HAND HELD APPLIANCE

• US 20130269201A1
• Filed: 03/29/2013
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited (Beeswax Holdings UK Limited)
• Original Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited (Beeswax Holdings UK Limited)
• Inventors: COURTNEY, Stephen Benjamin, GAMMACK, Peter David, MOLONEY, Patrick Joseph William
• Granted Patent: US 9,282,800 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 34/97
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 20/04 Hot-air producers A45D20/20, A45D20/22 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 20/10 Hand-held drying devices, e.g. air douches
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 20/12 Details thereof or accessories therefor, e.g. nozzles, stands
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 3/0423 hand-held air guns

Abstract

A hand held appliance, such as a hairdryer, includes a body having a fluid inlet for admitting fluid into the appliance, a fluid outlet, a duct lined with a material, and a primary fluid flow path extending from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet and through the duct. The material may be a foam or a felt and is a sound absorbing material, a vibration absorbing material, is an insulator, is tuned to resonant frequencies of the appliance. The primary fluid flow path may be non-linear. The duct may have a non-circular cross-section and may comprise a handle portion of the appliance, and the handle portion of the duct is lined with said material. A fan unit may be provided located upstream of the handle portion. The duct may comprise a first handle portion and a second handle portion of the appliance.

Claims

1. A hairdryer comprising a body, a fan unit and a duct for conveying fluid to the body, wherein the duct comprises a fluid inlet located at or near an end of the duct which is remote from the body, and the fan unit is disposed in the duct between the inlet and the body, wherein a portion of the duct is lined with a material and wherein the lined portion of the duct is disposed between the fan assembly and the body.

2. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the lined portion of the duct is disposed between the fluid inlet and the fan assembly.

3. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the material is a foam or a felt.

4. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the material is a sound absorbing material.

5. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the material is a vibration absorbing material.

6. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the material is an insulator.

7. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the material is tuned to resonant frequencies of the hairdryer.

8. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the fan unit is disposed approximately mid way between the inlet and the body.

9. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the duct comprises a handle portion of the hairdryer.

10. The hairdryer of claim 9, wherein the fan unit is upstream of the handle portion.

11. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein a primary fluid flow path extends from the fluid inlet to a fluid outlet.

12. The hairdryer of claim 11, wherein the primary fluid flow path is non-linear.

13. The hairdryer of claim 11, wherein the primary fluid flow path extends at least partially through the body to the fluid outlet.

14. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the duct has a circular cross-section.

15. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein the duct comprises a first handle portion and a second handle portion of the hairdryer, and wherein each handle portion is lined with said material.

16. The hairdryer of claim 15, wherein the fan unit is located within a section of the primary fluid flow path located fluidly between the handle portions of the duct.

17. The hairdryer of claim 1, wherein a heater is provided and the heater is located in the body.

18. The hairdryer of claim 17, wherein the heater is located in the primary fluid flow path.

19. The hairdryer of claim 17, wherein the heater is annular in shape.

20. The hairdryer of claim 17, wherein the heater is tubular in shape.

21. The hairdryer of claim 1, comprising a fluid flow path extending through the body.

22. The hairdryer of claim 21, wherein fluid is drawn through the fluid flow path by fluid emitted from the fluid outlet of the primary fluid flow path.

23. The hairdryer of claim 21, wherein that the fluid flow path passes linearly through the body.

24. The hairdryer of claim 23, wherein the fluid flow path is defined by a bore extending through the body.

25. The hairdryer of claim 24, wherein that the bore is an external wall of the body of the hairdryer.

26. The hairdryer of claim 24, wherein the bore at least partially defines the fluid outlet.

27. The hairdryer of claim 24, wherein the bore surrounds the heater.

28. A hand held appliance comprising a body, a fan unit and a duct for conveying fluid to the body, wherein the duct comprises a fluid inlet located at or near an end of the duct which is remote from the body, and the fan unit is disposed in the duct between the inlet and the body, wherein a portion of the duct is lined with a material wherein the lined portion of the duct is disposed between the fan assembly and the body.