US2077367A - Shaving device - Google Patents

Description

April 7- J. A. HANLEY i I 2,077,367

SHAVING DEVICE Aug 11 NVENTOR Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNlTED STATES PATENT orrlcs SHAVING DEVICE John A. Hanley, Stamford, Conn, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Clipshave, Inc., a corporation of New York I Application August 11, 1934, Serial No. 739,432

10 Claims.

ing, abrading or otherwise injuring even the most tender skin and which gives an exceptionally 10 close shave due to the fact that it is inherently adapted for severing the hair at a point below the small circular mound of skin which rounds it. 1

Objects of the invention are to provide a surcut-

5 ting apparatus of this type characterized by simplicity of construction, ease of manipulation, ruggedness and durability in use; to provide a device consisting of but few parts, which is devoid of tensioning springs or any parts apt to be broken or bent by careless handling; and to vide a device which cannot become clogged DIO- with

hair during the shaving operation and is highly sanitary and eflicient in use, light in weight and inexpensive to manufacture.

operated razor utilizing apairpf ciprocating toothed shear plates.

relatively re- A feature of the invention is the use of means on one plate which guards the skin from contact with the operative edges of the cutters.

Such means is preferably formed by turning 'over the ends or" the teeth on one cutter member. These bent over teeth are devoid of corners or projections. They ride on the surface of the skin and act'to depressthe small mounds of flesh which encircle each whisker, and insure a close out without injuring the skin.

Another feature of the invention is the use of two shear plates formed of relatively light gauge stainless steel, the plates being automatically selftensioning as the cutter is pressed into engagement with the skin and but lightly tensioned 1 when the driving motor is idling, to the end wear on the cutter is minimized.

that

' Another feature is the provision of shaving devices partlcularly well suited for womens use and for surgical purposes in removing the hair from various parts of the body preparatory to making an incision.

The provision of a removable, simply constructed cutter head which can evice plate,

Another feature of the invention is the use of a hair cutter which will cut either long hair or short hair or stifi hair or soft hair with equal expedition.

Another feature is an arrangement of shear teeth having interdental spaces of critical area as compared with the area of the teeth in order that the two sets of coacting teeth may be in relatively "open hairreceiving position over comparatively long periods of time. This is in direct contradistinction to the use of teeth which are in closed or partially closed position over relatively longtime intervals and thereby block the entry of hair and retard the speed at which the cutter may be drawn over the skin and still operate efiiciently.

The invention may be more fully understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing whereln:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electrically operated razor embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional, view taken approximately on the line 22 of Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is a similarly enlarged view taken at right angles to Fig. 2 on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig.4 is a plan'view of the movable cutter plate,

Fig. 5 is a similar view oi the fixed cutter Fig. 6 is a considerably enlarged fragmentary plan view showing the teeth of the movable cutter plate,

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the teeth of the fixed cutter plate,

Fig. 7a is a view similar to Figs. 6 and 7 but showing the two cutter plates superimposed,

Fig. 7b is an enlarged sectional detail on the line lb-1b of Fig. 7d.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken approximately on the line 8-8 of Fig. I,

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. but illustrating a modification,

Fig. 10 is a reduced side elevational view of a modified form of cutter, Fig. 11 is an enlarged plan view of the fixed cutter plate of this cutter,

Fig. 12 is a considerably magnified view through a section of skin showing the manner in which a hair projects through the skin pores without being attached to the skin at the surface, but being encircled by a small mound oi. flesh at the surface,

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 12 but illustrating the her. which my improved razor de presses this mound and severs the hair below the top of the mound, and

Fig. 14 is a similar view showing the relationship of the remaining length of hair to the mound. As suggested above, the reciprocating cutter may be manually operated if desired, or any suitable motive means may be employed for effecting reciprocation of the cutter. In Fig. 1, I have shown a typical motor casing member indicated generally at In, this casing member including a portion ll of uniform rectangular cross section extending throughout more than half of the length of the casing. The portion ll constitutes a handle and beyond portion l I all four sides of the casing taper as indicated at I2 toward the cutter head which is mounted on the flattened smaller end of the casing.

A lead wire l3 supplies current to motor (not shown) housed within the casing.

The cutter head includes the movable cutter plate l4, stationary cutter plate. l5 and keeper bar I6. The periphery of the head is smaller than the cross section of the main casing section II so that the head will not touch a supporting surface when the casing is laid upon such surface. With this in view it is of course desirable that the center of gravity of the motor be such as to cause the casing to rest on the rectangular section I I so that there will be no tendency for the casing to rock on any of the shoulders defined by the juncture of the outer faces of section II and tapered faces l2. Thus the danger of bending the corners of the cutter head structure is avoided since no part of the cutter head will touch the supporting surface, regardless of which side the casing may be laid upon.

The details of the general arrangement of the two cutter plates and keeper appear more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. A pair of headed studs [1 project from the end of the motor casing l0. These studs may be conveniently molded into the casing if desired, and between the studs is an opening H3 in the casing through which projects the end of an operating lever l9 engaging in a center opening 20 in the reciprocating cutter plate l4, riding near its side edges on rails Ifla (Fig. 3) integral with casing l0. Lever I9 is motor operated in any suitable fashion and reciprocates the cutter l4 back and forth across the reduced flat end of the casing I0. In this movement the cutter is guided by the studs l1, being provided with elongated slots 2| to receive the studs. Plate I4 is of flat thin gauge stainless steel, suitably stamped and formed to-provide the central aperture 20, the slots 2| and, along both sides thereof, a series of cutting teeth 22 which will be more fully hereinafter described.

The stationary cutter plate I5 is also of thin gauge stainless steeL'preferably of the same gauge as themovable cutter l4. It is slightly bowed in cross section; it is provided with a pair of circular openings25 to receive the studs l1 and may, if desired, be provided with a central opening 23 to provide clearance for the lever I9. The teeth 24 which are arranged at the sides of this cutter plate are longer than the teeth 22 (roughly twice as long) so that the free ends of the teeth 24 may be bent over as indicated at 2411 (Fig. 8) to aflford arcuate guard members protecting the skin from contact with the points of the teeth 22.

The head assemblage is secured in position by the longitudinally bowed keeper bar l'6. This member ispreferably of slightly heavier stock than the two cutter plates and is more rigid than the cutter plates. It is formed with a pair of an electric 2 keyhole slots 26 therein which engage with the heads of the studs H. In applying the keeper bar, a relatively light tension is exerted on thebowed stationary cutter plate l5 but-this tension is insuflicient to exert any material pressure on the over-riding teeth 24, 22 of the two cutter plates. This is. important because by verydightly tensioning the plate I5, the major portion of the tension on the reciprocating cutter is applied by the pressure of the fixed cutter against the skin.

Therefore when the razor is removed from the skin with the motor running, there will be very little wear on the cutter plates and very little load on the motor. By having plate I4 rest only near its edges on narrow rails Illa at the endof casing III the plate l4 responds readily to thetension exerted on plate I5. I i

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 I have illustrated in greater detail the construction of the teeth of the two cutters. As seenin Fig. 6, the teeth 22 of the movable cutter blade are of generally triangular shape in plan view, tapering toward their outer ends. The teeth taper from top to bottom as indicated at 22a (Fig. 7b) s6 that their shearing edges are defined by two surfaces meeting at an .acute angelg.

The us f shearing teeth which are bevelled at their shearing edges is advantageous in that it eliminates any tendency to clog. The shearing principle does not depend upon a keen edge. and in theory a right angle edge will shear satisfactorily but there is less tendency to clog the razor with hair when shearing plates having acute shearing angles are used.

I have found that the best results are obtained by making the interdental spaces between these teeth approximately twice as great in area as the teeth themselves. On the other hand the bentover teeth 24 of the stationary cutter which likewise taper toward their, outer ends and have tapering .edge surfaces at 24b are preferably at least equal in area to the interspaces between them and are preferably of greater area than the spaces between them.

This relation of tooth size to the size of the interdental space is important. Insofar as teeth 24 are concerned, ,it is desirable that they be spaced apart merely a sufficient distance and be of sufficient depth to conveniently receive hair between them, without permitting the skin to enter between them and be pinched or'cut. The teeth 22need only be of suflicient width to insure the mechanical strength necessary to cut hair. The wider the space between the cutting teeth, the greater the opportunity for a hair to enter the space between adjacent teeth 24 without being blocked by the presence of a tooth 22. In other words, in normal reciprocation, the periods of time when spaces between teeth 24 are open to receive hair, are increased by decreasing the area of the teeth 22 with respect to the area of their interdental spaces. With the particular arrangement shown these spaces are fully open at both ends of the stroke of the movable plate l4 as will be apparent from Fig. 7a.

' Fig. 9 illustrates a modification of the form of the teethof Figs. 6 and 7. Here, teeth 32 of the fixed cutter corresponding to teeth 24 are similarly turned over at their ends and each has one substantially straight edge 33 and one relatively sharply inclined edge at 34. The relatively straight sides of the teeth 32 coact with the relatively straight sides of corresponding teeth 32a in the movable cutter plate. With this form of tooth but little relative movement of the cutters is required to effect the shearing action.

Fig. 10 illustrates a modified type of motor casing 35 of generally L-shape and with a cutter head 36 secured on the flat inclined surface 31 at the shorter arm of the L. With this form of the invention,'the cutter head will be provided with cutting means at only one edge. A typical stationary cutter used for this form of the device is illustrated in Fig. 11 and designated bythe referance numeral 38. p a

In Fig. 12, the numeral 40 represents the human skin and ii a pore in the skin. A hair 42' projecting from. this pore is unattached to the skin at the surface but it is anchored by its root or follicle 43 which lies somewhat below the surface of the skin, at the base of the pore. The hair is encircled by a minute mound 44 of skin.

Fig. 13 shows the manner in which the rounded bent over ends 24a of the teeth 24 depress this mound and permit the hair to be cut at a point which is actually below the normal surface of the mound, Fig. 14 illustrating the severed hair and showing that a very close out has been eiTected.

Neither ordinary safety razor blades, nor hollow ground razors, nor any other type of cutter mechanism with which I am familiar is capable of accomplishing such a close cutting action without the danger of scratching or abrading the skin or otherwise causing injury or discomfort.

Observation of the sets of cutter teeth of Figs. 6 and 7 indicate clearly that the severed lengths of hair will fallout from between the cutter teeth since there is no place else for them to go and there is no danger of the cutter teeth being clogged with hair. In practice I find that the cutter works equally well regardless of the stiffness or softness of the beard and regardless of the length of the heard. The cutter working very close to the skin severs the hairs close to'or below the skin and they drop or are kicked out of the way by the further movement of the cutting teeth.

The present invention makes practicable the use of thin flexible stainless steel plates as shaving devices. In this connection it is to be borne in mind that most of the art of razor and blade making has been directed to the perfection of keen shaving edges, andstainless or rustless steel is inherently incapable of being worked and sharpened to produce sucha keen edge. Insofar as prior developments of dry shavers are concerned, these devices have been generally of two classeseither attempted modifications of standard hair clippers using heavy rigid shearing plates, hardened, ground and reduced to thin sections at the points (making it impossible to provide guard means such as those of the present invention), or the so-called dry shavers have been of such complex construction that stainless steel could not be satisfactorily worked into the odd-shaped parts required. l

By the present invention using but three simpie parts of thin relatively flexible stainless steel, I provide a rust-proof structure, and dispense with the hardening and plating operations with a consequent saving in manufacturing cost which for the first time makes it possible to sell a razor working on the shearing principle at a cost com.- parable to the cost of the ordinary safety razor and at a cost which is far below that of any socalled dry shaver or shearing device heretofore known.

The actual shaving elements themselves, that is'the two cutter plates, may be manufactured at but a fraction of the cost of previous shearing type shavers.

While I have shown no specific means for actuating the cutter structure either manually or from a motor, it will be understood that various types of motors might be utilized as well as the type illustrated in my copending a plications Serial No. 746,500 filed October 2, 19 4, and Ser. No. 757,755, filed December 17, 1934 and that various types of actuating mechanism for ordinary hair clippers might, with or without slight modification, be utilized for actuating the cutters; Such hand operated devices (capable of complete and expeditious sterilization) are particularly well suited for hospital use in close shaving long' hairs from various parts of the body. Ordinarily such hairs do not grow in such profusion as the hairs on the face and they can be removed with sumcient expedition by a. hand operated tool, whereas the motor operated 'type is found preferably for.

shaving a heavy beard due to the increased speed drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. P

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

l. A hair cutter including a pair of superimposed thin cutter plates, each having shearing devices at one edge, one plate having edge portions curved outwardly around the thickness of the shearing devices of the other plate to. guard the skin against injurious contact with the shear ing devices and to efiect depression of the skin in advance of the cutting operation.

2. A hair cutter assembly including a pair of relatively thin gauge stainless steel plates arranged in superimposed relationship, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge, means for reciprocating one of the plates, said plates being substantially self-tensioning when pressed against the skin, the roots of the shearing devices of the two plates being at substantially equal distance from the lateral edge of the assembly.

3; A hair cutter including a pair of relatively thin gauge stainless steel plates arranged in superimposed relationship, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge, means for reciprocating one of the plates. one of said plates being bowed at its center, whereby it is self-tensioning when the edge of the plate is pressed against the skin, one plate having edge portions curved outwardly around the thickness of the shearing devices of the other plate to guard the skin against injurious contact with the shearing devices and to effect depression of the skin in advance of the cutting operation.

s. A hair cutter including a pair of superimposedthin cutter plates, each having shearing teeth at one edge, the teeth of one plate having their ends curved outwardly around the thickness of the teeth of the other plate toward the skin against contact with the ends of the ambient teeth 7 and to effect depression of the skin in advance of the cutting operation, and means for reciprocating,one of the plates.

5'. A hair cutter including a pair of relatively thin gauge stainless steel plates arranged in superimposed relationship, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge, means for reciprocating one of the plates, the teeth of the relatively fixed plate being bent into arcuate form just far enough beyond the ends of the teeth of the movable plate to prevent abrasion of the skin by the teeth of the movable plate.

6. A hair cutter including a pair of superimposed thin cutter plates, each having shearing teeth at one edge, the teeth of one plate having their ends curved outwardly around the teeth of the other plate to guard the skin against contact with the ends of the unbent teeth and to effect depression of the skin in advance of the cutting operation, and means for reciprocating one of the plates, the fixed plate being relatively bowed, means retaining the plates in superimposed position under light tension and said plates being capable of further tensioning by pressure of the fixed plate against the skin.

'7. A hair cutter including a handle, a fiat support member at one end of the handle, a thin flat cutter plate reciprocable over the face of the support, studs rising from the support and guiding the movement of the cutter plate, a cooperating fixed cutter plate and a keeper removably plate to afford guards and present rounded at at least one edge, the relatively fixed plate being transversely bowed, whereby the tension between the cutter plates may be increased by pressing the edge of the skin-contacting plate against the skin, the teeth of the bowed plate extending substantially the entire length of the teeth of the movable plate and having protruding ends curved around the teeth of the movable skin engaging surfaces.

8. A hair cutter including a handle, a'fiat support member at one end of the handle, a thin flat cutter plate reciprocable over the face of the support, studs rising from the support and guiding the movement of the cutter plate, a cooperating fixed cutter plate and a keeper removably course of operation.

held in position by the studs and pressing the fixed cutter plate against the movable cutter plate, said plates having coacting shearing teeth at at least one edge, the relatively fixed plate being transversely bowed, whereby thetension between the cutter plates may be increased by pressing the edge of the skin-contacting plate against the skin, the teeth of the bowed plate extending substantially the entire length of the .teeth of the movable plate and having protruding ends curved around the teeth of the movable plate to afford guards and present rounded skin engaging surfaces, both cutter plates being formed of relatively light gauge stainless steel.

9. A cutter including a pair of relatively reciprocable superimposed cutter plates, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge thereof, slidable against the shearing teeth on the adjacent plate, oneof said plates being relatively fixed and the teeth thereof being adapted to engage the skin during the cutting operation, the teeth of said plate having areas at least equal to the interdental spaces at the edge of the plate, the teeth of the movable plate having areas approximately half as great as the areas of the interdental spaces in the edge of such plate, and the entire length of the teeth on the movable plate engaging the teeth of the fixed plate in the course of the operation.

10. A-cutter including a pair of relatively reciprocable superimposed cutter plates, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge thereof, slidable against the shearing teeth. on the adjacent plate, one of said plates being relatively fixed and the teeth thereof being adapted to engage the skin during the cutting operation, the teeth of said plate having areas at least equal to the interdental spaces at the edge of the plate, the teeth of the movable plate having areas approximately half as great as the areas of the interdental spaces in the edge of such plate, the teeth of the fixed plate extending substantially the entire length of the teeth of the movable plate and having protruding reversely curved arcuate ends disposed beyond the ends of the teeth of the movable plate and adapted to engage the skin, and the entire face area of .the teeth on the movable plate engaging the teeth of the fixed plate in the JOHN A. HANLEY.

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