Patent Publication Number: US-2013247395-A1

Title: Heated shaving razors

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to shaving razors and razor cartridges, and more particularly to razors for wet shaving. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Users of wet-shave razors generally appreciate a feeling of warmth against their skin during shaving. The warmth feels good, resulting in a more comfortable shave. 
     Various attempts have been made to provide a warm feeling during shaving. For example, shaving creams have been formulated to react exothermically upon release from the shaving canister, so that the shaving cream imparts warmth to the skin. Also, razor heads have been heated using hot air, heating elements, and linearly scanned laser beams, with power being supplied by a power source such as a battery. 
     In some cases, a portion of the razor is heated using a phase change material. Such razors are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,610, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     SUMMARY 
     There are several aspects of the invention which features razors that include a heating element within the handle to which power is supplied from a source that is external to the handle. Heat is delivered from the handle to the cartridge, for example by a fluid which flows from the handle to the cartridge. In some embodiments, fluid is dispensed from the cartridge. 
     In one aspect, the invention features a razor for wet shaving including a handle including a hollow body having an outer surface, electrical contacts disposed on the outer surface, a heating element within the handle, in electrical communication with the contacts, a heating material, disposed within the hollow body so as to be heated by the heating element, a blade unit, extending from the handle, carrying a plurality of blades having elongated cutting edges, and a fluid passageway through which the heating material can be delivered from the blade unit during shaving. 
     Some embodiments include one or more of the following features. The razor may further include a phase change material disposed within the handle. The heating material may be a solid capable of liquefying when heated. The heating material may include a soap, a shaving preparation or a shaving aid. The blade unit may include an aperture through which the material is dispensed, and may in some cases include a valve configured to control flow through the aperture. The hollow body may be thermally insulative. The razor may include means for moving the heating material from the handle into the blade unit. The razor may include means for indicating to a user that the heating material has reached a predetermined temperature. 
     In another aspect, the invention features a system for wet shaving including: (a) a razor, including (i) a handle including a hollow body having an outer surface, (ii) electrical contacts disposed on the outer surface, (iii) a heating element within the handle, extending between the contacts, and (iv) a blade unit, extending from the handle, carrying a plurality of blades having elongated cutting edges; and (b) a holder for the razor, comprising contacts positioned to engage the contacts of the razor and deliver power from a power source to the heating element. 
     Some embodiments may include one or more of the following features. The power source may include a battery disposed within the holder, and/or an external power source. The system may include means for indicating to a user that the heating material has reached a predetermined temperature, e.g., a mechanism configured to cause the razor to pop up out of the holder or a thermochromic indicator. The razor may include a heating material, disposed within the hollow body, selected from the group consisting of liquids, foams, gels, and solid or semi-solid materials that liquefy when heated. The heating material may be disposed in a replaceable cartridge within the razor handle. 
     In yet a further aspect, the invention features a holder for a wet shaving razor including a body configured to receive the razor, and electrical contacts positioned on the body to engage electrical contacts of the razor and deliver power from a power source to the razor. 
     The invention also features razors configured to allow the handle to be heated using a resistive element and phase change material. 
     The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic front view of a razor, with the handle housing shown as transparent.  FIG. 1A  is an enlarged axial cross-sectional view of a portion of the handle of the razor shown in  FIG. 1 , showing components of the handle housing that are not shown in  FIG. 1 , including heating elements that extend along the length of the handle. The plunger/spring assembly shown in  FIG. 1  is omitted in this view.  FIG. 1B  is an enlarged radial cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the handle in which the heating element is helically wound. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic perspective view of a holder for the razor of  FIG. 1 , capable of delivering power to the razor to heat the handle. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged axial cross-sectional view of an alternative handle design for the razor of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a razor  10  includes a handle  12  and a blade unit  14  mounted on the handle. The blade unit may be a replaceable cartridge, detachably mounted on the handle, or may extend integrally from the handle if the razor is disposable. 
     The blade unit includes a plurality of blades  16 , a guard  18 , a pair of clips  20  to secure the blades, and a cap  22 , as is well known. The blade unit also includes an orifice  24 , through which a component may be dispensed. The orifice  24  is in fluid communication with the handle  12  via a conduit  25 . 
     The handle  12  defines a chamber  26 , which contains a cylindrical plug  28  of a meltable material, e.g., a soap. The material is melted by heat supplied to the handle from an external power source, as will be discussed below. The cylindrical plug  28  is biased against the top of chamber  26  by a spring  30  that presses against a plunger  32  on which the plug rests, forcing the warm, melted material out through the conduit  25  and orifice  24 . In some implementations, the razor is configured to be disposable once the material of plug  28  is exhausted. In other implementations, the razor is configured to be recharged with more material, for example by replacing plug  28 , e.g., by removing the spring and a cap (not shown) at the end of the handle and inserting a new plug. The holder or organizer for the razor may be configured to hold a supply of replacement cartridges and/or plugs. 
     The handle also includes contacts (not shown) positioned to engage corresponding contacts on a holder  100  (shown in  FIG. 2  and discussed below) to allow current to be delivered to the handle from an external source. The contacts may be positioned anywhere along the handle, and may be adjacent to each other or spaced from each other, e.g., at opposite ends of the handle. The external source may be, for example, batteries disposed within the holder (not shown) or AC power delivered to the holder through a power cord (not shown). 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the handle includes a heating element, e.g., a resistive element, that receives current from the power source and, due to its relatively high resistance, heats the handle. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A , the heating elements  36  extend along the length of the handle within the thermally insulative housing  38  of the handle. In an alternate embodiment, shown in  FIG. 1B , the heating element  36 ′ is helically wound around the plug  28 . In both embodiments, the heating element is embedded in a phase change material  40  within a tubular chamber defined by the housing  38 . Phase change materials store latent heat when melted, and release it during recrystallization. The phase change material in the handle is a solid at room temperature, and can be easily melted, “thermally charging” the razor. (The phase change material is enclosed in the tubular chamber and thus will not flow out when melted.) As the melted phase change material recrystallizes it will release heat in a controlled manner, at a specific temperature (the melting point of the phase change material) melting the material of plug  28  in a controlled manner. Generally, the temperature of the phase change material will not exceed the melting temperature of the material for any significant period of time (i.e., within a few seconds), even if the heating element reaches a higher temperature. Thus the temperature of the melted material of plug  28  will not exceed the melting point of the phase change material until all of the phase change material has melted. Therefore, it is unlikely that the dispensed material will become uncomfortably hot. Moreover, the phase change material distributes the heat provided by the heating element uniformly around the plug  28 , and holds the heat for a period of time after current ceases to be delivered to the heating element. 
     The phase change material may include a paraffin, a low melting salt, a low melting salt containing water of crystallization, a low melting eutectic mixture of organic or inorganic compounds, a low melting metal or alloy, a micro-encapsulated phase change material, or blends of the above materials. The phase change material may include an alkyl carboxylic acid. The phase change material may be selected from the group consisting of undecanoic acid, decanoic acid, nonadecane, eicosane, and tridecanoic acid. In some implementations, the razor includes a plurality of phase change materials, e.g., phase change materials having different recrystallization/nucleation rates. Razors including phase change materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,868,610, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     When the razor described above is placed in the holder  100 , contacts  34  of the razor engage contacts  102  of the holder. Current is then delivered from the power source to the heating element  36 , heating the phase change material and melting a portion of the plug  28 . It is generally preferred that flow to the orifice  24  be closed off during heating and prior to shaving, so that the material of plug  28  does not escape through the orifice onto the holder. For example, if the razor includes a removable cartridge that includes a blade unit pivotally attached to a connecting part, flow may be inhibited by the flow path including a pair of holes in the blade unit and connecting part that are misaligned when the razor is in the holder  100  but align with each other when the razor is in use. Flow may be inhibited by any other desired means, e.g., the razor may include a valve that is constructed to be closed when the razor is in place on the holder and to open when the razor is in use, or the holder may include a plug or other means of sealing the orifice  24 . 
     While the razor is being thermally charged, the user can prepare for shaving by cleansing and then applying a shave preparation. When the razor has been sufficiently thermally charged, this will be indicated to the user. For example, the razor may “pop-up” out of the holder. This may be accomplished by any suitable means, e.g., an electrical solenoid or a biased spring with a release lever, configured so that when the razor is ready the electronics signal the lever to open and the bias spring acts on the handle. Alternatively, or in addition, a light may illuminate or an audible indication may be provided, such as a buzzing or a chime. Any other desired indicator may be used. If desired, the indicator may be timed to go off just before the material is sufficiently softened so that it will exude out of orifice  24 , obviating the need for a valve or seal to inhibit flow of material onto the holder. 
     In some implementations, the indicator may be an element that changes color when the razor reaches the desired temperature. In this case, the indicator may include a thermochromic material, e.g., a strip positioned on the razor, or an alphanumeric indicia that appears when the razor is thermally charged. 
     In an alternative embodiment, shown in  FIG. 3 , the handle includes a single resistive element  42  that extends through the material to be melted. Positioning the resistive element in the material to be melted allows the material to be melted more quickly. Part of the heat would be transmitted to the surrounding phase change material, which would then melt and act as an insulating blanket due to the latent heat retained by the phase change material. The resistive element and the material to be melted may be supplied as an integral, replaceable unit, e.g., a plug of material as described above. 
     A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     For example, in some cases the razor is configured so that nothing is dispensed from the cartridge. In these implementations, the handle is heated to provide a warm, comfortable feeling to the user&#39;s hand during shaving. The cartridge is generally not heated. In such razors, the handle is generally configured as discussed above, except that conduit  25  is omitted and instead the handle is a sealed unit. The meltable material in these implementations may be any material having the desired thermal characteristics, and need not be skin-friendly. 
     In implementations in which a material is dispensed during shaving, the material need not be solid prior to heating. If desired, the material may be a lotion, gel, or other liquid or semi-solid. In such cases, the orifice through which the material is dispensed may include a valve, e.g., a one-way valve such as a slit valve. In this case, the user may control dispensing, for example by actuating a spring-biased plunger that will not apply pressure to the material to be dispensed until actuated by the user. For example, the user may press a button on the handle, causing pressure to be applied to the material within the razor, forcing open the one-way valve sealing the orifice  24 . If desired, the razor may be constructed to dispense more than one material, e.g., through co-axial passageways, in which case a suitable multi-lumen valve is described in as described in U.S. Ser. No. 11/114,987, titled “Valves for Personal Care Devices” and filed on Apr. 26, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     While a simple spring and plunger mechanism has been shown herein and described above, other means can be used to apply pressure to the heated material within the razor and force it out of the orifice  24 . For example, by using a squeeze bulb or by turning a knob attached to a plunger (a technique used to dispense stick deodorants). 
     Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.