HAIR CLIPPING DEVICE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hair clipping device (10) which comprises a housing (14), a cutting assembly (16) including a stationary cutting blade (32) and a moveable cutting blade (34), a drive arrangement (42) for driving the moveable cutting blade (34) relative to the stationary cutting blade (32) in an oscillatory movement along a first axis (40), a comb support element (45) for removably attaching a comb attachment (12) with a plurality of comb teeth (50), and an adjustment unit (58) for adjusting the position of the comb attachment (12) relative to the cutting assembly (16), when the comb attachment (12) is attached to the comb support element (45), wherein the adjustment unit (58) is configured to increase a distance between the comb attachment (12) and the cutting assembly (16) during an extension movement of the adjustment unit (58), and to decrease the distance between the comb attachment (12) and the cutting assembly (16) during a retraction movement of the adjustment unit (58). The hair clipping device (10) further comprises an end stop element (74) which is configured to prevent a movement of the comb attachment (12) towards the cutting assembly (16) during the retraction movement when a minimal distance between the comb attachment (12) and the cutting assembly (16) is reached by contacting the comb support element (45). The end stop element (74) is further configured to cause a coupling of the adjustment unit (58) with one of the stationary cutting blade (32) and the moveable cutting blade (34) if the retraction movement of the adjustment unit (58) is continued after the minimal distance between the comb attachment (12) and the cutting assembly (16) is reached after a contact of the end stop element (74) with the comb support element (45). Said coupling enables an adjustment of the position of the moveable cutting blade (34) relative to the stationary cutting blade (32) along a second axis (56) transverse to the first axis (40) by means of the adjustment unit (58).

Claims

1. A hair clipping device comprising: a housing; a cutting assembly which comprises a stationary cutting blade and a moveable cutting blade; a drive arrangement for driving the moveable cutting blade relative to the stationary cutting blade in an oscillatory movement along a first axis; a comb support element for removably attaching a comb attachment with a plurality of comb teeth; an adjustment unit for adjusting the position of the comb attachment relative to the cutting assembly when the comb attachment is attached to the comb support element, wherein the adjustment unit is configured to increase a distance between the comb attachment and the cutting assembly during an extension movement of the adjustment unit, and to decrease the distance between the comb attachment and the cutting assembly during a retraction movement of the adjustment unit; wherein the hair clipping device further comprises an end stop element which is configured to prevent a movement of the comb attachment towards the cutting assembly during the retraction movement when a minimal distance between the comb attachment and the cutting assembly is reached by contacting the comb support element, wherein the end stop element is further configured to cause a coupling of the adjustment unit with one of the stationary cutting blade and the moveable cutting blade if the retraction movement of the adjustment unit is continued after the minimal distance between the comb attachment and the cutting assembly is reached after a contact of the end stop element with the comb support element, and wherein said coupling enables an adjustment of the position of the moveable cutting blade relative to the stationary cutting blade along a second axis transverse to the first axis by means of the adjustment unit.

2. The hair clipping device according to claim 1, further comprising the comb attachment attached to the comb support element.

3. The hair clipping device according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit comprises an electrical drive.

4. The hair clipping device according to claim 3, wherein the electrical drive comprises a electrical spindle drive.

5. The hair clipping device according to claim 4, wherein the electrical spindle drive comprises a spindle and a spindle nut which is connected to the comb support element.

6. The hair clipping device according to claim 1, wherein the comb attachment comprises at least one cantilever which may be inserted into the housing in order to attach the comb attachment to the comb support element.

7. The hair clipping device according to claim 5, wherein the cutting assembly is arranged on a first side of the spindle, and wherein the end stop element is arranged on a second side of the spindle opposite the first side.

8. The hair clipping device according to claim 5, wherein a longitudinal axis of the spindle is arranged transverse to the first and second axis.

9. The hair clipping device according to claim 5, further comprising a first and a second wedge-shaped element for establishing the coupling of the adjustment unit with one of the stationary cutting blade and the moveable cutting blade, wherein the first wedge-shaped element is connected to the stationary cutting blade or the moveable cutting blade, and wherein the second wedge-shaped element is connected to the spindle.

10. The hair clipping device according to claim 9, wherein the second wedge-shaped element is connected to the spindle via a mechanical transmission element which ensures a constant distance between the second wedge-shaped element and the spindle during the extension and retraction movement of the adjustment unit.

1. The hair clipping device according to claim 10, wherein the mechanical transmission element is coupled to the spindle via a coupler which allows a rotatory movement of the spindle relative to the mechanical transmission element.

12. The hair clipping device according to claim 10, further comprising a spring element which is arranged between the first wedge-shaped element and a member that is fixedly connected to the mechanical transmission element.

13. The hair clipping device according to claim 1, further comprising a user interface for controlling the drive arrangement and the adjustment unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment described hereinafter. In the following drawings

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a hair clipping device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the hair clipping device shown in FIG. 1 without comb attachment;

[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates an interior of the hair clipping device shown in FIG. 1;

[0040] FIGS. 4a and 4b schematically illustrate how the haircut length setting of the presented hair clipping device may be increased; and

[0041] FIGS. 5a-5d schematically illustrate how the haircut length setting of the presented hair clipping device may be decreased.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0042] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a hair clipping device according to the present invention. The hair clipping device is in its entirety denoted with reference numeral 10.

[0043] The hair clipping device 10 comprises a comb attachment 12 that may be releasably attached to the housing 14 of the hair clipping device 10. FIG. 2 shows the hair clipping device 10 without the comb attachment 12.

[0044] The housing 14 connects all parts of the hair clipping device 10 together and also serves as a skeleton for a cutting assembly 16 (see FIG. 2). The housing 14 has an elongated body which comprises a handle 18 at its rear end 20. The cutting assembly 16 is fixedly or releasably attached to the opposite front end 22 of the housing 14. The outer surface of the elongated housing 14 may be tapered slightly outwardly from the rear end 20 to the front end 22 and may have a slightly bent development to provide a more ergonomic holding position and to improve the esthetic appearance of the hair clipping device 10. It shall be noted that also other housing arrangements and designs are envisaged without leaving the scope of the present invention.

[0045] The hair clipping device 10 further comprises a user interface 24 for controlling the operation of the hair clipping device 10. The user interface 24 comprises a first button 26 for increasing the haircut length setting and a second button 28 for decreasing the haircut length setting. The user interface 24 further comprises a display 30 that shows the user the currently set haircut length. The user interface 24 may additionally comprise a button for turning the hair clipping device 10 on and off. Alternatively, the user interface 24 may comprise a touchscreen which provides the afore-mentioned functions of the buttons 26, 28, the on/off button and the display 30.

[0046] The cutting assembly 16 includes a stationary cutting blade 32 and a moveable cutting blade 34 (see FIG. 2). The moveable cutting blade 34 is displaceably mounted on an upper surface of the stationary cutting blade 32 which upper surface faces substantially towards the inner side of the housing 14. The stationary cutting blade 32 and the moveable cutting blade 34 each comprise an array of cutting teeth 36, 38. These cutting teeth 36, 38 are preferably arranged substantially parallel to one another. During operation of the hair clipping device 10 haircutting is performed due to the interaction of the stationary cutting blade 32 and the moveable cutting blade 34. The moveable cutting blade 34 reciprocates in an oscillatory manner along a first axis 40 relative to the stationary cutting blade 32. This oscillatory movement is generated by a drive arrangement 42 which is schematically shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0047] The drive arrangement 42 comprises a motor 44 that is either driven by main supplied electricity or battery-driven. The motor 44 drives an eccentric element 46 in a rotary manner. This eccentric element 46 is coupled to a so-called driving bridge 48 that is attached to the moveable cutting blade 34. The driving bridge 48 is used as a coupling element that couples the motor 44 to the moveable cutting blade 34 in order to translate the rotary motor movement into a translational, oscillatory, reciprocal movement of the moveable cutting blade 34 along the first axis 40.

[0048] The stationary cutting blade 32 is usually designed to be thicker than the moveable cutting blade 34. Said stationary cutting blade 32 is also denoted as “guard”. Its front edge may either be designed as a sharp continuous edge or, similar as the moveable cutting blade 34, as a toothed edge with an array of cutting teeth 36. The moveable cutting blade 34 is also denoted as “cutter”.

[0049] In order to receive a good cutting performance the moveable cutting blade 34 is actively pressed onto the upper surface of the stationary cutting blade 32 to receive a so-called teeth pressure. A spring (not shown) is usually used to supply said teeth pressure by resiliently biasing the moveable cutting blade 34 against the upper surface of the stationary cutting blade 32.

[0050] The comb attachment 12 is releasably attachable to the housing 14. The hair clipping device 10 thereto comprises a comb support element 45 to which the comb attachment 12 may be attached, e.g. by a clip-in (see FIG. 3). In the shown example the comb attachment 12 is fixed to the housing 14 by means of two cantilevers 50 that may be inserted into the housing 14 and engage the comb support element 45 (see FIG. 3). Other possibilities of attaching the comb attachment 12 to the housing 14 are possible as well without leaving the scope of the present invention.

[0051] The comb attachment 12 comprises a plurality of comb teeth 52 that are adapted to at least partly surround and/or cover the cutting assembly 16. The comb teeth 52 serve as spacers between the cutting assembly 16 and the skin of the user. The comb attachment 12 may thus be used as a guide that moves over the skin of the user and guides hairs towards the cutting assembly 16. In the shown example the comb attachment 12 comprises two types of comb teeth 52. A first type of comb teeth 52′ covers a front side of the housing 14 and the tips of the cutting teeth 36, 38. A second type of comb teeth 52″ covers the front end 22 of the housing. In the shown example the comb attachment 12 further comprises an open space or recess 54 between the two types of comb teeth 52′, 52″. The comb teeth 52′, 52″ are thus not directly connected to each other. The recess 54 occurs at a position on the front end 22 of the hair clipping device 10 below the cutting assembly 16. This recess 54 improves the cutting performance and prevents a clogging effect, i.e. reduces the risk of hairs getting trapped in between the comb attachment 12 and the housing 14. However, it shall be noted that the recess 54 is not necessarily needed according to the present invention. Other types of comb attachments 12 may be used as well, e.g. comb attachments having only frontal comb teeth 52′.

[0052] The presented hair clipping device 10 enables a variation of the haircut length setting either by means of a position adjustment of the comb attachment 12 relative to the housing 14 or by means of an adjustment of the moveable cutting blade 34 relative to the stationary cutting blade 32. The latter-mentioned adjustment is also denoted as “tip-to-tip adjustment”, since the haircut length is adjusted by means of adjusting the distance between the tips of the cutting teeth 36 of the stationary cutting blade 32 and the tips of the cutting teeth 38 of the moveable cutting blade 34. This distance is denoted as “tip-to-tip distance”. The moveable cutting blade 34 is thereto adjusted along a second axis 56 (see FIGS. 5c and 5d) relative to the stationary cutting blade 32. The second axis 56 is arranged transverse to the first axis 40, preferably perpendicular to the first axis 40.

[0053] A relative adjustment of the moveable cutting blade 34 to the stationary cutting blade 32 may be either accomplished by moving the moveable cutting blade 34 along the second axis 56 or by moving the stationary cutting blade 32 along the second axis 56, as this will become clear in the following.

[0054] An adjustment of the position of the comb attachment 12 is used for longer haircut length settings, e.g. in a range of 3 mm to 12 mm or even more. The adjustment of the tip-to-tip distance is used for shorter haircut length settings, e.g. in the range of 0.3 mm to 3 mm. Both ways of adjusting the haircut length are achieved by one and the same adjustment unit 58 which will be explained in the following with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

[0055] The adjustment unit 58 according to the shown embodiment comprises an electrical drive 60 (see FIG. 3) for adjusting the position of the comb attachment 12 as well as for adjusting the tip-to-tip distance. This electrical drive 60 comprises an electrical spindle drive including a spindle 62 and a spindle nut 64. The electrical drive 60 furthermore comprises an electric motor 66 which is either powered by main supplied electricity or battery-driven. The electric motor 66 drives the spindle 62 in a rotatory manner. The electric motor may be either connected directly to the spindle 62 or, as shown in FIG. 3, via one or more gear pinions 68.

[0056] A rotation of the spindle 62 causes the spindle nut 64 to move upwards or downwards on the spindle (depending on the direction of rotation). The spindle nut 64 is releasably connected to the two cantilevers 50 of the comb attachment 12 via the comb support element 45 (see FIG. 3). A rotation of the spindle 62 thus forces the comb support element 45 and the comb attachment 12 (if attached to the housing 14) to move upwards, i.e. away from the front end 22 of the housing 14, to increase the haircut length setting, or downwards, i.e. towards the front end 22 of the housing 14, to decrease the haircut length setting.

[0057] The direction of rotation of the spindle 62 may be controlled by means of the afore-mentioned buttons 26, 28. These buttons 26, 28 are preferably connected to the electric motor 66 via a control unit/microprocessor (not shown) which is configured to receive the signals of the button 26, 28 and to control the operation of the electric motor 66 accordingly. The control unit/microprocessor is preferably also connected to the display 30. A user may thus easily adapt the haircut length setting by means of the comb attachment 12, wherein he/she only has to push the first button 26 to increase the haircut length setting or the second button 28 to decrease the haircut length setting.

[0058] FIGS. 4a and 4b schematically show the extension movement of the adjustment unit 58 for increasing the haircut length setting by means of the comb attachment 12. The spindle nut 64 thereby moves in an upward direction indicated by arrows 70. It shall be noted that the haircut length is in this example increased only by means of an adjustment of the comb attachment's position, whereas the tip-to-tip distance remains constant.

[0059] FIGS. 5a-5d schematically illustrate the refraction movement of the adjustment unit 58 which is used for decreasing the haircut length setting. An operation of the second button 28 causes the spindle nut 64 to move downwards on the spindle 62 as indicated by arrows 72. Due to the connection of the spindle nut 64 to the comb attachment 12 via the comb support element 45, the comb attachment 12 is thereby also moved downwards, i.e. closer towards the cutting assembly 16 (see FIGS. 5a and 5b). During the first part of this retraction movement shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b the tip-to-tip distance still remains constant. However, this changes as soon as the comb support element 45 reaches its lowest position and contacts an end stop element 74. The end stop element 74 is arranged in the interior of the housing 14 and prevents a further down-movement of the comb support element 45 and the spindle nut 64. The end stop element 74 thus also prevents a further down-movement of the comb attachment 12 even if the spindle 62 is rotated further in the retraction direction. The end stop element 74 causes a disengagement of the position adjustment of the comb attachment 12 and at the same time causes a coupling of the adjustment unit 58 with the cutting assembly 16.

[0060] FIGS. 5c and 5d schematically illustrate the situation if the retraction movement is continued after the spindle nut 64 hits the end stop element 74. A further retraction movement then leads to an adjustment of the tip-to-tip distance and thereby to a further decrease of the haircut length. The adjustment of the tip-to-tip distance is achieved by means of two wedge-shaped elements 76, 78. The first wedge-shaped element is connected to the moveable cutting blade 34. The second wedge-shaped element 78 is connected to the spindle 62 via a mechanical transmission element 80. Said mechanical transmission element 80 ensures a constant distance between the second wedge-shaped element 78 and the spindle 62 during the movement of the spindle 62. The mechanical transmission element 80 is coupled to the spindle 62 via a coupler (not shown) which allows a rotary movement of the spindle 62 relative to the mechanical transmission element 80 such that the mechanical transmission element 80 only moves upwards or downwards, but does not rotate when the spindle 62 rotates about its longitudinal axis 82. The mechanical transmission element 80 is connected to the first wedge-shaped element 76 via a spring element 84. This spring element 84 gets compressed as soon as the two wedge-shaped elements 76, 78 contact each other. As shown in FIGS. 5c and 5d, the further refraction movement of the adjustment unit 58 causes a movement of the spindle 62 relative to the end stop element 74 in an upward direction as soon as the spindle nut 64 contacts the end stop element 74. The spindle 62 then moves upwards together with the second wedge-shaped element 78. This leads to a contact of the inclined surfaces of both wedge-shaped elements 76, 78. During the further upward movement of the spindle 62 the second wedge-shaped element 78 pushes the first wedge-shaped element 76 to the right along the second axis 56 and thereby decreases the tip-to-tip distance.

[0061] The haircut length setting may thus be continuously or stepwise adjusted from 0.3 mm to 12 mm or even more. The user does eventually not even recognize whether the haircut length is varied by means of the tip-to-tip adjustment or by means of the adjustment of the position of the comb attachment 12.

[0062] It shall be noted that the first wedge-shaped element 76 may alternatively be connected to the stationary cutting blade 32. Thereto one has only to flip the two wedge-shaped elements 76, 78 such that there inclined surfaces face towards the opposite direction compared to the situation shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This would also cause a relative movement of the movable cutting blade 34 relative to the stationary cutting blade 32. It shall be furthermore noted that the longitudinal axis 82 of the spindle 62 is arranged transverse to the first axis 40 and the second axis 56. It is particularly preferred that the longitudinal axis 82 of the spindle 62 is arranged perpendicular to the first axis 40 and the second axis 56. This ensures a good power transmission.

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.