Description

HAND DRIER HAVING ADVERTISEMENT FUNCTION

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to a hand drier installed in a bathroom and used to dry the wet hands of a person, and, more particularly, to a hand drier having an advertisement function. Background Art

[2] Generally, one or more hand driers for generating dry hot air are installed in bathrooms such that users can dry their wet hands after washing. Such a hand drier is equipped with a proximity sensor around a blowhole, and, when the hands of a user are detected, causes a ventilation unit to be operated while causing power to be supplied to a heater, thereby drying the hands of the user with dry hot air.

[3] Meanwhile, when a hand drier is used, a user naturally watches the hand drier.

Therefore, when an advertising board is installed on the front surface of the hand drier, excellent advertising effects can be obtained.

[4] The present applicant was granted Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0376660 for "Hand Drier and Advertising Sensor through Electronic Detection" which enable an advertising board to be installed on the hand drier.

[5] However, the related art "Hand Drier through Electrical Detection", granted to the present applicant, employs a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) as a light source, so that it has disadvantages in that the hand drier may be easily broken when an improbable situation, such as an outside shock or an earthquake, occurs, in that the power consumption thereof is relatively high, and in that the volume thereof is large and the production cost thereof increases due to the use of an additional inverter. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[6] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hand drier having an advertisement function, which is not breakable due to an outside shock and can increase the efficiency of light since a Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp as a light source, which can be easily installed and can reduce power consumption since no additional inverter is used, and which can increase productivity since production costs can be reduced. Technical Solution

[7] In order to accomplish the above object, a hand drier having an advertising function according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing configured to

include a rear casing configured to be easily attached to a wall, and a front casing configured to have an open front surface, to be coupled to the rear casing, and to form a space for accommodating respective modules therein; a power module installed in the housing, and configured to receive Alternating Current (AC) power and generate and provide heater power for operating a heater and Direct Current (DC) power for operating the respective modules; a ventilation module configured to generate dry hot air for drying wet hands by heating the heater using the heater power and operating a ventilation motor using the DC power, the heater power and the DC power being provided by the power module; and an advertising module configured to provide a mirror function using a half mirror, formed on an open surface of the front casing, at normal times, and to display predetermined advertising content when the DC power is supplied from the power module in a hand drier body and Light Emitting Diode (LED) light sources are turned on.

[8] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the advertising module includes the half mirror, an advertising film, a light guide plate, the LED light sources, the reflective sheet, and an aluminum plate. The LED light sources configured such that a plurality of LEDs is arranged on an LED Printed Circuit Board (PCB) substrate and forms linear light, the reflective sheet is located at the rear side of the light guide plate, and configured to reflect light, leaked out in a rearward direction of the light guide plate, to the forward direction, thereby improving optical efficiency, the light guide plate is configured to provide uniform surface light by receiving light from the LED light sources through both ends of the light guide plate and emitting the light in a forward direction and by receiving light reflected from a reflective sheet again and then emitting the light in the forward direction. Further, the advertising film displays predetermined advertising content and is located on the front surface of the light guide plate, and the half mirror is located in front of the advertising film, and configured to protect the advertising film, provide a mirror function at normal times, and display advertising content of the advertising film in the forward direction using the surface light of the light guide plate when the LED light sources are turned on. Further, the aluminum plate functions as a support plate, has a heat dissipation function, and supports an advertising module assembly.

[9] According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the LED light sources are located at two ends of the light guide plate, and a prism pattern is formed on the front surface of the light guide plate. The power module includes a noise filter for receiving AC power, filtering out noise, and passing only pure AC power; a transformer for converting input high voltage into low voltage; a bridge rectifier for converting AC voltage, supplied from the transformer, into DC voltage; a first regulator for converting the DC voltage, supplied from the bridge rectifier, into first

DC voltage which has a predetermined magnitude and is stable; a second regulator for converting the DC voltage, supplied from the bridge rectifier, into second DC voltage which is stable; a first switch; a second switch; a third switch; and a control logic for, when a detection signal is transmitted from a proximity sensor, performing control so as to apply the heat power to the heater by turning on the first switch, supply the DC power to the ventilation motor by turning on the second switch, and supply the DC power to the advertising module by turning on the third switch.

[10] Features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Herein, terms and words used in the present specification and claims must not be interpreted as having common and dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts in conformity with the technical spirit of the present invention based on the principle in which an inventor can appropriately define the concepts of terms in order to describe the inventor's own invention in the most appropriate way.

Advantageous Effects

[11] A hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention is not breakable due to an outside shock since an LED lamp is used as a light source, can be easily installed and can reduce power consumption since no additional inverter is used, and can maximize visual advertising effects since advertisements are quickly displayed by light supplied from an LED light source and a light guide plate, when hands approach the hand drier which functions as a mirror.

[12] In particular, as compared to the previously registered related art granted to the present applicant, the present invention has primary advantages in that it is not breakable due to an outside shock, the optical efficiency thereof is increased and the power consumption thereof is largely reduced since a light source is changed from a CCFL into an LED lamp, secondary advantages in that production costs can be reduced and productivity can be improved since no additional inverter is required and entire power supply devices are installed in a single Printed Circuit Board (PCB) substrate so as to be easily assembled to a housing, and a tertiary advantage in that noise and power consumption can be reduced since a DC motor is used as a ventilation motor. Brief Description of the Drawings

[13] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the separation of a hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention;

[14] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the separation of the detailed configuration of an advertising module shown in FIG. 1 ;

[15] FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a light source unit shown in FIG.

2;

[16] FIG. 4 is a view showing the operation of the advertising module of the hand drier according to the present invention;

[17] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of a power module shown in FIG. 1 ;

[18] FIG. 6 is a view showing the operation of the hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention;

[19] FIG. 7 is a view showing another embodiment of the hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention; and

[20] FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of the hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention.

[21] *Description of reference numerals of principal elements in the drawings*

[22] 110: rear casing 120: power module

[23] 130: ventilation module 140: advertising module

[24] 141 : half mirror 142: advertising film

[25] 143: light guide plate 144: LED light source

[26] 145: reflective sheet 146: support plate

[27] 150,150': front casing 152: projection portion

[28] 154: half mirror frame 156: screw

Mode for the Invention

[29] The above-described object, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent through embodiments below.

[30] A hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[31] First, it should be understood that reference should now be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same elements or components. When the present invention is described, detailed descriptions of related well-known functions or configurations are omitted in order to prevent the gist of the present invention from being obscure.

[32] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the separation of the hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the separation of the detailed configuration of an advertising module shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a light source unit shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a view showing the operation of the advertising module of the hand drier according to the present invention.

[33] The hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention

includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a rear casing 110 configured to be easily attached to a wall, a front casing 150 configured to have an open front surface, to be coupled to the rear casing 110 and to form a housing, and to form a space for accommodating respective modules inside the housing, and a power module 120, a ventilation module 130 and an advertising module 140 which are mounted inside the housing. Here, a blowhole for exhausting dry hot air generated by the ventilation module 130 and a proximity sensor for sensing the hands of a person are installed under the housing.

[34] Referring to FIG. 1, the power module 120 receives Alternating Current (AC) power

(220 V/100 V), generates heater power for operating a heater and Direct Current (DC) power for operating the respective modules, and supplies the corresponding power when the proximity sensor is turned on. The ventilation module 130 generates dry hot air required to dry wet hands by heating the heater using the heater power supplied by the power module 120 and operating a ventilation motor using the DC power. The advertising module 140 is located on the front surface of the housing, provides a mirror function when the power is turned off, and displays predetermined advertising content when power is turned on.

[35] In particular, the advertising module 140 is installed on the open surface of the front casing, and configured to provide the mirror function at normal times, that is, when the hand drier is not in operation, and display advertising content when the hand drier is in operation and the power is turned on. The advertising module 140 includes a half mirror 141, an advertising film 142, a light guide plate 143, LED light sources 144, a reflective sheet 145, and a support plate 146, as shown in FIG. 2.

[36] Referring to FIG. 2, the support plate 146 is formed by an aluminum plate, and configured to have a function of dissipating heat and perform a function of supporting an advertising module assembly through screw coupling 147. The reflective sheet 145 is attached on the rear side of the light guide plate 143, and configured to perform a function of reflecting light, leaked out in the rearward direction, to the forward direction again.

[37] As shown in FIG. 3, one of the LED light source 144 includes a heat dissipation plate

144a for performing functions of dissipating heat and coupling the LED light source to the light guide plate, an LED PCB substrate 144b, and LEDs 144c arranged on the LED PCB substrate 144b, thereby forming a linear light source. The light guide plate 143 receives light from the LED light sources 144 installed at both ends thereof, and receives light reflected from the reflective sheet 146, thereby providing surface light which is uniform in the forward direction. For this purpose, a prism pattern is formed on the light guide plate 143.

[38] The advertising film 142 is used to display predetermined advertising content, is located in front of the light guide plate 143, and is configured to display the advertising

content in the forward direction using surface light provided through the light guide plate 143. The half mirror 141 is located in front of the advertising film 142 so as to protect the advertising film 142, and configured to display the advertising content of the advertising film 142 in the forward direction using the surface light of the light guide plate 143 when power is turned on, and provide a mirror function when power is turned off.

[39] As shown in FIG. 4, the advertising module 140 receives light from the LED light sources 144 located at both ends of the light guide plate 143, and then emits light in the forward direction. Light, leaked out in the rearward direction, is reflected from the reflective sheet 145, and then emitted in the forward direction through the light guide plate 143. Therefore, the advertising content, such as text, images, or graphics, written in the advertising film 142 is displayed in the forward direction after passing through the half mirror 141.

[40] Referring to FIG. 1 again, the power module 120 receives an AC power of 220 V/

100 V and then generates heater power for operating a heater and DC power for operating the respective modules. When the proximity sensor 102 is turned on, the power module 120 generates dry hot air, required to dry hands, by supplying the DC power to a heater 134 and a ventilation motor 132, and enables the advertising content to be displayed by supplying DC power to the advertising module 140. As shown in FIG. 5, the power module 120 includes a noise filter 121 for receiving AC power, filtering out noise, and passing only pure AC power, a transformer 122 for converting high voltage into low voltage, a bridge rectifier 123 for converting AC voltage output from the transformer 122 into DC voltage, a 5 V regulator 124 for converting the DC voltage from the rectifier 123 into stable 5 V DC voltage, and a 12 V regulator 125 for converting the DC voltage from the rectifier 123 into stable 12 V DC voltage.

[41] Further, the proximity sensor 102 is operated by 5 V power from the 5 V regulator

124, and configured to transmit a detection signal to a control logic 126 when the hands of a person are detected. When the control signal is input, the control logic 126 applies an AC power of 220 V/ 100 V to the heater by turning on a first switch SWl, operates the ventilation motor 132 by turning on a second switch SW2, and applies a stable DC power of 12 V to the advertising module 140 by turning on a third switch SW3.

[42] An example of timing at which the respective modules are operated by the power module 120 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 6, when the proximity sensor 102, located near the blowhole existing at the bottom of the housing, detects the hands of a person and transmits a turn-on signal to the control logic 126, the control logic 126 turns on the first to third switches SWl to SW3 in response to the detection signal of the proximity sensor 102, and operates the heater

134, the ventilation motor 132, and the advertising module 140. Therefore, the ventilation module 132 dries the wet hands of a user by exhausting dry hot air through the blowhole of the housing, and the advertising module 140 displays advertising content using uniform surface light radiated through the light guide plate 143 when the LED light sources are turned on.

[43] The time for which the heater 134 and the ventilation motor 132 are turned on can be controlled such that the heater 134 and the ventilation motor 132 are operated for a predetermined time period using a timer after detection is performed or such that the heater 134 and the ventilation motor 132 are continuously operated as long as hands are detected.

[44] FIG. 7 is a view showing another embodiment of the hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention. In order for an operator to easily replace the advertising film, a half mirror frame 154 is added to a front casing 150', and a half mirror 141 and an advertising film 142 can be separately attached and detached.

[45] Referring to FIG. 7, a projection portion 152 having a height that makes an inclination at a predetermined angle is formed around the open surface of the front casing 150' such that a user can perform convenient viewing, and a light guide plate 143 for constituting the advertising module is installed inside the open surface. A plurality of longitudinal holes 152a is formed on the upper portion of the front casing 150' and configured to be fitted over respective undercuts 154a located in the upper portion of the half mirror frame 154, and a plurality of screw depressions is formed at the bottom of the projection portion 152 to be engaged therewith.

[46] Further, the half mirror frame 154 is configured to correspond to the projection portion 152 of the front casing in order to couple the half mirror 141 and the advertising film 142 to the light guide plate 143, and the half mirror frame 154 is fixed by inserting the undercuts 154a, located on the upper portion of the half mirror frame 154, into the longitudinal holes 152a of the front casing, and then coupling the bottom of the half mirror frame 154 using the projection portion 152 and the screws 156.

[47] As described above, according to another embodiment of the present invention, when advertising content is replaced on the hand drier according to the present invention, an operator can easily replace advertising content by separating only the half mirror frame from the front casing without separating the casings and then replacing the advertising film.

[48] FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of the hand drier having an advertisement function according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, when a user places his/her hands at the bottom of the hand drier according to the present invention, the advertising module 140 which has been functioning as a mirror is turned on and

then displays advertising content, so that the user is naturally exposed to advertisements. In particular, when hands approach the advertising module which has been functioning as a mirror, advertisements are suddenly displayed by light supplied from the LED light sources and the light guide plate, so that there is an advantage in that visual advertising effects can be maximized.

[49] Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and adjustments are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that the accompanying claims of the present invention include the embodiments of modifications.