Variable cutting length hair clipping system

Abstract

A hair clipping device including a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing including a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement driving said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit adjusting the position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in a first direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and a comb attachment releasably attached to the hair clipping device; wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the position of the comb attachment with respect to said cutting assembly in a second direction substantially perpendicular to said surface of the stationary blade.

Claims

1. A hair clipping system with a hair clipping device that comprises: a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing and comprising a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the stationary blade is fixedly mounted to the housing and the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade and resiliently biased against said surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement configured to drive said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit configured to adjust a position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in a first adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and a comb attachment with a plurality of comb teeth that can be releasably attached to the hair clipping device on a side of the stationary blade facing away from said surface of said stationary blade to create an adjustable gap between the comb teeth and said cutting assembly, that are adapted to at least partly surround the cutting assembly, and the moveable blade, the comb attachment being a separate part from the stationary blade; wherein the adjustment unit is further configured to adjust a position of the comb attachment with respect to said cutting assembly in a second adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said surface of the stationary blade when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device, wherein the comb attachment comprises a blocking element that is adapted to block the adjustment of the position of the moveable blade by the adjustment unit and to push the moveable blade to a predefined position along the first adjustment direction in response to the comb attachment being attached to the hair clipping device.

2. The hair clipping system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit comprises a releasable connection with the moveable blade, wherein the adjustment unit is configured to adjust the position of the moveable blade in the first adjustment direction through the releasable connection, which releasable connection is mechanically released by the blocking element of the comb attachment, thereby blocking the adjustment of the position of the moveable blade by the adjustment unit when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device.

3. A hair clipping system with a hair clipping device that comprises: a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing and comprising a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the stationary blade is fixedly mounted to the housing and the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade and resiliently biased against said surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement configured to drive said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit configured to adjust a position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in a first adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and a comb attachment with a plurality of comb teeth that can be releasably attached to the hair clipping device on a side of the stationary blade facing away from said surface of said stationary blade to create an adjustable gap between the comb teeth and said cutting assembly, that are adapted to at least partly surround the cutting assembly, and the moveable blade, the comb attachment being a separate part from the stationary blade; wherein the adjustment unit is further configured to adjust a position of the comb attachment with respect to said cutting assembly in a second adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said surface of the stationary blade when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device, wherein the adjustment unit comprises an adjustor handle that is arranged one of on and within the housing of the clipping device, which adjustor handle is rotatable around its central axis, wherein a rotational movement of the adjustor handle causes a movement of a slider to which the adjustor handle is connected, wherein the slider is linked to the moveable blade so as to activate a movement of the moveable blade in the first adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the adjustor handle, and wherein the slider is releasably connected to the comb attachment activating a movement of the comb attachment in the second adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the adjustor handle when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device.

4. The hair clipping system according to claim 3, wherein said adjustment unit comprises two independent adjustment elements, a first adjustment element configured to adjust the position of the moveable blade in said first adjustment direction, and a second adjustment element configured to adjust the position of said comb attachment in said second adjustment direction when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device.

5. A hair clipping system with a hair clipping device that comprises: a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing and comprising a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the stationary blade is fixedly mounted to the housing and the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade and resiliently biased against said surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement configured to drive said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit configured to adjust a position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in a first adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and a comb attachment with a plurality of comb teeth that can be releasably attached to the hair clipping device on a side of the stationary blade facing away from said surface of said stationary blade to create an adjustable gap between the comb teeth and said cutting assembly, that are adapted to at least partly surround the cutting assembly, and the moveable blade, the comb attachment being a separate part from the stationary blade; wherein the adjustment unit is further configured to adjust a position of the comb attachment with respect to said cutting assembly in a second adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said surface of the stationary blade when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device, wherein the adjustment unit comprises two independent adjustor handles that are arranged one of on and within the housing of the clipping device, which adjustor handles are rotatable around their common central axis, wherein a rotational movement of the first adjustor handle causes a movement of a first slider to which it is connected, wherein the first slider is linked to the moveable blade so as to activate a translational movement of the moveable blade in the first adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the first adjustor handle, and wherein a rotational movement of the second adjustor handle causes a movement of a second slider to which it is connected, wherein the second slider is connected to the comb attachment activating a movement of the comb attachment in the second adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the second adjustor handle when the comb attachment is attached to the clipping device.

6. A hair clipping system with a hair clipping device that comprises: a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing and comprising a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the stationary blade is fixedly mounted to the housing and the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade and resiliently biased against said surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement configured to drive said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit configured to adjust a position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in a first adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and a comb attachment with a plurality of comb teeth that can be releasably attached to the hair clipping device on a side of the stationary blade facing away from said surface of said stationary blade to create an adjustable gap between the comb teeth and said cutting assembly, that are adapted to at least partly surround the cutting assembly, and the moveable blade, the comb attachment being a separate part from the stationary blade; wherein the adjustment unit is further configured to adjust a position of the comb attachment with respect to said cutting assembly in a second adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said surface of the stationary blade when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device, wherein said adjustment unit comprises two independent adjustment elements, a first adjustment element configured to adjust the position of the moveable blade in said first adjustment direction, and a second adjustment element configured to adjust the position of said comb attachment in said second adjustment direction when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device, wherein said two independent adjustment elements are connected to a single adjustor handle, wherein activating the adjustor handle causes a movement of the first adjustment element which is linked to the moveable blade so as to activate a movement of the moveable blade in the first adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the adjustor handle, and wherein activating the adjustor handle causes a movement of the second adjustment element which is linked to the comb attachment so as to activate a movement of the comb attachment in the second adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the adjustor handle when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device.

7. The hair clipping system according to claim 3, wherein the adjustor handle is adapted to be rotatable in a stepwise manner to enable a stepwise adjustment of the position of the moveable blade and/or the comb attachment.

8. The hair clipping system according to claim 3, wherein said adjustment unit further comprises a carriage element arranged on the stationary blade which is releasably connected to the slider and linked to the moveable blade, wherein a movement of the slider causes a movement of the carriage element which causes a movement of the moveable blade in said first adjustment direction.

9. The hair clipping system according to claim 8, wherein said carriage element is fixated on the stationary blade and is tiltable about its main axis that is substantially parallel to the toothed edge, wherein a movement of the slider causes the carriage element to tilt about its main axis, thereby causing a movement of the moveable blade in said first adjustment direction.

10. The hair clipping system according to claim 8, wherein said carriage element is guided in a guidance on the stationary blade to be moveable in the first adjustment direction, wherein the carriage element comprises an inclined surface which is resiliently biased against a corresponding inclined surface of the slider defining said releasable connection, so that a movement of the slider is translated into a translational movement of the carriage element in the first adjustment direction.

11. The hair clipping system according to claim 10, wherein said guidance comprises an end stop element blocking the translational movement, so that the distance between the toothed edge and the front edge may not become smaller than a predefined distance.

12. The hair clipping system according to claim 8, wherein said carriage element is connected to the moveable blade via a spring element pressing the moveable blade against said surface of the stationary blade, and wherein said spring element is adapted to press the carriage element towards the slider to maintain said releasable connection.

13. A hair clipping device for a hair clipping system, which hair clipping device comprises: a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing and comprising a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the stationary blade is fixedly mounted to the housing and the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade and resiliently biased against said surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement configured to drive said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit configured to adjust a position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in a first adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and a holding fixture configured to releasably attach an additional attachment comprising a comb attachment, the comb attachment being a separate part from the stationary blade, wherein the adjustment unit is further configured to adjust a position of said attachment with respect to said cutting assembly in a second adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said surface of the stationary blade when the attachment is attached to the hair clipping device, wherein the adjustment unit comprises an adjustor handle that is arranged one of on and within the housing of the clipping device, which adjustor handle is rotatable around its central axis, wherein a rotational movement of the adjustor handle causes a movement of a slider to which the adjustor handle is connected, wherein the slider is linked to the moveable blade so as to activate a movement of the moveable blade in the first adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the adjustor handle, and wherein the slider is releasably connected to the comb attachment activating a movement of the comb attachment in the second adjustment direction in response to the rotational movement of the adjustor handle when the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device.

14. A hair clipping system, with a hair clipping device that comprises: a housing; a cutting assembly arranged on one end of said housing and comprising a stationary blade with a front edge and a moveable blade with a toothed edge arranged parallel to said front edge of the stationary blade, wherein the stationary blade is fixedly mounted to the housing and the moveable blade is displaceably mounted on a surface of the stationary blade and resiliently biased against said surface of the stationary blade; a drive arrangement configured to drive said moveable blade in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction substantially parallel to the front edge of the stationary blade; an adjustment unit configured to adjust a position of the moveable blade with respect to the stationary blade in an adjustment direction substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction; and with an additional attachment that can be releasably attached to the hair clipping device on a side of the stationary blade facing away from said surface of said stationary blade, the additional attachment being a separate part from the stationary blade; wherein said attachment comprises a blocking element that is adapted to block the adjustment of the position of the moveable blade by the adjustment unit and to push the moveable blade to a predefined position with respect to the stationary blade in the first adjustment direction, when said attachment is attached to the hair clipping device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. In the following drawings

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates the general design of a hair clipping systems according to the present invention in its entirety in a sectional view;

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a first embodiment of the hair clipping system according to the present invention without comb attachment;

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 with comb attachment;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the hair clipping system according to the present invention with comb attachment in a first position;

(6) FIG. 5 illustrates the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 with comb attachment in a second position;

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates a third embodiment of the hair clipping system according to the present invention without comb attachment;

(8) FIG. 7 illustrates the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6 with comb attachment;

(9) FIG. 8 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the hair clipping system according to the present invention without comb attachment;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a perspective view illustrating the parts of the hair clipping system according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 8;

(11) FIG. 10 schematically illustrates the principle of adjusting the movable blade of the hair clipping system according to the first and third embodiment;

(12) FIG. 11 schematically illustrates the principle of adjusting the movable blade of the hair clipping system according to the second embodiment;

(13) FIG. 12 schematically illustrates the principle of adjusting the movable blade of the hair clipping system according to the fourth embodiment;

(14) FIG. 13 shows an enlarged view of FIG. 12; and

(15) FIGS. 14 A-D illustrate the adjustment of the movable blade and the comb attachment in different positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(16) FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the principle design of a hair clipping system according to the present invention, which is in its entirety denoted with reference numeral 100. The hair clipping system 100 comprises a hair clipping device 10 and a comb attachment 12 that can be attached to a front or rear end 14 of the clipping device 10. The clipping device 10 comprises a housing 16 which connects all parts together and also serves as a skeleton for a cutting assembly 18. The housing 16 has an elongated body, wherein the cutting assembly 18 is realizably fixed to the front end 14, and which comprises a handle 20 at its rear end 22.

(17) The outer surface of the elongated housing 16 is tapered outwardly from the rear end 22 to the front end 14 and has a slightly bent development to provide a more ergonomic holding position and to improve the esthetic appearance of the clipping device 10. It is to be noted that also other housing arrangements and designs are envisaged without leaving the scope of the invention.

(18) An operating button (for simplicity reasons not shown) is provided on the housing 16 to operate the device 10, as will be explained hereinafter.

(19) The cutting blade assembly 18 is removably mounted on the front end 14 of the housing 16. Said cutting assembly 18 may thus easily be removed which increases the clean-ability of the cutting assembly 18 and thus improves the user friendliness. The cutting assembly 18 includes a stationary blade 24 and a movable blade 26. The movable blade 26 is displaceably mounted on an upper surface 28 of the stationary blade 24 which upper surface 28 faces substantially towards the inner side of the housing 16. A driving arrangement 30 including a motor (shown in FIG. 9) is adapted to drive the movable blade 18 in an oscillatory movement in a transverse direction 32 parallel to the front edge 34 of the stationary blade 24. A driving bridge 40 is used as a coupling element coupling the motor to the movable blade 26 and translating the motor movement to a translational/reciprocal movement in transverse direction 32.

(20) The movable blade 26 comprises a toothed edge 36 with an array of teeth that is arranged substantially parallel to the front edge 34 of the stationary blade 24. During operation hair cutting is performed due to the interaction of the stationary blade 24 and the movable blade 26 that reciprocates in the transverse direction 32 as this is known from other conventional hair clipping devices.

(21) The stationary blade 24 is usually designed to be thicker than the movable blade 26. Said stationary blade 24 is also denoted as guard 24. Its front edge 34 may either be designed as a sharp continuous edge or, similar as the movable blade 26, as a toothed edge with an array of cutting teeth. In order to receive a good cutting performance the movable blade 26 is actively pressed to the upper surface 28 of the stationary blade 24 to receive a so-called teeth pressure. A spring 38 is usually used to supply said teeth pressure by resiliently biasing the movable blade 26 against the upper surface 28 of the stationary blade 24.

(22) The already mentioned comb attachment 12 is releasably attachable to the front end 14 of the housing 16. It can be fixed to the hair clipping device 10 via a comb interface that is usually realized by a simple holding fixture (not visible). The comb attachment 12 comprises a plurality of comb teeth 12′ (exemplarily shown in FIGS. 14 C, D) that are adapted to at least partly surround the cutting assembly 18. The comb teeth 12′ serve as spacers defining a gap between themselves and the cutting edge 36 of the movable blade 26.

(23) The comb element 12 in other words spaces the cutting elements 24, 26 away from the surface of the hairy skin from which the hairs extend, to increase the length of the hair cut. At this point it shall be made clear that the term “hair cut length” denotes the length of the hairs that remain on the trimmed skin and not the length of the hair parts that are cut away. Further, it is to be noted that the comb attachment 12 can be of any design as long as it is mechanically attachable to the hair clipping device 10. The term “hair clipping system 100” includes the hair clipping device 10 and the comb attachment 12 (attached to the hair clipper 10 or not), while the hair clipping device 10 denotes the hair clipper itself without the comb attachment 12.

(24) The hair clipping device 10 may also be used without the comb attachment 12, so that the cutting blade assembly 18 is exposed. This working mode especially allows for precise trimming of hair and leads to shorter haircut lengths, which may be particularly used for outer contours of the hairline or beard.

(25) One of the main elements of the present invention relates to the special adjustment system for adjusting the position of the movable blade 26 and/or the position of the comb attachment 12. This special adjustment system is realized by an adjustment unit which is in its entirety denoted by reference numeral 42. The adjustment unit 42 comprises an adjustor handle 44, an adjustment element 46, also denoted as slider, a carriage element 48 and the spring 38.

(26) The adjustment unit is on the one hand adapted to adjust the position of the movable blade 26 with respect to the stationary blade 24 in a first adjustment direction 50 (see FIGS. 10 to 12), which first adjustment direction 50 is substantially perpendicular to said transverse direction 32. On the other hand, the adjustment unit 42 is adapted to adjust the position of the comb attachment 12 with respect to the cutting assembly 18 in a second adjustment direction 52 if the comb attachment 12 is attached to the hair clipping device 10 (see FIGS. 1, 3 and 5). Said second adjustment direction 52 is arranged substantially perpendicular to the upper surface 28 of the stationary blade 24, so that the comb attachment may be moved away from the cutting assembly 18 in a substantially perpendicular direction thereto, thereby increasing the length of the hair cut.

(27) In other words, the adjustment unit 42 may be used to adapt the position of the movable cutting blade 26 as well as to position the comb attachment 12 in corresponding, different adjustment directions 50, 52. Preferably, said first adjustment direction 50 is perpendicular to said transverse direction 32, and said second adjustment direction 52 is perpendicular to said upper surface 28 of the stationary blade 24. The working principle of said adjustment unit 42 will be explained in detail in the following.

(28) According to the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 the adjustment unit 42 comprises an adjustor handle 44 which is rotatable around its central axis 54 in a rotation direction 56. Said central axis 54 is preferably aligned substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis 58 of the housing 16. It is to be noted that, in case the housing 16 is bent in the shown manner the longitudinal axis 58 thus denotes the middle axis of the housing 16 at the position where the adjustor handle 44 is arranged. The adjustor handle 44 can, of course, be arranged at variable positions within or on the housing 16. It could, for example, also be arranged at the very rear end 22 of the housing 16. Due to its design as a rotationally symmetric wheel the adjustor handle 44 is in practice also denoted as zoom wheel 44.

(29) As it can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3 the slider 46 is mechanically coupled to the zoom wheel 44. This connection can, for example, be realized by a coupling element 60 that protrudes from the elongated arm 62 of the slider 46, which coupling element 60 is mechanically guided in a corresponding guidance within the inner surface of the zoom wheel 44. Said guidance 64 may, in a top view, be inclined with respect to the central axis 54, i.e. spirally or helically developing within the inner surface 66 of the hollow zoom wheel 44.

(30) In this way a rotational movement about the central axis 54 of the adjustor handle/zoom wheel 44 causes a movement of the slider 46 in a slider direction 68, i.e. along the longitudinal direction of the elongated arm 62 of the slider 46. In other words, the zoom wheel 44 translates a rotational movement (in rotation direction 56) into an effectively translational movement of the slider 46 (in slider direction 68). It is to be noted that the term “effectively” is used to denote that the slider 46 is effectively moved translationally in slider direction 68, wherein it is at the same time also rotated together with the zoom wheel 44 in rotation direction 56.

(31) The described movement of the slider 46 in turn causes a movement of the movable blade 26 in the first adjustment direction 50 if the comb attachment 12 is not attached to the clipping device 10 as shown in FIG. 2. The translation of the slider movement in slider direction 68 to the movement of the movable blade 26 along the first adjustment direction 50 is realized by the carriage element 48 which is on one side connected to the slider 46 and on another side connected to the movable blade 26 via the already described spring 38.

(32) According to the first shown embodiment (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) the carriage element 48 is thereto tiltably fixed on the stationary blade/guard 28 with a fixation 70. The spring 38, on the one hand, presses the movable blade 26 against the upper surface 28 of the guard 24 and, on the other hand, presses the tiltable carriage element 48 on an inclined surface 72 of the slider 46. It is to be noted that the spring 38 does not necessarily need to be directly connected to the movable blade 26, but can also be connected to the driving bridge 40. The latter indirect connection is preferred in practice.

(33) As schematically shown in FIG. 10 the movement of the slider 46, due to the inclined surface 72, causes the carriage element 48 to tilt about its fixation point 70 that falls together with its tilt or main axis. The tilt of the carriage element 48 again forces the movable blade 26 in the first adjustment direction 50 towards the front edge 34 of the guard 24 thereby decreasing the resulting hair cut length. The proposed adjustment thus allows a user to easily adjust the position of the movable blade 26 in the first adjustment direction 50.

(34) The therewith adjusted distance between the toothed edge 36 of the movable cutting blade 26 and the front edge 34 of the stationary cutting blade 24 is also denoted as tip-to-tip adjustment or tip-to-tip distance, respectively. This technical term abbreviates the distance of the tip portion of the movable blade 26 to the tip portion of the stationary blade or guard 24.

(35) In a practical appliance of the present invention said tip-to-tip distance is preferably adjustable between 0.3 mm and 2 mm, with a step size of 0.3 mm. Of course, also other step sizes are technically possible, as well as a continuous, stepless adjustment. To ease the usage for the user a corresponding distance scale (not shown) may be visibly marked on the outer body of the housing 16 next to the zoom wheel 44.

(36) As already explained above, the same adjustment unit 42 can also be used to adjust the position of the comb attachment 12 if the comb attachment is attached to the hair clipping device 10 as shown in FIG. 3. The comb attachment 12 may thereto connect to the slider 46 when being attached to the front end 14 of the hair clipper 10. Such a connection is, for example, realized by a further coupling element 74 that automatically clips into a corresponding groove 76 within the comb attachment 12 when attaching the comb attachment 12 to the hair clipping device 10. In this way the above-described rotational movement of the zoom wheel 44 causes a movement of the slider 46 in the above-mentioned slider direction 68 which in turn causes a movement of the comb attachment 12 in the second adjustment direction 52. Thereby, the user may easily adjust the hair cut length using the same zoom wheel 44 as before. A rotation in rotation direction 56 then forces the comb attachment to move away from the blade assembly 18, thereby increasing the realized hair cut length.

(37) When studying FIG. 3 in detail it can be seen that the comb attachment 12 additionally comprises a so-called blocking element 78 that protrudes towards the inner side of the housing 16 and decouples the carriage element 48 from the slider 46, i.e. releasing the connection between the inclined surface 72 of the slider 46 and the carriage element 48. The blocking element 78 may be realized in many ways. The easiest way of realization is to design the blocking element as a protruding housing part of the comb attachment 12 that is adapted to push the carriage element 48 away from the slider 46 to thereby block the movable blade adjustment. However, also more complicated arrangements are generally conceivable. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the blocking element 78 does not necessarily need to be arranged on the comb attachment 12. As schematically shown in FIG. 12, a blocking element 78′ may in the same way also be a part of the carriage element 48.

(38) Said blocking element 78 does, according to the described first embodiment (FIGS. 2 and 3), not only decouple the connection between the slider 46 and the carriage element 48, but also pushes the movable blade 26 to a predefined position with respect to the guard/stationary blade 24. The therewith enabled movement of the movable blade 26 leads to the following advantages.

(39) Attaching the comb attachment 12 automatically increases the difficulty to cut hair. In other words, the hairs will have difficulties to enter further into the system reaching the cutting assembly 18 due to obstacles, such as the comb teeth and the distance to be traveled to the cutting assembly 18. Said difficulty increases when increasing the desired hair cut length, i.e. increasing the distance of the comb teeth to the cutting assembly 18. If said distance to travel to the cutting assembly 18 is too large, no cutting will occur, or in the best case a bad cutting performance is reached.

(40) However, this is overcome by mechanically and automatically releasing the connection of the adjustment unit 42 to the movable cutting blade 26 and pushing the movable cutting blade 26 to the predefined preferred position as mentioned above. Said predefined position of the movable cutting blade 26 is a position where the toothed edge 36 of the movable cutting blade 26 is, seen in the first adjustment direction 50, in its foremost position with respect to the front edge 34 of the guard 24. In other words, the predefined preferred position is a position in which the tip-to-tip distance is as small as possible. According to the present invention it is in this case preferred to have a tip-to-tip distance of less than 0.6 mm, more preferably of 0.3 mm, or even less.

(41) Since the above-mentioned spring 38 resiliently presses the carriage element 48 against the inclined surface 72 of the slider 46, the spring 38 will force the carriage element 48 to flip back against the inclined surface 72 when the comb attachment 12 is released from the clipping device 10 and the blocking element 78 does no longer push the carriage element 48 to its foremost position. This guarantees that the movable cutting blade 26 always flips back to the position that is set by the zoom wheel 44 when the comb attachment 12 is released.

(42) In summary, the above-described arrangement allows for the best haircutting performance when using the comb attachment 12 independent of its position, since the tip-to-tip is always kept as small as possible. A user may thus use the clipping device 10 in connection with the comb attachment 12 to variably adjust for hair cutting lengths between, for example, 2.5 mm and 10 mm without loosing cutting performance. Similarly as the position adjustment of the movable cutting blade 26 the adjustment of the comb attachment 12 may also either be a stepless or a stepwise adjustment. In practice, step sizes of 0.3 or 0.5 mm seem to be reasonable. Also similar as explained above a second length scale may be marked on the housing 16 for giving the user a feedback of the currently adjusted hair cut length with the comb 12.

(43) By comparing FIGS. 2 and 3 it can be seen that a rotation of the zoom wheel 44 in rotation direction 56, according to this embodiment, leads to different adjustment situations. While rotating the zoom wheel 44 in rotation direction 56 leads to a smaller tip-to-tip distance, i.e. to a shorter haircut (if no comb 12 is attached), a rotation in the same direction 56 leads to a larger distance of the comb teeth to the cutting blade assembly 18, i.e. to a longer hair cut (if the comb 12 is attached). This might confuse the user, since the zoom wheel 44 has once to be moved in one direction to decrease the hair cut length when no comb 12 is attached, while the other time the user has to move the zoom wheel 44 in the other, opposite direction to decrease the haircut length if a comb 12 is attached.

(44) This is not the case in the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. While all other parts of the clipping device 10 basically remain the same as in the first embodiment, the slider 46 and its arrangement with respect to the carriage element 48 is slightly modified. The inclined surface 72′ is according to the second embodiment inversely inclined and arranged on the other side of the carriage element 48. The spring 38 in this case pushes the carriage element 48 against the inclined surface 72′ from the opposite direction compared to the first embodiment (compared to FIGS. 2 and 3). In other words, the spring force of the spring 38 now pulls the carriage element 48 against the inclined surface 72′, whereas it pushes the carriage element 48 against the inclined surface 72 in the first embodiment.

(45) This modification leads to the situation that a turning of the zoom wheel 44 in rotation direction 56 increases the tip-to-tip distance and at the same time also increases the distance of the comb attachment 12 to the blade assembly 18, both leading to an increase of the hair cut length. A confusion of the user as mentioned above thus no longer occurs.

(46) However, this solution does not allow the comb attachment 12 or the carriage element 46 to comprise a blocking element 78 as presented with respect to the first embodiment. Attaching the comb 12 to the clipping device 10 does therefore not release the connection of the adjustment unit 42 to the movable cutting blade 24 and push the movable cutting blade 24 to its preferred position (smallest tip-to-tip distance). The adjustment principle of the so-called pull-back system of the second embodiment is schematically illustrated in detail in FIG. 11.

(47) The above-mentioned technical principles and their accompanying advantages are combined and fulfilled within the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Therein the adjustment unit 42 comprises two independent adjustment elements 46′, 46″ which in the following will be referred to as blade slider 46′ and comb slider 46″. The first adjustment element 46′, the blade slider, is adapted for adjusting the position of the movable blade 26 in the first adjustment direction 50 in the same way as explained with reference to the first embodiment (FIGS. 2, 3). The second adjustment element 46″, comb slider, is adapted to adjust the position of the comb attachment 12 via the coupling element 74 and the corresponding groove 76 within the comb attachment 12.

(48) The adjustor handle 44 is also modified and comprises two independent adjustor handles 44′, 44″ which are in the following also denoted as zoom wheels 44′, 44″. The blade zoom wheel 44′ is connected to the movable cutting blade 26 via the blade slider 46′ and the comb zoom wheel 44″ is connected to the comb attachment 12 via the comb slider 46″. The guidances 64′, 64″ within the inner surface 66 of the zoom wheels 44′, 44″ again have a spiral or helical development along the inner surface 66. However, the guidances 64′, 64″ are inclined in opposite directions, i.e. the helical development of the guidances 64′, 64″ are oppositely arranged to each other.

(49) The two described independent zoom wheel arrangements thus allow the user to rotate each zoom wheel 44′, 44″ in the same direction, wherein rotating the zoom wheels 44′, 44″ in rotation direction 56 in both cases lead to a larger cutting length, independent if the comb 12 is attached or not. A rotation in rotation direction 56 increases the tip-to-tip distance when using zoom wheel 44′ and no comb 12 is attached, and increases the distance of the comb teeth to the cutting blade assembly 18 in case the comb is attached to the hair clipping device. Providing the comb attachment 12 with the blocking element 78 also enables to decouple the movable cutting blade 26 from the adjustment unit 42, thereby blocking the cutting blade adjustment, if the comb 12 is attached.

(50) It is to be noted that the zoom wheel 44 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as two individual zoom wheels, but it could also be only a single zoom wheel 44 that is connected to the movable cutting blade 26 via a blade slider 46′ and to the comb attachment 12 via a comb slider 46″ (in case a comb is attached). The technical principle remains the same, i.e. by providing two guidances 64′, 64″ that are oppositely arranged to each other, so that rotating the zoom wheel 44 in rotation direction 56 in both cases (comb attached or not) leads to a larger cutting length, independent if the comb 12 is attached or not. Using only one zoom wheel furthermore includes the advantage that it makes the adjustment easier for the user.

(51) A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. While most of the other parts remain the same as explained before, the carriage element 48′ is according to the force embodiment slidely modified. In contrast to the first three embodiments mentioned before, the carriage element 48′ is no longer tiltably mounted on the guard 24. Instead, the carriage element 48′ is now slidable along the first adjustment direction 50. The carriage element 48′ is there to preferably guided in a guidance 80 on the stationary cutting blade/guard 24, which can be seen in detail in the drawing shown in FIG. 12. In order to translate the movement of the slider 46 into a translational movement of the carriage element 48′, the carriage element 48′ comprises at its rear end an inclined surface 82 which is resiliently biased against the already described inclined surface 72 of the slider 46. Instead of tilting the carriage element 48 the carriage element is in this way slidable within the guidance 80, and a movement in adjustment direction 50 is activated via the two mating inclined surfaces 72, 82.

(52) Through this connection the carriage element 48′ and the slider 46 are releasably connected with each other again. As it can be seen from FIG. 9 an additional spring 39 needs to be provided in order to bias the carriage element 48′ against the inclined surface 72 of the slider 46. The additional spring 39 is thereto arranged parallel to the first adjustment direction 50 so that its spring force is also effective in said direction 50.

(53) The reason why there is a need for an additional spring 39, is that the spring force of the first spring 38 is, according to this embodiment, only effective perpendicular to the upper surface 28 of the guard 24 (perpendicular to the first adjustment direction 50) in order to press the movable cutting blade 26 against the guard and provide the above-mentioned teeth pressure.

(54) Similar as in the first and third embodiment the adjustment of the movable cutting blade 26 may be decoupled if a comb 12 is attached to the hair clipping device 10. The blocking element 78 which decouples the connection between the slider 46 and the carriage element 48′ may either be arranged at a protruding housing part of the comb attachment (as explained according to the first and third embodiment) or arranged at the rear end of the carriage element 48′ (as this is schematically shown in FIG. 12). Therein, the similar blocking element is denoted with reference numeral 78′.

(55) As it can be further seen from FIG. 12 two independent sliders 46′, 46″ are used to adapt the position of the carriage element 48′ and the comb attachment 12. The technical principle and the accompanying advantages are the same as explained before with reference to the third embodiment. However, it has to be understood that also an integral slider 46 may be used in this embodiment which is adapted to position the movable cutting blade 26 as well as the comb attachment 12 (as explained above with reference to the first embodiment).

(56) FIG. 13 also corresponds to the fourth embodiment and shows an enlarged view of the front end of the cutting assembly 18 shown in FIG. 12. Therein, it can be seen that the guidance 80 also comprises an end stop element 82 that is designed as a simple vertical wall and which is adapted to block the translational movement of the carriage element 48′ at a predefined position. Preferably said predefined position defines the foremost position of the movable cutting blade, so that the end stop element 82 avoids that the distance d.sub.1 between the toothed edge 36 of the movable cutting blade 26 and the front edge 34 of the guard 24 becomes too small, e.g. smaller than 0.3 mm.

(57) FIG. 14 summarizes the technical principle of the present invention and shows the hair clipping device 10 in the different above-explained working positions with and without comb attachment 12. In FIG. 14A the movable cutting blade 26 is in its very back position which corresponds to the longest tip-to-tip setting, and depending on the specific design, results in a haircut length between 2 to 4 mm. In FIG. 14B the movable cutting blade 26 is in its foremost position, which corresponds to the shortest tip-to-tip setting, leading to a haircut length of around 0.3 mm. In FIGS. 14C and D the comb attachment 12 is attached to the hair clipping device 10 and the adjustment of the movable blade is overridden or decoupled, wherein the tip-to-tip setting is arranged to be the shortest, i.e. the movable cutting blade is automatically moved to its foremost position. While FIG. 14C shows the longest comb setting (largest distance between comb 12 and cutting assembly 18) leading to a haircut length of around 10 mm, FIG. 14D shows the shortest comb setting (shortest distance between comb 12 and cutting assembly 18) leading to a haircut length of around 2 to 5 mm (depending on the specific design).

(58) In summary the present invention provides a smart solution to adjust the tip-to-tip distance and the comb attachment of a trimming device simultaneously. On the one hand, the tip-to-tip system may be used to create different hair cut lengths by adapting the position of a movable cutting blade with respect to a stationary guard blade. In addition the presented solution also allows to adjust the position of a comb attachment with the same adjustment unit. Due to the specific technical design of the presented solution the movable cutting blade may be automatically moved to its foremost position as soon as a comb attachment is attached to the trimming device. This ensures the best cutting performance with respect to hair catching also in situations where a comb is attached to the hair trimmer. In these cases the presented system also allows to automatically decouple and block the adjustment unit of the movable cutting blade.

(59) While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

(60) In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

(61) Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.