Abstract
Disclosed is a convenient hair dryer, comprising a body and a holder connected thereto, wherein the holder is configured to be reversibly and fast convertible between a handle configuration and a support configuration. The present disclosure may conveniently achieve the switching of the hair dryer between a hand-held operation mode and a hands-free operation mode, and make the use of the hair dryer more flexible and convenient. In addition, the holder achieves fast and flexible adjustment of the air blowing angle, air blowing direction and air blowing height with simple structures.
Claims
1. A hair dryer, comprising a body and a holder connected thereto, wherein the holder is configured to be convertible between a handle configuration and a support configuration via its own metamorphosis in shape, the holder is connected to the body via a magnetic coupling, the body includes in linear a front operational tube part and a rear tube part, the front operational tube part is configured to perform a blowing operation and has an air inlet formed at its rear end, the rear tube part has an air-incoming chamber formed therein and also designed to receive a power supply line for powering the front operational tube part, the air-incoming chamber is in air communication with the air inlet of the front operational tube part, the front operational tube part has a section which is substantially consistent with that of the rear tube part, and the rear tube part is further designed to receive the detached holder therein.
2. The hair dryer of claim 1, wherein the holder has an end connected to the body and an opposite free end which is configured to be expandable so as to enlarge its support footprint(s).
3. The hair dryer of claim 2, wherein the holder includes at least one wing encircling its free end so that the holder acts as the handle when the wings do not flare out and acts as the support when the wings flare out.
4. The hair dryer of claim 3, wherein distal ends of the at least one wing are disposed with a friction pad respectively.
5. The hair dryer of claim 1, wherein the holder is telescopic in its longitudinal direction.
6.-8. (canceled)
9. The hair dryer of claim 1, wherein the coupling consists of an iron ball disposed on one of the body and the holder and a socket including a ring magnet disposed on the other of the body and the holder for magnetically receiving the iron ball therein.
10.-19. (canceled)
20. The hair dryer of claim 1, wherein the rear tube part is detachably connected to the front operational tube part.
21. The hair dryer of claim 1, wherein said single tube configuration is a cylinder configuration.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0032] FIGS. 1-3 respectively illustrate a hair dryer according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0033] FIGS. 4-6 respectively illustrate a hair dryer according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0034] FIGS. 7-8 illustrate a hair dryer according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0035] FIG. 9 illustrates a partially enlarged schematic view of a friction ball mechanism of the hair dryer according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0036] FIGS. 10-12 illustrate a hair dryer according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0037] FIG. 13 illustrates a hair dryer according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0038] FIG. 14 illustrates a hair dryer according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0039] The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the figures. Those skilled in the art should understand that the following example embodiments are only used to illustrate, not limit the present disclosure.
[0040] FIGS. 1-3 respectively illustrate a hair dryer according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, generally including a body 10 and a holder 20 connected thereto. The body 10 is provided with a switch 11, an external power supply line 12, an air outlet 13, an air inlet 14, a heating element and a motor (not specifically shown), and the like.
[0041] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a hand-held state of the hair dryer according to the first embodiment, wherein the holder 20 is contracted or folded into a rod shape to facilitate the gripping operation by a hand.
[0042] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a hands-free state of the hair dryer according to the first embodiment, wherein the holder 20 is unfolded or flared out as a fixing support so that the hair dray is fixed on a table surface for hands-free blowing operation.
[0043] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a hands-free state of the hair dryer according to the first embodiment, wherein the holder 20 is unfolded or flared out as a fixing support as shown in FIG. 2, and additionally extends in its longitudinal direction to raise the air blowing position.
[0044] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the holder 20 is connected to a side of the body 10 via a hinge 21, pivotable in a vertical plane (illustrated paper surface). The hinge 21 may be such a hinge that can be positioned at any pivot angle, i.e., the hinge can be arbitrarily manually pivoted and stay at a current pivot position. Alternatively, the hinge 21 may be a multi-stage positioning hinge that can be manually pivoted and positioned at different set angles. The holder 20 includes a shaft 22, a hinge seat 23 at an upper end (a connecting end) of the shaft, and three flarable wings 24 located at a lower portion of the shaft. Distal ends of the wings 24 form support legs, and proximal ends of the wings 24 are connected to the shaft 22. When the wings 24 flare, the distal ends thereof may also flush with a lower end of the shaft 22 in the same plane to facilitate firm support on an appropriate table surface. For stable support on the table surface, the distal ends of the wings 24 are provided with friction pads 240, and the lower end of the shaft 22 is also provided with a suction cup or friction pad 220, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The air blowing angle (an angle between the air blowing direction and the shaft 22) can be adjusted very conveniently by the above pivotal connection. In addition, the hinge seat 23 is rotatably mounted relative to the shaft 22 to facilitate adjusting of the air blowing direction. The hinge seat 23 may be manually rotated relative to the shaft 22 and stay or be fixed at any current orientation, or may be fixed at different set orientations.
[0045] In an “open-umbrella” embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the distal ends or flarable ends of the wings are disposed at a free end (lower end of the shaft 22) of the holder 20 and can flare outwardly 0-90° therefrom (“forwardly open” mode). However, it is also possible to dispose the proximal ends or connecting and fixing ends of the wings 24 at the free end of the holder 20 so that the distal ends of the wings 24 can flare outwardly 90-180° towards the free end of the holder 20 (“reversely open” mode). As compared with the “reversely open” mode structure, the “forwardly open” mode structure is simpler and more convenient to operate; however, the “reversely open” mode structure can enable the holder to extend longer or higher (within a range approximate to the length of the wings) so that adjustment of the air blowing height can still be conveniently achieved in a case that a telescopic sleeve described below is dispensed with.
[0046] As clearly shown in FIG. 3, a body portion of the shaft 22 is formed by a multi-stage (e.g., two to five stages) telescopic sleeve 25 so that the shaft 22 can be extended or retracted to adjust the air blowing height. The telescopic sleeve 25 may be designed in a way that the telescopic length thereof can be manually adjusted and retained or fixed at any length position. Alternatively, the telescopic sleeve 25 may be designed as a multi-stage positioning sleeve so that it can stay or be fixed at set length positions.
[0047] FIGS. 4-6 respectively illustrate a hair dryer according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, which is generally similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, wherein the holder in FIG. 4 is shown in a sectional manner with the same reference numbers denoting the same parts; the difference lies in that the holder 20 in this embodiment is connected to the body of the hair dryer via a magnetic coupling, in place of the rotatable hinge seat structure in the first embodiment. As more clearly shown in FIG. 4, the magnetic coupling comprises a socket 16 disposed on the body 10 and an iron ball disposed in the holder 20, wherein a ring magnet 17 is disposed in the socket 16. The iron ball 26 and the magnet 17 in the socket 16 mate with each other by attraction, such that the holder 20 can rotate arbitrarily and be fast detachably connected to the body 10 of the hair dryer.
[0048] FIGS. 7-8 illustrate a hair dryer according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. The configuration of the present embodiment is also different from that of the second embodiment, besides a different movable connection of the holder 20 with the body 10. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the holder 20 extends out of the body 10 of the hair dryer 10. It can be seen that the holder 20 is connected to the body 10 of the hair dryer via a friction ball mechanism. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, in a retracted state, the body 10 and the holder 20 as a whole form a continuous cylinder shape.
[0049] As more clearly shown in FIG. 9, the friction ball mechanism comprises a receptacle 16a disposed on the body 10, and a metal rotatable ball 26a disposed at an upper end of the holder 20. The rotatable ball 26a may be connected together with the holder 20 via a threaded structure. A friction pad 17a is disposed in the receptacle 16a. Through tight fitting of the rotatable ball 26a and the friction pad 17a in the receptacle 16a, the holder 20, under action of an external force against the friction force, can rotate in any direction and stay at a current position when the external force is removed. The receptacle 16a and the rotatable ball 26a are sized in a way that the rotatable ball 26a can only rotate in the receptacle 16a without disengaging from the receptacle 16a.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 8, the body 10 of the hair dryer includes in linear a front operational tube part 101 and a rear tube part 102, wherein the front operational tube part 101 is configured to perform a blowing operation and has an air inlet (not shown) formed at its rear end, and the rear tube part has an air-incoming chamber 103 formed therein for receiving a power supply line 12 for powering the front operational tube part 101. The air-incoming chamber is in air communication with the air inlet of the front operational tube part 101. The front operational tube part 101 has a complete cylindrical section, and the rear tube part 102 has an incomplete cylindrical section (a sector) relative to the front operational tube part 101. The section of the holder 20 is complementary with the cylindrical section of the rear tube part 102 so as to form a substantially complete cylindrical section (a circular section) corresponding to that of the front operational tube part 101 when the holder 20 is completely contracted and retracted towards the rear tube part 102.
[0051] FIG. 8 further shows a cover 18. After the power supply line 12 is received in the chamber 103 of the rear tube part 102, the cover 18 is used to cover a rear end of the rear tube part 102. Certainly, the cover 18 may also be designed to completely cover the rear end of the hair dryer.
[0052] FIGS. 10-12 illustrate a hair dryer according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the connection between the holder 20 and the body 10 is a separable or detachable connection in the form of a magnetic coupling of the second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4-6. In addition, the whole hair dryer of this embodiment looks like a perfect cylinder when the detached holder 20, like the power supply line, is received in the chamber 103 of the body 10 and covered by the cover 18 (FIGS. 11 and 12).
[0053] FIG. 13 illustrates a hair dryer according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. The hair dryer in the present embodiment is similar to that of the fourth embodiment in structure and different in that the front operational tube part 101 is not integrally formed with the rear tube part 102 but connected thereto detachably or removably by means of screw or snap-fit connection. Such a configuration can bring such an advantage: the hair dryer will become light and handy when in use by removal of the rear tube part 102.
[0054] FIG. 14 illustrates a hair dryer according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. The hair dryer in the present embodiment is similar to that of the third or fourth embodiment in structure and different in omitting the rear tube part 102 (thereby making the whole hair dryer shorter), and meanwhile enabling the holder 20 to flip forward (towards the air outlet 13) relative to the body 10 and enabling the whole hair dryer to form a single continuous cylindrical configuration.
[0055] Those skilled in the art should appreciate that features of the above embodiments may be combined mutually, for example, the hair dryers of the first and second embodiment may also employ the single cylindrical configuration of the third or fourth or fifth or sixth embodiment.
