US2928531A - Magazines for holding wafer-type razor blades and other thin articles - Google Patents

Description

March 15, 1960 c. F. HENLEY 2,928,531

MAGAZINES FOR HOLDING WAFER-TYPE 0R BLADES AND OTHER THIN ARTICLE Filed June 5, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 CHARLES E HENLEY w INVENTOR WME AM Q I A TTORNE March 15-, 1960 c. F. HENLEY 2,928,531

MAGAZINES FOR HOLDING WAFER-TYPE RAZOR BLADES AND OTHER THIN ARTICLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 3, 1957 v INVEN TOR LES E HENLEY whilxlpmvwl ENLEY 2,928,531

C. F. H MAGAZINES FOR HOLDING WAFER-TYPE RAZOR BLADES AND OTHER THIN ARTICLES March 15, 1960 Filed June 3, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 CHARLES E HENLEY IN VE N TOE A T TORNE Patented Mar, 15;, ,1960

MAGAZINES FOR HOLDING WAFER-TYPE RAZOR BLADES AND OTHER THIN ARTICLES Charles Frederick Henley, Woodside Park, London, England, assignor to Ever-Ready Razor Products Limited, London, England, a British company Application June 3, 1957, Serial No. 663,173

9 Claims. or. 206-16) This invention relates to magazines forholding wafer type'razor blades which are longitudinally and centrally slotted. One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved blade magazine of thetype in which a stack or pile of blades is located within a flat casing having an apertured top, so that the uppermost'blade can be engaged by the .tip of a thumb of finger through said aperture and slidably removed in an endwise direction through a slit at an end of the casing. 7

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved magazine of this type, in which no loose parts are employed in the assembled magazine.

Afurther object of the invention to provide an improved magazine of the type referred to, fordispensing' thin flexible double-edge razor'blades and forreceiving used blades without increasing the size of the magazine above'that required to house a given numberof new blades.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a magazine of the type referred to in which a longitudinally arranged key upstands from the floor of the magazine and reaches at one end to the top or almost to the top of the magazine for engaging the aligned longitudinal slots in the stacked blades, the other end of said key sloping up from the magazine floor adjacent to a used blade opening therein. Y Y

The blade locating key maybe slightly flexible and formed integral with the door of the magazine.

Another object of the invention is-to provide a blade magazine having a floor provided adjacent the used blade reception opening with a clearance extending beneath Figure 3 is a. plan view of theclosedimagazine,

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation on line] IVIV of Figure 3, showingj'a stack of .blades therein,

Figure 5 is a plan .view of the body of the magazine, with the outline of the blade stack indicated in' dot-dash lines,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the upperside of the covered a modified form of magazine, and

Figure Tis a perspective view similar to Figure'2 of the body of the modified magazine:

The blade magazine illustratedinxFigures 1 to 5 inelusive is composed entirelyof two "parts, a cover'l andta body 2, shown separated in Figures '1 and 2. 1 The cover 1 constitutes the roof or top of the magazine and is provided' with an aperture 3 intowhich the tip of a thumb or a finger can be introduced to contact the uppermost of a stack. of centrally slotted double-edge wafer blades 4 held in the magazine (see Figure 4). The tray-like body 2 is providedin its floor 5, at one endthereof, with an opening 6 through which used blades can be inserted into the magazine, so as to, lie beneath the remainder. of the stack of unused blades 4;

i The two component parts of the magazine, thatis, the cover 1 and the body '2, areconveniently made as plastic mouldings, and attachment of theparts'may be effected, as shown,=by forming longitudinal ridges 7 on lugs 8 which depend from the cover 2 and fit within external gaps 9 in the opposite long side walls 10 of the body. 2,

said ridges 7; by reason of theinherent resiliency of the plastic material used, being adapted to snap into recesses 11 formedin the under'edges of walls 10.

Within the tray-like body 2 is a. tongue elementformed integral with, and thus anchored at one end to the body floor 5. This tongue element forms a longitudinal key 12 which is accommodated inppart'in alongitudinal slot 13 in thefioorS, and which, by reason of its springy character, normally, holds its outer end 12A within a recess 14 formed in the underside of the cover 1" when this is assembled to the body 2, as shown in Figure 4.

The key 12 also engages within the aligned longitudinal central slots of the stacked double-edge wafer blades 4,

thereby forming one, and if desired, thesole means of approximately half of the blades, so that by application of fingeror thumb pressure through the opening in the top of the magazine the new blade or blades therein are tilted so asto bias the front end of the uppermost new blade, or

asingle new blade remaining in the magazine, into sliding' A further object of the invention is to provide such a' magazine which has means to prevent blades passing accidently out of the slit-like opening adjacent the magazine top, without interfering with positive ejection of the blade as and when required.

A still further object of the inventioncis toprovide. a blade magazine of the kind referred to which has means for resiliently urging the blades toward the underside of the apertured top or cover of the magazine, said means preferably comprisingone ormore leaf spring elements constituting integral parts of the. floor or bottom of the magazine.

Embodimentsof the invention employing a blade locating key of the form already referred to are illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 are perspectivevviewslooking at the underside: of a magazine cover, andtheupperside ofa magazine body respectively,"

locating the blades while beingejected, thus preventing side movement of the blades and the possibility of the edges getting damaged.

At that end of the magazine whereat an unused blade is to be ejected by endwise movement, a shallow transverse gap 15 (see Figure'4) is provided between the cover 1 and the end wall16 of the body 2, but this gap' 15 isguarded by anarrow longitudinal rib '17 formed on the underside. of cover 1, said rib 17 being aligned longitudinally with.

the recess 14. The resilient character of the comparatively thin cover 1 permits of slight yielding as the end of the uppermost blade presses against the radiused (or bevelled) inner end of rib 17.

'It will be understood that the blades 4 are protected from damage due to side movement thereof, through the combined action of the cover recess 1, the flexible key stage of the ejecting movement the rib 17 drops into the central slot of theblade until lifted again at the final stage of ejection. shown, by internal formations 13, 19 of the body end walls 16, 20 respectively, which receive therebetween projecting end portion of the razor blades 4.

The key. 12 for engaging the aligned longitudinal central slots of. blades 4 extends at its anchored end into a portion of .thefloor. 5 of the magazine body 2, which is made lower than the remainder of said floor. This lower portion of floor 5, whichconveniently slopesn'ght down to Additional blade location is provided, as.

the end inet opening 6 provided for the admission of used blades, may be continuous or, as shown, consists of a curved ramp 21 terminating at the opening 6, and an in termediate flat, inclined ramp 22.

Pressure applied-to the stack of blades 4 through aperture-3, that is, above the ramps 21 and. 22, causes the blades to tilt or flex longitudinally and thus facilitate end wise ejection of the uppermost blade. 7

It is normally intended thata worn blade should be returned to the magazine .by being inserted endwise through the used blade inlet opening 3, the sloping portion 12B of the key 12.allowing of the forward end of the used blade which'is beinginserted to slide: up the key,

while the resiliency of the key 12 permits the inserted used blade to be addedbeneath the depleted stack "of new blades .4. Eventually all new blades will have been ejected andreplaced by worn blades, and the filled. magazine can,

; walls to provide elevated platform meansto maintain the blade ends toward said one of said end walls in an elevated position, a thumb opening ina portion of the.

top wall remote from said one of said end walls whereby pressure of the users thumb against the upper surface tral portion of said top wall at a point proximate to said one of said end walls and interior of the central portion of said slot to providelfrictional resistance to the ejection of a blade thru said slot, a rearwardly and downwardly disposed used-blade-receiving opening, and a blade-guidmagazine is not maintained byinserting a worn blade for every new blade removed, the remaining new blades, or even a single blade can be tilted or flexed sufiiciently by reason of the floor ramps 21, 22 to bring its forward end into alignment with the blade outlet 15.

In the modified construction shown in Figures 6 and 7, if

central opening from the bottom wall at-a point near and forward-of said usedblade-receiving opening and being integral with the bottom-wall at said point and being depressibly resilient in a portion thereof.

5.A razorrblade dispenser comprising a bottom wall,

astack of blades lying thereon and'having longitudinal blade-locatingslots therein, an end wall at the forward end of said stack, a resilient top wall forming with said 7 end wall a shallow forward slot thru which a blade may be ejected, said bottom wall being formed to provide an elevated platform commensurate with the forward porthe body 26, are thereby urged toward the underside of tionszof said blades and a rearward depression commensurate withtherearward portions of said blades, arearward thumb opening in said top wallat least part of which overlies atleast partof said depression, a rearwardly and downwardly disposed 'used-blade-receiving slot, and t 'a blade-guiding tongue extending forwardly and up-:

wardly from the bottom walland being integral thereprevents accidental delivery of a blade but by reason of a ramp 28a at its innerend endwise removal of the uppermost blade through said slit openings is facilitated. Used blades are inserted through the opening 29 and slide up the springs 23. v

I claim: I

1. A razor blade magazine .comprising a flat casing,

having at the same end of said casing a longitudinallyrestricted thumb opening in the top and a used-blade-re ceiving opening in the floor thereof, a blade-dispensing slot at the other end thereof, and a longitudinally arranged key extending forwardly toward said other end and upwardly from the floor of the magazine and unitary therewith at one end near and forward of said used-blade receiving opening and depressibly resilient near said end providing an upper forward dispensing slot thru which a blade may. be dispensed by downward and forward presand reaching at its'other end'to thetop of the magazine I for engaging the aligned longitudinal slots in stacked blades stored in said magazine, said one end of said key sloping up from adjacent the magazine floor opening.

2. A blade magazine according to claim 1, wherein the top of the magazine is provided on its underside with two longitudinally spaced surfaces defining therebetween a recess for the entrance therein of a web, andj a webextending upwardly at a point beyond one end of the or thumb pressure applied through the apertured maga- 1 zine top.

4. In combination, a razor bladecontainer having top,

bottom, side; and end walls, the top of one of said end walls terminating slightly. below said topwall to provide aforward blade-dispensing slot, said bottom. wall being formed at a portion thereof toward said one of said: end

with at a point forwardly of but near said rear wall and being depressibly resilient in a portion thereof.

6. A dispenser as in claim 5 wherein said top wallis provided centrallyof the sides thereof with a downward protuberance extending over a forward end of said stack.

7. A razor blade dispenser comprising a bottom wall formed to provide an elevated platform at a forward portion thereof and an upwardly inclined ramp at the rear portion thereof and leading tojsaid platform, a stack of resilient blades in said dispenser and disposed above said platform and said ramp, a top wall having therein a rearwardly disposed thumb opening at least part of which overlies said ramp, at least a portion of said platform beingdisposed forwardly of said thumb opening, means sure thereon thru said thumb opening which will tilt the stack of blades on the ramp and resiliently bend a blade being dispensed, means providing a lower rearward usedblade-receiving slot thru which a blade maybe inserted rearwardly of said ramp'and caused toride up saidramp and extend over said platform, and a blade-guiding tongue extending forwardly and upwardly from and being 1 integral with a portion of said ramp near and forwardly of the last-mentioned slot and being depressibly resilient in a portion thereof.

" .8. A razor blade container having top, bottom, side I and end walls, a blade-dispensing slot in proximityto the upper portion of one of said end walls, a used-blade-receiving slot in proximity to the lower portion of the other of said end walls, a thumbopening in a portion of the top wall proximateto said other of said end walls, the bottom wall being upwardly inclined in a direction away from the second-mentioned slot ata position beneath at least a portion of said thumb opening and providing an elevated platform portion intermediate said upwardlyinclinedportionand said one of said end. walls, and a blade-guiding tongueextending upwardly and forwardly from. the Wall and being integral therewith at a point near and forwardly of said second-mentioned slot and being depressibly resilient in a portion thereof.

9. A razor blade container having top, bottom, side, and end walls, a blade-dispensing slot in proximity to the upper portion of one of said end walls, a used-bladereceiving slot in promixity to the lower portion of the other of said end walls, and a thumb opening in a portion of the top wall proximate to said other of said end walls, ramp means extending upwardly and forwardly of the used-blade-receiving slot, shoulder means laterally exterior of said upwardly-inclined means and spaced interiorly from said side walls, and a blade-guiding tongue extending forwardly and upwardly from and integral with said bottom wall at a point near the second-mentioned slot and being depressibly resilient to a portion thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Treiss Jan. 8, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS France Ian. 8, 1951 Great Britain Feb. 11, 1953 Great Britain Feb. 11, 1953

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