US2014882A - Hair clipper - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 17, 1935. v I J. DEAN 2,014,882

HAI'R CLIPPER Filed Oct. 26, 1932 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 HAIR CLIPPER John Dean, Racine, Wis., assignor to John Oster Manufacturing Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 26, 1932, Serial No. 639,700

8 Claims.

This invention relates to hair clippers, and the objects and nature of the invention will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the following explanations of the accompanying 6 drawing that illustrate what I now believe to be the preferred mechanical expression or embodiment of the invention from among other forms and constructions within the spirit and scope thereof.

10 An object of the invention is to provide a hair clipper with a peculiarly efficient and advantageous guard, more or less readily attachable to and detachable from the clipper, and of particular advantage and utility in protecting the skin against scratching and/or abrasion when the clipper combined with the guard is manipulated and held by either hand of the user in removing hair from depressed portions of hollows of the human body, such as from the arm pits, as well as elsewhere, and a further object of the invention is to provide simple means for guarding the front corners of the bottom or comb plates of hairclippers, attachable to and detachable from the hair clippers, and embodying features and more or less resiliency whereby such guarding means can be placed under more or less tension to exert upward pull on the front end of the bottom or comb plate, and thereby maintain or increase the tension or pressure of the cutting teeth of the comb plate toward and with respect to the cutting teeth of the movable or upper blade; and from a more specific standpoint, to provide an attachable and detachable guard for the front end corners of the fixed or comb plate of hair clippers,

capable of being confined to the hair clipper through the medium of the hair clipper tension stud or bolt and its adjusting nut under the influence of its spring or tension element, whereby the tension or pressure of the guard on the comb plate can be controlled and varied. With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features in structure, formation, arrangement and/ or in combination as more fully and particularly described and specified hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, forming part hereof:

Fig. l is a top plan of a hand hair clipper equipped with an embodiment of a guard of my invention, the handle being partially broken away, the tension nut and spring washer not being shown.

Fig. 2 shows the clipper of Fig. 1, its side ele- ,vation, the tension nut and spring washer being shown in operative positions.

away and the clipper tension nut and. spring 5.

washer not being shown.

Fig. 4 shows the clipper and guard in Fig. 3 in side elevation with the clipper tension nut and spring washer in place.

Fig. 5 shows a detached perspective of the guard. 10'

In Figs. 3 and 4, of the drawing, I show a type of hand hair clipper, common to the market, that includes a cap I, having a handle 2, rigid therewith, while pivotal operating handle 3, is swingable toward and from the fixed handle 2, on a ver- 15' tical axis located within the clipper head to reciprocate the relatively small upper blade 4, formed at its front edge with a straight row 5, of forwardly projecting cutter teeth that cooperate with the complementary forwardly projecting 20 cutting teeth forming a relatively long straight row 6, across the front edge of the relatively large main bottom on comb 1, said row 6, of teeth being located between the front corners 8 of said comb plate. ,5

The two cutter plates 4, I, and the cap I, are held together in operative assembled arrangement by the tension bolt or stud 9, and its top exposed adjusting nut III, above the cap and preferably bearing down on a spring washer or tension 30 washer I I, located on the bolt 9, and between the cap I and nut I0 and adapted to be distorted under tension by the downward pressure of the nut, to maintain the desired operative tension or pressure on the rows 5, 6, of complementary cut- 5 ting teeth, as is common in hair clippers of this type, and will be understood without a detail explanation of the common relative formations and arrangements of the cap, blades and tension bolt.

In clippers of this general type, the tension bolt 40 9, is usually rigid with the comb plate, or passes upwardly therethrough with its head countersunk in the underside of said plate, and extends upwardly loosely or removably through a hole in the top of the cap I, and projects above the cap 5 to receive the nut I0, and spring washer II.

The hair clipper of Figs. 1 and 2, embodies the cutting plates and their rows of teeth, as disclosed by Figs. 3 and 4, as well as the tension bolt, its adjusting nut and spring washer, as disclosed by 50 Fig. 4. The cap Ia, of Figs. 1 and 2, functions in so far as my present invention is concerned, the sameas the cap I, ofFigs. 3 and 4, although in one piece with a rearwardly extending rigid straight handle lb, that carries the finger oper- 55' ated means for reciprocating the upper cutter blade.

With hair clippers of these general, as well as other types, there is a constant tendency to or danger of skin scratching, abrasion or injury by .the front corners of the comb plates even though smoothed, beveled, and/or rounded, under certain conditions, and particularly where operating on some parts of the human body that are more or less inaccessible or difiicult to reach, even where the clipper is guided and operated by either the right or the left hand.

The purpose of this invention is to provide hair clippers with a simple guard that will correct this difficulty and can be easily applied to a clipper when hair is to be clipped in a more or less inaccessible location where there is danger of skin injury, while such danger is negligible in clipping hair from the head.

The clipper guard shown as an example from among other forms and structures that embody my invention, is composed of thin resilient or spring metal and embodies an elevated center or base l5, adapted to rest on the approximately flat top of the cap I, or la, and having a central slot l6, opening through its rear edge and extending forwardly to about the center of the base and formed to receive the portion of the tension bolt projecting upwardly above the cap, and a pair of downwardly inclined and forwardly diverging arms IT, at their front free ends formed rigid with rounded blunt or spherical knobs or heads l8, the downwardly projecting rounded portions of which are formed with rearwardly opening slots [8a, to receive and slip rearwardly on the hereinbefore described front corners of the comb plate, so that said corners will be from the front entirely covered by and enclosed within said knobs l8, projecting below, above and in front of said corners and presenting smooth rounded surfaces wherever contact with the skin is possible. The guard can be applied to a hair clipper when the tension nut is loosened by unscrewing on its tension bolt, by slipping the base or center plate of the guard rearwardly along the top of the clipper cap beneath the spring or tension washer to straddle the tension bolt until the front wall of the slot in said guard base or center strikes the bolt. While the guard is thus being slipped onto the tension bolt, the heads or rounded knobs of the diverging arms are held to slip rearwardly onto the front corners of the comb plate to project laterally beyond the ends of said plate and thus cover the corners at the end edges of the comb plate as well as above, below and at the front.

The center plate or base of the guard rests on the top face of the clipper cap preferably with a rocking fit or in such manner as to rock on a transverse axis to elevate the forwardly diverging guard arms and through the medium of the front guard knobs of said arms that are interlocked with the comb plate corners, to exert upward pressure on said comb plate, when the tension nut on the tension bolt is screwed down to clamp the guard to the cap. This upward pressure on the comb plate increases the hair cutting tension between the rows of complementary comb plate and blade cutting teeth and tends to cutting efiiciency which can be controlled by variation in the pressure of the adjusting nut and tension washer on the guard base or center as well as by the tension of the tension bolt, and nut in bodily drawing the cap and comb plate toward each other.

This rocking bearing of the guard on the clipper cap can be provided by convexing the bottom bearing surface 20, of the guard center plate or base by inclining the same upwardly and rearwardly. When the guard has been slipped into place on the clipper cap and into operative interlocking and guarding position covering the comb plate corners, the tension nut of the clipper is screwed down on the tension or spring washer to clamp the guard in operative position under the desired tension applying lifting pressure to the front corners of the comb plate. This lifting pressure of the front guard knobs on the comb plate corners also cooperates with the clamping action of the washer and nut on the guard base or center ring, to maintain the guard in operative position on the clipper.

The guard can be readily removed from the clipper, whenever desirable, by loosening the tension nut, to permit forward slipping of the guard A free from the tension bolt and the comb plate corners. Whereupon, the tension nut can be screwed down to operative position to press the comb plate and blade together under the required tension for hair cutting. The essential characteristic of my solution of this hair clipper problem, that requires the close hair clipping necessary for the removal of surplus hair and the effective guarding of the comb teeth 6, and the sharp front ends and outer side edges of the comb plate, against skin puncturing and abrasion, resides in the provision of two end guard knobs that project forwardly beyond the plane of the line in which the unobstructed sharp points of teeth 6, termi nate to afford said teeth full and free functioning in close hair clipping, with these guard knobs located on and approximately covering and enclosing the two thin sharp front end corners, respectively, of the comb plate to guard the sharp thin front and outer side edges of said corners against contact with the skin by the provision of exterior covering curved or bulging nonabrading, non-scratching, non-puncturing skin contacting surfaces beyond the front and end edges of the comb plate as well as below the bottom surface of the comb plate front corners, and this without limitation to any particular means for or method of combining the guard knobs and comb plate in operative relationship to function as required by my invention. In carrying my successful solution of the problem into actual practice, I prefer to construct the guard knobs separately from the comb plate, and apply the same to operative positions on the comb plate corners after such plate has been assembled with the other parts to complete the hair clipper, and I also prefer to provide means whereby the said guard knobs and the comb plate are detachably held together in operative relationship, to permit removal of the guard knobs when the clipper is to be used for trimming the hair on the neck or head, and particularly to permit sharpening after it has been detached from the clipper. The comb plate is sharpened by lapping its top surfaces completely across the front row of teeth and corners.

The front bulges of the two guard knobs, when operatively arranged on the comb plate corners, project forwardly beyond the straight line in which the points of the teeth 6, terminate; and hence, said two guard knobs cooperate in preventing skin puncture or scratching by the points of teeth 6, should the clipper be pressed, cutting teeth forward against the skin of the arm pit; and the same is true of the downward bulges of the guard knobs, below said comb plate corners,- all while permitting the row of exposed sharp teeth to function in very close hair clipping. The diverging arms extend downwardly and forwardly above or in front of the clipper cap and above and spaced from the ends of the comb plate, so that in the particular example shown, there is operative contact between the clipper and guard only at the base or center of the guard and at the knobs where the guard interlocks with the front corners of the comb plate.

When the guard is in operative position on the clipper, the depending rounded portions of the spherical guard knobs, shown as an example but not as a limitation, will depress the skin without damaging or abrading the same and without interfering with the cutting operation. However, I do not wish to limit my invention to any particular spherical or other form of these knobs or guard ends, so long as guards are provided at these points to interlock with the objectionable comb plate corners and perform the protecting functions of my invention, nor do I wish to limit all features of my invention to the diverging arm formation.

What I claim is:

1. A hair clipper guard embodying a base adapted to be clamped on the clipper cap and having a bottom rocking surface to engage said cap and rock thereon when the base is clamped thereto, and means carried by said base and provided with front heads to fit above and below and shield the front corners of the clipper comb plate and apply upward pressure thereto when said base is rocked.

2. A hair clipper guard attachable to the clipper and removable therefrom as a unit, and embodying a base inclined upwardly and rearwardly, resilient arms diverging forwardly from said base and at their front ends formed to slip over and shield the front corners of the clipper comb plate and project under, above and in front of said corners.

3. A pair of approximately spherical heads adapted to slip onto and approximately cover the opposite front end corners, respectively, of the comb plate of a hair clipper, to shield said corners against injurious contact with the skin, and a holder carrying and spacing said heads, said heads and the holder being applicable to and removable from the hair clipper and its comb plate corners as a unit.

4. Means for shielding the front end corners of the comb plate of a hair clipper embodying a holder adapted to be removably secured down on the clipper cap by the tension bolt and its nut, said holder carrying and provided with a'pair of tively, and providing bulging exterior guard surfaces in front of and below said front end corners and exteriorly of the end edges thereof.

6. A hair clipper having cutting mechanism embodying a comb plate having a row of cutting teeth and corners at the opposite ends thereof, and guard knobs operatively arranged on said corners, with the cutting teeth exposed and unobstructed between said knobs to promote close hair cutting, said knobs projecting forwardly beyond the plane in which the points of said teeth terminate to protect the skin against damage, said knobs providing bulging surfaces to ride on and protect the skin and, by engagement with the skin, to prevent the intervening row of exposed tooth points injuriously contacting the skin, and means whereby said knobs and the comb plate are detachably held together in operative relation and whereby the knobs are rendered attachable and detachable.

7. A hair clipper having cutting mechanism including a toothed blade having sharp end corners and guard knobs applicable to and operatively arranged on said corners and providing exterior skin contacting and protecting surfaces bulging exteriorly over, below and in front of said corners and exteriorly of the end edges thereof.

8. A guard for the end corners of the toothed edge of a blade of a hair clipper cutting mechanism, embodying knobs for said corners, respectively, adapted to approximately enclose the same and providing skin contacting and protecting surfaces projecting exteriorly of the end edges of the corners and forwardly in front of said corners and upwardly and downwardly above and below the same, and means for detachably holding said knobs in operative position on said corners and whereby said knobs are rendered attachable to and detachable from said blade, with the cutting teeth uncovered for close hair cutting and the knobs projecting forwardly to abut the skin and hold back the uncovered tooth points against skin injury.

JOHN DEAN.

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