Hand held hair dryer with shock mounted quartz tube heater

In a hair dryer including a housing defining air inlet and outlet means, an electric motor mounted in said housing, a fan driven by said motor for creating an air flow through said housing from said inlet to said outlet, a heater assembly mounted in said housing, and circuit means for operating said motor and heater assembly, the improvement wherein said heater assembly comprises:

• a quartz glass heating tube for providing a radiant heat source, said tube having a generally annular shape about a central axis therethrough thereby defining axial and radial directions, with opposite ends of the tube adjacent but circumferentially spaced apart, the tube being situated axially intermediate said inlet and outlet means and at least partially in the path of said air flow, a reflector secured to said housing such that the tube is intermediate the reflector and the outlet means, and support means for securing said tube to said reflector comprising a primary support engaging said ends of said quartz tube and three secondary supports, the location of the primary support, with respect to a clock face reference being at 6 o'clock and the locations of said secondary supports being at approximately 10, 12 and 2 o'clock respectively, each of said supports having a first part at least partially encircling and resiliently holding the tube and a second part secured to said reflector, each of said supports permitting at least a small amount of motion of said tube in the axial direction relative to said reflector, said supports also providing resilient cushioning support for said tube in said radial direction.