is mounted to the external edge of the second fixing seat to provide air from an air-inlet when the motor is turned on, and the rear barrel is connected to the front barrel to form the hair drier.
- 2. An improved structure of an infrared hair drier as set forth in claim 1, wherein one end of the second fixing frame is a recess for the adaptation of the flange of the motor.
- 3. An improved structure of an infrared hair as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rear barrel is formed into a L-shaped structure with a handle mounted at the lower surface thereof.
- 4. An improved structure of an infrared hair drier as set forth in claim 1, wherein the extreme end of the front barrel is provided with an air-guiding tube.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
87215876 |
Sep 1998 |
TW |
|
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4382174 |
Barns |
May 1983 |
A |
4910382 |
Kakuya et al. |
Mar 1990 |
A |