GB2093750A - Support for releasably retaining a blade cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A shaving instrument including an elongated support 11 terminating in a yoke 12 with an attached slide 10 cooperating with the support to facilitate receiving and retaining a blade cartridge in pivotal and releasable fashion in the yoke. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Support for releasably retaining a blade cartridge The invention relates to wet shaving instruments.

Prior art devices over which the present disclosure is an improvement are illustrated and described in U.S. Specification No.

4,094,063 dated June 13, 1978, and in U.S. Specification No. 4,198,746 dated April 22, 1980.

U.S. Specification No. 4,094,063 describes a blade unit or blade cartridge pivotally mounted in a yoke with a cam and a resiliently mounted cam follower for biasing the cartridge toward a central position.

U.S. Specification No. 4,198,746 describes a flexible yoke and a slide for spreading the yoke to receive releasably a blade cartridge.

The specification also shows a biasing spring, similar to that of No. 4,094,063, mounted within the yoke and extending from the razor handle.

An object of the invention is to provide a simplified shaving instrument having a minimum number of piece parts operative to receive pivotally and retain releasably a single or multiple cutting edge blade cartridge or shaving unit of well known configuration.

Thus, the detailed structure of the blade cartridge or shaving unit is not critical to this invention so long as the cartridge, having one or more cutting edges, is of the type which can be gripped releasably and pivotally in a manner similar to the mounting method described in the U.S. Specification No.

4,198,746.

According to the present invention we provide a shaving instrument of the type comprising an elongated support terminating in a flexible yoke for receiving pivotally and retaining releasably a blade cartridge, said instrument including a slide element cooperating with said yoke and connected to said support, said slide element being movable relative to the support from a first or normal position in which said yoke is closed to a second position in which said slide element operates to flex the yoke outwardly to condition the yoke to receive said blade cartridge and spring means forming a single piece-part in combination with the slide element operable to return said slide element to said first position to permit the yoke to flex inwardly to retain releasably a cartridge received in the yoke.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective, exploded view of a shaving instrument embracing the principles of the invention with the blade cartridge shown in phantom; Figure 2 is similar to Fig. 1 showing the elongated support terminating in a yoke with the slide removed; Figure 3 is a central, vertical section of Fig.

1 (with the slide assembled to the elongated support) as observed in the plane represented by the line 3-3 showing the first and second positions of the slide; Figure 4 is a transverse, vertical section of Fig. 1 (with the slide and support assembled) taken along the plane of the line 4-4 showing the connection between the slide and the support; Figure 5 is a plan view of the support at the junction of the flexible yoke; Figure 6 is a plan view of the top side of the slide; Figure 7 is a plan view of the bottom side of the slide; and Figure 8 is a plan view of the top side of an alternative embodiment of the slide.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 designates a slide connected to an elongated support 11 terminating at one end in a flexible yoke or yoke portion 1 2 and terminating at the opposite end in a stem or stem portion 1 3 with the yoke-stem junction indicated by the reference numeral 1 5.

The yoke 1 2 includes flexible plastic arms 14 and 1 6 each formed with a stub shaft 17-18. The arms have sufficient resilience and "memory" to flex to and fro (as shown by the arrows of Fig. 1) in well known fashion to receive pivotally and retain releasably a blade cartridge 1 9 in that stub shafts 1 7 and 1 8 are received in mating bearings or bore holes formed in transverse ribs 20 and 25 of cartridge 1 9.

The arms 14 and 1 6 are each formed with a cam follower 21 and 22 defining a loop or an aperture. Each follower 21-22 is driven by a mating cam 23-24 depending from slide 10 (see Figs. 2, 5, 6 and 7) to flex the arms 14 and 1 6 and thus move stub shafts 1 7 and 1 8 away from one another as a result of slide action which becomes more apparent as this specification proceeds.

The yoke-stem junction 1 5 of the elongated support 11 is formed with a pair of slots 26-27 defining tracks for guiding slide 10 as the slide moves relative to the support to effect spreading of the arms 14-1 6.

The yoke-stem junction is also formed with a rib 28 which cooperates with spaced abutments 29 and 31 (see Fig. 3) to limit the stroke of movable slide 10.

Shoulder 32 provides a bearing surface for a leaf spring 33 (first spring element) depending from slide 10 to provide the main power source to return slide 10 from the second or "open" position (cartridge-receiving position) to the first or normal position (cartridge-retaining position).

Referring to the underside of the slide 10, best observed in Fig. 7, the slide is further formed with two projections or protuberances 34-36 each terminating in a claw 37-38.

As is most apparent in Fig. 4, the projections 34-36 are received in mating slots 26-27 effective to guide or track the slide 10 during its motion relative the elongated support 11. The claws 37 and 38 engage mating lips 39-41 on the outer periphery of tracks 26-27 to latch the slide 10 to the elongated support 11 so that the slide is permanently connected to the support but free to be moved manually or otherwise in sliding fashion relative to the support.

The latching connection is possible because during assembly of the slide 10 to the elongated support 11 the slide is placed in register with the stem-yoke junction 1 5 with the protuberances 34 and 36 poised to enter mating slots 26 and 27.

With the slide and the elongated support so positioned, the slide is pressed into contact with the support and as the claws 37-38 progress down ramps 42 and 43 the protuberances or projections 34 and 36 flex inwardly. Pressing continues until the claws reach the bottom of ramps 42 and 43 whereupon the claws, by virtue of the "memory" inherent in the projections 34 and 36, snap outwardly overlapping lips 39 and 41 to latch the slide to the support to make the permanent sliding conriection referred to previously.

As stated earlier, the slide is also formed with cams 23 and 24 which engage followers 21 and 22 to drive or spread yoke arms 14 and 1 6. The tendency for the yokes to return to the closed position provides auxiliary power, through cams 23-24 and mating followers 21 and 22, to return the slide to the normal or first position.

The slide 10 is also formed with an additional (additional to leaf spring 33) or second spring element identified generally by the reference numeral 44 in Fig. 6 (the preferred embodiment) and by the reference numeral 46 in Fig. 8 (an alternative embodiment).

The second spring element 44 comprises a pair of opposed, resilient L-shaped members 47-48 including aligning means taking the form of flaring fingers 49 and 51 cast integral with members 47-48.

The L-shaped members 47 and 48 terminate at their free ends in cam followers 52 and 53. The followers 52 and 53 engage and bear resiliently upon cam 54 carried by blade cartridge 1 9 (see Fig. 1) to bias the pivotally mounted cartridge toward a preferred attitude relative to elongated support 11 in a manner and for a purpose which is well known.

The flared fingers 49 and 51, referred to in the claims as an aligning means, function to insure centering the yoke relative to the cartridge in that the flared fingers 49 and 51 straddle the cam and "home" the yoke into the cartridge.

An alternative embodiment of the second spring element is shown in Fig. 8 indicated by the reference numeral 46. In this arrangement, slide 10 includes a single L-shaped member 56 terminating in a single cam follower 57 which operates to engage cam 54 in the same manner and for the same reason as described in connection with second spring element 44.

The operation of the shaving instrument occurs as follows: Assume that the slide 10 is in the normal or first position with the yoke empty (solid line position of Fig. 3). The slide is held in this position mainly by leaf spring 33 with auxiliary force provided by the resilience of the yoke in that the arms 14 and 1 6 are purposely held under light restraint, i.e., held with a tendency or a "desire" to flex further inwardly. That is, the design of the instrument is such that when the slide is in the first or normal position as shown in Fig. 3, the arms 14 and 1 6 are not fully relaxed and thus apply auxiliary pressure upon the slide 10, through followers 21 and 22 and cams 23 and 24, further urging the abutment 29 into contact with rib 28.

By manually depressing tab 55, the slide is moved to the second position and the yoke arms 14 and 1 6 are spread in condition to receive a blade cartridge in well known fashion.

In the case of the preferred slide structure indicated by reference numeral 44 in Fig. 6, the flared fingers 49 and 51 facilitate centering the yoke relative to the blade cartridge.

After contact is made with blade cartridge, release of the tab 55 permits the yoke to grasp the blade cartridge (stub shafts 1 7 and 18 engage mating bore holes in transverse ribs 20 and 25-Fig. 1) and the leaf spring 33, the residual spring action of the yoke arms 14 and 1 6 plus the spring action of the second spring element 44 or 46, as the case may be, coact to hold the cartridge releasably and pivotally with the main holding forces originating in the first spring element or leaf spring 33.

Claims (11)

1. A shaving instrument of the type having an elongated support terminating in a flexible yoke for receiving pivotally and retaining releasably a blade cartridge, said instrument including: a slide element cooperating with said yoke and connected to said support, said slide element being movable relative to the support from a first or normal position in which said yoke is closed to a second position in which said slide element operates to flex the yoke outwardly to condition the yoke to receive said blade cartridge and spring means forming a single piece-part in combination with the slide element operable to return said slide element to said first position to permit the yoke to flex inwardly to retain releasbly a cartridge received in the yoke.

2. A shaving instrument according to Claim 1 in which the spring means defines at least two distinct spring elements.

3. A shaving instrument according to Claim 2 in which a first spring element defines a leaf spring.

4. A shaving instrument according to Claim 3 in which a second spring element defines at least one L-shaped member.

5. A shaving instrument according to Claim 4 in which said second spring element defines a pair of opposed L-shaped members.

6. A shaving instrument according to Claim 4 or 5 in which said second spring element engages said cartridge when the cartridge is retained in said yoke operative to urge the cartridge toward a predetermined attitude relative to the yoke.

7. A shaving instrument according to Claim 6 in which said second spring element is formed with guide means for aligning the yoke relative to the blade cartridge.

8. A shaving instrument according to Claim 7 in which said guide means defines a pair of fingers each individual to and projecting from said opposed L-shaped members.

9. A shaving instrument according to any of Claims 1 to 8 in which the support is formed with a track and the slide element is formed with at least one projection received in the track operative to guide the slide element.

10. A shaving instrument according to Claim 9 in which the slide is formed with two projections each having a lip or claw engageable with a mating track to latch the slide element permanently and in slidable fashion to said elongated support.

11. A shaving instrument according to any of Claims 1 to 8 in which the elongated support is formed with a rib and the slide is formed with a pair of spaced abutments cooperating with said rib to limit the stroke of the slide.

1 2. A shaving instrument according to Claim 11 in which the rib and the spaced abutments are positioned relative to the elongated support and the slide, respectively to create a residual bias in the yoke operative continuously to urge the slide toward its normal position.

1 3. A shaving instrument substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.