EP0273992B1 - Wet shaver - Google Patents

Abstract

The spirit of the invention is a rotary-head wet shaver with a shaving head 2 which has single or double razor blades 7 and which is arranged at the front end of a handle 1, a plurality of razor blades 7 being arranged on a common blade carrier 6, rotatable about an axis A, uniformly over the circumference of the latter. The cutting edges 8 of the razor blades 7 extend parallel to this axis A, and the blade carrier 6 together with the razor blades 7 can be rotated by means of a rotary knob 11 lying in the axis A and located on the blade carrier 6, into the respective shaving position and be locked there. To improve the handling of the shaver, it is proposed that it be possible for the rotary knob 11 to be pulled out. It is proposed, furthermore, that the blade carrier 6 be attachable on to the free end of a rotary axle 4, whilst the blade carrier 6 can additionally be equipped with a cover cap 16 and with a wire coil. This wire coil can likewise be used for all conventional razor blades and is not restricted to those blade carriers on rotary-head shavers. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a razor for wet shaving with a single or double razor blades having a razor head which is arranged at the front end of a handle, wherein a plurality of razor blades are arranged on a common blade carrier rotatable about an axis evenly over its circumference, the cutting edges of the razor blades run parallel to this axis and the blade carrier with the razor blades can be rotated into the shaving position and locked there by means of a rotary knob located in the axis and arranged on the blade carrier.

Such a shaver with a so-called turret is known from CH-A 202 023. It consists of a shaving head, which is arranged at the front end of a handle. In this shaving head, a blade carrier is rotatably mounted between the side housing walls and is distributed over its circumference with razor blades, the cutting edges of which run parallel to the axis of rotation of the blade carrier. In order to be able to turn the blade carrier with the razor blades around its axis of rotation, a rotary knob on the side is provided. When a razor blade is used up, the blade carrier is rotated using this rotary knob until an unused razor blade is in the shaving position. In order to fix the blade carrier in the correct position of the razor blades in the razor head, a latching is provided.

A disadvantage of this known razor is that the rotary knob is very difficult to actuate, since it lies very close to the outside of one side wall of the housing of the razor head, so that the user's fingers cannot properly grasp the rotary knob. Only the fingertips can operate the rotary knob and thus rotate the blade carrier, which is very difficult. Another disadvantage is that when the blade carrier is turned, the user does not know when he has used up all the razor blades and when he is at the beginning of the cycle again. Another disadvantage of the known razor is that it is very difficult to replace a used blade holder with a new one that has not yet been used. For this purpose, a nut must be loosened in the known razor head and a side wall of the housing removed so that the blade carrier comes to rest and can be exchanged for a new one. This can only be done with a great deal of skill, particularly in view of the small dimensions of the shaving head. In addition, when replacing the blade carrier, it must be grasped so that there is a high risk of injury. In addition, the razor blade in position is not protected, so that the cutting edge of the razor blade is exposed at all times, which also greatly increases the risk of accidents. For example, unintentional touching the razor head can result in very serious cuts.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to improve the handling of the known turret razor with a design simplification.

As a technical solution, the invention proposes that the rotary knob for rotating the blade holder can be pulled out into the next position when the shaver is in use.

This has the advantage that after pulling out the rotary knob it can be actuated very easily, since the user's fingers can grip it very well without only the fingertips being available. When the rotary knob is not in use, it is in its inserted position, so that it does not particularly interfere with the shaving process.

The rotary knob is preferably arranged at the free end of an actuating rod, which is displaceably mounted in a through-hole in the blade carrier and the other end of the actuating rod is provided within the blade carrier with a stop which is secured against rotation in the blade carrier. In this way, the knob can be pulled out very easily and is also able to transmit the entire torque to the blade carrier for the turning process.

In a further development it is further proposed that the blade carrier can only be rotated in one direction of rotation by means of the pull-out rotary knob.

This has the advantage that there is no risk that a razor blade that has already been used will return to the shaving position due to incorrect rotation. Due to the possibility of turning only in one direction, the unused blade carriers are successively turned into the shaving position. In this case, the first razor blade can be marked so that the user knows when the marking reappears that all razor blades have been used up and that he has to replace the blade carrier with a new one. Such a marking can be a color marking, for example.

In order to prevent the razor blades from running through again, a stop preventing further rotation after reaching the last razor blade that is still to be used can be provided instead after full rotation. In this way, the user is automatically signaled that he has just used up the last razor blade because it is no longer possible to continue turning.

In a further development of the invention it is proposed that the shaving head has a rotation axis which is fastened only at one end and which projects freely at the other end, onto which the blade carrier can be plugged and on which the blade carrier can be rotated by means of the pull-out rotary knob.

In this way, a very simple exchange of a used blade holder for an unused one is possible. The used blade holder only needs to be subtracted from the axis of rotation and the new unused blade holder be attached. This can be done in a very short time.

In a preferred development it is proposed that the axis of rotation has a spring projecting over the circumferential surface, that the spring engages in a circumferential recess in the interior of the blade carrier and that the circumferential recess has an essentially polygonal internal cross section in accordance with the arrangement of the razor blades on the blade carrier. By the interaction of the spring with the polygonal inner cross section of the blade carrier, a latching is first created in a very simple manner, which fixes the razor blades in their shaving position without any problems. In addition, the engagement of the spring in the circumferential recess in the interior of the blade carrier ensures that the latter is axially fixed on the axis of rotation. Nevertheless, after overcoming the spring resistance, the blade carrier can be removed from the axis of rotation in a very simple manner and a new, unused blade carrier can be attached.

In a preferred development, it is proposed that the shaving head or the blade carrier can be pivoted around the axis of rotation of the shaving head in areas around a fixed zero position. In this way an oscillating head effect is achieved which improves the shaving properties and the handling of the shaving apparatus.

Furthermore, a cover cap that can be plugged onto this in the longitudinal direction of the blade carrier is proposed in a preferred development. This serves to protect the razor blades from unintentional contact, for example.

The cover cap preferably has a latching lug that can be snapped into the corresponding blade holder by finger pressure. This has the advantage that the cover cap serves on the one hand to cover the blade carrier and thus the razor blades and that on the other hand, by means of the cover cap, a blade carrier with used razor blades can be removed from the razor head in a simple manner without the blade carrier having to be touched directly, which is too Cuts can result. To replace the blade carrier, only the cover cap needs to be pushed onto it and the latching lug of the cover cap is snapped into the corresponding recess in the blade carrier by finger pressure. In this state, the blade carrier is fixed within the cover cap and can be removed from the shaving head by means of this. In a corresponding manner, new and unused blade carriers can still be stored in cover caps. In this case, then only the cover cap with the blade carrier needs to be plugged onto the axis of rotation and the cover cap is then removed after the catch has been released, so that the new blade carrier is already in its final position in the shaving head.

In a further development of the invention it is proposed that the blade carrier is wrapped with wire together with the razor blades. The wire wrapping ensures very good protection against injuries if the cutting edge is touched unintentionally or if a misfortune happens to the user during shaving, which would otherwise lead to a cut injury without the wire wrapping. Despite this wire wrapping, the shaving properties of the razor blades remain virtually unaffected. The wire also improves the attachment of the parts of the shaving head, which increases the accuracy of the assembled parts and results in a more uniform shaving quality.

The wire is preferably a metal wire and consists of copper, silver or stainless steel. Instead of the metal wire, the wire can also be a plastic fiber and is in particular a polyamide, polyethylene, polystyrene, vinylidene-vinyl chloride copolymer, acrynitrile copolymer, rubber-elastic polyurethane or polyterephthalic acid ester.

In a further preferred embodiment, the wire can be provided with a coating which reduces friction and serves as a lubricant. This coating can consist in particular of a water-soluble polymer, in particular polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, methyl cellulose or polyvinyl methylene ether. Instead of the water-soluble polymer, the coating can also consist of a water-absorbing but not water-soluble material, for example polyvinyl alcohol fibers or PUR-polyvinyl interpolymer. The use of such a lubricant to reduce the friction of the wires ensures that they slide over the skin of the user without resistance during shaving and thus do not impair the shaving process. When using a water-soluble polymer as a lubricant, the adhesion and the cohesion of this water-soluble polymer must be adjusted so that water and pressure must come together for the detachment. The water is used to release the water-soluble polymer, while the pressure ensures the necessary abrasion and thus realizes the lubrication.

The wire preferably has a diameter of less than 0.1 mm.

In order to hold the wire securely in position, it is proposed according to a further feature of the invention that recesses are provided in the blade carrier or in the razor blades, in which the wire runs. Lateral displacement is prevented by guiding the wire in the recesses. The wire can also be glued to the razor blade body.

In a further development of the invention, it is further proposed that the blade carrier be equipped with narrow razor blades. Such narrow blades have a width of more than 2 mm and are a prerequisite for a turret size which allows four shaving units to be accommodated without the dimensions of the shaving head making it difficult to shave even hard-to-reach places.

Since the unused razor blades are still in use while using the razor blade that is currently in use Shaving aids are exposed, the quality of the razor blades must be such that their shaving performance is guaranteed. This is achieved according to a further feature of the invention in that the razor blades are made of a stainless material, especially stainless steel. In addition, the razor blades can also be hardened. Preferably, the cutting edges of the razor blades are also coated with a noble metal, in particular chromium, and / or plastic, in particular PTFE; Mistake. Finally, it is proposed in this connection that the metal open surfaces of the razor blades are surface-treated to reduce the adhesion for shaving aids and beard residues.

Finally, the invention proposes a dispenser for blade carriers for a razor of the type described above, which has compartments in which a blade carrier is arranged, and which is characterized according to the invention in that the blade carriers in the compartments are only in a single position by means of the Shaving head are removable. In this way it is ensured that the correct position is set when a blade carrier which is still unused is removed from the dispenser without the blade carrier having to be rotated into the correct starting position. It is also possible to slide the blade carrier in use into the temporary protective position in the corresponding compartment in the dispenser without the risk that a different position will be set when the blade carrier is removed from its compartment.

In a preferred embodiment of the dispenser, it is proposed that the compartments are sleeve-shaped with an end-side compartment opening from which the blade carriers can be pulled out along their axis, and that at least one protruding web that prevents the razor head from being pushed open in this position is formed around the compartment opening is. The integrally formed web prevents the shaving head of the shaving apparatus from being pushed open in this specific position and the blade holder from being able to be removed from the compartment. Only one side of the compartment opening is provided without a web, so that this side allows the razor head to be pushed on.

Instead of this or also in addition, it is possible that the shaving head is angled with respect to the handle of the shaving apparatus in order to pull out the blade carriers from the compartments of the dispenser. By angling the shaving head can also be ensured by a suitable geometric arrangement of the compartments that the shaving head can only be pushed open in a very specific position and that the shaver abuts adjacent compartments at other positions and thus prevents being pushed onto the blade carrier.

Finally, with regard to the dispenser, it is proposed that one side wall of the compartments is designed as a spring tongue. This ensures that the blade units can be removed from the compartments in a simple manner.

• Fig. 1 eine Ansicht des Rasierapparates;
• Fig. 2 eine Schnitt entlang der Linie 11-11 in Fig. 1 durch den Rasierkopf;
• Fig. 3 einen Schnitt entlang der Linie 111-111 in Fig. 2 im Bereich der Verrastung des Klingenträgers;
• Fig. 4 einen Schnitt entlang der Linie IV-IV in Fig. 2 im Bereich der Dreheinrichtung für den Klingenträger;
• Fig. 5 eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Abdeckklappe für den Klingenträger;
• Fig. 6 eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Spenders zur Entnahme von Klingenträgern mittels des Rasierapparates;
• Fig. 7 eine Draufsicht auf den Spender aus Fig. 6 nach Aufschieben des Rasierkopfes des Rasierapparates.

Further details, features and advantages emerge from the following description of the associated drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of a turret razor designed according to the invention is shown schematically. In the drawings show:

• Fig. 1 is a view of the shaver;
• FIG. 2 shows a section along line 11-11 in FIG. 1 through the shaving head;
• 3 shows a section along the line 111-111 in FIG. 2 in the region of the latching of the blade carrier;
• 4 shows a section along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2 in the region of the rotating device for the blade carrier;
• 5 shows a perspective view of a cover flap for the blade carrier;
• 6 is a perspective view of a dispenser for removing blade carriers by means of the razor;
• FIG. 7 shows a top view of the dispenser from FIG. 6 after the razor head of the razor has been pushed on.

The turret shaver shown in Fig. 1 consists of a handle 1 and a shaving head 2, which is arranged at the front end of the handle 1.

On an L-shaped extension 3 of the handle 1, an axis of rotation 4 is mounted extending transversely to the longitudinal extent of the handle 1, this axis of rotation 4 projecting freely, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 2. The handle 1, the continuation 3 and the axis of rotation 4 can be formed in one piece and consist, for example, of plastic or metal. A spring 5 is arranged in the axis of rotation 4 and projects beyond the circumferential surface of the axis of rotation 4 through a slot. This can also be seen in FIG. 2. This spring 5 can be pressed transversely to the longitudinal extent of the axis of rotation 4 into its interior.

A blade carrier 6 (in the drawing from the right) is attached to the axis of rotation 4. This blade carrier 6 has a substantially square cross-section, a razor blade 7 in the form of a double razor blade being welded firmly onto each side surface. The cutting edges 8 of the razor blades 7 run parallel to the central axis of rotation 4.

An axis A is defined by the axis of rotation 4, about which the blade carrier 6 can be rotated with the razor blades 7, which is indicated by the arrow D.

To fix the blade carrier 6 on the axis of rotation 4 both in the axial direction of the axis of rotation 4 and in the rotational position, the blade carrier is provided on the inside with a circumferential recess 9 with a square cross section (FIG. 3), as can be seen in FIG. 2. This circumferential saving 9 abuts the end face of the spring 5 of the axis of rotation 4, so that thereby fixing the Blade carrier 6 is given in the axial direction. By overcoming the spring force of the spring 5, however, it can be pressed inward into the axis of rotation 4, so that the blade carrier 6 can be pulled off the axis of rotation 4. Accordingly, a new blade carrier 6 can be fixed in position after being pushed onto the axis of rotation 4.

Due to the square cross-sectional shape of the circumferential recess 9, the spring 5 always comes to rest in the corners, so that in addition an angular adjustment of the blade carrier 6 on the axis of rotation 4 is also realized. This latching defines the shaving position of the blade carrier 6 and thus the razor blades 7.

In order to be able to rotate the blade carrier 6 on the axis of rotation 4, a rotating device 10 is provided. This consists of a rotary knob 11 outside the blade carrier 6. This rotary knob 11 lies in the axis or in the extension of the axis of rotation 4. The rotary knob 11 is provided with an actuating rod 12, which is axially through a bore 13 on the end face of the blade carrier 6 slidably protrudes. The end of the actuating rod 12 lying inside the blade carrier 6 is provided with a stop 14 which has a non-round cross-sectional shape and is square in the exemplary embodiment shown. The inner contour of the blade carrier 6 is adapted to this cross-sectional shape of the stop 14, so that the stop 14 is arranged in the blade carrier 6 so that it cannot rotate.

In the rest position, the rotary knob 11 is in the inserted position (solid line in Fig. 2). If the blade carrier 6 is to be rotated into the next position, the rotary knob 11 is pulled out, which is indicated by the arrow P. the drawn position is shown in dashed lines. Due to the non-rotatable arrangement of the stop 14 in the blade carrier 6, the blade carrier 6 can be rotated into the next position of the razor blade 7 by turning the rotary knob 11. After the turning process has been completed, the rotary button 11 is pushed in again (from right to left in the drawing).

In Fig. 1 it is indicated that the blade carrier 6 is spirally wrapped by a wire 15, which preferably has a diameter smaller than 0.1 mm. This wire wrapping serves as protection against injury, the shaving properties of the razor blades 7 being fully retained.

A cover cap 16 shown in FIG. 5 can be pushed onto the blade carrier 6 of the shaving head 2 as protection. This cover cap 16 has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the blade support 6 and is tubular, one end being open and the other end being closed. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the cover cap 16 has a latching lug 17 which can be pressed down by the finder pressure and can snap into a recess 18 in the blade carrier 6. In this way, by pulling off the cover cap 16, a blade carrier 6 with used razor blades 7 can be simultaneously removed from the axis of rotation 4 without the blade carrier 6 needing to be touched. The blade carrier 6 is arranged with its razor blades 7 in the cover cap 16. Conversely, new and unused blade carriers 6 can still be stored in corresponding cover caps 16 and thus pushed onto the turning axis 4 of the shaving head 2. By not actuating the latch 17, the cover cap 16 can then be removed from the blade carrier 6, the blade carrier 6 being fixed in its position on the axis of rotation 4.

6 shows a dispenser 19 for receiving individual blade carriers 6. This dispenser 19 consists of sleeve-shaped compartments 20, which only have a compartment opening 21 on one end face, which have a square shape. One side wall of the compartments 20 is designed as a spring tongue 23.

As can be seen in the illustrated embodiment, the compartments 20 of the dispenser 19 are joined together with their longitudinal edges and thus result in a zigzag-shaped outer contour. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 7, the two outer compartments around the compartment opening 21 are provided with webs 24, only the side wall 22 with the spring tongue 23 being left out. In particular, the back of the compartment 20 is provided with a stiffening part 25, which increases the stability of the dispenser 19.

Such a dispenser 19 can be placed on the shaving head 2 of the shaving apparatus only in a very specific position, which is brought about by two measures. On the one hand, if the shaving head 2 is put on in the wrong position, the neighboring compartments 22 are in the way. This is the case, for example, in FIG. 7 when the shaving head 2 is to be plugged on by 90 _° counterclockwise, so that the handle 1 of the shaving apparatus then hits the front side of the right compartment 20 of the dispenser 19. The same also applies if the shaving head 2 is rotated 90 _° clockwise. On the other hand, this is achieved by means of the integrally formed webs 24. In this case, the distance between the axis of rotation 4 of the shaving head 2 and the continuation 3 on the handle 1 is too small for the shaving head 2 to be plugged onto the blade carrier 6. In this case, the front end of the handle 1 or the continuation 3 of the handle 1 would strike the web 24 on the stiffening part 25 and prevent it from being pushed open.

In the illustrated embodiment, the compartments 20 of the dispenser 19 are arranged edge to edge with a zigzag-shaped outer contour. Instead of this, other arrangements of the compartments 20 are also possible. It only has to be guaranteed that the shaving head 2 can only be plugged onto the blade carrier 6 from one side.

Reference list

• 1 handle
• 2 razor heads
• 3 continued
• 4 axis of rotation
• 5 spring
• 6 blade carriers
• 7 razor blade
• 8 cutting edge
• 9 circumferential recess
• 10 rotating device
• 11 rotary knob
• 12 operating rod
• 13 perforation
• 14 stop
• 15 wire
• 16 cover cap
• 17 latch
• 18 recess
• 19 donors
• 20 compartments
• 21 compartment opening
• 22 side wall
• 23 spring tongue
• 24 bridge
• 25 stiffening part
• A axis
• D rotation
• P arrow

Claims (24)

1. A razor for wet shaving, comprising a razor head (2) holding a single or double blade (7) and disposed at the front end of a handle (1), a number of razor-blades (7) being uniformly disposed around the periphery on a comon blade-holder (6) rotatable around an axis (A), the cutting edges (8) of the razor blades (7) extending parallel to the axis (A) and the blade-holders (6) and blades (7) being rotatable and lockable in the shaving position by a rotary knob (11) situated along the axis (A) and disposed on the blade-holder (6), characterised in that when the razor is in the position for use, the rotary knob (11) can be pulled out into the adjacent position for rotating the blade-holder (6).

2. A razor according to claim 1, characterised in that the knob (11) is disposed on the free end of an actuating rod (12), the actuating rod (12) is mounted for movement in a bore (13) in the blade-holder (6) along the axis (A) and the other end of the actuating rod (12) is provided inside the blade-holder (6) with an abutment (14) which is secured in the blade-holder (6) so as to be relatively non-rotatable.

3. A razor according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the blade-holder (6) can be rotated in only one direction by the pull-out knob (11).

4. A razor according to claim 3, characterised in that an abutment is provided for preventing further rotation after a full revolution, after reaching the last razor-blade (7) for use.

5. A razor according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the razor head (2) has a shaft (4) secured at one end and projecting freely at the other end and on to which the blade-holder (6) can be pushed and on which the blade-holder (6) can be rotated by the pull-out knob (11).

6. A razor according to claim 5, characterised in that the shaft (4) has a spring (5) projecting beyone the peripheral surface, the spring (5) engages in a peripheral recess (9) inside the blade-holder (6) and the peripheral recess (9) has a substantially polygonal inner cross-section corresponding to the arrangement of the razor blades (7) on the blade-holder (6).

7. A razor according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the razor head (2) or the blade-holder (6) is movable around the shaft (4) of the razor head (2) in zones around a fixed zero position.

8. A razor according to any of claims 5 to 7, characterised by a cap (16) for fitting on the blade-holder (6) in the longitudinal direction thereof.

9. A razor according to claim 8, characterised in that the cap (16) has a catch (17) locking by finger pressure in a corresponding recess (18) in the blade-holder (6).

10. A razor according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the blade-holder (6) and the razor blades (7) are wound together with wire or the like (15).

11. A razor according to claim 10, characterised in that the wire or the like (15) is a metal wire, more particularly made of copper, silver or stainless steel.

12. A razor according to claim 10, characterised in that the wire or the like (15) is a plastics fibre, made more particularly of polyamide, polyethylene, polystyrene, vinylidene and vinyl chloride copolymer, acrylonitrile copolymer, elastomeric polyurethane or polyterephthalic acid ester.

13. A razor according to any of claims 9 to 12, characterised in that the wire (15) is provided with a friction-reducing, lubricating coating, more particularly of a water-soluble polymer, more particularly polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, methyl cellulose or polyvinyl methylene ether, or especially a water-absorbing but not water-soluble material, particularly polyvinyl alcohol fibres or PUR-polyvinyl interpolymer.

14. A razor according to any of claims 9 to 13, characterised in that the wire (15) has a diameter less than 0.1 mm.

15. A razor according to any of claims 9 to 14, characterised in that the blade-holder (6) or razor blades (7) are formed with recesses in which the wire extends.

16. A razor according to any of claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the blade-holder (6) is equipped with narrow razor blades (7).

17. A razor according to claim 16, characterised in that the razor blades (7) are made of a corrosion- resistant material, more particularly stainless steel.

18. A razor according to claim 16 or 17, characterised in that the razor blades (7) are hardened.

19. A razor according to any of claims 16 to 18, characterised in that the edges of the razor blades (7) are coated with noble metal, more particularly chromium, and/or plastics, more particularly PTFE.

20. A razor according to any of claims 16 to 19, characterised in that the metal-free surfaces of the razor blades (7) are surface-treated to reduce adhesion by shaving aids and hair.

21. A dispenser (19) for blade-holders (6) for a razor according to any of claims 5 to 7, comprising compartments (20) each containing a blade-holder (6), characterised in that the blade-holders (6) in the compartments (20) can be taken out by the razor head (2) in only one position, thus ensuring that when an unused blade-holder (6) is taken out of the dispenser, the blades are set at the correct starting position without the need to rotate the blade-holder.

22. A dispenser according to claim 21, characterised in that the compartments are in the form of sleeves and have an end opening (21) from which the blade holders (6) can be pulled out along the axis (A), and at least one projecting web (24) is formed around the opening (21) for preventing the razor head (2) from being slid on in this position.

23. A dispenser according to claim 21 or 22, characterised in that the razor head (2) for pulling the blade holders (6) out of the compartments (20) of the dispenser (19) is bent relative to the handle (1) of the razor.

24. A dispenser according to any of claims 21 to 23, characterised in that a side wall (22) of each compartment (20) is in the form of a spring tongue (23).

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