CA2261320A1 - Method and apparatus for cleaning razor blade - Google Patents

Description

I have found that the useful life of a razor blade is extended if it is thoroughly cleaned after each use. The blade may be cleaned in a cleaning solution such as liquefied soap, detergent, the combination of a soap or detergent together with a rust inhibiter or a solution identified by the trade mark BARBICIDE. The latter solution is a commercial bacter-icide, fungicide and virucide and is a product of King Re-search, Inc. of Brooklyn, New York 11215, U.S.A.
Razor blades which may be benefitted by my finding are those which are within a protective case having grooves or ridges which mate with like ridges or grooves of a handle.
Blades which are found in disposable razers such as those that come in packages of ten or more are also benefitted by my finding since the lives of such blades can be prolonged by cleaning in the manner which I describe below.
The drawing is a cross-section of an apparatus for clean-ing the razor blade. The apparatus includes a container or jar holding a cleaning solution 12 such as those described above. The jar is provided with a lid 14 for closing its upper opening.
The lid is of conventional construction having a thread 16 formed on its peripheral annular wall 18 and that thread mates with a thread formed on the outer wall of the lip 22 which defines the opening of the jar.
A rod 30 having a spiral longitudinally extending groove 32 cut into its outer wall is mounted within the jar. A tray 34 is connected to the lower end of the rod. A spring loaded clip 36 is connected to the tray for removably holding the blade in the tray.
The rod extends through an opening in the lid and its upper end is mounted in bearings in a plunger 40. Within the plunger is a coil spring 44 and the rod is centrally mounted within the spring. The lower end of the spring 44a is connect-ed to the lid and the upper end 44b is connected to the plung-er.
A sleeve 50 is fixed to the lower wall of the lid. The sleeve has a central opening or bore 52 through which the rod extends. A spiral ridge 54 is formed on the inside wall of the opening and that ridge fits into the groove of the rod.
The cleaning apparatus is operated in the following man-ner: The tray is removed from the jar by unscrewing the lid and lifting it. A razor blade to be cleaned is placed on the tray and attached to clip 36 to prevent it from separating from the tray. If the blade is an integral part of a dis-posable razor, the entire disposable razor is clipped to the tray. The tray is then re-inserted into the jar and the lid is screwed to the jar to hold the rod and plunger firmly in position.
The plunger is then pressed downwardly thereby causing the rod to move downwardly. The sleeve will however remain stationary since it is fastened to the lid. As the rod moves downwardly the spiral groove in its outer wall cooperates with the ridge in the sleeve to cause the rod to rotate. Such move-ment will cause a like movement of the tray.
When the pressure on the plunger is removed, the coil spring will cause the plunger to rise with like movement of the rod. The rod will also rotate as it rises but in a dir-ection opposite to that as it descends.
Thus, by alternating pressing and removing the pressure on the plunger, the blade will move up and down and will spin in opposite directions. Such movement will ensure that it is thoroughly cleaned by the solution within the jar.
The blade can be rotated by a motor instead of the as-sembly described above. If a motor is used, all but the jar, lid, rod and tray may be eliminated from the assembly. The motor can be attached to the lid and its shaft used to rotated the rod. The motor may be powered by a battery so that the assembly is portable.
After the blade is cleaned it remains in solution until it is used again for shaving.
It will be understood of course that modifications can be made in the preferred embodiment illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the invention.

Claims