GB2324060A - Clockwork shaver - Google Patents

Abstract

A clockwork shaver comprises a shaving head operated by rotation of an output shaft 26, a spring 12 for storing energy, manual winding means for storing energy in the spring 12 and a gear train 10 for regulating the release of energy from the spring 12 to rotate the output shaft 26. The shaving head may have either rotating or reciprocating blades. The winding means may comprise a knurled wheel (18 fig 3), a key (20 fig 3), a cranked lever (22 fig 3) or a draw cord (24 fig 3).

Description

TITLE Shaver DESCRIPTION The invention relates to the field of hand-held shavers.

Electrically powered shavers have long been known.

Existing electric shavers operate on two main principles.

In the first type, a rotating shaft from the electric motor drives two or three rotary cutting heads, each carrying many small blades for cutting hairs that protrude between them. In the second type, a rotating shaft from the electric motor operates through a crank to drive back-and-forth motion of a single shaver head beneath a foil. Hairs protruding through holes in the foil are cut by blades carried on the reciprocating shaver head.

In recent years electric shavers powered by rechargeable batteries have become popular. However, such batteries do suffer from some disadvantages. They are quite expensive to manufacture and often contain substances that can be damaging to the environment on disposal. Moreover, all rechargeable batteries do require charging from time to time. An adapter to allow recharging from the mains electricity supply may be provided within the housing of the shaver, which adds to its cost and weight, or may be provided separately, which is less convenient. Because the mains electricity supply and the mains plugs and sockets vary around the world, it is not possible to use a single adapter in all countries, which is inconvenient both for the manufacturer and for a user of the shaver who travels. Of course, it might also be desired to use and recharge the shaver in locations where no mains electricity supply is available. Even rechargeable batteries have a limited life and they become less efficient each time they are recharged.

The present invention solves these problems by providing a clockwork shaver. By winding the clockwork mechanism before each use, the shaver can be made to operate for a period long enough to complete an effective shave. The clockwork shaver can be re-used indefinitely without the need for any electricity supply. The clockwork mechanism can be manufactured cheaply using simple technology and it contains no hazardous substances that require special care on disposal.

In order to shave a beard, the shaver should be able to run continuously for a period of 1M to 2 minutes with a single winding. It is envisaged that a clockwork mechanism that is able to power the shaver for such a period should be able to be accommodated within a standard hand-held shaver housing. For other uses a longer running period may be desirable or the mechanism may be wound up again. Regulating means are provided to ensure that the shaver runs at an approximately constant speed as the clockwork mechanism winds down.

The clockwork shaver may operate with either type of known shaving head, simply by replacing the electric motor with a clockwork mechanism to provide the same output via a rotating shaft.

Any suitable winding means may be chosen, such as a key, a crank, a knurled wheel or a drawstring.

Fig. 1 shows a known shaver housing in which a clockwork mechanism may be installed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a suitable clock work mechanism for use with the housing of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a variety of suitable winding means for the clockwork mechanism.

Fig. 4 shows examples of the two main types of shaver heads for use with the invention.

The housing 2 illustrated in Fig. 1 is made typically of a plastics material and comprises a base and four upstanding walls that define a chamber 4 between them. A cover (not shown) may be fitted on top of the four walls to enclose the chamber 4 in a known manner. Behind one of the end walls 6 the housing includes means 8 for mounting a shaver head.

The chamber 4 can accommodate a clockwork mechanism 10 such as the example illustrated in Fig. 2. In this example, energy is stored in a coil spring 12 mounted between an input gear 14 and an output gear 16. The spring 12 is tightened by winding the input gear 14 relative to the output gear 16. Various known winding means are illustrated in Fig. 3, including a knurled wheel 18, a key 20, a crank 22 and a drawstring 24. Any of these winding means can be attached to the input gear 14 to wind the clockwork mechanism 10 in a known manner. A suitable hole or slot may be required in the housing 2 to allow winding of the winding means when the cover of the housing 2 is in place.

Returning to Fig. 2, when the input gear 14 has been fully wound, it is prevented from returning by a ratchet. Upon release of a latch (not shown), which must also be accessible from the outside of the housing 2, the output gear 16 is caused to rotate by the coil spring 12. The rotation of the output gear 16 is converted to rotary motion of an output shaft 26 by a gear train 28. The gear train 28 is designed with suitable gear ratios to ensure that the relatively slow movement of the output gear 16 is converted to the relatively fast movement of the output shaft 26 needed to drive a shaver head. The gear train 28 also serves the purpose of regulating the rotation of the output gear 16 to ensure that the output shaft 26 rotates at an approximately constant speed as the clockwork mechanism 10 winds down. The gears in the gear train may be made of a metal such as brass or, more cheaply, of plastics materials.

The output shaft 26 of the clockwork mechanism 10 passes through a hole 30 formed in the wall 6 of the housing 2 to engage with a shaver head mounted in the head mounting means 8. The shaver head may be either of the known types illustrated in Fig. 4, namely a rotary shaver head 32 or a reciprocating shaver head 34, or any other type that can be driven from a rotary input.

If a single coil spring 12 is unable to store sufficient energy to drive the shaver for the requisite time, one or more additional springs may be provided and coupled together through the gear train 28 to drive a single output shaft. Alternatively, for the rotary shaver head 32, each rotating set of blades 36 may be coupled to a separate output shaft 26 respectively driven by its own coil spring 12. Means other than coil springs may be envisaged for storing energy in the clockwork mechanism.

Claims (6)

1. A shaver, comprising: a shaving head operated by rotation of an output shaft; a spring for storing energy; manual winding means for storing energy in the spring; and a gear train for regulating the release of energy from the spring to rotate the output shaft.

2. A shaver according to claim 1, wherein the shaver head includes at least one rotating blade.

3. A shaver according to claim 1, wherein the shaver head includes at least one reciprocating blade.

4. A shaver according to any preceding claim, wherein the spring can store sufficient energy to operate the shaver continuously for at least 1S minutes.

5. A shaver according to any preceding claim, wherein the winding means is a drawstring.

6. A clockwork shaver substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.