Nail dryer

An impeller an axis passing through a void and blades extending from the void. A housing: has a planar terminus defined by the housing; is rotatably mounted to the impeller such that, when the housing is positioned with the terminus horizontal and defining the housing bottom, the axis extends vertically and the impeller is above the terminus. The housing has a tubular sidewall: through which the axis extends and in which the impeller is positioned; shaped and dimensioned such that a gap is defined between the sidewall and a notional plane aligned with the terminus to direct air flow ejected from the impeller through the gap. The housing further has a screen occluding the sidewall end distal to the terminus, adapted to allow throughpassage of air and to restrict throughpassage of fingers and such that the screen has a portion that lies in the void. A motor rotates the impeller.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of nail dryers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the manicure industry, nail dryers are widely used. It is desirable for a nail dryer to be relatively quiet, to be relatively efficient to run in terms of power costs and to dry nails relatively quickly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A nail dryer forms one aspect of the invention. The nail dryer comprises: a squirrel cage impeller, a housing and a motor.

The impeller has a central void, an axis passing through the central void and a plurality of blades extending outwardly from the central void.

The housing: has a planar terminus defined by three or more portions of the housing; and has the impeller operatively rotatably mounted thereto such that, when the housing is positioned with the terminus horizontal and defining the bottom of the housing, the axis extends vertically and the impeller is above the terminus.

The housing further has a tubular sidewall:through which the axis extends and in which the impeller is positioned in spaced-apart relation;being shaped and dimensioned such that a gap is defined between the sidewall and a notional plane aligned with the terminus; andbeing further shaped and dimensioned to direct air flow ejected from the impeller through the gap.

The housing further has a screen occluding the end of the sidewall distal to the terminus, the screen being adapted to allow the throughpassage of air and to restrict the throughpassage of fingers.

The housing is shaped and dimensioned such that the screen has a portion that lies in the central void of the impeller.

The motor is for rotating the impeller.

According to another aspect of the invention, the end of the sidewall distal to the terminus can extend beyond the impeller.

According to another aspect of the invention, the motor can be positioned axially displaced from the impeller such that, when the housing is positioned with the terminus horizontal and defining the bottom of the housing, the motor is beneath the impeller.

According to another aspect of the invention, the sidewall can have a concave interior surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, the screen can be a round dish having a concave exterior surface and a concave interior surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, the impeller can have forward-curved blades. According to another aspect of the invention, the impeller can have a closed base.

Advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention will become evident upon review of the detailed description that follows and the accompanying drawings, the latter being briefly described hereafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

The exemplary nail dryer20shown inFIGS. 1-8will be seen to include an impeller22, a housing24and a motor26.

The impeller22is of the squirrel cage type and thus has a central void28, an axis X-X passing through the central void28and a plurality of blades30extending outwardly from the central void28. The blades30are curved and are connected to one another by an annular disc32that forms a base of the impeller22.

The housing24has a base34, a sidewall36and a screen38.

The base34has a central socket40, an annular screen42surrounding the socket40and four feet44extending from the screen42. The feet44collectively define a planar terminus of the housing, that is, the ends of the feet44lie in a common plane and all of the housing24lies on the same side of that plane. Plane T-T shown inFIG. 4shows such a plane. The base34is positioned relative to impeller22such that, as shown inFIG. 8, with the terminus44,44,44,44of the housing24orientated to lie in the horizontal plane and defining the bottom of the housing24, the impeller22is above the terminus44,44,44,44and the axis X-X extends vertically.

The sidewall36: is tubular; has a concave interior surface46and a convex exterior surface48; is positioned such that the axis X-X extends therethrough; has ends36A,36B spaced-apart from one another along the axis X-X; is further positioned such that the impeller22is positioned therein, in spaced-apart relation; and is positioned, shaped and dimensioned:such that a gap50is defined between the end36B of the sidewall34proximal to the terminus44,44,44,44and a notional plane aligned with the terminus44,44,44,44, such as indicated by plane T-T;such that the end36A of the sidewall36distal to the terminus44,44,44,44extends beyond the impeller22, as shown inFIG. 8; andto direct air flow ejected from the impeller22through the gap50.

The gap50is indicated inFIG. 8and will be understood to be defined in part, in the illustrated embodiment, by arcuate notches in the sidewall, which otherwise extends substantially entirely to the terminus44,44,44,44; the fan is shown in use inFIG. 9and it will be seen that the sidewall36stops just short of the surface upon which the fan rests .

The screen38: is a round dish; has a concave exterior surface52and a convex interior surface54; occludes the end36A of the sidewall36distal to the terminus44,44,44,44; is adapted to allow the throughpassage of air and to restrict the throughpassage of fingers; and has a portion that lies in the central void28of the impeller22, again as shown inFIG. 8.

The motor26is mounted in the central socket40, is axially displaced from and beneath the impeller22and is adapted for rotating the impeller22in a direction such that the blades30are forward-curved.

The exemplary nail fan20has been tested for noise and throughput and has demonstrated substantial utility, producing between 125 and 145 CFM flow through the screen while producing relatively little noise: measured at 12″ and 24″ respectively from the fan, was 70 dba and 68 dba.

The draw of the fan is sufficiently great that a gauze pad58or the like, as shown in the drawings, can be used to support the fingers during drying, to collect nail and skin debris and also to protect the screen against polish.

Without intending to be bound by theory, it is believed that the relatively high draw and low noise may be a function of very smooth flow characteristics. In this regard, the CFD simulation inFIG. 11shows that ingress and egress flows are very uniform and smooth. This uniformity may be a result of the specific geometry of the sidewall36, screen38and impeller22. Accordingly,FIG. 10shows representatives dimensions and radii of curvature.

Whereas but a single embodiment has been herein shown and described, it will be evident that variations are possible. For example, whereas in the exemplary fan, the blades are forward curved, the blades could be straight or could be reverse-curved. As well, the base could have feet greater or lesser in number than four. Further, the screen could be flat bottomed and could bottom out just above the impeller. The size and shape of the fan and its various components could also be varied from the specific embodiment illustrated. Accordingly, the invention should be understood as limited only by the accompanying claims, purposively construed.