Battery operated hair dryer

Abstract

A battery operated hair dryer includes a battery management and control module to control how to efficiently dry a user's hair while maintaining the health and charge of the battery.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hair dryer comprising:
 a housing;   a battery pack including at least one battery cell, the battery pack disposed within the housing;   the battery pack electrically connected to a battery management and control module;   at least one switch to control operation of the hair dryer;   a heating assembly disposed within the housing, the heating assembly including a fan attached to a motor, and at least one heating element, wherein the motor turns the fan, which draws ambient air into an inlet and expels air through an outlet;   the heating element positioned such that air passing through the heating assembly may be heated to a temperature greater than the ambient air temperature; and   the battery management and control module electrically connected to the at least one fan and the at least one heating element, wherein the battery management and control module adjusts an electrical current delivered from the battery pack to the fan and heating element to optimize the drying performance of the hair dryer and the performance of the battery pack.   
     
     
         2 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the battery pack includes a plurality of battery cells. 
     
     
         3 . The hair dryer of  claim 2 , wherein the battery management and control module balances the charge among the plurality of battery cells. 
     
     
         4 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the heating element is a resistive heating coil. 
     
     
         5 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the motor is a brushless three-phase electric motor. 
     
     
         6 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the heating assembly further includes a plurality of stator vanes positioned near the fan that straighten airflow through the heating assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the battery management and control module is housed on a printed circuit board that is located within this housing such that it separates the heating assembly from the battery pack. 
     
     
         8 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the battery cells are lithium ion battery cells. 
     
     
         9 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , further including a battery indicator that displays a state of charge of the battery pack. 
     
     
         10 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , further including a light ring located near the outlet, wherein the light ring comprises at least one LED. 
     
     
         11 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , further including a plurality of temperature sensors located throughout the battery pack such that temperature data for each battery cell is measured and inputted into the battery management and control module. 
     
     
         12 . The hair dryer of  claim 11 , wherein the battery management and control module adjusts fan speed and the amount of current supplied to the heating element based on the temperature of the battery cells. 
     
     
         13 . The hair dryer of  claim 11 , wherein the battery management and control module balances the charge of the battery cells based on the temperature of the battery cells. 
     
     
         14 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the battery management and control module measures a state of charge of the battery pack. 
     
     
         15 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein the battery management and control module measures the health of the battery pack. 
     
     
         16 . The hair dryer of  claim 1 , wherein each battery cell includes two terminals. 
     
     
         17 . The hair dryer of  claim 16 , wherein each terminal is electrically connected to a terminal consolidation board. 
     
     
         18 . The hair dryer of  claim 17 , wherein the each terminal extends through a corresponding slot on a terminal consolidation board. 
     
     
         19 . The hair dryer of  claim 18 , wherein the terminal consolidation board is electrically connected to the battery management and control module.