HK1111068B - Heating and blowing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Heating and blowing apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a heating and blowing apparatus such as a hair dryer, a heat gun, or the like.

Background

Heating and blowing devices, such as hair dryers, heat blowers, etc., are used to draw air from the air intake and force the air toward the air exhaust by means of a rotating fan. In such an apparatus, a heating unit is disposed on an inside air flow path, and air heated by the heating unit is discharged through an exhaust port.

In the case where the heating and blowing apparatus has the negative ion generator, a bypass flow path allowing air to be discharged to the outside without passing through the heating unit is provided on an air flow path extending from the air inlet to the air outlet. The presence of the bypass is intended to avoid restrictions on the ion throughput, which are caused by the grid-like elements arranged at the exhaust opening. The ionizer is disposed on the bypass path (see, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2002-191426).

Since the high voltage part exists on the ionizer, a safety measure is required to block a finger from contacting the ionizer. Therefore, the housing is generally provided at an ion emission port through which negative ions generated by the negative ion generator are discharged. However, although a bypass flow path for passing ions is provided, the housing made of an insulating material is charged by ions generated in the ionizer, thereby reducing the ion throughput.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a heating and blowing apparatus capable of effectively discharging ions while ensuring safety.

According to the present invention, there is provided a heating and blowing apparatus comprising: a body housing having an air inlet and an air outlet; a rotatably driven fan and heating unit disposed on an air flow path extending from the air inlet to the air outlet; an ion generator including a discharge electrode and an opposite electrode arranged in a bypass flow path that diverges from the air flow path and extends to the ion emission port; and a housing disposed at the ion emission port, having an opening through which ions pass and one or more protrusions provided on a rear surface of the housing, the protrusions being in contact with an opposite electrode closer to the housing than the discharge electrode, wherein the housing is grounded through the opposite electrode.

The heating and blowing apparatus may further include a biasing unit for pressing the ionizer toward the housing protrusion. This structure enables a very stable grounding condition to be obtained.

According to the present invention, the presence of the enclosure ensures safety while making it impossible to charge the enclosure and limit ion discharge, which contributes to discharging a large amount of ions. Further, since the electrical grounding is achieved by using the opposite electrode of the ionizer, it is not necessary to use a separate grounding line.

Drawings

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a main part of a hair dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a front view illustrating a main part of a hair dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a side view showing a main part of a hair dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an air duct and an ionizer of a hair dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a hair dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the following, the invention will be described in terms of embodiments shown in the drawings.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, there is shown a hair dryer of a heating and blowing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a cylindrical body case 3 having an air inlet 11 at a rear end thereof and an air outlet 12 at a front end thereof. The grip 1 is attached to the rear bottom surface of the main body case 3.

The main body case 3 includes a rear air path 3 in which the motor 20 and the fan 21 are provided and a front air path 4 in which the heater 65 is disposed. The front air duct 4 is set in the main body casing 3 in a state where an annular air flow path is provided between the front air duct 4 and the inner circumferential surface of the main body casing 3. The front duct 4 is integrally formed with the rear duct 2.

Most of the wind from the fan moves toward the exhaust port 12 through the front wind tunnel 4, and the remaining wind flows toward the exhaust port 12 through an air flow path formed between the front wind tunnel 4 and the inner circumferential surface of the main body case 3. This will ensure that the cool air surrounding the heater 65 is discharged from the exhaust port 12 in a manner surrounding the hot air from the heater 65, thereby preventing overheating of the user's hair. In the drawings, reference numeral "44" denotes a grill located in front of the front duct 4 to prevent a finger from touching the heater 65.

The ionizer 5 is disposed at an upper portion of the main body housing 3. The ion generator 5 shown in the drawing has an electrostatic atomization function, and includes a needle-shaped discharge electrode 51, an annular opposed electrode 52, a cooler 53 for cooling the discharge electrode 51 formed of a Peltier device to condense moisture in the air into water, and a radiator 54 for dissipating heat generated from the cooler 53. The discharge electrode 51 is connected to a high voltage generator (not shown), and the opposite electrode 52 is grounded.

If the high voltage generator applies a negative high voltage to the discharge electrode 51 cooled by the cooler 53, a discharge occurs between the discharge electrode 51 and the opposite electrode 52. Then, the water condensed on the discharge electrodes 51 exhibits rayleigh distribution and thus becomes negatively charged fine water particles, which are then discharged to the outside from the ion emission port 13 formed at the upper front portion of the main body housing 3. As described, a part of the wind generated by the fan 21 is introduced into the space where the ion generator 5 is located to cool the heat sink 54 and is partially discharged from the ion emission port 13, in which process ions (charged fine water particles) are transported to the outside through the air.

A housing 6 for preventing a finger from entering the inner space is disposed at the ion emission port 13. As shown in fig. 2, the housing 6 made of an insulating material has an opening that allows ions (charged water particles) to pass through. The housing 6 is provided with a plurality of integrally formed protrusions 60 protruding rearward, i.e., toward the ionizer 5. The protrusion 60 is in contact with the front surface of the opposite electrode 52 of the ionizer 5. Therefore, the housing 6 is grounded through the opposite electrode 52.

When the ions (charged water particles) generated by the ionizer 5 are discharged from the ion emission port 13 through the opening, this prevents the housing 6 from being charged, thereby obstructing the emission of the ions.

The opposed electrode 52 is ring-shaped and has a circular opening at its center. A discharge occurs between the discharge electrode 51 and the opposite electrode 52. The plurality of protrusions 60 of the cover 6 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction to contact portions of the opposite electrode 52 near the inner circumferential edge thereof. In addition, the protrusions 60 are formed near the edges of the opening of the housing 6 to further eliminate the charged influence on the ions passing through the opening of the housing 6.

In order to ensure stable contact between the protrusion 60 and the opposite electrode 52, the ionizer 5 is fixed by pressing against the housing 6. That is, as shown in fig. 4, the ionizer 5 is fixed to the outer surface of the front air duct 4 by a mounting plate 55. The mounting plate 55 abuts on the end of each rib 45 formed integrally with the outer surface of the front duct 4, whereby the rearward movement of the mounting plate 55 is restricted by the rib 45. The rib 45 is adapted to press the mounting plate 55 in the forward direction when the housing 6 and the ionizer 5 are assembled. In this way, the ribs 45 and the mounting plate 55 are bent to ensure that the forward biasing force by the opposed electrode 52 acts on the projections 60 of the housing 6, thereby increasing the contact pressure therebetween.

Fig. 5 illustrates a hair dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention. Although the hair dryer of this embodiment is provided with the ionizer 5 including the discharge electrode 51, the opposite electrode 52 and the high voltage generator, there is no electrostatic atomization function. Further, the embodiment is the same as the above embodiment in that the housing 6 is grounded through the opposite electrode 52 by bringing the projection 60 on the rear surface of the housing 6 into contact with the opposite electrode 52.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (6)

1. A heating and blowing apparatus comprising:

a body housing having an air inlet and an air outlet;

a rotatably driven fan and heating unit disposed on an air flow path extending from the air inlet to the air outlet;

an ion generator including a discharge electrode and an opposite electrode arranged in a bypass flow path that diverges from the air flow path and extends to the ion emission port;

and a housing disposed at the ion emission port, having an opening through which ions pass and one or more protrusions provided on a rear surface of the housing, the protrusions being in contact with an opposite electrode closer to the housing than the discharge electrode, wherein the housing is grounded through the opposite electrode.

2. The heating and blowing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a biasing unit for pressing the ionizer toward the protrusion of the housing.

3. The heating and blowing apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the opposite electrode is ring-shaped, and the protrusions of the housing are disposed at equal intervals in a circumferential direction to contact with a portion of the opposite electrode near an inner circumferential edge thereof.

4. The heating and blowing apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the ionizer comprises a cooler for cooling the discharge electrodes on the discharge electrodes to condense moisture in the air into water.

5. A heating and blowing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing is made of an insulating material.

6. A heating and blowing device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cooler is formed by a Peltier device.