Diffuser

Abstract

A diffuser for a hair dryer comprises an air inlet, a grille 30 for emitting a first part of the airflow from the diffuser, and a plurality of air outlets 63,65,67 on projections 52,54,56 for emitting

Description

BACKGROUND A diffuser is a known form of attachment for a hair dryer. The diffuser is attached to the airflow outlet end of the hair dryer and serves to reduce the velocity of the airflow emitted from the hair dryer before it is incident upon the hair of the user. A diffuser generally comprises a baffle and a grille connected to the baffle. The baffle has a tapering wall which extends between an air inlet end and an air outlet end. The wall of the baffle defines a diffusing air chamber within which the velocity of the airflow decreases as the cross-section of the air chamber increases. A set of projections or prongs are generally upstanding from the grille to contact the hair of the user during hair drying. Each of the projections generally has an air outlet for emitting air into the user’s hair. SUMMARY A diffuser for attachment to an airflow outlet end of a hair dryer, the diffuser comprising: at least one air inlet for receiving an airflow from a hair dryer; a grille comprising a central portion and a plurality of air outlets for emitting a first part of the airflow from the diffuser; and a plurality of projections upstanding from the grille for contacting the hair of a user and for emitting a second part of the airflow, each of the projections comprising a single air outlet; wherein the plurality of projections comprise a set of inner projections arranged about the central portion of the grille, and a first set of outer projections arranged about the inner projections, and wherein the air outlets of the first set of outer projections are arranged to emit air away from the central portion of the grille. The diffuser of the present invention may be beneficial as the first set of outer projections direct airflow away from the centre of the diffuser thereby producing a widened area of airflow allowing air to reach a larger area of the user’s hair for faster drying with less disturbance of the user’s hairstyle. Optionally the diffuser may comprise a second set of outer projections arranged about the inner projections, wherein each of the second set of outer projections comprises a single air outlet arranged to emit air towards the central portion of the grille. The second set of outer projections may beneficially provide additional airflow to the user’s hair in the region between the inner projections and first set of outer projections. The projections of the first set of outer projections may optionally be alternately arranged with the projections of the second set of outer projections about the inner projections to facilitate even distribution of emitted airflow directions from the outer projections. In one example, the first set of outer projections may be arranged in an annular array about an axis to facilitate even distribution of the airflow. In another example, the second set of outer projections may be arranged in an annular array about an axis to facilitate even distribution of the airflow. The first set of outer projections and the second set of outer projections may be arranged in an annular array about a common axis. The first set of outer projections may be radially offset from the second set of outer projections with respect to the common axis to provide a wider radial spread of the airflow in the vicinity of the outer projections. Optionally the second set of outer projections may be equally spaced with respect to one another. Similarly, the first set of outer projections may be equally spaced with respect to one another. In each case, to facilitate even distribution of airflow. In one example, the number of projections in the first set of outer projections may be equal to the number of projections in the second set of outer projections to facilitate even distribution of airflow. The air outlets of a first subset of inner projections may be arranged to emit air away from the central portion of the grille, and the air outlets of a second subset of inner projections may be arranged to emit air towards the central portion of the grille to provide a wider distribution of airflow in the vicinity of the inner projections. Optionally the projections of the first subset of inner projections may be alternately arranged with the projections of the second subset of inner projections about the central portion of the grille to facilitate even distribution of airflow from the inner projections. The inner projections may optionally be arranged in an annular array and equally spaced with respect to one another to facilitate even distribution of the airflow. In one example the angular spacing between adjacent inner projections may be substantially the same as the angular spacing between adjacent projections in the first set of outer projections. The inner projections may be radially aligned with the first set of outer projections. Optionally, the second set of outer projections may be angularly offset relative to both the inner projections and the first set of outer projections so that airflow from the second set of outer projections is not directed at any other projection. The set of inner projections and the first set of outer projections, and the second set of outer projections may optionally be concentric. In one example the first set of outer projections may be located adjacent to the outer periphery of the diffuser to facilitate the production of a wide area airflow from the diffuser. The inner projections may be arranged about some of the air outlets of the grille so that some of the airflow through the grille is surrounded by airflow from the inner projections to provide the user with drying airflow towards the centre of the diffuser. Optionally the central portion of the grille may comprise a circular unperforated grille area. The unperforated central portion of the grille may act as an obstacle to stop the airflow from directly exiting the diffuser along the same axis as the airflow enters the diffuser. Accordingly, regions of increased airflow proximate to the central portion of the diffuser may be inhibited through a controlled direction of the airflow throughout the entirety of the diffuser. In another aspect, a kit comprising a diffuser according to any preceding claim and a hair dryer is provided. In a further aspect, a hair dryer comprising a diffuser according to any preceding claim is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the front side of a diffuser; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the reverse side of the diffuser of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a plan view of the front side of the diffuser of Figure 1; Figure 4 shows an exploded perspective view of the diffuser of Figure 1; and Figure 5 shows a perspective view of an example hair dryer to which the diffuser may be connected. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figures 1 to 3 are external views of a diffuser 10. The diffuser 10 comprises an air inlet 12 for receiving an airflow from an airflow outlet end 102 of a hair dryer 100 (see Figure 5). The air inlet 12 comprises an aperture located in the rear cover 14 of the diffuser 10. Referring to Figure 4, the diffuser comprises a baffle 20 comprising an annular inlet channel 22 for receiving airflow from the air inlet 12. A wall 24 extends between the inlet channel 22 and a baffle outlet 26 which is spaced from the inlet channel 22 along the central axis 21 of the inlet channel 22, which corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the diffuser 10. The diameter of the baffle outlet 26 is greater than the diameter of the inlet channel 22 such that the cross-sectional area of the baffle 20 increases from the inlet channel 22 to the baffle outlet 26. Consequently, as airflow moves from the inlet channel 22 to the baffle outlet 26, the cross-sectional area of the airflow increases and the velocity of the airflow decreases. A grille 30 is connected to the baffle outlet 26. An airflow dampener 70 is located between the grille 30 and the baffle 20. The airflow dampener 70 is in the form of a circular disc or plate which comprises of a fine mesh texture suitable for airflow reduction. A sealing ring 120 is located between the grille 30 and the airflow dampener 28. As best shown in Figure 1, the grille 30 is generally concave in shape. Referring to Figure 3, the grille 30 comprises air outlets 32 from which a first part of the airflow is emitted from the diffuser 10. A plurality of projections 50 for contacting the hair of a user, and for emitting a second part of the airflow from the diffuser 10, are upstanding from the external surface of the grille 30. The air outlets 32 comprise a first array 34 of air outlets 32 which are located in a central annular region 31 of the grille 30, and a second array 36 of air outlets 32 which are located in a peripheral region 33 of the grille 30 which extends around the first array 34 of air outlets 32. Within each array 34, 36, the air outlets 32 are regularly spaced. The air outlets 32 have the same size and shape in each of the first 34 and second 36 arrays. Each of the air outlets 32 is circular in cross-section. Each of the air outlets 32 may be cylindrical in shape, but in this embodiment each of the air outlets 32 is frustoconical in shape, tapering from the internal surface of the grille 30 towards the external surface of the grille 30. The first array 34 of air outlets 32 extends around a central portion 38 of the external surface of the grille 30. The second array 36 of air outlets 32 surrounds, and is concentric with, the first array 34 of air outlets 32. The central portion 38 of the grille 30 comprises a circular unperforated grille area which is devoid of air outlets 32 and projections 50. An annular region 39 of the grille 30, which is located between the arrays 34, 36 of air outlets 32, is devoid of air outlets 32 and projections 50. The annular region 39 is bounded by an inner rim 41 and an outer rim 42. The outer rim 42 is embossed with respect to the inner rim 41. Accordingly, a raised outer peripheral area 43 is defined between the outer rim 42 and an outer periphery 44 of the grille 30, which forms the outer periphery of the diffuser 10. The surface of the annular region 39 is generally curved between the inner rim 41 and the outer rim 42, but this is not essential. For example, the external surface of the annular region 39 may be otherwise profiled or generally flat. In this embodiment, the projections 50 comprise a set of inner projections 52, a first set of outer projections 54, and a second set of outer projections 56. In this embodiment, the set of inner projections 52, the first set of outer projections 54, and the second set of outer projections 56 are concentric about the common axis 21. However, this is not essential and the sets of projections 52, 54, 56 may be otherwise arranged. In this embodiment, the set of inner projections 52, the first set of outer projections 54, and the second set of outer projections 56 have the same size and shape. But alternatively, the projections 52, 54, 56 may have different sizes. For example, the set of inner projections 52 may be smaller than the first 54 and second 56 set of outer projections. The set of inner projections 52 are arranged in an annular array around the central portion 38 of the grille 30 amongst the first array 34 of air outlets 32 such that the set of inner projections 52 are arranged about some of the air outlets 32 of the grille 30. In this embodiment, the set of inner projections 52 comprises ten projections 52 which are equally spaced with respect to one another such the set of inner projections 52 are equally angularly spaced about the axis 21. Each of the inner projections 52 comprises an air inlet 62 formed in the grille 30 (see Figure 4) and a single air outlet 63. The air inlets 62 are circular in shape, and have a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the air outlets 32 of the grille 30. The air outlets 63 of the inner projections 52 are in the form of an elongate side air outlet which has a height greater than one half of the height of the inner projections 52, and a width which is smaller than the height of the air outlets 63. However, this is not essential, and in an alternative embodiment the air outlets 63 may be less than or equal to the height of the inner projections 52, and their width may be greater than their height. The set of inner projections 52 comprises a first subset of inner projections 51 and a second subset of inner projections 53. The air outlets 63 of the first subset of inner projections 51 are arranged to emit air away from the central portion 38 of the grille 30, whereas the air outlets 63 of the second subset of inner projections 53 are arranged to emit air towards the central portion 38 of the grille 30. The projections of the first subset of inner projections 51 are alternately arranged with the projections of the second subset of inner projections 53 about the central portion 39 of the grille 30. In this embodiment, the air outlets 63 of the first subset of inner projections 51 are arranged to emit air radially outwardly, away from the axis 21. The air outlets 63 of the second subset of inner projections 53 are arranged to emit air radially inwardly, towards the longitudinal axis 21. The first set of outer projections 54 are arranged in an annular array about the inner projections 52 amongst the second array 36 of air outlets 32, in the raised outer peripheral area 43 of the grille 30. The first set of outer projections 54 are located adjacent to the outer periphery 44 of the grille 30. In this embodiment, the first set of outer projections 54 comprises ten projections which are equally spaced with respect to one another such the first set of outer projections 54 are equally angularly spaced about the axis 21. The angular spacing between adjacent inner projections 52 is substantially the same as the angular spacing between adjacent projections in the first set of outer projections 54. The first set of outer projections 54 are radially aligned with the inner projections 52. Each of the first set of outer projections 54 comprises an air inlet 64 (see Figure 4) formed in the grille 30 and a single air outlet 65. The air inlets 64 are circular in shape, and have a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the air outlets 32 of the grille 30. The air outlets 65 of the first set of outer projections 54 are in the form of an elongate side air outlet, which has a height which is greater than one half of the height of the first set of outer projections 54, and a width which is smaller than the height of the air outlets 65. This is not essential, and in an alternative embodiment the air outlets 65 may be less than or equal to the height of the first set of outer projections 54, and their width may be greater than their height. The air outlets 65 of the first set of outer projections 54 are arranged to emit air away from the central portion 38 of the grille 30, and are preferably arranged to emit air radially outwardly, away from the axis 21. The second set of outer projections 56 are arranged in an annular array about the inner projections 52 amongst the second array 36 of air outlets 32 of the grille 30. The projections of the first set of outer projections 54 are alternately arranged with the projections of the second set of outer projections 56 about the central portion 38 of the grille 30. The first set of outer projections 54 are radially offset from the second set of outer projections 56 such that the second set of outer projections 56 are radially closer to the axis 21 than the first set of outer projections 54. In this embodiment, the second set of outer projections 56 comprises ten projections such that the number of projections in the second set of outer projections 56 is equal to the number of projections in the first set of outer projections 54. The projections of the second set of outer projections 56 are equally spaced with respect to one another such the second set of outer projections 56 are equally angularly spaced about the axis 21. The second set of outer projections 56 are arranged such that each of the second set of outer projections 56 is angularly offset relative to the set of inner projections 52 and to the first set of outer projections 54. Each of the second set of outer projections 56 comprises an air inlet 66 (see Figure 4) formed in the grille 30 and a single air outlet 67. The air inlets 66 are circular in shape, and have a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the air outlets 32 of the grille 30. The air outlets 67 are in the form of an elongate side air outlet, which has a height which is greater than one half of the height of the second set of outer projections 56, and a width which is smaller than the height of the air outlets 67. This is not essential, and in an alternative embodiment the air outlets 67 may be less than or equal to the height of the second set of outer projections 56, and their width may be greater than their height. The air outlets 67 of the second set of outer projections 56 are arranged to emit air towards the central portion 38 of the grille 30, preferably radially inwardly towards the axis 21, so that none of the second set of outer projections 56 is located in the path of air emitted from the set of inner projections 52 or the first set of outer projections 54. Each of the components of the diffuser 10 is formed from a plastic material. In this embodiment the components are formed from glass filled nylon. In use the diffuser 10 is attached to the airflow outlet end 102 of a hair dryer 100. It will be understood that the example diffuser 10 described above and shown in Figures 1 to 4 is illustrative only and that other arrangements of diffuser are contemplated. For example, the diffuser need not have circular symmetry and may instead be oval or generally rectilinear in form. The set of inner projections 52 need not align with the first set of outer projections 54, and the air outlets 63 of the set of inner projections need not alternate in their direction of flow such that all of the air outlets 63 may face inwardly, or all may face outwardly. In addition, the number of projections in the second set of outer projections 56 need not be equal to the number of projections in the first set of outer projections 54 such that the second set of outer projections 56 may comprise more or fewer projections than the first set of outer projections 54. In an alternative example, the plurality of projections may comprise only the set of inner projections 52 and the first set of outer projections 54 such that the second set of outer projections 56 is omitted. The central portion 38 and / or the annular region 39 may comprise air outlets 32 and / or prongs 50. The sets of prongs 52, 54, 56 need not be arranged in annular arrays and need not be concentric.

Claims

1. A diffuser for attachment to an airflow outlet end of a hair dryer, the diffuser comprising:at least one air inlet for receiving an airflow from a hair dryer;a grille comprising a central portion and a plurality of air outlets for emitting a first part of the airflow from the diffuser; anda plurality of projections upstanding from the grille for contacting the hair of a user and for emitting a second part of the airflow, each of the projections comprising a single air outlet;wherein the plurality of projections comprise a set of inner projections arranged about the central portion of the grille, and a first set of outer projections arranged about the inner projections, and wherein the air outlets of the first set of outer projections are arranged to emit air away from the central portion of the grille.

2. A diffuser according to claim 1, comprising a second set of outer projections arranged about the inner projections, wherein each of the second set of outer projections comprises a single air outlet arranged to emit air towards the central portion of the grille.

3. A diffuser according to claim 2, wherein the projections of the first set of outer projections are alternately arranged with the projections of the second set of outer projections about the inner projections.

4. A diffuser according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first set of outer projections and the second set of outer projections are each arranged in an annular array about a common axis.

5. A diffuser according to claim 4, wherein the first set of outer projections are radially offset from the second set of outer projections with respect to the common axis.

6. A diffuser according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the second set of outer projections are equally spaced with respect to one another.

7. A diffuser according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first set of outer projections are equally spaced with respect to one another.

8. A diffuser according to any of claims 2 to 7, wherein the number of projections in the first set of outer projections is equal to the number of projections in the second set of outer projections.

9. A diffuser according to any preceding claim, wherein the air outlets of a first subset of inner projections are arranged to emit air away from the central portion of the grille and the air outlets of a second subset of inner projections are arranged to emit air towards the central portion of the grille.

10. A diffuser according to claim 9, wherein the projections of the first subset of inner projections are alternately arranged with the projections of the second subset of inner projections about the central portion of the grille.

11. A diffuser according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the inner projections are arranged in an annular array and equally spaced with respect to one another.

12. A diffuser according to claim 11, wherein the angular spacing between adjacent inner projections is substantially the same as the angular spacing between adjacent projections in the first set of outer projections.

13. A diffuser according to claim 12, wherein the inner projections are radially aligned with the first set of outer projections.

14. A diffuser according to claim 12 or 13, wherein, when present, the second set of outer projections are angularly offset relative to both the inner projections and the first set of outer projections.

15. A diffuser according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the set of inner projections and the first set of outer projections, and the second set of outer projections where present, are concentric.5 16. A diffuser according to any preceding claim, wherein the first set of outerprojections are located adjacent to the outer periphery of the diffuser.

17. A diffuser according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner projections are arranged about some of the air outlets of the grille.

018. A diffuser according to any preceding claim, wherein the central portion of the grille comprises a circular unperforated grille area.

19. A kit comprising a diffuser according to any preceding claim and a hair dryer.

20. A hair dryer comprising a diffuser according to any preceding claim.

Images