Carrier for a shaving device, comprising pairs of a cutting element and a hair lifting element

Abstract

A carrier is adapted for use in a shaving device and includes at least one pair (15) of a cutting element (8) and a hair lifting element (14). At least one of the elements (8, 14) of the pair (15) has a bent shape, wherein the bent element (8, 14) is provided with at least two bending lines (17, 18). The bent shape of the at least one of the elements (8, 14) is such that in a functional arrangement of the elements (8, 14) with respect to each other, edge portions (11, 16) of the elements (8, 14) are located at a distance with respect to each other. Thus, a space (22) is present between the elements (8, 14) at the side of their edge portions (11, 16), which can be used for receiving cut-off hair stubbles which might otherwise hinder a movement of the hair lifting element (14).

Claims

1. A carrier adapted for use in a shaving device comprising a shaving head having openings for receiving hairs to be cut, said carrier having a plurality of pairs of elements extending therefrom for motion in a predetermined direction within said shaving head, each of said pairs of elements comprising: a) a first element having an end portion with a hair-cutting edge for cooperating with a lateral surface of the shaving head to cut hairs passing through the openings, said end portion having a first surface inclined relative to the lateral surface when incorporated in the shaving device; and b) a second element elastically-supported relative to the first element and including: i) an end portion with a hair-lifting edge for, in operation, engaging the hairs to be cut before said hairs are encountered by the hair-cutting edge of the first element; and ii) a second surface arranged for, in operation, sliding along the first surface to effect lifting of the engaged hairs before being encountered by the hair-cutting edge of the first element; at least one of the first and second elements including first and second successive transverse bending lines, spaced from a respective one of the hair-cutting edge or the hair-lifting edge by first and second distances measured along a length of said at least one element, for defining ends of an intermediate portion of said at least one element extending between respective first and second bent portions formed at said first and second successive transverse bending lines; said intermediate portion maintaining a gap between the end portions of said first and second elements to provide a hair receiving space during operation.

2. The carrier according to claim 1 where the second surface comprises a surface of the second bent portion of the at least one element.

3. The carrier according to claim 2 where the at least one of the first and second elements includes a third successive transverse bending line where the at least one of the first and second elements is bent in a direction extending generally along the other one of the first and second elements.

4. The carrier according to claim 1 where each of the first and second successive transverse bending lines extends substantially parallel to the respective one of the hair-cutting edge or the hair-lifting edge.

5. The carrier according to claim 1 where the second surface comprises a portion of the second element extending substantially parallel to the first surface.

6. The carrier according to claim 5 where the first and second surfaces form a predetermined inclination relative to said lateral surface of the shaving head when the carrier is incorporated in the shaving device.

7. The carrier according to claim 1 where each of the first and second elements includes at least first and second ones of said successive transverse bending lines, each of said first and second elements being bent at said respective first bending line in a first direction toward the other one of the first and second elements and being bent at said respective second bending line in a second direction to form said respective sliding surfaces to facilitate said lifting of the hairs, an intermediate portion of each of said first and second elements extending between the respective first and second bending lines to collectively maintain said gap for providing said hair receiving space.

8. A shaving device for removing hairs from skin, said shaving device comprising at least one shaving head including an external cutting member having a surface disposed for contacting the skin and openings arranged to receive the hairs, said at least one shaving head comprising a carrier having a plurality of pairs of elements extending therefrom for motion in a predetermined direction within said shaving head, each of said pairs of elements comprising: a) a first element having an end portion with a hair-cutting edge for, in operation, cooperating with a lateral inner surface of the shaving head to cut hairs passing through the openings, said end portion having a first surface inclined relative to the lateral surface; and b) a second element elastically-supported relative to the first element and including: i) an end portion with a hair-lifting edge for, in operation, engaging the hairs to be cut before said hairs are encountered by the hair-cutting edge of the first element; and ii) a second surface arranged for, in operation, sliding along the first surface to effect lifting of the engaged hairs before being encountered by the hair-cutting edge of the first element; at least one of the first and second elements including first and second successive transverse bending lines spaced from a respective one of the hair-cutting edge or the hair-lifting edge by first and second distances measured along a length of said at least one element for defining ends of an intermediate portion of said at least one element extending between respective first and second bent portions formed at said first and second successive transverse bending lines; said intermediate portion maintaining a gap between the end portions of said first and second elements to provide a hair receiving space during operation.

9. A shaving device according to claim 8 where the second surface comprises a portion of the second element extending substantially parallel to the first surface.

10. A shaving device according to claim 9 where the first and second surfaces form a predetermined inclination relative to said lateral internal surface of the shaving head.

11. A shaving device according to claim 8 where the second surface comprises a surface of the second bent portion of the at least one element.

12. A shaving device according to claim 8 where the first and second successive transverse bending lines extend substantially parallel to the respective one of the hair-cutting edge or the hair-lifting edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the Figures, in which equal or similar parts are indicated by the same reference signs, and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a shaving device;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a carrier according to the state of the art, which is provided with a number of pairs of a cutting element and a hair lifting element;

(4) FIG. 3 diagrammatically shows a first embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element according to the present invention;

(5) FIG. 4 serves to illustrate the way in which the cutting element and the hair lifting element shown in FIG. 3 are used, wherein three stages in a hair lifting and cutting process are diagrammatically shown;

(6) FIG. 5 diagrammatically shows a second embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element according to the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6 diagrammatically shows a third embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element according to the present invention;

(8) FIG. 7 diagrammatically shows a fourth embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element according to the present invention;

(9) FIG. 8 diagrammatically shows a fifth embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element according to the present invention;

(10) FIG. 9 diagrammatically shows a first alternative embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element; and

(11) FIG. 10 diagrammatically shows a second alternative embodiment of a pair of a cutting element and a hair lifting element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(12) FIG. 1 shows a general example of a shaving device 1. The shaving device 1 as shown is a rotary shaving device in which a shaving action is realized by using rotating components. Another well-known type of shaving device is a device in which a shaving action is realized by using reciprocating components. For the sake of completeness, it is noted that the present invention is applicable in various types of shaving devices.

(13) The shaving device 1 comprises a housing 2 and a shaving head holder 3. The housing 2 is intended to be taken hold of by a user of the shaving apparatus 1, while the shaving head holder 3 is intended to be positioned against skin which is to be subjected to a shaving action. For the purpose of actually performing a shaving action, a number of units 4 are present in the shaving head holder 3, which are usually referred to as shaving heads 4. In the shown example, the shaving device 1 has three shaving heads 4.

(14) Each shaving head 4 comprises a cap 5 having openings 6 for letting through hairs to an inside of the shaving head 4, and a number of cutting elements (not shown in FIG. 1) which are positioned in the inside of the shaving head 4, and which are adapted to cut off the hairs. In the case of a rotary shaving device 1, the cutting elements are arranged on a carrier (also not shown in FIG. 1), which is driven such as to rotate during operation of the shaving device 1. To this end, the shaving device 1 may be equipped with any suitable driving means such as a small electric motor.

(15) An example of a known type of carrier 7 and the cutting elements 8 which are arranged thereon is shown in FIG. 2. In particular, the carrier 7 is composed of a number of components, including a ring-shaped component 9 having a number of arms 10 arranged along its circumference, wherein end portions of the arms 10 are shaped such as to constitute the cutting elements 8, and wherein outer ends of the arms 10 are shaped such as to constitute cutting edges 11 of the cutting elements 8.

(16) Besides the component 9 having the arms 10 and the cutting elements 8 as described in the foregoing, the carrier 7 comprises another ring-shaped component 12 on which a number of arms 13 are arranged. End portions of these arms 13 are intended to be used as hair lifting elements 14 during operation of the shaving device 1. In view of this, in the assembled state of the carrier 7, the cutting elements 8 and the hair lifting elements 14 form mixed pairs 15, i.e. one cutting element 8 is associated with one hair lifting element 14. In this configuration, the hair lifting elements 14 lie against the cutting elements 8. Furthermore, the hair lifting elements 14 are slidable with respect to the cutting elements 8 due to elastic properties of the arms 13 of the hair lifting elements 14. For the sake of completeness, it is noted that the hair lifting elements 14 are arranged in front of the cutting elements 8 as seen in a direction in which the carrier 7 is intended to be moved. Furthermore, it is noted that metal is a suitable material for the ring-shaped components 9, 12 having the cutting elements 8 and the hair lifting elements 14, respectively.

(17) The operation of a shaving device 1 having one or more shaving heads 4 in which the carrier 7 as shown in FIG. 2 is arranged is as follows. When the shaving device 1 is used for performing a shaving action, the caps 5 of the shaving heads 4 are moved across a portion of skin to be subjected to the shaving action by a user of the shaving device 1, and the carriers 7 are driven such as to rotate at their position right behind the caps 5. Due to the movement of the shaving heads 4 with respect to the skin, there is a continuous process of hairs getting trapped inside the cap openings 6 and being encountered by the pairs 15 of a cutting element 8 and a hair lifting element 14. In the process, the hair is encountered by the hair lifting element 14 first, wherein an outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14 penetrates the hair to some extent. In any case, the outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14 is not adapted to cut through the hair, but only to enter the hair over a small distance which is smaller than the diameter of the hair.

(18) Once a hair is caught by a hair lifting element 14, the ongoing rotary movement of the carrier 7 and the components arranged thereon causes the hair lifting element 14 to slide along the cutting element 8 and perform a retracting movement over some distance. To this end, the cutting elements 8 and the hair lifting elements 14 have a defined inclined orientation as shown in FIG. 2. A hair which is caught keeps the hair lifting element 14 temporarily in a fixed place while the associated cutting element 8 presses against the hair lifting element 14 in the rotary movement. Due to the elastic properties of the arm 13 of the hair lifting element 14, this causes the hair lifting element 14 to perform a retracting movement, and due to the engagement of the hair lifting element 14 with a hair, this retracting movement is more or less in a direction in which the hair extends. In the process, the hair is lifted to some extent, inter alia owing to natural elasticity of the skin, and gets cut off once the hair lifting element 14 is retracted to such extent that the cutting edge 11 of the cutting element 8 reaches the hair.

(19) In principle, a shaving action can also be performed with the use of carriers 7 which are only equipped with cutting elements 8, wherein the hair lifting elements 14 are omitted. However, applying the hair lifting elements 14 leads to much better shaving results, as the hairs may be cut off at a level which is closer to the skin. The present invention is especially applicable in the field of carriers 7 having at least one pair 15 of a cutting element 8 and a hair lifting element 14, and will now be explained on the basis of FIGS. 3-8. In FIG. 3, a first embodiment of a pair 15 of a cutting element 8 and a hair lifting element 14 according to the present invention is diagrammatically shown. In this embodiment, the hair lifting element 14 has a bent shape, wherein two bending lines 17, 18 at which respective bent portions 17, 18 are formed in the hair lifting element 14, which extend across a width of the hair lifting element 14, substantially parallel to the outer edge 16. On the basis of the presence of the two bending lines 17, 18, three portions 19, 20, 21 can be discerned in the hair lifting element 14, namely a free end portion 19, a connecting portion 20 at a side where the hair lifting element 14 is attached, and an intermediate portion 21.

(20) An important and advantageous consequence of the bent shape of the hair lifting element 14 is that the outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14 is positioned at a distance from the cutting edge 11 of the cutting element 8, which distance is related to a length of the intermediate portion 21. In the first embodiment, gliding contact is established between an inclined surface a of the cutting element 8 and a surface b of the hair lifting element 14 that is formed opposite a bending line 17 between the connecting portion 20 and the intermediate portion 21 of the hair lifting element 14.

(21) In FIG. 3, the cutting edge 11 of the cutting element 8 and the outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14 are shown at a substantially equal level. This positioning of the elements 8, 14 corresponds to a starting position for encountering a hair to be cut through in a shaving process. In this position, a hair receiving space 22 is present underneath the intermediate portion 21 of the hair lifting element 14, and between the free end portion 19 of the hair lifting element 14 and a free end portion 23 of the cutting element 8.

(22) In FIG. 4, a hair lifting and cutting process as may be performed by means of the pair 15 of the cutting element 8 and the hair lifting element 14 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In particular, three stages of the process are shown.

(23) In a first stage, as shown on the left side of the Figure, the elements 8, 14 are in the starting position, and a hair 24 extending through an opening 6 in a cap 5 for covering the carrier 7 of which the elements 8, 14 are part is encountered by the outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14. In the ongoing movement of the elements 8, 14, the outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14 penetrates the hair 24 to some extent, and the hair 24 is lifted, wherein the hair lifting element 14 glides along the cutting element 8.

(24) In a second stage, as shown in the middle of FIG. 4, the cutting edge 11 of the cutting element 8 reaches the hair 24. Subsequently, the hair 24 is subjected to a cutting action, while the hair 24 is kept in the lifted position. Once the hair 24 has been cut through, the cut-off hair stubble 25 falls off the outer edge 16 of the hair lifting element 14, and the hair lifting element 14 moves back to the starting position.

(25) In a third stage, as shown on the right side of FIG. 4, the elements 8, 14 are in the starting position again. It may happen that a cut-off hair stubble 25 remains near the cutting edge 11 of the cutting element 8. However, this will not constitute a hindrance for the hair lifting element 14 to return to the starting position, as the stubble 25 may be accommodated inside the hair receiving space 22, as shown in FIG. 4. Hence, due to the stepped shape of the hair lifting element 14, the hair lifting process may be performed with constant effectiveness, resulting in excellent shaving results.

(26) It follows from the foregoing that when the present invention is applied, a decrease of the effectiveness of the hair lifting process is prevented. In this respect, an advantageous aspect of the present invention is the fact that no additional elements are needed for achieving this result. Providing at least one of the cutting element 8 and the hair lifting element 14 with an appropriate bent shape is all that is needed. Thus, a light-weight construction of the carrier 7 according to the present invention is possible, which involves advantageous dynamic behavior and other benefits. Furthermore, an additional step of bending of at least one of the elements 8, 14 during a manufacturing process of the carrier 7 does not constitute a noteworthy complication of this manufacturing process.

(27) Alternative embodiments of a pair 15 of a cutting element 8 and a hair lifting element 14 according to the present invention are diagrammatically shown in FIGS. 5-8.

(28) The hair lifting element 14 does not necessarily need to be the element 8, 14 that is provided with bending lines 17, 18. In a second embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, the cutting element 8 has a bent appearance, whereas the hair lifting element 14 has a straight appearance. It is also possible that both elements 8, 14 are provided with two bending lines 17, 18, 26, 27, wherein, in a general sense, the shape of one of the elements 8, 14 is a mirror shape of another of the elements 8, 14. This possibility is shown in FIG. 6.

(29) In the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, a connecting portion 28 of the cutting element 8 has an orientation that is substantially the same as an orientation of the hair lifting element 14. In this way, it is achieved that gliding contact of the hair lifting element 14 to the cutting element 8 is realized over a relatively large area. Nevertheless, an alternative to this configuration is also possible within the scope of the present invention, as can be derived from FIG. 7. Furthermore, it is noted that a connecting portion 20, 28 of an element 8, 14 and a free end portion 19, 23 of the same element 8, 14 may have the same orientation when two bending lines 17, 18, 26, 27 are present in the element 8, 14, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, but this is not necessary.

(30) FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of a pair 15 of a cutting element 8 and a hair lifting element 14 according to the present invention, in which the hair lifting element 14 is provided with as many as three bending lines 17, 18, 29. In particular, in this way, a V-shaped portion 30 is obtained in the hair lifting element 14, which serves for keeping the other portions of the hair lifting element 14, including the free end portion 19, at a distance from the cutting element 8, so that at least the hair receiving space 22 is realized in this embodiment.

(31) It is noted that in principle, the number of bending lines 17, 18, 26, 27 of an element 8, 14 does not necessarily need to be at least two, but may also be one. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate embodiments in which only one of the elements 8, 14 is bent, and wherein the bent element 8, 14 only comprises one bending line 18, 27. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the hair lifting element 14 is the bent element, whereas in the example shown in FIG. 10, the cutting element 8 is the bent element. In both embodiments, orientations of free end portions 19, 23 of the elements 8, 14 are chosen such that a diverging configuration of these portions 19, 23 is obtained, as seen in a direction from a position where the elements 8, 14 are contacting each other towards outer edges 11, 16 of the elements 8, 14. On the basis of this diverging configuration, the hair receiving space 22 which plays a role in preventing a decrease of effectiveness of the hair lifting process is present between the end portions 19, 23 of the elements 8, 14.

(32) It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples discussed in the foregoing, but that several amendments and modifications thereof are possible without deviating from the scope of the present invention as defined in the attached claims. While the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the Figures and the description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary only, and not restrictive. The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.

(33) Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by a person skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the Figures, the description and the attached claims. In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other steps or elements, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. 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. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

(34) The present invention can be summarized as follows. A carrier 7 is adapted for use in a shaving device 1, and comprises at least one pair 15 of elements 8, 14. One of the elements 8, 14 of the pair 15 is adapted to function as a cutting element 8, wherein an edge portion 11 of the cutting element 8 is adapted to contact hairs 24 and to perform a cutting action on hairs 24 when being moved with respect to the hairs 24, and another of the elements 8, 14 of the pair 15 is adapted to function as a hair lifting element 14 that is intended to precede the cutting element 8 during a movement of the carrier 7, wherein an edge portion 16 of the hair lifting element 14 is adapted to engage hairs 24 and lift hairs 24 before the hairs 24 are reached by the cutting element 8. Furthermore, the hair lifting element 14 is movably arranged with respect to the cutting element 8, so that the hair lifting element 14 is actually capable of lifting hairs 24 in front of the cutting element 8.

(35) According to the present invention, at least one of the cutting element 8 and the hair lifting element 14 has a bent shape, wherein the bent element 8, 14 is provided with at least two bending lines 17, 18, 26, 27, 29 which extend across a width of the element 8, 14. The bent shape of the at least one of the elements 8, 14 is such that in a functional arrangement of the elements 8, 14 with respect to each other, the edge portions 11, 16 are located at a distance with respect to each other. Thus, a space 22 is present between the elements 8, 14 at the side of their edge portions 11, 16, which space 22 can be used for receiving cut-off hair stubbles 25 which might otherwise hinder a movement of the hair lifting element 14.