EP2610039B1 - Hair clipper with retractable wheel - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of hair clippers or beard, more particularly the field of electric hair clippers or beards. Such mowers generally comprise a housing on one end of which is arranged a cutting head which is composed of two cutting blades driven by a relative movement of alternating oscillations provided by an electric motor. An electric power supply of the wired motor can be envisaged as well as a battery power supply. In order to cut the hair to a desired length, the mower may include an accessory, often in the form of a comb, adapted to the housing and / or the cutting head to define a bearing surface on the scalp of the user. The length of the cut hair thus corresponds to the absolute distance between this support surface and the cutting head, this distance can be modified to give several possible lengths by accessory change when it is defined by the dimensions of the accessory, or by moving a part or all of the accessory mounted on housing / cutting head.

We know the document US6807736 which is a hair clipper that has several detachable combs and different sizes, each comb is associated with a particular color, the apparatus including a legend that indicates the color-size associations of each comb. By changing the comb, the user can have different cutting lengths. The disadvantage of this invention is having to have all the accessories to have a full range of lengths which presents a problem of size and cost. Thus, since it is necessary to disassemble an accessory from the casing and to reassemble another one at the time of adjustment, the user loses time in viewing and handling. Finally, the user does not have the possibility to choose a cutting length with precision.

We still know another document WO98 / 25734 which discloses a hair clipper comprising a comb mountable on the mower, the comb comprising a fixed section and a removable section, both being positioned relative to each other by a biasing means.

We still know another document DE 102007008622 which describes a hair clipper comprising an adjustable comb via a wheel accessible by the user's chip for a rotational movement. The rotation of the wheel causes a longitudinal movement of the comb in guiding means.

We also know the document EP1710055 who teaches a hair clipper having a position control device of a cutting guide, motorized and servocontrolled by an electronic device, automatically adjusting the position of the cutting guide according to the cutting option chosen by the user. This invention requires the use of different electronic means as well as a microprocessor that can offer different options to the user. Therefore, the manufacture of such a device is quite complex and the cost is often too high for users who already know their cutting styles.

Besides, we know yet another document EP2332701 which discloses a rotational adjuster for adjusting the distance between two elements. According to the invention, the device would be used particularly on a hair trimmer to vary the distance between a comb and the cutting blades. The advantage of this invention is to be able to rotate a control element beyond 600 ° to obtain a more precise and purely mechanical adjustment, so it is not necessary to have either several interchangeable combs or a means electronic. Nevertheless, in order to ensure better sealing of the apparatus, such a mechanism allows only a part of the adjustment element to be exposed outside the casing and to be handled by the user, in particular the manipulation of the button. by the thumb of the user, so the feel of manipulation and the accuracy of adjustment is quite low. In addition, according to the invention, the portion of the button that is user-friendly is at the same level as the housing, it would be difficult to lock the knob to a rotational position to keep the predetermined cutting length. Finally, the relative position of the adjustment means relative to the housing of the mower remains unchanged, it is difficult for the user to distinguish whether the device is in the adjustment state or not.

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide an adjustable comb mower having a user-friendly adjustment means.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable comb trimmer having precise and reliable adjustment means during and after adjusting the length of cut.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate the display of the adjustment possibility for the user.

Yet another object of the invention is to improve the feeling of adjustment.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a compact comb mower compact and non-bulky.

Finally another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable comb mower of high quality and economic.

In order to achieve these objectives, the invention relates to a mower comprising a housing containing a stationary blade and a movable blade that can be driven relative to the stationary blade to make a cut, the housing being provided with at least one comb intended for being arranged between the cutting blades and the scalp that can be moved relative to the housing, the movement of the comb being intended to be controlled by an adjustment means connected to said comb via a mechanical transmission means, said means The adjustment device is intended to be held in at least a first output position (A) relative to the housing by a retraction means. According to the invention, the adjustment means is intended to undergo a movement in rotation about its axis Δ, during adjustment, the adjustment means being maintained in said first extended position (A), and the adjustment means is intended for to be maintained in a second retracted position (B) with respect to said first extended position (A).

This geometric configuration makes it possible to give the user access to all the adjustment means and thus to facilitate maneuverability during adjustment. This makes the adjustment means not accessible to undergo a rotational movement after adjustment and make the mower less cumbersome.

To achieve this purpose, said retraction means comprises a latch intended to move in a positioner intended to cooperate with said adjustment means when said latch is under stress of a return means or a bearing force, said positioner being rotatably connected to a drive wheel for cooperating with said mechanical transmission means.

More specifically, and in a preferable embodiment, said latch comprises at least one guide means intended to slide in shapes on the inner wall of said positioner, said shapes comprise helical ramps and grooves that can alternately stop said guide means in two directions. different positions when said latch is guided in rotation by a series of vertical teeth on a first circumference of said drive wheel, said series of vertical teeth being intended to receive said guide means so that said latch is always driven to turn in the same direction. This retraction system allows, at each support, to change the longitudinal position of the lock relative to the positioner.

In order to establish the mechanical transmission, said drive wheel comprises on a second circumference a first toothed wheel.
According to a characteristic of the invention, said mechanical transmission means comprises a slider having a second gear, forming with said first gear of said drive wheel a gear concurrent at an angle α. This gear construction makes it possible to optimize the application force and the angular velocity, the adjustment is thus easier and more precise.

In a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment, said slider comprises at least one thread-type helix which cooperates with a slider comprising at least part of a thread corresponding to said helix, said slider being intended to receive said comb by a clipping . The rotation of the slider is thus converted into translation of the slider, the threading and tapping of the two parts can be adjusted to optimize the stroke ratio, the setting is more accurate.

According to a feature of the invention aimed at rendering the adjusting means retractable, said adjusting means is translationally connected to the retraction means by coupling between at least one hook on one of the adjusting means and the latch and one orifice on the other of the adjusting means and the latch. The adjustment means can therefore also have two different maintained positions.

According to a feature of the invention for actuating the mechanical transmission means by the adjusting means, said adjusting means is rotatably connected to the retraction means by a slide connection between said adjusting means and said positioner. A rotation of the adjustment means therefore causes the positioner which is itself connected to the drive wheel so that it rotates in the same direction as the adjustment means.

According to another characteristic of the invention, said drive wheel comprises coaxially a feeler ring having bumps on the circumference for actuating a feeling spring. This allows to give a feeling of guts to the user during the rotation in one direction or another.

Advantageously, the parts: adjusting means, latch, positioner, drive wheel, slider, are mounted and held in place on a mono piece called support. The stand is designed to serve as a reference for positioning parts, games are weaker and the product has better quality.

More particularly, said housing comprises an indicator of the length of cut. This allows the user to visually know the chosen cutting length.

For the indicator to display the cutting length according to the positioning of the slider, said slider comprises a potentiometer that can give the position of the comb to said indicator over a range of possible settings.

Advantageously, the mower comprises at least two detachable combs of different size. The combs having different adjustable cutting length ranges, the user can choose the comb adapted according to the desired type of cut.

• La Figure 1 est une vue en perspective de l'ensemble de la tondeuse ainsi que son peigne;
• La Figure 2 est une vue éclatée du moyen de rétraction et du moyen de réglage ;
• La Figure 3 est une vue en perspective du moyen de réglage ;
• La Figure 4 est une vue de coupe latérale du positionneur ;
• La Figure 5 est une vue latérale de l'ensemble du moyen de transmission mécanique.
• La Figure 6 est une vue en perspective de l'ensemble du moyen de transmission mécanique ;
• La Figure 7 est une vue en perspective du support avec les pièces montées ;
• La Figure 8 est une vue en perspective de l'ensemble du moyen de rétraction, du moyen de transmission mécanique, du potentiomètre et du peigne ;
• La Figure 9 est une vue en perspective d'un détail du moyen de réglage.

The invention will be better understood from the study of the main embodiment taken as a non-limitative manner and illustrated in the appended figures in which:

• The Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire mower as well as its comb;
• The Figure 2 is an exploded view of the retraction means and the adjusting means;
• The Figure 3 is a perspective view of the adjusting means;
• The Figure 4 is a side sectional view of the positioner;
• The Figure 5 is a side view of the assembly of the mechanical transmission means.
• The Figure 6 is a perspective view of the entire mechanical transmission means;
• The Figure 7 is a perspective view of the support with the mounted parts;
• The Figure 8 is a perspective view of the assembly of the retraction means, the mechanical transmission means, the potentiometer and the comb;
• The Figure 9 is a perspective view of a detail of the adjustment means.

A hair or beard trimmer, as illustrated in Figure 1 and generally designated 1, comprises a housing 10 defining a gripping zone and being equipped at the bottom with a cutting head composed of a stationary cutting blade 11 and a movable cutting blade 12. The mower 1 also comprises at least one comb 2 intended to fit on the mower 1 detachably and movable by a slide 32 which will be explained later. Comb 2 includes a series fins that define a bearing plane 22 against the scalp of the user, the absolute distance between the support plane 22 and the cutting blades 11, 12 thus defines the length of the hair after cutting. This length is adjustable by the movement of the comb 2, the comb 2 being driven in translation by the slide 32.

In order to be able to adjust the cutting length defined by the support plane 22 and the cutting blades 11, 12, the mower has a setting means 5 in the form of a wheel as shown in FIG. Figure 1 , intended to undergo a rotational movement about its axis Δ in one direction or the other. The adjusting means 5 is movable in translation between two positions A and C, but can only be maintained at the position A and, according to a preferable variant of the invention, another position B, which corresponds to the retracted position of the adjusting means 5, the position B being between the position A and the position C. During adjustment, the adjusting means 5 is held in position A so that it is sufficiently out of the housing 10 to allow the user to take substantially all of its circumference 51 for easy and precise rotation manipulation. With the so-called retracted position B, we have the possibility of lowering the adjustment means 5 sufficiently low until rotation manipulation is impossible.

Before presenting the operation of the retraction means 4, it should firstly be understood that this retraction means 4 comprises a latch 41 which is connected to the translation adjustment means 5 and which is at the same time rotatable about the axis Δ. According to a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment, the adjusting means 5 comprises two hooks 50 as illustrated in FIG. Figure 3 and the latch 41 comprises an orifice 411 in which the hooks 50 are inserted so that they make the adjustment means 5 dependent on the latch 41 in translation in the X direction. The upper surface 412 of the latch 41 is intended to press against a contact plane 52 of the adjusting means 5 so that the latter is actuated by the latch 41 in the direction Y which is opposite the direction X. One could of course imagine other embodiments to achieve this objective as the means adjustment is free in rotation relative to the lock.

We will now explain in detail the means of retraction 4 better illustrated at the Figure 2 . It comprises a positioner 42 having a cylindrical shape positioned on the axis Δ, one end of the positioner 42 having a series of attachment arms 423 that can be embedded in cavities 442 distributed over a circumference of the drive wheel 44 which is also a circular part that can rotate around the axis Δ. In this way, the drive wheel 44 is rotated by the positioner 42 during adjustment. Other rotary attachment means could be considered as a bonding of the two parts or a slide connection, but the clipping solution proposed above has an economic and industrial advantage.

Before mounting the positioner 42 on the drive wheel 44, it comes to place the latch 41 in the positioner 42 so that it can move on the axis Δ. Always at the Figure 2 , the latch 41 has on its cylindrical surface a plurality of guide means 410 presented in the form of pins 410 intended to come into contact with the inner wall of the positioner 42. As illustrated in FIG. Figure 4 and according to a preferable variant of the invention, in order to be able to stop the latch in two different positions on the Δ axis, the positioner comprises on its inner wall shapes 422 comprising helical ramps 420 and reciprocally distributed grooves 421 and circular, so that when moving the latch 41 in the Y direction, all the pins 410 abut on either a helical ramp or a kerf. This movement of the latch 41 in the Y direction is actuated by a return means 43 which is positioned between the latch 41 and the drive wheel 44 and which is always in a compressed state. This makes it possible to keep the pins 410 against the shapes 422. When the pins 410 are stopped by the grooves 421, the whole of the adjustment means 5 is substantially out of the box in order to give the user access to the adjustment, this position maintained is the position A which is an end of the path of the adjusting means 5. When the pins 410 are stopped by the helical ramps 420, the adjusting means 5 is retracted to arrive at a position B which is flush with the housing 10 or slightly out of / back into the housing 10 to prohibit manipulation in rotation.

In order to pass the adjustment means 5 from one position to another, it suffices that the user exerts a pressing force on the adjustment means 5. By compressing the return means 43, the lock moves in the direction X and the pins 410 leave shapes 422 until they touch the drive wheel 44. At this time, the adjustment means arrives at the position C which is the other end of its path. Indeed, as illustrated in Figure 2 , the first circumference of the drive wheel 44 which receives the pins 410 comprises a series of vertical teeth 440, these teeth are distributed so that each pin, down to the drive wheel, always slides on the same next to a tooth, which causes the latch 41 to slightly express angular movement in a single direction. It can be understood by the term "slightly" that the latch turns sufficiently that the pins move from one form to another without disturbing the function of the change of position of the adjusting means alternatively. Advantageously, we can see Figure 4 that the helical ramps 420 and the grooves 421 are spaced from the slopes 425, 426 that can help the rotation of the latch in the desired direction when it rises in the Y direction by the compressive force of the return means 43.

In another variant not shown, the locking of the adjusting means 5 to the position A said output can be achieved by another intermediate piece that can operate directly on the adjustment means. In this case, we can simplify the retraction means 4 by replacing the grooves 421 by grooves in which the lock is free and no longer receives compression force from the return means which will be completely released.

As illustrated in Figure 2 and according to a variant of the invention, the adjustment means 5 is rotatably connected to the positioner 42 by a sliding connection between the grooves 53 on the adjusting means 5 and the protruding lines 424 on the positioner 42. This connection allows the positioner 42 and the drive wheel 44 to rotate in one direction or the other around the axis Δ. This slide connection can be substituted by other means such as gluing or clipping,

In order to transmit this rotation of the whole of the retraction means 4 around the axis Δ in a translation of the comb 2, the drive wheel 44 comprises a first gear 441 forming part of a mechanical transmission means 3. This toothed wheel can be tapered or straight. As illustrated in Figure 5 , the mechanical transmission means 3 also comprises a slider 31 which is a cylindrical piece mounted on the axis Δ 'and limited in translation relative to the housing, this slider 31 has at one end a second gear wheel 310 which forms with the first gear 441 a gear concurrent at an angle α. This angle as well as the size and number of teeth on each gear is adjusted to obtain optimum gearing and gear ratio.

To better understand the mechanical transmission means 3, it comprises a slide 32 fixed in rotation relative to the housing and intended to move on the axis Δ 'as illustrated in FIG. Figure 6 . The slider 32 includes portions of a tapping 320 in the form of protuberances spaced apart on its inner surface. These protuberances form with thread-like helices 311 on the outer surface of the slider 31 a screw-nut structure by means of which the slider 32 translates in translation on the axis Δ 'when the slider 31 is rotated around the slider. 'axis Δ'. The slide 32 receives the comb 2 by a clipping, the comb 2 can be driven by the slide 32 in translation in one direction or the other on the axis Δ '.

This transmission principle also adapts to other embodiments, including a complete thread / tapping on the two parts or a thread on the slider 32 and a tapping on the slider 31, etc., the purpose being to transmit the rotation of the slider 31 in translation of the slider 32. It is also possible to adjust the size of the thread and / or the tapping defining the advance stroke ratio of the slider 32 in order to obtain a very precise adjustment.

The number of teeth, the angle of the gearing and the threading / tapping can thus be varied very widely to obtain a ratio between the angular movement of the adjusting means and the translational movement of the comb.

• la roue d'entrainement comprend sur la première roue dentée18 dents ;
• le curseur comprend sur la deuxième roue dentée 20 dents ;
• on a la possibilité de tourner la roue d'entrainement à un cran qui correspond à un angle de 30° ;
• 1 tour du curseur correspond à 6mm d'avancement du coulisseau

En faisant le calcul, on arrive à un résultat de 0,45mm d'avancement du peigne pour une rotation d'un cran (30°) du moyen de réglage. Selon différentes combinaisons, il est possible d'obtenir un réglage plus ou moins précis suivant le besoin des utilisateurs.To give an idea of the improved accuracy with the present invention, according to a variant envisaged,

• the drive wheel comprises on the first toothed wheel 18 teeth;
• the slider comprises on the second toothed wheel 20 teeth;
• it is possible to turn the drive wheel to a notch which corresponds to an angle of 30 °;
• 1 turn of the cursor corresponds to 6mm of advancement of the slider

By doing the calculation, one arrives at a result of 0.45 mm of advancement of the comb for a rotation of a notch (30 °) of the adjustment means. According to different combinations, it is possible to obtain a more or less precise adjustment according to the need of the users.

In order to further improve the adjustment of the cutting length, the mower 1 comprises, as illustrated in FIG. Figure 9 a feeler ring 6 having toothed bumps 61 which can push a feeling spring 7. The feeling ring 6 is fixed in rotation about the axis Δ on the drive wheel 44, it gives the user a sensation notch when rotating in one direction or the other. The angular dimension of the notched bumps 61 may be consistent with the rotational notches of the adjusting means 5 so that each notch sensation corresponds to the notch of the comb 2 advancement. But this may not be so if one simply wishes to indicate to the user that the setting is in progress.

Through the descriptions and drawings, it is easy to understand that the entire internal system of the housing 10 including the retraction means 4 and the mechanical transmission means 3 operates if the subassemblies are well dimensioned and put in position correctly. For this, we designed a piece that is a support 8 as shown in the Figure 7 . The support 8 is a reference piece comprising a cylinder 81 on the axis A, a cylinder 82 on the axis Δ ', and fastening means 83 for fixing the support 8 directly on the housing 10. With this piece, it can easily come to put the retraction means 4 in the cylinder 82 and the slider 31 on the cylinder 82 so that they are kept in position during operation. Referring to the same part, all the subsets of the retraction means 4 and the slider 31 keep very weak operating clearances between them, the range of dimensions is reduced and the dispersion is reduced. We thus obtain a device of better quality with satisfactory reliability of adjustment.

In order to be able to visualize the setting, the mower 1 has on the housing an indicator 9 which displays the cutting length instantly with the setting. According to a variant of the invention, the indicator 9 comprises an LCD screen on which the cutting length is displayed digitally. During operation, the indicator 9 picks up a signal which is a function of the position of a potentiometer 321 which is arranged on the slider 32. It is also possible to set up markings on the comb which are pointed by an arrow on the housing. of the mower. There are other display means, for example with LEDs (light emitting diodes) at different positions corresponding to a range of cutting lengths, but such a display makes the range very limiting.

According to the invention, the mower 1 is suitable for a haircut or beard. It has therefore appeared to us that we need to supply several different size combs in order to widen the cutting length range. These combs are detachable from the slide and interchangeable between them.

Of course, other modifications may be made to the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. Hair clippers (1) including a casing (10) containing a stationary blade (11) and a mobile blade (12) able to be driven relative to the stationary blade (11) in order to perform a cut, the casing (10) being equipped with at least one comb (2), to be fitted between the cutting blades and the scalp and whose position relative to the casing (10) may be adjusted, the movement of this comb (2) being controlled by an adjustment mechanism (5) linked to this comb (2) by means of a mechanical linkage (3) and the adjustment mechanism (5) able to be maintained in at least one initial extended position (A) relative to the casing (10) by a retraction mechanism (4), characterised by the adjustment mechanism (5) being able to rotate around its axis Δ during adjustment, the adjustment mechanism being maintained in the initial extended position (A), and by the adjustment mechanism (5) being able to be maintained in a second retracted position (B) relative to the initial extended position (A).
2. Hair clippers according to the previous claim, characterised by the retraction mechanism (4) incorporating a lock (41) whose position may be adjusted within a positioner (42) intended for use with the adjustment mechanism (5) when the lock (41) is constrained by a return mechanism (43) or a supporting force, the positioner (42) being rotated by a drive wheel (44) intended for use with the mechanical linkage (3).
3. Hair clippers according to the previous claim, characterised by a lock (41) incorporating at least one guide mechanism (410) that slides within shapes (422) on the inside wall of the positioner (42), these shapes (422) comprising helicoidal ramps (420) and cut-outs (421) enabling the guide mechanism (410) to be stopped in two different positions as the lock (41) is guided in its rotation by a series of vertical teeth (440) on the circumference of the drive wheel (44), this series of vertical teeth (440) engaging with the guide mechanism (410) such that the lock (41) is always driven in the same direction.
4. Hair clippers according to claim 2 or 3, characterised by this drive wheel (44) also incorporating a toothed wheel around its circumference (441).
5. Hair clippers according to the previous claim, characterised by a mechanical linkage (3) incorporating an adjustment slider (31) with a second toothed wheel (310) that engages with the first toothed wheel (441) of the drive wheel (44) at an angle α.
6. Hair clippers according to the previous claim, characterised by an adjustment slider (31) incorporating at least one helical thread (311) that engages with a slider (32) incorporating at least one threaded section (320) corresponding to the helical thread (311), the slider (32) being designed to receive the comb (2) by means of a snap fitting.
7. Hair clippers according to any of the claims from 2 to 6, characterised by the adjustment mechanism (5) being connected in its sliding movement to the retraction mechanism (4) by means of a coupling consisting of at least one hook (50) on the former, between the adjustment mechanism (5) and the lock (41), and an orifice (411) on the latter, between the adjustment mechanism (5) and the lock (41).
8. Hair clippers according to any of the claims from 2 to 7, characterised by the adjustment mechanism (5) being connected in rotation to the retraction mechanism (4) by a sliding link between the adjustment mechanism (5) and the positioner (42).
9. Hair clippers according to any of the claims from 2 to 8, characterised by the drive wheel (44) incorporating a coaxial sensor ring (6) with bosses (61) on its circumference to actuate a sensor spring (7).
10. Hair clippers according to any of the claims from 5 to 8, characterised by an adjustment mechanism (5), the lock (41), the positioner (42), the drive wheel (44) and the adjustment slider (31) being fitted and maintained in place on a single unit known as the mounting (8).
11. Hair clippers according to any of the previous claims, characterised by the casing (10) incorporating an indicator (9) showing the length of the cut.
12. Hair clippers according to claims 6 and 11, characterised by the slider (32) incorporating a potentiometer (321) able to give the position of the comb to the indicator (9) for a range of possible adjustments.
13. Hair clippers according to any of the previous claims, characterised by their having at least two detachable combs of different sizes.

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