BLADE UNIT FOR A WET RAZOR

Abstract

The invention relates to a blade unit (01) for a wet razor comprising a support frame (02), which has an inner face and an outer face oriented towards a shaving plane and in which a plurality of elongate blades (03) are arranged. The support frame (02) has two opposing side portions (07) which extend transversely with respect to the cutting edges (04) of the blades (03). A plurality of parallel supports (09) extend between the side portions (07), between which supports an open space (11) remains. Each of the blades (03) is mounted to the inner face of the head portion (12) of one of the supports (09) so that the cutting edge (04) lies in the open space (11). The invention also relates to a wet razor comprising a handle and a blade unit (01) fastened directly or indirectly thereto.

Claims

1. A blade unit for a wet razor comprising a support frame, which has an inner face and an outer face oriented towards a shaving plane and in which a plurality of elongate blades are arranged, which respectively have a cutting edge which extends transversely with respect to a shaving direction, wherein: the support frame has two opposing side portions, which extend transversely with respect to the cutting edges of the blades; a plurality of mutually parallel supports run between the side portions, between which an open space respectively remains and which supports each have a head portion and a thereto angled base portion; one of the blades is respectively mounted to the inside of the head portion of one of the supports, so that the cutting edge lies in the open space and extends in the direction of the outside; the open spaces respectively run starting at the side portions of the support frame in a limit stop portion at an angle to the cutting edge.

2. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein the support frame is formed in one piece from a base plate, which is preferably made of metal and has been subjected to one or more bending steps.

3. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein the two opposing side portions of the support frame are flat.

4. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein the cutting edges of the blades respectively come in contact with a respective cutting edge limit stop at their two ends in the associated limit stop portion, wherein the cutting edge limit stop rises into the interior of the blade unit at a portion of the support extending at an angle to the cutting edge.

5. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein a positioning recess is provided in each of the limit stop portions, in which a stopper of a mounting device can engage during the assembly of the blade unit.

6. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein the cutting edge located in the open space protrudes beyond the head portion of the support by a predetermined projection dimension.

7. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein characterized in that a slide strip recess is mounted in the support frame behind the blades in the shaving direction, in which recess a slide strip is mounted.

8. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein in the shaving direction, in front of the blades, a pretensioner recess, in which a skin pretensioning strip can be positioned, is fitted in the support frame.

9. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein in the shaving direction, at the rear end of the support frame, a trimmer blade recess is arranged, in which a trimmer blade is arranged.

10. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein the blades are welded to the respective head portion of the support, preferably, in each case, by a plurality of laser welding points.

11. The blade unit according to claim 1, wherein fastening elements are formed as one piece on the support frame and can be coupled to a handle and/or a housing unit.

12. The blade unit according to claim 11, wherein the fastening elements are formed as resilient tabs, hooks, detents.

13. A wet shaver comprising a handle and a blade unit directly or indirectly fastened thereto according to claim 1.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Further advantages and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, with reference to the drawing. Wherein:

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view from the rear of a first embodiment of a blade unit according to the invention;

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a perspective cross-sectional view of the blade unit according to FIG. 1, with a support frame;

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a top view of a base plate of the support frame before a bending operation;

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a detailed perspective view of a support with a cutting edge limit stop;

[0036] FIG. 5 shows a detailed perspective view of the support according to FIG. 4 with inserted blade;

[0037] FIG. 6 shows a side view of the support according to FIG. 5;

[0038] FIG. 7 shows a side cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the blade unit;

[0039] FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of a limit stop portion of a cutting edge in the blade unit according to FIG. 7;

[0040] FIG. 9 shows a side cross-sectional view of the blade unit according to FIG. 7 in a mounting device;

[0041] FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a wet shaver with the blade unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a blade unit 01 according to the invention in a rear perspective view. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of this unit. The blade unit 01 is conceived for a wet razor and is preferably configured as an exchangeable unit, so that at least one handle of the wet razor (not shown) can be used several times, whereas the blade unit is exchanged in case of wear as soon as its blades are blunted.

[0043] The blade unit 01 has a support frame 02, which has an inner face and an outer face facing a shaving plane. The views in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 look at the rear side of the blade unit 01, so that the inner face of the support frame 02 is visible. A plurality of elongate blades 03 are arranged in the support frame 02, which blades respectively have a cutting edge 04 which extends transversely with respect to a shaving direction. In the example shown, five blades 03 are used as main blades, so that one speaks of a 5-blade razer. In modified embodiments, fewer or also more blades can be arranged in the blade unit.

[0044] The support frame 02 has a base plate 06 which comprises two opposing side portions 07. In the illustrated embodiment, the side portions 07 have rearwardly angled side protection plates 08 that laterally shield off the interior of the blade unit 01. In modified embodiments, the side portions can be configured without the angled side plates. This results in increased flexibility of the base plate so that it can better adapt to uneven parts of the body.

[0045] A plurality of parallel supports 09 run between the side portions 07, with an open space 11 remaining between each of the parallel supports. Each support 09 comprises a head portion 12 and a base portion 13 angled towards the head portion. Each of the blades 03 is mounted to the inside of the head portion 12 of the associated support 09, so that the cutting edge 04 lies in the open space 11 between two adjacent supports 09 or alternatively, in the case of the foremost blade in the shaving direction, lies in the open space between its support and a blade guard 14, which extends in front of the foremost blade parallel to its cutting edge. The cutting edges 04 are oriented towards the outside of the support frame 02 so that they come into contact with the hairs to be cut during shaving. Preferably, the cutting edge 04 of the foremost blade is set back slightly inward relative to the blade guard 14 in order to avoid shaving injuries. The thereinafter following blades preferably rise stepwise in the so-called protrusion, which can also be a protrusion or exposure. Other arrangements, for example with changing protrusion dimensions, are also possible.

[0046] The rear side of the support frame 02 in the shaving direction is doubly angled inwards. In so doing, this forms a rear guard 16 which also serves to hold a slide strip 17. The slide strip 17 is thus located behind the last blade 03 in the shaving direction. The upper side of the slide strip 17 projects through a slide strip recess 18 (FIG. 3) in the base plate 06 to contact the skin during shaving.

[0047] The front side of the support frame 02 in the shaving direction has a pretensioner recess 19 in which a skin pretensioner strip (also referred to as a foam edge) can be positioned (not shown). In addition, a plurality of fastening elements 21 are formed as one piece in this front portion of the support frame 02, which can be coupled to a handle and/or housing unit (not shown) to bear the blade unit 01.

[0048] A trimmer blade recess 20 is provided at the rear end of the support frame 02 in the shaving direction, in which recess a trimmer blade (not shown) can be inserted if required. The cutting edge of the trimmer blade would then minimally protrude from the trimmer blade recess 20.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows a top view of the base plate 06 of the support frame 02 prior to a bending operation, which bending operation may comprise several bending steps. The base plate 06 is preferably made of metal, in particular stainless steel. It is evident that all the necessary recesses are made in the base plate 06 before bending, which recesses then form the open spaces 11, the slide strip recess 18 and the pretensioner recess 19. It is likewise clearly recognizable in this illustration that the open spaces 11, respectively starting at the side portions 07 of the support frame 02, run at an acute angle to the cutting edge located in the open space 11 in a respective limit stop portion 22. The axis of the open space between the adjacent supports 09 thus tilts in the limit stop portion, for example, by 45. In addition, a notch 23 is provided in each limit stop portion 22 parallel to the cutting edge 04 of the blade 03 to be inserted, the function of which notch will be explained below.

[0050] FIG. 4 shows a detailed perspective view of the support 09. During the bending process, the head portion 12 and the base portion 13 are angled relative to each other along a bending line 24 so that they, for example, form an angle of between 90 and 160. This bending serves primarily to increase the rigidity of the support 09 so that no bending occurs in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped support 09 during shaving. At the limit stop portion 22, a cutting edge limit stop 26 is bent out of the plane of the limit stop portion 22 along the notch 23 in the manner of a projection. The substantially triangular cutting edge limit stop 26 is located at a portion of the support 09 running at an acute angle to the cutting edge 04 and rises into the interior of the blade unit 01. The side edge of the cutting edge limit stop 26, which results from the notch 23, runs parallel with the cutting edge 04 of the blade 03 to be positioned there.

[0051] FIG. 5 shows a detailed perspective view of the support 09 with the blade 03 fastened to it. It can be seen that the end of the cutting edge 04 comes into contact with the cutting edge limit stop 26, whereby the position of the cutting edge 04 is precisely determined, independently of the transverse expansion of the blade 03, which can vary due to the manufacturing process. This ensures that the cutting edge 04 of each individual blade 03 is precisely at the desired height or alternatively at the desired distance from the shaving plane. The shaving plane can be regarded as the surface which is tangent to the blade guard 14 at the front in the shaving direction and the slide strip 17 at the rear in the shaving direction.

[0052] FIG. 6 shows a side view of the support 09 with the blade 03 fastened thereto. It is readily apparent that the blade 03 is fastened to the head portion 12 on the inside of the support 09. The projection or elevation of the cutting edge limit stop 26 corresponds approximately to the thickness of the blade 03.

[0053] FIG. 7 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the blade unit 01. FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of this embodiment, wherein the blades are not shown for reasons of clarity. In this case, too, a total of five blades 03 are respectively arranged on the inside of the head portion 12 of the associated support 09, so that the cutting edge 04 lies in the open space 11. In this embodiment, the notched cutting edge limit stop is missing. In order to nevertheless position the cutting edges of the five main blades precisely in the shaving plane or alternatively by the desired offset outside this plane, a positioning recess 27 is respectively provided in the base plate 06 of the support frame 02 in the area of the limit stop portion 22.

[0054] FIG. 9 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of a mounting device 28 with blade unit 01 fastened during the manufacturing process. The mounting device comprises a plurality of stops 29, which respectively engage in the positioning recess 27 and which the cutting edges of the individual blades come into contact with. Two position bollards 30, which engage in the unfilled pretensioner recess 19, ensure basic alignment of the support frame 02 on the mounting device 28.

[0055] FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a razor equipped with the blade unit 01 and a handle 31. It can be seen that the blade unit is mounted directly to the handle 31 of the razor by means of its fastening elements.