US2345695A - Dry shaving device - Google Patents

Description

April 4; 1944. I ANDIS 2,345,695

I DRY SHAVING DEVICE Filed Feb. 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l J3: .i. w 40 5 39 li L/i.(Win MC INVENTOR. 7QZZLW C124 Patented Apr. 4, 1944 DRY SHAVING DEVICE Mathew Andis, Racine, Wis., assignor to Andis Clipper Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application February 8, 1939, Serial No. 255,304

4 Claims. (Cl. 30-43) This invention relates to improvements in dry shaving devices.

Heretofore it has been common practice to form the fixed blade or face engaging member with a plurality of elongated transversely extending slots for the purpose of receiving hair and guiding the same to shearing position, and the design of these slots to take care of the various skin and beard conditions encountered in use has presented difficulty. It is, of course, desirable to cut the hair off as close to the face as possible, but in order to obtain a close out the slots must be wide enough to permit the skin to bulge thereinto a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the metal forming the fixed blade. This, however, is usually objectionable in the ordinary type of shaver because heretofore the length of a slot has been considered unimportant and with a relatively wide slot of unrestricted length certain types of skin, particularly the flabby, wrinkled skin of elderly men, will bulge too far into such a slot and become badly chafed or irritated whereas the same type of slot might be efficient on a youthful face having smooth taut skin. In practice, therefore, the slots on some models designed for people with flabby skin have been made relatively narrow to prevent chafing but this practice is objectionable because some hair is relatively large in diameter and too close to the width of these narrow slots with the result that such hair is pulled to cause irritation or even pulled out at the roots. In addition, where the width of the slot is too close to the diameter of the hair an excessive amount of time is required in shaving because of the inefiiciency resulting from feeding hair into narrow slots/ Furthermore, shavers with narrow slots fail to shave as close to the skin as a wide slot. For the average youthful skin, a wider slot may be employed but this makes it necessary for the manufacturer to offer several difierent models with different slot widths, an acknowledgment that their shavers are not universal in use.

Another disadvantage of the most commonly used shaver heads, such as the flanged and inwardly extending slotted types, having the free edge slotted and provided with a safety guard, is the inefiiciency in cutting hair longer than the depth of the slots in the flange or safety guard. The hair has to bend before reaching the cutter, and after it issevered, it will stay in the slot and prevent the succeeding hair from 5 feeding to the cutter unless continuously removed by hand or brush.

In addition to shavers utilizing slots in the fixed blade as above outlined, there are also devices wherein the hair is adapted to be received in round holes with a cutter operating beneath said holes. This type of shaver is limited in scope for general use because if the length of the hair on the face exceeds the diameter of the hole, then the hair cannot enter but will slip over the same. As a result, a beard of two or three days growth cannot be removed efficiently and a still heavier beard cannot be removed at all. Furthermore the diameter of these holes cannot be increased to such size as to properly receive long hair because then irritation would result when used on loose flabby skin.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a shaver adapted for universal use which may be efliciently employed to shave the face Without causing irritation, regardless of the condition of the skin or the length or toughness of the beard, the shaver being also suitable for use in trimming hair on the back of the neck or in shaving any desired part of the human body.

A further object is to provide a shaver of the type described having one side constructed to cut a suflicient amount ofi of all long hair to leave stubble short enough to enter interior openings on the other side of the shaver, said interior openings being designed to permit severing of said stubble and any other short hair close to the skin whereby a close shave is obtained.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shaver in which the length of the slots or other openings bears a. novel relationship to the width thereof whereby the shaver is adapted for universal use and whereby a close shave without irritation may be obtained by users of various ages and with various types of skin. I

A further object is to provide a device asabove described in which the hair openings of the fixed blade are so positioned, proportioned, and arranged with respect to one another as to materially decrease the shaving time.

A more specific object of the inventionis to provide a shaving device in which one side of the fixed blade is relatively thick and provided with slots, open at the edge of the blade, and extending inwardly therefrom for cutting a sufli cient amount off of long hair to leave short stubble, and in which the other side is provided with interior openings inclosed on all sides, the metal being thinner on the side having the interior openings whereby the skin will be closer to the cutter to permit a closer shave and removal of all stubble and short hair, and said interior openings being of such length with respect to their width as to eliminate the possibility of nipping the skin.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shaver in which the interior openings, which are closed at both ends on top of one side of the fixed blade, have greater length than width as distinguished from the round holes now used as interior openings, said increased length permitting the entry of longer hair than could enter round holes and such length, however, being limited and bearing such relationship to the width of the openings as to prevent irritation to even flabby skin.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction as above described wherein the edge slots in the relatively thick metal on one side of the fixed blade are disposed in the same plane as the interior openings on the other side of the blade so that the face is simultaneously exposed to the two different types of openings while the shaver is held in ,a single position as distinguished from prior devices wherein the shaver has to be rotated or held at a different angle .to subject the face to different slot conditions.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improved dry shaving device and all of its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims and all equivalents there- In the accompanying drawings illustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the head showing it attached to a portion of the handle Fig. 2 is a plan view of the reciprocating outter alone;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the fixed blade and movable cutter showing the same in assembled. relationship;

Fig. 4 is a plan view on an exaggerated scale of the fixed blade or face engaging member, part being broken away;

Fig. 5 is an edge view thereof;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view through one side of the assembled fixed blade and cutter;

Fig. 7 is a similar view through the other side of the fixed blade and cutter; and

Fig, 8 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale showing a modification.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the shaving device, except for the fixed blade, is the same in structure and operation as the shaver shown in my Patent No. 2,233,445 dated March 4, 1941. It comprises a handle it formed of any suitable material such as Bakelite, said handle preferably comprising two complementary longitudinal sections. The assembled handle has its outer end provided with a recess ii and below the recess are shoulders 92 formed with bosses 13 or other equivalent means for cooperation with the lower ends of coil springs M. Between the shoulders i2 is a central opening l5 through which the end It of an actuating member projects.

The actuating member may be of any desired type but as shown is pivoted to the handle structure as at I7 and has an end it which is operated by an electric motor in any Well known manner.

The cutter or reciprocable blade i5 is preferably U-shaped in cross-section as shown in Fig. 3 and has outwardly directed flanges 20 which are slotted as at 2| to form a plurality of cutting teeth, the slots communicating with the outer edges of the flanges 20. The bottom portion of the cutter is formed with a central opening 22 within which a ring 23 may be inserted, and the outer end of the actuating arm [5 is received within the ring 23 to impart a reciprocating movement to the cutter. The cutter is also formed on each side of th central opening 22 with openings 2t, there being annular bosses 25 depending from said openings as shown in Fig. 1, for cooperation with the upper ends of the coil springs Hi. Any other suitable means for anchoring the upper ends of the springs to the lower surface of the cutter around the openings 2d may be employed.

A guard member 25 constructed, and held in position as shown in Patent No. 2,233,446, may also be employed for the purpose of directing cut hair away from the end of the handle and to the exterior.

Supporting posts 2'! have their lower ends molded in the shoulders l2 of the handle, with the posts projecting from said shoulders substantially centrally of the bosses l3. The outer ends of the posts extend loosely through the openings 24 in the cutter and serve as supports for the fixed blade or face engaging member 28.

The fixed blade (see Figs. 3 and 4) comprises a section of thin metal stamped to form a face engaging part 29 on one side of the head and a face engaging part 30 on the other side of the head, said parts being separated by a longitudinally extending depressed central portion 3i which is substantially below the plane of the parts 29 and 30. The part 30 also has its free edge formed with an inwardly bent flange 32 for reenforcing said edge. The metal on the side 29 is relatively thick and may be approximately .020 of an inch in thickness. The metal on the other side is, however, ground to extreme thinness and may be as thin as .003 of an inch. Because .of this thinness on the side 30, the reenforcing guard or flange .32 is desirable to strengthen the thin face engaging part. At the extreme ends of the side :30 there may be transversely extending elevated ribs .33 to avoid the possibility of scraping the face with sharp thin corners.

The free edge of the side 29 is formed with short inwardly extending slots 34 which are preferably approximately .040 of an inch long. These slots form spaced teeth 35 which taper somewhat toward the free edge and preferably have rounded end portions. The slots are approximately .020 of an inch wide at theiropen entrance ends and are approximately .016 of an inch wide at their inner ends.

Extending inwardly from a point behind each of the teeth 35 is a rill 36 and said rills have their upper portions groundflat on top as at 31 with the flattened portions tapering down toward the main surface of the part 29 as shown in Fig. 7. These rills permit the fixed blade ,to slide easily over the skin and prevent sticking thereof.

at 30 is formed with a'plurality of rows of interior openings 38, the openings of one row being preferably staggered with respect to the openings of an adjacent row, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. These interior openings are of greater length than width and are rectangular in shape. It is preferred that the openings be .012 of an inch wide and .020 of an inch long.

The depressed central portion (ii of the fixed blade adds strength thereto and is formed with counter-sunk openings 39 for receiving the heads of screws 40 which screws extend into the posts 21 to secure the fixed blade to said posts, as shown in Fig. 1, whereby the slotted flanges 20 of the cutter will be reciprocated beneath the slotted edge 34 of the fixed blade and beneath the interior rectangular openings 38 on the other side of the fixed blade, as shown in Figs. 3, 6, and '7. It is to be noted that the slots 2| of the movable cutter are long enough to cooperate with all of the rows of interior openings 38 on the one side of the fixed blade.

The modification shown in Fig. 8 is the same in all material respects except that the fixed blade is formed in a different manner. Instead of having a depressed longitudinally extending central portion, the corresponding portion of Fig. 8 is thickened as at 3i to reenforce the fixed blade and to form a projection which is cooperable to guide the cutter in its movement. The upper surface of the fixed blade of Fig. 8 is ground down from the line 4! to provide a thin side 30, approximately .003 of an inch thick, corresponding in all respects to the side 30 of Fig. 3. The other side of the fixed blade of the form shown in Fig. 8 is left relatively thick as at 20 (approximately .020 of an inch) to correspond with the side 29 of the form of the invention shown in 3. The free edge of the part 29' is slotted as at 34 to provide a plurality of relatively short teeth 35. The thin side 30 of the fixed blade is formed with a plurality of rows of interior apertures 38 and the interior apertures 33' as well as the slots 34' have the same relative dimensions as the parts 33 and 34 of the principal form of the invention. The free edge of the thin side 30 is also reenforced by an inwardly extending flange 32'. The cutter I 9 is the same in construction as the cutter iii of the principal form of the invention and the parts are assembled and otherwise constructed the same as shown in Fig. l of the principal form of the invention.

In use of either form of the invention, the shaver is drawn over the face with the edge having the slots 34 forward. If the user has not shaved for several days, there will be relatively long hair which would be too long to enter the interior openings 33 on the thin side of the fixed blade. This long hair, however, will freely enter the slots 34 and will be severed by the cutter reciprocating therebeneath, leaving stubbles of the cut hair about .015 to .020 of an inch long. This stubble will therefore be short enough to enter the interior openings on the other side of the shaver as the shaver is drawn across the face and said stubble as well as any other short hair on the face will ultimately enter the interior openings 38 or 38' on the other side of the fixed blade. Due to the fact that the metal on this side of the blade is very thin, the skin will be very close to the movable cutter and all remaining hair on the face will be severed close to the skin. Thus it is seen that in both forms of the invention the slots 343 and the interior openings 38-38 are in substantially the same plane so that the face is simultaneously presented to both types of openings and so that as the device is moved over the face, hair which has been preliminarily out on the slotted edge will naturally enter the interior openings on the other side of the shaver for final severance.

. This novel combination of teeth with free ends on one side of the head and rectangular elongated interior openings on the other side of the head performs a perfect shave without irritation, regardless of the condition of the skin or length of the growth. Naturally there is no irritation while long hair is being cut at the slotted edge because the metal on this side of the shaver is relatively thick to maintain the skin in spaced relationship from the movabl cutter. The interior openings on the other side of the shaver are designed to eliminate irritation even though very close shaving takes place on this side. The reason for this is the peculiar proportions wherein the interior openings are of greater length than width. The length is such as to take all stubble .020 of an inch or shorter, and the width, which is approximately .012 of an inch, is narrow enough to prevent skin from bulging too far into the openings with resulting irritation. This same width would be too greatif the openings were of unrestricted length, but by proportioning the length to the width it has been found that a very close shave can be accomplished without irritation.

Due to the different types of cutting on the two sides of the head, the shaver is suitable for all types of work and may be used to shave hair on any desired part of the body and may be used for trimming the hair at the back of the neck.

The slotted unfianged edge of the side 29 may be also used advantageously, if the razor is held at right angles to normal shaving position with the ends of the teeth 35 against the face, to trim the lower ends of sideburns, as this edge of the shaver is well adapted for handling long hair.

. difiiculties encountered in connection with long hair becoming wedged in bent position in the interior openings, such as occurs in shavers having round interior apertures. In connection with such round openings, it is to be pointed out that these openings are all of uniform diameter and in order to be made long enough to accommodate the required length of hair, they must be of the same width. Where the width of these holes is equal to the length, and where the length is long enough to accomplish proper shaving, there is bound to be irritation on certain types of skin. The interior openings 38 and 38 of the present invention obviate this objection because they are of less width than length and because they are properly proportioned to cooperate with the stubble left after preliminary cutting has been performed by the other side of the shaver.

Although only twoforms of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that various changes may be made by those skilled in this art and all of such changes are contemplated as come within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a dry shaving device having a movable cutter provided with cutting teeth on opposite sides thereof, a fixed blade positioned over said cutter and having opposite active shaving portions in substantially the same plane for simultaneous use, including a relatively thick edge portion formed with relatively wide slots over the teeth on one side of the cutter and a very thin portion formed with a plurality of longitudinal rows of interior hair openings having closed ends over the teeth on the other side of the cutter, the rows of interior hair openings being spaced inwardly from the edge of said thin portion of the fixed blade and said openings being of less width than said relatively wide slots, the thickness of the thick edge portion being such with respect to the length of said interior openings of the thin portion that long hair entering the slots on said thick edge is preliminarily cut to leave stubble which is too long for appearance but of less length than the length of the interior hair openings on the opposite side of the blade, whereby said stubble is short enough to freely enter said interior openings as the shaver is advanced so that the stubble is finally severed close to the skin.

2. In a dry shaving device having a movable cutter provided with cutting teeth on opposite sides thereof, a fixed blade positioned over said cutter and having opposite active shaving portions in substantially the same plane for simultaneous use, including a relatively thick edge portion formed with relatively Wide open ended slots over the teeth on one side of the cutter and a very thin portion formed with a plurality of longitudinal rows of interior hair openings having closed ends over the teeth on the other side of the cutter, the rows of interior hair openings being spaced inwardly from the edge of said thin portion of the fixed blade and said openings being of less width than said relatively wide slots, the

thickness of the thick edge portion being suchv with respect to the length of said interior openings of the thin portion that longhair entering the slots on said thick edge is preliminarily cut to leave stubble which is too long for appearance but of less length than the length of the interior hair openings on the opposite side of the blade, whereby said stubble is short enough to freely enter said interior openings as the shaver is advanced so that the stubble is finally severed close to the skin.

3. In a'dry shaving device having a movable cutter provided with cutting teeth on opposite sides thereof, a fixed blade positioned over said cutter and having opposite active shaving portions in substantially the same plane for simultaneoususe, including a relatively thick edge portion formed with relatively wide slots over the teeth on one side of the cutter and a very thin portion formed with a plurality of longitudinal rows of elongated interior hair openings having closed ends and extending in a transverse direc tion with respect to the fixed blade positioned over the teeth on the other side of the cutter, the rows of interior hair openings being spaced inwardly from the edge of said thin portion of the fixedblade and said openings being of less width than said relatively wide slots, the thickness of the thick edge portion being such with respect to the length of said interior openings of the thin portion that long hair entering the slots on said thick edge is preliminarily cut to leave stubble which is too long for appearance but of less length than the length of the interior hair openings on the opposite side of the blade, whereby said stubble is short enough to freely enter said interior openings as the shaver is advanced so that the stubble in finally severed close to the skin.

4. In a dry shaving device having a movable cutter provided with cutting teeth on opposite sides thereof, a fixed blade portion over said cutter and having opposite active shaving portions in substantially the same plane for simultaneous use, including an edge portion which is approximately .02 of an inch in thickness, formed with relatively wide slots over the teeth on one side of the cutter, and a very thin portion approximately .003 of an inch in thickness formed with a plurality of longitudinal rows of elongated interior hair openings having closed ends and extending in a transverse direction with respect to the fixed blade positioned over the teeth on the other side on the cutter, the rows of interior hair openings being spaced inwardly from the edge of said thin portion of the fixed blade, and said interior hair openings being approximately .012 of an inch wide and .02 of an inch long, whereby the length of .said interior openings is sufficient to receive stubble which has been preliminarily cut at the thick edge of the device to a length not greater than the length of said interior openings.

MATHEW ANDIS.

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