Hair Dryer Attachment

This invention relates generally to hair dryers and, more particularly, to improvements in hair treating attachment to hair dryers.

An example of conventional attachment to hair dryers is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the drawings, an attachment 2 is fitted to a dryer body 1 and is provided with a central hot air delivery port 3 made substantially in the middle, sideward delivery ports 4 made on the respective sides of the port 3 and brush bristles planted 5 on the surface between the respective ports 4 and the port 3. In this structure, there have been defects that, as the delivery ports 3 and 4 extend long in the axial direction of the attachment body 2, hot air from the dryer body 1 will be delivered out of these ports 3 and 4 in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3 along the axial line of the attachment body 2 and, therefore, will not be efficiently applied to hairs held by the bristles 5 and that, with the brush bristles for winding hair therearound, hair cannot be dressed to be of a rough or soft and natural feeling. The present invention has been suggested to eliminate these defects.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved attachment to hair dryers which can efficiently apply hot air to hair.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an attachment to hair dryers having a function of dressing hair to be of rough and natural feeling.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear upon reading the following description of the invention detailed with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional attachment to hair dryers in plan and perspective views, respectively;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of air blowing function of the attachment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment of the attachment according to the present invention as assembled with hair drier body;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinally sectioned view of the attachment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectioned view as magnified showing one of hot air delivery ports in the attachment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a transversely sectioned view of the attachment of FIG. 4 showing its bristle parts;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the attachment of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of respective component of the attachment as disassembled of FIG. 4.

The present invention shall be explained more particularly in the following with reference to the illustrated preferred embodiment. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the particular embodiment shown herein but is rather intended to include various possible modifications, alterations and equivalent arrangements within the scope of appended claims.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, an attachment 12 according to the present invention is fitted at its open end to an air-blowing end of a hair dryer 11 and is provided with a plurality of hot air delivery ports 13 arranged in several rows as spaced in the axial direction and a plurality of projections or bristle members 14 on the surface. In assembling this attachment, as shown in FIG. 9, first of all, bristle blocks 12c having a plurality of bristle members 14 made integral with the respective blocks 12c are fitted respectively to each recess 12d in the transverse bristle bases 12e of a bristle holder 12b so that the bristles project out of respective holes made in the bristle holder 12b, then the bristle holder 12b is coupled to a substantially tubular attachment body 12a so that the bristles 14 are secured to the attachment body. The transverse bristle bases 12e fit over corresponding transverse ribs 12f in the body 12a. In coupling the bristle holder 12b to the attachment body 12a, a pair of axially extending ribs 4 legs 18 of the bristle holder 12b are engaged with a middle rib 19 of the attachment body 12a and convexed pressing pieces 20 on both sides of the bristle holder 12b are engaged respectively with projecting parts 21 on both sides of the attachment body 12a. As shown in FIG. 5, the hot air delivery ports 13 are arranged in directions at right angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the attachment. A hollow chamber 15 through which hot air is to pass is formed within the attachment body 12 and the delivery ports 13 communicate with this hollow chamber 15. The delivery ports 13 are formed by overlapping openings defined between the middle rib 19 and both end ribs 22 of the bristle holder 12b with openings on the upper surface of the attachment body 12a (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 6 is a view for showing the shape of the delivery port 13 more in detail. When the width in the axial direction of the delivery port 13 is made "a" and the depth of the delivery port is made "b", it is preferable that a<b. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, hot air from the dryer body 11 will be delivered out of the delivery ports 13 in directions at right angles with the axis of the attachment body so as to be efficiently applied to hair wound on the bristles 14.

In comparing the delivery port 13' closer to a closed tip end of the body 12a with those 13 closer to the open end of the body 12a, it is preferable that the delivery port 13' is smaller than the delivery port 13 in the cross-sectional area. Thus the cross-sectional areas of the delivery ports are made smaller with the approach to the tip end of the attachment so that the hot air delivering speed will be substantially the same irrespective of the position of the delivery port.

Referring to the structure of the projection or bristle, each bristle 14 is made smaller in the diameter with the approach to the tip and has a ball-shaped part 17 formed at the tip so that hair can be well caught by the bristles.

As shown in FIG. 8, the respective bristles are arranged in a row in directions substantially at right angles with respect to the axial direction on the surface of the attachment body 12. However, it is also effective to arrange them substantially in arcuate distribution as shown by the bristles 17a in the part near the open end of the attachment body 12a.

Further, the convexes 20 provided on both sides of the attachment body 12a are effective in contributing to the rough finish of hair, in cooperation with concaves formed between the respective convexes 20.

Thus, according to the present invention, as concaves and convexes are formed on both sides of the bristle holder, in the case of dressing hair, the hair touching the side surface parts of the attachment will be respectively different in the bending angle by the step difference between the concave and convex so that a concavo-convex feeling or a so-called rough feeling will be given to hair as finished.

Further, according to the present invention, as the respective bristles are coarsely arranged and have ball-shaped part formed at the tips, hair will be thereby gripped and held as floated considerably freely as different from being combed and dressed and will be finished to be of a rougher feeling.

Further, according to the present invention, as the plurality of delivery ports to deliver hot air out of the hollow chamber of the attachment along the bristles are formed of openings lying in directions coinciding longitudinally with the directions intersecting at right angles the axial direction of the attachment, that is, the hot air blowing direction, and are set so that their depths are larger than their widths, the hot air from the hollow chamber will advance straight to the wound hair through the delivery ports so as to efficiently dry wet hair.

Further, according to the present invention, as legs are provided on the lower surface of the bristle holder holding the bristle blocks and are engaged with the middle rib of the attachment body to fix the bristle holder to the attachment body, the attachment can be formed simply.