EP0846042A1

EP0846042A1 - Electric shaver

Info

Publication number: EP0846042A1
Application number: EP96922028A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Reinhold Eichhorn; Michael Harms; Wolfgang Franke
Original assignee: Braun GmbH
Current assignee: Braun GmbH
Priority date: 1995-08-22
Filing date: 1996-06-25
Publication date: 1998-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2016-06-25
Also published as: ATE186003T1; WO1997007942A1; DE59603498D1; EP0846042B1; JPH11511993A; DE19531013C1

Abstract

The proposed electric shaver (3) has at least one electric motor in a housing (1, 2), at least one stubble-cutting system (K1, K2), a movable trimmer (L1) and an operating switch (9). The trimmer (L1) can be switched by an electric motor-driven transmission unit to and from at least one operating position.

Description

Dry shaver

The invention relates to a dry shaving apparatus with at least one electric motor arranged in a housing and with at least one short hair cutting system and an adjustable long hair cutting system and with an actuation switch, the long hair cutting system by means of a gear device which can be driven by an electric motor in and from at least one operating position is adjustable.

From JP-4-253 888 (A) a dry shaver of the type mentioned is known. The transmission device is formed by a gearwheel arranged on the motor shaft of an electric motor and a toothed rack coupled thereto. The electric motor, which is permanently connected to the LHS system, moves up and down in the vertical direction together with the gearwheel on the rack attached to the housing, depending on the direction of rotation. Carrying the electric motor within the razor housing during transport of the LHS system into and out of an operating position requires a corresponding free space and, consequently, an enlargement of the dry shaving apparatus in its entirety. In order to apply the torque required for transporting the electric motor and the LHS system, an electric motor with a speed range of approx. 1000-1 200 rpm would have to be used according to the current state of development of electric motors and this speed by means of a Gear device can be reduced to approx. 1000 rpm. Such a reduction is not feasible with the gear device according to JP-4-253 888 (A).

From JP-4-253 890 (A) a dry shaving apparatus with an LHS system is known which can be pivoted out of the housing of the dry shaving apparatus in an operating position by means of an electric motor and a gear mechanism and can be pivoted back into the housing by the latter . The gear devices provided for this purpose consist, for example, of a combination of at least one gearwheel with an arc-shaped toothed rack with internal and external teeth or of several gearwheels with different diameters. Starting from the usual sizes of dry shavers, the sizes of transmission ratios, which can be achieved, for example, by means of a gear mechanism consisting of racks and gears or a double-armed lever, are narrowly limited, especially since the actuating pressure to be applied by the user on the actuating switch in the course of the adjustment path of the long-hair trimmer system It should also be taken into account that this is not perceived as uncomfortably difficult.

The object of the invention is to facilitate the transport of an adjustable long hair cutting system in and out of at least one operating position in a dry shaving apparatus of the type mentioned, in particular to reduce the switching path of the actuation switch required for this for the user.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in a dry shaver of the type mentioned in claim 1 by the features specified in the characterizing part of this claim.

A major advantage of the invention is that by means of the linear feed gear device formed by the threaded spindle and a drive rod movable with the threaded spindle and a slide coupled to the drive rod, the feed speed in and out of an operating position in a variety of ways is very simple and easy for the respective application is adaptable and changeable.

The feed speed of the slide is initially dependent on the speed of the electric motor and the pitch of the threads of the threaded spindle and drive shaft and, in addition, in a preferred embodiment also on the gear ratio of the speed reduction gear.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, two electric motors are provided in the housing, one of the electric motors being assigned the gear device. A major advantage of this measure is that the two electric motors each have a special purpose in terms of performance, in particular special speed and size can be matched. In addition, this intended use of two electric motors, provided according to the invention, simplifies and facilitates the accommodation of the respective components coupled to this electric motor, such as for driving the cutting elements of the provided cutting systems, on the one hand, and the gear mechanism for the adjustable long hair cutting system, on the other hand, within the space volume the housing of the dry shaver.

An essential advantage of the invention is that only by activating an electric motor that drives a gear device via an actuating switch, the adjustable long hair cutting system is moved into and out of at least one of the intended operating positions. To activate the electric motor, a large number of differently designed actuation switches, in particular actuation switches with extremely short switching travel, such as e.g. Pressure switch or rocker switch or without a switching path such as Contact switches are provided. The long-hair cutting system is automatically transported into the initially specified operating position after actuation of the actuation switch and the activation of the electric motor triggered thereby, and can then be adjusted into further operating positions or from such an operating position into the switching position Off by actuating the actuation switch again.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the two electric motors can be activated by means of a common actuation switch. Accordingly, the switching elements required for switching the electric motors on and off are largely integrated in the actuating switch.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that an actuation switch is assigned to each electric motor. In the course of the use of the dry shaver, this embodiment ensures that the long hair cutting system is directly switched on or off with respect to the short hair cutting system and thus the simultaneous use or separate use of the short hair cutting system and the long hair cutting system by means of only one switching operation using the actuation switch provided for this purpose. The arrangement of two actuating switches Many users of such devices regard a special function as a measure that makes handling easier.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a speed reduction gear is assigned to the linear feed gear device. The combination of linear feed gear device and speed reduction gear ensures a particularly easy and sensitive adjustment or adjustment of the feed movement of the adjustable long hair cutting system.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the long hair cutting system is fixed on the slide.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the long hair cutting system is pivotably arranged on the slide. According to a preferred embodiment of this embodiment, a plunger is mounted on a housing wall of the long-hair cutting system in such a way that a pivoting movement of the long-hair cutting system with the housing wall is ensured when the plunger abuts a stop on the chassis and subsequent movement of the slide in the direction of the short-hair cutting system. The swivel range of the long hair cutting system can be up to 180 °. When using the long hair cutting system for trimming purposes, it is advantageous for the user if the long hair cutting system is positioned above the outer contours of the short hair cutting system in order to be able to follow the trimming process in a mirror. By using the swivel range of the long hair cutting system from 90 ° to 180 °, such a visible positioning of the long hair cutting system can be achieved earlier in comparison to a fixed long hair cutting system, that is to say with a shorter adjustment path of the slider carrying the pivotably mounted long hair cutting system.

In a further embodiment of the embodiment described above, the plunger is slidably guided in an elongated hole provided on the housing wall. In a further embodiment of this embodiment, the plunger is slidably guided on the slide and / or the housing. The housing wall is preferably pivotally mounted against the action of a spring force of a spring. An exemplary embodiment is shown in the following description and the drawings. It shows:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a dry shaver with two

Short hair cutting systems, a slidably mounted long hair cutting system and an actuation switch,

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the dry shaving apparatus according to FIG. 1 with a long-hair cutting system fixed in place on a slide in the trim position,

3 shows a side view of the dry shaving apparatus according to FIG. 1 with a long hair cutting system pivotably arranged on a slide in the trimming position,

FIG. 4 shows a perspective illustration of the housing chassis of a dry shaver according to FIG. 1 with a pivotably mounted long hair cutting system in the OFF position and with components for transporting the long hair cutting system into an operating position,

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the chassis and the pivotably mounted long hair cutting system in the OFF position,

6 shows a section through the long hair cutting system according to FIG. 5 with a tappet coupled to the housing wall, FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective illustration of the chassis and of a long hair cutting system in an operating position,

FIG. 1 shows a dry shaving apparatus with a housing 3 formed from two housing shells 1 and 2, a shaving head frame 4 arranged fixedly or removably on the housing 3, in which, for example, two short hair cutting systems K1 and K2 are arranged between two opposite end cheeks 5 and 6. The short-haired Cutting systems K1 and K2 can be provided in the shaving head frame both relatively rigidly and relatively movable with respect to one another and also pivotable together about an axis.

A U-shaped recess 7 is formed in the front of the housing shell 1, into which a slide 8 carrying a long-hair cutting system L1 and an actuating switch 9 are arranged so as to be movable in and against a vertical direction V. The long-hair cutting system L1 can, according to one embodiment, be fixedly arranged on the slide 8 - see FIG. 2 - or, according to a further embodiment, be pivotably mounted on the slide 8 - see FIG. 3 -.

1, the actuating switch 9 is designed, for example, as a slide switch. However, other types of actuating switches, for example pressure switches, rocker switches, sensor switches or rotary switches, can also be provided for activating one or more electric motors arranged in the housing. At least one switching link 13 with latching positions 10, 1 1 and 1 2 is provided on the actuating switch 9. At least one spring-elastic spring arm 15, which has a latching cam 14, is formed on the housing shell 1, by means of which the actuating switch 9 is held in the respective switching positions by engagement of the latching cam 14 in the respective latching position 10, 11 and 12. By means of an opening made in the housing 3 according to FIG. 1, one of the shifting gates 13 and one of the spring-elastic spring arms 15 are shown, for example, in the off position of the actuating switch 9. In this switch position of the actuation switch 9, the slide 8 with the long hair cutting system L1 is located in an area below the areas of the provided short hair cutting systems K1 and K2 that can be used actively for cutting hair, so that use of the shear-active area of the provided short hair cutting system is unhindered the long hair cutting system L1 is guaranteed.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the dry shaving apparatus according to FIG. 1 with a shaving head frame 4 placed on the housing shells 1 and 2 of the housing 3, the end cheek 5 of which is increasingly tapered from the housing 3 to the outer contours of the short hair cutting systems K1 and K2. In the front of the shaving head frame 4 - see FIG. 1 - a recess 1 6 is formed, which is shown in FIG. 2 by a broken line. In the switch position from the actuation switch 9, the long hair cutting system L1 is located in the cutout 1 6 in the transition area from the housing shell 1 and the cutout 1 6 in the shaving head frame 4. From this switch position OFF, the long hair cutting system L1 can be placed in one above the outer contours of the short hair cutting systems K1 and K2 intended operating position B can be transported back and forth. The operating position B shown in FIG. 2 lies above a tangent T tangent to the vertices of the short hair cutting systems K1 and K2.

The dry shaving apparatus according to FIG. 3 differs from the dry shaving apparatus according to FIGS. 1 and 2 on the one hand in that a further long hair cutting system L2 is provided between two short hair cutting systems K1 and K2 and the long hair cutting system provided on the slide 8 is designed to be pivotable. The operating position B of the long-hair cutting system L1 which can be transported from the switching position AUS is above one of the cutting systems which protrude furthest from the shaving head frame 4, such as e.g. Short hair cutting system K1 and / or short hair cutting system K2 and / or long hair cutting system L2 tangent T. The long hair cutting system L1, which can be transported from the switch position AUS to the operating position B, is arranged on the slide 8 so that the pivoting angle W of the cutting knife 1 7 and 1 8 of the long hair cutting system L1 and the housing wall 1 9 transporting them can be up to 1 80 °. Utilization of the swivel angle range W from 90 ° to 180 ° ensures an optimal view of the cutting area of the land hair cutting system L1 in a mirror in the operating position B. In addition, the use of the swivel angle range W from 90 ° to 180 ° results in a reduction in the adjustment path of the slide 8 carrying the long hair cutting system L1 from the switching position OFF to the operating position B above the tangent T.

4 shows components of a dry shaving apparatus with a pivotably mounted long hair cutting system L1 after removal of all components of the short hair cutting system and the housing shells 1 and 2 of the housing 3 from a chassis 20. A slide 8 is slidably guided on the chassis 20. The slide 8 points in Area of the long hair cutting system L1 on side walls 22 and 23, on which the housing wall 1 9 of the long hair cutting system L1 is pivotally mounted by means of pivot bearings 24 and 25. The drive lever 26 is used to transmit an oscillating movement emanating from an electrical drive to the oscillating cutting knife 17 or 18 of the long hair cutting system L1.

Arranged in the chassis 20 is an electric motor 27 which can be activated by an actuating switch 9 - see FIG. 1 and which is coupled here, for example via a speed reduction gear 28, to a gear device G, namely a linear feed gear device 29. The linear feed gear device 29 consists of a threaded spindle 30 and a drive shaft 31 which can be moved back and forth on the threaded spindle 30 and which is coupled to the slide 8 via a fork 32 and a coupling element 33. The back and forth movement of the drive rod 31 in and against the vertical direction V and thus the slide 8 on the threaded spindle 30 can be limited, for example, by means of a spring-elastic lever 34 formed on the drive rod 31 and the stops 35 and 36 provided on the chassis 20. The pitch of the threads 37 of the threaded spindle 30, the reduction ratio of the speed reduction gear 28 and the speed of the electric motor 27 are variable variables that enable a sensitive adjustment in relation to the given application.

A support element 39 is integrally formed on the wall 49 of the slide 8 connecting the side walls 22 and 23. A spring 40 designed as a torsion spring is arranged on the carrier element, the spring ends of which rest on the one hand on the housing wall 19 and on the other hand on a wall of the slide 8. A coupling piece 41 is formed on the housing wall 19 adjacent to the carrier element 39. An elongated hole 42 is formed in the coupling piece 41, into which a coupling bolt 44 provided on a tappet 43 - see FIGS. 5 and 7 - engages in a sliding manner. Starting from the coupling piece 41, the plunger 43 extends in the direction of the electric motor. On the end of the plunger 43 facing the electric motor, a stop 45 is formed on the side facing the chassis 20 and a cam 47 on the side facing the slider 8 for guiding the plunger 43 in a guide groove 48 in the slider 8 - see FIG. 7 - . 5 shows a longitudinal section through the upper part of the chassis 20 and through the long-hair cutting system L1 which is in the OFF position, ie in the pivoted-in state. A stop 46 for the plunger 43 is formed on the chassis 20, the interaction of which with the stop 45 of the plunger 43 is explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. The embodiment according to FIG. 5 furthermore shows cutting blades 17 and 18 of the long hair cutting system L1 coupled to the housing wall 19, as well as the coupling piece 41 provided with an elongated hole 42 and the plunger 43 which engages in the elongated hole 42 via the coupling bolt 44.

Fig. 6 shows the pivoted long hair cutting system L1 is pivoted out state, whereby for a better representation of the side walls 22 and 23 of the slide 8 and the pivot bearings 24 and 25 provided there for the pivotably mounted housing wall 1 9 and the coupling of the coupling piece 41 with the plunger 43 , The arrangement of the spring 40 on the carrier element 39, the cutting knives 17 and 18 of the long hair cutting system L1 have been omitted.

Starting from FIG. 3, the function of the long hair cutting system L1 that can be transported from a switching position OFF to an operating position B will now be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. By activating the electric motor 27 via the actuation switch 9 - see FIG. 1 - the speed of the motor shaft of the electric motor 27 is transmitted to the threaded spindle 30 via the speed reduction gear 28 in accordance with the gear ratio provided there and sets it in a corresponding rotary movement . By means of this rotary movement, the headstock 31 is moved in the direction of the stop 35 in accordance with the pitch of the threads 37. Before the resilient lever 34 comes into contact with the stop 35, the stop 45 on the plunger 43 comes into contact with the stop 46 provided on the chassis 20. At this time, the pivotably mounted housing wall 19 of the long hair cutting system L1 still takes the one shown in FIG 5 shown pivot position. The threaded spindle 30, which is still in rotation, transports the drive shaft 31 and thus the slide 8 in the vertical direction V to the operating position B - see also FIG. 3 - until the coupling bolt 44 of the plunger 43 at the lower end of the elongated hole 42 is present. In the course of this adjusting movement of the slide 8, the housing wall 1 9 executes with the provided cutting knives 1 7 and 1 8 a pivoting movement against the pressure of the spring 40 designed as a torsion spring. After reaching a predetermined pivoting angle W of, for example, 100 ° - see FIG. 3 - the long hair cutting system L1 has its end position, that is to say the operating position B. reached. The result of this is that at this point the lever 34 of the drive stick 31 comes to rest against the stop 35 provided for the chassis 20 and switches off the electric motor. The stop 35 can for example be designed as a contactor for the electric motor and consequently cause an interruption in the circuit. The stop 35 can, for example, also act as a load switch in such a way that the electric motor is switched off by an increased current consumption of the electric motor.

FIG. 7 shows a section through the upper part of the chassis 20 with the stop 46 on the chassis 20 and the stop 45 on the plunger 43. In contrast to the stop 45, a cam 48 is formed on the plunger 43, which is used to guide the plunger 43 engages in a guide groove 47 provided on the slide 8. The opposite end of the plunger 43 is located above the coupling bolt 44 due to the somewhat longer travel of the slide 8 compared to the plunger 43 at the lower end of the elongated hole 42.

The long hair cutting system L1 is returned to the OFF position by pressing the actuation switch 9 again, e.g. by returning from the locking position 1 2 to the locking position 1 1 - see Fig. 1 -. With this switching operation, a reversal of the direction of rotation of the electric motor 27 is also effected. The drive rod 31 uses the spring-elastic lever 34 to perform an actuating movement from the stop 35 to the contact with the stop 36 from the stop 36, which is designed, for example, as a contactor; whereby the electric motor is switched off after the lever 34 is in contact. The long hair cutting system L1 is now in the OFF position, specifically below the shear-active areas of the short hair cutting systems K1 and K2 and / or L2 provided in the shaving head frame 4 - see FIGS. 1 to 3.

At the beginning of the return of the pivotably mounted long hair cutting system L1 according to FIGS. 3 to 7, the slide 8 is driven via the drive rod 31 on the threaded spindle. dei 30 moves against the vertical direction V. The relaxation of the spring 40 taking place due to the return of the slide 8 causes the housing wall 19 to close with the cutting blades 17 and 18 over the entire range of the pivoting angle W, ie until the closed position is reached, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Claims

Claims:

1 . Dry shaving apparatus with at least one electric motor (27) arranged in a housing (3) and with at least one short hair cutting system (K1, K2) as well as an adjustable long hair cutting system (L1) and with an operating switch (9), the long hair cutting system (L1) using one of an electric motor (27) drivable gear device (G) in and from at least one operating position (B) is adjustable, characterized in that the gear device (G) is formed from a linear feed gear device (29) by a threaded spindle (30), a means the threaded spindle (30) movable pinion (31) and a slide (8) coupled to the pinion (31) is formed.

2. Dry shaver according to claim 1, characterized in that in the housing (3) two electric motors (27) are provided and one of the electric motors (27) is associated with the gear device (G).

3. Dry shaver according to claim 2, characterized in that the two electric motors (27) by means of a common actuation switch (9) can be activated.

4. Dry shaver according to claim 2, characterized in that each electric motor (27) is assigned an operating switch (9).

5. Dry shaving apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the linear feed gear device (29) is arranged upstream of a speed reduction gear (28).

6. Dry shaving apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the long hair trimmer system (L1) is fixedly arranged on the slide (8).

7. Dry shaving apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the long hair cutting system (L1) is arranged pivotably on the slide (8).

8. Dry shaver according to claim 7, characterized in that on a housing wall (1 9) of the long hair cutting system (L1) a plunger (43) is mounted such that when a stop (45) of the plunger (43) abuts a stop (46 ) on the chassis (20) upon subsequent further movement of the slide (8) in the direction of the short hair cutting system (K1, K2), a pivoting movement of the long hair cutting system (L1) with the housing wall (1 9) is ensured.

9. A dry shaver according to claim 8, characterized in that the plunger (43) is slidably guided in a slot (42) provided on the housing wall (19).

10. A dry shaver according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the plunger (43) on the slide (8) and / or the housing (3) is slidably guided.

1 1. Dry shaving apparatus according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that the housing wall (1 9) is pivotable against the action of a spring force of a spring (40).