Structure of an infrared hair drier

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6389710
  • Patent Number
    6,389,710
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 29, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 21, 2002
    22 years ago
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