Shaving head and shaving head element with hair-receiving space

Abstract

A shaving head has a plurality of shaving elements, each including a base portion having a separate space for receiving cut-off hairs, a cutter member for cutting hair, a drive shaft, a pivot pin connected to the cutter member and detachably coupled to the drive shaft, and a cap with a plurality of openings for letting through hairs to be cut off by the cutter member. The cap is movable with respect to the base portion between a closed position in which the space is closed off and an open position in which cut off hairs can be removed from the space. A support member disposed between the cap and the base is movable between a retaining position in which the cutter member is retained in the cap and a release position in which the cutter member can be removed from the cap.

Claims

1. A shaving head comprising at least first and second shaving elements, each of said shaving elements including: a. a cap having a plurality of openings for receiving hairs to be cut off; b. a cutter member connected to a pivot pin and including a plurality of cutters arranged for cutting off hairs extending through the openings of the cap when said cutter member is rotated around an axis of said pivot pin; c. a base portion including a drive shaft for coupling to the pivot pin, the drive shaft arranged to rotatably drive the cutter member, the cap being pivotably connected to the base portion to enable movement of the cap to a closed position in which the pivot pin is coupled to the drive shaft and in which the cap retains cut off hairs within a hair-receiving space of the shaving element and to further enable movement of the cap to an open position in which the cutter member and cut-off hairs can be removed from the shaving element; and a support member disposed so as to be pivotably movable between the cap and the base portion, while remaining attached to the shaving head, and including a latch member for detachably latching the support member to the cap, said support member comprising an annular shaped element and an alignment device, the alignment device provided with a centering ring and three spokes extending from the centering ring towards the annular shaped element and away from a central axis of the support member, wherein a diameter of the annular shaped element is larger than a diameter of the centering ring, and wherein the three spokes are arranged in a conical orientation, said support member further being configured to retain the cutter member in the cap when in a latched position and to removably hold the cutter member in the shaving head when in an unlatched position; said support member having at least one opening positioned for facilitating passing of the cut-off hairs into the hair-receiving space; and said alignment device shaped for automatically positioning the pivot pin to align with the drive shaft when the support member is in the latched position and the cap is pivoted from the open position to the closed position, and wherein the alignment device of the support member is arranged to pre-align the pivot pin with respect to the drive shaft.

2. A shaving head according to claim 1, where the alignment device is receivable in a space in the base portion.

3. A shaving head according to claim 1 where the support member is pivotably coupled to the cap.

4. A shaving head according to claim 1 where the latch member comprises an end portion of the support member shaped for latching said support member to the cap.

5. A shaving head according to claim 1 where each of the cap and the support member is pivotably coupled to the base portion.

6. A shaving head according to claim 1 where coupling of the pivot pin to the drive shaft urges the cutter member free from contact with the support member.

7. A shaving head according to claim 1 where at least one of the pivot pin and the drive shaft extends through the centering ring of the support member when the cap is in the closed position.

8. A shaver including a shaving head, the shaving head comprising at least first and second shaving elements, each of said shaving elements including: a. a cap having a plurality of openings for receiving hairs to be cut off; b. a cutter member connected to a pivot pin and including a plurality of cutters arranged for cutting off hafts extending through the openings of the cap when said cutter member is rotated around an axis of said pivot pin; c. a base portion including a drive shaft for coupling to the pivot pin, the drive shaft arranged to rotatably drive the cutter member, the cap being pivotably connected to the base portion to enable movement of the cap to a closed position in which the pivot pin is coupled to the drive shaft and in which the cap retains cut off hairs within a hair-receiving space of the shaving element and to further enable movement of the cap to an open position in which the cutter member and cut-off hairs can be removed from the shaving element; and d. a support member disposed so as to be pivotably movable between the cap and the base portion, while remaining attached to the shaving head, and including a latch member for detachably latching the support member to the cap, said support member comprising an annular shaped element and an alignment device, the alignment device provided with a centering ring and three spokes extending from the centering ring towards the annular shaped element and away from a central axis of the support member, wherein a diameter of the annular shaped element is larger than a diameter of the centering ring, and wherein the three spokes are arranged in a conical orientation, said support member further being configured to retain the cutter member in the cap when in a latched position and to removably hold the cutter member in the shaving head when in an unlatched position; said support member having at least one opening positioned for facilitating passing of the cut-off hairs into the hair-receiving space; and said alignment device shaped for automatically positioning the pivot pin to align with the drive shaft when the support member is in the latched position and the cap is pivoted from the open position to the closed position, and wherein the alignment device of the support member is arranged to pre-align the pivot pin with respect to the drive shaft.

9. A shaver according to claim 8, where the alignment device is receivable in a space of the base portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary shaver in which the invention may be employed,

(3) FIG. 2 is a side view of a shaving head unit according to the invention, partly in cross section, with all the caps in their closed position,

(4) FIG. 3 is a side view of a part of the shaving head unit as shown in FIG. 2, with one cap in an opened position and its support device in its retaining position,

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of the shaving head unit as shown in FIG. 2, with the support device unlocked from the opened cap,

(6) FIGS. 5 and 6 are a side view and a perspective view of the shaving head unit as shown in FIG. 3, with the support device being released from the opened cap,

(7) FIG. 7 is a side view as shown in FIG. 4, with the cutter member being removed from the opened cap,

(8) FIG. 8 is a side view of the support device.

(9) Like parts are indicated by the same reference numbers in the Figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(10) FIG. 1 shows a shaver 1 according to the invention. The shaver 1 comprises a main body 2, which is suitable to be held by a user of the shaver. In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity, the main body 2 is only diagrammatically shown in view of the fact that within the scope of the present invention, the main body 2 may have any suitable design. The shaver 1 further comprises a shaving head unit 3, which is suitable to contact an area of skin having hairs to be shaved off and which can suitably be moved with respect to this area. The shaving head unit 3 is connected to the main body 2 through a central shaft member 4, wherein the connection of the shaving head unit 3 to the main body 2 may be detachable. Cross-sectional dimensions of the central shaft member 4 are considerably smaller than the cross-sectional dimensions of the shaving head unit 3, and the shaving head unit 3 is positioned at a certain distance from a top portion of an outer housing 5 of the body portion 2. Consequently, the connection between the main body 2 and the shaving head unit 3 has a slim appearance, wherein the shaving head unit 3 has an elevated position with respect to the body portion 2. Due to this, when a user performs a shaving action by using the shaver 1, he may have a clear side view of the shaving head unit 3.

(11) In FIG. 1, the shaver 1 is shown in a typical orientation, namely an orientation in which a side of the shaver 1 where the shaving head unit 3 is present is the upper side. In the following, when words like above and under are used, it is assumed that the shaver 1 is in this orientation. In any case, that does not alter the fact that the shaver 1 may be used in any suitable orientation.

(12) In the example shown, the shaving head unit 3 comprises three shaving elements 6, which are arranged in a triangle formation. Within the scope of the present invention, the number of shaving elements 6 may also be two or more than three. For the sake of completeness, it is noted that each of the shaving elements 6 may be movably arranged to a certain extent, so as to facilitate each of them in following a contour of an area of skin to be shaved. For example, the shaving elements 6 may be pivotable with respect to the central shaft member 4, to a limited extent. Each shaving element 6 comprises a cap 7, which is arranged at a top side of the shaving element 6, and which has a plurality of openings 8 for letting through hairs to be shaved off. The cap 7 is pivotably connected to a base portion 9 of the shaving element 6. Right underneath the cap 7, on the inside of the shaving element 6, a cutter member 10 is rotatably arranged. During operation, a central portion of the cutter member 10 is pressed against the cap 7 under spring force.

(13) In FIG. 7, the cutter member 10 is shown in more detail. In particular, the cutter member 10 comprises a disc 11 and cutters which are arranged on the disc 11, including hook-shaped cutters 12 which are arranged along the circumference of the disc 11. During operation of the shaver 1, the disc 11 is rotated, and hairs extending through the openings 8 in the cap 7 are cut off when they are hit by a cutter 12. The base portion 9 is provided with a space 13 for receiving the cut-off hairs.

(14) For the purpose of driving the cutter members 10, the shaver 1 comprises at least a motor located in the main body 2 and being connected to drive shafts 30 located inside the base portions 9 of the shaving elements 6.

(15) The shaver 1 as described above is known per se and more fully described in WO 2008/010139 of applicant.

(16) The shaving head unit 3 according to the invention differs from the known shaving head unit in that each shaving element 6 comprises a support device 21 pivotably connected to the cap 7 at a pivot axis 22 and located between the cap 7 and the base portion 9. The support device 21 itself is shown in FIG. 8. The support device 21 comprises a ring-shaped element 23 and an alignment device 24. The alignment device 24 is provided with a centring ring 25 and three spokes 26 extending from the centring ring 25 towards the cap 7 and away from the axis 27 of the centring ring 25. The spokes 26 are connected to the ring shaped element 23 on a side remote from the centring ring 25. Since the diameter of the ring-shaped element 23 is larger than the diameter of the centring ring 25, the spokes 26 are arranged in a conical orientation. When using the shaver 1, cut off hairs are moved through the spaces between the spokes 26 into the space 13 in the base portion 9. The support device 21 is provided with a locking member 28 which can be locked to the cap 7.

(17) In the position as shown in FIG. 2, the caps 7 of all shaving elements 6 are in their closed position, whereby all three separate spaces 13 for receiving cut-off hairs are closed. As shown by the shaving element 6 on the left side of the shaving head unit 3, a driving shaft 29 of the cutter member 10 is connected to a drive shaft 30 located in the base portion 9. The driving shaft 29 of the cutter member 10 is slightly lifted upwards by the drive shaft 30 with respect to the support device 21, so that there is no contact between the support device 21 and the rotating cutter member 10 when the shaver 1 is in operation.

(18) In the position as shown in FIG. 3, the cap 7 of the left shaving element 6 is pivoted away from the base portion 9 to an opened position. The pivot pin 29 of the cutter member 10 is thereby disconnected from the drive shaft 30 of the base portion 9. The support device 21 is locked to the cap 7 by means of the locking member 28 and is in its retaining position, and the centring ring 25 holds the cutter member 10 inside the cap 7 and prevents it from falling out of the cap 7. The cutter member 10 may be biased against the cap 7 by means of a spring.

(19) In the position as shown in FIG. 3, the user can remove the cut off hairs from the space 13 in the base portion 9.

(20) If a user wants to clean the cutter member 10 thoroughly, he unlocks the locking member 28 from the cap 7 and pivots the support device 21 in a direction as indicted by arrow P1, via a position as shown in FIG. 4, to the release position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The support device 21 may also be pivoted further to a release position in which the support device 21 is located inside the space 13 of the base portion 9. In the release position as shown in FIG. 7, the user can remove the cutter member 10 without being hindered by the support device 21. The cutter members 10 of the other shaving elements 6 are still located in their caps 7, so there will be no risk of the user hurting himself by contacting the other cutter members 10 or no risk of these cutter members 10 falling out of the shaver 1.

(21) After cleaning or replacing the cutter member 10, the user puts the cutter member 10 back inside the cap 7. The cutter member 10 is freely movable with respect to the cap 7, and the axis of the pivot pin 29 may extend at a relatively large angle with respect to the axis of the cap 7. The user will move the support device 21 towards the cap 7 in a direction opposite to the direction indicated by arrow P1. If a spoke 26 of the alignment device 24 will thereby contact the pivot pin 29, the pivot pin 29 will be swivelled towards the centre of the alignment device 24. When the support device 21 is locked again to the cap 7, as is shown in FIG. 3, the pivot pin 29 of the cutter member 10 is pre-aligned with respect to the axis 27 of the alignment device 24. Depending on the dimensions of the pivot pin 29 and the alignment device 24, the axis of the pivot pin 29 may always be fully aligned with respect to the axis 27 or the pivot pin 29 may still slightly swivel with respect to the alignment device 24 through a relatively small angle which does not hinder the coupling of the pivot pin 29 to the drive shaft 30.

(22) The user will close the cap 7 by pivoting it towards the base portion 9. Due to the pre-aligned pivot pin 29, it will be automatically coupled with the drive shaft 30 in the base portion 9. See FIG. 2.

(23) It is also possible that the support device 21 is not pivotably connected to the cap 7, but can be completely removed therefrom.

(24) It is also possible that the cap 7 comprises two parts, a first part being pivotably connected to the base portion 9 and a second part being centrally located in the first part and being able to swivel with respect to the first part. The second part is provided with the openings 8, and the cutter member 10 is located against the second part.

(25) It is also possible to provide the alignment device in the space of the base portion. The alignment devices are preferably provided with conical guiding means, since such a conical guiding means makes it possible to slowly but certainly move the cutter element towards the desired pre-aligned position.