Hair dryer

Abstract

To provide a hair dryer that can moderately disturb hair with warm air and dry the hair effectively by blowing the warm air to the roots of the hair.SOLUTION: In a hair dryer 1 that comprises a blower 3 which is provided near an air intake part 8 in a main body 2, and a heater 4 which is provided inside the main body 2 on a downstream side of the blower 3, an exhaust part 12 has a circular air outlet 25. The hair dryer further comprises a shielding member 20 that shields a part of the air outlet 25 and is formed to have a shape in which a part of the circle is cut out, and an electric motor 21 that rotates the shielding member 20. When drying hair with airflow, the shielding member 20 rotates by the electric motor 21, causing portions through which the airflow passes and portions where the airflow is shielded to move circularly. As a result, portions where the airflow hits the hair and portions where the airflow does not hit the hair occur periodically, thereby moderately disturbing the hair, causing warm air to hit the roots of the hair and drying the hair effectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hair dryer for drying hair and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] A known example of this type of hair dryer is one that includes a main body having an air inlet (corresponding to the intake section of the present invention) and an air outlet (corresponding to the exhaust section of the present invention), an electric fan (corresponding to the blower device of the present invention) installed near the air inlet inside the main body, and a heater installed downstream of the electric fan inside the main body, and that has a rotatable member at the air outlet to change the direction of the airflow (see Patent Document 1).The rotatable member is a so-called windmill-like structure that rotates due to the airflow generated by the electric fan, or an impeller-like bladed wheel that rotates due to a motor, and the rotation of the rotatable member is used to uniformly distribute ions generated by the hair dryer in the airflow. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2018-509250 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The conventional hair dryers described above have the following problems. For example, when the rotatable member is a windmill, the airflow is redirected by the guide blades of the rotatable member, but the rotatable member rotates due to the airflow. As a result, the airflow passing through the rotatable member travels straight while swirling and slightly expanding. Because this airflow is almost uniform, it does not disturb hair very much. Therefore, there is a problem in that it does not deliver air to the roots of hair very well. On the other hand, when the rotatable member is an impeller-like bladed wheel, the airflow is redirected by the guide blades of the rotatable member, but the rotatable member is rotated by a motor. In this case, if the rotatable member is rotated at the same rotational speed as when the rotatable member is a windmill, the same effect as when the rotatable member is a windmill is produced, resulting in the same problems. Furthermore, if the rotatable member is rotated at a rotational speed different from when the rotatable member is a windmill, there is a risk that the rotatable member may obstruct the passage of the airflow. Therefore, when the rotatable member is rotated by a motor, the rotation speed is limited by the airflow generated by the electric fan.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the above problems and provide a hair dryer that can adequately mess up hair with hot air and can dry the hair well by blowing the hot air all the way to the roots. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The hair dryer according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a main body having an intake section and an exhaust section, a blower provided in the main body near the intake section, and a heater provided in the main body downstream of the blower section, wherein the exhaust section has a circular outlet, and the hair dryer further comprises a shielding member that shields part of the outlet and is formed in a shape with a part of the circle cut out, and an electric motor that rotates the shielding member.

[0007] The hair dryer according to claim 2 of the present invention is the hair dryer of claim 1, wherein the air outlet is formed in a circular ring shape, the air passage in which the heater is built is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the electric motor is provided inside an air guide inner tube that forms this cylindrical air passage.

[0008] The hair dryer according to claim 3 of the present invention is the hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor is provided upstream of the heater. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] With the hair dryer according to claim 1 of the present invention configured as described above, hair is dried by the airflow that passes between the air outlet and the shielding member after being heated by the heater. During this process, the shielding member is rotated by the motor, causing the portions through which the airflow passes and the portions that are shielded from the airflow to move in a circular motion, periodically creating portions of the hair that are hit by the airflow and portions that are not hit by the airflow, which moderately disturbs the hair and allows the warm air to reach the roots of the hair, thereby allowing the hair to be well dried.

[0010] Furthermore, the air outlet is formed in a circular ring shape, the air flow path in which the heater is built is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the electric motor is provided inside the air guide inner tube that forms this cylindrical air flow path, thereby preventing the electric motor from being directly heated by the heater.

[0011] Furthermore, by providing the electric motor upstream of the heater, the electric motor can be cooled by the airflow generated by the air blower. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a right side view of a hair dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. [Figure 5] 10A is an enlarged view of the blowing part at a certain moment, and FIG. 10B is an enlarged view showing the state in which the shielding member has rotated clockwise by π / 6 from the state in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a right side view of a hair dryer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 10A is an enlarged view of the blowing part at a certain moment, and FIG. 10B is an enlarged view showing the state in which the shielding member has rotated clockwise by π / 6 from the state in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a right side view of a hair dryer according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. [Figure 14] 10A and 10B are enlarged views of the blowing section, where (a) is an enlarged view of the blowing section at a certain moment, and (b) is an enlarged view showing the state in which the shielding member has rotated clockwise by π / 6 degrees from the state in (a). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 5. In the following description, up and down and front and back are defined based on Figs. 1 and 2. That is, up and down in Fig. 1 are up and down, the left is the front, and the right is the back. Reference numeral 1 denotes a hair dryer of the present invention. This hair dryer 1 has a main body 2 made of synthetic resin, an air blower 3, and a heater 4. The main body 2 also has an airflow generating unit 5, an airflow heating unit 6, and a grip 7, which are integrally formed.

[0014] Intake sections 8 are formed on the left and right sides of the airflow generating section 5, and the blower device 3 is provided near these intake sections 8 and inside the airflow generating section 5. The blower device 3 is configured to include an electric motor 9, a fan 10 rotated by the electric motor 9, and an air guide frame 11 provided to surround the fan 10. In this embodiment, the fan 10 is a sirocco fan, but it may also be an axial fan.

[0015] The airflow heating unit 6 is cylindrically configured, integral with the airflow generating unit 5, and has an exhaust unit 12 at its front end. The airflow heating unit 6 is connected to the airflow generating unit 5. That is, the airflow flowing in from the intake unit 8 can be exhausted from the exhaust unit 12. A cylindrical air guide outer tube 13, open at both the front and rear ends, is provided inside the airflow heating unit 6. Furthermore, an air guide inner tube 14 is provided coaxially with the air guide outer tube 13. A substantially cylindrical air flow path 15 is formed between the air guide outer tube 13 and the air guide inner tube 14, and the heater 4 is provided in this air flow path 15. The central axis of the air guide outer tube 13 and the air guide inner tube 14, i.e., the central axis of the air flow path 15, is X. The air guide inner tube 14 is open on the side facing the air blower 3. A gap is formed between the side of the air guide inner tube 14 opposite to the air blowing device 3 and a shielding member 20, which will be described later. The air guide inner tube 14 is made of a heat-resistant material. It is preferable that this material has heat insulating properties.

[0016] The grip portion 7 is rod-shaped and is integrated with the airflow generating portion 5 below the airflow generating portion 5. The grip portion 7 has a main switch operation portion 16 and a changeover switch operation portion 17 on its front side. The main switch operation portion 16 is used to switch between "strong air," "weak air," and "stop." The changeover switch operation portion 17 is used to switch between "hot air" and "cool air." A power cord 18 is drawn out from the lower end of the grip portion 7.

[0017] The exhaust section 12 is circular in front view. The exhaust section 12 includes a nozzle section 19 and a shielding member 20 provided inside the nozzle section 19. An electric motor 21 is provided inside the air guide inner tube 14, and a rotation shaft 21A of the electric motor 21 is connected to the center of the shielding member 20. The nozzle section 19 includes a cylindrical outer tube section 22, a cylindrical inner tube section 23 with a bottom, and a plurality of ribs 24 (six in this embodiment) that coaxially connect the outer tube section 22 and the inner tube section 23. The nozzle section 19 includes an annular air outlet 25 including a plurality of air outlets (six in this embodiment) defined by the outer tube section 22, the inner tube section 23, and the ribs 24. The air outlet 25 allows the airflow generated by the air blower 3 to pass through. As shown in FIG. 4, the shielding member 20 is formed into a shape in which a small circular portion 26 of radius R1 and a pair of sectorial portions 27 of radius R2 and central angle θ1 are combined axially symmetrically. This shape can also be said to be formed by cutting out a portion of a large circle of radius R2 along an arc over the central angle θ2 (=π-θ1). The radius R1 of the small circular portion 26 of the shielding member 20 is approximately equal to the radius R3 of the outer surface of the inner tube portion 23 of the nozzle portion 19. The radius R2 of the sectorial portions 27 of the shielding member 20 is slightly smaller than the radius R4 of the inner surface of the outer tube portion 22 of the nozzle portion 19. The radius R1 of the small circular portion 26 of the shielding member 20 is approximately equal to the radius of the most downstream portion of the air guide inner tube 14. Therefore, the airflow generated by the blower device 3 is blown out from the portion of the outlet 25 (blowout holes 25A-25F) that is not blocked by the sectorial portions 27. The nozzle portion 19, the shielding member 20, and the rotation shaft 21A are provided coaxially with the central axis X as a reference.

[0018] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, a user connects the plug (not shown) at the end of the power cord 18 to an AC power source (not shown). Then, the user grasps the grip 7 and, with "hot air" or "cool air" selected with the selector switch operation unit 17, operates the main switch operation unit 16 to select "strong air" or "weak air." This operation activates the motor 9, causing the fan 10 to rotate. Airflows drawn in from the left and right air intakes 8 are guided by the air guide frame 11 and sent forward into the airflow path 15. Furthermore, a portion of the airflow generated by the rotation of the fan 10 flows inside the air guide inner tube 14. At the same time, if "hot air" is selected with the selector switch operation unit 17, the heater 4 of the airflow heating unit 6 is energized and generates heat. As the airflow passes through the airflow path 15, it receives heat from the heater 4 and becomes hot air. At the same time, power is supplied to the electric motor 21, causing the rotating shaft 21A to rotate. This rotates the shielding member 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the shielding member 20 rotates clockwise when viewed from the front, but counterclockwise rotation is also acceptable. The rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is 60 to 180 rpm, preferably approximately 120 rpm. The air guide inner tube 14 is provided between the electric motor 21 and the heater 4, so that the heat directed from the heater 4 to the electric motor 21 is blocked by the air guide inner tube 14. The side of the air guide inner tube 14 facing the air blower 3 is open, forming a gap between the side of the air guide inner tube 14 facing away from the air blower 3 and the shielding member 20. Therefore, a portion of the airflow generated by the air blower 3 passes through the inside of the air guide inner tube 14, cools the electric motor 21, and is then released to the outside through the gap and the air outlet 25.

[0019] 5(a) shows a state in which the fan-shaped portions 27, 27 of the shielding member 20 shield the outlet holes 25B, 25E. Therefore, the airflow that has passed through the airflow path 15 passes through outlet holes 25A, 25C, 25D, and 25F of the outlet 25, but does not pass through outlet holes 25B and 25E. As the shielding member 20 rotates, the outlet holes 25A to 25F through which the airflow passes change. For example, FIG. 5(b) shows a state in which the shielding member 20 has rotated clockwise by π / 6 from the state shown in FIG. 5(a). In this state, the airflow passes through all of outlet holes 25A and 25D and half of outlet holes 25B, 25C, 25E, and 25F, but does not pass through half of outlet holes 25B, 25C, 25E, and 25F. That is, the portion of the air outlet 25 through which the airflow passes and the portion that is blocked by the airflow rotate clockwise. Therefore, when the exhaust section 12 is pointed at the hair, the airflow directly hits the portion of the hair opposite the portion through which the airflow passes, but does not directly hit the portion of the hair opposite the portion that is blocked by the airflow. This uneven airflow periodically moves in a circular motion, causing the hair to move widely and then little, which results in the hair being disturbed moderately by the airflow and reaching the roots of the hair, allowing the hair to be dried well.

[0020] As mentioned above, the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is 60 to 180 rpm, preferably about 120 rpm. If this rotation speed is too high, it is difficult to substantially create uniformity in the airflow, and the effect of disturbing the hair and delivering warm air to the roots of the hair is weakened. More specifically, in the hair dryer 1 using the nozzle unit 19 and shielding member 20 described above, the airflow directly hits the hair facing the portion of the air outlet 25 that is not blocked by the fan-shaped portions 27, 27 (i.e., the portion through which the airflow passes), exerting a force that presses the hair against the scalp. On the other hand, the hair facing the portion blocked by the fan-shaped portions 27, 27 (i.e., the portion through which the airflow does not pass) is not directly hit by the airflow, but rather is lifted from the scalp by the airflow that flows along the scalp. If the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is too high, the airflow will soon hit the hair in areas that are not directly hit by the airflow, causing the entire hair in the area facing the nozzle portion 19 to be pressed against the scalp. Conversely, if the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is too low, the airflow will continuously press the hair against the scalp for a long time, making it difficult to properly disturb the hair. As a result, if the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is too high or too low, it will be difficult to properly disturb the hair with the airflow and direct the airflow at the roots of the hair to dry it well.

[0021] As described above, the present invention provides a hair dryer 1 having a main body 2 with an intake section 8 and an exhaust section 12, an air blower 3 provided in the main body 2 near the intake section 8, and a heater 4 provided in the main body 2 downstream of the air blower 3, wherein the exhaust section 12 has a circular air outlet 25, and the hair dryer 1 comprises a shielding member 20 that shields part of the air outlet 25 and is formed in a shape with a part of the circle cut out, and an electric motor 21 that rotates the shielding member 20. After being heated by the heater 4, the hair is dried by the airflow that passes between the air outlet 25 and the shielding member 20, and as the shielding member 20 is rotated by the electric motor 21, the parts through which the airflow passes and the parts that are shielded by the airflow move in a circular motion, so that parts that are hit by the airflow and parts that are not hit by the airflow periodically occur, and the hair is moderately disturbed so that the warm air reaches the roots of the hair, thereby allowing the hair to be dried well.

[0022] Furthermore, the air outlet 25 is formed in a circular ring shape, the air flow path 15 in which the heater 4 is built is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the electric motor 21 is provided inside the air guide inner tube 14 which forms this cylindrical air flow path 15, thereby preventing the electric motor 21 from being directly heated by the heater 4.

[0023] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 9. In the following description, up / down and front / rear will be defined with reference to Figures 6 and 7. In other words, up / down in Figure 6 is up / down, left is front, and right is rear. Furthermore, since the nozzle portion 19 and shielding member 20 described below are the same as those in the first embodiment, Figure 4 will be used to describe them. Reference numeral 31 denotes a hair dryer of the present invention. This hair dryer 31 has a main body 2 made of synthetic resin, an air blower 3, and a heater 4. Furthermore, the main body 2 integrally includes an airflow generating portion 5, an airflow heating portion 6, and a grip portion 7.

[0024] Intake sections 8 are formed on the left and right sides of the airflow generating section 5, and the blower device 3 is provided near these intake sections 8 and inside the airflow generating section 5. The blower device 3 is configured to include an electric motor 9, a fan 10 rotated by the electric motor 9, and an air guide frame 11 provided to surround the fan 10. In this embodiment, the fan 10 is a sirocco fan, but it may also be an axial fan.

[0025] The airflow heating unit 6 is cylindrically configured, integral with the airflow generating unit 5, and has an exhaust unit 12 at its front end. The airflow heating unit 6 is connected to the airflow generating unit 5. That is, the airflow flowing in from the intake unit 8 can be exhausted from the exhaust unit 12. A cylindrical air guide outer tube 13 with both front and rear ends open is provided inside the airflow heating unit 6. Furthermore, an air guide inner tube 44 is provided within the air guide outer tube 13 so as to be coaxial with the air guide outer tube 13. A substantially cylindrical air flow path 45 is formed between the air guide outer tube 13 and the air guide inner tube 44, and the heater 4 is provided in this air flow path 45. The central axis of the air guide outer tube 13 and the air guide inner tube 44, i.e., the central axis of the air flow path 45, is X. A shaft insertion hole 44A is formed in the air guide inner tube 44 on the side facing the blower 3. The air guide inner tube 44 is made of a heat-resistant material.

[0026] The grip portion 7 is rod-shaped and is integrated with the airflow generating portion 5 below the airflow generating portion 5. The grip portion 7 has a main switch operation portion 16 and a changeover switch operation portion 17 on its front side. The main switch operation portion 16 is used to switch between "strong air," "weak air," and "stop." The changeover switch operation portion 17 is used to switch between "hot air" and "cool air." A power cord 18 is drawn out from the lower end of the grip portion 7.

[0027] The exhaust section 12 is formed in a circular shape when viewed from the front. The exhaust section 12 is provided with a nozzle section 19 and a shielding member 20 provided inside the nozzle section 19. An electric motor 51 is provided on the air blower 3 side of the air guide inner tube 44, and a rotating shaft 51A of the electric motor 51 passes through the shaft insertion hole 44A and is connected to the center of the shielding member 20. The electric motor 51 is provided on the air blower 3 side, i.e., upstream side, of the heater 4. The nozzle section 19 has a cylindrical outer tube section 22, a cylindrical inner tube section 23 with a bottom, and a plurality of ribs 24 (six in this embodiment) that coaxially connect the outer tube section 22 and the inner tube section 23. The nozzle portion 19 is provided with an annular air outlet 25 consisting of a plurality of (six in this embodiment) air outlet holes (25A-25F) defined by the outer cylinder portion 22, the inner cylinder portion 23, and the ribs 24. The air outlet 25 allows the airflow generated by the blower 3 to pass through. As shown in FIG. 4, the shielding member 20 has a shape obtained by axially symmetrically combining a small circular portion 26 with a radius R1 and a pair of sectorial portions 27 with a radius R2 and a central angle θ1. This shape can also be said to be obtained by cutting out a portion of a large circle with a radius R2 along an arc over a central angle θ2 (=π-θ1). The radius R1 of the small circular portion 26 of the shielding member 20 is approximately equal to the radius R3 of the outer surface of the inner cylinder portion 23 of the nozzle portion 19. The radius R2 of the sectorial portion 27 of the shielding member 20 is slightly smaller than the radius R4 of the inner surface of the outer cylinder portion 22 of the nozzle portion 19. Furthermore, the radius R1 of the small circular portion 26 of the shielding member 20 is approximately equal to the radius of the most downstream portion of the air guide inner tube 44. Therefore, the airflow generated by the blower device 3 is blown out from the portion of the air outlet 25 (air outlet holes 25A to 25F) that is not blocked by the fan-shaped portion 27. The nozzle portion 19, the shielding member 20, and the rotating shaft 51A are arranged coaxially with respect to the central axis X. In this embodiment, the shielding member 20 is directly connected to the rotating shaft 51A, but another shaft may be connected between the rotating shaft and the shielding member 20.

[0028] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, a user connects the plug (not shown) at the end of the power cord 18 to an AC power source (not shown). Then, the user grasps the grip 7 and, with "hot air" or "cool air" selected with the selector switch operation unit 17, operates the main switch operation unit 16 to select "strong air" or "weak air." This operation activates the motor 9, rotating the fan 10. Airflows drawn in from the left and right air intakes 8 are guided by the air guide frame 11 and sent forward into the airflow path 45. Simultaneously, if "hot air" is selected with the selector switch operation unit 17, the heater 4 of the airflow heating unit 6 is energized and generates heat. Then, as the airflow passes through the airflow path 45, it receives heat from the heater 4 and becomes hot air. At the same time, power is supplied to the motor 51, causing the rotating shaft 51A to rotate. This causes the shielding member 20 to rotate. 9, the shielding member 20 rotates clockwise when viewed from the front, but counterclockwise rotation is also acceptable. The rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is 60 to 180 rpm, and preferably about 120 rpm. The electric motor 51 is provided closer to the air blower 3 than the heater 4, i.e., upstream, so that the electric motor 51 is cooled by the airflow generated by the air blower 3.

[0029] 9(a) shows a state in which the fan-shaped portions 27, 27 of the shielding member 20 shield the outlet holes 25B, 25E. Therefore, the airflow that has passed through the airflow path 45 passes through outlet holes 25A, 25C, 25D, and 25F of the outlet 25, but does not pass through outlet holes 25B and 25E. As the shielding member 20 rotates, the outlet holes 25A to 25F through which the airflow passes change. For example, FIG. 9(b) shows a state in which the shielding member 20 has rotated clockwise by π / 6 from the state in FIG. 9(a). In this state, the airflow passes through all of outlet holes 25A and 25D and half of outlet holes 25B, 25C, 25E, and 25F, but does not pass through half of outlet holes 25B, 25C, 25E, and 25F. That is, the portion of the air outlet 25 through which the airflow passes and the portion that is blocked by the airflow rotate clockwise. Therefore, when the exhaust section 12 is pointed at the hair, the airflow directly hits the portion of the hair opposite the portion through which the airflow passes, but does not directly hit the portion of the hair opposite the portion that is blocked by the airflow. This uneven airflow periodically moves in a circular motion, causing the hair to move widely and then little, which results in the hair being disturbed moderately by the airflow and reaching the roots of the hair, allowing the hair to be dried well.

[0030] As mentioned above, the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is 60 to 180 rpm, preferably about 120 rpm. If this rotation speed is too high, it is difficult to substantially create uniformity in the airflow, and the effect of disturbing the hair and delivering warm air to the roots of the hair is weakened. More specifically, in the hair dryer 31 using the nozzle unit 19 and shielding member 20 described above, the airflow directly hits the hair facing the portion of the air outlet 25 that is not shielded by the fan-shaped portions 27, 27 (i.e., the portion through which the airflow passes), exerting a force that presses the hair against the scalp. On the other hand, the hair facing the portion shielded by the fan-shaped portions 27, 27 (i.e., the portion through which the airflow does not pass) is not directly hit by the airflow, but rather is lifted from the scalp by the airflow that flows along the scalp. If the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is too high, the airflow will soon hit the hair in areas that are not directly hit by the airflow, causing the entire hair in the area facing the nozzle portion 19 to be pressed against the scalp. Conversely, if the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is too low, the airflow will continuously press the hair against the scalp for a long time, making it difficult to properly disturb the hair. As a result, if the rotation speed of the shielding member 20 is too high or too low, it will be difficult to properly disturb the hair with the airflow and direct the airflow at the roots of the hair to dry it well.

[0031] As described above, the present invention provides a hair dryer 31 having a main body 2 with an intake section 8 and an exhaust section 12, an air blower 3 provided in the main body 2 near the intake section 8, and a heater 4 provided in the main body 2 downstream of the air blower 3, wherein the exhaust section 12 has a circular air outlet 25, and the hair dryer 31 is provided with a shielding member 20 that shields part of the air outlet 25 and is formed in a shape with a part of the circle cut out, and a motor 51 that rotates the shielding member 20. After being heated by the heater 4, the hair is dried by the airflow that passes between the air outlet 25 and the shielding member 20, and as the shielding member 20 is rotated by the motor 51, the parts through which the airflow passes and the parts that are shielded by the airflow move in a circular motion, periodically producing parts that are hit by the airflow and parts that are not hit by the hair, and the hair is disturbed appropriately so that the warm air reaches the roots of the hair, thereby drying the hair well.

[0032] Furthermore, by providing the electric motor 51 closer to the air blower 3 than the heater 4, that is, on the upstream side, the electric motor 51 can be cooled by the airflow generated by the air blower 3.

[0033] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 10 to 14. In the following description, up / down and front / rear will be defined with reference to Figs. 10 and 11. That is, up / down in Figs. 10 and 11 corresponds to up / down, the left is the front, and the right is the rear. 61 denotes a hair dryer of the present invention. This hair dryer 61 has a main body 2 made of synthetic resin, an air blower 3, and a heater 4. The main body 2 also has an airflow generating unit 5, an airflow heating unit 6, and a handle 7, which are integrally formed.

[0034] Intake sections 8 are formed on the left and right sides of the airflow generating section 5, and the blower device 3 is provided near these intake sections 8 and inside the airflow generating section 5. The blower device 3 is configured to include an electric motor 9, a fan 10 rotated by the electric motor 9, and an air guide frame 11 provided to surround the fan 10. In this embodiment, the fan 10 is a sirocco fan, but it may also be an axial fan.

[0035] The airflow heating unit 6 is cylindrically configured, integral with the airflow generating unit 5, and has an exhaust unit 12 at its front end. The airflow heating unit 6 is connected to the airflow generating unit 5. That is, the airflow flowing in from the intake unit 8 can be exhausted from the exhaust unit 12. A cylindrical air guide outer tube 13, open at both the front and rear ends, is provided inside the airflow heating unit 6. An air guide inner tube 74 is provided coaxially with the air guide outer tube 13 within the air guide outer tube 13. A substantially cylindrical air flow path 75 is formed between the air guide outer tube 13 and the air guide inner tube 74, and the heater 4 is provided in this air flow path 75. The central axis of the air guide outer tube 13 and the air guide inner tube 74, i.e., the central axis of the air flow path 75, is X. The air guide inner tube 74 is open on the side facing the air blower 3. A gap is formed between the side of the inner air guide tube 74 opposite to the air blowing device 3 and a shielding member 80, which will be described later. The inner air guide tube 74 is made of a heat-resistant material. It is preferable that this material has heat insulating properties.

[0036] The grip portion 7 is rod-shaped and is integrated with the airflow generating portion 5 below the airflow generating portion 5. The grip portion 7 has a main switch operation portion 16 and a changeover switch operation portion 17 on its front side. The main switch operation portion 16 is used to switch between "strong air," "weak air," and "stop." The changeover switch operation portion 17 is used to switch between "hot air" and "cool air." A power cord 18 is drawn out from the lower end of the grip portion 7.

[0037] The exhaust section 12 is circular in front view. The exhaust section 12 includes a nozzle section 79 and a shielding member 80 disposed inside the nozzle section 79. An electric motor 21 is disposed inside the air guide inner tube 74, and a rotation shaft 21A of the electric motor 21 is connected to the center of the shielding member 80. The nozzle section 79 includes a cylindrical tube section 82, the inside of which defines a circular air outlet 85. The air outlet 85 allows the airflow generated by the air blower 3 to pass through. As shown in FIG. 13 , the shielding member 80 is rectangular and inscribed in a virtual circle with a radius R5, and is provided with a guide wall 80A extending axially around the entire circumference. Even a shape without a circular arc can be considered as a shape obtained by cutting a circle with a straight line. A radius R5 of an imaginary circle circumscribing the shielding member 80 is slightly smaller than a radius R6 of the inner surface of the tube portion 82 of the nozzle portion 79, i.e., the air outlet 85. Furthermore, a length L from the center of the shielding member 80 to a long side is approximately equal to the radius of the most downstream portion of the air guide inner tube 74. Therefore, the airflow generated by the blower device 3 is blown out from the portion of the air outlet 85 that is not shielded by the shielding member 80. The nozzle portion 79, the shielding member 80, and the rotary shaft 21A are arranged coaxially with the central axis X as a reference.

[0038] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, a user connects the plug (not shown) at the end of the power cord 18 to an AC power source (not shown). Then, the user grasps the grip 7 and, with "hot air" or "cool air" selected with the selector switch operation unit 17, operates the main switch operation unit 16 to select "strong air" or "weak air." This operation activates the motor 9, causing the fan 10 to rotate. Airflows drawn in from the left and right air intakes 8 are guided by the air guide frame 11 and sent forward into the airflow path 75. Furthermore, a portion of the airflow generated by the rotation of the fan 10 flows inside the air guide inner tube 74. At the same time, if "hot air" is selected with the selector switch operation unit 17, the heater 4 of the airflow heating unit 6 is energized and generates heat. As the airflow passes through the airflow path 75, it receives heat from the heater 4 and becomes hot air. At the same time, power is supplied to the electric motor 21, causing the rotating shaft 21A to rotate. This rotates the shielding member 80. As shown in FIG. 14, the shielding member 80 rotates clockwise when viewed from the front, but counterclockwise rotation is also acceptable. The rotation speed of the shielding member 80 is 60 to 180 rpm, preferably approximately 120 rpm. The air guide inner tube 74 is provided between the electric motor 21 and the heater 4, so that the heat directed from the heater 4 to the electric motor 21 is blocked by the air guide inner tube 74. The side of the air guide inner tube 74 facing the air blower 3 is open, forming a gap between the side of the air guide inner tube 74 facing away from the air blower 3 and the shielding member 80. Therefore, a portion of the airflow generated by the air blower 3 passes through the inside of the air guide inner tube 74, cools the electric motor 21, and is then released to the outside through the gap and the air outlet 85.

[0039] 14(a) shows a state in which guide wall 80A of shielding member 80 is horizontal or vertical within air outlet 85. Therefore, the airflow passing through airflow path 75 passes through large arc-shaped outlet holes 85A and 85B formed at the top and bottom of air outlet 85 and small arc-shaped outlet holes 85C and 85D formed at the left and right. Because outlet holes 85A and 85B are larger than outlet holes 85C and 85D, most of the airflow is blown out from outlet holes 85A and 85B, and only a small amount of airflow is blown out from outlet holes 85C and 85D. Furthermore, the airflow flow rate is extremely low between outlet holes 85A and 85C, between outlet holes 85C and 85B, between outlet holes 85B and 85D, and between outlet holes 85D and 85A. As the shielding member 80 rotates, the outlet holes 85A-85D through which the airflow passes change. For example, Figure 14(b) shows a state after a clockwise rotation of π / 6 from the state shown in Figure 14(a). In this state, the outlet holes 85A-85D are located at positions rotated clockwise by π / 6 from the state shown in Figure 14(a). Therefore, when the exhaust unit 12 is directed toward hair, there are areas where a large amount of airflow passes, areas where a small amount of airflow passes, and areas where almost no airflow passes. This uneven airflow moves in a circular pattern periodically, causing the hair to move widely and then little. As a result, the hair is moderately disturbed by the airflow, and the airflow reaches the roots of the hair, allowing the hair to be dried well.

[0040] As mentioned above, the rotation speed of the shielding member 80 is 60 to 180 rpm, preferably about 120 rpm. If this rotation speed is too high, it is difficult to substantially generate uniform airflow, which may disturb the hair and weaken the effect of delivering warm air to the roots of the hair. More specifically, in the hair dryer 61 using the nozzle unit 79 and shielding member 80 described above, the airflow directly hits more of the hair facing the outlet holes 85A and 85B of the air outlet 85, exerting a force that presses the hair against the scalp. On the other hand, the airflow directly hits less of the hair facing the outlet holes 85C and 85D, but the airflow blowing out from the outlet holes 85A and 85B is greater, so the airflow flows along the scalp, exerting a force that lifts the hair away from the scalp. Furthermore, because there is almost no airflow between the outlet holes 85A-85D, the hair facing these areas is hardly hit directly by the airflow. Instead, the airflow blown out from the outlet holes 85A and 85B flows along the scalp, exerting a force that lifts the hair away from the scalp. If the rotation speed of the shielding member 80 is too high, the airflow will soon hit the hair in areas that are not directly hit by the airflow, causing the entire hair in the area facing the nozzle portion 79 to be pressed against the scalp. Conversely, if the rotation speed of the shielding member 80 is too low, the hair is continuously pressed against the scalp by the airflow for a long time, making it difficult to adequately ruffle the hair. As a result, if the rotation speed of the shielding member 80 is too high or too low, it is difficult to achieve the effect of adequately ruffle the hair with the airflow and directing the airflow at the roots of the hair for satisfactory drying.

[0041] As described above, the present invention provides a hair dryer 61 having a main body 2 with an intake section 8 and an exhaust section 12, an air blower 3 provided in the main body 2 near the intake section 8, and a heater 4 provided in the main body 2 downstream of the air blower 3, in which a nozzle section 79 provided in the exhaust section 12 has a circular air outlet 85, and a shielding member 80 that shields part of the air outlet 85 and has a rectangular shape formed by cutting out a part of the circle, and an electric motor 21 that rotates the shielding member 80. After being heated by the heater 4, hair is dried by the airflow that passes between the air outlet 85 and the shielding member 80, and as the shielding member 80 is rotated by the electric motor 21, parts through which a large amount of air passes, parts through which a small amount of air passes, and parts through which almost no air passes move in a circular pattern, causing periodic unevenness in the airflow and moderately disturbing the hair, allowing the hot air to reach the roots of the hair and dry the hair well.

[0042] Furthermore, the air outlet 85 is formed in a circular shape, the air flow path 75 in which the heater 4 is built is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the electric motor 21 is provided inside the air guide inner tube 74 which forms this cylindrical air flow path 75, thereby preventing the electric motor 21 from being directly heated by the heater 4.

[0043] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, the first and second embodiments have a structure in which the plate-shaped shielding member 20 rotates on the upstream side of the inner cylindrical portion 23 of the nozzle portion 19, but as in the third embodiment, the shielding member may be provided in an exposed, rotatable state. Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the shielding member has a shape in which a portion of the periphery of an object that is circular in front view is cut out, but the shielding member may have a shape in which a hole through which airflow can pass is formed while leaving the circular periphery intact. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1,31,61 Hair dryer 2 Main unit 3. Blower 4 heater 8. Intake section 12 Exhaust section 13 Air guide outer tube 14,44,74 Air guide inner tube 15,45,75 Air flow path 19,79 Nozzle section 20,80 Shielding member 21,51 Electric motor 25,85 Air outlet

Claims

1. A hair dryer having a main body having an air intake section and an air exhaust section, a blowing means provided in the main body near the air intake section, and an airflow heating means provided in the main body downstream of the air blowing means, a shielding member that covers a portion of the air outlet and is formed in a shape with a portion of the circle cut out; and an electric motor that rotates the shielding member.

2. 2. The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet is formed in an annular shape, the air flow path incorporating the airflow heating means is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the electric motor is provided inside this cylindrical air flow path.

3. 2. The hair dryer according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor is provided upstream of the airflow heating means.

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