US2371406A - Magazine for safety razor blades - Google Patents

Description

March 13, 1945. M R 2,371,406

I MAGAZINE FOR SAFETY RAZOR BLADES Filed Julyfi, 1945 Patented Mar. 13, 1945 v UNITED STATES,

i .This invention consists in a new and improved magazine for safety'razor blades of such construction that it may be .'used by themanufacturer as a commercial package forfldispe'n'sing,

blades" and discarded by the user after it, has ".3 serveditslpurpose. The invention includes within its scope the novel protected blade unitupon which the advantageous use of the magazine largely depends. The invention includes alsothe novel dispensing package resulting from the com- 'bination-cf the magazine and a stack or charge of protected blade units.

Safety razor blades are manufacturedffrom thin sheet steel'and are provided with a shaving edge or edges so sharp and keen that they are necessarily of very delicate structurel' In presenting such blades to a razor they are ve'rylikely tobe dulled by contact with a containeror even by being drawn across their own wrapper so that, the most skillful grinding and sharpening operf ations of the manufacturer are sometimes brought to naught. Blademanufacturers have for many years endeavored to provide metal magazines in which such blades might besafely and satisfactorily dispensed but theextreme thinness of the blades has necessitated very accurate dimensions in such magazinesandrendered them too expensive to be discarded bythe user. A great many unsuccessful attempts have been made to provide metal magazines of inexpensive constructionbut none of these has beensatisfactory .for thereasons pointed out. If not designed with great accuracy there is always danger of. two

thin blades jamming in the exit slot .of a metal magazine and when this occurs the user almost invariably cuts himself in trying to'free the jammed blades. r v The object of the present invention is to provide an improved blade magazine or ablade unit l p and magazine combination in which the magaffin blades a the advantage a y ma be presented endwisetoasafety razor without the necessity of actually detaching the blade "clamping' members. 'A further feature. of the invention; therefore; consists in an open-endbl'ade 5 in combination with a filler-piece overlyingf-the sharp edges of theblade, together with a remov-c' able wrapper enclosing the blade and filler piece rid formingjtherewith a self-contained unit with zine may be constructed of cardboard or other inexpensive and deformable'material so that it 7 may be discarded after use like an empty match -box, but from which single blades may bea'ccurately and reliably withdrawn with their-sharp edge or edges fully protected against being dulled and the users fingers fully protected ragainst of each blade unit by associating the blade with a filler or lining blank, thus making'a protected 7 blade unit of such thickness that it may be handled safely and conveniently and who'se thickness magazine structure and in the feeding mechanisfn thereof.

' The filler piece 'or liner may be associated with the blade in any convenient and suitable, mannerso l'ong as it overlies and shield's'thesharp substantial thickness for 'engagement by the feed -slide. The filler pie'cemay be of cardboard; fibre or other non-metallic sheet material and may be united directly to the, blade by interlocking tongues or'by cement or it may be united to the blade by'means of a wrapper partially enclosing these elements. 'In either case the -filler piece shields the sharp edges of the blade and provides for the protecting blade-unit unsharpened guiding edges by which the unit may be directed out of the magazine and if desired into the safety razor. The filler piece also serves the function of locating the blade in its container 'or magazine with its sharp edges safely spaced from the walls of the'magazin'e and this obviates the necessity of providing in themag'azine locating ribs for thatpurpose,

d Thefiller piece and the wrapper if used 'are so designed that the usual blade-locatingslotqor aperturejof the blade itself remains fully exposed and accessible in the protected blade unit with e the result that the unit may ,be presentedftda safety razor and delivered 'fullyto shavin' g'posirtion with its protection intact. Then, when so located, the user may strip off the Wrapper 'with the cardboard'blank leaving theblade in'ja-"posi v "t'icn within the, safety razor where it is entirely.

safe from danger or damage. "The invention is herein shown in its application to blades of the open-end, type, that i'sfto say, a blade having a mediallongitudinal 'slot opening through" one funsharpened "end edge.

" thick unsharpened marginal edges.

" These and otherfeatures of the invention will eliminates the necessity for close-limits" in' the '56 Fig. 1 is a viewin perspectiveof 'the'cardboard edge or edges of the blade, imparts substantial thickness to the unit and furnishes an edge-of be best understood and appreciated fromthe fol- 'lowin'g descri'pticnof a preferred embodiment "thereon selected for purposes of illustration and "shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:.

member;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the blank for forming the end band of the magazine;

Fig. '7 is a view in longitudinal section on a enlarged scale of the loaded magazine;

Fig. 8-i a view in perspective on an enlarged scale of a protected blade unit;and

Fig. 9 is a view in perspective of the complete blade-dispensing package.

The construction of the magazine or blade unit container will first'be described. It comprises an outer sleeve and an inner tray member.

The outersleeve is readily constructed from a fiat rectangular blank of-cardboard or the like as shown in Fig. 1. This is longitudinally scored to define a bottom panel 10, two side panels II and two top wall portions l2. When this blank is folded it forms an elongated rectangular enclosure of the character shown in Fig. 4 in which the panels H form the vertical sides of the enclosure and the top portions I2 are inturned and spaced apart by a longitudinal slot designed to receive and guide a feed slide, as will presently appear.

The inner tray member may similarly be formed from a fiat cardboard blank of the character shown in Fig. 2. This is scored to define a bottom panel 13, two side flanges l4 and end extensions l5 and H. The end extension I5 is.

scored transversely to define four'narrow panels and in the second of these is formed a substantially square opening IS. The other end extension I! is also transversely scored to form four narrow transverse panels. The tray member is pletely to fill the outer sleeve: member, while the height of the platform provided by the hollow flange I1 is such as to leave ablade exit or outlet slot l8 between its surface and the inner sur- .iace of the top portions l2 of the outer sleeve, as

shown in Fig. 4.

. The magazine is completed by slipping the feed -slide 2| into the longitudinal slot between the top wall members 12 and by closing the exit end of the magazine by means of the band which, as shown in Fig. 6, is scored so that it may be folded accurately to the contour of-the magazine enclosure and then cemented in place.

.The feed slide 2| herein shown is moulded in Y integral form from plastic material and is pro- .vided with undercut or dovetailed guideways "which receive the edges of the slot formed by the Its lower surface is provided with a transverse shoulder 22 so that it top wall members [2.

may-simultaneously engage the end of a blade unit and its adjacent upper face as-will also be described hereinafter. The left end of the maga- {zine enclosure .isclosed by a paper panel 23 hav- I I 2,371,406 blank from which the outer sleeve member of ing a row of perforations in line with the outlet through which the advancing blade will break its way in being ejected.

The blad unit itself is best shown in Fig. 8. The blade selected for illustration is one of the well-known Gillette type but it is understood, of course, that the invention is not limited to that or to any other particular type of blade. The illustrated blade 25, however, is of thin flexible steel and may be as thin as .004". It is notched at each corner to define in the blade elongated unsharpened end portions and is provided with a central longitudinal slot 26. In the illustrated blade the slot is shown as opening out through one end of the blade and is enlarged into a central aperture 21 and other intermediate apertures somewhat wider than the slot 26.

The filler piec or liner 28 may be of cardboard or the like and preferably of substantial thickness, for example, twice or three times as thick as the blade itself. The filler pieceis approximately co-extensive in area with the area of the blade and protects its sharp edges by overlying them, that is to say, the filler piece is slightly wider than the overall width of the blade with which it is to be used. The filler piece is forked and has a longitudinal slot of such dimensions as fully to expose the slot and apertures of the blade. As seen in Fig. 8 the inner edge of the slot in the filler piece 28 corresponds substantially with the full width of the aperture 21 in the blade. At its forward end the filler piece 28 substantially registers with the shoulders of the blade itself, while at its rear end it is provided with a shouldered portion 29 that extends substantially beyond the end of the blade. The blade 25 and its overlying filler piece 28 are herein shown as bound together in the form of a selfcontained unit by a wrapper 30 which is also forked 0r slotted so that it will not obscure the blade slot. The wrapper is folded over the forward shoulders of the blade and the filler piece, extending on both sides of the package and having ears or tabs 3| at its rear end which are folded inwardly over the shouldered end portion 29 of the filler piece. The wrapper 30-3! may be of waxed paper, tinfoil, or anyother relatively fragile sheet material which may be folded readily and secured in place by cement or otherwise.

Generally the protected blade unit will be presented intact to the safety razor and anchored therein by a blade-locating rib or detent. While thus held the user will strip the wrapper from the blade by merely pulling it endwise and break ing the wrapper where it passes over the forward shoulders of the blade. If the user desires to expose the blade before placing it in his razor he may merely grasp the exposed forward end portion of the blade 25 and strip the wrapper in the manner already suggested.

It will be understood that, as constructed of cardboard or the like, the magazine herein described is somewhat compressible or deformable, although it is reenforced throughout substantial areas by the hollow transverse flanges l5 and ll of the inner member. Variations in the dimensions of the magazinecaused by handling, however, unfit it for dealing directly with thin blades and it is only by providing blade units of substantial thickness and bulk that accurate and in the structure disclosed.

it is so'arranged as never to leave the blade stack,

"In Fig. 7 themagazine is'show-n as containing only'two blade units butf-in practice the magazine may contain four to ten or more-oflthese units, and the stack-isat all times pressed upwardly against the top of the magazine by a bowed spring I 8 which is provided at one end with spurs that enter the bottom panel 13 of the tray member and hold the spring against displacement. I

The dispensing package is shown in Figs. 7 and 9 as being in readiness to deliver a blade unit by movement of the feed slide 2| toward the left.

It will be understood that the aperture IS in the transverse hollow flange permits the feed slide to pass over the inner wall of the flange and to be stopped against its outer wall. In this position the shoulder 22' is located opposite to the uppermost blade unit. When the feed slide is now advanced that unit passes over the platform of the flange I! and breaks its way out through the perforated end panel 23. The feed slide is stopped by engaging the end band and the blade unit is projected through the outlet slot so that it may be directly located in a safety razor or grasped conveniently by the user.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A protected blade unit comprising a thin, sharp-edged blade having a longitudinal slot therein opening through the contour of the blade at one end, a flat filler piece co-extensive with the sharpedges of the blade, and a fragile wrapper binding the blade and filler into a self-contained unit in which the open end of the blade slot is freely accessible. i

2. A protected blade unit comprising a thin sharp-edged blade having a blade-locating aperture therein, a forked filler piece at least as thick as the blade superposed thereon,-overly ing the sharp edges of the blade and forming a guide for the blade, and a removable wrapper enclosing the blade and filler piece and forming therewith a self-contained unit with thick unsharpened marginal edges, the filler-piece and wrapper leaving the blade aperture fully exposed;

3. A package for dispensing thin flexible razor blades, having in combination, an elongated compressible cardboard enclosure provided with a blade-exit slot in one end, a filling of protected self-contained blade. units, each unit comprising a blade, a cardboard blank substantially co-extensive with the blade area and of greaterthickness than the blade, and a wrapper binding the blade and blank together, and a feed slide movable in the enclosure and having a shouldered blade-engaging face, whereby the slide is lim-- prising an open end blade, a filler piece overlying the sharp edges of theblade and recessed to can upset the" positive needing engagement T iexpose the open end or the blade, and sag wrapper binding the blade and filler piece into a selffeentained unit inwhich the outer' edges of the filler "blade. I

5. A package for" dispensing thin sharp razor bladeghaving combination, an elongated eh- "closure deformable under pressure and provided in one end with an outlet slot, and a stack of protectedblade units filling the enclosure, each unit comprising a thin blade, a thicker filler overlying sharp edges of the blade and an unsharpblade unit and the adjacent upper surface thereof.

6. A container for protected blade units, comprising an outer sleeve member havinga longitudinal slot therein, an inner tray member having a transverse platform at, each end, one of which closes one end of the outer sleeve and the other of which forms an outlet slot with the end of said outer sleeve, and a feed slide movable in the slot of the latter.

7. A container for protected blade units, comprising an outer sleeve member having spaced top wall portions separated by a longitudinal slot and having open ends, an inner tray member having a transverse tubular flange at each end providing between them space for a stack of blade units, a feed slide movable in said longitudinal slot, a band closing one end of the slot, and the other endbeing closed by a tubular flange of said tray member.

8. A container for protected blade units, comprising an outer sleeve of deformable material having a guide slot, an inner tray member having a hollow flange of rectangular cross-section at each end fitting within the sleeve, a spring for pressing a stack of blade units toward the top of the container, and a feed slide therein having a shouldered face for engaging simultaneously one end and the adjacent upper surface of a blade unit in the stack.

9. A container for protected blade units, comprising an outer sleeve of rectangular cross-section, and an inner tray member resting on the bottom of the sleeve and provided at'each end with a box section flange, one flange closing one end of the sleeve and the other flange co-oper-' ating with the sleeve to provide an outlet slot at the other end of the sleeve.

10. A package for dispensing thin sharp razor blades, having, in combination, an elongated substantially rectangular enclosure of deformable material provided at one end with an outlet slot, and a stack of protected blade units filling the enclosure, each unit comprising a thin blade and a thicker non-metallic fi er piece overlying the sharp edges of the blade and united to the blade,

- whereby its edges are shielded and unsharpened edges are supplied'to the unit by which it may be guided out of the enclosure through said outlet slot, and a feed'slide movable in said enclosure.

. 11. A blade magazine comprising anelongated enclosure of yielding material having an end slide is limited to engagement with a single blade v flexible sharp-edged blade provided with a cenl0 tral longitudinal slot opening out through one end of the blade, a forked filler piece at least as thick as the blade superposed thereon, :overlying the sharp edges of the blade and forming a. guide for the blade, and a removable wrapper enclosing the blade and filler piece and forming therewith a self-contained unit with thick unsharpened marginal edges, the filler and wrapper leaving the blade slot fully exposed.

. JOSEPH MUROS.

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