Patent Application
20120003906
The invention relates to a device for the cleaning and care of mechanical shaving devices which have a single-part or multi-part blade arranged in a head part of the shaving device and a handle.
For wet shaving, use is made of mechanical shaving devices which are also known as razors. These have a handle at the proximal end and a head part at the distal end, said head part usually being arranged transversely to the handle. The head part holds the single-part or multi-part blade. In the case of reusable shaving devices, this head part is designed to be replaceable. In order to soften the beard hair and to allow easier sliding of the blade on the skin, use is made of shaving soap, shaving foam or shaving gel. After shaving, soap, foam or gel accumulates together with a large number of removed hairs around the blade in the head of the mechanical shaving device. Apart from hygiene problems, this leads to the blades becoming blunt relatively quickly and thus having to be replaced. Finally, even after just one shave, the effect of a blade is already so greatly impaired by small ridges that there is an inevitable loss of quality. Rinsing of the shaving head with water or cleaning by means of manual brushes and other tools can be regarded only as insufficient in this regard. Using means known to date, a hygienic cleaning of the blades in a way that cares for and preserves the material can be carried out only in an unsatisfactory manner.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device for the cleaning and care of mechanical shaving devices, which allows a cleaning of the head part of mechanical shaving devices together with blades under optimal hygiene conditions.
This object is achieved in that the housing of the cleaning and care device has a first processing station which serves for cleaning the head parts of the shaving devices and a second processing station which serves for mechanically processing the blade.
By virtue of this compact cleaning and care device, a two-stage and thus particularly precise cleaning of the blades and of the head parts holding the latter on mechanical disposable or reusable razors is possible for the first time. To this end, use is made firstly of a relatively roughly operating first processing station in which the head parts of the razors together with the blades are cleaned to remove hairs, soap, foam or gel. Said first processing station is followed by the second processing station, where a mechanical processing of the blade takes place, which decisively serves to extend the period of use of such a blade by automatically carrying out a kind of realignment and resharpening of the blade. The device according to the invention is particularly easy to handle; the user only needs to insert the head part of the shaving device successively into the two processing stations in any order and start the cleaning in the first processing station and the mechanical processing of the blade in the second processing station by way of an appropriate handle.
With regard to the first processing station, it is proposed that this has a brush which serves for cleaning the head part of the shaving device and which has a large number of bristles arranged on a shaft. By rotation of the latter, a targeted cleaning of the head part of the shaving device takes place around the blades, and contaminants are removed.
In this connection, it is noted that the second processing station serves for the grinding processing of the blade of the shaving device. It has been found that the blades of mechanical shaving devices exhibit a considerable loss of quality after the first use but also after subsequent use. The reason for this is inter alia that stress leads to waves and small ridges in the shaving blades. The invention tackles this with the grinding unit, in that a grinding processing of the blade and thus a restoring of the sharpness also by a substantial smoothing of the blade takes place.
For the grinding processing of the blade of the shaving device, use is made in this connection of abrasive paper which is clamped in a shaft, wherein preferably the abrasive paper is arranged in strips on a shaft. When this shaft is set in rotation, the abrasive paper or emery paper leads to a sharpening effect, which decisively helps to lengthen the period of use of such blades and thus of entire head parts of shaving devices. In a manner similar to the bristles described above, the abrasive paper comes into contact with the blade, which brings about the sharpening and restoration thereof.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that at least one shaft is configured in a removable manner, wherein this is preferably the shaft which serves for the grinding processing of the shaving device in the second working station. Once the abrasive material has been worn down, the shaft together with the abrasive material can easily be exchanged and replaced with a new one.
The most advantageous solution to this provides that the shaft is mounted in an insert which is configured in a removable manner in the side wall of the housing. In order to be able to reach the shaft for replacement purposes, the insert only needs to be pulled out of the side wall of the housing of the cleaning and care device. The used shaft is removed and is replaced by a shaft provided with new abrasive material, so that the cleaning and care device can again perform to full effect.
In this connection, it is noted that the insert can be fixed in the side wall and/or the bottom of the housing via a latching mechanism. For this, use is preferably made of two latching surfaces as the latching mechanism, by means of which the bottom is encompassed and accordingly clamped.
The replacement of used shafts is thus conceivably simple. Added to this is the fact that the latching mechanism has a rod on which the shaft is rotatably mounted. To this end, the insert and the rod are fixedly connected to one another. The rod serves for its part for holding the shaft, which is then rotatably mounted on the rod. The rod may additionally be fixed in a corresponding holder on the inner side of the housing.
In this connection, it is useful if at least one of the two shafts has a drive. This is set in operation via a switch on the housing of the cleaning and care device, as soon as the user has inserted the head part of the shaving device into the holder provided for this purpose. This leads to a rotation of the shaft, optionally at a variable speed, so that hairs and residues of shaving foam or shaving cream can be removed in a targeted manner.
In addition, it is provided that the bristles and the abrasive paper are arranged on a common shaft. This shaft passes through the entire device and is designed as a brush in the region of the first processing station and as a grinding unit in the region of the second processing station. When the handle is operated, the entire shaft is set in motion, so that the aforementioned processes occur in the two processing stations.
An even more effective cleaning of mechanical shaving devices can be carried out if the housing has a third processing station. This may be such that an additional effect can be exerted by the third processing station, for example a finer or rougher cleaning or grinding effect. In particular, it is noted that the third processing station is equipped with abrasive paper, and namely with finer abrasive paper than that provided in the second processing station, or vice versa. After the more or less rough pre-cleaning by the brush provided in the first processing station, a kind of divided second processing station then takes place. This provides grinding units of different stages. Firstly, a type of rougher grinding takes place in the second processing station and then a more exact grinding with finer abrasive paper takes place in the third processing station.
The present invention brings the significant advantage that a substantial cleaning of the head parts of mechanical shaving devices takes place in a fully automatic manner. To this end, the user only needs to insert the respective head part in the processing station. In this connection, it is provided that the processing stations are in each case equipped with holders for the head parts of the shaving devices, which are arranged at a distance from the shafts that benefits the cleaning and/or grinding effects. In other words, when the shaving device is correctly inserted in the processing station, it inevitably finds the optimally oriented position relative to the tools. To this end, suitable holders for the head parts of the shaving devices are provided in the housing.
Furthermore, the holders are equipped with a pivoting mechanism which serve for fixing the head parts of the shaving devices during cleaning and/or grinding. By virtue of the pivoting mechanism, the head parts remain held in the appropriate position. The pivoting mechanism must then be opened again when the shaving device is to be removed again from the housing after cleaning.
In addition to this, it is provided that the housing of the cleaning and care device has an additional rectangular holder for the head parts of the shaving devices. A type of cushion—for example made from foamed material—may be positioned in this holder in order to be able to place the head part thereon, for example in order to achieve a drying effect.
The invention is characterised in particular in that a device is provided, by means of which mechanical shaving devices can be cleaned and cared for in a particularly suitable manner. This procedure takes place in two fully automatic stages. Firstly, the head part of the mechanical shaving device is inserted in a first processing station, where a pre-cleaning by a rotating brush takes place. In a second processing stage, a grinding processing of the blade takes place by means of a likewise rotating grinding unit. The shaving devices are in each case held via pivoting mechanisms in collaboration with the holders in an optimal position relative to the brush and the grinding unit, so that a targeted cleaning and restoration of the blades can take place.
Further details and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description of the associated drawings, in which one preferred example of embodiment is shown together with the necessary details and individual parts. In the drawings:
The device 1 shown in
This shaft 16 together with the associated insert 33 is shown in side view in
Finally,
