HAIR CLIPPER HOUSING WITH ENHANCED MOTOR MOUNT

Abstract

A hair clipper is provided, including a clipper housing defining a longitudinal housing axis, having a drive end and including a first housing half and a second housing half, each of the halves having a front end associated with the drive end and an opposite rear end, and each front end defining an attachment formation. Upon assembly of the clipper housing halves, the first and second housing halves are constructed so that the attachment formations are overlapping and are secured using fasteners inserted along a longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal housing axis.

Claims

1. A hair clipper, comprising: a clipper housing defining a longitudinal housing axis, having a drive end and including a first housing half and a second housing half, each of said halves having a front end associated with said drive end and an opposite rear end; each said front end defining an attachment formation; upon assembly of said clipper housing halves, said first and second housing halves are constructed so that said attachment formations are overlapping and are secured using fasteners inserted along a longitudinal axis parallel to said longitudinal housing axis.

2. The hair clipper of claim 1, further including a chassis configured for securing a motor, a battery and a control system, a radially enlarged flange at each of said ends; a tubular sleeve of heat deformable plastic film dimensioned for slidingly surrounding said chassis and extending axially at least to said flanges, such that upon application of heat, said sleeve deforms around said chassis, said motor, said battery and said control system, and forms a sealed motor pod; said chassis including a pod attachment formation configured for being engaged by said attachment formations of said first and second housing halves for preventing movement of said pod relative to said housing upon assembly of said first and second housing halves.

3. The hair clipper of claim 2, wherein each of said first and second housing halves have locking formations that engage the pod attachment formation to prevent movement of the motor pod relative to the assembled housing in both a rotational and a linear direction.

4. The hair clipper of claim 3, wherein attachment of said first and second housing halves using said fasteners oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the clipper secure said two housing halves together and also capture said encapsulated motor pod.

5. The hair clipper of claim 2, wherein said chassis pod attachment formation is provided in the form of a semi-circular keying protrusion having a vertically projecting semicircular flange axially spaced from the chassis to form a groove.

6. The hair clipper of claim 5, further including said second housing half has a semi-circular cradle formation configured for engaging said groove, and said first housing half has a pair of shoulders that engage ends of said flange, and upon said first and second housing halves being secured together, said shoulders prevent said motor pod from rotating, and the engagement of said groove with said cradle prevents axial movement of said motor pod in said housing.

7. The hair clipper of claim 1, wherein said attachment formations on said first and second housing halves are constructed and arranged to lack fastener bosses projecting perpendicular to said longitudinal housing axis.

8. The hair clipper of claim 2, wherein said encapsulating tube forms an outer motor seal, and said clipper is provided with a further inner motor seal surrounding at least a drive end of said motor.

9. The hair clipper of claim 2, further including integral tabs on said chassis configured for retaining at least one of said motor and said battery upon said chassis.

10. The hair clipper of claim 2, further including a front seal plate of said chassis provides a front attachment point for said encapsulating tube upon heat sealing, and also forms a base for the semi-circular keying protrusion, and a rear seal plate of said chassis provides a rear attachment point for said encapsulating tube upon heat sealing, said rear seal plate defines a polygonal shaped charging cowl configured for being retained by the juncture of said first and second housing halves to retain said motor pod in place in the housing against operation-induced movement.

11. The hair clipper of claim 2, further including formations on said first and second housing halves for retaining a rear end of said motor pod from movement relative to said housing upon assembly of said first and second halves.

12. A hair clipper, comprising: a clipper housing defining a longitudinal housing axis, having a drive end and including a first housing half and a second housing half, each of said halves having a front end associated with said drive end and an opposite rear end; each said front end defining an attachment formation; a chassis configured for securing a motor, a battery and a control system, a radially enlarged flange at each of said ends; a tubular sleeve of heat deformable plastic film dimensioned for slidingly surrounding said chassis and extending axially at least to said flanges, such that upon application of heat, said sleeve deforms around said chassis, said motor, said battery and said control system, and forms a sealed motor pod; said chassis including a pod attachment formation configured for being engaged by said attachment formations of said first and second housing halves for preventing movement of said pod relative to said housing upon assembly of said first and second housing halves.

13. The hair clipper of claim 12, wherein said chassis pod attachment formation is provided in the form of a semi-circular keying protrusion having a vertically projecting semicircular flange axially spaced from the chassis to form a groove.

14. The hair clipper of claim 13, further including said second housing half has a semi-circular cradle formation configured for engaging said groove, and said first housing half has a pair of shoulders that engage ends of said flange, and upon said first and second housing halves being secured together, said shoulders prevent said motor pod from rotating, and the engagement of said groove with said cradle prevents axial movement of said motor pod in said housing.

15. The hair clipper of claim 12, further including a front seal plate of said chassis provides a front attachment point for said encapsulating tube upon heat sealing, and also forms a base for the semi-circular keying protrusion, and a rear seal plate of said chassis provides a rear attachment point for said encapsulating tube upon heat sealing, said rear seal plate defines a polygonal shaped charging cowl configured for being retained by the juncture of said first and second housing halves to retain said motor pod in place in the housing against operation-induced movement.

16. The hair clipper of claim 12, wherein said encapsulating tube forms an outer motor seal, and said clipper is provided with a further inner motor seal surrounding at least a drive end of said motor.

17. The hair clipper of claim 12, further including integral tabs on said chassis configured for retaining at least one of said motor and said battery upon to said chassis.

18. The hair clipper of claim 12, further including formations on said first and second housing halves for retaining a rear end of said motor pod from movement relative to said housing upon assembly of said first and second halves, said formations including bulkheads on said first and second housing halves configured for engaging a charging cowl on said chassis.

19. The hair clipper of claim 18, wherein said charging cowl has a locating rib on upper and lower surfaces, and said bulkheads include mating formations for retaining said cowl in said housing against operational movement.

20. The hair clipper of claim 18, wherein said second housing half includes vertical bosses, and said first housing half includes extensions on said respective bulkhead having boss notches for engaging said bosses.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the present hair clipper;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a side perspective of the hair clipper of FIG. 1 with the bladeset shown exploded away;

[0024] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the hair clipper of FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front exploded view of the hair clipper of FIG. 1;

[0026] FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the encased motor pod of the present hair clipper;

[0027] FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary side view of the motor pod of FIG. 5;

[0028] FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, exploded perspective view of the present hair clipper;

[0029] FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section of the present hair clipper;

[0030] FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 1 and

[0031] in the direction generally indicated;

[0032] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the present motor pod;

[0033] FIG. 11 is a fragmentary top perspective view of the present hair clipper;

[0034] FIG. 12 is a fragmentary top perspective view of the present hair clipper;

[0035] FIG. 13 is a fragmentary front end view of the present hair clipper;

[0036] FIG. 14 is a fragmentary top perspective view of the present hair clipper being assembled; and

[0037] FIG. 15 is a cross-section taken along the line 15-15 of FIG. 1 and in the direction generally indicated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, a hair clipper incorporating the present housing configuration and motor pod mounting system is generally designated 10, and includes a housing, generally designated 12 incorporating a first or upper housing half 14 and a second or lower housing half 16. Included on the housing 12 is a front, drive or working end 18, to which is mounted a bladeset 20, and an opposite rear end 22, configured for accommodating a charging cord for recharging an internal battery. A power switch 24 on the first housing half 14 controls the operation of a motor (described below), and in the preferred embodiment, at least one of the first and second housing halves 14, 16 are provided with a grip-enhancing, resilient material 26. In the present embodiment, the grip-enhancing material 26 is textured, however other configurations are contemplated.

[0039] The bladeset 20 includes a stationary blade 28 and a laterally reciprocating moving blade 30 driven by an eccentric cam-equipped drive shaft 32. Respective sets of teeth 34 and 36 on the stationary and moving blade 28, 30 form a cutting line C that is transverse to a longitudinal housing axis L. A feature of the housing 12 is that it is configured to have a reduced profile near the bladeset 20 to enhance user visibility of the cutting operation. Also, as seen in FIG. 2, the bladeset 20 is configured for convenient disassembly from the housing 12 using a thumbscrew 38 that retains a bladeset mounting bracket 40 to a recess 42 in the second housing half 16. Details of the construction and operation of the bladeset 20 and the mounting structure are discussed in further detail in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/241,895, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. While a thumbscrew 38 is shown, it is contemplated that other fastener types could be employed. For non-limiting example, a wing-nut style fastener arrangement could be used, which could also be manipulated by hand without the use of tools.

[0040] Referring now to FIGS. 3-6 and 10, the first and second housing halves 14, 16 enclose a motor pod 44 including a chassis, generally designated 46 that is constructed and arranged for placement within the housing 12 and includes a motor end 48 corresponding to the drive end 14, and an opposite charge end 50. Preferably made of injection molded plastic or similar material as known in the art, the chassis 46 includes a plurality of integrally formed mounting formations 52 for retaining in place at least one of a motor 54, a rechargeable battery 56 and a control system 58 preferably taking the form of a circuit board 60 having the power switch 24.

[0041] Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 14, included in the mounting formations 52 is a generally vertically-projecting, U-shaped motor mount 62 having two arms 64, each of which is provided with a motor retaining tab 66 engaging an exterior 68 of the motor 54 in a snap-fit arrangement. Similar to the motor mount 62, a battery mount 70 is also vertically projecting, slightly rearward of the motor mount, and equipped with a tab or lug 72 configured for engaging a notch 74 on the circuit board 60. A rear battery mount 76 defines a cradle for a rear battery end 78.

[0042] Radially enlarged disk-like front and rear seal plates or flanges 80, 82 are affixed to each of front and rear chassis ends 84, 86. The drive shaft 32 projects past the flange 80 at the front end and at least one battery charge pin 88 (FIGS. 9, 15) extends past the rear flange 82.

[0043] Referring now to FIGS. 3, 5, 6 and 11, to achieve a desired waterproofing of the motor pod 44 and associated components, a tubular sleeve of shrink wrap film 90 is inserted to surround the chassis 46 and the components mounted thereto 54, 56, 60. The sleeve 90 is dimensioned to have a diameter just larger than a diameter of the flanges 80, 82. Also, the sleeve 90 has a length that extends axially past and overlaps both of the flanges 80, 82. After suitable placement, heat is applied to the sleeve 90 as is known in the art. Conventionally, temperatures in the range of 250-350? F. are applied to cause shrinkage of the shrink wrap film, which is preferably made of plastic polymer. The heat is typically applied using a heat gun or a heat tunnel and a conveyor. As the sleeve 90 shrinks, it attaches to and seals around the flanges 80, 82, and the chassis components 54, 56, 60. FIG. 5 depicts the chassis 46 with the shrunken sleeve 90 encapsulating the chassis and components, forming an internal waterproof enclosure.

[0044] As described above, the encapsulating tube or sleeve 90 forms an outer motor seal. To further protect the motor 54 from water damage, the clipper 10 is provided with a further inner motor seal 92 which is a resilient, rubber-like, cup-shaped structure surrounding at least a drive end 94 of the motor. The inner motor seal 92 is also encapsulated by the heat shrink sleeve 90.

[0045] Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6, 10, and 13, another feature of the chassis 46 is a chassis pod attachment formation 96 is provided in the form of a semi-circular keying protrusion based on the front flange 80 and having a vertically projecting semicircular flange 98 axially spaced from the chassis and the front flange to form a groove 100. It should be noted that the chassis pod attachment formation 96 is not encapsulated by the sleeve 90.

[0046] Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8 and 14, another feature of the present hair clipper 10 is a fastening arrangement configured so that upon assembly, the respective clamshell clipper housing halves 14, 16 are secured together at at least one end by fasteners 102, preferably small screws, inserted along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis L of the clipper housing 12. This arrangement enables the housing 12 to be secured together adjacent the bladeset 20 without the use of conventional vertical bosses oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal clipper housing axis L. Accordingly, the resulting reduced housing profile at least near the bladeset 20 enhances blade visibility compared to conventional clipper housings.

[0047] More specifically, the first, upper housing half 14 has a first attachment formation 104, and the second, lower housing half 16 has a second attachment formation 106. Construction of the attachment formations 104, 106 is such that upon assembly of the housing 12, including the insertion of the fasteners 102 as described above to secure the housing halves 14, 16 together, the encapsulated motor pod 44 is held in place or captured against both rotational and axial linear movement relative to the housing. Further, the configuration of the housing 12 is such that the motor pod 44 is secured in place against movement without piercing the encapsulating sleeve 90 to maintain the water resistant properties.

[0048] The first attachment formation 104 defines a loop with an opening 108 accommodating the cammed motor drive shaft 32. Further, the loop 104 is dimensioned to overlap the second attachment formation 106 so that mounting bores 110, 112 on the first and second mounting formations, 104, 106 are in registry with each other for receiving the fasteners 102. It is also contemplated that the lower attachment formation 106 is alternately configured for overlapping the upper attachment formation 104. As will be described in greater detail below, at the rear end 22 of the housing 12, more traditional transverse mounting bosses 114 are used to secure the first and second housing halves 14, 16 together via fasteners 142 (FIG. 15) which extend into the bosses 114 transverse to the longitudinal axis L. It has also been found that with the use of fasteners and bosses 114, and the engagement of the first and second mounting formations 104, 106 as described above, the fasteners 102 which extend parallel to longitudinal axis L may be omitted entirely with a tight connection between the first and second housing halves maintained. The inclusion of the fasteners 102, however, provides an additional level of securement.

[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 13, each of said first and second housing halves 14, 16 have locking formations that engage the pod attachment formation 96 to prevent movement of the motor pod 44 relative to the assembled housing in both a rotational and a linear direction. These locking formations include on the second housing half 16, a semi-circular recessed cradle formation 116 configured for accommodating the semi-circular flange 98, and also having a rib 118 (FIG. 8) engaging the groove 100. Once the pod attachment formation 96 is seated in the cradle formation 116, the motor pod 44 is unable to move along the housing axis L.

[0050] Further, on the first housing half 14, a pair of depending shoulders 120 located behind the loop 104 are configured to engage ends 122 (FIGS. 10 and 14) of the vertical flange 98. Upon the first and second housing halves 14, 16 being secured together about the motor pod 44, the engagement of the shoulders 120 on the flange ends 122 prevent the motor pod from rotating. In the preferred embodiment, the first housing half 14 is also provided with at least one clamping rib 124 (FIGS. 8 and 9) that is dimensioned to provide supplemental clamping force on the motor pod 44 upon assembly of the housing halves 14, 16 together.

[0051] Referring now to FIGS. 9, 10 and 15, the rear seal plate or flange 82 of the chassis 46 defines a polygonal shaped charging cowl 126 configured for being retained by the juncture of the first and second housing halves 14, 16 to retain the motor pod 44 in place at the rear end 22 of the housing 12 against operation-induced movement. Also, the charging cowl 126 encloses the rearwardly-projecting battery charge pins 88. As occurred at the drive end 18 of the clipper housing 12, at the opposite rear end 22, the first and second housing halves 14, 16 include formations 130 configured, upon housing assembly, for retaining a rear end 132 of the motor pod 44 against movement relative to the housing during clipper operation.

[0052] Retention of the motor pod 44 is enhanced by the provision of a locating rib 134 on upper and lower surfaces of the charging cowl 126. These ribs 134 are matingly engaged by respective bulkheads 136, 138 in the first and second housing halves 14, 16. Further, the vertical bosses 114, which are integrally formed on the second housing half 16, are engaged in a clamping arrangement by depending bulkhead extensions 140 which define boss notches 142 configured for accommodating the bosses 114. Rear housing fasteners 144, preferably threaded screws, hold the housing halves 14, 16 together at the rear housing end 22 to thus clamp the motor pod 44 in place.

[0053] Referring now to FIGS. 14 and 15, during assembly of the clipper 10, after insertion of the encapsulated motor pod 44 and before attachment of the bladeset 20, the first housing half 14 is positioned at an obtuse angle to the second housing half 16 so that the loop 104 encircles the cammed drive shaft 32 and the loop opening 108 accommodates the shaft. Also during this operation, the shoulders 120 on the first housing half 14 will come in contact with the ends 122 of the flange 98. As the first and second housing halves 14, 16 are brought together, a rear housing endcap 146 is also captured between the housing halves for ornamental purposes.

[0054] Once the drive end 18 of the housing 12 is in registry, the rear end 22 of the first housing half 14 is lowered onto the second housing half 16. At this time, the formations 130 are placed in clamping position about the charging cowl 126, and the fasteners 102 and 144 are inserted to secure the housing 12 together to retain the motor pod against operational movement without piercing the encapsulating sleeve 90. Upon assembly of the housing halves 14, 16, the bladeset 20 is secured using the thumbscrew 38.

[0055] While a particular embodiment of the present hair clipper housing with enhanced motor mount has been described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.