Thinning razor

Details Thinning razor Thinning razor

1999-11-22

2001-06-26

Ashley, Boyer (Department: 3724)

Cutlery

Hair planers

C030S054000, C030S055000, C030S063000, C030S079000, C030S335000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06249973

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thinning razor, and more specifically it relates to a purely mechanical thinning razor that includes a driving member and a sliding member.
2. Discussion of Background
One of the essential tools of barbers and hair stylists is a razor. Originally meant for shaving facial hair and trimming of the hairline at the back of the head, the razor has undergone substantial changes in its structure and use over the years. A typical example is a practical device called a ‘thinning razor’ (also ‘hair trimming device’), which purpose basically compares to that of the traditional thinning shears, namely to thin out strands of hair so that a less voluminous look can be created. Contrary to the thinning shears, the thinning razor achieves a smooth and elegant appearance of the hair, the reason being that separated strands of hair are shaved in a downward direction over an angle that conforms with the natural flow of one's hair. Essentially, the thinning razor consists of a blade which cutting edge is shielded by an array of comb-like teeth. Its basic concept is not new and appears in various patent publications, such as those identified below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,252 (Caves '84) discloses a hair trimming device that includes a conventional double-edged razor blade, two base plate members and a handle. The base plate members are joined to one another by pegs so as to form a housing which holds the blade sandwiched between. The base plate members are provided with cut away portions which form comb-like teeth therebetween. The handle comprises two arms each having a recess. These recesses snap on projecting ridge members so as to hold the housing between the arms.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,780 (Morana '95) discloses a do-it-yourself handleless hair trimming device that comprises a plurality of conventional razor blades, a base element and a backing element. The base element and backing element are joined to one another by thumb screws and cup nuts so as to form a housing which holds the blades sandwiched between. The base element is provided with comb-like teeth of different lengths.
The devices described in both U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,252 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,780 are evidently not meant to be used by professional barbers or hair stylists since the following characteristics are not convincingly addressed:
a) the prospect of quick and safe blade replacement,
b) economic usage of the entire blade,
c) alternative methods of use, and
d) a convenient grip.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,381 (Broussard '74), discloses a hair styling device that includes a handle, a means for cutting, a means for combing and a push button means. The handle is tapered into a free end for use as a hair divider. The means for cutting comprises a blade which is held by a blade holder, with the blade holder being fixed to a recess having angular serrations. The push button means is slidably mounted in a slot and inscribed with an arrow. When the blade is fully inserted into the blade holder, the arrow coincides with a base index mark. Adjacent to this base index mark is a second index mark and the distance between these two marks corresponds to the width of a serration. On that account, when aligning the arrow with the second index mark by sliding the push button, the portions of the blade originally positioned behind the serrations become exposed. This doubles the working life of the blade. The push button means is also adapted to slide the blade out of the blade holder so that a new blade can be inserted.
Although the working life of the blade in U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,381 is doubled, the mechanism of the push button means in relation to the means for cutting is awkward, in that the user must focus on a small part of the device in order to precisely align the arrow with the second index. Also, its unusual design especially of the tapered handle makes holding and operating the device rather discomforting.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 090060/1999 (Adachi Kogyo Ltd. '99) discloses a razor holder comprising a handle, a razor insertion part and a replaceable razor. The holder is provided with a hole through which the user's finger can be inserted in order to facilitate operation. The replaceable razor which is inserted and held by the insertion part has, as part of its structure, comb-like teeth.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 309045/1996 (Adachi Kogyo Ltd. '96) discloses a thinning razor identical to the one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 090060/1999, except that the replaceable razor is provided with a small window through which the blade can be moved in a lengthwise direction so that unexposed parts of the blade become exposed, thus doubling its working life.
Nevertheless, production costs and subsequent retail prize of both replaceable razors described above are considerable high, on top of which, the device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 090060/1999 does not even use the entire length of its blade.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thinning razor being adaptable to use common—inexpensive to manufacture replacement blades.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a thinning razor being adaptable to double the working life of its blade.
In order to achieve these object, the thinning razor according to the present invention typically comprises a shank, a handle, a blade, a bladeguard, a driving member and a sliding member. The shank has a longitudinal direction, with one end being a front end and the opposite end being a rear end. Between the front end and the rear end, the shank is provided with a hollow midsection. The front end of the shank comprises an opening which extends toward the hollow midsection of the shank to form an elongated slot and the rear end of the shank is attached to the handle.
Since the front end of the shank comprises an opening which extends toward the hollow midsection of the shank to form an elongated slot, a single-edged blade can be inserted into the opening and slidably pushed toward the hollow midsection of the shank until the blade can move no further and is held inside the elongated slot.
With the shank and blade as described above, it is possible to use the thinning razor according to the present invention in combination with any common replacement blade, providing that such blade is an ordinary thin strip of metal having one long edge machined in such a way that this long edge is extremely sharp and that the length of the blade is about the same length of the elongated slot. A blade as described above is inexpensive because a minimum of manufacturing steps and a minimum of material is required.
The bladeguard extends lengthwise of the blade and comprises an array of comb-shaped teeth. These comb-shaped teeth abut on one side of the cutting edge of the single-edged blade. By adopting such a structure, the comb-shaped teeth cover alternate segments of the cutting edge of the single-edged blade so that the cutting edge has exposed segments and non-exposed segments.
The driving member is positioned inside the hollow midsection of the shank. This driving member is manufactured so that one of its surfaces is a bevel and another one of its surfaces constitutes an external surface, with the bevel adjoining the external surface.
The sliding member is positioned between the blade and the driving member.
As described previous, the thinning razor of the present invention comprises among others, a driving member and a sliding member. The driving member is positioned inside the hollow midsection of the shank and the sliding member is positioned between the inserted blade and the driving member.
When pushing the external surface of the driving member toward the hollow midsection of the shank, the bevel of the driving member pushes against the sliding member and forces the sliding member to move in the lengthwise direction toward the opening a

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