JP2006500184A - Shaving head cleaning device for shaving machine and container for this device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shaving head cleaning device (1) for a shaving machine having a socket (3) for receiving the shaving head and a container (11) for cleaning fluid (17) supplied to the shaving head. A cleaning device including (2) is provided.
The housing (2) of the cleaning device has at least one window (9) for monitoring the level of fluid in the container (11) in the region of at least one side wall (13) of the container (11). Have. At least the region of the window (9) of the side wall (13) is made of a transparent material. The container bottom (12) has a relatively low transparency.

Description

  The present invention relates to a shaving machine, and more particularly to a shaving head cleaning device for an electric shaving machine. The cleaning device includes a housing having a socket for receiving a shaving head, and a container for a cleaning fluid supplied to the shaving head. The invention further relates to a cleaning fluid container for a shaving head cleaning device of a shaving machine.

  Such cleaning devices and cleaning device containers containing cleaning fluids are well known by the Brown 5301 "cleaning-charging" device. This known device is used to clean the shaving head and to charge and store the shaving machine.

  In this apparatus, an electric shaver is inserted into a socket with the shaving head down, and then the socket is filled several times with a cleaning fluid. During the cleaning process, the electric shaver is temporarily in operation and the cleaning fluid removes the shavings and deposits adhering to the shaving head and returns them to the cleaning fluid container. The cleaning fluid is previously conveyed from the cleaning fluid container to the shaving head. During the cleaning process, the electric shaver is electrically connected to the cleaning device. In the actual cleaning process, a drying operation is then performed. In this process, the fluid attached to the shaving head is vaporized. Containers must be regularly replaced with new ones as the fluid evaporates slightly in each cleaning cycle and because the cleaning fluid is gradually contaminated with sawdust and deposits during use. . Known devices are provided with equipment for electrical fluid level indicators. This facility uses a corresponding optical signal provided on a display device attached to the housing of the cleaning device to inform the user when the level of liquid in the container has dropped by a predetermined amount. In order to control the optical signal, provision is made for an electrode that protrudes into the container and is acted upon by the cleaning fluid until the liquid level is reduced by a predetermined amount. An optical signal occurs when the electrode is above the fluid level.

  An electrical display for fluids that falls below a predetermined level operates very accurately and reliably, but requires considerable expense and is labor intensive to assemble.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device of the kind mentioned at the outset that allows the user to reliably monitor the level of fluid in the container, with minimal cost and assembly effort. is there.

  This object is achieved according to the invention in that at least one window for monitoring the level of fluid in the container is provided in the area of at least one side wall of the container, the window area of the side wall being formed of a transparent material. And is achieved by a housing with a relatively low transparency at the bottom of the container. Since the bottom of the container is colored, the cleaning fluid looks like the color of the bottom and a clear contrast is formed on its surface. At the same time, the interior of the container looks better due to the transparency of the side walls.

  Scale glass for observing fluid levels is generally well known, but if such fluids are colorless or only slightly colored, the level cannot be read without great effort. There is a drawback. It can be seen that because the container is almost completely surrounded by the housing of the cleaning device, the fluid level is very unclear and unclear when the interior of the dark container is viewed from the outside. Although it is at least somewhat easier to color the cleaning fluid, this is undesirable.

  With regard to the manufacture of the container, it is particularly advantageous to form all the side walls and the upper wall of the container from the same transparent material. In that case, the assembly of the container only connects the trough-like parts to the bottom.

  After the cleaning fluid is used up, it is advantageous to releasably connect the container itself to the housing so that the replacement can be conveniently performed by replacing the old cartridge with a new cartridge.

  In order to be able to more clearly indicate the level of cleaning fluid held in the container, it is advantageous to provide a lighting device in the housing. This greatly increases the contrast between the filled and unfilled areas of the container. By this means, the level of fluid in the container of the cleaning device can be read very accurately even in a bright external environment. The lighting device can be designed to emit either white light or colored light. It is advantageous to form the illuminating device so as to protrude at least partially into the container, so that the surface of the cleaning fluid exhibits a high contrast to its surroundings.

  An embodiment of the invention that is particularly easy to form and that allows the position of the lighting device to be selected relatively freely is characterized in that the lighting device has an optical waveguide that extends from the lighting device in the direction of the container or into the container. And This allows the illumination device to be implemented even in the worst installation conditions, and the free surface of the cleaning fluid in the container is optimally illuminated.

  Another embodiment of the present invention provides an illumination device that protrudes at least partially into the cleaning fluid and thus can obtain a special optical effect depending on the extent of the protrusion. That is, it looks different optically depending on the level of the fluid in the container relative to the light source, the light intensity changes, and this can be used to read the fluid level. This can be enhanced by using colored light or colored or multi-colored optical waveguides by changing the color of the illuminated fluid when the fluid level changes. it can.

The present invention further relates to a cleaning fluid container for a cleaning device for a shaving head of a shaving machine. The container includes a container bottom and a side wall connected to the base.

  Such containers are already provided as refill cartridges for the aforementioned Brown “cleaning-charging” device. Known cartridges contain colorless cleaning fluids, which are manufactured entirely from a blue plastic material. The level of cleaning fluid held in the container cannot be read accurately even when the cartridge is outside the cleaning device. When a container made of a completely transparent material is filled with a colorless cleaning fluid, it is very difficult and unclear to read the fluid level.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning fluid container in which the fluid level itself can be clearly seen in high contrast.

  This object is achieved according to the invention by forming the side walls with a transparent material and making the container bottom relatively transparent. The side walls of the present invention are transparent so that colored light is emitted into the fluid through the colored base and the contrast between the fluid level and the surroundings is enhanced so that even colorless fluids are clearly recognized. .

  In the present application, the preferred embodiment makes the side walls of the container as well as the upper wall transparent. The container advantageously contains an essentially colorless cleaning fluid.

  Other objects, features and possible applications of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the integration of the present invention. Any single feature or combination of single features described or illustrated herein forms the subject of the present invention, regardless of the description in the claims or references to other documents. That will be understood.

  A cleaning device 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a housing 2 provided with a trough-shaped socket 3 for a shaving head of a shaving machine (not shown) for the sake of clarity of the drawing. During the cleaning process, cleaning fluid is supplied to the socket into which the electric shaver is inserted. The shaving component of the shaving head is immersed in the supplied cleaning fluid and the cleaning fluid is returned to the cleaning fluid container through a suitable return line. For optimal cleaning, the electric shaver is set to an active state during the cleaning process. For this purpose, the electric shaver is electrically connected to a cleaning device connected to a power source. For this purpose, the housing 2 has a holding arm 4 which is provided with an electrical contact 5 at the free end, which is electrically connected to the shaving machine when the actuating button 6 is pressed. Or the connection is cut.

  The housing 2 is slidably attached to the base plate 7 in a vertical direction so that the cleaning fluid container can be inserted into the housing from the side. An unlocking button 8 is provided to release the base plate 7 from the state in which it is engaged with the housing 2.

  The housing 2 is provided with a transparent window 9 that allows the user to monitor the level of cleaning fluid in the container and allow the container to be replaced if necessary. The fluid level 10 can be read very clearly through the window 9. This is because the side wall of the container is transparent at least in the region of the window 9. In contrast, the bottom of the container is much less transparent than this, and is colored blue in detail.

  Such a container is shown in detail in FIGS. According to FIG. 2, the container 11 includes a container bottom 12, a peripheral side wall 13, and an upper wall 14. The side wall 13 and the upper wall 14 are formed of a single piece as a trough-like component from a transparent material. In contrast, the container bottom 12 is dyed, in particular with a blue dye, and welded along its edge to the peripheral side wall 13 to form a closed container. When this container 11 is filled with a colorless cleaning fluid, the fluid looks like the color of the bottom of the container. In this case, it looks blue due to the colored container bottom 12. The current level of fluid in the container is visible from the outside through the transparent side wall 13 and the color makes a clear contrast with the surroundings.

  The upper wall 14 of the container is provided with an outlet port 15 and a return port 16. When the container 11 is inserted into the housing 2 of the cleaning device 1, a pump device that pumps cleaning fluid from the container 11 into the socket 3 projects into the outlet port 15. The fluid is then returned from the socket through the return port 16 to the container 11. The cleaning fluid passes through at least one filter device (not shown) during circulation, which collects contaminants such as soot.

  In order to be able to particularly clearly indicate the level 10 of the cleaning fluid 17 when the container 11 is arranged in the housing 2, in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the lighting device is integrated with the cleaning device 1. It is. To illustrate this, FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the container 11 through the return port 16. In this case, the lighting device is formed as an LED 18. The LED 18 protrudes downward into the container 11 when the container 11 containing the cleaning fluid 17 is locked at a predetermined position by lowering the housing 2. As soon as the cleaning device 1 is activated, the LED is connected to the power source 19 and the surface of the cleaning fluid 17 is illuminated. Thus, the fluid level 10 can be read through the window 9 of the housing 2 with very high contrast. Actually, the cleaning fluid 17 is colorless, but since the housing base 12 is colored, it looks like that color. Of course, it will be appreciated that the capsule 20 only occupies a portion of the cross-sectional area of the return port 16 so that the return flow of the cleaning fluid into the container 11 is ensured. The capsule 20 is seated against the container 11 by a sealing ring 21. The capsule 20 can also be formed as a part integral with the return pipe. By encapsulating the LED 18, the illuminating device can protrude into the cleaning fluid 17 below the fluid level 10, thus producing a special optical effect depending on the fluid level. This applies in particular when the capsule itself is variously colored.

  Instead of protecting the LED 18 from the cleaning fluid 17 with the capsule 20, it is also possible to use an optical waveguide that directs light from the LED arranged outside the container 11 into the container through the opening of the container 11.

1 is an overall view of a cleaning device of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the cleaning fluid container of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the container which inserts a cleaning apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning apparatus 2 Housing 3 Trough-shaped socket 4 Holding arm 5 Electrical contact 6 Actuation button 7 Base plate 8 Lock release button 9 Window 10 Fluid level 11 Container 12 Container bottom 13 Peripheral side wall 14 Upper wall

Claims (11)

In a shaving head cleaning device (1) for a shaving machine,
A housing (2) including a socket (3) for receiving the shaving head and a container (11) for a cleaning fluid (17) supplied to the shaving head;
The housing (2) has at least one window (9) for monitoring the level of fluid in the container (11) in the region of at least one side wall (13) of the container (11). The cleaning device is characterized in that at least the region of the window (9) of the side wall (13) is made of a transparent material, and the container bottom (12) is relatively low in transparency.   The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein all the side walls (13) and the upper wall (14) of the container (11) are made of the same transparent material.   The cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container (11) is releasably connected to the housing (2).   4. A cleaning device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that an illuminating device (18, 19) is provided in the housing (2).   5. The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the illumination device projects at least partially into the container (11).   6. Cleaning device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the illumination device comprises at least one LED (18).   7. The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the illumination device includes an optical waveguide.   The cleaning device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the illumination device (18, 19, 20) protrudes at least partially into the cleaning fluid (17). Cleaning device to do. In a cleaning fluid container for a shaving machine cleaning device having at least one container bottom (12) and a side wall (13) connected to the bottom,
The said side wall (13) is formed from the transparent material, The said container bottom part (12) is comparatively low transparency, The container characterized by the above-mentioned.   10. Container according to claim 9, characterized in that the upper wall (14) and the side wall (13) are transparent.   11. Container according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the cleaning fluid (17) is essentially colorless.

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