Hair dryer air diffuser

Abstract

The present invention provides a hair dryer air diffuser elastically fitted to the nozzle of a hand held hair dryer. The air diffuser is substantially conical in shape and is made of flexible material. The air diffuser has openings or slits in the flexible material. Preferably, hair treatment products are affixed to or embedded in the flexible material. As the hair is dried, the heat in the air emerging from the dryer, volatilizes the hair treatment products and deposits them on the hair.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hair care is a very large business. Many customers of hair salons obtain a shampoo and styling, the latter of which consists of blow-drying the hair followed by using a curling wand or other treatment. The same hair styling is performed at home by both men and women. During blow drying, it is advantageous to diffuse the air coming from the hair dryer to lessen the intensity of the air flow in order to handle the styling of the hair more easily. Blow-drying the hair affords an opportunity to apply certain selected hair treatment products such as softeners, conditioners, fragrances and the like, simultaneously with the drying action.

There are several patents relating to applying fragrances to the hair utilizing the heat and flow of air coming from the hand held hair dryer. For example, U. S. Pat. No. 5,572,800 to Charles D. West provides a fragrance dispenser attachable to the barrel of a hair dryer. A replaceable fragrance-emitting element is contained within the dispenser.

U. S. Pat. No. 5,987,771 to Jason Quinn Curtin provides a scent charged aeration capsule assembly placed over the end of the barrel of a hand held hair dryer. A fragrance impregnated pad is placed in the aeration capsule.

U. S. Pat. No. 6,751,886 provides a container of fragrance or conditioner to be placed near the end of the hair blower outlet which effects a spray of a substance to be blown onto the hair.

Each of these patents requires the user to purchase an apparatus to be attached to the drier and in order to use the mechanism, the user either has to fill a container with the desired substance or put a substance on a pad or similar dispensing means. Such mechanisms cannot be used by a person traveling who wishes to have his or her hair treatment material packed with his or her luggage.

The present invention provides a disposable hair dryer air diffuser which diffuses the flow of air as it leaves the dryer and applies the selected hair treatment products as well. Furthermore, the air diffuser is compact and flexible taking up very little room in the luggage.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention provides a disposable hair dryer air diffuser which diffuses the air emerging from a hand held hair dryer. In addition, certain hair treatment products generally made volatile by the heated air coming from the dryer, are deposited on the customer's hair.

The hair dryer air diffuser of the present invention is made from flexible material such as a fabric, e. g., cotton material or polyester or the like, or a non-woven material. It is preferable that the material be somewhat porous. The air diffuser is substantially cone-shaped and is elastically attached to the nozzle of the hand held hair dryer. The air diffuser has several openings in the flexible material thereby allowing the air to diffuse upon emergence from the nozzle of the hair dryer.

The flexible material preferably has selected hair treatment products affixed to or embedded in the flexible material. The hair treatment products include fragrances, conditioners, body building agents, softeners, fresheners and mixtures thereof. The hair treatment products tend to volatilize in the heated air flow emerging from the nozzle of the hair dryer.

The air diffuser is disposable so that after use on one customer or one time by the consumer, the air diffuser can be thrown away. The substantially cone shaped air diffuser allows two or more air diffusers to be placed inside one another so that packaging for sale or packing in luggage is simple and efficient.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hand held hair dryer utilizing one air diffuser embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the air diffuser embodiment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of multiples of the air diffuser embodiment of FIG. 1 of the present invention.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. The description clearly enables one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives, and uses of the invention, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. The view depicts an air diffuser 10 mounted on the nozzle of a hand held hair dryer 12.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air diffuser 10 of FIG. 1. The air diffuser 10 has a cuff 16 which fits snuggly about the nozzle of the hair dryer 12. The cuff 16 contains elastic 22 to adjust the fit of the air diffuser 10 on the nozzle of the hair dryer 12 for a variety of sizes of nozzles. The air diffuser 10 is substantially conical in shape and has openings 14 in the air diffuser 10 to allow the air from the hair dryer 12 to pass through the air diffuser 10 at a lesser speed and in varied directions. The air diffuser 10 is made from flexible material 18, the flexible material 18 preferably having deposited thereon particles 19 or a liquid or cream of hair treatment products which tend to volatilize when the heated air emerges from the hair dryer 12 and passes through the air diffuser 10. The hair treatment products 19 become at least somewhat volatile from the heat and air velocity from the dryer 12. The air movement is slowed and diffused by the air diffuser 10 which allows the hair treatment products 19 to be deposited substantially evenly on the hair of the consumer.

The air diffuser 10 is disposable so that the user of the air diffuser 10 can simply throw away the air diffuser 10 following use, or perhaps the air diffuser can be used two or three times. The material used to make the air diffuser 10 is a light weight flexible material easily formed into a conical shape having a tip of the cone 20 and a cuff of the cone 16 containing elastic 22 to provide a snug fit over the nozzle of the hand held hair dryer 12. The elastic 22 preferably is a rubber like material and assists in gripping the nozzle of the hair dryer 12 so as to prevent the air diffuser 10 from blowing off the nozzle upon starting the hair dryer 12. If necessary a tape tab can be applied to the air diffuser 10 and to the hair dryer 12 to prevent the air diffuser from separating from the hair dryer 12. The air diffuser 10 has slits or openings 14 in the flexible material to assist in diffusing the air as it passes from the hair dryer 12 through the cone shaped air diffuser 10.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention. Inasmuch as the air diffuser 10 of the present invention is flexible, it is possible to pack the product in multiples in the same package by inserting one air diffuser inside another. FIG. 3 exemplifies two air diffusers 32 and 34 wherein the air diffuser 32 is the outside air diffuser and the air diffuser 34 is the inside air diffuser to make a packet 30 of two air diffusers. The elastic 36 in the outside air diffuser 32 and the elastic 37 in the inside air diffuser 34 are relaxed to allow the air diffuser 34 to fit easily inside the air diffuser 32 wherein a cone tip 40 of the inside air diffuser 34 is clearly visible exhibiting the ease with which packets of multiple air diffusers 10 can be packaged. The cone tip 40 may be a light weight plastic ring or a simple gathering of the flexible material to form a cone tip 40. Such packaging provides the disposable air diffusers 10 in easy to handle quantities to be distributed in the marketplace.

The air diffuser 10 in disposable form allows the technician to have a simple procedure for drying and treating the customer's hair without purchase of special mechanisms or other equipment. The air diffuser 10 is simply disposed of after use.

The air diffuser 10 provides the consumer with a simple solution to hair treatment on a daily basis when dressing to go to work or out for a social event. In addition, the air diffuser 10 eliminates odors from the hair of the consumer for example, when the consumer has been in a smoky environment or in a location where noxious odors are present without the necessity of shampooing the hair. By using the air diffuser 10 for just a few minutes, the odors are eliminated and the hair smells fresh. The air diffuser 10 of the present invention can be conveniently used in restrooms, the office or any location where a hair dryer can be used. The air diffuser 10 also can be used on pets to eliminate pet odors and provide a pleasant fresh aroma. The air diffuser 10 is universal in that it readily adapts to hair dryers of varied sizes and when used eliminates undesirable odors from hair.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results are obtained. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

1. A disposable air diffuser, the air diffuser being substantially cone shaped with the base of the cone elastically fitting about a nozzle of a hand held hair dryer.

2. The air diffuser of claim 1 wherein the cone shaped air diffuser is made from flexible material.

3. The air diffuser of claim 2 wherein the flexible material is cotton cloth, polyester, or a non-woven material.

4. The air diffuser of claim 2 wherein the air diffuser has openings in the material to effectively diffuse the air flowing from the hair dryer.

5. The air diffuser of claim 2 wherein the flexible material has selected hair treatment products embedded in or affixed to the material.

6. The air diffuser of claim 5 wherein the hair treatment products include a hair softening agent, a conditioner, a hair body building agent, a fragrance, a freshener or mixtures thereof.

7. A hand held hair dryer air diffuser to be elastically mounted on a nozzle of a hand held hair dryer from which heated air emerges, comprising a disposable substantially cone-shaped air diffuser of flexible material with openings to effectively diffuse the air emerging from the hair dryer.

8. The air diffuser of claim 7 wherein the flexible material has embedded in or affixed to the material selected hair treatment products.

9. The air diffuser of claim 8 wherein the hair treatment products include a hair softening agent, a conditioner, a hair body building agent, a fragrance, a freshener or mixtures thereof.