1997-09-25
1999-09-21
Rachuba, M.
Cutlery
Razors
Combined
30 77, 30 82, B26B 1942
Patent
active
059538198
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to razors. It is particularly concerned with a skin contacting member for influencing hair protrusion ahead of a blade of a safety razor moving across the skin surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention there is provided a skin contacting member in or for a shaving device, comprising elements spaced apart to define channels for passage of hairs, the elements having lateral parts extending laterally into the channels for engaging and pulling hairs passing through the channels, said lateral parts being deflectable by resilient deformation to enable a hair to pass through a channel without the elements defining said channel being displaced to restrict an adjacent channel.
One embodiment of a skin contacting member described herein comprises a series of spaced upstanding elements defining channels therebetween for passage of hairs in a direction from front to rear of the member, and resiliently flexible lateral parts projecting laterally from said elements into said channels for engaging hairs to impart thereon pulling forces opposing movement through the channels. In a presently preferred form of this embodiment the upstanding elements comprise substantially rigid parallel walls. These walls have resilient laterally projecting parts in the form of flaps with slightly tapering cross-sections and inclined rearwardly in the direction away from the walls. A plurality of flaps are provided on each side of a wall, and the spacing between the free upright edges of opposed pairs of flaps in a channel gradually reduces to provide an increasing pulling force on a hair as it moves through a channel.
The invention includes a razor blade unit, such as a replaceable shaving cartridge, having a skin contacting member embodying the invention. The skin contacting member may define a guard surface for contacting the skin in front of the blade edge(s) during shaving. Alternatively, the skin contacting member could be positioned between two blades in a blade unit having two or more blades.
A better understanding of the invention will be had from the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows schematically a longitudinal section of a skin contacting member embodying the invention;
FIGS. 2 and 3 show respective modified forms of the member showing in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are similar views to FIG. 1 showing alternative embodiments of skin contacting members in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shaving cartridge incorporating a skin contacting member according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The skin contacting member illustrated in FIG. 1 is a unitary plastics structure with an elongate base 1 shown to have a rectangular configuration, but this is unimportant. Extending upwardly from the base is a series of uniformly spaced elements consisting of parallel walls 2 confining between them parallel channels 3 running from front to rear of the member. The tops of the walls 2 define the skin contacting surface of the member, and with a view to improving comfort the upper front edges of these walls are rounded off. Projecting into each channel 3 from the adjacent walls are pairs of laterally opposed resilient parts in the form of wings or flaps 4. Each flap has an upright free edge, tapers in cross-section towards the free edge from the wall to which it is attached, and is inclined rearwardly at an acute angle to this wall. Due to this inclination the opposed pairs of flaps act to guide or funnel hairs towards the openings formed between their free edges. The width of the openings between the pairs of flaps in each channel diminishes progressively in the direction from front to rear along the channel. At least the rearmost pair of flaps define an opening with a width A which is less than the diameter of a hair so that the extremities of these flaps are deflected rearwardly as a hair passes through the ch
REFERENCES:
patent: 3116550 (1964-01-01), De-Paoli
patent: 3871073 (1975-03-01), Nissen et al.
patent: 3909939 (1975-10-01), Dootson
patent: 4044463 (1977-08-01), Tietjens
patent: 4189832 (1980-02-01), Harper et al.
patent: 4720917 (1988-01-01), Solow
patent: 4741103 (1988-05-01), Hultman
patent: 5067238 (1991-11-01), Miller et al.
patent: 5249361 (1993-10-01), Apprille, Jr. et al.
patent: 5416973 (1995-05-01), Brown et al.
patent: 5475923 (1995-12-01), Ferraro
patent: 5802721 (1998-09-01), Wain et al.
Oglesby Oliver David
Simms Graham John
Podszus Edward S.
Rachuba M.
The Gillette Company
LandOfFree
Razors does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Razors, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Razors will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-70475