Large-Capacity Blow Dryer Nozzle For Essential Oil With Universal Attachment Feature

Abstract

Disclosed is a large-capacity essential oil nozzle where an external wall of the nozzle includes a thread base that receives the threaded mouth of a large-capacity bottle. A liquid permeable metal block connected to a metal tube extends into the bottle via a central hole in a stopper. A seal is made with a shoulder at the bottom of the threads within the thread base. Preferably, the stopper has a T-shape and the metal tube has a flange, a seal being made via an edge of the T-shaped stopper, the flange, and a sealing gasket. The nozzle may include a universal mount formed from a spring-loaded mechanism to allow the nozzle to be connected to electric blow dryers of different size. The large-capacity essential oil nozzle frees the glass bottle from being restricted by the surrounding structure, increasing the allowable volume of the glass bottle and eliminating the need for frequent changes.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 2015 2 0503226.3, filed Jul. 13, 2015, now issued as Chinese Patent No. ZL 2015 2 0503226.3, Certificate No. 4724493, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This application relates generally to a nozzle for an electric hair dryer or electric blow dryer, particularly a nozzle that is uniquely configured for supporting a large-capacity vial of essential oil hair care product and optionally having a universal attachment feature for convenient attachment to different sized blow dryers.

Description of the Related Art

The use of essential oil for hair care has become very popular among users. When looking after your hair with essential oil, it is usually done by connecting the electric hair dryer mouth to the nozzle (aka tuyere) which carries the essential oil. The nozzle is often flat for better hair styling and protecting hair at the same time. The applicant's co-owner applied for a patent for Essential Oil Tuyere for Electric Hair Dryers on Apr. 29, 2014 and the patent number is ZL201420216076.3.

This earlier product is designed with a metal block with nano cells extending into the air duct of the nozzle. The metal block is connected to a relatively small glass bottle containing the essential oil that is delivered to the metal block through a metal tube. The glass bottle is held within a small compartment on the external wall of the nozzle. This earlier design prevents the essential oil from contacting the plastic body for a long time, which avoids generating toxins for better health protection. Due to the structural design, the capacity of the glass bottle containing essential oil is rather restricted to contain only 1˜2 ml of essential oil. In spite of having an attractive appearance, the essential oil may be used up within only 3˜4 minutes. In places with a large number of customers, such as hair salons, it is necessary to frequently replace the glass bottle containing essential oil, which greatly reduces each hairdresser's working efficiency. For that reason, this early version is applicable to a single user only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the restricted capacity of the existing essential oil nozzle and avoid frequent replacement, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a large-capacity essential oil nozzle which has a modified structure, freeing the glass bottle from structural restriction and enlarging the capacity of the glass bottle to avoid frequent replacement.

The technical design of this large-capacity essential oil nozzle includes the nozzle, a liquid permeable metal block, and a glass bottle containing essential oil. The inside of the nozzle provides an air duct. Air from an electric blow dryer flows through the air duct when the nozzle is connected to the dryer's output. The permeable metal block is designed with fully permeable nano cells and, when assembled, is extending into the air duct. The external wall of the nozzle is designed with a thread base containing an internal thread; the mouth of the glass bottle is connected to the thread base and sealed with the threads; the top of the metal block is connected to a metal tube which is inserted into a center hole of the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper which, in turn, is inserted into the mouth of the glass bottle.

The inner wall of the thread base is provided with a shoulder, or bench, which is designed to mate with a sealing gasket which may be the stopper or a separate sealing gasket.

The anti-corrosion silica gel stopper preferably has a “T” shape design with a protruding edge and an intermediate portion of the metal tube preferably has a flange or catch so that, after the glass bottle screws inside the thread base, the mouth of the glass bottle presses against the edge, and then the flange, and the sealing gasket.

The anti-corrosion silica gel stopper has a central aperture that fits snugly around the external wall of the metal tube and a main body that fits snugly within the inner wall of the mouth of the glass bottle.

The preferred nozzle forms an integrated structure with the thread base.

The preferred nozzle further includes a spring-loaded mechanism at an input end of the nozzle for securely attaching the input end of the nozzle to electric blow dryers with outputs of different diameter.

The benefits provided by embodiments of the present invention include the following: the essential oil is contained inside the glass bottle and the glass bottle is not restricted by structural design as long as the mouth of the glass bottle fits with the thread base, the glass bottle may be provided with following exemplary capacities: 10 ml, 15 ml, and 20 ml. The user may select from amongst different glass bottles to choose a size containing essential oil according to the number of customers and length of hair. It is no longer necessary to frequently change the glass bottle containing essential oil, which has greatly improved working efficiency. The nozzle may be used with blow dryers with outputs of different diameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a large-capacity essential oil nozzle 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the essential oil nozzle 1 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a large-capacity essential oil nozzle 101 having a universal mount 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an partially exploded perspective view of the essential oil nozzle 101 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fully exploded perspective view of the essential oil nozzle 101 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the diagrams, 1: nozzle (or tuyere), 2: metal block, 3: glass bottle, 4: air duct, 5: thread base, 6: metal tube, 7: anti-corrosion silica gel stopper, 8: shoulder (or bench), 9: sealing gasket, 10: flange (or catch), 101: nozzle, 20: adapter sleeve, 30: spring loaded mechanism, 31: flexible vane type 1, 32: flexible vane type 2, 33: flexible vane type 3, 34: annular base, 35: compression band retaining hook, 36: compression spring retaining hook, 40: compression band, 50: compression spring.

The following is a detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a first preferred embodiment of a large-capacity hair care essential oil nozzle is comprised of a nozzle 1, a liquid permeable metal block 2 and a glass bottle 3 containing essential oil. Inside the nozzle 1, there is an air duct 4 through which air from an electric blow dryer (not shown) passes. The liquid permeable metal block 2 is comprised of permeable nano cells and it extends into to the air duct 4. The external wall of the nozzle 1 is uniquely designed with a thread base 5 containing internal threads. The mouth of the glass bottle 3 is connected to the thread base 5 and sealed with the threads.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the top of the permeable metal block 2 is connected to a metal tube 6, which in turn is inserted into a center hole of the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7. Then, the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7 is inserted into the mouth of the glass bottle 3. The essential oil will not react with the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7 or produce any toxic substances. According to aforementioned technological design, the essential oil is contained within a large-capacity glass bottle 3 and the capacity of the glass bottle 3 is not limited by structural design. As long as the mouth of the glass bottle 3 fits with the thread base 5, the glass bottle 3 may be designed with following exemplary capacities: 10 ml, 15 ml, and 20 ml. Thus, the user may select the glass bottle 3 containing essential oil according to the number of customers and length of hair. It is no longer necessary to frequently change the glass bottle containing essential oil, which has greatly improved working efficiency.

The inner wall of the said thread base 5 is provided with a shoulder 8, which is designed to fit a sealing gasket 9. After tightening the glass bottle 3 into the thread base 5, the sealing gasket 9 provides sealing between the thread base 5 and glass bottle 3 by being compressed against the shoulder 8.

In the first preferred embodiment, the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7 has a “T” shape consisting of a main body and a larger diameter portion that provides an edge. The “T” shape design of the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper provides an edge to cover the surface of the mouth of the glass bottle 3, preventing the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7 from being pushed into the glass bottle 3 In addition, the metal tube 6 is provided with a flange 10. Thus, after the glass bottle 3 is screwed into the thread base 5, the mouth of the glass bottle 3 presses against the edge, the flange 10 and the sealing gasket 9. The flange 10 also prevents the tube 6 that is connected to the liquid permeable metal block 2 from being inserted too far into the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7, thereby locating the permeable metal block 2 at a desired position within the air duct 4.

The central hole (not separately numbered) in the stopper 7 fits closely to the external wall of the metal tube 6 and the outer diameter of the main body of the stopper 7 fits closely to the inner wall of the mouth of the glass bottle 3. On the one hand, it helps securely connect the anti-corrosion silica gel stopper 7 to the metal tube 6 and the glass bottle 3; on the other hand, it provides outstanding sealing as well.

In the preferred embodiment, the nozzle 1 and the thread base 5 have an integrated structural design. In other words, the nozzle 1 and the thread base 5 are formed with one-piece molding technique, which ensures easy and cost-effective processing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a large-capacity essential oil nozzle 101 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of the essential oil nozzle 101 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a more fully exploded view. In these figures, like elements have been labeled with like numbers for ease of understanding relative to the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 (e.g. bottle 3). This second embodiment, however, features a universal mount 20 of relatively large diameter for convenient attachment to different sized electric blow dryers.

As shown, the universal mount 20 includes a spring-loaded mechanism 30 having an annular base 34 that is attached to the nozzle 101 with screws (not separately numbered). The spring-loaded mechanism 30 further features a plurality of flexible vanes 31, 32, 33 that extend inward from around the periphery of the annular base 34. As best shown by FIGS. 4 and 5, the vanes 31, 32, 33 flex about their bases, near the annular base 34, such that the inner diameter between the free ends of the vanes expands or contracts. In the preferred embodiment, as more fully explained below, there are nine vanes total, i.e. three first type vanes 31, three second type vanes 32, and three third type vanes 33.

The preferred embodiment is further comprised of two cooperating compression elements, i.e. a rubber compression band 40 and a metal compression spring 50 It may be possible to use only one type of compression element, but two provides more effective forces for retaining the nozzle 101 on the electric blow dryer (not shown).

As suggested by FIGS. 4 and 5, the compression band 40 and the compression spring 50 are pulled onto and around the vanes 31, 32, 33 in order to bias them radially inward. The first type vanes 31 carry an L-shaped hook for holding the compression spring 50 in place. The second type vanes 32 carry an L-shaped hook 35, further way from the annular base 34, for holding the rubber compression band 40 in place. The third type vane 33 are interposed between the first and second vanes 31, 32, and aligned with screw holes (not numbered) that are used to attach the mechanism 30 to the rest of the nozzle 101 to form the universal mount 20.

Claims

1. An essential oil nozzle for adding essential oil to air moving through the nozzle from an output of an electric blow dryer comprising:

a nozzle defining an air duct extending from an input end to an output end, the nozzle having wall and a connection base having internal threads and an aperture that extends through the wall into the air duct;

a bottle with an interior for containing essential oil and a mouth defined by a neck, the neck having external threads;

a stopper with a main body inserted into the mouth of the bottle and a center hole; and

a liquid permeable metal block connected to a metal tube, the metal tube inserted through the center hole of the stopper and into the bottle such that the liquid permeable metal block extends from the stopper via the metal tube and such that the metal tube is in liquid communication with the interior of the bottle to transport essential oil from the interior of the bottle to the liquid permeable metal block via the metal tube; and

wherein the bottle is connected to the thread base by threading the external threads on the neck of the bottle to the internal threads on the thread base of the nozzle, the liquid permeable metal block that extends from the stopper extending through the aperture and into the air duct of the nozzle such that air moving through the nozzle draws essential oil from the liquid permeable metal block.

2. The essential oil nozzle of claim 1 further comprising:

a spring-loaded mechanism at an input end of the nozzle for securely attaching the input end of the nozzle to electric blow dryers with outputs of different diameter.

3. The essential oil nozzle of claim 1 further comprising:

a shoulder located between the internal threads and the aperture of the connection base; and

a sealing gasket that is compressed against the shoulder when the bottle is threaded into the connection base.

4. The essential oil nozzle of claim 3 further comprising:

a stopper flange at the end of the stopper's main body such that the stopper has a “T” shape when viewed in profile from the side; and

an annular flange on the metal tube;

wherein the neck of the bottle presses against the stopper flange, which in turn presses against the annular flange of the metal tube, which in turn presses against the sealing gasket, when the bottle is screwed into the connection base.

5. The essential oil nozzle of claim 1 wherein the spring-loaded mechanism for securely attaching the input end of the nozzle to electric blow dryers with outputs of different diameter comprises:

an annular base;

a plurality of flexible vanes extending radially inward from the annular base; and

a compression element surrounding the flexible vanes for constricting the flexible vanes inward.

6. The essential oil nozzle of claim 5 wherein the compression element comprises a spring.

7. The essential oil nozzle of claim 5 wherein the compression element comprises an elastic band.

8. The essential oil nozzle of claim 5 wherein the compression element comprises a spring and an elastic band, wherein the plurality of flexible vanes comprising nine flexible vanes including three of a first vane type, three of second vane type, and three of a third vane type, and wherein each vane of the first vane type includes a hook for retaining the spring, and wherein each vane of the second vane type includes a hook for retaining the elastic band.

9. An essential oil nozzle for adding essential oil to air moving through the nozzle from an output of an electric blow dryer comprising:

a nozzle defining an air duct extending from an input end to an output end, the nozzle having wall and a connection base having internal threads and an aperture that extends through the wall into the air duct;

a bottle with an interior for containing essential oil and a mouth defined by a neck, the neck having external threads;

a stopper with a main body inserted into the mouth of the bottle and a center hole; and

a liquid permeable metal block connected to a metal tube, the metal tube inserted through the center hole of the stopper and into the bottle such that the liquid permeable metal block extends from the stopper via the metal tube and such that the metal tube is in liquid communication with the interior of the bottle to transport essential oil from the interior of the bottle to the liquid permeable metal block via the metal tube;

wherein the bottle is connected to the thread base by threading the external threads on the neck of the bottle to the internal threads on the thread base of the nozzle, the liquid permeable metal block that extends from the stopper extending through the aperture and into the air duct of the nozzle such that air moving through the nozzle draws essential oil from the liquid permeable metal block; and

wherein the input end of the nozzle includes a spring-loaded mechanism for securely attaching the input end of the nozzle to electric blow dryers with outputs of different diameter.

10. The essential oil nozzle of claim 9 further comprising:

a shoulder located between the internal threads and the aperture of the connection base; and

a sealing gasket that is compressed against the shoulder when the bottle is threaded into the connection base.

11. The essential oil nozzle of claim 10 further comprising:

a stopper flange at the end of the stopper's main body such that the stopper has a “T” shape when viewed in profile from the side; and

an annular flange on the metal tube;

wherein the neck of the bottle presses against the stopper flange, which in turn presses against the annular flange of the metal tube, which in turn presses against the sealing gasket, when the bottle is screwed into the connection base.

12. The essential oil nozzle of claim 9 wherein the spring-loaded mechanism for securely attaching the input end of the nozzle to electric blow dryers with outputs of different diameter comprises:

an annular base;

a plurality of flexible vanes extending radially inward from the annular base; and

a compression element surrounding the flexible vanes for constricting the flexible vanes inward.

13. The essential oil nozzle of claim 12 wherein the compression element comprises a spring.

14. The essential oil nozzle of claim 12 wherein the compression element comprises an elastic band.

15. The essential oil nozzle of claim 12 wherein the compression element comprises a spring and an elastic band, wherein the plurality of flexible vanes comprising nine flexible vanes including three of a first vane type, three of second vane type, and three of a third vane type, and wherein each vane of the first vane type includes a hook for retaining the spring, and wherein each vane of the second vane type includes a hook for retaining the elastic band.