Cutlery – Razors – With cooperating shearing blades
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-08
2001-11-20
Watts, Douglas D. (Department: 3724)
Cutlery
Razors
With cooperating shearing blades
C030S346510
Reexamination Certificate
active
06317984
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inner cutter for a reciprocating electric shaver and a reciprocating electric shaver that uses such an inner cutter.
2. Prior Art
A conventional inner cutter for a reciprocating electric shaver will be described first.
The overall structure of an ordinary reciprocating electric shaver will be described with reference to FIG.
19
.
The electric shaver
10
is comprised of: a mesh-form outer cutter
12
which is formed using a thin metal plate and has openings in the form of eyes of mesh, a holding frame
14
which holds this outer cutter
12
in a bent state, an inner cutter
16
which shaves whiskers by performing a reciprocating motion while contacting the inner surface of the outer cutter
12
, a main body case
24
which contains therein a power supply (a battery in this example)
18
and an electric motor
20
and which has an on-off switch
22
provided on its outer surface, and a driving mechanism
28
which is disposed on the upper surface of the main body case
24
and causes the inner cutter
16
to make a reciprocating motion by converting the rotational motion of the output shaft
26
of the electric motor
20
into a linear motion. The holding frame
14
is removably attached to the upper surface of the main body case
24
, and it covers the inner cutter
16
while bending and holding the outer cutter
12
. The attachment and detachment mechanism for this holding frame
14
is obtained from, for example, hooks
30
installed on both side surfaces of the holding frame
14
so that they are engaged with engaging grooves
32
formed in both sides of the upper surface of the main body case
24
.
Next, the structure of the inner cutter
16
will be described in detail.
The inner cutter
16
consists of a pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
, which are disposed so as to face each other, and a plurality of small cutters
16
b
,which have an inverted U cross-sectional shape and are disposed side by side along the direction of length of the supporting wall sections
16
a
between the upper ends of the supporting wall sections
16
a.
The inner cutter
16
is manufactured by, for instance, the following manner: a metal plate is bent into an inverted U cross-sectional shape, and a plurality of slits
16
c
which cut across the direction of length A of the bent portion B of the metal plate are formed at intervals in this bent portion B. The areas with an inverted U shape that remain in the bent portion B after such a cutting form the small cutters
16
b
. Also, a pair of extended portions C positioned at the bent tip ends of the metal plate, i. e, the portions other than the bent portion, form a pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
that face each other.
To the pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
of the inner cutter
16
, connecting pins
34
, a connecting block
40
, etc. are attached, so that the pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
are connected to each other. More specifically, as shown in
FIG. 19
, the connecting pins
34
are attached to the pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
of the inner cutter
16
so as to maintain the shape of the inner cutter
16
as an inverted U cross-sectional shape. Also, as shown in
FIG. 20
, the connecting block
40
is made of a synthetic resin and has a slit
38
formed in its lower surface so that the slit
38
engages an eccentric pin
36
which is coupled to the output shaft
26
of the electric motor
20
and forms a part of the driving mechanism
28
.
However, the following problems arise in the above-described conventional inner cutter for a reciprocating electric shaver:
The shaved whiskers enter the interior of the inverted-U-shaped inner cutter
16
and accumulate on the upper surface of the main body case
24
.
When these whiskers are to be cleaned away, the whiskers that have accumulated on the upper surface of the main body case
24
must be swept away by a brush, etc. In addition, since whiskers also adhere to the inner surfaces of the inner cutter
16
, i. e., they adhere to the inner surfaces of the small cutters
16
b
and to the facing inner surfaces of the pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
, these adhering whiskers must be swept away by a brush.
However, the above-described connecting pins
34
and connecting block
40
attached between the pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
of the inner cutter
16
constitute an obstacle, and the brush cannot be moved along the supporting wall sections
16
a
. Accordingly, cleaning of the inner surfaces of the small cutters
16
b
and the facing inner surfaces of the pair of supporting wall sections
16
a
by a brush is difficult, and considerable time is required for such cleaning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is devised so as to solve the above-described problems. The object of the present invention is to provide an inner cutter for a reciprocating electric shaver and a reciprocating electric shaver which allows easy cleaning of the interior of the inner cutter.
In order to accomplish the above-described object, the inner cutter according to the present invention is for a reciprocating electric shaver wherein the inner cutter is comprised of a pair of supporting wall sections that are disposed opposite to each other, and small cutters with an inverted U cross-sectional shape which are disposed between the upper ends of the pair of supporting wall sections so as to be along the direction of length of the supporting wall sections; and the inner cutter of the present invention is characterized in that only the small cutters are disposed between the pair of supporting wall sections.
In this structure, when whiskers adhering to the inner surface of the inner cutter, i. e., the inner surfaces of the small cutters and the facing inner surfaces of the pair of supporting wall sections, are to be cleaned away by a brush, cleaning can be continuously accomplished from one end to the other while the brush is freely moved through the interior space of the inner cutter which has a bent external shape overall. Accordingly, cleaning is easily and reliably accomplished for places which are difficult to reach with the brush as a result of interference by the connecting pins and connecting block in cases where such connecting pins and connecting block are provided as in conventional devices.
Furthermore, the concrete structure of the inner cutter is as follows: the pair of supporting wall sections are formed by a pair of oppositely extended portions of a metal plate which is bent in two so that the bent portion of the metal plate has an inverted U shape in cross section, and the small cutters are formed by opening a plurality of slits that cut across the direction of length of the bent portion at intervals in the bent portion.
Furthermore, the inner cutter according to the present invention is for a reciprocating electric shaver wherein the inner cutter is comprised of a pair of supporting wall sections that are disposed opposite to each other, and small cutters with an inverted U cross-sectional shape which are disposed between the upper ends of the pair of supporting wall sections and being disposed along the direction of length of the supporting wall sections; and in the present invention, only the small cutters and connecting arches which are formed with the same cross-sectional shape as the small cutters are disposed side by side between the pair of supporting wall sections.
In this structure, the connecting arches are disposed between the pair of supporting wall sections in addition to the small cutters. Accordingly, the strength of the inner cutter as a whole is improved compared to the inner cutter with only the small cutters provided.
Furthermore, the pair of supporting wall sections and connecting arches can be integrally molded using a synthetic resin material, and the small cutters are attached between the pair of supporting wall sections by insert molding. With this structure, manufacture can easily be accomplished, and the strength of the inner
Izumi Products Company
Koda & Androlia
Watts Douglas D.
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