Is a Dyson silent hairdryer on its way?

Dyson could soon be adding hairdryers to the list of domestic devices it’s revolutionised, a range of leaked patent applications has suggested.

The British company – famous for for its range of bagless vacuum cleaners – has applied for patents for a silent hairdryer.

The Telegraph has uncovered six patents detailing the mechanism of a “hand held blower with heater” which can also be used for drying paint.

It’s not the first time Dyson has stepped away from vacuums. It has already had huge success with its Airblade hand dryer and fan range, including the Dyson Hot and Cool, however it is rare that the firm reveals details of a product before its launch.

While traditional hairdryers can make more than 70 decibels of noise to remove water from hair, the Dyson model would draw less fluid in and use a network of tubes in its handle to focus the air using a more compact fan.

Diagrams of the product show it with two large horizontal cylinders
connected by a pair of thinner vertical tubes, although the hypothetical
sketch is not necessarily how the final device will look.

Air that is is sucked into the new dryer is passed through a looped labyrinth of ducts running through the handle and main tube to remove water.

It’s believed the twists and turns of the air’s path will lead to a quieter drying system. They’re also lined with felt or foam to give additional soundproofing and reduced vibration.

The patent said: “Traditional hairdryers are essentially an open tube with a fan for drawing fluid into the tube. This makes them noisy unless a big slow fan is used, but then a big motor is required which increases weight.

“As less fluid is drawn in, the motor of the fan assembly can be smaller and lighter in weight, the noise produced by the fan assembly can be reduced as there is less flow thorough the fan, this can result in a smaller and or more compact hairdryer which uses less power.

“The noise of the hairdryer is reduced by having a long fluid flow path, a coiled, looped, curves, s-shaped, zigzagged fluid flow path and frequency attenuating lining material.”

Despite requesting the patents, Dyson is not confirming the development of the quieter domestic good.

“Dyson holds over 3,500 patents and patent applications for over 500 inventions,” an official Dyson representative told TrustedReviews when pressed for details. They added: “Our 1,500 engineers constantly develop new technology and regularly file patents.”

Next, read our review of the Dyson DC59