Hair dryer

A hair dryer comprising a generally tubular housing including twogenerally semi-cylindrical grip parts having edges including complimentary grooves and projections which engage each other to secure the grip parts together, the housing accommodating a heating device, a motor and an air transport device therein, a first end grid which is mounted over an intake opening on one end of the housing to secure the grip parts to the first grid as well as to each other, and a second end grid mounted over an exhaust opening at the other end of the housing to secure the semi-cylindrical grip parts to the second grid as well as to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
(1) Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to compact, hand held hair dryers. 
(2) Description of the Prior Art 
For drying wet hair, electrical devices are used which intake cool air, 
heat the air and exhaust the air from the dryer to dry hair. There is a 
growing interest in hair dryers which are for use in the home. The hair 
dryer should be compact in order to have utility not only in hairdressers' 
salons, but also, in homes. 
Various types of compact, manually operated hair dryers are known. The best 
known ones are fitted either with a radial or with a tangential air fan or 
blower (see German Offenlegungsschrift No. 26 18 816 or German 
Offenlegungsschrift No. 2 307 992). Neither of these types of air blowers 
are, however, suitable for constructing hair dryers in a rod-shaped or 
tubular form. 
For portable hair drying hoods a rod-shaped heater-blower unit has already 
been proposed. One end of such a unit can be connected to the hood (German 
Offenlegungsschrift No. 1 902 662). This heater-blower unit consists of a 
motor, a plurality of heater coils and an air blower. These elements of 
the unit are arranged successively along the axis of the blower. Here the 
air is intaked by a blower which is disposed at the lower end of the hair 
dryer and which is remote from the drying hood. The air is conveyed over 
the motor and the heater coils. However, this heater-blower unit may only 
be used in conjunction with a drying hood. 
Furthermore, there exists a hair care accessory for domestic hair dryers 
that has a tubular element. One end of this is constructed so that it can 
be connected by a quick-release coupling to the outlet of the hose of the 
hair dryer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,322,144). The other end of this tubular 
element can also be releasably connected to hair-curlers having various 
sizes. However, this hair care accessory cannot be used as a separate 
hand-held hair dryer. 
An approximately rod-shaped manual hair dryer that can be used without 
additional accessories is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,774. This hair 
dryer is designed so that all of its essential parts, that is, the motor, 
fan and the heater unit are arranged so as to be spaced from the grip 
part, whereby a user cannot feel any significant heat on the grip during 
operation. This construction can only achieve an approximately tubular 
shape due to the grouping together of the motor, fan and heater unit. The 
housing at the end which accommodates these parts is substantially larger 
than the other end of the housing. 
In addition, there is a known hand-held hair dryer which has a tubular 
housing (German Offenlegungsscrift No. 24 09 019). However, in this hair 
dryer, the intake opening and the exhaust opening are perpendicular to the 
longitudinal axis of the dryer. 
Finally, there is a known air-heating apparatus for hair treatment which 
includes a tubular housing containing a motor, a fan and screw-shaped 
heating coils (Swiss Patentschrift No. 568 733). The manufacturing costs 
of this air appliance are, however, relatively high. 
An object of the invention is to provide a hair dryer which enables drying 
of the hair to be carried out comfortably, which can be used as an 
accessory for drying hoods and which can be assembled easily. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hair dryer which 
is compact and which has a tubular shape. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a hair dryer comprising a generally tubular 
housing including two generally semi-cylindrican grip parts having edges 
including complimentary grooves and projections which engage each other to 
secure the grip parts together. The tubular housing accommodates a heating 
device, a motor and an air transport device therein and defines an intake 
opening at one end and an exhaust opening at the other end. A first end 
grid which is mounted over the intake opening secures the grip parts to 
the first end grid as well as to each other. A second end grid which is 
mounted over the exhaust opening secures the grip parts to the second grid 
as well as to each other. 
The hair dryer provided is compact and has a generally tubular shape. The 
hair dryer is easy to assemble in that the heating device, the motor and 
the air transport device may be fitted into one semi-cylindrical grip 
part. The other grip part is then engaged with the first grip part to 
provide a tubular housing. The end grids are then placed over the intake 
and exhaust openings and secure the grip parts together without requiring 
the use of screws or other bulky attachment means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In FIG. 1, hair dryer 1 has an outer envelope or housing which comprises 
the following components: semi-cylindrical grip parts 2 and 3, suction 
grid 4 through which cool air is allowed to flow into the interior of hair 
dryer 1 and an exhaust grid 5 through which air heated by hair dryer 1 is 
allowed to flow from the interior of hair dryer 1. In front of exhaust 
grid 5, three-way slider switch 6 is fitted and provides for the control 
of hair dryer 1. Suction grid 4 and exhaust grid 5 include respectively 
air passage ribs 7, 8 and 9, 10. Suction grid 4 is shown in FIG. 1 in 
partly broken-away illustration so that the securement means for securing 
suction grid 4 to grip part 2 is shown. The periphery of suction grid 4 is 
pushed over the perimeter of air swirler 12 which is fitted with barb 13 
which engages web 14. Web 14 is located on the interior of suction grid 4. 
Exhaust grid 5 is also shown partially broken-away and, as can be seen 
grip part 2 includes notch 15 in which barb 16 of exhaust grid 5 engages. 
Referring to FIG. 2, mesh 17 is located adjacent to and behind air passage 
ribs 7 and 8 of suction grid 4 and upstream of air swirler 12. Air swirler 
12 drives the air impeller or fan wheel 19 via shaft 20 and rim 22. Air 
swirler 12 is fitted into the grip part 2 by way of web 21 positioned on 
the exterior of air swirler 12. 
To provide electricity to hair dryer 1, grip parts 2 and 3 are provided 
with aperture 23 through which electric supply cable 24 is introduced. 
Supply cable 24 is sheathed by frustoconical sleeve 25 that includes 
collar 26 which rests in a groove provided by aperture 23. With the aid of 
clamp 27 and fixing screw 28, supply cable 24 can be permanently fixed 
inside hair dryer 1. From supply cable 24, two connecting leads 29 and 30 
lead to connection element 31 which is connected to electric wire-heater 
32 disposed directly adjacent to exhaust grid 5. Conductor plate 34 that 
can be rigidly clamped to the grip part 2 serves to lock the inner 
components of hair dryer 1 in position. 
FIG. 3 shows hair dryer 1 from the rear. Supply cable 24 with sleeve 25 
leads into apertures 23 of pipe 33. Suction grid 4 includes air passage 
ribs 7 and 8 and central disc 11. Suction grid 4 includes three stiffening 
ribs 40 and is connected to the swirler 12 (not shown in FIG. 3) by means 
of barb 13. Directly behind the air passage ribs 7 and 8 and stiffening 
ribs 40 is the mesh 17. 
The partially broken-away view of FIG. 4 shows the front of hair dryer 1. 
Supply cable 24, sleeve 25, and pipe 33 as well as the exhaust grid 5 
including air passage ribs 9 and 10 are all shown. Fastening member 41 and 
conductor plate 34 are also shown. 
FIG. 5 shows in plan view the interior of grip part 3 in detail. The 
boundary edges of grip part 3 include grooves 50 and 51 and protruding 
tongues 52 and 53 which run longitudinally and which intermesh with 
similar grooves and tongues on grip part 2. At about the middle of grip 
part 3, projection 54 extends from the edge almost to the center line of 
grip part 3. Spaced closely next to projection 54 is notched projection 65 
for accommodating conductor plate 34. 
As viewed in FIG. 5, the right-hand end of grip part 3 has recess 55 
bordered by horizontal groove 56 and vertical groove 57. Beneath 
horizontal groove 56 extends projection 58 which is adjacent to protruding 
projection 59. Recess 60 is machined into the wall of grip part 3 and is 
bounded by projections 61, 62 and 63. Projection 64 is located about the 
recess 60 and is symmetrical to projection 59. 
For accommodating conductor plate 34, a further notched projection 66 is 
provided on the left-hand side of grip part 3. Adjacent to projection 66, 
the inner wall at first deepens and is then bounded by projection 67 that 
extends the width of grip part 3. Elongated groove 68 is spaced a short 
distance from the extreme left-hand edge of grip part 3 and is positioned 
in the middle of grip part 3. Smaller groove 69 is spaced a short distance 
from the extreme left-hand edge of grip part 3 and depends from the upper 
interior wall of grip part 3. For the support of sleeve 25, pipe 33 is 
provided with groove 70. 
FIG. 6 illustrates grip part 3 rotated about its longitudinal axis by 
90.degree.. Pipe 33 is therefore not visible because it projects 
downwardly. For inserting suction grid 4 into position, recess 71 is 
provided at the left-hand end of grip part 3. Grooves 68 and 69 are 
indicated by broken lines. The right-hand end of grip part 3 includes 
recess 72 which is linked to recess 55. Recess 55 is provided with 
inclined step 73 that deepens from the left to the right. Flatly shaped 
surface 74 is connected to step 73 and is recessed from the surface of 
recess 55. Protruding tongues 52 and 53 are seen to the left of step 73. 
FIG. 7 shows a section of grip part 3 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 in such 
a way that the aperture 23 is viewed from the interior of grip part 3. 
Projections 65, 66 and 67 support conductor plate 34. 
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the inner wall of the grip part 2. Grip part 2 has 
a construction similar to that of grip part 3. However, a few elements are 
constructed in a complimentary manner so that the grip parts 2 and 3 
engage each other. The grooves 80, 81, 82 and 85 correspond respectively 
to the grooves 68, 69, 70 and 57. Projections 86 and 87 correspond 
respectively to the projections 65 and 66. The projections 83 and 84 
engage grooves 50 and 51. Similarly, at places where grip part 3 is 
provided with tongues 52 and 53, grip part 2 includes complimentary 
grooves 88 and 89. The recess 90 at the left-hand end of grip part 3 
differs from recess 60 of grip part 2 only in that protruding parts 59 and 
64 are deleted and two additional projections 94 and 95 parallel to 
projections 92 and 93 are provided. 
FIG. 9 shows the grip part 2 illustrated in FIG. 8 rotated about its 
longitudinal axis by 90.degree.. Recess 96 for the push-mounting of 
suction grid 4 is positioned at the right-hand end of grip part 2. Grooves 
80 and 81 are indicated by broken lines. The left-hand end of grip part 2 
includes recess 97 adjacent to recess 55. Recess 55 includes step 98 which 
deepens from the right to the left. Flatly shaped surface 99 is connected 
to step 98 and is recessed from the surface of recess 55. Grooves 88 and 
89 into which the tongues 52 and 53 of grip part 3 can be engaged are 
located to the right of step 98. 
FIG. 10 shows a section through grip part 2 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 in 
such a way that aperture 23 can be seen from the inside. Projections 86, 
87 and 99; grooves 80 and 82; and recess 96 are also shown. 
FIG. 11 shows air swirler 12 from its side that includes barbs 13. These 
barbs 13 are disposed at and extend from rotary part 100 which fits 
resiliently into and is attached to another rotary part 101. Rotary part 
101 has two rails 102 and 103 adapted to receive exhaust grid 5. Web 21 
(FIG. 2) also provides for the securement of exhaust 5 but is not shown in 
FIG. 11. Adjacent to rotary part 101 is impeller body 104 which includes 
two supports 105 connected to one another. 
Air swirler 12 is shown in FIG. 12 viewed from its rear. Impeller blades 
106 are clearly shown as being located between impeller body 104 and 
rotary part 101. 
FIG. 13 is partly a side view and partly a broken-away view of exhaust grid 
5 which includes air passage ribs 9 and 10. Upper frame 110 includes rail 
111 which has groove 112. In addition, barb 113 is shown in plan view and 
another barb 114 in side view. 
FIG. 14 illustrates again exhaust grid 5 rotated by 90.degree. from FIG. 
13. Frame 114 includes an approximately square aperture 115 to receive 
slider switch 6. In addition to barbs 113 and 114, another barb 116 is 
shown. 
FIG. 15 shows exhaust grid 5 as viewed from inside of grip parts 2 and 3. 
Frame 110, barbs, 113, 114, 116 and air passage ribs 9 and 10 are 
connected to one another via webs 117, 118 and 119. It can also be seen 
that the edge of exhaust grid 5 is constructed in such a way that it has 
three steps 130, 131 and 132 to receive and to encompass recesses 72 and 
97. 
The assembly of the hair dryer 1 is effected as follows. One of the two 
grip parts 2 or 3 is taken and conductor plate 34, wire-heater 32, 
connection unit 31, motor 18, air swirler 12, and impeller wheel 19 are 
fitted therein and secured in place. The securing is effected by means of 
the projections 65, 66, 86 and 87 and other means. Thereafter, sleeve 25 
with its collar 26 is clamped into groove 70. The locking of air swirler 
12 in the grip part is achieved by letting rails 102 and 103 engage into 
one of the corresponding grooves 68 and 80. 
After having arranged all interior components in one of the grip parts, the 
second grip part is engaged with the first grip part. This engagement is 
effected by engaging the projections 83 and 84 into the grooves 50 and 51 
and projections 52 and 53 into the grooves 88 and 89. 
In this condition the grip parts 2 and 3 can be still separated from each 
other without difficulty. In order to fasten grip parts 2 and 3 rigidly 
together, exhaust grid 5 is pushed onto the assembled grip parts with care 
being taken so that during this operation slider switch 6 remains in its 
middle position. Lateral barbs 113 and 116 glide respectively along the 
recesses 90 and 60. Barb 114 glides along the deepening or notch which is 
formed by recesses 120 and 121 of grip parts 2 and 3. 
Frame 110 of exhaust grid 5 glides on its edges in grooves 56 along recess 
55. Since the edges are wedge-shaped and the groove is slotted, a positive 
gliding movement is achieved. As frame 110 is pushed forward until the 
front of rail 111 approaches grooves 57 and 85. There is a collar just in 
front of these grooves 57 and 85 and rail 111 includes groove 112. This 
collar snaps into groove 112 thereby locking frame 110 to the grip parts 2 
and 3. Simultaneously, barbs 113, 116 and 114 also snap into recesses 90, 
60, 120 and 121, thus securing exhaust grid 5 and the grip parts 2 and 3 
in position. 
After firmly locking one side of hair dryer 1 by use of exhaust grid 5, the 
other side has to be locked. Swirler 12 has already been inserted into the 
other side. Rotary part 100 of air swirler unit 12 to which barbs 13 are 
attached protrudes from grip parts 2 and 3. Suction grid 4 is pushed over 
rotary part 100 in such a way that barbs 13 extend toward a notch on the 
inner wall of suction grid 4 (see FIG. 1, right-hand section). When barbs 
13 reach this notch they snap into it, thus locking suction grid 4 on the 
grip parts 2 and 3. Since the grip parts 2 and 3 have recesses 71 and 96 
over which the front part of suction grid 4 is pushed, both grip parts 2 
and 3 also become rigidly connected to one another. In this way hair dryer 
1 is assembled without the use of screws or the like. 
With this method of assembly considerable cost savings are achieved. In 
addition, the assembled hair dryer has very favorable properties regarding 
air flow, because there are no obstructions, such as dome-like protrusions 
for accommodating screw-connections. A further advantage is that the 
operating switch is placed close to the exhaust aperture. 
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various 
modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from 
the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood 
that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and 
not limitation.