Hair drying device

Abstract

A hair dryer including a blower and a dryer head having a narrow elongated nozzle shaped to generate airflow in the form of a thin blade of air. The hair dryer includes an airflow evening structure functionally coupled to the nozzle that more evenly distribute airflow of the thin blade of air. The airflow evening structure is a sleeve rotatably coupled about the nozzle and includes a plurality of diversely shaped nozzle masks disposed about the sleeve, each shaped to restrict airflow through the nozzle in varying modes.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hair dryer, comprising:
 a) a blower;   b) a dryer head having a narrow elongated nozzle functionally coupled to the blower shaped to generate airflow in the form of a thin blade of air; and   c) an airflow evening structure functionally coupled to the nozzle that more evenly distributes airflow of the thin blade of air when the hair dryer is in operation.   
     
     
         2 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the airflow evening structure is a vane structure disposed inside the dryer head and shaped to preferentially direct airflow to regions of the nozzle having reduced airflow than other regions when the vane structure is not in operation. 
     
     
         3 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the airflow evening structure is a nozzle mask disposed over the nozzle and shaped to restrict airflow in regions of the thin blade of air having excess airflow. 
     
     
         4 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the airflow evening structure is a sleeve rotatably coupled about the nozzle and including a plurality of diversely shaped nozzle masks disposed about the sleeve, each shaped to restrict airflow through the nozzle in varying modes. 
     
     
         5 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the dryer head includes a second nozzle oriented substantially orthogonal to the narrow elongated nozzle 
     
     
         6 . The hair dryer of  claim 5 , wherein the dryer head includes a selectably operable seal for each nozzle. 
     
     
         7 . The hair dryer of  claim 3 , wherein the nozzle mask includes an elongated aperture of gradually increasing width over the length thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the nozzle mask includes a plurality of apertures disposed in an array. 
     
     
         9 . The hair dryer of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of apertures are circular apertures of varying radii. 
     
     
         10 . A hair dryer, comprising:
 a) a blower;   b) a dryer head having a narrow elongated nozzle functionally coupled to the blower shaped to generate airflow in the form of a thin blade of air; and   c) a sleeve rotatably coupled about the nozzle and including a plurality of diversely shaped nozzle masks disposed about the sleeve, each shaped to restrict airflow through the nozzle in varying modes when the hair dryer is in operation.   
     
     
         11 . The hair dryer of  claim 10 , wherein the dryer head includes a second nozzle oriented substantially orthogonal to the narrow elongated nozzle. 
     
     
         12 . The hair dryer of  claim 11 , wherein the dryer head includes a selectably operable seal for each nozzle. 
     
     
         13 . The hair dryer of  claim 12 , wherein one of the plurality of nozzle masks includes a plurality of apertures disposed in an array. 
     
     
         14 . The hair dryer of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of apertures are circular apertures of varying radii. 
     
     
         15 . The hair dryer of  claim 14 , further comprising a vane structure disposed inside the dryer head and shaped to preferentially direct airflow to regions of the nozzle having reduced airflow than other regions when the vane structure is not in operation. 
     
     
         16 . The hair dryer of  claim 15 , wherein the vane structure includes a plurality of vanes disposed in an array inside the dryer head. 
     
     
         17 . The hair dryer of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of vanes are of graduating sizes along the length of the array. 
     
     
         18 . The hair dryer of  claim 11 , wherein the second nozzle is circular. 
     
     
         19 . A hair dryer, comprising:
 a) a blower;   b) a dryer head having a narrow elongated nozzle functionally coupled to the blower shaped to generate airflow in the form of a thin blade of air, a second nozzle oriented substantially orthogonal to the narrow elongated nozzle, and a selectably operable seal for each nozzle;   c) a plurality of vanes disposed in an array inside the dryer head and shaped to preferentially direct airflow to regions of the nozzle having reduced airflow than other regions when the vane structure is not in operation;   d) a sleeve rotatably coupled about the nozzle and including a plurality of diversely shaped nozzle masks disposed about the sleeve, each shaped to restrict airflow through the nozzle in varying modes when the hair dryer is in operation, including a nozzle mask consisting of a plurality of apertures disposed in an array.