US3909938A

US3909938A - Combined close shaving and long hair trimming head assembly for an electric shaver

Info

Publication number: US3909938A
Application number: US488740A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Edward Brenneman; Nial C Bartram
Original assignee: Schick Inc
Current assignee: Philips North America LLC
Priority date: 1974-07-15
Filing date: 1974-07-15
Publication date: 1975-10-07
Anticipated expiration: 1992-10-07
Also published as: CA1019942A; JPS5136356A; JPS5316341B2

Abstract

A combined close shaving and long hair trimming head assembly for an electric shaver comprises a housing removable from the body of the shaver, a rounded multi-apertured close-shaving comb mounted in a window in the housing, and a pair of trimmer blades arranged for side-by-side reciprocation. The upper margins of the trimmer blades are notched to form a precision cutting surface for long hair, and the lower margins are pivotally attached to the housing to enable the precision cutting surface to be positioned close to the comb to assist in cutting occasional long hairs, or away from the comb to provide for precision trimming of sideburns and moustaches. A slide button and cam linkage are provided on the housing to enable a user to conveniently position the precision cutting surface without coming into contact with the trimmer blades.

Description

United States Patent Brenneman et al.

Oct. 7, 1975 AN ELECTRIC SHAVER Inventors: J. Edward Brenneman; Nial C.

Bartram, both of Lancaster, Pa.

Assignee: Schick Incorporated, Lancaster, Pa.

Filed: July 15, 1974 App]. No.: 488,740

Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner-Gary L. Smith 7 ABSTRACT A combined close shaving and long hair trimming head assembly for an electric shaver comprises a housing removable from the body of the shaver, a rounded multi-apertured close-shaving comb mounted in a window in the housing, and a pair of trimmer blades arranged for side-by-side reciprocation. The upper mar- [52] US. Cl. /34.1 gins of the trimmer blades are notched to form a 51 1m. (:1. B26B 19/10 cisin Cutting Surface hair and the lower [58] Field of Search 30/341, 223, 224, 4392, gins are pivotally attached to the housing to enable the 30/34651 precision cutting surfaceto be positioned close to the comb to assist in cutting occasional long hairs, or 56] References Cited away from the comb to provide for precision trimming UNITED STATES PATENTS of sideburns and moustaches. A slide button and cam linkage are provided on the housing to enable a user 3,673,683 7/ 1972 Flscher 30/34-1 to conveniently position the precision cutting surface without coming into contact with the trimmer blades.

3,783,508 1/1974 Brown 30/34.] X 8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 44 l 44 I4 I 8| 48 I: Z

22 z 47 143 42 fi l 1 46 |l1 so, 1 24 77 II 78 52 W! 53 l s2 |i 26 l 1 58 1 2 l i I 1* '1 72 73 f l4 34 g I3 I 3 5 Q l l I COMBINED CLOSE SHAVING AND LONG HAIR TRIMMING HEAD ASSEMBLY FOR AN ELECTRIC SHAVER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed in general to electric shavers, and more particularly to a shaver head assembly which is more convenient to use and which provides improved close shaving and long hair trimmingperformance for such shavers. I

As explained in the co-pending application of Robert S. Waters et al., Ser. No. 477,021, filed on June 6, 1974, and assigned to the present assignee, mens electric shavers, in addition to having a close shaving head for shaving short hairs, are often equipped with an auxiliary trimmer head specifically intended for long hair trimming. Prior to the aforementioned Waters et al application such trimmer heads typically comprised a pair of elongated reciprocatively-driven cutter blades attached to the shaver housing at one end so as to be selectively extendable and retractable. As set of comb- Iike cutting teeth were provided in shearing engagement at the projecting end of the cutter blades to provide a narrow well-defined long-hair cutting surface. While these cutter blades when extended could be manipulated with precision around sideburns and moustaches for trimming purposes, they were generally ineffective in aiding the close shaving head in cutting occasional long hairs found on closely shaved portions of the face and neck. To cut such occasional long hairs it was necessary to extend the trimmer blades and individually trim each hair, which was a tedious timeconsuming operation.

The Waters et al application discloses and claims an auxiliary trimmer head assembly for an electric shaver which efficiently performs the dual functions of aiding the close shaving head in cutting occasional long hairs, and of accurately trimming sideburns and moustaches. It is to an improvement in this assembly which enables the auxiliary trimmer blades to be more conveniently extended and retracted by the user without the need for touching the blades, and to an improved combined long-hair trimming and close-shaving head assembly which can be conveniently removed from the shaver for cleaning or replacement, that the present invention is directed.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved auxiliary trimmer assembly for an electric shaver or the like;

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a new and improved auxiliary trimmer assembly for an electric shaver which assists the close shaving head of the shaver in cutting occasional long hairs and in trimming sideburns and moustaches.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved auxiliary trimmer assembly which can be more conveniently positioned for either assisting the close shaving head of the shaver in cutting short hairs or for trimming long hair areas such as moustaches and sideburns.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved trimmer assembly for an electric shaver which can be conveniently positioned in close proximity to the close shaving head of the shaver for assisting this head in cutting occasional long hairs, or in an outwardly projecting position from the shaver housing for maximum convenience and precision in trimming sideburns and moustaches.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved combined close-shaving and long hair trimming head assembly for an electric shaver.

lt is another object of the present invention to provide a combined close-shaving and long hair trimming head for an electric shaver which can be conveniently removed from the shaver for cleaning and/or replacement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed, in. an electric shaver of the type having a housing, a power driven actuating member contained within the housing, and a cutter head of the close-shaving type including a multi-apertured comb member and a cutter blade reciprocatively driven by the actuating member, to an auxiliary trimmer head assembly comprising a trimmer blade assembly including first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation, means for pivotally mounting the trimmer blade assembly to the housing whereby the blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein the cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to the comb member, and an extended position, wherein the cutter teeth project away from the housing, and actuator means comprising a useractuable actuator button mounted on the wall of the housing for actuating the trimmer blade assembly to ei ther of the positions.

The invention is further directed, in an electric shaver of the type having a body housing and a power driven actuating member contained within the body housing, to a combined close shaving and trimmer type head assembly comprising a head assembly housing, a multi-apertured close-shaving comb assembly mounted to the head assembly housing, a close-shaving cutter blade assembly disposed within the head assembly housing in shearing engagement with the inside surface of the comb assembly, the cutter blade being operatively coupled to the actuating member, and a trimmer blade assembly comprising first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation. Means are provided for pivotally mounting the trimmer blade assembly to the head assembly housing whereby the blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein the cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to the comb member, and an extended position, wherein the cutter teeth project away from the housing. Actuator means comprising a user-actuable actuator button mounted on the wall of the housing are provided for actuating the trimmer blade assembly to either of the positions, and latching means are provided for removably mounting the head assembly housing to the body housing whereby in a closed position the cutter blade assembly is brought into shearing engagement with the inside surface of the comb assembly, and in an open position the cutter blade assembly is accessible for cleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with the further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric shaver incorporating a combined close shaving and long hair trimming head constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the electric shaver of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the head portion of the electric shaver of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the elctric shaver of FIG. 1 showing electric combined close shaving and long hair trimming head removed to expose the close shaving cutter blade assembly, and partly broken away to show the principal components of the head drive assembly in the body of the shaver.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevational view, partially in cross-section, of the removable head and head drive assembly of the electric shaver of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines 77 of FIG. 6 showing the principal elements of the slide button and cam linkage utilized to position the auxiliary trimmer assembly between its extended and retracted positions. I

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the shaver head and its associated drive components with the auxiliary trimmer blade assembly in its extended position.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the principal components of the auxiliary trimmer assembly.

. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT While the trimmer head of the present invention can be fabricated with close shaving and trimmer blades of various shapes and sizes for use in conjunction with various types of electric shavers, it finds particular utility in connection with an electric shaver of the type having a close shaving head consisting of a reciprocatively driven inner cutter blade urged into contact with the under surface of a rounded perforated stationary comb, such as the electric shaver I0 shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the FIGS. in greater detail, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, the electric shaver 10 is seen to comprise a body 11 of generally rectangular dimensions and a shaving head 12 removably mounted to the body at one end. The shaver body is formed by a housing 13 which consists of two half sections of electrically non-conductive impact-resistant plastic or the like. The shaving head assembly 12 comprises a rounded housing I4 removably mounted to the body housing 13, a stationary comb 15 formed of a thin perforated foil, and

a long-hair trimmer blade assembly 16 pivotally mounted to housing 14. The perforated comb 15 provides a close-shaving surface for cutting short hairs. To this end, the perforated comb 15, which may be fabricated from thin perforated metal foil or other suitable material, is seated in a rectangular window provided in the rounded top portion of housing 14 so that it assumes the rounded shape of the housing for optimum contact with the skin surface being shaved. The trimmer blade assembly 16 provides, when extended as shown in FIG. 8, a precision trimmer for cutting sideburns, moustaches and other long hair areas. In its retracted position, as shown in FIGS. l3, the trimmer blade assembly assists the close-shaving head in trimming long hairs occasionally encountered in skin areas 5 being closely shaved.

The shaving-head 12 can be detached from the shaver body 11 for cleaning or replacement by actuating a pair of head release buttons 17 located on the side walls of the body housing 13. To provide a more aesthetically pleasing appearance, the head release buttons 17 may be rounded and a complementarily shaped decorative section 18 may be provided on Opposite ends of housing 14. By depressing the two release buttons 17, the user can remove the entire shaving head 12 from the shaver body 11 as a single unitary assembly for cleaning or for repair or replacement.

The body 11 of shaver 10 includes an ON-OF F power switch 20 for controlling the application of electrical power to the shaver. A slide button 21 is included on the housing 14 of the shaving head to facilitate extension and retraction of trimmer blade assembly 16 without the necessity of having to come into direct contact with the blade assembly. The novel linkage employed within shaving head 12 for accomplishing this operation will be covered in detail presently.

Referring to FIG. 4, wherein the shaving head 12 is shown removed from the body of the shaver, shaver 10 is seen to include a cutter blade assembly 22 consisting of a plurality of individual crescent-shaped cutter blades 23 arranged in a vertical spaced-apart relationship with their cutting edges facing upwardly. When the shaving head 12 is locked in position on the shaver body 11, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the cutting edges of these blades bear against the underside of the stationary comb 15 to achieve a shearing action with respect to hairs extending through the apertures in the comb.

The blade assembly 22 is mounted on a stem 24 which extends through a transversely elongated slot 25 in the body housing. Stem 24 is press-fit into a complementarily dimensioned bore on the top of a reciprocatively-driven inverted U-shaped actuator member 26. An annular raised portion is provided on the top of member 26 for the purpose of extending the depth of this bore, it being desirable to provide a secure torsionfree engagement between the two members.

Actuator 26 is formed of a resilient plastic capable of surviving repeated bending moments, and as can be seen in FIG. 5, the two side members or legs of actuator 26 are joined to the horizontal top or cross member of actuator 26 by portions of reduced thickness, and outwardly extending flange portions on the bottom ends of the legs are firmly seated in opposed inwardly facing

channels

27 and 28 provided on the inside of housing 13. Since the side members of actuator 26 are of reduced thickness at the points where they join the flange and horizontal portions, member 26 bends at these locations to form a parallelogram-type linkage for imparting a horizontal reciprocative drive action to blade assembly 22.

Actuator 26 is reciprocatively driven by means of an eccentric cam 30 which is carried on the shaft 31 of a drive motor 32. Cam 30 operatively engages the walls of a drive slot 33 molded into the bottom of the cross member of actuator 26 so that when the cam is rotated by motor 32 the top portion of the actuator is forced to reciprocate back and forth. Since actuator 26 is coupled by stem 24 to the cutter blade assembly 22, the reciprocative motion of actuator 26 is also imparted to cutter blades 23, which reciprocate against the underside of comb 15. Drive motor 32, like actuator member 26, is mounted within housing 13 by means of opposed outwardly extending flanges which extend into

channels

27 and 28. A pair of elongated rubber grommets 34 are press-fit into the channels to secure a tight but resilient fit.

Power for drive motor 32, which may be a conven tional permanent-magnetic type DC motor, is obtained by means of an electrical circuit which may include one or more rechargeable batteries 35 (FIG. 4), .ON-OFF control switch 20, and a recessed connector 36 for establishing a connection to a power cord (not shown). Suitable internal ribbing for supporting the various electrical and mechanical drive components of the shaver may be molded into the body housing 13.

Housing 14 is secured to housing 13 by means of a pair of spring wire clips 37 (FIG. 5). These springs are formed into an elongated U-shaped configuration and are inserted within housing 13 so that one end of each spring bears against the ribs which form

channels

27 and 28, and the other end extends through apertures 38 provided in the sides of housing 13 and into detents 39 provided in head frame 14. When it is desired to release the head assembly 12 for cleaning, repair or replacement, it is merely necessary to depress the two head release buttons 17, which force the sides of the two springs together and disengage the ends of the springs from detents 39 in housing 14. By reason of the continuous outward bias exerted by the springs the head release buttons 17 are held in place so as to extend through respective apertures in housing 13.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 6, and 8, the individual cutter blades 23 of blade assembly 22 are held in position by three transversely extending tubular support members 40. These support members are joined at their ends to side plates 41 and at transversely-spaced locations near their midpoints to a central journal block 42. Journal block 42 is mounted on stem 24 by means of a collar 43 which is pivotally connected to the journal block by a pair of transversely extending pins 44. Collar 43 includes a bore 45 having a pair of opposed L-shaped keyways 46 on its inside surface which engage tab-like key surfaces 47 on stem 24 to achieve a positive lockedrotation engagement between the members. In practice, stem 24 may be hollow and helical compres' sion spring (not shown) may be provided therein to bias the blade assembly 22 upwardly against the perforated foil comb 15, which is held in position by means of a semi-rigid frame 48 (FIGS. 6 and 8) press-fit into a complementarily dimensioned recess on housing 14.

Referring to FIGS. 6-9, the retractable trimmer assembly 16 provided in shaver for trimming sideburns and moustaches. and for assisting the close shaving head assembly formed by comb l5 and blade assembly 22 in cutting occasional long hairs in closely shaved portions of the face. comprises a stationary outer blade 51, a reciprocatively driven inner blade 52, a blade carriage 53., a pivot rod 54 for pivotally mounting the blade carriage to the shaver head housing 14, a slidably mounted positioning member 55, and actuator slide button 21. The outer and

inner blades

51 and 52 are arranged side-by-side in sliding engagement to form a unitary blade assembly 50. This blade assembly is pivotally attached to the frame 14 of the shaver head 12 by means of hinge pin 54, which extends through a central bore 56 in the base portion of carriage 53 between respective ones of a pair of inwardly facing recesses 57 (FIG. 7) molded into housing 14. The bottom or base portion of carriage 53 is cylindrical in form, and the bottom portion of blade 51, as it enters housing 14, is wrapped around this cylindrical portion to form a curved section of uniform radius.

Recesses 57 establish a pivotal axis for the trimmer blade assembly 16 at this point such that the aperture 58 through which the blade assembly enters housing 14 is substantially fully occupied by the blade assembly regardless of its position. This constant-radius pivot arrangement helps to prevent clippings or other foreign objects from entering the shaver head housing through the aperture.

A precision long hair cutting edge 60 is formed at the top of trimmer blade assembly 50 by providing a series of spaced knife-edged notches 61 along the top marginal portions of

trimmer blades

51 and 52. As the inner trimmer blade 52 is caused to reciprocate with respect to the outer trimmer blade 51, a shearing action is obtained between the knife edges of the notches which severs long hairs trapped therebetween. To protect the skin being shaved from the shearing action of the notches the top margin of outer blade 51 is folded over the top margin of inner blade 52 to form a channel 62 within which the top margin of blade 52 is received. Inner blade 52, which does not extend to the pivot point of outer blade 51, is held in position against the inside surface of outer blade 51 by blade carriage 53, which may be formed of a long wearing plastic material and which may be attached to blade 52 by means of bosses 63 (FIGS. 6 and 7) on the outside face of the carriage which are force-fit into appropriately dimensioned recesses 64 (FIG. 9) on the blade.

In accordance with the invention. the shaver head assembly 12 is provided with a novel linkage for conveniently extending and retracting the trimmer blade assembly 16. Referring to FIGS. 69, this linkage comprises a cam track disposed on the portion of the outer blade 51 which wraps around the cylindrical base of the blade carriage 53, and an actuator cam 71 which depends from slide actuator 55. Cam track 70 has an inclined center portion which forms a spiral around the surface of the cylindrical base, and horizontal (in FIG. 7) end portions which extend substantially to the pivot axis of carriage 53. Cam track 70 receives the actuator cam 71 in operative engagement so that as slide actuator 55 is moved back andforth parallel to the pivot axis, the outer blade 51 is caused to rotate about the axis established by pivot pin 54. Since the bottom portion of the stationary outer blade 51 is wrapped around -the cylindrical base portion of carriage 53, the effect of rotating the curved bottom portion of blade 51 is to similarly rotate blade 52 and carriage 53 about pin 54.

To facilitate movement of the slide actuator 55 by the user, the slide button 21 includes an inwardly ex tending stud 72 which extends through a complementa rily dimensioned slot 73 in the head housing 14 and through an aperture 74 in slide actuator 55. The slide button is retained in position by fastening means in the form of a Cring 75 which is pressfit into an annular groove 76 near the end of stud 72. To extend the trimmer blade assembly it is merely necessary for the user to slide the slide button 21 toward the center of the shaver. This advances actuator cam 71 along cam track 70 with the result the curved base portion of outer cutter blade 51 is forced to rotate about the pivotal axis established by pivot pin 54. The horizontal (in FIG. 7) portions provided at either end of the inclined center portion of cam track 70 serve to index the blade assembly 50in its fully extended and fully retracted positions, there being no transverse force exerted on actuator 55 by the blade assembly in these positions.

Operating power is supplied to the inner trimmer blade 52 by means of an outward-extending finger 77 on actuator 26. This finger engages a channel 78 which extends partially around the central portion of the cylindrical base of carriage 53. The length of finger 77 and the depth of channel 78 are such that the inner blade 52 is reciprocatively driven by actuator 26 in both the fully extended and fully retracted positions, and in all intermediate positions of the trimmer blade assembly 50. The center portion of the outer blade 51 is provided with a slot 80 to allow finger 77 to engage and reciprocatively drive slot 78, and the axial dimensions of the cylindrical base portion of carriage 53 are such that carriage 53 can slide on pivot pin 54 in coincidence with the like movement of actuator slide 26 without coming into contact with housing 14.

The. trimmer head assembly 16 performs the dual functions of assisting the close-shaving cutter head in cutting occasional long hairs, and of providing a means for precision trimming of sideburns and moustaches. Optimum assistance to the close shaving head is realized by shaping the trimmer blade assembly 50 so to position the long hair cutting surface 60 at a predetermined spacing to comb 15, preferably at or near one of the margins of the comb as shown in FIG. 6. Then, when shaving in close-shaved areas where long hairs may occasionally be encountered, such as on the neck and under the chin, the comb surface of the close shaving head will first be brought into contact with the skin, followed immediately by the retracted long hair trimmer. In practice, it has been found that a spacing D in FIG. 6 of 0.2 inches for a comb 15 having approximate dimensions of 1 inch by 2 inches provides optimum results. The rounded end portions ofhousing 14 are dimensioned to have outside edges 81 which are spaced further from comb 15 than cutting edge 60 to guidethe skin as it passes over the comb and prevent it from becoming trapped in the space between cutting edge 60 and comb l5. Optimum precision trimming of long hairs is realized when the auxiliary trimmer head assembly is fully extended so as to space cutting edge 60 away from the shaver body where it can be easily seen and accurately positioned with respect to sideburns, moustaches, or other shaving areas requiring precision trimming.

It will be appreciated that

cutter blades

51 and 52 and comb 15 can have other sizes and shapes, and that alternate drive arrangements can be provided, such as a resilient link member between actuator 26 and the inner trimmer blade 52. Since the trimmer assembly requires a minimum number of additional components and is simple and compact in design and construction, it can be economically incorporated in existing shaver designs with minimum modifications to the shaver. Fur thermore, while the trimmer blade assembly has been shown only in conjunction with a motor-driven type.

electric shaver, it will be appreciated that it can be in:

corporated in vibrator type electric shavers well.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. y

We claim:

1. In an electric shaver of the type having a housing, a power driven actuating member contained within said housing, and a cutter head of the close-shaving type including a multi-apertured comb member and a cutter blade reciprocatively driven by said actuating member, an auxiliary trimmer head assembly comprising, in combination:

a trimmer blade assembly including first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation;

means for pivotally mounting said trimmer blade assembly to said housing whereby said blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein said cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to said comb member, and an extended position, wherein said cutter teeth project away from said housing; and

actuator means including a curved based portion on said first trimmer blade, a cam track disposed on the surface of said base portion, a cam in operative engagement with said cam track, and means including a user-actuable slide button mounted on the wall of said housing for driving said cam along a path substantially parallel to the pivot axis of said trimmer blade assembly to actuate said trimmer blade assembly into either said retracted or extended position.

2. An auxiliary trimmer head assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said curved base portion is cylindrical and coaxial with the pivot axis of said trimmer blade as sembly, said actuator button slides along a path parallel to said axis, and wherein said cam is slidably coupled to said slide button.

3. An auxiliary trimmer head assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein said trimmer blade assembly includes a carriage pivotally attached to said housing and having a cylindrical base portion, said second trimmer blade is mounted on said carriage, and said curved portion substantially corresponds to the outside surface of said cylindrical base portion.

4. An auxiliary trimmer head assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said shaver housing comprises a head portion and a body portion, said trimmer blade assembly and said actuator member are mounted on said head portion, and wherein locking means are provided for locking said head portion to said body portion of said shaver.

5. In an electric shaver of the type having a housing, a power driven actuating member contained within said housing, and a cutter head of the close-shaving type including a multiapertured comb member and a cutter blade reciprocatively driven by said actuating member, an auxiliary head assembly comprising, in combination:

a trimmer blade assembly comprising first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation;

. means for pivotally mounting said trimmer blade assembly to said housing whereby said blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein said cutting teeth are disposed in close means comprising a cylindrical actuator surface on said first trimmer blade, said actuator surface including a cam track;

an actuator cam operatively engaged with said cam track; and

means comprising a user-actuable actuator button slidably mounted to said housing for driving said actuator cam along the surface of said actuator member parallel to said pivot axis to cause said trimmer blade assembly to pivot between said retracted and extended positions.

said actuating member;

means for pivotally mounting said trimmer blade assembly to said head assembly housing whereby said blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein said cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to said comb member, and an extended position, wherein said cutter teeth project away from said housing;

means comprising a cylindrical actuator surface on said first trimmer blade, said actuator surface including a cam track;

an actuator cam operatively engaged with said cam track; means comprising a user-actuable actuator button slidably mounted to said head assembly housing for driving said actuator cam along said cam track to cause said trimmer blade assembly to pivot between said retracted and extended positions; and

latching means for removably mounting said head assembly housing to said body housing whereby in a closed position said cutter blade assembly is brought into shearing engagement with the inside surface of said comb assembly, and in an open position said cutter blade assembly is accessible for cleaning.

8. A combined close-shaving and trimmer head assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said user-actuable button comprises a slide button slidably mounted on said head assembly housing.

6. An auxiliary head assembly as defined in claim 5 wherein said shaver housing comprises a head portion and a body portion, said trimmer blade assembly and said actuator member are mounted on said head portion, and wherein locking means are provided for locking said portion in position on said body portion of said shaver.

7. In an electric shaver of the type having a body housing and a power driven actuating member contained within said body housing, a combined close shaving and trimmer type head assembly comprising, in combination:

a head assembly housing;

a multi-apertured close-shaving comb member mounted to said head assembly housing;

a closeshaving cutter blade assembly disposed within said head assembly housing in shearing engagement with the inside surface of said comb assembly, said cutter bladc being operatively coupled to I t i 3 i t.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3,909,938

DATED October 7, 1975 lN\/ ENTOR(S) Brenneman et al It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 3, Line 142 Col. 6, Line 47: C01. 6, Line 56:

Delete "electric" and substitute -the--.

After "about" insert pivot-.

Signed and Scaled this I A ties t:

RUTH C. MASON Arresting Officer C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner oflatenrs and Trademarks After "substantially" insert -parallel.

Claims

1. In an electric shaver of the type having a housing, a power driven actuating member contained within said housing, and a cutter head of the close-shaving type including a multi-apertured comb member and a cutter blade reciprocatively driven by said actuating member, an auxiliary trimmer head assembly comprising, in combination: a trimmer blade assembly including first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation; means for pivotally mounting said trimmer blade assembly to said housing whereby said blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein said cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to said comb member, and an extended position, wherein said cutter teeth project away from said housing; and actuator means including a curved based portion on said first trimmer blade, a cam track disposed on the surface of said base portion, a cam in operative engagement with said cam track, and means including a user-actuable slide button mounted on the wall of said housing for driving said cam along a path substantially parallel to the pivot axis of said trimmer blade assembly to actuate said trimmer blade assembly into either said retracted or extended position.

2. An auxiliary trimmer head assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said curved base portion is cylindrical and coaxial with the pivot axis of said trimmer blade assembly, said actuator button slides along a path parallel to said axis, and wherein said cam is slidably coupled to said slide button.

5. In an electric shaver of the type having a housing, a power driven actuating member contained within said housing, and a cutter head of the close-shaving type including a multiapertured comb membeR and a cutter blade reciprocatively driven by said actuating member, an auxiliary head assembly comprising, in combination: a trimmer blade assembly comprising first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation; means for pivotally mounting said trimmer blade assembly to said housing whereby said blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein said cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to said comb member, and an extended position, wherein said cutter teeth project away from said housing; means comprising a cylindrical actuator surface on said first trimmer blade, said actuator surface including a cam track; an actuator cam operatively engaged with said cam track; and means comprising a user-actuable actuator button slidably mounted to said housing for driving said actuator cam along the surface of said actuator member parallel to said pivot axis to cause said trimmer blade assembly to pivot between said retracted and extended positions.

7. In an electric shaver of the type having a body housing and a power driven actuating member contained within said body housing, a combined close shaving and trimmer type head assembly comprising, in combination: a head assembly housing; a multi-apertured close-shaving comb member mounted to said head assembly housing; a close-shaving cutter blade assembly disposed within said head assembly housing in shearing engagement with the inside surface of said comb assembly, said cutter blade being operatively coupled to said actuating member; a trimmer blade assembly comprising first and second trimmer blades having spaced cutting teeth at one end and arranged for relative reciprocation; means for pivotally mounting said trimmer blade assembly to said head assembly housing whereby said blade assembly is free to pivot between a retracted position, wherein said cutting teeth are disposed in close proximity to said comb member, and an extended position, wherein said cutter teeth project away from said housing; means comprising a cylindrical actuator surface on said first trimmer blade, said actuator surface including a cam track; an actuator cam operatively engaged with said cam track; means comprising a user-actuable actuator button slidably mounted to said head assembly housing for driving said actuator cam along said cam track to cause said trimmer blade assembly to pivot between said retracted and extended positions; and latching means for removably mounting said head assembly housing to said body housing whereby in a closed position said cutter blade assembly is brought into shearing engagement with the inside surface of said comb assembly, and in an open position said cutter blade assembly is accessible for cleaning.