Cutlery – Razors – Combined
Patent
1997-04-29
1999-05-18
Payer, Hwei-Siu
Cutlery
Razors
Combined
30 50, 30 77, B26B21/14
Patent
active
059039795
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to shaving devices and concerns a safety razor blade unit having at least one blade with a cutting edge which is moved across the surface of the skin being shaved by means of a handle to which the blade unit is attached. The blade unit may be mounted detachably on the handle to enable the blade unit to be replaced by a fresh blade unit when blade sharpness has diminished to an unsatisfactory level, or it may be attached permanently to the handle with the intention that the entire razor be discarded when the blade or blades have become dulled. Razor blade units generally include a guard which defines a surface for contacting the skin in front of the blade(s) and a cap for contacting the skin behind the blade(s), the cap and guard serving important roles in establishing the so-called "shaving geometry", i.e. the parameters which determine the blade orientation and position relative to the skin during shaving. The present invention is especially concerned with the guard and/or cap of a razor blade unit.
As a preliminary step prior to shaving it is common to apply a shaving preparation to the skin, such as shaving soap or the like to facilitate the shaving operation. One effect of the shaving preparation, for example, is to lubricate the skin to enable the razor to slide more easily over the skin. In some situations, however, the skin is not prepared as well as it might be. Furthermore, at the end of shaving most of the preparation will have been removed. Therefore, it can be advantageous to provide the razor with a means for delivering a shaving enhancement composition or medium during shaving. Thus, it is known to provide a blade unit with a strip of material from which a lubricant is very gradually leached out during shaving. The benefits of such a lubricating strip have been well proven, but the active materials which can be incorporated in them is limited, e.g. by the manufacturing process, and the rate at which the lubricant is discharged is so low that an effective preparation of the skin before shaving is still needed. There have also been proposed razors which include a chamber containing a liquid shaving preparation, and a system for discharging the liquid onto the operative parts of the razor by squeezing a sponge impregnated with the liquid by applying finger pressure. However, there still remains a need for a razor adapted to dispense a shaving aid product gradually throughout the useful life of the razor blade unit, without requiring special attention by the user, such as to refill a reservoir or to cause the product to be discharged when required.
According to the present invention there is provided a safety razor blade unit having at least one elongate blade, and a skin engaging member defining a surface exposed for contact with the skin during shaving, said member including a multiplicity of pockets for holding respective portions of shaving enhancement product, said pockets being distributed longitudinally and laterally over the skin contacting surface and each being open at the surface.
A skin engaging member provided according to the invention may allow for the dispensing of materials which can not be included in prior art lubricating strips, e.g. because they can not withstand the manufacturing process. The shaving enhancement product may be a formulation, such as semi-solid gel, which has been designed to have the desired solubilizing properties, and is conveniently retained in the pockets due to the properties of the product. The product may be a viscous fluid, or a gel, and may be of a nature to be miscible with water, which is generally present during shaving, or to dissolve in water, to render the product more fluid for discharge from the pockets.
In order to provide adequate supply of shaving enhancement product to last the useful lifetime of the blade unit, the pockets can communicate at the inner ends with a reservoir chamber containing the shaving enhancement product to be dispensed via the pockets.
The pockets should be disposed in an array with sufficient
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Payer Hwei-Siu
Podszus Edward S.
The Gillette Company
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