US2741840A

US2741840A - Razor construction

Info

Publication number: US2741840A
Application number: US282945A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edmund J Brophy
Original assignee: B E FISHER
Current assignee: B E FISHER
Priority date: 1952-04-18
Filing date: 1952-04-18
Publication date: 1956-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 1973-04-17

Description

April 7, 1956 E. .1. BROPHY 2,741,840

RAZOR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 18, 1952 J 1 A I g Z0 19 N N FAG- 5022222220 cf Bra oily United States Patent RAZOR CONSTRUCTION Edmund J. Brophy, Chicago, 111., assignor of one-half to B. E. Fisher, Chicago, 11].

Application April 18, 1952, Serial No. 282,945

2 Claims. (CI. 30-73) My invention relates to an improvement in razor construction, and more particularly, to an improvement in the construction of guards for double-edged safety razors.

In a typical double-edged safety razor, the generally rectangular two-edged blade is held against a generally rectangular head piece so that the cutting edges of the blade extend outwardly a short distance beyond the opposite edges of the head piece. The blade is clamped against the head piece by a generally rectangular guard which has opposite edges spaced from and aligned with the opposite head piece and blade cutting edges so as to present an allochiral pair of guarded cutting edges. The opposite edges of the guard extend forwardly of as well as outwardly from the blade cutting edges so as to afford greater safety in the handling of the razor.

During shaving, the operator holds the razor angularly with respect to the surface of the skin, so that the particular blade cutting edge used and the corresponding guard edge are aligned in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the skin surface. The guard thus acts as a guide (contacting the skin at a line) spaced from the line of contact between the razor blade and the skin. This particular alignment of the guard and blade edges is essentially a matter of feel or touch in the control of the operator. The operator uses the guard to ride along on the surface of the skin comfortably, so as to prevent the blade from making sharp, biting contact with the skin, while permitting the blade to cut off upstanding hairs as nearly as possible to the skin level.

In this respect, it is important to note that the operator carries out the shaving process mainly by the use of the sense of touch. Whether or not a blade is dull, and whether or not the angle at which the razor is held should be changed a few degrees are questions answered solely by the operators sense of touch. The individual hair sizes, blade thicknesses and razor position all involve extremely small dimensional tolerances. The detailed mechanics of the operation are neither observed nor appreciated, ordinarily.

Although the thickness as well as the length of the individual hairs in a beard may vary appreciably, as a general average the hair thickness is about 0.0004 inch. The guard, in passing over the skin first attempts to remove some of the lather and to momentarily bend the individual hairs forward. The small space of about 0.0015 inch between the guard and the blade edge permits the hairs to rise slightly before contacting the blade and being cut thereby.

The instant invention is based upon an unobvious discovery which can now be explained only after a detailed study of the mechanics of the shaving operation. It has been found that, by new and apparently insignificant variations in razor arrangement and construction, unusually important and appreciably noticeable improvements in the performance of a single razor can be obtained.

Because of the inherent beard density variations, for example, on the face of each user, the performance of a given razor is almost invariably unsatisfactory for shaving either the light cheek beard or the dense beard of mustaches or sideburns; For example, it is true that, as the operator stumbles through his morning shave, he may be barely conscious of little more than the fact that some parts of his face appear to out easily and shaving of other parts of his face requires repeated passes by the razor. Usually, the operator assumes that it is his own clumsy operation of the razor that causes the trouble. The instant invention is based upon the discovery that this defective feature actually resides in the particular razor construction.

It is, therefore, an important object of the instant invention to provide a razor construction to accommodate shaving of different types and densities of beards by the use of a single razor. As used herein, the term beard is not intended, however, to mean only the growth of hair upon the face. Shaving of growths of hair on other parts of the body, such as the arms and legs, is also contemplated.

Another important object of the instant invention is to provide an improved razor construction comprising means for guiding the two blade edges of a double-edged blade at different spacings from a line of contact between the razor and the skin surface to be shaved, thereby to accommodate the shaving of different types and densities of beards.

it is a further object of the instant invention to provide a razor construction for accommodating the shaving of different types and densities of beards that comprises a safety razor guard presenting guarding faces contiguous to each of the blade edges for contacting the skin along a line spaced forwardly of the corresponding blade edge, wherein one of the blade edges is spaced closely to the respective guarding face, for use with a light beard, and the other of the blade edges is spaced a substantially greater distance from its respective guarding face.

Other'objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description of the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: i

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational viewof a razor construction embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded side elevational view, of the razor construction of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an exploded sectional elevational view taken substantially along the line liI-1II of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a razor guard used in the instant razor construction; 7 j

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view in elevation showing in detail the cooperation between the razor guard and the razor blade in a preferred embodiment of the instant razor construction on the quick-cutting side thereof; 4

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed elevational view of an edge portion of the guard employed in the instant razor construction, corresponding to Figure 5.

As shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral 19, in Figure 1, indicates generally a double-edged safety razor, the head portion'of which is shown. The razor 10 comprises a handle 11 adapted to threadedly engage the screw-like member 12 of a head piece 13, for actuation of the head piece 13 toward and away from the handle 11. A

The screw member 12 is adapted to passthrough the central portion of .a suitably apertured double-edged safety razor blade 14, and through the central portion of a suitably apertured safety razor guard 15, so that the screw member 12 may make contactwith a threaded socket of the handle 11. As is well known, the blade 14 is clampingly engaged between the head piece 13 and the guard 15, supported by the handle 11, merely by rota- The general manner in which the head piece 13 cooperates. with. the. guard.-15..to. maintain clamping engagement 'upon. the blade F14 and to maintain I the? bladelm in al'fixed position with respectjto. theheadpiecelii'. and the guard 15' is Welllknown inv the art. A'sJan example, in Figure 3; it can be seentthat the head piece l3fhas 7 two dependinglugs 1'6, lh'spaced Iongitudinallyon oppo:

Referring again to 'Figure'l, it willbe seen that the head piece '13 isgenerally bow-shaped in .cross:section so thatit may clampingly engage the'blade 14 against the contact surface or-table 18 of the. guard 15insuch a manner thatitlie blade 1'4 will also be bent or b'owed therebyldefiecting each of the cutting edges ofthe blade forward slightly, as shown in Figure 1".

The tableportion 18 of'thegna'rd. 15 is actually more in.the' nature of a framesurrounding the dished portion of the guard IS'and presenting a surface upon which the central portion of a blade .14 may bear. Extending outwardly'from either side of thetable p'ortion18 are winglike integral guard edges which curve'back sharply at the tablesed'ge on .eachsideand then curve outwardly a generally. concave arc to present generally parallel. plane surfaces 19;19'with respectto the blade 14'b'efore itis hent"forwardly in clamping position. Then, as 'showniu Figure 7 2, extendingaoutwardly from the left-hand. plane surface '1'9fthe guard edge curves sharply'forward to define agenerally rounded outward'extremity, the curved portion 20 thereof having substantially the cross-section of'a quadrant." v V r A's can beseen'by reference-tothe left=handside of Figure '1', in the normalrazorconstruction,the blade "14 is defiecteddownward 'by and extendsoutward from the outeredge of-the head piece 13; The guard ls presents a generally flatsurface 19 directly'forwardofthe' outer extremityof the blade 14- and the guard extendsoutwardly beyond the extremity=of the blade "14"and then curvessharpl'y forward-to define the rounded extreme edge 20. 7

'Atwwill' be: explained indetaifhereinafter, the instant invention resides in the use of"aconstructioniwherehrone edgeofthe guard 15 has substantially the normal con- 'structionsho'wn on the left hand side of Figure 1. The othen'edge-of the-guard; as shownon the right hand' side OfiFigure l; is, however, spaced for-ward -a greater distance from the cutting edge or extremity of thefblade l4randlonis.hattened orbeveled' (instead of rounded as at the:.outer edge. 20.. of :the .eguard': 15-) Another. feature which 1the. instanti applicant has :found to be particularly significantzin therazor construction' of his:.invention.is thatxshowndnfigure-t t. .As-can'be-seen from Figure 4, the. normal guard". construction, as shown on theleft-hand-side. of Figure 4, calls for a plurality of slots, 21,l.eacl 1 extending generally. paralleLtosthe rounded edgezfland. inwardly therefrom,- and" being separated'by spacers or bridges 22 (on ly one ofwhich isshown herein). .In:.therazor.construction of the instant invention, as shownmon. the .righohand sideiof Figure 4, the. guard :15 has ae continuous slot .23..extending;generally parallel; to

Other structures may, ofj'course, be used the outer. extremity .oflt'he. particular guard edgethat is modified according to'the invention .andis here designated as24, 'so as to permitunobstructed flow of shavedbeard andilathertherethrough. It'willbe appreciatedthatthe continuous slot 23 extends substantially the full length oftliebut'tihg' edge of "the bladel l corresponding thereto, so as to present an uninterrupted passageway the full length of the blade edge for the flow of shaved beard and lather therethrough. It has been found that amost unexpected improvement in connection with the prevention of clogging of the razor during use is obtained by the use of this what-appears-to-be insignificant alteration inthe structure of the guard-15. The effectiveness of the slot as a passageway for. shaved beard. and lather. is, of course, substantially more noticeable when used in cooperation with the increased space between the blade cutting edge and theguardcd ge lk in accordancewi'ththe principles of the present invention. 7

Referring now to Figures'S and 6, wherein the righthand side 24 of the blade guard 15 of Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 is shown in detail, the broken line shows the corresponding shape and contour, in. cross-section, of. the lefthandlsidelfor the purpose of comparing the two sidesof. therazof) with.reference numerals 19f indicat-v ing thet plan'e surface. 19, and.20? .indicatingthe curved portionof the.v guard face contiguous to the corresponding blade edge. .As canbe seen, the guardiface on the normal or left-hand: sideof the. razor. guard spaced a distance a .fromthe'hlade edge; but on 'th'e'right-hand side24 hereshowngthe guard, plane surface 25' is spacedianadditionaltdistance 12". from. the blade edge. Ordinarily, the distance".iz'is ahoutIOl'OOlS-OJO'OZO inch, whereas the dis-. tance b is prefer-ably at least aboutOlOOlO-OQOIS, or three orfouradditionalhair. thicknesses. This. apparently minutefincrease in space producesv an amazingly different result bestdemonstrate'djby,the touch response experiencedby, theuser during shaving. ftwill, of course,

be appreciatedthat the guard side v24 may be spaced much greater. distances fromthe blade edge, or for. that matter, be partially or completely. removed, so as to obtaincertain of'fthe Benefits of the. inventiomfbut in order to obtain. bestperf'ormance, it is usuallypreferabl'e. to ems ploy adistance.b offrom about 01001 to =about0.005, so that thes'having properties of the two razor sides arenot too radically 'difieren't.

Also, it can be seen from Figure 6 in particular, that therounded surface 20" whichwould correspond tothe rounded surface 20 on the left-hand side of'the guard lshas'the shapein cross-section of 'a quadrant ofa circle of radius i',tl1'e=angle0being Onthe, guard side 24, however,,the edge 26 'is'beveled along thechord or line.xx, soas to reduce the cross-sectional'area to'that resultin'g from the removal ofa segment subtendedby'the chord xx. 'l'thasbeen foundthat removal of material'along'thee'dge24must be =at least as much as that described. The minimum reduction in cross-sectional area (or'theminiinum differential between the twoguard edges) should'be approximately equivalent tosuch segment, although the resulting surface 26' maybe defined by'any line of'radius greater than r's'tartin g within the rearmost. 30 of. the quadrant, hereinclesignated by the symbol.,;and' extending forwardly and outwardly so as to define a1cross:sectional area reduction of 'at'leas't' the area'ofthe segmentof the quadrant. V

lti'will be; appreciated that by bevelingthe 813646 as described, 'the guide line of contact between theguard edgeand the skin is shifted'forward froma line intersectin'gia pointon'the(cross-sectional) arc x.x' oftlie surface 20"of 'Fi'gure'fi to thepoint, desingated'xQat the forwardmost edge of. the. beveled surface 26;. thereby increasing the spacebetweenthe guideline an'dltherazor.

the instant razor. construction. suitably arranged or designed according. to. the present teachings,.the operator will experience an entirely new shaving comfort. The normal or closely spaced construction on one side may be used on those sensitive portions of the skin without pain or annoyance and the more widely spaced construction may be used on the remaining portions of the skin, such as at sideburns, mustaches and heavy chin beards so as to accomplish amazing quick and effective shaving in such regions without the necessity of making repeated passes with the razor. The entire shaving operation is simplified and expedited to an unusual, almost unbelievable extent, solely by taking advantage of the minute but critical structural differences in the guard design.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the patented claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a safety razor including a handle and a head piece actuable toward the handle for clampingly engaging a double-edged blade, means for guiding the two blade edges at the different spacings from a line of contact between the razor and the skin surface to be shaved to accommodate the shaving of difierent types and densities of beards, comprising a safety razor guard presenting guarding faces contiguous to each of the blade edges, one of said faces being spaced closely forward of the contiguous blade edge corresponding thereto and extending outwardly and curvingly forward therefrom to define a quadrant shaped cross-sectional edge and the other of said faces being spaced at least 0.00100.0015 inch more 6 than the first from its corresponding blade edge and having a cross-sectional shape that would result from the removal from said quadrant of at least the segment thereof.

2. In a safety razor including a handle and a head piece actuable toward the handle for clampingly engaging a double-edged blade, means for guiding the two blade edges at the difierent spacings from a line of contact between the razor and the skin surface to be shaved to accommodate the shaving of different types and densities of beards, comprising a safety razor guard presenting guarding faces contiguous to each of the blade edges, one of said faces being spaced closely forward of the contiguous blade edge corresponding thereto and extending outwardly and curvingly forward therefrom to define a quadrant shaped cross-sectional edge of radius r and the other of said faces being spaced at least 0.00l0-0.0015 inch more than said one face from its corresponding blade edge and having a cross-sectional shape that would result from the removal from said one face of at least the quadrant segment thereof along a line of radius greater than r starting with-in the rearmost 30 of the quadrant.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 896,153 Reed Aug. 18, 1908 1,805,509 Behrman May 19,1931 1,934,148 Rogers Nov. 7, 1933 2,270,388 Stampleman Jan. 20,1942 2,362,851 Przybysz Nov. 14, 1944 2,367,422 Muros Jan. 16, 1945