CA2092532C - Safety razors - Google Patents

Safety razors

Info

Publication number
CA2092532C
CA2092532C CA 2092532 CA2092532A CA2092532C CA 2092532 C CA2092532 C CA 2092532C CA 2092532 CA2092532 CA 2092532 CA 2092532 A CA2092532 A CA 2092532A CA 2092532 C CA2092532 C CA 2092532C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
teeth
blade unit
blade
cap portion
polyethylene oxide
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Fee Related
Application number
CA 2092532
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2092532A1 (en
Inventor
Robert Gillibrand
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Gillette Co LLC
Original Assignee
Gillette Co LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Gillette Co LLC filed Critical Gillette Co LLC
Publication of CA2092532A1 publication Critical patent/CA2092532A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2092532C publication Critical patent/CA2092532C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B26HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
    • B26BHAND-HELD CUTTING TOOLS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B26B21/00Razors of the open or knife type; Safety razors or other shaving implements of the planing type; Hair-trimming devices involving a razor-blade; Equipment therefor
    • B26B21/40Details or accessories
    • B26B21/4068Mounting devices; Manufacture of razors or cartridges
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B26HAND CUTTING TOOLS; CUTTING; SEVERING
    • B26BHAND-HELD CUTTING TOOLS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B26B21/00Razors of the open or knife type; Safety razors or other shaving implements of the planing type; Hair-trimming devices involving a razor-blade; Equipment therefor
    • B26B21/40Details or accessories
    • B26B21/44Means integral with, or attached to, the razor for storing shaving-cream, styptic, or the like

Landscapes

  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Forests & Forestry (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Dry Shavers And Clippers (AREA)
  • Cosmetics (AREA)
  • Thermotherapy And Cooling Therapy Devices (AREA)
  • Compositions Of Macromolecular Compounds (AREA)
  • Knives (AREA)
  • Injection Moulding Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
  • Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)

Abstract

A safety razor having one or more blades (14) seated between a cap (11) and guard (12), said guard cap and guard having a comb configuration in which a comb like moulding (18) of a mixture of polyethylene oxide and a structural polymer, such as polystyrene is positioned between the teeth (13) of the comb-like cap portion, the teeth (19) of the polyethylene oxide-containing moulding being narrower than the space between the teeth of the cap portion so that the blade unit can flex concavely.

Description

W092/~827 2 0 9 2 ~ 3 2 PCT/US91/07468 f -- 1 --Safety Razors This invention is col.ceL,.ed with safety razors which comprise a flexible razor blade unit secured to a handle by com)e~Ling means arranged to permit flexure of the unit when the razor is used.
The blade unit is flexible in the sense that it is readily flexible, in ~U~Jl~ce to forces encuul.Lered during no -1 use, about an axis or axes parallel with the plane of the blade unit and exten~i ng substantially perpendicular to the cutting edge(s) of the blade(s). Safety razors of this kind are described : for example, in British Specifications 1589591 and 2119690.
: . one form of blade unit for such a safety razor comprises a flexible blade or tandem flexible blades with a flexible spacer the .beL~een, which blade or hla~e and sp~cer are mounted in a moulded plastics hou~sing providing a comb-like guard portion and a comb-like cap portion, the teeth of the two comb-like portions being inte~con-.e~ed by a web which is sufficiently thin to be flexible. The blade unit is con-~c~Led to a razor handle by connDcting means which penmit flexing of the;blade~unit in.use. .. .,.~.
~ ~ We have now.developed an;improvement..of such a safety razor.in which..a comb-like mo~ ing of a mixture of polyethylene oxide and.a~structural..polymer,~such as poly ~y ene, is positioned~.beL~e.Ln.the teeth.of the 1, $~ ,73 r ~

W O 92t06827 ' P ~ /~S91/07468 2 o92~32 2 ~' comb-like cap portion, the teeth of the polyethylene oxide-containing moulding being narrower than the space between the teeth of the cap portion so that the blade unit can flex concavely.
According to the present invention, there is provided a safety razor which comprises a razor blade unit which is readily flexible, in response forces enco~lntered during normal use, about an axis or axes parallel with the plane of the blade or blades and 10 exten~ i ng substantially perpendicular to the cutting edge(s) thereof, a handle, and co~necting means co,.ne~Ling the blade unit to the handle which means permit flexing of the blade unit, the blade unit comprising a moulded plastics housing providing a comb-like guard portion and a comb-like cap portion between which the blade or tandem blades with a spacer therebetween is/are clamped, the teeth of the two comb-like portions being interconnected by a web which is sufficiently thin to be flexible, and the blade unit further comprising a comb-like moulding of a mixture of polyethylene oxide and a structural polymer, positioned between'the teeth of the comb-like cap portion, the teeth o~ the polyethylene oxi~e cGn~;ning moulding being narrowèr than the space between the teeth of the cap portion so that the blade unit can flex concavely.
The teeth of the polyethylene'oxide-cont~in;ng moulding are preferably level with or projèct above the teeth ofithe càp portion.' ' '~ ' '' .. . .. . .. .. .... . . .. . . .... . .
f '~~ ' The use of inserts formed of a mixture of polyethylene'oxide and a structùral polymér', such as ' -- poly~yLene,'in the cap and/or the guard portions of razors and blade-units to improveishaving perf ~ -nce is ~~ known and-has'been described,'for example,~in'British Smëcification''2024082. "Such inserts typicalIv contain - 35 by weight, 80% of polyethylene oxide and 20% of structural polymer. The present invention provides a particularly col.~el,ient way of inco-~oL~ting : ....

2~92332 ~ -:
polyethylene oxide co~ ining inserts in a flexible blade unit of the kind described.
A ~uL~enLly preferred . ~o~i -nt of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the i~-c ,-nying ~rawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of the razor, and Figure 2 is a similar view of the assembled razor.
The illustrated razor comprises a flexible blade unit 10 which comprises a moulded plastics housing 11 (made, for example, from poly~Ly.~r.e) which has a comb-like guard portion 12 and a comb-like cap portion 13 between which a combination of tandem single edged razor blades 14 with a sp~c~r 15 therebetween is.
., clamped. The blades 14 and spacer 15 are retained in the coLL~L position by ~LUL~clon~i (not shown) in the housing and ~luLL~sions (not shown) on the spacer 15 which ~S~gi~ge in slots 16 in the bl ~A~S . Slots are used so as to allow relative muv~ - L of the blades and . spAcer during flexing. The teeth-of the comb-like ,.. portions 12,and.13 are:inteLco~ DcLed by a web 17 which -, is sufficiently thin~for the blade unit 10 to be :~ ~flexible. . .:., - ' . ~. , . The blade unit further comprises a comb-like ; polyethylene oxide _i~n~i~in;nq l~ing 18,-the teeth 19 of which are posit;nn~ beLs~een the teeth of the cap ., .portion,13,r~,theiwidth of~the teeth l9~being less than .the space beLs~_e.. the teeth of the,cap portion (when the 30 .~blade unit-is ~nfl~y~ so that the.blade unit can flex CO~s~ aVely ~ ~ i - - 5 The:teeth.l9 of.-the polyethylene oxide-r.~-con~ ning mo~ ng 18~are int~Lco~ D~Led by a~web 20 ~ which is~adhesively,;se~.ad.to the back'of the~web 17.
; 3S ~ As can be seen-from.Figure''2,r~ in the as'sembled~f '' ,condition,'.-the teeth~lg of~the polyethylene oxide-', .,cont~ining moulding 18 are level-with the teeth 13 of 2o~2~32 ~~

the cap portion.
Figures 1 and 2 further illustrate a preferred -nn~r of ACS~ ~ling the blade unit, that is the polyethylene oxide-cont~;ning moulding 18 is not separated from the sprue 21 with which it is moulded until the l~ng 18 has been ho~Ae~ to the housing 11;
the sprue 21 is then cut away (see Figure 2).
The blade unit 10 is co~n~cted to a handle 22 by means of three posts 23,24 ~p~;ng integrally from the underside of the housing 11 which slidably engage in co~lC~G~ing slots 25,26 in the head of the handle.
The posts 23,24 extend perp~n~ic~ rly to the parallel planes of the h~a~es and are positioned directly underneath the blade edges, i.e. passing through a region bordered by the blade edges. The central post 24 is guided for rect;l;n~r sliding .~ -nt within the slot 26: this post therefore centr~lices the unit longit~A;n~lly, without interfering with its flexure.
The outer posts 23 each have a pivot pin 27 projecting through them, parallel with the axis or axes of flexure of the blade unit, and these pins 27 are received in and guided by elongate slots 28 formed in the walls of the slots 26, so that they accommodate flexure of the blade unit, which is accompanied by movement of the ends of 25; the unit towards and away from each other. The pins 27 also ~L~V~ withd,~ 1 of the blade unit from the handle.
- ~ The posts 23 are set in from the ends of the : unit 80 as to permit the blade unit to flex convexly if -one or both ends cnco~ter larger forces during shaving than the medial portion of the unit. ;
-~ In order to protect the blade unit from damage .J ;due to -~ce~sive flexure in both cun~ve and CGIlveX
~modes it has been found .~c~ess~ry to limit deflection both at the c~nLLa and at~the ends of the cartridge.
~ : In the-concave mode, deflection from the unflexed plane is limited by abutment of the underside .
, :

W092/06827 2 ~ ~ 2 5 3 2 PCT/US91/07468 f: .

of the platform with the cenLle of the head of the handle. In the convex mode, deflection of the outer portions of the blade unit is limited by abutment of the underside of the outer portions of the platform with outer portions of the handle head.
In a particular embodiment the concave deflection is limited to 2.5 mm at the ce,.~,e, and the convex deflection is limited to 3 mm at the ends, of the blade unit. The ~p~cinq of the outer posts 23 is preferably 2/3 of the overall length of the blade unit.
The main forces en-oun~ered during shaving are directed perp~nAic~ r to the plane of the hlA~Pc (or blade) and passing through a region bordered by the cutting edges of a tAn~ blade unit. Since the posts 23,24 are aligned with those forces, they do not ~nCou~Ler any substantial b~n~;nq moment which would otherwise tend to tilt them and create a tQndency for the pins 27 to bind in the guide slots 28.
Whilst we have de6cribed an . ~ ment in which the polyethylene oxide .~o~Ain;nq moulding is made separately from the housing 11 and is adhesively hon~ed to the latter, the polyethylene oxide COII~ ~;n;ng moulding can be made in ~i~ by a two stage moulding plocess, namely a y~oce88 in which different materials are moulded into a single component by moulding one material first and then ll~;nq the seco~ n situ.
This y uaess can be used to mould the housing and the polyethylene oYi~e ~ollLA;ninq mo~ ;ng as a single component (fipAc;nq pieces being inserted into the mould before the injection of the polyethylene oxide-cont~;n~nq mixture to provide the de6ired gaps between the cap teeth and the teeth of the polyethylene oxide-cont~ininq moulding. This eliminates the need for A~he6;Ve ho~ing and the ~du~ion in the flexibility of the unit which might arise from the use of an adhesive.

Claims (2)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A safety razor which comprises a razor blade unit having at least one generally planar blade with a cutting edge, which blade unit is readily flexible about an axis or axes parallel with the plane of said at least one blade and extending substantially perpendicular to the cutting edge thereof;
a handle; and connecting means disposed cooperatively on said blade unit and said handle for connecting the blade unit to the handle which means permits flexing of the blade unit, the blade unit comprising:
a molded plastic housing including:
a guard portion having spaced apart teeth interconnected by a thin, flexible web;
a cap portion having spaced apart teeth interconnected by a thin, flexible web;
said at least one blade being clamped between said cap portion and said guard portion;
said blade unit further comprising a molding having spaced apart teeth interconnected by a thin, flexible web, said molding including a mixture of polyethylene oxide and a structural polymer, the teeth of said molding positioned between the teeth of said cap portion, the teeth of the polyethylene oxide-containing molding being narrower than the space between the teeth of the cap portion so that the blade unit can flex concavely.
2. A razor according to claim 1, in which the teeth of the polyethylene oxide-containing moulding are level with or project above the teeth of the cap portion.
CA 2092532 1990-10-22 1991-10-10 Safety razors Expired - Fee Related CA2092532C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB909022945A GB9022945D0 (en) 1990-10-22 1990-10-22 Safety razors
GB9022945.1 1990-10-22

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2092532A1 CA2092532A1 (en) 1992-04-23
CA2092532C true CA2092532C (en) 1998-12-15

Family

ID=10684149

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA 2092532 Expired - Fee Related CA2092532C (en) 1990-10-22 1991-10-10 Safety razors

Country Status (9)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0554367B1 (en)
JP (1) JP3117711B2 (en)
AU (1) AU643097B2 (en)
BR (1) BR9107004A (en)
CA (1) CA2092532C (en)
DE (1) DE69118711T2 (en)
GB (1) GB9022945D0 (en)
MX (1) MX9101688A (en)
WO (1) WO1992006827A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
NZ243908A (en) * 1991-08-16 1994-12-22 Beth Israel Hospital Assn Mutant l3t4 protein which facilitates hiv infection; transgenic mouse
CA2139922A1 (en) * 1992-08-13 1994-03-03 Butlin, Dorothy Mae Shaving aid with increased flexibility
GB2360479A (en) * 2000-03-03 2001-09-26 Enda Keaveney Improvements in or relating to a razor
DE602004021750D1 (en) 2003-07-14 2009-08-13 Fei Co Two beam system
US7748121B2 (en) * 2005-05-06 2010-07-06 Eveready Battery Company, Inc. Razor blade and support assembly
US9221185B2 (en) 2008-09-10 2015-12-29 The Gillette Company Shaving razors and cartridges
US8209867B2 (en) 2008-10-02 2012-07-03 The Gillette Company Shaving razors and cartridges
JP5702552B2 (en) 2009-05-28 2015-04-15 エフ イー アイ カンパニFei Company Control method of dual beam system
US8726518B2 (en) 2010-03-16 2014-05-20 The Gillette Company Shaving razors and cartridges
US9492933B2 (en) 2011-09-30 2016-11-15 The Gillette Company Guard for a shaving razor
JP6976674B1 (en) * 2021-10-25 2021-12-08 株式会社貝印刃物開発センター Plow razor for delicate zone

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4516320A (en) * 1983-04-28 1985-05-14 Warner-Lambert Company Dynamic razor
GB8717216D0 (en) * 1987-07-21 1987-08-26 Gillette Co Safety razors
US4976028A (en) * 1987-10-30 1990-12-11 Warner-Lambert Company Flexible razor head
US5003694A (en) * 1987-10-30 1991-04-02 Warner-Lambert Company Flexible razor head
US5070612A (en) * 1991-05-06 1991-12-10 Michael Abatemarco Razor blade assembly

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MX9101688A (en) 1992-06-05
CA2092532A1 (en) 1992-04-23
JP3117711B2 (en) 2000-12-18
BR9107004A (en) 1993-08-24
DE69118711D1 (en) 1996-05-15
EP0554367A4 (en) 1993-12-01
AU8950391A (en) 1992-05-20
GB9022945D0 (en) 1990-12-05
AU643097B2 (en) 1993-11-04
EP0554367B1 (en) 1996-04-10
EP0554367A1 (en) 1993-08-11
DE69118711T2 (en) 1996-12-12
JPH06502332A (en) 1994-03-17
WO1992006827A1 (en) 1992-04-30

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