U.S. patent number 3,717,936 [Application Number 05/119,315] was granted by the patent office on 1973-02-27 for rigid hair dryer hood.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sperry Rand Corporation. Invention is credited to Zoran Kovacic, Robert J. Tolmie.
United States Patent |
3,717,936 |
Tolmie , et al. |
February 27, 1973 |
RIGID HAIR DRYER HOOD
Abstract
A rigid hair dryer hood is mounted to a conventional base
containing means for supplying pressurized hot air to the hood
through a generally vertical duct on which the hood is mounted. The
hood has a generally circular opening at the center of the top
thereof allowing the escape of hot moist air. Hot air is directed
up the duct to a lower ring of vent holes located around the rear
base of the hood just above the neck level approximately from ear
to ear. A second ring of holes above ear level are substantially
equally spaced around the back of the hood from approximately
temple to temple. The first and second ring of air holes direct the
air upwardly toward the head at approximately 45.degree. to the
vertical. A rectangular array of air holes are located above the
second ring and direct air substantially normally to the back
contour of the head. An air directing bridge is provided extending
from this array upwardly and across the opening in the top of the
hood. Air holes therein direct hot air substantially normally
across the midportion of the top of the head. A third ring of air
holes direct air vertically along the inside of the front of the
hood just above the forehead from substantially temple to
temple.
Inventors: |
Tolmie; Robert J. (Fairfield,
CT), Kovacic; Zoran (Bridgeport, CT) |
Assignee: |
Sperry Rand Corporation (New
York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
22383734 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/119,315 |
Filed: |
February 26, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
34/99; 34/96;
D28/17; 34/98 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45D
20/44 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A45D
20/44 (20060101); A45D 20/00 (20060101); A45d
020/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;34/96-100 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Sprague; Kenneth W.
Assistant Examiner: Yeung; James C.
Claims
Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is:
1. A hair dryer hood comprising:
A. a substantially dome-shaped outer shell having a skirt-like
extension along the side and rear lower portions thereof such that
when mounted in vertical orientation over the head of a user the
back and sides of the hair of the user are enveloped but not the
forehead, face and eyes; the outer shell having an opening in the
upper portion thereof and having an inwardly directed lip about the
opening for directing air from the upper portion downwardly at the
top of the head of the user;
B. an air duct structure mounted in the lower portion of said outer
shell having holes therein for directing air at the lower portions
of the sides and back of the head of the user;
C. an extension on said duct structure having holes therein for
directing air substantially at the upper portions of the back of
the head of a user above said lower ring; and
D. an air-directing chute mounted in the upper portion of said
outer shell and extending over the top of the head of the user for
directing air downwardly at the top of the head of the user beneath
the opening in the upper portion of the outer shell.
2. A hair dryer hood as defined in claim 1, wherein said opening is
substantially circular in cross section and said chute is adapted
to direct hot air downwardly at the top of the head substantially
along the midline of the head from front to back of said
opening.
3. A hair dryer hood as defined in claim 1, wherein said lip
comprises an annular inwardly directed lip about said opening and
said outer shell includes means for directing air upwardly along
the inner wall of said shell for redirection by said annular lip
against the top of the head of the user.
4. A hair dryer hood as defined in claim 1, wherein said duct
structure is adapted for directing air upwardly and at the hair of
a user at an angle of substantially 45.degree. to the vertical.
5. The hair dryer hood defined in claim 1, wherein the surface of
said depending lip toward the inner surface of said shell forms an
angle of substantially 7.degree. with the vertical.
6. A hair dryer hood as defined in claim 3, wherein said last named
means comprises a channel having air holes for directing air
against and along the inner surface of said outer shell so that the
air flow attaches itself thereto for direction to and against said
depending annular lip.
7. The hair dryer hood defined in claim 6, wherein the surface of
said depending lip toward the inner surface of said shell forms an
angle of substantially 7.degree. with the vertical.
8. A hair dryer hood as defined in claim 1, wherein said holes are
adapted for directing air substantially normally to the rear
surface of the head of a user.
9. The hair dryer hood defined in claim 1, wherein said opening in
the upper portion of the outer shell includes an opening at the top
thereof on either side of said air-directing chute.
10. The hair dryer hood defined in claim 1, wherein said lip
extends about said openings and said duct structure includes means
for directing air upwardly along the inside of said outer shell to
be directed at the top of the head of the user.
11. The hair dryer hood defined in claim 1, wherein said air duct
structure comprises a first array of air holes about the lowermost
portion thereof around the back of the head of a user substantially
from ear to ear and a second array of air holes above said first
array and above the ears of a user and extending around the back of
the head of a user substantially from temple to temple.
12. The hair dryer hood defined in claim 11, wherein said first and
second array of air holes direct the air upwardly at substantially
45.degree. to the vertical.
Description
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to portable hair dryers and more
particularly to rigid hoods for portable hair dryers. Rigid hoods
of this type according to the prior art, usually are totally
enclosed and are provided with more or less equally spaced hot air
vent holes inside the hood which direct hot air substantially
straight at the head of the wearer. As the hair dries, hot moist
air is allowed to exit around the lower rim of the hood. This hot
moist air exiting about the ears, neck, face and shoulders makes
many users very uncomfortable. The hot air directed at the temples,
forehead, ears, and other exposed areas of the head of the user
tends to create hot spots on the head and is most uncomfortable.
Such prior art hoods provide uneven drying in that the hair dries
rapidly underneath the directly applied jets of hot air but quite
slowly at other places. As a result of the discomfort suffered
while using such prior art hair dryers, the users tend to decrease
the hot air temperature to that which greatly increases the drying
time. Some women even find these dryers too uncomfortable to use.
Furthermore, the confined moist air within the hood also tends to
increase drying time.
Prior art hair dryers have been devised in which there is a vent
opening at the top of the hood to allow the escape of hot moist air
thus reducing the discomfort of the wearer. However, such hair
dryers have not been utilized very much due to the fact that the
drying time is greatly increased over the area under the vent
opening.
The comfort of the user can be greatly increased by providing a
vent opening at the top of a rigid hood, and by unequally
distributing the hot air directing vent holes in the hood such that
those areas of the head on which the major portion of the hair is
disposed in a hair styling operation receive the most hot air.
These features also reduce hair drying time from that hithertofore
required. The velocity of the air directed against the hair should
be kept within a certain velocity range in order to obtain maximum
hair drying speed with minimum discomfort. In many areas the air
should not be directed directly at the head of the user, but at an
angle in order that more of the hair will intercept the high
velocity air exiting from the air holes and in order to minimize
discomfort (hot spots). We have further found that contrary to what
one might expect, air holes located adjacent to the entry of air
from the chute into the hood must be larger than air holes further
from the entrance in order to achieve the fairly uniform velocities
we desire.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hair dryer
hood providing increased comfort to the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer hood of
the above character providing for even drying of the hair over the
entire head.
A further object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer hood
of the above character which does not create hot spots on the
head.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer hood
of the above character capable of drying hair in a shorter length
of time than hithertofore possible.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer
hood of the above character which substantially eliminates the flow
of hot air over the face, ears, temples, and shoulders of the
user.
A yet further object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer
hood of the above character providing more hot air to the area of
the head where the major portion of hair is, than hithertofore
possible.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer
hood of the above character allowing the escape of hot moist air
upwardly, yet evenly drying the entire head of the user.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer
hood of the above character wherein the velocity of the air
directed at the head is restricted to a narrow range of velocities
about an optimum velocity.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in
part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,
combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be
exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth. The scope of
the invention is indicated in the claims.
THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the
invention, reference should be had to the following detailed
disclosure taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a side view, partially cut away, of a hair dryer
according to the present invention ready for use;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the hair dryer of FIG. 1 showing the hood
and duct thereof in their stored positions;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the base of the hair dryer of FIG. 1 with
the hood removed;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the hood of FIG. 1 taken along
the line 4--4 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the hood of FIG. 1 taken along
the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the hood of FIG. 1 taken along
the line 6--6 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the hood of FIG. 1 taken along
the line of 7--7 of FIG. 5; and
FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the hood of FIG. 1 removed from the
base.
The same reference characters refer to the same elements throughout
the several views of the drawings.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, a hair dryer according to the invention
comprises a base 12, a hood supporting duct 14, and a hood 16, as
seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Duct 14 is hinged to the base 12 at 18 and
to the hood at 20.
The hood 16 is provided with a handle 22 by which it may be grasped
and lifted upwardly and to the right as seen in FIG. 1 or set upon
the base 12 as seen in FIG. 2 to form a closed unit for storage. In
order to keep the unit assembled for storage, a pair of latches 24
are provided on the base and a pair of cooperating pins 26 on the
hood, only one each of which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
It will be noted from FIG. 1 that the hood 16 is recessed at 28
towards the front and extended at 30 toward the rear so that the
hood better conforms to a normal head of hair which is high above
the forehead and low down the back.
Referring to FIG. 3, the base 12 is provided with a conventional
source of pressurized hot air (not shown). Air is drawn in for
drying and for cooling the motor through the grills 32 and 34. A
heat control 36 is provided as is conventional.
Again referring to FIG. 1, the duct 14 comprises a lower portion 38
hinged to the base 12 and an upper portion 40 hinged to the hood
16. The upper portion 40 fits within the lower portion 38 and is
held at various positions by means of a spring 42. The duct 14 is
substantially square in cross section (see FIG. 3). The lowermost
position of the hood 16 is defined by the engagement of a stop 44
with the upper rim 46 of the lower portion 38 of the duct 14.
According to the invention, the hood 16 is provided with a
generally round-shaped opening 48 which as best seen in FIG. 8
comprises two partial circle portions 50 and 52.
Pressurized hot air is directed up the chute 14 and as best seen in
FIGS. 4 and 5 is then conducted between the outer shell 54 of the
hood 16 and an inner channel wall structure generally indicated at
56. A lowermost array of holes are provided in a conical ring 58 of
wall structure 56 which directs the hot air as shown in FIGS. 4, 5
and 6 at an approximately 45.degree. angle to the vertical towards
the lowermost portion of the hair at the back of the head behind
the ears. A second conical ring 60 has an array of holes, also
directing the heated hot air at an angle of 45.degree. to the
vertical from temple to temple around the back of the head. A
generally rectangular inner back wall portion 62 has an array of
holes directing the air normally towards the head at the back
portion of the head where the hair is thickest.
Referring to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 8, a bridge-like chute, generally
indicated at 64, extends upwardly from inner wall portion 62 across
the opening 48. Bridge 64 is provided with an array of holes
directed downwardly, generally normal to the top of the head across
the mid-portion of the head, where a large number of curlers are
often placed.
A third ring-like array of holes 124, best seen in FIGS. 4 and 7,
is provided in inner wall portion 66. Here the air is directed
vertically upwardly closely adjacent to the inner side of the outer
shell 54 to which the air flow attaches itself. The air is thus
directed to and against a downwardly depending annular lip 68 where
the air is diverted downwardly and turbulently against the portion
of the head beneath the openings 50 and 52.
More particularly, referring to FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the chute 14 is
hinged to the hood 16 at 20, preferably by means of a polypropelene
plastic piece 70 affixed between the chute 14 and ring portion 60
by means of rivets and/or eyelets 72. Thus, the plastic hinge 70
may be bent as shown in FIG. 5 when the dryer is in use or as shown
in FIG. 2 when the dryer is stored. Hinge 20 between chute 14 and
base 12, best seen in FIG. 3, is similarly formed from a plastic
piece 74 and is riveted to the base 12 and to the lower portion 38
of the chute 14 by means of rivets 76.
The hood 16 is formed of several pieces of molded plastic material
such as polystyrene or the like, the number of molded pieces
employed depending upon the relative cost of manufacturing the
pieces in the quantities desired. As seen in FIG. 6, the top of
chute 14 is open at three sides and when in use the upper edge 78
thereof engages the lower rim 80 of the hood 16 as seen in FIG. 5.
The hood is held in the position shown in FIG. 5 by means of a pair
of metal latches 83, which may be unlatched by means of a pair of
latch push buttons 81 (FIG. 1).
As previously stated, the outer shell 54 of the hood 16 is
generally cylindrical in horizontal cross section and preferably
formed of one piece of plastic material. Referring to FIGS. 4, 5
and 6, the outer shell 54 terminates at a lower annular ring 82.
The portion 84 extending below ring 82 is formed preferably of a
single piece of plastic material. Another piece of plastic material
86 fits inside the shell 54 and provides rings 58, 60 and 66. The
back piece 62 is also formed of a single piece of plastic material
and has a depending edge 88 forming a closed cavity 90 (FIG.
5).
Now referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the top 92 of the bridge 64 is
preferably formed integral with the shell 54 and is provided with
parallel downwardly depending sides 94 and 96. The bridge is closed
into an airtight channel 97 by another lower bridge piece 98. Piece
98 is provided with a plurality of strengthening ribs 100 along the
lower edge thereof, which are in engagement with back portion
62.
Inner portion 86, as best seen in FIG. 7, is provided with a
plurality of strengthening ribs 102 forming openings 104 therein
for the passage of air from the ring-like channel 105 to the
channel 90 behind the back portion 62.
As best seen in FIG. 6, the underside 98 of the bridge 64 and the
handle 22 are attached to the portion 92 by means of a pair of
bolts 106 and 108. The remaining elements of the hood 84, 86 and 62
are glued together when assembled.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 7, contrary to what one might expect,
the openings 110 and 112, 114 and 116, closest to the source of air
from the chute 14 in the lower ring 58, are larger than the more
distant openings 118 and 120, which are substantially the same size
as the openings 122 in the second ring 60.
The reason for this is that the construction provides for rather
high static pressure throughout the entire duct work of the hood.
This allows all of the air openings to be approximately the same
diameter. However, those openings close to the entrance, that is,
close to the chute 14 and not really in line with the air flow in
the chute 14 would not release enough air, due to the change in
direction that the air must undergo to exit from them. Therefore,
they are made larger for the air flow from them to be substantially
the same as the air flow from the more remote holes, such as holes
118 and 120. It will be noted that the inner air holes 110 and 112
are essentially slot-like formations between what would be a set of
equally spaced holes and that holes 114 and 116 are merely
elongated vertically to provide increased air flow.
In use, hot air under rather high static pressure is provided by a
heater and centrifugal impeller (not shown) in the base 12. This
hot air passes up the chute 14 and enters the channel 105 behind
piece 86 (FIG. 5). The air holes 110 through 120 in ring 58 direct
the air towards the back of the neck of the wearer substantially
behind the ears at an angle of 45.degree. to the vertical. The air
therefore engages the hair at substantially the same angle,
increasing the area of the hair, which receives the direct air flow
from the air directing holes 110 through 120. Air is directed from
the second ring 60 through its air holes 122 approximately from
temple to temple, also at a 45.degree. angle upwardly with respect
to the vertical so that again the air stream will be cut by the
surface of the hair to provide a greater area receiving the direct
air flow.
Referring to FIG. 7, air passes through the channels 104 behind
back portion 62 and is directed normally towards the back of the
head through air holes 126. Air from the channel 90 behind back
portion 62 passes into the bridge 92 and is directed downwardly
from the bridge 92 by the bridge air holes 128 substantially
directly at the center midline area of the top of the head from
back to front, where, in many hair styles, much hair will be placed
on curlers. The hot moist air will exit through portions 50 and 52
of the top opening 48. Air will be directed upwardly from the air
holes 124 in the upper ring 66 (FIG. 7). This air will attach
itself to the inner surface of the outer shell 54 (FIG. 4) until it
is redirected by engagement with the annular portions 68 downwardly
against the portions of the head under the open portions 50 and
52.
As shown in FIG. 4, the annular lip portion 68 forms an angle of
7.degree. with the vertical as this produces the best flow of hot
air down against the hair under openings 50 and 52. Fairly good
results may be obtained over a range of .+-. 5.degree. .
In order to best show the relationship of the various elements of
the invention, the drawings herein are drawn to scale, that is, the
sizes and shapes of the various elements are in proportion. A
home-type hair dryer, according to the invention, would have a hood
having a ring 82 (FIG. 5) approximately 13.3 inches in diameter.
Chute 14 in this embodiment of the invention has a cross sectional
area of approximately 4.5 square inches, and the pressurized hot
air therein preferably has a static pressure of approximately 0.85
inches of water. Holes 118 and 120 in the lower ring 58 are 0.189
inches in diameter. The circular portion of openings 110 through
116 are 0.189 inches in diameter spaced one inch apart. Holes 122
in the second ring 60 are 0.191 inches in diameter. Holes 124 in
the upper or third ring 66 are 0.166 inches in diameter. Holes 126
in the back plate 62 are 0.191 inches in diameter, and the holes
128 in the bridge 64 are 0.189 inches in diameter.
In the design described, the velocity of the air impinging upon the
hair can be kept within the range of 1,700 to 4,000 feet per
minute. The most desirable velocity is approximately 3,000 feet per
minute. Substantially higher velocities produce a hot spot effect,
that is, the wearer of the hood feels a hot spot under at least
some of the air jets and substantially lower velocities do not dry
the hair fast enough. Actually, the lowest velocity air produced by
the hood disclosed is from the lower ring 58, due to the near right
angle that the air must turn from the chute 14. The highest
velocity is obtained from the back portion 62, 98 of ring 60.
The angle of the air exiting from the first and second rings 58 and
60 should be at the aforesaid 45.degree. . However, good results
can be obtained within substantially a plus or minus 10.degree.
range. The air from the third ring 66 is directed vertically so
that it will impinge at a very slight nearly tangential angle to
the inner surface of the outer shell 54 and attach itself.
The air is directed normally from the bridge and the back portion
56, since it is directed from these portions at the substantially
thickest, most curler-bearing portions of the hair which require
the most drying.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those
made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently
attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above
construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it
is intended that all matter contained in the above description or
shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended
to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention
herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention
which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall
therebetween.
* * * * *