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EP-4133965-B1 - DIFFUSER AND HAIRDRYER INCLUDING SAME

EP4133965B1EP 4133965 B1EP4133965 B1EP 4133965B1EP-4133965-B1

Inventors

  • KIM, KYOUNGTAE
  • KIM, HYUNCHUL
  • KU, YUNHEE
  • PARK, RAYOUNG
  • KIM, DONGWON

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20200911

Claims (14)

  1. A diffuser (200) comprising: a case (210) having a rear side (212), the rear side configured to be removably coupled to a hair dryer (100); an inlet (215) provided at the rear side and configured to receive fluid discharged from the hair dryer; a guide frame (240) provided inside the case (210) to guide a flow of received fluid through the case (210); a light (260) provided inside the case and in front of the guide frame to irradiate light toward the front side (211) of the case (210); and a cover (300) provided at the case (210) to cover the light and the guide frame (240), wherein the cover includes: at least one discharge hole through (305) which fluid inside of the case (210) is discharged, the guide frame (240) being configured to guide fluid toward the cover (300), and a plurality of massage protrusions (310) configured to press a target located at a front of the cover (300), a light diffusion frame (280) disposed between the cover (300) and the light (260), wherein the light irradiated from the light (260) is diffused while forwardly penetrating the light diffusion frame (280).
  2. The diffuser (200) of claim 1, wherein an inner diameter of the case (210) increases in a front-rear direction away from the rear side and toward the cover (300).
  3. The diffuser (200) of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the guide frame (240) includes: a diffusion guide (241) aligned with the inlet (215) and configured to diffuse fluid introduced through the inlet; a first guide (246) formed in a ring shape concentric with the diffusion guide (241); and a second guide (251) formed in a ring shape concentric with the diffusion guide (241) and the first guide (246), wherein a first flow path (258) is defined between the diffusion guide (241) and the first guide (246), a second flow path (259) is defined between the first guide (246) and the second guide (251), and fluid introduced through the inlet flows along the first and second flow paths.
  4. The diffuser (200) of claim 3, wherein the light (260) includes: a central board (265) provided on a front surface of the diffusion guide (241); a first board (267) provided on a front surface of the first guide (246), wherein the first flow path (258) is defined between the central board (265) and the first board (267); a second board (268) provided on a front surface of the second guide (251), wherein the second flow path (259) is defined between the first board (267) and the second board (268); and a plurality of light emitters (262) provided on the central-, first-, and second boards.
  5. The diffuser (200) of claim 4, wherein: the first guide (246) is farther from the inlet (215) than the diffusion guide (241) in a front-rear direction away from the inlet (215) and toward the cover (300); the second guide (251) is farther forward from the inlet than the first guide in the front-rear direction; the first board (267) is farther forward from the inlet (215) than the central board (265) in the first direction; and the second board (268) is farther forward from the inlet (215) than the first board (267) in the front-rear direction.
  6. The diffuser (200) of claim 5, wherein the plurality of light emitters (262) are respectively aligned with the plurality of massage protrusions (310) in the front-rear direction.
  7. The diffuser (200) of any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein the cover (300) has a front surface that is increasingly recessed rearwards in a direction toward a center of the front surface so as to have a concave curvature.
  8. The diffuser (200) of any one of claims 4 to 7, further comprising a proximity sensor (269) provided on the central board (265) to measure a distance from the target in front of the cover (300), wherein the cover (300) includes a hole that aligns with a front of the proximity sensor (269).
  9. The diffuser (200) of claim 8, wherein the proximity sensor (269) is provided to sense an infrared ray transmitted from the target to measure the distance from the target, and the diffuser (200) further includes a housing surrounding the proximity sensor (269) to shield the proximity sensor (269) from light emitted by the plurality of light emitters (262), wherein a front of the housing is opened to allow passage of the transmitted infrared ray.
  10. The diffuser (200) of claim 9, wherein the housing is provided on a rear surface of the cover (300) and extends rearward.
  11. The diffuser of claim 9 or 10, wherein the light diffuser frame (280) includes: a central light diffuser (282) provided at a front surface of the central board (265); a first light diffuser (284) provided at a front surface of the first board (267); and a second light diffuser (286) provided at a front surface of the second board (268), wherein the first flow path (258) is defined between the central light diffuser (282) and the first light diffuser (284), and the second flow path (259) is defined between the first light diffuser (284) and the second light diffuser (286).
  12. The diffuser (200) of claim 11, wherein the central light diffuser (282) includes a hole, and the housing penetrates the hole.
  13. The diffuser (200) of any one of claims 12 to 13, wherein: the guide frame (240) further includes at least one guide rib extending along a radial direction of the guide frame to connect the diffusion guide, the first guide, and the second guide, and the light diffuser frame (280) further includes at least one connector rib extending along a radial direction of the light diffuser frame (280) to connect the central light diffuser (282), the first light diffuser (284), and the second light diffuser (286), wherein the connector rib and the guide rib are coupled to each other.
  14. A hair dryer (100) including the diffuser of any one of claims 1 to 13.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to a diffuser and a hair dryer including a diffuser. [Background Art] When removing moisture from wet hair or when styling hair, a hair dryer that discharges gas through a gas outlet may be used. In one example, the hair dryer may provide air or gas having certain characteristics desired by a user, such as a desired gas temperature, a desired gas speed, and a desired gas flow shape or area, through a diffuser. The diffuser may be coupled to a main body of the hair dryer to change the gas characteristics. Further, the diffuser may include a care device such as massage protrusions or bristles to manage scalp health and the like. Korean Utility Model Application Publication No. 20-2011-0002484 discloses a diffuser provided in a hair dryer. The diffuser may be different from a gas outlet of the hair dryer in a cross-sectional area through which discharged gas flows or a speed of the discharged gas. It is important for the diffuser to efficiently discharge air or gas while sufficiently caring for a scalp or in facilitating hair styling. The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background. KR 2018 0017193 A relates to a diffuser including an air inlet for receiving an airflow from a hair dryer, a grille having a plurality of air outlets for emitting a first part of the airflow from the diffuser, and a plurality of projections upstanding from the grille for contacting the hair of a user and for emitting a second part of the airflow. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem] Embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to provide a diffuser and a hair dryer that may effectively manage a user's scalp or hair health. In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to provide a diffuser and a hair dryer that effectively improve a flow of gas provided to a user and have efficient structures. [Technical Solution] An integrated hair dryer including an LED module for user's scalp care may be disadvantageous in terms of ease of use for a customer because the LED module is not able to be detached, which leads increase of weight and volume. In addition, in the integrated diffuser, the number, arrangement, and light amounts of LEDs for a user's scalp or hair care function may not be sufficient, so that a care effect may not be sufficient. In a case of a single scalp care apparatus independent from the hair dryer, a cold or warm air mode through gas provision is not able to be implemented except for care through the LED module, so that there may be limitations in improving a care performance of the user's hair or scalp. An embodiment of the present disclosure is intended to provide a diffuser that may be attached to or detached from a hair dryer for user's scalp care and may irradiate light through an LED and the like to a user, and a hair dryer including the same. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the diffuser may include an LED light irradiator disposed to be detachable from the hair dryer. The diffuser may implement a cooling mode using a gas discharge function of a main body of the hair dryer, and may have a flow path structure for improving gas flow inside the diffuser. In order to improve the gas flow inside the diffuser, an LED module apparatus may have a structure in which three types of PCBs are arranged in a stepwise manner. The gas flow paths are distributed in the diffuser, so that the gas may be diffused and efficient gas provision may be possible. The LED module may include a proximity sensor for determining whether the user's scalp is approached, and a light blocking portion for preventing internal interference of the LED light, which may affect the proximity sensor. In order to secure ergonomic usability, a R127 curvature defined based on a Korean standard head may be applied to the structure of the LED module in which the three types of PCBs are arranged in the stepwise manner. Thus, the ergonomic usability may be provided to the user. A diffuser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a diffusing case, a guide frame, a light irradiator, and a discharge cover. The diffusing case has a rear side removably coupled to a main body of a hair dryer, gas discharged from the main body is introduced into the diffusing case through a gas inlet hole defined at the rear side, and the gas introduced into the diffusing case is discharged from a front side of the diffusing case. The guide frame is disposed inside the diffusing case to guide flow of the gas introduced into the diffusing case, and the light irradiator is disposed inside the diffusing case and in front of the guide frame to irradiate light toward the front side of the diffusing case. The discharge cover is disposed at the front side of the diffusing case, the discharge cover includes a gas discharge hole for discharging the gas inside the diffusi