WO2000030816A1

WO2000030816A1 - Improved razor

Info

Publication number: WO2000030816A1
Application number: PCT/AU1999/001031
Authority: WO
Inventors: Donald Charles Wride
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-11-23
Filing date: 1999-11-22
Publication date: 2000-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2001-05-23
Also published as: AUPP723198A0

Abstract

A razor (1) has cutting blades (5, 6) and, immediately preceding each blade, means such as an edge (13, 14) to engage the hair or beard to draw or extend the hair out of the skin and/or follicle so that the blades cut the hair while in the extended condition. Thus, in essence, the hair or beard is cut below the surface of the skin. A lubricator (15) is partly covered by a protective grid (16) to prevent the beard from damaging the lubricator.

Description

IMPROVED RAZOR

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a razor, more particularly to a razor having a blade or blades to cut the hair, whiskers or beard.

Current razors of this type are of the single blade type or more recently of the twin blade type in which a second blade is positioned after the first blade. However it is known that the success of the twin blade type of razor is only achieved due to the sharpness of the first blade, and when most twin blade razors are considered ready for disposal, the second blade is 99% sharp.

Also various attempts have been made to increase the effectiveness of a razor, such as making the razor and blade flexible to attempt to conform to the shape and curvature of portions of the face. However, while these do overcome the problem of shaving a sharply curved portion of the face 'to a certain extent, such as the chin, they do not overcome the problem of achieving a close and comfortable shave.

It is also well known that when shaving with a razor, either the older type cut-throat razor, or a safety razor, that stretching the skin tends to make the individual hairs or whiskers protrude slightly from the skin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a razor which will enable a more comfortable shave and also add to the life of the blade or blades of the razor.

Thus, there is provided according to the invention a razor having at least one cutting blade, and immediately preceding said blade or blades, means to engage the hair or beard to draw or extend the hair out of the skin and/or follicle so that the following blade or blades cuts the hair or beard while in the drawn or extended condition. Thus in essence, the hair or beard is cut below the surface of the skin.

Also there is provided in accordance with the invention a lubricator positioned prior to the blade or first blade to lubricate the hair or beard and skin, means being provided on the lubricator to prevent damage to the lubricator by the hair or beard passing past the lubricator.

Preferably, the razor includes a handle, a cutting head at one end of the handle, said head including a surface through which said at least one cutting blade protrudes, and the hair engaging means protrudes from the said surface of the surface of the cutting head to contact the hair or beard in such a way that the hair or beard is slightly withdrawn from the skin or follicle and retained in this position to be cut by the respective blade, and the hair or beard when cut retreats into its natural position with the cut end of the hair or beard below the surface of the skin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more fully describe the invention, reference will now be made by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which :-

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a razor according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a plan of the razor shown in Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The razor 1 has a handle 2 having at one end a head 3.

Cutting blades 5 and 6 can be adjusted to protrude through slots 7 and 8 respectively provided in the head 3. The blades 5 and 6 are mounted in further slots 9, 10 and connected to an adjustable release slide 12. The ^' release slide 12 is such that it can adjust the pressure on the blades, which are L shaped and solidly mounted to the head 3 , so that the blades protrude to a greater or lesser extent through the slots 7, 8 in the head. Small gaps are present between the edges of the blades 5, 6 and the edges of the slots 7, 8.

Immediately prior to the blades there are provided, on the surface of the head, edges 13 and 14 which will, when passing over a hair or whisker create a frictional pull on the hair or whisker to the extent that it is partially withdrawn from the follicle. Due to the close proximity of the edges to the respective blades the hair or whisker is held in its extended position while the hair or whisker is severed by either blade. The hair or whisker is then withdrawn back into its normal position by the muscle on the end of the hair in the follicle so that the end of the hair or whisker is then below the surface of the skin.

A lubricator 15 comprising lubricating material is positioned prior to the first blade in the direction of the shaving motion. To prevent the harsh beard from cutting or otherwise damaging the lubricator, the lubricator is covered partly by a grid 16 made of metal or plastics material or other desirable material. The lubricator could also be covered by cloth or other material either vegetable based or plastics, woven or moulded.

It is seen that the blades are not connected rigidly to the frame or base of the razor, but are resiliently mounted by spring means between the frame and the blades. The pressure applied by the blades is determined by the thickness of the steel from which they are formed. The head has a base surface which is flat or curved with the narrow slots 7, 8 across the base. However, preceding the slots and closely adjacent the slots there are provided on the base surface the edges or the like that are non-cutting edges engaging the uncut hair or whisker to drag or pull the hair or whisker partially out of its follicle so that the blade can cut the hair below the skin line.

The base surface is shaped so that the surround around the slots 7, 8 is cup shaped with the thickness of the head 3 directly around the slot very thin which allows the skin to protrude inwardly when pressure is applied to the head through the handle. Each blade 5, 6 is spring loaded and runs adjacent and parallel to the respective edge 13, 14 in close proximity thereto and almost touching the edge so that the hair can be cut off while the edge is in contact with the hair.

A small section of each blade 5, 6 is bent up to act on the release slide 12 that passes through the hollow handle 2. The upper blade 6 has a hole through which the bent up section of the lower blade 5 protrudes for contact with the release slide. The release slide can lift either blade and lower the other at the same time and adds pressure to the blade. The release slide 12 can be tapered and able to lock in any desired position on the handle to adjust the depth to which the blade can lower for adjustment for a close shave or a not-so-close shave.

The pressure applied by the user to the handle does not affect the pressure applied to the face by the blades because the narrow slots 7,8 allow very little penetration by the skin into the slots and because any extra pressure applied by the user is taken up by the flexibility of the blades and merely causes the hair engaging edges 13,14 to grip the hair more effectively. Thus the pressure applied by the blades is determined solely by the flexibility of the blades and the position of the release slide 12.

The head 3 has an open constuction so that the blade slots 7,8 will not clog and the razor is easily cleaned. The lubricator 15 can be curved upwardly so that it does not contact the skin when shaving but the face can be lubricated by turning the handle at an angle to lubricate the face before shaving is commenced, thus giving more control over the lubrication. Alternatively, the lubricator can be made larger, so that it operates when the razor is held at both the non-shaving and shaving angles. The lubricator can be refilled from a stick of lubricating material.

As an alternative to the blades described above, smaller blades could be mounted on resilient blade holders either having a similar shape to the L-shaped part of the blades described above or being fixed to the head in a different manner such as by riveting. Each blade or blade holder could have cut-out sections to make it more flexible.

Claims

1. A razor having at least one cutting blade, and immediately preceding said at least one blade, means to engage the hair or beard to extend the hair out of the skin and/or follicle so that said at least one blade cuts the hair or beard while in the drawn or extended position.

2. A razor according to claim 1, comprising a handle and a cutting head at one end of the handle, said head including a surface through which said at least one cutting blade protrudes, and the hair engaging means protrudes from said surface of the cutting head.

3. A razor according to claim 2, comprising means for adjusting the pressure exerted by said at least one blade.

4. A razor according to claim 3, wherein the adjusting means comprises an elongate member slidably mounted in the handle .

5. A razor according to claim 2, 3 or 4 , wherein the at least one blade protrudes through a slot in the head, the slot opening into a recess in said surface into which the skin can protrude when pressure is applied to the head.

6. A razor according to any preceding claim, comprising a lubricator positioned prior to the at least one blade, the lubricator being at least partially covered by protective means .

7. A razor comprising at least one blade and a lubricator positioned prior to the at least one blade, the lubricator being at least partially covered by protective means.

8. A razor according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the protective means comprises a grid.

9. A razor according to claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the lubricator is curved upwardly so that when the razor is held at a first angle, the lubricator contacts the skin but the at least one blade does not, and when the razor is held at a second shaving angle, the lubricator does not contact the skin.

10. A razor comprising at least one blade and a lubricator positioned prior to the at least one blade, the lubricator being curved upwardly so that when the razor is held at a first angle, the lubricator contacts the skin but the at least one blade does not, and when the razor is held at a second shaving angle, the lubricator does not contact the skin.

11. A razor according to any preceding claim, wherein said at least one blade is spring-loaded.

12. A razor according to any preceding claim comprising two sequentially acting cutting blades, and hair engaging means preceding each of said blades.