EP0306765B1 - Hand-held electrical hair dryer - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electrically operated hand-held hair dryer with an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end to accommodate an electric motor that drives an impeller, a heater for heating the air, and a motor circuit board with a triac or another electrical unit, such as a diode or the like . having switching and control device and with a guide device consisting of blades and arranged on the holder of the motor.

Such electrically operated hand hair dryers are known in numerous embodiments. Some of these known embodiments have obviously been previously used by the applicant. There are also different types of accommodation for the motor circuit board with its switching and control devices, including a triac. A triac is a thyristor that passes and controls both half oscillations of an alternating current. In a first known embodiment of the arrangement of such a motor circuit board, it has been accommodated in the interior of a hollow cylinder, which at one end partially encompasses the electric motor and which carries the holder of the heater of the hand hair dryer on its outer surface. This arrangement of the motor circuit board has not proven itself, in particular because there was no cooling air for the switching and control devices, in particular for the triac, in the almost closed cavity of the hollow cylinder. It has therefore started to arrange the triac of the motor printed circuit board in an area which lies between the heater on the one hand and the inner wall of the housing of the hand-held hair dryer on the other. With this arrangement there have been improvements with regard to the cooling of the triac, however tests carried out have shown that the cooling effect in this area is not yet sufficient to obtain optimal values.

The invention has for its object to further improve electrically operated hand-held hair dryers of the type described in the introduction, in particular in such a way that the triac is moved to such a location in the interior of the housing of the hand-held hair dryer in which optimum cooling takes place. This goal should be achieved with simple and cheap means.

To achieve this object, it is proposed according to the invention to arrange the triac of the hand hair dryer in the area of the guide device of the electrically operated hand hair dryer.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, one of the blades of the tracking device is removed and the triac is instead arranged in this area of the tracking device. Experiments carried out have shown that with an embodiment of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer according to the invention, significant advantages over the known are achieved.

For example, in a follow-up device equipped with twelve blades, the twelfth was removed and the triac was instead placed in the missing area of the follow-up device. The tests carried out with such an arrangement have shown that optimal cooling of the triac is achieved. This is not least because it lies completely in the air flow that is generated by the impeller driven by the electric motor. Since the triac practically takes the place of the missing shovel of the follow-up device, there are no changes in the dimensions of the follow-up device, so that the housing of the hand-held hair dryer can also retain its previous shape.

It is advisable to have the follow-up device have a recess in the area of the missing blade, into which an extension of the motor circuit board having the triac protrudes. The embodiment of the recess is chosen so that the triac is pressed into the correct position and also held in this.

It is advisable to have the recess arranged in parallel and at a distance from one another, which are connected to one another by an upper boundary. It is furthermore expedient to have the upper limit have a cutout for engaging the free end of the extension of the motor circuit board. It is expedient to solder the triac to the motor circuit board in such a way that it complements the missing blade of the tracking device.

It is recommended that the boundary wall of the cutout enclose such an angle with the horizontal to let, which is approximately equal to the angle that a scoop of the Nachleiteinrichtung includes the horizontal. Such an angle is approximately 60 °.

The invention also relates to an electrically operated hand-held hair dryer in which the heating is accommodated by a carrier, the mating contacts of which can be connected to the contacts of the motor circuit board by plugging on. These hand hair dryers are also available in a variety of designs. A heater is generally used, which has a carrier which is formed from two insulating plates which are arranged crosswise and which accommodate at least one heater designed as a heating coil which is held on the peripheral surface of the insulating plates in such a way that areas of the helical one Engage the heater in recesses in the edges of the insulating plates. This means that the helical heater is only fixed at a few points. Otherwise, it bridges the free space between the areas of the insulating plates. Electrical contacts are also attached to the carrier, which must cooperate with mating contacts which are arranged on the motor circuit board. This motor circuit board, which otherwise carries switching and control devices in a known manner, is generally attached to the end face of the electric motor and projects into the cavity of the heater seated on the carrier. So far, the contacts that are provided on the supports of the heater have now been soldered to the associated mating contacts of the motor circuit board. This type of connection between the contacts of the carrier of the heating device on the one hand and the mating contacts of the motor circuit board on the other hand is very complex and increases the cost of producing the manual hair dryer. In addition, after the contacts have been soldered to the counter contacts, it is practically a rigid, non-detachable connection between the heater and the carrier on the one hand and the motor circuit board on the other hand. The mechanical cohesion is only created via the solder joints.

WO 80/00783 has disclosed an electrically operated hand-held hair dryer which has a two-part housing, in the interior of which the heating device is arranged, switching devices being provided on the outer surface of the housing. An electric motor is arranged in the interior of the housing of this known manual hair dryer, which drives an impeller which serves to transport the air. In this known embodiment of the hair dryer, the electric motor is arranged in the rear part of the housing in such a way that it can be easily removed from the cross-divided housing. In order to achieve this, protruding plug contacts are present on the front side of the electric motor, which interact with receptacle-like counter contacts. When assembling the well-known hair dryer, the plug pins of the motor engage in the recesses.

The invention is based on the additional object of further improving electrically operated hand hair dryers of the type mentioned, in particular the manufacture of a light connection between the contacts of the heater and the motor circuit board is to be achieved.

To achieve this further object, it is proposed according to the invention that the support holding the heater can be connected to the motor circuit board by plugging it in, creating a releasable connection between its contacts and the mating contacts of the motor circuit board. this training of the electric operated hair dryer has significant advantages over the known. In this way, the heater can be prefabricated with the carrier and the associated contacts as a structural unit, which is then attached as a whole to the motor circuit board. With this plugging in, the contacts of the heater come into conductive connection with the mating contacts of the motor circuit board in the end position. The cumbersome and considerable costly soldering of the contacts and the counter contacts is eliminated. It is particularly cost-effective that even with a large number of contacts and mating contacts, all of these are transferred into their conductive connection when the assembly is plugged onto the motor circuit board. Nevertheless, detachability between the heater and the motor circuit board carrier is possible. For this purpose, the assembly only needs to be removed from the motor circuit board. The contacts with the counter contacts come out of engagement. Such separability is desirable, for example, if the heater should be defective.

In the embodiment of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer according to the invention, there is no longer - as before - only a connection between the heater and its support on the one hand and the motor circuit board on the other via the soldering points, but a dimensionally stable mechanical connection is created in that when the support is plugged on with the heater on the motor circuit board area of these two parts are mechanically coupled. It is advisable to have the carrier have contact tabs which are conductively connected to the heater and which, when plugged in, engage in slots in the motor circuit board which interact with conductor tracks. In this way, when putting the two parts together, one easily detachable, but mechanically stable connection. This also fixes the position of the heater support with respect to the motor circuit board.

In order to make it easy to establish the connection, it is advisable to arrange the slots on the front end face of the motor printed circuit board, the angled free ends of the contact tabs engaging in the slots while making contact. The slots can be created in the manufacture of the motor circuit board, so that additional operations are not required.

It is advisable to have each contact tab made of a metal strip, each of which is connected in its central region to one of the insulating plates which form the carrier and arranged one above the other and one end of which is in conductive connection with the heating device, while the opposite other end is in the slots the motor circuit board. It is advisable not only to manufacture the contact tabs from a current-conducting, metallic material, but also to have them have resilient properties. These can be used in a simple manner to generate the desired contact pressure.

Reference is made to the existence of the European patent application 88 102 911.0, in which a similar electrically operated hand hair dryer is described. The housing of this known electric hand-held hair dryer has an inlet grille for the air to be drawn in on one side and an outlet grille for the outlet of the heated air on the other. The outlet grille consists of an outer ring and several, connected by connecting bridges connected inner rings. At least one of these inner rings is conical in such a way that the smallest diameter of the cone is directed towards the outer ring.

In a proposed embodiment of an electrically operated hand-held hair dryer, this has a long-dimensioned motor board, which is approximately rectangular in plan view and which has open-sided slots on its front free end, into which parts of the support of the heater can engage when plugged on. The length of the motor circuit board corresponds approximately to that of the support of the heater. The plug-on area between the motor circuit board and the support of the heater is kept relatively short. Compared to this proposed embodiment of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer, an improvement is also to be achieved, in particular an inexpensive assembly of the individual parts of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer is to be achieved.

To achieve this further object of the invention, it is proposed to design the motor circuit board as a body encompassing the motor, which has guide and support areas and on its surface facing the outlet grille, contacts which can be detachably connected to the mating contacts of the heating device by being plugged on. Provision is preferably made for the motor conductor to be in the form of an annular body, the central recess of which is penetrated by the motor and the outer boundary wall of which can be used as a guide area, while a partial area serves as a support area. The motor circuit board is therefore no longer designed as a rectangular body when viewed from above, which is arranged in extensions of the axis of the electric motor, but instead the motor circuit board now encompasses this electric motor, guide and support areas being provided on the motor circuit board, which interact with adjacent areas of the housing of the hand-held hair dryer. A detachable connection of this motor circuit board with the support of the heater is preferred. The motor circuit board can still have all the essential electronic or electrical components. Assembly is made easier by prefabricated assemblies.

Another advantage is that the motor circuit board is in the immediate vicinity of the motor, so that there are very short connections to the connection contacts of the motor.

It is advisable to arrange a receptacle for the motor in the area of the middle part of a holder of a follow-up device, which is limited in its upper part by a circumferential extension of the middle part, which can cooperate with the inner boundary wall of the motor circuit board. Such a long-held guide is advantageous when attaching the mounting plate.

It is advisable to have the outer boundary wall of the motor circuit board interact with the inner wall of a blade support part in order to further improve the guidance during assembly.

To limit the insertion movement, it is expedient that both the extension mentioned and the inner wall of the Vane support part has a support shoulder for the support area of the motor circuit board. These support shoulders can be easily produced in the manufacture of the housing of the hand hair dryer. Since the two support shoulders are arranged at a distance from one another, there is the advantage that the annular motor circuit board is supported both in the area of its inner diameter and in the area of the outer diameter.

It is expedient to arrange a free space laterally offset from the support shoulders in the bottom of the holder of the guiding device for accommodating protruding parts of the motor circuit board. The dimensions of this free space are kept such that the usual electrical or electronic components arranged on the motor circuit board or also the connection points can be accommodated in it.

In principle, it is not necessary to connect the ring-shaped motor circuit board to the adjacent parts of the housing of the hand-held hair dryer. If a detachable connection between the two parts is used, it is expedient to provide the motor circuit board with catches which interact with counter-catches on the adjacent walls of the holder of the follow-up device. This latching connection ensures that the motor circuit board is connected to the associated part of the housing even during the pre-assembly. On the other hand, if necessary, it is also possible to release such a locking connection again.

It is recommended that the motor circuit board has contacts protruding vertically from its base plane, which have mating contacts are pluggable, which are arranged on the support of the heating device. There are several possibilities with regard to the formation of the contacts and the counter contacts. According to a first proposal, the contacts of the motor circuit board are designed as flat plugs, the rear end of which is soldered to the motor circuit board, while the front end interacts with a mating contact of the heater designed as a clamping spring. In the other embodiment, on the other hand, it is provided that the mating contacts on the heating device are designed as flat plugs and the contacts on the motor printed circuit board as clamping springs. In both cases, it is advisable to have the mating contacts protrude above the end face of the support of the heater and to provide them with a tap. Such training initially has the advantage that the contacts and mating contacts can be easily plugged together. The taps provided then establish the desired electrical connection to the respective parts, for example to the heater. When the modules are plugged together, the existing electrical elements are immediately connected. For example, the heater itself, a winding tap, a thermostat, the motor or the like can be connected immediately. It can be adapted to the most diverse existing components.

It is advisable to connect the ring-shaped motor circuit board to a further circuit board, namely a switch circuit board, to form a prefabricated structural unit via connecting lines. Such a prefabricated unit considerably simplifies the assembly of the parts of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer.

In order to enable a simple attachment of the switch circuit board to the housing, it is provided that the switch circuit board, which interconnect connections or the like. can carry in any number and composition, has recesses which interact with retaining projections. The latter are provided directly on the inside wall of the handle. These holding projections are thus also produced in the manufacture of the handle halves.

Fig. 1

einen Längsschnitt durch eine erste Ausführungsform eines elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners mit einer aufgesetzten Formdüse;

Fig. 2

einen Querschnitt durch den elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockner nach der Fig. 1 - der Querschnitt liegt im Bereich der Nachleiteinrichtung und ist senkrecht zu einer Achse A-A des Handhaartrockners geführt.,

Fig. 3

im vergrößerten Maßstab, teilweise im Schnitt, teilweise in Ansicht und teilweise weggebrochen die Nachleiteinrichtung des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners nach Fig. 1 mit einer der vorhandenen Schaufeln Schnittverlauf entlang der Linie III-III der Fig. 2,

Fig. 4

eine Ansicht der Nachleiteinrichtung des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners, teilweise weggebrochen, bei fehlender Schaufel und bei nicht eingesetztem Triac,

Fig. 5

den Bereich der Fig. 4 der Nachleiteinrichtung nach dem Einsetzen in den Handhaartrockner und nach dem Anbringen des Triacs und der Motorleiterplatte,

Fig. 6

eine zweite Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäß ausgebildeten, elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners im Längsschnitt,

Fig. 7

im vergrößerten Maßstab und in Seitenansicht - teilweise geschnitten - den Träger des Heizers des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners gemäß der Fig. 6 von seinem in Richtung des Pfeiles B erfolgenden Aufschieben auf die Motorleiterplatte (explosionsartige Darstellung),

Fig. 8

die Lage von Träger und Motorleiterplatte des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners nach der Fig. 6, teilweise weggeschnitten und teilweise gestrichelt, wobei nunmehr Träger und Motorleiterplatte in ihre Endlage überführt sind,

Fig. 9

eine Draufsicht auf die zusammengesetzten Teile des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners, jedoch nach dem Anbringen des Heizers, letzterer teilweise strichpunktiert dargestellt,

Fig. 10

in einer dritten Ausführungsform eine Rückansicht eines erfindungsgemäß ausgebildeten Handhaartrockners,

Fig. 11

einen Längsschnitt durch den Handhaartrockner gemäß der Fig. 10 im vergrößerten Maßstab, teilweise weggebrochen,

Fig. 12

in Draufsicht den hinteren Teil des Gehäuses des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners nach den Fig. 10 und 11 mit angeformter Handgriffhälfte bei entfernten Innereien,

Fig. 13

in Draufsicht eine Baueinheit, die aus einer Motorleiterplatte und einer Schalterleiterplatte besteht, die durch Leitungen miteinander verbunden sind und die dazu bestimmt ist, in den Gehäuseteil gemäß der Fig. 12 der Zeichnung eingesetzt zu werden,

Fig. 14

einen Schnitt durch den hinteren Gehäuseteil des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners nach den Fig. 10 und 11 nach dem Anbringen der Motorleiterplatte und des Elektromotors, jedoch vor dem Aufstecken des Heizers, teilweise weggebrochen,

Fig. 15

im Schnitt und im vergrößerten Maßstab einen Teil der Motorleiterplatte nach dem Aufstecken des elektrischen Heizers, teilweise weggebrochen und

Fig. 16

im Schnitt eine andere Ausführungsform der Kontakte und der Gegenkontakte des elektrisch betriebenen Handhaartrockners, ähnlich der Fig. 14 der Zeichnung, ebenfalls teilweise weggeschnitten.

The invention is shown in several exemplary embodiments in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1

a longitudinal section through a first embodiment of an electrically operated hand hair dryer with an attached mold nozzle;

Fig. 2

a cross section through the electrically operated hand hair dryer according to FIG. 1 - the cross section lies in the area of the guide device and is guided perpendicular to an axis AA of the hand hair dryer.

Fig. 3

on an enlarged scale, partly in section, partly in view and partly broken away, the follow-up device of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer according to FIG. 1 with one of the existing blades, section along the line III-III of FIG. 2,

Fig. 4

2 shows a view of the guide device of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer, partially broken away, with a missing blade and with a triac not in use,

Fig. 5

4 of the guide device after insertion into the hand hair dryer and after attaching the triac and the motor circuit board,

Fig. 6

2 shows a second embodiment of the electrically operated manual hair dryer designed according to the invention in longitudinal section,

Fig. 7

on an enlarged scale and in side view - partly in section - the support of the heater of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer according to FIG. 6 from being pushed onto the motor circuit board in the direction of arrow B (exploded view),

Fig. 8

6, partly cut away and partly dashed, the carrier and motor circuit board now being transferred into their end position, the position of the carrier and motor circuit board of the electrically operated manual hair dryer according to FIG.

Fig. 9

2 shows a plan view of the assembled parts of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer, but after the heater has been attached, the latter partially shown in broken lines,

Fig. 10

in a third embodiment a rear view of a hand hair dryer designed according to the invention,

Fig. 11

10 shows a longitudinal section through the hand hair dryer according to FIG. 10 on an enlarged scale, partially broken away,

Fig. 12

10 and 11 with molded handle half with removed innards, in plan view the rear part of the housing of the electrically operated hand hair dryer according to FIGS.

Fig. 13

in plan view a structural unit which consists of a motor circuit board and a switch circuit board which are connected to one another by lines and which is intended to be inserted into the housing part according to FIG. 12 of the drawing,

Fig. 14

10 shows a section through the rear housing part of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer according to FIGS. 10 and 11 after the motor circuit board and the electric motor have been attached, but before the heater is plugged in, partially broken away,

Fig. 15

in section and on an enlarged scale, part of the motor circuit board after plugging in the electric heater, partly broken away and

Fig. 16

on average, another embodiment of the contacts and the mating contacts of the electrically operated hand hair dryer, similar to FIG. 14 of the drawing, also partially cut away.

It should first be mentioned that only those parts of electrically operated manual hair dryers are shown in the figures of the drawings which are important for understanding the invention. In particular, some of the switching and control devices are missing. Furthermore, the electric heater is not shown in many drawings. Otherwise, all parts missing in the figures of the drawings can have a structure known per se.

The hand hair dryer shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 is generally designated 10. The manual hair dryer 10 has a housing which is composed of a front housing part 11 and a rear housing part 12. The two housing parts 11 and 12 made of an insulating material, in particular plastic, can be connected to one another by means known per se and therefore not shown. On the rear opening of the rear housing part 12, an inlet grille 13 is arranged for sucking in the fresh air. This inlet grille 13 can be locked, for example, with the rear end of the housing part 12. In a known manner, such an inlet grille 13 has a plurality of inlet openings which are expediently arranged in concentric partial rings.

On the opposite other side, the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer 10 has an outlet grill 15. In the selected exemplary embodiment, this is a one-piece plastic body which has an outer ring and a plurality of inner rings which are concentric with the center. These have different diameters and are connected to one another via connecting webs.

In the selected embodiment, at least one of the inner rings is arranged inclined to the longitudinal axis A-A of the hair dryer 10. The inclination of the inner ring is approximately 25 °.

In the vicinity of the outer ring of the outlet grille 15, a recess, not specified, is provided. In this way, space is created for engaging the rear end of a shaping nozzle 14 which, if required, can be detachably connected by the user to the front part 11 of the housing of the hand-held hair dryer 10. A latching connection is expediently chosen as the releasable connection. In this way, detents and counter-detents can be generated directly in the manufacture of the housing or the molding nozzle.

From Fig. 1 of the drawing it can best be seen that the outlet grille 15 is inserted into the interior of the front part 11 of the housing. The rear end of the outlet grille 15 comes into operative connection with the ends of the supports 17 of a heater, generally designated 16, facing it. For this purpose are not specified. Recordings provided on connecting webs of the outlet grille 15.

The heater 16, which is arranged approximately in the middle of the housing of the hand-held hair dryer, has a design which is known per se. It consists of a plurality of flat supports 17 which extend essentially in the direction of the longitudinal axis A-A of the hand hair dryer 10. The actual heating wire or the heating coil carried by the carriers 17 is omitted in FIGS. 1 to 5 for the sake of simplicity.

In front of the heater 16, seen in the direction of flow of the air, there is a follow-up device generally designated 20, the design of which is best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing is. It follows from this that the after-guiding device is a body made in one piece from an insulating material, which is divided into several sub-areas. Thus, the follow-up device 20 initially has a central, essentially flat middle part 33 with an opening in the center for the passage of the motor shaft 21 of an electric motor, generally designated 18. In the area of the flat central part 33, fastening screws 32 are also provided, with which the follow-up device 20 is fixed. In the selected exemplary embodiment, a total of three fastening screws 32 are provided, which are each offset by 120 ° to one another.

A connecting part 34 adjoins the flat central part 33 of the follow-up device 20, which runs approximately in the direction of the longitudinal axis AA of the hand-held hair dryer 10 and which then merges into a further part, not specified in more detail, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis AA and to which part then turns The blade support part 35 extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis AA. In the selected exemplary embodiment, the blade support part 35 has a total of eleven blades 36, one of which is shown in FIG. 3 of the drawing. It follows from this that each blade 36 of the follow-up device 20 is curved. The connecting line through the ends of the blades 36 includes an angle α of approximately 60 ° with the horizontal. In itself, the guide device 20 has twelve blades 36, but according to the invention the twelfth blade has been removed and in this missing area the triac 41 of the motor printed circuit board 43 is arranged, on which further switching and control devices of a known type are also accommodated. The arrangement of the triac 41 takes place in the upper right area of FIG. 2 of the drawing.

As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, is in the area a missing blade 36 has a recess generally designated 37. This recess has parallel and spaced-apart boundaries 38 which are connected to one another by a further upper boundary 39. The upper limit 39 has a cutout 40 for engaging the free end of an extension 42 of the motor circuit board 43 (cf. FIG. 5 of the drawing). The right-hand boundary wall of the cutouts 40 in FIGS. 4 and 5 encloses an angle β with the horizontal which is approximately equal to the angle which one of the blades 36 forms with the horizontal. This means that the angle α is substantially equal to the angle β. In the selected embodiment, the size of each of these angles is 60 °.

4 and 5 of the recess 37 and the cutout 40, the triac 41 is pressed and held in the correct position. The triac 41, which may have a known bulge, is soldered to the motor circuit board 43 and forms the missing twelfth blade of the secondary guide 20. It is therefore in the air flow and is optimally cooled.

It remains to be added that the carrier 17 of the heater 16 are arranged offset with respect to the blades of the Nachleiteinrichtung 20. I.e. the blades and the carriers 17 are not in direct succession. The staggered arrangement of the two parts mentioned is chosen in order to achieve a swirling of the sucked-in air and thereby a reduction in the temperatures occurring in the area of the heater. The temperatures are reduced to such an extent that any disadvantageous impairment of the housing area surrounding the heater is eliminated.

As already mentioned, the tracking device 20 forms at the same time a holder for the electric motor 18. This electric motor 18 has a design known per se and is also used in a manner known per se for driving an impeller 22. This is rotatably arranged on the motor shaft 21. The impeller 22 has a hub 31 molded onto it, in the center of which there is a bore into which the motor shaft 21 engages. The air sucked through unspecified openings of the inlet grille 13 reaches the area of the impeller 22 when the electric hand-held hair dryer is used as intended, then in the area of action of the after-guide device 20 and thus also in the area of the triac 41, which is at that point of the Nachleiteinrichtung 20 is arranged on which one of the blades 36 was previously removed. From the after-guiding device 20, the sucked-in air finally arrives at the heater 16. After the heating there, the air leaves the outlet grille 15 and possibly the front opening of a shaping nozzle 14 if the latter has previously been releasably connected to the housing part 11 by the user.

As can best be seen in FIG. 1 of the drawing, the hand-held hair dryer 10 has a handle 23 which encloses an angle with the longitudinal axis AA which is smaller than a right one. The handle is hollow. It can therefore be used to house operating parts of the hand-held hair dryer. In the exemplary embodiment shown, a switch 26 of a known type is accommodated in the interior of the hollow handle 23 and is covered on the outside by a cover panel 27. The cover panel 27 can be displaced to a limited extent on the inner walls of the handle 23. For this purpose, guides, not shown, are used, which can cooperate, for example, with a projection of the cover plate 27. By moving the cover panel, the switch can be moved into its display or exhibition. Above the switch 26, a regulator wheel 28 is rotatably mounted in the cavity of the handle, which has an area its peripheral surface passes through an opening in the wall of the handle 23 to the outside and is thus accessible to the user. With this control wheel, for example, the power of the electrically operated hand hair dryer 10 can be regulated.

In the area of the end face of the handle 23, an anti-kink grommet 25 with a continuous bore for accommodating one end of an electrical lead 24 is arranged. The other end, not visible in FIG. 1, of the electrical supply line 24 carries a known plug which can be inserted into a socket by the user in order to supply the electric motor 11 with power after the switch has been turned into the switched-on position using its handle part 29 brought.

The end of the electrical lead introduced into the hollow interior of the handle 23 interacts in a known manner with a strain relief clamp 30, by means of which the connection points are to be relieved of tensile forces.

6 to 9 show a further exemplary embodiment of the electrically operated manual hair dryer according to the invention. As far as the parts of this electrically operated hand hair dryer of the second embodiment have remained unchanged from the first, the aforementioned reference numerals have been retained.

The motor printed circuit board of the hand-held hair dryer 10, generally designated 43, is a flat body made of electrically insulating material, which is arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis AA of the hand-held hair dryer 10. The rear end of the motor circuit board 43 faces one end face of the electric motor 18. The known motor conductor connections are identified by 44 in FIG. 7 of the drawings. Incidentally, the motor circuit board 43 carries in a generally known manner Wise switching and control devices.

In the selected exemplary embodiment, the motor printed circuit board 43 has a central recess 45, which covers an essential part of the length of the motor printed circuit board and is open towards the front end face. Laterally next to this recess 45, slots 46 are arranged in the end face of the motor circuit board 43, which also remain open towards the free end face. Each of the two existing slots 46 is assigned a conductor track 47, which can be attached to the motor circuit board 43 in a known manner. The motor circuit board 43 thus has mating contacts 47 which interact with the contacts of the heater 16.

As best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings, the heater 16 includes a carrier 17 which is composed of two plate-shaped insulating bodies which are arranged crosswise. These insulating plates are designated 48 in the selected exemplary embodiment and inserted into one another. They each have in their area facing the motor circuit board 43 a recess 49 which is open towards the end face. The two cross-arranged, plugged-together insulating plates 48 receive the heater 16 in a known manner. The heater 16 is designed in the selected embodiment as a heating coil. The outward-facing end face of the insulating plates 48 have, in a known manner, a multiplicity of grooves arranged next to one another, in each of which a portion of the filaments of the heater engage. Since the attachment of the filament of the heater is known in principle, only a partial area of the same is shown in FIG. 9.

In the selected embodiment, contact tabs 50 and 51 are attached to the insulating plates 48 of the carrier 17. These Contact tabs are conductively connected to the coil of the heater in a known manner. A region of each contact tab 50 or 51 is attached to one of the insulating plates 48. This can be done, for example, by using a hollow rivet. But you can also have the contact tabs have connecting tongues, reach through the openings in the insulating plate and then flanged. The rear ends of the contact tabs, that is to say those which are to be conductively connected to the heater 16, are denoted by 52 and 53. In the selected exemplary embodiment, these are solder joints.

The front free ends of the contact tabs 50 and 51 are designated 54 and 55. They engage in the slots 46 of the motor circuit board 43 after the assembly of the individual parts. This results in a slight connection between the contact tabs 50 and 51 on the one hand and the mating contacts 47 on the other hand. On the other hand, this also creates a mechanical connection between the carrier 17 and the motor circuit board 43. In order to achieve sufficient contact, it is advisable to produce the contact tabs 50 and 51 from a metallic material with elastic properties. In this way, there is good contact between the free ends 54 and 55 of the two contact tabs and the associated mating contacts 47 of the motor circuit board 43.

7 of the drawing shows that a structural unit is prefabricated which has the carrier 17, the heater 16 and the contact tabs 50 and 51, respectively. For the sake of simplicity, the helical heater is omitted in the upper part of FIG. 7. Such a prepared assembly is then pushed in the direction of arrow B onto the motor circuit board 43, which is already connected to the motor 18 via the connecting lines 44. In the end position, the front free ends 54 and 55 of the contact tabs 50 and 51 then reach the forward open slots 46 on the end face of the motor circuit board 43. This not only creates an electrically conductive connection between the contacts and counter-contacts, but also a mechanical connection made between the motor circuit board 43 and the carrier 17. This end position of the parts mentioned can be seen from Fig. 9 of the drawings. In this position, the front free ends 54 and 55 of the contact tabs 50 and 51 are in the slots 46 of the motor circuit board 43.

10 to 16, a third embodiment of the electrically operated hand hair dryer is shown. As far as its parts have remained unchanged with respect to the two previously mentioned exemplary embodiments, the same reference numerals have been retained. 10 to 16 in turn includes an electric motor 18. A housing 67 with a circular cross section is arranged in the rear housing part 12 to accommodate the same. The electric motor 18 with its rear region is inserted into this receptacle 67 in the manner shown in FIG. 11. The receptacle 67 for the motor 18 is delimited to the rear of the hand hair dryer 10 by the flat central part 33 and laterally by the connecting part 34. This connecting part 34 has a circumferential extension 88, cf. FIG. 14 of the drawing. The wall thickness of the front part of the extension 88 is reduced in thickness, so that a circumferential support shoulder 89 is formed. This support shoulder 89 interacts with areas of the motor printed circuit board 43 which, in this exemplary embodiment - see FIG. 13 of the drawing - has an annular design.

From FIG. 13 of the drawing it can be seen that the motor circuit board in this case has a central recess 97 which is penetrated by the motor 18, but the extension 88 shown in FIG. 14 also engages in this recess. In this way, the circuit board 43 does not come into direct contact with the peripheral surface of the motor 18 in the installation position according to FIG. 14 of the drawing. Rather, the outer boundary wall 100 of the motor circuit board 43 bears against the inside of the extension 88. The support area 101 of the motor printed circuit board 43 lies on the support shoulder 89 in each case. There are two such support shoulders 89. The second is located in the region of the inner wall of the blade support part 35. In the end position shown in FIG. 14, the outer boundary wall 100 thus lies against the inner wall of the blade support part 35, while the inner boundary wall 102 interacts with the extension 88. A free space 90 is created below the motor circuit board 43 in the bottom 36 of the after-guide device 20. This free space 90 is dimensioned such that the electronic or electrical components 92 of the motor printed circuit board 43 facing the floor 66 find space in it.

On the side facing the outlet of the handheld hair dryer 10, the motor circuit board 43 is initially provided with a number of electronic or electrical components 82, as can be seen in FIG. 13 of the drawings. There are also connections for connecting lines 98 and connections for the movable motor connections 96, which can be brought into conductive connection with the fixed motor connections 87, the latter on the front free end face of the electric motor 18 are provided.

According to a further proposal of the invention, 43 contacts are arranged on the motor circuit board, of which several exemplary embodiments are shown in FIGS. 13 to 16. In the embodiment according to FIGS. 14 and 15 of the drawing, each of the contacts 84 is designed as a flat plug. This flat connector 84 penetrates a hole in the motor circuit board 43, which is not described in more detail. Its rear end is connected to the motor circuit board 43 via a soldering point 91. The front free end of each tab 84 cooperates with a mating contact. These counter contacts also have different designs, but are each assigned to the heater 16.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 14 and 15 of the drawing, the counter contact designated 85 is designed as a clamping spring, i.e. seen in cross-section, it is designed in the form of a bow, with inward bends of the clamping spring making a conductive connection with the outer surface of the tab connector. Each mating contact 85 is firmly connected to the heater 16 by a hollow rivet 86. The hollow rivet 86 also holds a tap, not specified in more detail.

The counter contacts 85 are each arranged in front of the end face of the heater 16, so that they can be simply plugged into the contacts 84 of the motor circuit board 43. In the selected embodiment, a total of three tabs 84 are provided on the motor circuit board 43. If required, however, more flat plugs can easily be attached, to which a corresponding number of mating contacts 85 on the heater 16 must then be assigned. In the drawings, it is left open with which parts of the heater the counter contacts conduct together. This is because this can be done in a generally known manner. Because of the fact that we are known, there is no graphic representation of the resistance wires of the heater.

Fig. 16 of the drawing differs from Figs. 14 and 15 only in that the tabs and the clamping springs are interchanged. This means that the clamping springs 93 are now assigned to the motor circuit board, while the flat plugs, which are now designated 94, lie on the heater 16. The parts 93 and 94 are plugged together by transferring the heater 16 in the direction of the electric motor 18. During this movement, which takes place in the longitudinal direction of the hand-held hair dryer, the tabs 94 come to lie in the region between the two legs of the clamping spring 93 in the end position , so that a good electrical connection is also ensured here. As can be seen in FIG. 11 of the drawing, the manual hair dryer 10 has - as already mentioned - a handle 23 which is held hollow and consists of two halves, one of which is assigned to the front housing part 11 and the other to the rear part 12 . This cavity is used to house electrical switching and control devices. In the exemplary embodiment, a switch 26 of a known type is initially accommodated in the interior of the hollow handle 23. The handle part 29 of this switch passes through a window 69, see FIG. 12 of the drawing. A further, but smaller, window 68 is arranged in the boundary wall of the handle 23 above the window 69. The portion of a regulator wheel 28 projects through this in the manner shown in FIG. 11. This regulator wheel 28 is rotatably mounted. With it, the power of the electrically operated hand-held hair dryer 10 can be regulated in a known manner.

The switch 26 is assigned a switch circuit board, generally designated 71, which - see FIG. 13 - is rectangular in plan view. Conductor tracks and connections 99 are arranged in a known manner on this switch circuit board 71. For its attachment in the cavity of the handle 22, the switch circuit board 71 has a total of four recesses, of which the two upper ones shown in FIG. 13 are designed as rectangular openings, while the ones located in the region of the lower end face are designed in a slot-like manner. The recesses are each designated 72. They interact with holding projections 70 which are directly molded onto the one inner wall of the handle 23. The switch circuit board 71 is secured in its final position shown in FIG. 11 in that the two halves of the handle 23 and thus also the housing parts 11 and 12 of the hair dryer 10 are joined together. In order to make this possible, the inner wall of the handle 23 is provided with projections 103 which have internal bores and into which retaining screws 104 engage, cf. FIGS. 11 and 12 of the drawing.

FIG. 13 of the drawing also shows that the ring-shaped motor circuit board 43 is combined with the switch circuit board 71 to form one structural unit. This is done by using a plurality of connecting lines 98. These are dimensioned such that the ring-shaped motor circuit board can grip around the motor 18, as is shown in FIG. 11. In contrast, the switch circuit board 71 is plugged onto the holding projections 70. The connecting lines 98 can be inserted into unspecified, forwardly open slots which are present in the region of the end face of the blade support part 35.

In the illustrated embodiment according to FIGS. 10 to 16 it is provided that the annular motor circuit board rests on the support shoulders 89 without special fastening devices. In general, such an arrangement is sufficient because the position of the motor circuit board 43 is secured by joining the housing parts of the hand hair dryer 10. In special cases, however, additional connecting means can also be used. However, these should be solvable. In particular, it is also possible to provide the motor printed circuit board 43 with notches which interact with counter notches on the adjacent walls of the holder of the after-guide device 20. In this way, securing the position of the motor printed circuit board 43 is achieved when it is brought into the position shown in FIG. 14, that is to say where the housing parts 11 and 12 have not yet been assembled.

The use of an annular motor circuit board as shown in FIG. 13 is not absolutely necessary. It is important that in the embodiment according to FIGS. 10 to 16 of the drawing the motor circuit board is designed such that it can grip around the electric motor 18. If this engine 18 e.g. should have a cross-sectional area other than circular, the motor circuit board can be equipped with a correspondingly designed recess 97. The contacts and mating contacts of the motor circuit board 43 and the heater can have a design that differs from the exemplary embodiments shown. The number of existing cooperating contacts and counter-contacts can also be varied.

As already mentioned, the illustrated embodiments are only examples of implementations of the invention and are not limited to them. Rather, many other designs and applications are possible. So in the embodiment 1 to 5 of the drawing, both the design and the shape of the recess 37 and also the cutout 40 can be varied in the tracking device. The blades 36 of the guide device 20 can enclose an angle to the horizontal that deviates from 60 °. In this case, the angle β according to FIG. 5 of the drawing would also have to be appropriately changed. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the invention according to FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawing, it would also be possible to arrange the triac in a different region of the tracking device 20 than that shown. It is essential that it is fully gripped by the cooling air flow and thus optimally cooled. If a triac is always mentioned in the foregoing as an electronic component, other electronic components, such as a diode or the like, can also be used in the hairdryer in the manner according to the invention. The aim is always to give the respective electronic component optimal cooling in the hand hair dryer.

While only two contact tabs 50 and 51 are provided in the embodiment of the invention according to FIGS. 6 to 9, more than two contact tabs can also be attached to the carrier 17 if necessary. Regardless of the number of existing contact tabs, pushing or plugging the carrier onto the motor printed circuit board has the advantage that all existing contacts and mating contacts can be converted into their conductive connection, or it is possible to separate them from one another. Finally, the inventions can also be used in other electrically operated hand-held hair dryers known per se.

Reference symbol list:

10 -

Hand hair dryer

11 -

front housing part

12 -

rear housing part

13 -

Inlet grille

14 -

Molding nozzle

15 -

Outlet grille

16 -

Stoker

17 -

Porters (of 16)

18 -

electric motor

19 -

holder

20 -

Tracking device

21 -

Motor shaft

22 -

Wheel

23 -

Handle

24 -

Supply

25 -

Kink protection sleeve

26 -

counter

27 -

Switch panel

28 -

Control wheel

39 -

Handle part

30 -

Strain relief clamp

31 -

Hub (of 22)

32 -

Mounting screw

33 -

Middle section (of 20)

34 -

Connecting part (of 30)

35 -

Bucket support part (of 20)

36 -

Shovel (out of 30)

37 -

Recess (in 20)

38 -

side boundaries (of 37)

39 -

upper limit (of 37)

40 -

Neckline

41 -

Triac

42 -

Extension (from 43)

43 -

Motor circuit board

44 -

Motor connection

45 -

Recess (in 43)

46 -

Slit (in 43)

47 -

Conductor track (on 43)

48 -

Insulating plate (from 17)

49 -

Notch (of 48)

50 -

I. Contact tab

51 -

II. Contact tab

52 -

Solder joint (from 51 to 16)

53 -

Solder joint (from 50 to 16)

54 -

free end (of 50)

55 -

free end (of 51)

66 -

ground

67 -

Recording (for 18)

68 -

Window (for 28)

69 -

Window (for 26)

70 -

Holding tab

71 -

Switch circuit board

72 -

Recess (in 41)

84 -

Contact (flat plug)

85 -

Mating contact (clamping spring with tap)

86 -

Hollow rivet

87 -

Motor connections

88 -

renewal

89 -

Support switch (for 43)

90 -

Free space (over 36)

91 -

Solder joint

92 -

electronic components (on 43)

93 -

Contact (II. Execution Fig. 8)

94 -

Mating contact (II. Execution Fig. 8)

95 -

Rear electronic parts and connections (of 43)

96 -

movable motor connections

97 -

middle recess (of 43)

98 -

Connecting lines

99 -

Conductors and Connections (of 41)

100 -

outer boundary wall (of 43)

101 -

Support area (from 43)

102 -

inner boundary wall (of 43)

103 -

head Start

104 -

Retaining screw

A-A

Longitudinal axis (out of 10)

B

Attachment direction (Fig. 7)

Claims (21)

1. A hand-held electrical hair dryer (10) comprising a inlet (13) at one end and a housing (11,12) to accommodate an electric motor (18) driving a running wheel (22), with an outlet (14) at the other end, a heater (16) for heating air, a motor printed circuit board (43) with a triac (41) or a switching and control device including another electric module such as a diode or the like, and further comprising a further conducting device comprising blades, located on the motor holder, characterised in that the triac (41) or other electronic component of the dryer (10) is located in the region of the further conducting device (20).
2. The dryer of claim 1, characterised in that one of the blades (36) of the further conducting device (20) is removed, and the triac (41) is arranged in that region instead.
3. The dryer of claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the further conducting device (20) contains a recess (37) in the region of the one missing blade (36), into which an extension (42) of the motor printed circuit board (43) carrying the triac (41) projects.
4. The dryer of claim 3, characterised in that the recess (37) has boundaries (38) which are parallel, spaced from one another and connected by an upper boundary (39), and that the upper boundary (39) has a cutout portion (40) to engage the free end of the extension (42).
5. The dryer of claim 3 or 4, characterised in that one boundary wall of the cutout portion (40) is at an angle to the horizontal which is substantially equal to the angle between a blade (36) and the horizontal (Figs 3 and 5).
6. The hand-held electrical hair dryer of claim 1, wherein the heater is supported by a carrier and connected by contacts to opposing contacts on the motor printed circuit board, characterised in that the carrier (17) supports the heater (16) may be connected to the motor printed circuit board (43) by slipping it on, forming a detachable connection between its contacts (50,51) and the opposing contacts (47) on the board (43).
7. The dryer of claim 1 or 6, characterised in that the carrier (17) has contact pins (50,51) electrically connected to the heater (16), and that when the carrier is slipped in the pins engage in slots (46) in the motor printed circuit board (43) which cooperate with conductive tracks (47).
8. The dryer of claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the slots (46) are arranged at the free front end surface of the motor printed circuit board (43), and that the free angled ends (54,55) of the contact pins (50,51) engage in the slots (46) and make contact.
9. The dryer of claim 6, characterised in that each contact pin (50,51) comprises a metal strip, which is connected in its central region to one of the insulating plates which are arranged crosswise to form the carrier, one end of the strip being electrically connected to the heater (16), while the other, opposite end (54,55) engages in the slots (46) in the motor printed circuit board (43).
10. The dryer of claim 1 or 6, characterised in that the motor printed circuit board (43) is a member which engages round the motor (18) and has guiding and support areas (100,101), and that the surface of the board facing towards the outlet grid (15) has contacts (64,93) which can be connected detachably to the opposing contacts (85,94) of the heater (16) by slipping them on (Figs 11-16).
11. The dryer of claim 10, characterised in that the motor printed circuit board (43) is an annular member with the motor (18) extending through its central aperture (57), the outer boundary wall (100) of the annular member being usable as a guiding area, while part of its surface acts as a supporting area (101).
12. The dryer of claim 10 or 11, characterised in that a support (67) for the motor (18) is arranged in the region of the central part (33) of the holder (19) for the further conducting device (20), the upper part of the support (67) being by an encircling extension (88) of the central part (33), which cooperates with the inner boundary wall (102) of the motor printed circuit board (43).
13. The dryer of claim 10, characterised in that the outer boundary wall (100) of the motor printed circuit board (43) cooperates with the inner wall of a blade carrying member (35), and that both the extension (88) and the inner wall of the member (35) have a supporting ledge (89) for the supporting area (101) of the board (43).
14. The dryer of claim 13, characterised in that a space (90) to accommodate projecting parts of the motor printed circuit board (43) is provided in the bottom (66) of the holder (19) for the further conducting device (20), laterally of the supporting ledges (89).
15. The dryer of claim 10, characterised in that the motor printed circuit board (43) is provided with catches which cooperate with opposing catches on the adjacent walls of the holder (19) for the further conducting device (20).
16. The dryer of claim 10, characterised in that the motor printed circuit board (43) has contacts (84;93) projecting perpendicularly from its base plane, which can be coupled to opposing contacts (85;94) arranged on the carrier (17) of the heater (16).
17. The dryer of claim 16, characterised in that the contacts (84) are in the form of flat-pin plugs, with their rear end soldered to the motor printed circuit board (43) and their front end cooperating with an opposing contact in the form of a clamping spring (85). (Figs 14-15).
18. The dryer of claim 16, characterised in that the opposing contacts (94) on the heater (16) are in the form of flat-pin plugs and the contacts (93) on the printed circuit board (43) are in the form of clamping springs (Fig. 16).
19. The dryer of claims 16 to 18, characterised in that the opposing contacts (85;94) project beyond the end surface of the carrier (17) for the heater (16) and are provided with a tap.
20. The dryer of claim 10, characterised in that the motor printed circuit board (43) is connected to a prefabricated module by leads (98) with a switching printed circuit board (71).
21. The dryer of claim 20, characterised in that the switching printed circuit board, which has track connections or the like, has apertures (72) enabling it to be fitted onto holding projections (70) on the inner walls of the handle (23).

Images