US3115143A

US3115143A - Guide for trimming hair

Info

Publication number: US3115143A
Application number: US16072A
Authority: US
Inventors: John C Queen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-03-18
Filing date: 1960-03-18
Publication date: 1963-12-24
Anticipated expiration: 1980-12-24

Description

Dec. 24, 1963 J. c. QUEEN 3,115,143

I GUIDE FOR TRIMMING HAIR March 18. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .9 {il Z 1' 3b 25 F l- J'OHN W HIS TORNEY Dec. 24, 1963 J. c. QUEEQ 3,115,143

GUIDE FOR TRIMMING HAIR .Filed March 18, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOHN C. QUEEN BY v HI ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,115,143 GUIDE FOR TRIMMING HAIR John C. Queen, 8630 Henepin Ave., Niagara Falls, N.Y. Filed Mar. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 16,072 3 Claims. (Cl. 132-45) This invention relates to a device for the control of the utilization of a clipper and particularly in connection with a hair clipper and more particularly with a power driven hair clipper.

Power driven clippers of the present day are actuated, in many instances, by electricity, which is converted into mechanical operation of the clipper mechanism either by an electric motor or by an electric vibrator. In either case, control of the cliper is highly essential if satisfactory results are to be obtained by its use.

Control of the driving mechanism such as an electric motor or an electric vibrator, is not difiicult to obtain, but control of the manner in which an electrically driven clipper is applied to a persons head for the purpose of cutting that persons hair ordinarily requires a high degree of skill arrived at only after much practice and experience. In the hands of an experienced barber, an electric clipper as an innocuous device, but when applied by an unskilled person it can produce very undesirable results.

Trouble is not usually encountered if an unskilled person uses an electric clipper to produce a uniformly clipped head of haid; that is, one on which no tapering or feathering of the hair has been attempted. Most people desire that their hair be uniformly tapered or feathered from the neckline to the back of the head and from the temples to the top of the head. It is in such cases that the tyre or novice produces results that leave much to be desired.

To obtain uniform tapering or feathering necessary for satisfactory results, the experienced barber uses a comb to act as a sort of gauge, but more particularly, he is in possession of the ability to apply the clipper in arcuate strokes that begin with the teeth of the clipper close to the scalp and move further and away from the scalp as the clipper is moved upwardly with respect to the head of the one whose hair is being cut. Such arcuate strokes are produced by the experienced barber by his holding and moving the clipper in such a manner that at the end of a stroke the cutter portion of the clipper has moved away from the scalp and the opposite end of the clipper has remained about the same distance away or has moved toward the head of the customer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that will enable the user to cut hair with an electric clapper so that it is smoothly tapered or feathered from the neckline and from the temples. Moreover, it is an object of this invention to provide means for positive control of the stroke of the hair-clipper as it is applied to the hair of a persons head, in order that there may be no abrupt differences in the length of the hair anywhere on the head because of the action of the clipper.

This invention utilizes the discovery that although the skilled barber applies the clipper in arcuate strokes whereby the longitudinal axis of the clipper is moved along the arcuate path in a clockwise direction, a guide that causes the clipper to move, not as the barber moves it but in such a manner that the cutter portion of the clipper moves away from close proximity to the scalp while the opposite end of the clipper moves in a counter clockwise direction along a curve whose shape is dependent upon the shape of the head of the person whose hair is being cut, enables one without the skill of a trained barber to cut hair in a highly satisfactory way. Examples of such guides are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in this specification.

In the drawings, which are provided to illustrate the invention described herein,

FIGURE 1 is a plan View of one modification of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1 except that no handle is included;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view in orthographic projection incorporating a hair clipper and the modification of the present invention illustrated in the figures identified above:

FIGURE 5 is a view in orthographic projection illustrating a modification of the four-faced channel or box member illustrated in the previously mentioned FIGURES 1-4.

FIGURE 6 is a view in orthographic projection illustrating a modification of a comb body adapted for use with a guide frame such as that illustrated in FIGURE 5 and described herein.

In FIGURE 1 there is illustrated a guide frame 1 comprising two girder-like four-faced channel or

box members

2 and 3 with one face 2a of one channel 2 and one face 3a of the other channel 3 adjacent and held in parallel relationship by cross members 4 and 5 attached at the ends thereof. The said

adjacent faces

2a and 3a of the channel or box members hereinafter sometimes being referred to as plates webs or web members.

Shown in engagement with the guide frame 1 in FIG- URE 1 is a coarse comb 6 having a plurality of teeth 7 whose position with respect to the four-faced channel or

box members

2 and 3 is controlled by lugs 8 and 9 projecting from said comb.

Also illustrated in FIGURE 1 is a handle 10 attached to one girder-like channel or box member 2 by a tapered lug 11 engaging a receptacle 12 on the said channel or box member. The handle 10 can be removed from one channel or box member 2 and attached to the other channel or box member 3 by pulling the tapered lug 11 out of the receptacle 12 on the said channel or box member and inserting it in the receptacle 13 on the other channel or box member 3. The handle 10, in addition to being removable, also is adjustable as to position by virtue of its being fastened to the tapered lug 11 by a bolt 14 and wing nut 15.

FIGURES 2 and 3 illustrate other details of the device of the present invention. FIGURE 2 shows the lugs 8 and 9, which project from the comb 6, to be in engagement with the contiguous under

surfaces

21 and 22, respectively, of the

upper elements

2b and 3b of the four-faced channel or

box members

2 and 3. FIGURE 3 shows that the lugs 8 and 9 are in sliding engagement with the under sides of those elements.

FIGURE 3 also illustrates the means by which the comb 6 and the hair clipper 31 to which it is attached by the spring clip 32 are guided into dilferent angular relationships with the guide frame 1. The means therein illustrated being a slot 33 extending in a generally longitudinal but upwardly sloping direction with respect to the web 2a of the channel or box member 2. As illustrated, the slope of the slot 33 is not uniform, but, on the contrary, has zero slope at its lowermost section 34. Also as illustrated, the slot 33 has a diversionary entrance 35, which has two slopes that differ radically from each other and from that of the generally upward direction of the slot 33.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a modification in which the guide frame 51 comprises two three-element girder-

like channel members

52 and 53 held together with their

web members

52a and 53a adjacent and in parallel relationship by

cross members

54 and 55 attached thereto at the respective ends of said channel members.

The guide frame 51 illustrated in FIGURE 5 shows a slot 56 in the web 52a of the channel member 52 on the left and another slot 57 in the web 53a of the channel 3 member 53 on the right. The two slots are of the same size and configuration and are positioned directly opposite each other. They extend in a generally longitudinal direction with respect to the

channel webs

52a and 53a, but digress from a true longitudinal direction and approach the corresponding edges of the said webs. Thus, the

slots

56 and 57 are in

parallel plates

52a and 53a and are parallel in all respects.

FiGURE 6 illustrates a form of comb 61 adapted for use with the guide frame 51 illustrated in FIGURE 5. As illustrated, it comprises a base portion 62 having a spring clip 63 fastened thereto for attachment of the comb 61 to the clipper, and a serrated portion 64 integrally joined thereto at an angle. Projecting from one edge 65 of the serrated portion 64 is shown a lug 66, which can be formed as an integral part of the serrated body 64 or can be attached thereto in the manner illustrated with respect to the lug 67 at the opposite end of the comb. That lug 67 is illustrated as having a hole 68 through the center of its hub 76 to accommodate a screw 69 and as having a half-hub 70 at the inner face to engage with a similar half-hub 71 formed on the adjacent face of the tooth '73. The lug 67 is fastened to the serrated body 64 by the screw 69 entering the threaded hole 72 in the tooth 73 and drawing the lug 67 into tight engagement with the tooth 73, whereby the ridge 70 of the lug 67 locks with the slot 71 and prevents any rotation of the lug 67 with respect to the comb 61.

The purpose in having one of the lugs 66 and 67 detachable from the comb body 61 is to permit easy engagement of the comb body 61 with the guide frame 51. The comb body 61 illustrated in FIGURE 6 is put into operative union with the guide frame 51 by inserting the lug 66 on the right of the serrated body 64 into the slot 57 in the right hand girder-like channel member 52 with the free end 74 of the lug 66 directed upwardly and then turning the comb body 61 to bring the hole 72 into register with the slot 56 in the left hand girder-like channel 52 of the guide frame 51 and then inserting the end of the lug 67 through the slot 56 and into engagement with the serrated body 64. The screw 69 is then passed through the hole 68 in the lug 67 and into the threaded hole 72 in the tooth 73 and drawn up to bring the lug 67 into firm engagement with said tooth. When the comb body 61 is so positioned with respect to the guide frame 51, applying an upward push, that is, upward with respect to the guide frame 51 as it is shown in FIGURE 5, will cause the said body to rotate about the axis 76 passing through the hub 77 of the lug 67 and on through the hub 78 of the lug 66 until the free edges 74 and 75' of the lugs 66 and 67, respectively, engage the

contiguous flanges

79 and 80, respectively, of the

channel members

51 and 52, respectively. When they so engage the flanges and the comb body 61 is pushed further, the said free edges of the said lugs remain in contact with the flanges 79 and 8t) and slide thereon while the comb body 61 rotates counter clockwise about the axis 76 running through the centers of the

hubs

77 and 78 of the lugs 67 and 66, respectively.

The various parts of the invention illustrated and described herein are such that they can be formed or fabricated from readily available materials. For example, the guide frames can be formed from sheet metal of suitable thickness to provide the necessary degree of rigidity and strength, and the comb bodies can be made of metal, such as aluminum or magnesium, or of a suitable plastic, of which there are many kinds available. They can be formed by any of well known processes, such as molding, casting or machining. The latter method probably would be too expensive for general use.

The lugs forming a part of the comb body, and which 4 perform an important function in the guidance of the clipper, can be of rigid metal or of one that has a suitable springiness.

To use the present invention to its fullest extent there may be required guide frames and combs of different sizes, but the various sizes will have the same general characteristics as have been described. A guide frame of rather short length and with a small rise, from bottom to top, of the slots in the girder-like box or channel members will be required for use at the temples and at the back of the head adjacent to the neck.

The device of the present invention is very easy to use on both adults and children, and, with little or no previous experience, a person can produce a thoroughly workmanlike hair cut.

To use the present invention, the

comb

6 or 61 is attached to the clipper 31 by the

spring clip

32 or 63 and engaged with the appropriate guide frame 1 or 51 by means of the lugs of the comb corresponding to the guide frame being used. If the type of guide frame shown in FIGURE 3 is being used, a comb having lugs as shown in FIGURE 2 can be used because of the open ends of the slots.

In any case, as the clipper is pushed forward along the guide frame the engagement of the lugs with the undersides of the upper flanges of that guide frame causes the teeth of the comb to contact and move along the scalp, whereby the hairs are brought into upstanding positions to be cut off at predetermined lengths by the cutters of the clipper.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A new article of manufacture comprising a comb removeably afifixed to a hair clipper, means to move the comb and clipper through a series of different angular relationships with respect to the scalp being shorn, whereby the angle between the scalp and the comb and clipper increases as the comb and clipper are advanced, said means comprising a flanged plate having therein a slot extending in a generally longitudinal but upwardly sloping direction with respect to the flange of said plate, and a lug projecting from said comb into said slot and into sliding engagement with the underside of the aforesaid flange.

2. The new article of manufacture defined in claim 1 in which the means to move the comb affixed to a clipper through a series of different angular relationships with respect to the scalp being shorn comprises a pair of flanged plates, each plate having therein a slot extending in a generally longitudinal but upwardly sloping direction with respect to the flanges of said plates, the said pair of plates being held in parallel relationship by cross members attached thereto.

3. The new article of manufacture defined in claim 1 in which the means to move the comb afiixed to a clipper through a series of different angular relationships with respect to the scalp being shorn comprises a pair of flanged plates, each plate having therein a slot extending in a generally longitudinal but upwardly sloping direction with respect to the flanges of said plates, the said pair of plates being held in parallel relationship and with the slots positioned directly opposite each other in all respects by cross members attached thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,708,942 Fiddyment May 24, 1955 2,765,797 Potente Oct. 9, 1956 2,915,070 Benson Dec. 1, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 560,041 France June 28, 1923

Claims

1. A NEW ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE COMPRISING A COMB REMOVEABLY AFFIXED TO A HAIR CLIPPER, MEANS TO MOVE THE COMB AND CLIPPER THROUGH A SERIES OF DIFFERENT ANGULAR RELATIONSHIPS WITH RESPECT TO THE SCALP BEING SHORN, WHEREBY THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE SCALP AND THE COMB AND CLIPPER INCREASES AS THE COMB AND CLIPPER ARE ADVANCED, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A FLANGED PLATE HAVING THEREIN A SLOT EXTENDING IN A GENERALLY LONGITUDINAL BUT UPWARDLY SLOPING DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO THE FLANGE OF SAID PLATE, AND A LUG PROJECTING FROM SAID COMB INTO SAID SLOT AND INTO SLIDING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UNDERSIDE OF THE AFORESAID FLANGE.