RAZOR BLADE ASSEMBLY AND HANDLE THEREFOR

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a shaving cartridge (10) for use with a razor handle (12) having a pair of cartridge engaging shell rocker bearings (14, 16) biased toward one another each of which has at least one undercut rocker bearing (18, 20) for receiving the cartridge (10). The cartridge (10) has at least one blade thereon and has curved under surfaces (48, 50) pivotal upon and relative to the rocker bearing surfaces (18, 20) of the cartridge engaging shell rocker bearings (14, 16). At least one protrusion (52, 54) extends from the curved under surfaces (48, 50) of the cartridge (10) and is positioned to engage the shell rocker bearing surfaces (14, 16) when the cartridge (10) is introduced to the shell bearings (14, 16) of the handle (12) to avoid reverse insertion of the cartridge (10) in the handle (12).

Description: The invention relates to wet shaving implements and is directed more particularly to blade assemblies or cartridges which as a whole are rockably movable on a handle assembly and which have individual blade assembly components which are independently movable relative to one another and replaceable as a cartridge unit on the handle from a dispenser without accidentally reversing the cutting edge of the blade assembly cartridge relative to the handle resulting in an accidental cutting injury to the shaver. It is known in the art to provide a razor blade assembly which may be connected to, and used in conjunction with, a razor handle to facilitate shaving operations. US-A-3,724,070, issued April 3, 1973, in the name of Francis W. Dorion, Jr. shows a blade assembly in which blade means are held between blade assembly surfaces adapted to engage the surface being shaved in front of and behind, respectively, cutting edge portions of the blade means. Such surfaces are generally referred to as "guard" and "cap". It is further known that shaving efficiency of such a safety razor assembly may be improved if the blade assembly is adapted to pivot on the razor handle during a shaving operation, permitting the blade assembly to more closely follow the contours of a surface being shaved. US-A-3,935,639, issued February 3, 1976, in the name of John C. Terry, et al, and US-A-3,938,247, issued February 17, 1976, in the name of Nelson C. Carbonell, et al, are illustrative of razor handles adapted to accept the blade assembly of the US-A-3 274 070 in such manner as to permit pivotal movement of the blade assembly during a shaving operation. US-A-3,950,849, issued April 20, 1976, in the name of Roger L. Perry, illustrates a modified blade assembly adapted for pivotal movement. US-A-4,026,016, issued May 31, 1977, in the name of Warren I. Nissen, and US-A-4,083,104, issued April 11, 1978, in the name of Warren I. Nissen, illustrate, respectively, a blade assembly and razor handle comprising a shaving system in which the blade assembly pivots on the handle during shaving. The shaving system shown in the US-A-4 026 016 and US-A-4 083 104 has become well known world-wide. Another means by which increased shaving efficiency may be obtained is that of retaining the blade assembly, as a whole, stationary but permitting movement of individual components thereof in response to forces encountered during shaving. In US-A-4,168,571, issued September 25, 1979, in the name of John F. Francis, there is shown a blade assembly in which the guard, cap and blade means are each movable independently of each other in dynamic fashion. US-A-4,270,268, issued June 2, 1981, in the name of Chester F. Jacobson, shows a blade assembly in which the guard and blade means are independently movable. In U.S. Patent application Serial No. 419,202, filed September 17, 1982, now US-A-4,492,024, in the name of Chester F. Jacobson, there is disclosed a safety razor blade assembly adapted for pivotal movement, as a whole, on a razor handle during a shaving operation, and further having blade means movable within the blade assembly in response to forces encountered during a shaving operation. Also known in the art are the Chester F. Jacobson US-A-4,492,025;US-A-4,498,235;US-A-4 587 729 and US-A-4,551,916 directed to the replaceable cartridge pivotally mounted on a shaving handle. According to the present invention there is provided for use with a razor handle having a pair of cartridge engaging arms spring biased toward one another, said arms each having at least one undercut rocker bearing shell for the cartridge, a shaving cartridge having at least one blade thereon and having undersurfaces pivotal upon and relative to the rocker bearing shell surfaces of said cartridge engaging arms, characterised in that at least one protruberance extends from said undersurface on said cartridge when the cartridge is introduced to the handle to bar reverse insertion of the cartridge in the handle bearing shell so that the blade of the cartridge when rockably engaged within the grip of the arms is in a shaving ready position every time avoiding accidental reversal of the cartridge and its cutting blades when positioned on the handle for shaving. According to the another aspect of the invention there is provided in combination with such a cartridge a razor handle having a pair of arms, two rocker bearing shells provided one on each arm to engage the underside of said cartridge characterised in that at least one of said rocker bearing shells has a portion discontinuous with the bearing, ssurface of the bearing shell to receive a complimentary portion of said cartridge. The safety razor blade assembly includes blade means having cutting edge means disposed between skin engaging elements adapted in operation to engage a surface being shaved ahead of and behind, respectively, the cutting edge means, the blade means being movable relative to the elements in response to forces encountered during a shaving operation, the blade assembly having pivot mounting means thereon for pivotal attachment to a razor handle assembly, whereby the blade assembly, as a whole, is pivotally movable on said handle assembly in response to forces encountered during the shaving operation. The underside of the cartridge is provided with a protrusion which cooperates with a handle bearing having a cutout relieved to the centerline so that if it is introduced backward, the protrusion prevents the bearings from engaging and the shaver cannot have an accident with the cartridge. The bearings on the handle will only engage the cartridge and be free to rock or rotate relative to the handle when the cartridge and the cutting edges of its blades are properly directed for shaving. The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combination of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view with parts broken away and parts shown in section of the razor handle and cartridge constructed in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the razor handle constructed to retain the shaving cartridge of the present invention. Figure 3 is a top plan view of the handle assembly with parts broken away and parts shown in section with the shell bearing jaws in preliminary cartridge engaging position and the cartridge shown in chain line. Figure 4 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 1 with the cartridge in the protrusion barred entry position. Figure 5 is a top elevational view of the razor handle constructed in accordance with the present invention with parts broken away and parts shown in section with the cartridge fully engaged with the handle. Figure 6 is an underside perspective view of a cartridge to be employed with the handle of the present invention. This invention is directed to a shaving blade cartridge assembly 10 for use with a razor handle assembly 12 having a pair of pivotally mounted cartridge engaging shell bearings 14, 16 provided on arms or jaws and biased toward one another. The bearings 14, 16 have on their bearing surface portions discontinuous with the bearing surfaces, the discontinuous portions comprising undercut recesses 18, 20 for receiving the cartridge 10. The cartridge 10 has a pair of shaving blades as described in the above prior art. On the underside of the cartridge assembly, best seen in Figure 6, are disposed two extensions 24, 26 having at their free ends, respectively, inwardly extending opposed rails 28, 30, each rail having respective arcuate upper surfaces 68, 70. The extensions comprise a pivot mounting means by which the blade assembly may be removably and pivotally attached to the razor handle 10. The blade assembly body member underside is additionally provided with cam means 34, comprising surfaces 38, 40 joining at an apex 42. The cam means 34 is adapted to receive a cam follower 62, best seen in Figure 2, operative to urge the blade assembly to a given position. Blade assembly rails 44, 46, shown in Figure 6, in conjunction with under surfaces of the cartridge body member 10 and arcuate struts 48, 50 form recesses for receipt of the handle shell bearings 14, 16 to interconnect the handle and shaving cartridge 10 (Figure 1, 3 and 5). Formed on the struts 48, 50 are surface portions discontinuous with the curved surfaces of the struts the discontinuous portions comprising protuberances 52, 54 which cooperate with the arcuate undercut recesses 18, 20 in the form of slots in the shell bearings 14, 16 to assure proper alignment of the cartridge 10 with the handle 12. Accordingly the cartridge blades when rockably engaged with the shell bearings 14, 16 are in shaving ready position everytime, avoiding accidental reversal of the cartridge and its cutting blades when positioned on the handle 10 for shaving. It is material that at least one of the cartridge blade assembly curved under surface struts 48 has a protuberance discontinuous with the under surfaces and complemental to the bearing surface discontinuous portion i.e. the undercut recesses 18, 20. The blade assembly discontinuous portion is engagable with the shell bearings 14, 16 discontinuous portion 18, 20 upon connection of the blade assembly 10. The respective protuberance portions 52, 54 bar the interconnection of the blade assembly and cartridge assembly when the cartridge assembly 10 is introduced to the handle assembly 12 in other than a correct shaving attitude, as shown in Figure 4. In the handle recess there is disposed a coil spring 60 and a plunger 62, the spring 60 biasing the plunger in the direction of the free end 64 of the plunger member 62. When the blade assembly 10 is connected to the handle assembly 12, the free end 64 of the plunger 62 is urged by the spring 60 into engagement with the blade assembly cam means 34. During pivoting operation of the blade assembly, the plunger end 64 bears against the cam surfaces to urge the blade assembly to a given position. Referring particularly to Figure 1 and 4, it will be seen that the bearing shells 14, 16 extend beyond the sides of the handle 12 and are accessible to an operator. To connect the blade assembly 10 to the handle assembly 12, the operator presses the shell actuating button 66 inwardly so that the shells jaws move toward each other moving the shell bearings 14, 16 toward each other, as shown in Figure 3. The shell bearings 18, 20 are then pressed against the blade assembly 10 underside arcuate struts 48, 50 and the shell bearing 14, 16 are released. Upon their release, the protuberances 52, 54 are in proper registry with the undercut portions 18, 20 the bearings 14, 16 will properly engage the cartridge. During a shaving operation the guard blades as described and illustrated on the prior parts move independently of each other against the bias of the spring fingers. Simultaneously, the blade assembly 10, as a whole, pivots on the handle 12, following the contours of the surface being shaved. When it is desired to discard a used cartridge assembly 10, the operator need only press the button 66 which compresses the recesses, releasing the cartridge 10.

Claims: For use with a razor handle (12) having a pair of cartridge engaging arms spring biased toward one another, said arms each having at least one undercut (18,20) rocker bearing shell (14,16) for the cartridge, a shaving cartridge (10) having at least one blade thereon and having undersurfaces pivotal upon and relative to the rocker bearing shell surfaces of said cartridge engaging arms, characterised in that at least one protuberance (52,54) extends from said undersurface on said cartridge (10) when the cartridge is introduced to the handle to bar reverse insertion of the cartridge (10) in the handle bearing shell (14,16) so that the blade of the cartridge when rockably engaged within the grip of the arms is in a shaving ready position every time avoiding accidental reversal of the cartridge and its cutting blades when positioned on the handle for shaving. A shaving cartridge according to claim 1, characterised in that opposed rails (28, 30) project from the underside of said cartridge (10) and have arcuate upper surfaces (68, 70) engageable with the underside of each bearing shell to lock the cartridge on the handle while permitting relative rocking movement between the handle and cartridge to shave a body area. A shaving cartridge according to claim 2, characterised in that a cam (34) is located on the underside of said cartridge between the rails (28,30) to cooperate with a cam follower (64) provided on a razor handle. In combination with a shaving cartridge according to claim 1, a razor handle (12) having a pair of arms, two rocker bearing shells (14,16) provided one on each arm to engage the underside of said cartridge (10), characterised in that at least one of said rocker bearing shells (14,16) has a portion discontinuous with the bearing surface of the bearing shell to receive a complementary portion of said cartridge. A combination according to claim 4, characterised in that each bearing shell (14,16) has a discontinuous portion, and in that each discontinuous portion is an undercut recess (18,20) in the bearing shell bearing surface. A combination according to claim 5, characterised in that each undercut recess is an arcuate slot. A combination according to any of claims 4 to 6, characterised in that a spring biased plunger (62) is provided on the handle (12) between the bearing shells (14,16) to cooperate with the underside of a shaving cartridge.

Inventors: APPRILLE, DOMENIC V., JR.
Applicants: THE GILLETTE COMPANY
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B26B21
IPC codes: B26B21