Attachment for hair care appliance

Abstract

An attachment for a hair care appliance, the attachment comprising an air inlet for receiving an airflow from the hair care appliance, a body arranged to receive the airflow from the air inlet, an air outlet for emitting the airflow, and a protrusion spaced apart from the body to define a hair receiving channel between the protrusion and the body. The air outlet is arranged to emit an airflow into the hair receiving channel, and the projection includes a hair receiving surface. In use, hair located in the hair receiving channel is blown away from the body by an airflow into contact with the hair receiving surface such that the hair is collected at the hair receiving surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an attachment for a hair care appliance, and a hair care appliance comprising such an attachment. Background Art

[0002] Hair care appliances are generally used to treat or style hair, and some hair care appliances may use airflow and / or heat to treat or style hair. It may be desirable to provide sufficient airflow and / or heat to the hair without causing discomfort to the user. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an attachment for a hair care appliance, the attachment comprising an air inlet for receiving an air flow from the hair care appliance; a main body arranged to receive the air flow from the air inlet; an air outlet for emitting the air flow; and a projection spaced from the main body to define a hair receiving channel between the projection and the main body, the air outlet being arranged to emit the air flow into the hair receiving channel, the projection comprising a hair receiving surface; wherein, in use, hair located in the hair receiving channel is blown away from the main body by the air flow and contacts the hair receiving surface, so that the hair is collected at the hair receiving surface.

[0004] During use, hair is positioned in the hair receiving channel and airflow from the air outlet of the main body pushes the hair into contact with the hair receiving surface of the projection. For example, a majority of the hair in the hair receiving channel may be blown away from the main body and collected on the hair receiving surface. This allows air to be applied to the hair for styling and / or drying the hair, for example where there is airflow. The hair receiving surface engages the hair collected in the hair receiving channel and allows the user to manipulate the hair to style the hair while additionally applying airflow to the hair, which may provide additional styling control. In this manner, the accessory enables the user to both engage the hair and heat or dry the hair using a single accessory.

[0005] The air outlet can be placed near the scalp, close to the hair roots, with the protruding portion away from the scalp. The hair located in the hair receiving channel is thereby blown away from the scalp, thereby achieving a root lift effect, wherein the roots of the hair are directly styled to improve the volume of the user's hair.

[0006] The hair receiving surface may include apertures through which at least some of the airflow received from the air outlet may pass. In other words, in use, the airflow blows the hair into contact with the hair receiving surface, and at least a portion of the airflow continues through the air outlet. This may reduce airflow turbulence around the hair receiving surface, which may reduce damage to the hair engaged by the hair receiving surface and hair located near the attachment. This may improve the styling control available to the user.

[0007] The air outlet may be arranged to emit an airflow in a direction that is not orthogonal to the air inlet plane. The air outlet may be arranged to emit an airflow in a direction parallel to the air inlet plane. This may allow the hair to be collected by the hair receiving channel and the airflow to be applied to the hair in a manner that the air is not incident directly or at all on the user's scalp, which may reduce thermal discomfort to the user. Furthermore, emitting an airflow in a direction that is not orthogonal to the air inlet plane or parallel to the air inlet plane may reduce the operations required by the hair care appliance to provide an airflow to the hair in a particular direction (e.g., in a direction away from the scalp).

[0008] The hair receiving surface may have a curved cross-sectional profile. The curved cross-sectional profile may provide styling control when the hair engages the hair receiving surface, which may result in improved styling and / or volume of the user's hair when the hair engages against the curved surface.

[0009] The hair receiving surface may have first and second arcuate cross-sectional profiles, the first cross-sectional profile lying in a plane orthogonal to the plane of the second cross-sectional profile. This may provide styling control, which may improve styling and / or volume of a user's hair when the hair is engaged in the two directional curved planes. Thus, the engaged hair may be styled relative to the first axis and relative to the second orthogonal axis.

[0010] The hair receiving surface may include a plurality of openings, each opening allowing at least some of the incident airflow to pass through. Each opening in the plurality of openings may have a substantially similar geometry. The plurality of openings may be regularly distributed over the hair receiving surface. This may reduce turbulence of the airflow, thereby reducing damage to the hair. The plurality of openings may allow the same portion of the airflow to pass through the hair receiving surface as a single larger opening, but reduces the likelihood that hair engaged by the hair receiving surface will pass through the opening, thereby improving the styling control provided to the user and preventing the hair from becoming tangled with the projections.

[0011] The hair receiving surface may be opposite the air outlet and at least as large as the air outlet. In this way, the hair receiving surface may collect substantially all of the hair blown by the airflow in the hair receiving channel, which in turn may reduce damage to the hair and improve the styling control provided to the user.

[0012] The projections may be positioned so that the hair receiving channel is no wider than 3 cm, such as no wider than 2 cm, or no wider than 1 cm. This may ensure that the airflow within the hair receiving channel remains uniform as the airflow passes through the hair receiving channel because the airflow does not have a distance to travel to disperse or become turbulent. A hair receiving channel no wider than 3 cm, such as no wider than 2 cm or no wider than 1 cm, may also ensure that heat in the airflow is not dissipated before reaching the hair engaged with the hair receiving surface, thereby improving the heating and drying provided by the airflow.

[0013] The attachment may include a plurality of air outlets. The plurality of air outlets may allow the airflow through the hair receiving passage to be arranged to achieve specific styling control.

[0014] The geometry of each air outlet may depend on its position on the body. The geometry of each air outlet depending on its position in the distribution element may allow the airflow through the hair receiving channel to be arranged to achieve specific styling control and may allow for reduced disruptions at the edges of the hair receiving channel, for example, by preferentially placing larger air outlets so that they emit into the center of the hair receiving channel.

[0015] Each air outlet may be configured to emit airflow in substantially the same direction. This may reduce damage to the hair in the hair receiving channel and the hair engaged by the hair receiving surface.

[0016] The body may include a plurality of channels, each channel being arranged to receive a respective portion of the airflow from the air inlet and direct the respective portion to a respective air outlet. This allows the airflow in the body to be divided and provided to each air outlet according to a desired distribution. Each channel may be configured to receive a substantially equal portion of the airflow. Each channel may be configured to receive a respective portion of the airflow according to the location of the respective air outlet. In this way, the airflow in the hair receiving channel may be further controlled so that the airflow is uniform in the hair receiving channel and the hair receiving surface, or the airflow is concentrated in some areas of the hair receiving channel and the hair receiving surface.

[0017] At least a portion of the body may have a triangular profile or claw profile in a plane perpendicular to the air inlet plane. This may allow the body to more effectively guide hair into the hair receiving channel because the body is shaped to penetrate a mass of hair, thereby reducing physical resistance to movement through the hair.

[0018] The accessory may include a thermally insulating element located behind the air outlet. The location of the thermally insulating element behind the air outlet may be on a surface of the body opposite the location of the air outlet. The location of the thermally insulating element may be located outside of the direction of air flow from the air outlet. The thermally insulating element may be located outside of the hair receiving channel. In use, this surface may be the surface that is close to the user's scalp. This may protect the user's scalp from thermal damage or discomfort that may result from the accessory becoming hot during use.

[0019] The main body may include another air outlet configured to emit an air flow in a direction not toward the protrusion. The air flow emitted by the other air outlet is not contained within the hair receiving channel. The air flow may dry the hair outside the hair receiving channel and may cool the user's scalp or surrounding hair to reduce thermal discomfort to the user.

[0020] The further air outlet may be arranged to emit an air flow in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which air is emitted from the air outlet (or air outlets).

[0021] The body can be divided into a first and a second chamber, each of the first and second chambers being configured to receive a portion of the airflow from the air inlet. The first and second chambers can be configured to receive substantially equal portions of the airflow from the air inlet. One or more air outlets can be in fluid communication with the first chamber. For example, one or more air outlets can be arranged in the first chamber. One or more other air outlets can be in fluid communication with the second chamber. For example, one or more other air outlets can be arranged in the second chamber.

[0022] In an embodiment where the body includes a plurality of channels, each channel can be divided into a first and a second chamber, each of the first and second chambers being configured to receive a portion of the airflow from the air inlet. The first and second chambers can be configured to receive substantially equal portions of the airflow received by each channel. Each first chamber can be in fluid communication with one or more air outlets. For example, one or more air outlets can be arranged in each first chamber. Each second chamber can be in fluid communication with one or more other air outlets. For example, one or more other air outlets can be arranged in each second chamber.

[0023] The accessory may include a valve. The valve may be arranged to be driven by a motor. The valve may include a blocking member movable between a first position, in which the blocking member blocks airflow to the air outlet (and does not block airflow to the other air outlet), and a second position, in which the blocking member blocks airflow to the other air outlet (and does not block airflow to the air outlet). The blocking member may be movable to a third position, in which the blocking member allows airflow to the air outlet and the other air outlet (i.e., in this third position, the blocking member does not block airflow to the air outlet and the other air outlet).

[0024] For example, the valve may include a blocking member movable between a first position, in which the blocking member blocks airflow into the first chamber (and does not block airflow into the second chamber), and a second position, in which the blocking member blocks airflow into the second chamber (and does not block airflow into the first chamber). The blocking member is movable to a third position, in which the blocking member allows airflow into the first and second chambers (i.e., in the third position, the blocking member does not block airflow into the first and second chambers).

[0025] In some embodiments, the valve may include a blocking member that is movable between a first position that blocks airflow to the air outlet and a second position that does not block airflow to the air outlet. For example, the valve may include a blocking member that is movable between a first position that blocks airflow into the first chamber and a second position that does not block airflow into the first chamber.

[0026] In some embodiments, the valve may include a blocking member movable between a first position in which the blocking member blocks airflow to the other air outlet and a second position in which the blocking member does not block airflow to the other air outlet. For example, the valve may include a blocking member movable between a first position in which airflow is blocked from entering the second chamber and a second position in which airflow is not blocked from entering the second chamber.

[0027] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a hair care appliance comprising an attachment according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0028] The attachment may be detachably attachable to the hair care appliance.

[0029] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair care appliance, comprising: an air inlet; a handle unit in which an airflow generator is accommodated, the airflow generator being used to generate an airflow from the air inlet through the handle unit; an air outlet for emitting the airflow; and a protrusion spaced apart from a main body to define a hair receiving channel between the protrusion and the main body, the air outlet being arranged to emit the airflow into the hair receiving channel, the protrusion comprising a hair receiving surface; wherein, when in use, the hair located in the hair receiving channel is blown away from the main body by the airflow and contacts the hair receiving surface, so that the hair is collected at the hair receiving surface.

[0030] The hair care appliance may include a heater for heating the air flow. This may provide increased styling flexibility and, for example, may enable the air flow to provide a drying function.

[0031] Where appropriate, optional features of one aspect of the invention may be equally applied to other aspects of the invention.

[0032] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which is given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a hair care appliance according to the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of a handle unit of a hair care appliance;

[0035] Figure 3a is based on Figure 1 A first perspective view of an attachment of a hair care appliance;

[0036] Figure 3b is based on Figure 3aa second perspective view of the attachment;

[0037] Figure 3c Is a separate basis Figure 3a Schematic diagram of the protrusions of the appendages;

[0038] Figure 4 is based on Figure 3a A schematic cross-sectional view of an attachment of;

[0039] Figure 5 is based on Figure 3a The attachment receives a schematic diagram of the user's hair;

[0040] Figure 6a and 6b is a schematic perspective view of an accessory according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 7a is a perspective view of an attachment according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 7b is based on Figure 7a A schematic cross-sectional view of an attachment of;

[0043] Figure 7c is based on Figure 7a The attachment receives a schematic diagram of the user's hair;

[0044] Figure 8a is a schematic perspective view of three hair care appliances according to the present invention having different orientations of accessories; and

[0045] Figure 8b yes Figure 8a Schematic diagram of a cross-section of a handle unit of a hair care appliance. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] exist Figure 1 There is schematically shown a hair care appliance according to the present invention, generally indicated at 10 .

[0047] The hair care appliance 10 includes a handle unit 12 and an accessory 100 detachably attached to the handle unit 12 .

[0048] The handle unit 12 is Figure 2 1 and 2. The embodiment of the invention is schematically shown separately in FIG. 1 and includes a handle portion 16, a head 18, an airflow generator 20 and a heater 22.

[0049] The handle portion 16 is generally cylindrical and hollow in form and houses the air flow generator 20. The handle portion 16 has a plurality of air inlets 24 in the form of perforations at a first end 26 of the handle portion 16.

[0050] The head 18 is generally cylindrical and hollow in form and is disposed at the second end 27 of the handle portion 16, with the central axis of the head 18 being orthogonal to the central axis of the handle portion 16, so that the handle unit 12 is generally T-shaped. The head 18 accommodates the heater 22. The head 18 includes a hole 28 and an air outlet 30 through which air is entrained. The air outlet 30 is generally annular around the periphery of the hole 28. The head 18 also includes an annular magnet (not shown) for releasably attaching the handle unit 12 to the accessory 100. The annular magnet extends annularly around the air outlet 30.

[0051] exist Figure 3a-5 The accessory 100 is schematically shown in , along with a set of indicative reference axes HWL, relative to which the height (H), width (W) and length (L) of components of the accessory 100, as well as the height-width (HW), width-length (WL) and height-length (HL) planes are described. Figure 3b , the attachment is rotated 180 degrees about its length (ie, about an axis parallel to L).

[0052] The attachment 100 comprises an air inlet 101 , a body 103 arranged to receive an airflow from the air inlet 101 , a plurality of air outlets 110 (only a portion are labeled) for emitting an airflow, and a protrusion 130 spaced from the body 103 to define a hair receiving channel 150 .

[0053] The air inlet 101 is annular to receive air from the annular outlet 30 of the hair care appliance 10. A plurality of magnets (not shown) are provided annularly around the air inlet 101 for attachment to the handle unit 12.

[0054] The body 103 is hollow and defines a plenum chamber through which air received at the air inlet 101 can flow. The body 103 includes five identical protrusions 107a-e in a row extending a certain length (parallel to the axis L) in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the air inlet 101. Each protrusion 107a-e tapers in height (parallel to the axis H) and width (parallel to the axis W) along its length, with the height and width gradually decreasing from the proximal end (closest to the air inlet 101) to the distal end (farthest from the air inlet 101).

[0055] The projection 130 is spaced apart from and connected to the body 103 by a spacing element 131 extending from the body 103 at the proximal end of the protrusions 107a - 107e in a direction parallel to the axis H. The projection 130 includes a hair receiving surface 135 including a plurality of apertures 137 . Figure 3cA schematic diagram of the projection 130 is shown in isolation, illustrating the arrangement of the apertures 137 within the hair receiving surface 135 .

[0056] The hair receiving surface 135 extends in a width-length (LW) plane and faces the row of protrusions 107a-107e and the hair receiving channel 150. The hair receiving surface 135 has a first cross-sectional profile that is arcuate in a height-width (HW) plane and a second cross-sectional profile that is arcuate in a height-length (HL) plane. The first cross-sectional profile is substantially concave relative to the hair receiving channel 150, and the second cross-sectional profile is substantially convex relative to the hair receiving channel 150, which provides a saddle shape to the hair receiving surface 135. The hair receiving surface 135 is located opposite the plurality of air outlets 110 and spans a larger area than the plurality of air outlets 110.

[0057] The hair receiving surface 135 includes a plurality of openings 137. Figure 3c As shown, the openings 137 are regularly spaced apart along the width of the hair receiving surface 135 to form a grid structure on the hair receiving surface 135. The openings 137 are long and narrow and substantially similar to each other, with each opening 137 extending along the entire length of the hair receiving surface 135 and having a width that is much smaller than the total width of the hair receiving surface 135. The spacing between adjacent openings 137 is approximately the width of each opening 137.

[0058] A hair receiving channel 150 is formed between the hair receiving surface 135 of the projection 130 and the body 103. The height of the channel 150 (parallel to the axis H) is determined by the height of the spacing element 131 and the specific geometry of the body 103 and the hair receiving surface 135. In the accessory 100, the first and second arcuate cross-sectional profiles of the hair receiving surface 135 mean that the hair receiving channel 150 does not always have a constant height.

[0059] A plurality of air outlets 110 are distributed along the length of each protrusion 107a-107e of the body 103. The air outlets 110 face the hair receiving surface 135 and are thereby arranged to emit airflow received from the body 103 into the hair receiving channel 150 in a direction parallel to the plane of the air inlet 101. The air outlets 110 are configured to emit airflow into the hair receiving channel 150 in substantially the same direction. The size and shape of the air outlets 110 vary based on their location. For example, due to the tapered geometry of the protrusions 107a-e, the air outlets 110 closer to the proximal end of their respective protrusions 107a-107e are wider than the air outlets 110 at the distal end of their respective protrusions 107a-107e.

[0060] Figure 4A cross-sectional view of the attachment 100 as viewed from a height-length plane is shown. The body 103 includes a plurality of channels 112 that provide airflow to the air outlets 110, each channel being defined by a blade 113 that spans the width of a corresponding protrusion 107a-107e of the body 103. The configuration of the channels 112 defined by the blades 113 determines the respective portion of the airflow in the body 103 emitted by the air outlets 110, and also determines the direction of the airflow emitted by the air outlets 110. The lengths of the blades 113 vary based on their position in the protrusions 107a-107e, with blades 113 closer to the body being longer than blades 113 further from the body. By selecting the geometry of the blades 113, the air channels 112 can be arranged so that each air channel 112 receives an equal portion of the airflow from the body 103, and each air outlet 110 emits an equal portion of the airflow into the hair receiving channel 150. Alternatively, the air passage 112 may be arranged such that the air outlet 110 emits an uneven air flow through the hair receiving passage.

[0061] In use, air is received from the hair care appliance 10 at the air inlet 101 and flows through the body 103 to the plurality of apertures 110. Hair is received in the hair receiving channel 150 between the protrusion 130 and the protrusions 107a-107e of the body 103. The air is emitted from the apertures 110 into the hair receiving channel 150 in a direction toward the hair receiving surface 135, whereupon the air blows the hair received in the channel 150 into contact with the hair receiving surface 135, causing the hair to be collected at the surface 135. The hair receiving surface 135 enables shaping and styling of the hair, and in the attachment 100, the curved profile of the hair receiving surface 135 can further enhance such shaping and styling.

[0062] The openings 137 of the hair receiving surface 135 allow at least some incident airflow to pass through the hair receiving surface 135. The air permeability of the hair receiving surface 135 can reduce turbulence of the airflow within the hair receiving channel 150 because the openings 137 provide an exit path for the airflow from the hair receiving channel 150. This can also reduce redirection of airflow from the hair receiving channel 150 into surrounding hair that is not currently located within the hair receiving channel 150, which reduces disruption to the surrounding hair and improves the styling control provided by the accessory 100.

[0063] The fact that the hair receiving surface 135 is larger than the air outlet 110 means that substantially all of the airflow emitted by the air outlet 110 is incident on the hair receiving surface 135, which means that hair blown by the airflow emitted by the air outlet 110 is more likely to be collected by the hair receiving surface 135, further reducing interference with surrounding hair and improving the styling control provided by the accessory 100.

[0064] The air passages 112 receiving different portions of the airflow from the body 103 allow the air outlets 110 to, for example, preferentially or more vigorously blow the hair into contact with specific portions of the hair receiving surface 135 to improve styling or shaping control, or blow the hair near the edges of the hair receiving passages 150 more weakly to reduce disruptive airflow into surrounding hair, or blow the hair evenly across the hair receiving passages 150 to provide uniform styling control, depending on the portion of the airflow each air passage 112 receives.

[0065] The air outlet 110 emits air parallel to the plane of the air inlet 101. More generally, the air outlet 110 is arranged to emit airflow in a direction that is not orthogonal to the plane of the air inlet 101. This allows the accessory 100 to be oriented in use so that the air emitted by the air outlet 110 is less incident on the user's scalp when the hair is in the hair receiving channel 150, which can reduce thermal discomfort to the user when the air is heated by the hair care appliance 10. This in turn causes the air to become hotter, thereby improving drying and styling results.

[0066] The vanes 113 of the air channel 112 may be configured to determine the direction of air emitted by the air outlet. In the attachment 100, all of the air outlets 110 emit air in substantially the same direction, but in other examples, each air outlet 110 may emit in a respective direction that is not orthogonal to the plane of the air inlet 101. This allows the airflow through the hair receiving channel 150 to be arranged, for example, to preferentially push hair onto a particular portion of the hair receiving surface 135 to improve the styling control provided by the device.

[0067] The body 103 includes a heat shield 105. The heat shield 105 is a surface located behind and opposite the air outlet 110 and the hair receiving channel. The heat shield 105 is separated from the protrusions 107a-107e by struts, and the space between the surface and the protrusions 107a-107e is filled with air. In use, the heat shield 105 can provide a barrier between the protrusions 107 and the user's scalp, which further reduces thermal discomfort if the protrusions 107a-107e become hot due to receiving hot air from the hair care appliance 10. In other examples, the heat shield can be provided by an insulating material instead.

[0068] The triangular cross-sectional profile of the protrusions 107a - 107e of the body 103 helps the body 103 to penetrate under the hair to the root, which can make the hair easily enter the hair receiving channel 150 .

[0069] Figure 5The accessory 100 is shown in use, with hair 160 received by the hair receiving passage 150 and airflow 155 emitted by the air outlet 110 (not shown) of the body 103 blowing the hair 160 through the hair receiving passage 150 toward the hair receiving surface 130. Entrainment of ambient air 158 through the passages between the protrusions 107a-107e can improve thermal comfort for the user.

[0070] Figure 6a and 6b In side view ( Figure 6a ) and exploded perspective ( Figure 6b ) shows a second embodiment of the invention, an attachment 200. Attachment 200 is substantially similar to attachment 100 in that it comprises an air inlet 201, a body 203 arranged to receive an airflow from the air inlet 201, a plurality of air outlets 210 (only a portion of which is labeled) for emitting an airflow, and a projection 230 spaced from the body 203 to define a hair receiving passage 250. The body 203 comprises five identical projections 207a-207e arranged in a row lengthwise in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the air inlet 201. The projection 230 comprises a hair receiving surface 235 and a plurality of openings 237 regularly spaced on the surface. In the attachment 200, the projection 230 is mounted to the body 203 by a collar 255 which provides the height of the hair receiving passage 250. The collar 255 and the projection 230 are detachable from the body 203, which may allow, for example, the projection 230 to be interchangeable with an alternative projection according to the invention.

[0071] In attachment 200, air outlets 210 are located on the sides of protrusions 207a-207e, while in attachment 100, air outlets 110 are located on the tops of protrusions 107a-107e. Air passages 212 (not shown) are arranged internally so that air outlets 210 pass through the hair receiving passages 250 and emit air toward the hair receiving surface 235, as indicated by arrows A. This can allow airflow to be closer to the roots of the hair while still ensuring that the airflow pushes the hair through the hair receiving passages 250 to the hair receiving surface 235, thereby improving styling control.

[0072] Figures 7a to 7c An accessory 300 according to a third embodiment of the invention is shown.

[0073] The attachment 300 is substantially similar to the attachment 100 according to the first embodiment of the invention in that it comprises an air inlet 301, a body 303 arranged to receive an air flow from the air inlet 301, a plurality of (primary) air outlets 310 (only a portion of which are labeled) for emitting an air flow, and a protrusion 330 spaced apart from the body 303 by a spacing element 331 and connected to the body 303 to define a hair receiving channel 350.

[0074] The body 303 includes five protrusions 307a-e arranged longitudinally side by side in a row in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the air inlet 301. The projection 330 includes a hair receiving surface 335 and a plurality of openings 337 spaced apart in the surface 335.

[0075] A plurality of primary air outlets 310 are distributed along the length of each protrusion 307a-e of the body 303. The primary air outlets 310 face the hair receiving surface 335 and are thereby arranged to emit airflow received from the body 303 into the hair receiving passage 350 in a direction parallel to the plane of the air inlet 301. The primary air outlets 310 are configured to emit airflow into the hair receiving passage 350 in substantially the same direction as one another. The size and shape of the primary air outlets 310 vary based on their location. For example, due to the tapered geometry of the protrusions 307a-307e, the primary air outlets 310 closer to the proximal ends of their respective protrusions 307a-307e are wider than the primary air outlets at the distal ends of their respective protrusions 307a-307e.

[0076] The attachment 300 also includes a plurality of secondary air outlets 311 (only a portion of which are labeled) distributed along the length of each protrusion 307a-307e on a side of each protrusion 307a-307e opposite the plurality of primary air outlets 310. The secondary air outlets 311 are configured to emit airflow away from the hair receiving channel 350 below the body 303 of the attachment 300.

[0077] In this example, the secondary air outlet 311 is configured to emit airflow away from the hair receiving passage 350 in a direction that is generally orthogonal to the direction in which the primary air outlet 310 emits airflow into the hair receiving passage 350. Figures 7a to 7c As shown, the secondary air outlets 311 are provided on each protrusion 307a-307e as a row of substantially circular holes of the same size. However, in some embodiments, the secondary air outlets 311 may have different shapes and / or sizes, and multiple rows of secondary air outlets 311 may be provided.

[0078] Figure 7b A cross-sectional view of the attachment 300 as viewed in the height-length plane is shown. Each protrusion 307a-307e is divided into an upper chamber 305 and a lower chamber 306 by a dividing wall 308. Each upper chamber 305 includes a plurality of channels 312 that provide airflow to a primary air outlet 310, each channel being defined by a vane 313 spanning the width of the respective protrusion 307a-307e. Each lower chamber 306 includes a plurality of secondary air outlets 311. In some embodiments, each protrusion 307a-307e may define a single chamber including the primary air outlet 310 and the secondary air outlet 311 (i.e., there may be no dividing wall 308).

[0079] The structure of the passage 312 defined by the blades 313 determines the corresponding portion of the airflow emitted by the primary air outlet 310, and also determines the direction of the airflow emitted by the primary air outlet 310. The length of the blades 313 varies based on their position in the upper chamber 305 of each protrusion 307a-e, with the blades 313 closer to the body 303 being longer than the blades 313 farther from the body 303.

[0080] By selecting the geometry of the blades 313, the air passages 312 can be arranged so that each air passage 312 receives an equal portion of the airflow received by the upper chamber 305 from the body 303, and each air outlet 310 emits an equal portion of the airflow into the hair receiving passage 350. Alternatively, the air passages 312 can be arranged so that the main air outlets 310 emit an uneven airflow through the hair receiving passage 350.

[0081] In use, air is received from the hair care appliance 10 at the air inlet 301 and flows through the body 303 to each protrusion 307a-307e, whereupon the air flow is divided by the partition wall 308 into a first air flow flowing through the upper chamber 305 to the primary air outlet 310, and a second air flow flowing through the lower chamber 306 to the secondary air outlet 311.

[0082] As described above with respect to the accessory 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the hair ( Figure 7b The hair receiving surface 335 is a hair receiving passage 350 that is received between the protrusion 330 and the protrusions 307a-307e of the body 303. Air is emitted from the primary air outlet 310 into the hair receiving passage 350 in a direction toward the hair receiving surface 335, whereupon the air blows the hair received in the passage 350 into contact with the hair receiving surface 335, so that the hair is collected at the surface 335. The hair receiving surface 335 enables shaping and styling of the hair, and in the attachment 300, the curved profile of the hair receiving surface 335 can further enhance such shaping and styling.

[0083] At the same time, air is emitted from the secondary air outlets 311 below the protrusions 307a-307e on the lower side of the body 303 of the attachment 300. The air may be directed toward the scalp of the user whose hair is received in the hair receiving channel 350, thereby enhancing the drying of the hair roots.

[0084] Figure 7c The attachment 300 is shown in intended use, with hair 160 received by the hair receiving channel 350. The airflow emitted by the primary air outlet 310 blows the hair 160 through the hair receiving channel 350 toward the hair receiving surface 330. When the user's hair 160 is received by the hair receiving channel 350, the airflow emitted by the secondary air outlet 311 can be directed toward the user's scalp.

[0085] In some embodiments, the accessory 300 may include a first sensor 336 and a second sensor 338. The first sensor 336 may be, for example, a humidity sensor and the second sensor 338 may be, for example, a temperature sensor. The first sensor 336 may be positioned facing the protrusion 306 on the upper surface of one of the protrusions 307a-307e. The second sensor 338 may be positioned on one of the protrusions 307a-307e facing in the opposite direction from the first sensor 338, away from the protrusion 306, so that it faces the user's scalp during use. The first and second sensors 336, 338 may feed information back to a controller in the hair care appliance 10, which in turn may be used to control parameters such as the speed and temperature of the airflow generated by the hair care appliance 10.

[0086] In some embodiments, the accessory 300 may include a valve arrangement ( Figures 7a to 7c 307a-307e). The valve arrangement may be located within the body 303 of the accessory 300. The valve arrangement may include a blocking member shaped and sized to cover the entrances to the upper and / or lower chambers 305, 306 of the protrusions 307a-307e. In this way, the blocking member may be movable to cover the entrances to all upper chambers 305 at the same time (leaving the entrance to the lower chamber 306 uncovered), or to cover the entrances to all lower chambers 306 at the same time (leaving the entrance to the upper chamber 305 uncovered). The blocking member may also be movable to cover and / or open the entrances to all upper chambers 305 and lower chambers 306 at the same time.

[0087] The valve arrangement may be suitably configured to be connected to a drive motor (not shown) in the hair care appliance 10, such that the hair care appliance 10 is able to control the airflow through the plurality of primary air outlets 310 and the plurality of secondary air outlets 311. For example, the hair care appliance 10 may suitably control the airflow through the plurality of primary air outlets 310 and the plurality of secondary air outlets 311 based on information received from the first sensor 336 and / or the second sensor 338.

[0088] exist Figure 8a Variants of the apparatus according to the invention are schematically shown in FIG. 1 , generally designated 10 - a , 10 a - b , 10 a - c .

[0089] The hair care appliance 10-a, 10-b, 10-c includes a handle unit 12-a and an accessory 100-a, 100-b, 100-c removably attached to the handle unit 12-a. The accessories 100-a, 100-b, 100-c are in accordance with the invention described herein and are shown here to highlight various orientations of the accessories relative to the handle unit 12-a of the hair care appliance with which the accessories 100-a, 100-b, 100-c are used. The handle unit 12-a is cylindrical and extends a length in a direction perpendicular to its circular cross-section.

[0090] The attachment 100-a is oriented so that the height of the hair receiving portion extends perpendicularly to the length of the handle unit 12-a (see the indicated axis toward the inside of the paper). The axis of the row of protrusions, i.e. the axis from which the protrusions and the hair receiving surface emanate to form the hair receiving channel, is aligned parallel to the length of the handle unit 12-a (see the indicated axis ).

[0091] The attachment 100-b is aligned so that the axis of the row of protrusions of the attachment 100-b extends perpendicularly to the length of the handle unit 12-a (see the indicated axis). ), and the height of the hair receiving channel is aligned perpendicular to the length of the handle unit 12-a (see the indicated axis toward the inside of the paper ).

[0092] The attachment 100-c is aligned so that the axis of the row of protrusions of the attachment 100-c extends perpendicularly to the length of the handle unit 12-a (see the indicated axis toward the inside of the paper). ), and the height of the hair receiving channel is aligned parallel to the length of the handle unit 12-a (see the indicated axis ).

[0093] like Figure 8b As shown, the handle unit 12 - a includes a housing 14 - a , an airflow generator 16 - a , a heater 18 - a , and a control unit 20 - a .

[0094] The housing 14-a is tubular and includes an air inlet 22-a and an air outlet 24-a, through which an airflow generator 16-a draws airflow into the housing 14-a, and the airflow is discharged from the housing 14-a through the air outlet 24-a. The airflow generator 16-a is housed in the housing 14-a and includes an impeller 26-a driven by an electric motor 28-a. The airflow generator is configured to generate airflow at a flow rate in the range of 8 to 18 L / S, for example, a flow rate in the range of 10 to 16 L / s. A suitable airflow generator is a Dyson V9 digital motor produced by Dyson Technology Limited. The heater 18-a is also housed in the housing 14-a and includes a heating element 30-a to optionally heat the airflow.

[0095] The control unit 20-a includes electronic circuitry for a user interface 32-a and a control module 34-a. The user interface 32-a is disposed on an outer surface of the housing 14-a and is used to turn the hair care appliance 10-a, b, c on and off, to select a flow rate (e.g., high, medium, and low), and to select an air flow temperature (e.g., hot, medium, and cold). Figure 8b In the example shown, the user interface comprises a plurality of slide switches, but other forms of user interface 32-a are also contemplated, such as buttons, dials or touch screens.

[0096] The control module 34-a is responsible for controlling the airflow generator 16-a and the heater 18-a in response to input from the user interface 32-a. For example, in response to input from the user interface 32-a, the control module 34-a can control the power or speed of the airflow generator 16 to adjust the airflow rate of the airflow, and control the power of the heater 18-a to adjust the temperature of the airflow.

[0097] The above described embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the invention. Further embodiments of the invention are envisaged.

[0098] The body may include another air outlet, which is arranged to emit airflow in a direction not toward the projection. For example, when a hair bundle is received in the hair receiving channel, the other air outlet may be arranged to direct air to the hair root to help dry it.

[0099] The body may not include separate protrusions and may not include multiple outlets that receive air from multiple corresponding air passages. Instead, air may be emitted by a single air outlet that receives airflow from the body. Air may be emitted by multiple air outlets that are not disposed on separate protrusions, and air may be emitted by multiple air outlets that are disposed on separate protrusions but do not have internal passages.

[0100] The hair receiving surface may include openings that are irregularly distributed over the hair receiving surface and vary in shape and size. This may allow the airflow within the hair receiving channel to behave according to the specific styling or shaping profile desired for the attachment to be achieved.

[0101] The hair receiving surface may be curved in only one cross-sectional profile and straight in another profile.The hair receiving surface may have other geometries that allow it to shape the received hair in a desired manner.

[0102] The hair receiving surface may include only a single opening, or may include no openings at all, for example, if the hair receiving surface is appropriately shaped to mitigate the effects of turbulence in the hair receiving channel, or if the emitted airflow is diffuse and turbulence from the airflow does not significantly affect styling control.

[0103] The attachment may not include a heat shield as thermal discomfort from contact with the main body would be minimal or non-existent.

[0104] The height of the spacing element is adjustable so that the height of the hair receiving channel can be varied.

[0105] Examples are also contemplated in which, rather than comprising a handle unit 12 and accessories 100, 200, the hair care appliance 10 is a single-piece unit, such as in the form of the combined handle unit 12 and accessories 100, 200 described above.

[0106] It should be understood that any feature described with respect to any one embodiment may be used alone or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other embodiment, or in combination with any combination of any other embodiment. In addition, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An accessory for a hair care appliance, the accessory comprising: an air inlet for receiving air flow from the hair care appliance; a main body arranged to receive an air flow from the air inlet; an air outlet for emitting an air flow; and a projection spaced from the body to define a hair receiving passage between the projection and the body, the air outlet being arranged to emit an airflow into the hair receiving passage, the projection including a hair receiving surface; Wherein, in use, hair located in the hair receiving channel is blown away from the main body by the air flow and contacts the hair receiving surface, so that the hair is collected at the hair receiving surface.

2. The attachment of claim 1, wherein the hair receiving surface includes an aperture through which at least a portion of the airflow received from the air outlet can pass.

3. An accessory according to any preceding claim, wherein the air outlet is arranged to emit an air flow in a direction which is not orthogonal to the plane of the air inlet.

4. An accessory according to claim 3, wherein the air outlet is arranged to emit an air flow in a direction parallel to the plane of the air inlet.

5. The attachment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hair receiving surface has a curved cross-sectional profile.

6. The attachment of claim 5, wherein the hair receiving surface has a first arcuate cross-sectional profile and a second arcuate cross-sectional profile, the first cross-sectional profile lying in a plane orthogonal to the plane of the second cross-sectional profile.

7. An attachment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hair receiving surface comprises a plurality of openings, each opening allowing at least some incident airflow to pass therethrough.

8. The accessory of claim 7, wherein each aperture of the plurality of apertures has a substantially similar geometric shape.

9. The attachment according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the plurality of openings are regularly distributed over the hair receiving surface.

10. An attachment according to any preceding claim, wherein the hair receiving surface is opposite the air outlet and is at least as large as the air outlet.

11. An attachment according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the projections are positioned such that the hair receiving channel is no wider than 3 cm.

12. An accessory according to any preceding claim, wherein the accessory comprises a plurality of air outlets.

13. An accessory according to claim 12, wherein the geometry of each air outlet is dependent upon its position on the body.

14. An accessory according to claim 12 or 13, wherein each air outlet is configured to emit airflow in substantially the same direction.

15. An accessory according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the body comprises a plurality of channels, each channel being arranged to receive a respective portion of the air flow from the air inlet and to direct the respective portion of the air flow to a respective air outlet.

16. The accessory of claim 15, wherein each channel is configured to receive a substantially equal portion of the airflow.

17. The accessory of claim 15, wherein each channel is configured to receive a respective portion of the air flow depending on the position of the respective air outlet.

18. An accessory according to any preceding claim, wherein at least a portion of the body has a claw-shaped or triangular profile in a plane perpendicular to the air inlet plane.

19. An accessory according to any preceding claim, wherein the accessory comprises a heat shield located behind the air outlet.

20. An accessory as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body comprises a further air outlet arranged to emit an air flow in a direction not towards the projection.

21. An accessory according to claim 20, wherein the further air outlet is arranged to emit an airflow in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the air outlet emits an airflow.

22. An accessory according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the body is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber, each chamber being arranged to receive a portion of the air flow from the air inlet, and wherein the air outlet is in fluid communication with the first chamber and the further air outlet is in fluid communication with the second chamber.

23. An accessory according to any one of claims 20 to 22, comprising a valve including a blocking member moveable between a first position and a second position to block air flow to the air outlet or the further air outlet, respectively.

24. A hair care appliance comprising an attachment according to any preceding claim.

25. A hair care appliance, comprising: Air inlet; a handle unit in which an airflow generator is housed, the airflow generator being configured to generate an airflow from the air inlet through the handle unit; an air outlet for emitting an air flow; and a projection spaced from the body to define a hair receiving passage between the projection and the body, the air outlet being arranged to emit an airflow into the hair receiving passage, the projection including a hair receiving surface; Wherein, in use, hair located in the hair receiving channel is blown away from the main body by the air flow and contacts the hair receiving surface, so that the hair is collected at the hair receiving surface.

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