EP3411201B1

EP3411201B1 - Electric hair clipper

Info

Publication number: EP3411201B1
Application number: EP16889623.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Neel B. KULHRESHTHA
Original assignee: Skull Shaver LLC
Current assignee: Skull Shaver LLC
Priority date: 2016-02-05
Filing date: 2016-03-30
Publication date: 2021-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2036-03-30
Also published as: EP3411201A4; WO2017135979A1; ES2864204T3; EP3411201A1

Description

Technical Field

The present invention is directed toward electric hair clippers or trimmers and, more particularly, toward electric hair clippers that allow a person to trim his or her own hair in areas such as the back of the neck that are otherwise difficult to do with conventional clippers.

Background Art

Electric hair clippers generally include a hand-held housing that contains a motor and power supply-related components that drive a reciprocating trimming blade. The housing also provides a form that fits the user's hand sufficiently as a grip so as to allow the user to manipulate the hair clipper. Various types of clippers are well known in the art. In general, the clippers comprise an elongated housing with a reciprocating trimming blade at one end with the blade being perpendicular to the axis of the housing. While such conventional clippers are relatively easy to manipulate when trimming another person's hair, they are awkward to use on one's own hair and particularly the back of one's neck.
There is, therefore, a need for an electric hair clipper that allows a person to trim his or her own hair in areas such as the back of the neck that are otherwise difficult to do with conventional clippers.
WO 2015/020696 A1 discloses an electric hair clipper according to the preamble of claim 1.

Disclosure of the Invention

The invention is defined by the claims.
The present disclosure relates to an electric hair clipper that includes a housing containing an electrical source and drive-related components. In many embodiments, a clipper mechanism having a reciprocating clipper is located beneath the bottom of the housing but is spaced therefrom by a central hub that extends downwardly from the bottom of the housing. The housing, central hub and clipper mechanism are arranged such that a person can hold the electric hair clipper by placing his or her fingers in the space between the housing and the clipper mechanism with the central hub lying between two fingers and with the back of the person's fingers resting in a pair of elongated spaced apart recesses formed in the bottom of the housing on opposite sides of the hub. The front of one of the person's finger rests on a curved ledge to allow for some downward pressure and help control the operation of the clipper.
When the electric hair clipper of the present invention is held in the above described manner, it is possible to easily either grip the hair clipper with two fingers as between the thumb and index finger, or between the index and middle fingers and properly orient cutting clipper. This allows the person to easily trim areas such as the back of the neck that are otherwise difficult to do.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the accompanying drawings in figures 14 to 18 embodiments of the present invention and in the other figures examples of the present disclosure which do not fall within the scope of the claims.

Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a first example of an electric hair clipper which does not fall within the scope of the claims;
Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view thereof;
Figure 3 is a top plan view thereof;
Figure 4 is a bottom plan view thereof;
Figure 5 is a left side elevational view thereof, the right side being the mirror image thereof;
Figure 6 is a rear elevational view thereof;
Figure 7 is a front elevational view thereof;
Figure 8 is a perspective view showing how the electric clipper of the invention is held and used to trim one's hair;
Figure 9 is a top perspective view of a second example of an electric hair clipper which does not fall within the scope of the claims;
Figure 10 is a bottom perspective view of the second example;
Figure 11 is a left side elevational view of the second example, the right side being the mirror image thereof;
Figure 12 is a rear elevational view of the second example;
Figure 13 is a front elevational view thereof;
Figure 14 is a left side elevational view of a first embodiment of an
electric hair clipper in accordance with the invention, the right side being the mirror image thereof;
Figure 15 is a rear elevational view of the first embodiment;
Figure 16 is a front elevational view thereof;
Figure 17 is a top perspective view of the first embodiment with a portion exploded;
Figure 18 is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment;
Figure 19 is a top perspective view of a third example of an electric hair clipper, and
Figure 20 is a top perspective view of a fourth example of an electric hair clipper which do not fall within the scope of the claims.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

A more complete understanding of the components, processes, and apparatuses disclosed herein can be obtained by reference to the accompanying figures. These figures are intended to demonstrate the present disclosure and are not intended to show relative sizes and dimensions or to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.
Although specific terms are used in the following description, these terms are intended to refer only to particular structures in the drawings and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that like numeric designations refer to components of like function.
The term "about" when used with a quantity includes the stated value and also has the meaning dictated by the context. For example, it includes at least the degree of error associated with the measurement of the particular quantity. When used in the context of a range, the term "about" should also be considered as disclosing the range defined by the absolute values of the two endpoints. For example, the range "from about 2 to about 4" also discloses the range "from 2 to 4."
In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a hair clipper that comprises a gripping means and a cutting clipper or trimmer, configured in such a manner that allows the hair clipper to be oriented with the grip portion above the cutter portion with space between them for a persons fingers, thus making it anatomically convenient to hold the hair clipper and trim one's own hair.
Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference numerals have been used throughout the various figures to designate like elements, there is shown in Figures 1 - 8 a first example of an electric hair clipper or trimmer designated generally as 10.
The hair clipper 10 comprises an upper portion 12 that provides a substantially rectangularly shaped housing for a power source and motor related components, and a trimmer mechanism 14 that includes a reciprocating straight line trimmer 16. The connection between the motor and the trimmer head passes through the central hub 18 which may have an enlarged lower portion 20. The straight line trimmer 16 is, per se, conventional and is well known in the art. The motor (not shown) is also mechanically coupled to the trimmer 16 in a known manner.
The motor, power supply and other related components along with the trimmer are not, per se, part of the present inventive concept. They are all individually common and well known in the art. Accordingly, detailed descriptions of the same are not believed to be necessary.
The housing 12 further comprises a particular form that provides a gripping means, and fits the hand in a comfortable manner. The gripping means includes a pair of elongated recesses in the form of parallel concave surfaces 22 and 24 formed on either side of the housing 12. The concave surfaces define a plane that is parallel to the line formed by the trimmer 16. A second pair of elongated recesses in the form of concave surfaces 26 and 28 are formed in the under surface of the housing 12 above the trimmer 16. The second pair of concave surfaces 26 and 28 are arranged to be perpendicular to the first pair of concave surfaces 22 and 24 and also define a plane that is parallel to the line defined by the trimmer 16.
Concave surfaces 22 and 24 are configured to allow the hair clipper 10 to be gripped between the thumb and tips of several of one's remaining fingers with the palm of one's hand overlying the housing 12. Holding the trimmer 10 in this manner will allow the user to trim sideburns or other easy to reach facial hairs. However, when it is desired to trim harder to reach areas such as the back of one's neck, the clipper 10 is held in the manner shown in Figure 8.
As shown, the person places his or her fingers in the space between the housing 12 and the clipper mechanism 14 with the central hub 18 lying between two fingers and with the back of the person's fingers resting in the concave recesses or grooves 26 and 28. The person's fingers are also gripping the central hub 18. When the clipper is held in this manner, it can be seen that the clipper or trimmer 16 is in line with the person's fingers making it easy for the person to trim the back of his or her neck.
The second example 110 shown in Figures 9 to 13 is very similar to the first example shown in Figures 1 to 8 and operates in the same manner. The difference is primarily in the central hub section shown at 118. In the first example, the central 18 was fixed. In the second example, the central hub is comprised of two parts hinged or pivoted together.
More particularly, the central hub 118 is comprised of upper hub portion 130 and lower hub portion 120. Lower hub portion 120 includes an upwardly extending tongue 132 and the upper hub portion 130 includes a pair of downwardly extending ears 134 and 136 lying on either side of the tongue 132.
A pin 138 extends through apertures (not shown) located in the tongue 132 and ears 134 and 136. This pivot or hinge arrangement allows for limited pivotal movement forward and back (as viewed in Figure 11) between the housing 112 and the trimmer mechanism 114.
In addition, and as best seen in Figures 9, 11 and 13, a rib 140 extends forwardly across the front wall 142 of the lower hub portion 120 just above the trimmer 116. In the preferred embodiment, the rib 140 extends entirely across the width of the lower hub portion 120. When the electric hair clipper or trimmer 110 is held, for example, in the manner shown in Figure 8, the rib 140 functions to advise the user that his finger is close to the trimmer 116. This lets the user know that he is using the trimmer 110 properly and helps to prevent injuries.
The first embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 14 to 18 is very similar to both the first and second examples and operates in the same manner. For convenience, similar elements shown in these figures are designated with similar reference numerals but preceded by the number 2. For example, the trimmer blade 216 of the trimmer 210 is essentially the same as trimmer 16 of the first example which is essentially the same as trimmer 116 of the second example. For this reason, it is not believed that a detailed description of the first embodiment is necessary as it operates and is used in essentially the same manner as the first and second examples.
The primarily difference in the first embodiment is the addition of the curved finger rest 260. The finger rest 260 extends forwardly from the front wall 242 of the lower hub portion 220 above the trimmer 216 and curves slightly upwardly. The finger rest 260 can be permanently secured to the front wall 242 or can be detachable therefrom.
As shown most clearly in Figure 17, the finger rest 260 is comprised of a curved portion 262 and an elongated attaching socket portion 264. The front wall 242 of the hub portion 220 includes a mating projection 266. The socket portion 264 has is open and fits over and onto the projection 266 to position the finger rest 260 in place as shown in Figure 14. It has been found that a good friction fit between the parts is sufficient to maintain the finger rest 260 in position even during use.
In use, the back of one of the person's fingers rests in the concave recess or groove 228. The front of the person's finger presses down on the finger rest 260. This provides several advantages over the first two embodiments. First, it provides for added control over the maneuvering of the trimmer 210. Second, it allows the user to provide some downward pressure to the trimmer blade 216 to press it against the skin if desired and it prevents the user's finger from moving downwardly onto the trimmer blade 216.
The further examples 310 and 410 shown in Figures 19 and 20 illustrate how the finger rest described above can also be applied to a more standard razor or trimmer which has an elongated appearance with the trimmer blade at the lower end thereof. In Figure 19, the finger rest 360 includes a curved portion 362 that extends outwardly and upwardly from the front wall 342 of the trimmer body or housing 312 just above the trimmer blade 316. In the example shown in Figure 20, the finger rest 460 is formed within the front wall 442 of the body or housing 412 of the trimmer 410.
In the examples shown in Figures 19 and 20, the trimmer can be held and used in substantially the same manner as the embodiments described above. That is, the trimmer can be held between the user's first and second fingers with one finger at the back of the trimmer and one finger adjacent the front wall 342 or 442 with the front or pad surface of the finger resting on or pressing down on the finger rest 360 or 460.
The present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the present disclosure be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

An electric hair clipper (10) comprising:
a housing (12) for containing an electrical source and drive-related components, said housing having a top surface and a bottom surface;

a clipper mechanism (14) located beneath said bottom surface of said housing (12) and spaced therefrom, said clipper mechanism (14) including a reciprocating trimmer blade (216) having a front edge defining a straight line, said clipper mechanism (14) including a finger rest (260) located above the position of the trimmer blade (216) and extending outwardly;

a central hub (218) having an upper portion connected to and extending downwardly from said bottom surface of said housing (12), said central hub (218) having a lower portion connected to said clipper mechanism (14), and

said housing (12), central hub (218) and clipper mechanism (14) being arranged such that a person can hold the electric hair clipper (10) by placing his or her fingers in the space between said housing (12) and said clipper mechanism (14) with the central hub (218) lying between two fingers with the bottom of the housing (12) contacting the back of the person's fingers and with the front of one of the person's two fingers resting on said finger rest (260) to allow the person to provide downward pressure to the trimming blade (216);

characterized in that said finger rest (260) is curved upwardly away from said trimmer blade (216).
The electric hair clipper (10) as claimed in Claim 1 further including a pair of elongated spaced apart recesses (26, 28) formed in said bottom of said housing (12) and being located on opposite sides of said hub (218) and wherein the back of said person's fingers rest in said recesses (26, 28).
The electric hair clipper (10) as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said finger rest (260) is removably attached to said clipper mechanism (14).
The electric hair clipper (10) as claimed in Claim 1 further including pivot means (238) located between said upper portion and said lower portion of said central hub (218) permitting said clipper mechanism (14) to pivot relative to said housing (12).