US3082862A

US3082862A - Razor blade dispensers

Info

Publication number: US3082862A
Application number: US745056A
Authority: US
Inventors: John W Nicholson; John F Kayser
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-06-28
Filing date: 1958-06-27
Publication date: 1963-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 1980-03-26

Description

March 26, 1963 Filed June 27, 1958 m I I// I I i J. W. NICHOLSON ETAL RAZOR BLADE DISPENSERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2O 54 INVENTQRS FIE/Z1 V/ZQf/cho/san 0 /7 dj fief' I A'r'romqav March 26, 1963 J. w. NICHOLSON ET AL RAZOR BLADE DISPENSERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 27, 1958 //O //4 LL? I30 FIGS.

//3 u; //3 FIG/O.

United rates atent 3,682,862 RAZGR BLADE DISPENSERS John W. Nicholson, London, and .liohn F. Kayser, Harrow-on-the-Hiil, England Filed dune 27, I958, Ser. No. 745,056 Claims priority, application Great Britain June 28, 1957 Claims. (Cl. file-16) The present invention relates to magazines for unwrapped razor blades. The invention can be applied with advantage to magazines from which the blades can be dispensed individually as required.

The invention is particularly but not exclusively applicable to magazines for holding blades having two cutting edges and a medial longitudinal slot closed by a transverse web at each end of the blade. The magazine, when used as a blade dispenser, can be arranged to allow the blades to be discharged therefrom in alternately opposite directions, the magazine then having a base from which extend upwardly at least two longitudinally disposed blade-locating projections, tongues, studs or the like each extending through the medial longitudinal slots of alternate blades. The magazine may incorporate a compartment for receiving discarded blades and this compartment may be separated from the compartment for unused blades by a movable platform.

In such magazines it is necessary to make provision for holding the stack of blades between surfaces of which one is yielding. There are various reasons for this requirement. In the first place, the stack of blades must be held so as not to rattle in the magazine, despite the fact that the height of the stack will diminish as the blades are used. It is also necessary to hold the stack so as to eliminate any undesired turning or other movement about the locating projections which would cause damage to the cutting edges. Again, it is usually necessary or desirable to position the stack of blades vertically so as to maintain the blades in alignment with the unit or units in the magazine through which the blades are discharged.

It has hitherto been found necessary to employ for this purpose spring means either formed integrally with, for example, the sheet metal cover of the magazine or formed by a separate metal member. The use of a separate metal spring member is expensive and involves an additional step in the dispenser loading process as well as requiring the magazine generally to be constructed of material, such as sheet metal or plastic, sufiiciently strong to withstand the internal spring pressure. Such materials are not normally suitable for the printing or reproduction of trademarks or other necessary commercial material so that the cost of this type of magazine is usually increased by the necessity of packing the magazine in a printed outer cardboard container.

The present invention comprises the use, in a megazine for unwrapped razor blades, of a synthetic sponge material, to provide the spring means for one or more of the above purposes. The material used is ofa finely cellular nature, and is sometimes identified as foamed plastic. Additionally, the sponge material can be used to protect the blades, by excluding dust and/or by serving as a support for an anti-corrosion medium, with which it can be impregnated. Such media are often volatile, and the length of time for which protection is afforded depends in part upon the quantity of the medium used; the sponge plastic will hold a relatively large quantity of the medium if desired.

Magazines of the type described have the further disadvantage that the edges of the unwrapped blades have to be kept spaced from contact with any part of the magazine, to avoid damage to them during storage or during the process of ejection.

ice

It has been found that certain plastic sponge material, such as foamed polyurethane, if brought into contact with safety razor blade edges will not, unlike most materials, damage the blade edge when the latter is drawn across it, so that this material can be arranged in the magazine in direct contact with the edges of the blades.

Thereby, the substitution of such plastic sponge material for the metallic spring means commonly employed in razor blade dispensing magazines, avoids thenecessity for a rigid magazine construction and thereby enables such magazines to be constructed of cardboard, or other suitable material which is not only intrinsically cheaper but, being more suitable for printing, obviates the necessity of an outer carton in commercial use.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of embodiments thereof, given by way of example, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the body portion of the same embodiment of the invention, the outer sleeve being removed;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same embodiment, taken on the line 3-3 of FIGUREl;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the body portion only;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the body portion of the embodiment of FIGURE 6 but with the cover removed;

FIGURE 8 is a longitudinal section on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 6;

I 1tl10 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 11 is a view of a modified form of the invention shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 12 is a transverse sectional View on the line ll2l2 of FIGURE 11. i

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 5 consists of a body portion indicated generally at 10, housed within an outer sleeve 11. The body portion 10 is formed as a rectangular, one piece moulding of plastic material such as a synthetic resin. This body portion presents a central main flat platform 12 on which unwrapped blades, of a shape indicated at 13, are supported. The blades are of the kind having cutting edges 14, 15 and a medial longitudinal slot 16 closed by transverse webs I7, 18 at its ends.

From the platform 12 extend upwardly two spaced

blade locating ribs

20, 21; as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, these ribs have an upper surface which at the inner ends is smoothly inclined at 22, 23 down to the level of the platform :12, these surfaces terminating at their outer ends in abrupt

vertical shoulders

24, 25. To ensure that the junction of the inner ends of the surfaces of the ribs and the surface of the platform 12 shall be completely free of any projection,

small recesses

26 and 27 are formed at these points.

Beyond the ends of platform 12 the body is formed with two upwardly

inclined surfaces

30, 31 from which extend two spaced

ramps

32, 33 from the surface 30' and two

ings

36, 37 of the sleeve .11. When the magazine as described is in use, the uppermost blade, such as 13, within the magazine is engaged by the thumb of the user for which reason the sleeve 11 has in its upper major surface an aperture 38. The blade is pushed longitudinally from the body; in the case of the blade located as shown at 13, this movement will be to the left.

When the blade is so moved, the shoulders 40, 41 at the left hand end of blade 13 will engage respectively the

ramps

32, 33, and thereby the leading edge of the blade will be guided smoothly toward the exit 36. Of the blades in the magazine, that next the uppermost will be disposed wi-th the transverse web 17 lying outside the rib 21; the successive blades are arranged alternately in this way. It will be appreciated that the blades held in this way are located transversely by one or other of the

ribs

20, 21, so to protect the cutting edges of the blade against damage by contact with any of the inner surfaces of the magazine.

The blades must, however, be held downwardly upon the ribs, and to this end between the blade stack and the underside of the upper part of the sleeve, adjacent the thumb aperture, there are provided a plurality of plastic sponge members 50, 5'1, 52, 53 or alternatively a continuous surround of plastic sponge material, which depresses the blades in the stack and holds them securely on the ribs. If the plastic sponge material is a foamed polyurethane, for example polyester isocyanate, it can be arranged so as to contact the edges of at least the uppermost blades in the blade stack (and preferably to overlap the edges of all the blades in the stack) throughout their entire length (FIGS. 11 and 12 Alternatively the material can be arranged in such a way as to give the required protection to the blade edges against the ingress of dust, moisture or other sources of corrosion. For example, if the sponge pads cover the underside of the top part of the sleeve, excluding opening 38, the blades are largely protected in this way.

In addition to any anti-corrosion oil or other media applied to the blades, the plastic sponge material may be impregnated with such media; not all the available anticorrosion media are useable, as some affect the sponge plastic material, and the medium must be chosen accordingly. The dimensions of the magazine and the thickness of the plastic sponge material are so arranged in relation to the thickness of the blade stack that the plastic sponge material will remain in compression until the last blade has been ejected from the magazine. For convenience of loading the plastic sponge material may either be attached to the underside of the upper part of the sleeve, or it may be loaded separately on top of the blade stack.

The magazine can also be formed to provide a receptacle for used blades. Thus the underside of body is formed with a rectangular recess 54, and two slots 55 and 56 are located in the bottom partof sleeve 11. Used blades can be inserted lengthwise through either slot, and lodged in the recess.

A second form of the invention is shown in FIGURES 6 to 10. In this embodiment there is provided a magazine formed in two parts, a base part 110 and a cover 111. These parts are conveniently formed of a moulded synthetic resin, and the two parts are held together by a series of small recesses 112 formed on the lower part of the vertical longer edges of the base, co-operating with small projections 113 formed on the walls of the cover 111. The. material of the cover is sufliciently flexible to allow the projections 113 to be snapped into the recesses.

The floor of the base 110 is generally fiat, but with two upwardly projecting

ribs

114, 115 which, like ribs and 21 described above, are used to engage the medial slots of the blades in the magazine and thereby locate and guide them, so as to prevent damage to the cutting edges. The blades are arranged alternately on the two ribs, also as, described above.

The floor of the base of the magazine has over it a thin sheet 116 of sponge plastic material, having in it slits through which pass the

ribs

114, 115. This sponge materialserves to press the stack of blades upwardly so that the topmost blade bears against the tips of .rfour projections H7, 118, 119, 120 formed on the cover. The

projections have a height such that when the top blade bears against them, the blade is still guided by the one of the two ribs; the top blade can be moved, by the thumb of the user inserted through a central aperture 121 in the cover. The blade can then be moved longitudinally, to pass through one of two blade exits 122, 123 formed between the edges of the adjacent ends of the base and cover 111.

In this movement the blade will be guided by

rib

114 or 115 until the leading edge of the rib strikes one of two downwardly projecting ramps 124, which initially guides the edge of the blade and directs it through the exit. Subsequently, the ramp passes into the slot, and so continues to guide the blade.

When the transverse end of the slot reaches the end of

rib

124 or 125, it engages one of the sloping

surfaces

126, or 127 formed on the upper surfaces of the ribs and passes smoothly over the top of the respective rib.

The magazine can also be used as a receptacle for used blades. The base 110 has in it

slots

130, 131, giving access to the space beneath the sponge plastic sheet 116, and through which a blade can be inserted endwise. To facilitate the insertion of the blade the edges of the slots are tapered at 132, 133 and once inserted the blade is trapped by turned-over

parts

134, 135 on the

ribs

114, 115.

In a modification of the construction first described above as shown in FIGS. lland 12, the body portion 10, as well as the cover portion 11, of the magazine is constructed of cardboard, so as to facilitate cheapness an unitary construction. In this embodiment the card board base or body portion is provided with tongues 20a cut out therefrom which project upwards and outwards the blade exits at each end of the magazine, in substitution for the blade-locating ribs. These tongues serve to anchor the blades from longitudinal displacement towards the wrong exit but do nothing to prevent lateral displacement. In this embodiment therefore the plastic sponge material 50a is arranged to bear against the sides as well as the top of the blade stack in order to prevent lateral displacement of the blades either during storage or during the process of ejection.

The above examples are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is clearly applicable to any form of magazine for unwrapped blades, whether such magazine has provision for unavoidably dispensing the blades or not.

What we claim is:

l. A magazine for unwrapped razor blades comprising a casing, a stack of blades in said casing, said casing having therein an exit from which said blades are adapted to be discharged longitudinally one at a time from one end of said stack, said casing having therein an aperture to permit access to one of the outermost blades of the stack by the user, thereby to permit that blade to be propelled towards said exit, locating means including a part on said casing adapted to engage directly one of the outermost blades of the stack, and at least one member of resilient sponge plastic material under compression disposed between said stack and a further part of said casing, said sponge material directly engaging said blades and overlying at least one cutting edge of the blades so as to be sheared thereby as the blade is dispensed.

2. In a razor blade magazine, a stack of unwrapped razor blades and compressed resilient sponge plastic material interposed between the casing and one end of said stack and in engagement with at least one cutting edge of a blade throughout a substantial portionof its length thereby to guide it laterally in its movement from thecasing and be sheared thereby.

3. In a razor blade magazine, a stack of unwrapped razor blades, compressed resilient sponge plastic material interposed between the casing and one end of said stack,

said material consisting effegtively of foamed absorbent polyurethane and being in engagement with at least one cutting edge of a blade throughout a substantial portion of its length thereby to guide it laterally in its movement from the casing and be sheared thereby, and an anticorrosive medium retained within said material.

4. In a razor blade magazine having an exit opening, a stack of unwrapped razor blades and sponge plastic material within said casing overlying and engaging at least one cutting edge of a blade throughout a substantial portion of its length so as to be sheared thereby as the blade is discharged longitudinally through said opening.

5. In a razor blade magazine having an exit opening, a stack of unwrapped razor blades, absorbent sponge plastic material within said casing overlying and engaging at least one cutting edge of a blade throughout a substantial portion of its length so as to be sheared thereby as the blade is discharged longitudinally through said opening, an an anticorrosive medium retained within said material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,733,971 Kremer Oct. 29, 1929 1,935,311 Cook Nov. 14, 1933 2,457,364 Gluckman Dec. 28, 1948 2,630,625 Kleinmann Mar. 10, 1953 2,671,555 Slinitzler Mar. 9, 1954 2,692,674 Shnitzler Oct. 26, 1954 2,704,153 Florman Mar. 15, 1955 2,707,551 Shnitzler et al. May 3, 1955 2,780,350 Simon Feb. 5, 1957

Claims

2. IN A RAZOR BLADE MAGAZINE, A STACK OF UNWRAPPED RAZOR BLADES AND COMPRESSED RESILIENT SPONGE PLASTIC MATERIAL INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE CASING AND ONE END OF SAID STACK AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH AT LEAST ONE CUTTING EDGE OF A BLADE THROUGHOUT A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF ITS LENGTH THEREBY TO GUIDE IT LATERALLY IN ITS MOVEMENT FROM THE CASING AND BE SHEARED THEREBY.