Shaving equipment

Shaving equipment which includes a mirror, a first attachment device for releasably attaching the mirror to a wall or the like, and a second attachment device for releasably attaching a razor to the equipment. The first and second attachment devices are disposed respectively behind and in front of the mirror. Preferably, the first attachment device, for example a sucker, is hidden from normal view.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to shaving equipment. 
It is, of course, commonplace to use a glass mirror permanently mounted on 
a wall or bathroom cabinet as a shaving mirror. Also, portable glass 
shaving mirrors are known which can be stood on a shelf or ledge. However, 
these known portable shaving mirrors are of little use if a suitable shelf 
or ledge is not available, for example in a shower, and furthermore, in 
this case, there may be nowhere close to hand to put the razor after a 
shave. Also, these known mirrors are prone to misting up in a bathroom 
atmosphere. 
This invention is more particularly concerned with shaving equipment of the 
type comprising a mirror, first means for releasably attaching the mirror 
to a wall or the like, and second means for releasably attaching a razor 
to the equipment. 
An example of such equipment is known from patent specification U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,655,559. In that known equipment, the mirror is provided on the 
front of a reservoir, from the bottom of which a pin projects. The pin 
fits into a socket in a bracket which is connected by a ball and socket 
joint to a sucker for attachment to a wall. The bracket also has a rack 
for holding a grooming article, such as a razor. By disconnecting the pin 
and socket joint, the mirrored reservoir can be removed for emptying and 
recharging with hot water to reduce the tendency of the mirror to fog-up. 
The equipment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,559 is complicated and is not 
particularly aesthetically pleasing. Also, the pin and socket connection 
provides a weak link susceptible to breakage. 
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, shaving equipment 
of the general type mentioned above is characterised in that the first and 
second attaching means are disposed respectively behind and in front of 
the mirror. Accordingly, the first attaching means (to the wall or the 
like) can be hidden from normal view. 
Preferably, the first and second attaching means are attached to the mirror 
at or adjacent the same location on the mirror, and, in particular, the 
first attaching means may comprise a member which passes through a hole in 
the mirror and also forms at least part of the second attaching means. 
This therefore provides a simple rugged and reliable construction, it 
being simpler to provide a hole through the mirror rather than a 
projecting pin as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,559. 
In one embodiment, the member has a sucker portion behind the mirror for 
attachment to a wall or the like, a stem portion which passes through the 
hole in the mirror, and a loop or hook portion in front of the mirror to 
which a razor can be attached. The sucker can therefore be hidden from 
normal view, leaving just the mirror and the loop or hook portion visible. 
In another embodiment, the member has a sucker portion behind the mirror 
for attachment to a wall or the like, a stem portion which passes through 
a hole in the mirror, and means for attaching the stem portion to a razor 
cassette in front of the mirror to which a razor can be attached. Again, 
therefore, the sucker can be hidden from normal view, leaving just the 
mirror and razor cassette visible. In this embodiment, the means for 
attaching the stem portion to the razor cassette may conveniently comprise 
a further sucker in front of the mirror, or a tab which can be secured 
through a slot in the razor cassette. 
For simplicity, the member may be a one piece element. Alternatively, the 
first and second elements may be joined in the region of the stem portion. 
In the case where a sucker is provided, a venting means may also be 
provided to facilitate release of the sucker from the wall, rather than 
requiring the sucker simply to be ripped away from the wall. Once 
released, the equipment may be held under the shower or other hot water 
supply for a few seconds and then re-attached to the wall. It has been 
found that, when used in a shower, holding the mirror under the shower for 
about five seconds will heat the mirror sufficiently to prevent it fogging 
up for the time taken to have a shave. 
For stability, the first and second attaching means may be disposed towards 
the top of the mirror, unlike the equipment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,559 
which is top heavy. 
As mentioned above, in the equipment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,559, a razor 
can be hung on a rack, and the rack is shown as a pair of lugs. 
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, shaving 
equipment of the general type mentioned above is characterised in that the 
second attaching means comprises a cassette for a plurality of razor heads 
and to which an assembly of a razor head and razor handle can be attached. 
This second aspect of the invention therefore takes advantage of the 
popularity of razor assemblies of this type, for which replacement heads 
are sold in a cassette, to provide not only for attachment of the razor to 
the mirror, but also for storage of spare razor heads in a convenient 
place, i.e. by the mirror. 
In one embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the razor cassette 
is held to the mirror by a further sucker or a tab. Such means may be used 
in the second aspect of the invention, or alternatively the cassette may 
be attached to the mirror by a double sucker. Alternatively, in the second 
aspect of the invention, the first attaching means (for attaching the 
mirror to the wall or the like) may comprise a wall tile having a recess 
to receive the mirror, and the tile may have a second recess to receive 
the razor cassette. 
In both aspects of the present invention, the mirror may be a simple 
plate-like mirror, there being no necessity for the complication of 
providing a reservoir behind the mirror as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,559.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the first embodiment of shaving equipment 
comprises a generally rectangular acrylic mirror 10 having a central hole 
12 near its upper edge which receives a stem 14 projecting from a moulded 
rubber sucker 16 positioned behind the mirror 10. In front of the mirror 
10, the stem 14 is formed into a loop 18 through which the handle of a 
safety razor (not shown) can be downwardly passed so that the loop 18 
holds the razor. The center of the top edge of the mirror 10 may have a 
recess 20 with a bevelled edge 22 to receive the head of the razor and 
help position it. 
As shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sucker 16 has a vent hole 24 which 
is parallel to and offset below its axis and which is normally blocked by 
a soft rubber sealing disc 26 fixed to the rear of the mirror 10. However, 
the sealing disc 26 has a pair of cut-outs 28a, 28b to the left and right 
so that, if the mirror is twisted about the stem 14 of the sucker 16, the 
vent hole 24 is opened to vent the sucker and facilitate release from the 
wall. 
In an alternative arrangement, the sealing disc does not have the cut-outs 
28a, 28b and need not be fixed to the mirror. In order to vent the sucker, 
the lower edge of the mirror is lifted away from the wall so that the 
sealing disc can lift slightly from the sucker. In a further modification, 
if the rear surface of the mirror is smooth, there is no need for the 
sealing disc. 
In a modification to the arrangement of FIGS. 1 to 3, the loop 18 is not 
provided on the stem 14 of the sucker 16, and instead the razor is merely 
hung on the bevelled edge 22. 
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the second embodiment of shaving equipment 
comprises a generally rectangular acrylic mirror 10 having a hole near its 
right edge which receives a stem 14 projecting from a moulded rubber 
sucker 16 positioned behind the mirror. In front of the mirror, the stem 
14 is formed into a ribbed tab 30 which passes through and grips in one of 
several slots 32 in a razor blade cassette 34 and preferably also engages 
a sharp protrusion in the cassette housing, so that the cassette 34, 
mirror 10 and sucker 16 are firmly held together. The cassette 34 holds a 
number of spare or used razor heads and also has a spare space to receive 
a razor head attached to a razor handle so that the razor assembly of head 
and handle can be hung from the cassette. 
Instead of using the ribbed tab 30 for attaching the cassette the stem 14 
of the sucker 16 may be provided with a short screw which can be screwed, 
in a self-tapping manner, into one of the slots 32 in the cassette 34. 
FIG. 6 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention which is somewhat 
similar to FIGS. 4 and 5. However, the sucker 16 is provided adjacent the 
top-middle of the mirror 10 and the razor cassette is attached to the 
mirror by a second sucker 16a. The two suckers 16, 16a may be formed by a 
single element which is forced through the hole in the mirror during 
construction, or they may be separate elements connected through the hole 
by, for example, a small screw, adhesive, or other means. 
The arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 or FIG. 6 may be provided with the sucker 
vacuum release valve described above. 
Preferably, as shown in the drawings, the shaving equipment does not 
include a ledge or the like, and therefore if the mirror steams up it can 
easily be wiped by the hand or forearm, or removed from the wall and 
immersed in hot water. However, if desired, a small ledge may be provided 
at the bottom of the mirror on which the razor and a shaving stick and 
shaving brush may be placed. 
It will be appreciated that, although the mirror is shown in the drawings 
as being generally rectangular, it can be of any desired shape. 
It will also be appreciated that many other modifications may be made to 
the arrangements described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 a sucker 
16 for attachment to the wall is fixed to a key block 46 and a further 
sucker 48 for attaching to the razor cassette is fixed to the opposite 
side of the key block 46. The mirror 10 has a notch 50 which can jam onto 
the key block 46. 
FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention in which a tile 36 of 
plastics or ceramics material may either be built into a tiled wall or 
attached to a wall or shower door by a suction cup. The tile 36 has a 
first recess for releasably receiving the mirror 10 and a second recess 
for releasably receiving a razor cassette 34. Also, a groove 38 extends 
between the two recesses to help the user in hooking out the mirror or 
cassette with his finger. 
FIG. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the invention and is somewhat similar to 
FIG. 8, except that a further recess 40 is provided to receive a tin of 
shaving foam, and a further finger groove 42 is provided between the razor 
cassette recess and the shaving foam recess. This arrangement is intended 
to be built into a wall. 
FIG. 10 shows a further arrangement for attaching the razor cassette 34 to 
the mirror 10 using a double sided sucker 44. 
FIG. 11 shows a sixth embodiment of the invention, in which the sucker 
extends through a hole in the mirror and the free end of the sucker stem 
is attached to a knob 52 having a marking to assist in aligning the sucker 
vent hole. Also, the mirror 10 has an open topped recess 54 with slightly 
tapering vertical sides to receive and grip a razor cassette 34. 
In the arrangement of FIG. 12, a block 56 with a pair of projecting lugs is 
fitted into one of the spaces in the razor cassette 34 for use in 
releasably holding the handle of a razor.