The present invention relates generally to electric hair clippers and trimmers, collectively referred to here as hair clippers, and more specifically to such devices used for achieving precision and detailed trimming styles on the customer's scalp and/or face, or trimming nose and ear hair, and which are intended for operation while the user is showering or bathing.
Modern hair grooming is more popular and often features design elements cut into the customer's hair down to the skin. These design elements take a variety of forms including, but not limited to well-defined edges for facial hair, geometric designs, freeform patterns, images of animals, text and the like. Also, modern grooming includes maintenance for areas like nose and ear hair. Precision grooming is often challenging to home hair groomers using conventional electric hair clippers, where it is often difficult to simultaneously view the cutting blade and target cutting area, since traditional hair clippers have housings that extend to the bladeset cutting teeth. As such, the housing often obscures the view of the cutting area, making it difficult to achieve precision.
Hair clipper manufacturers have addressed this need by providing specialized outliner trimmers (in the present application, hair clippers and hair trimmers are collectively referred to as hair clippers, and are contemplated for use on both humans and animals) which have an exposed bladeset positioned axially from an end of the housing for enhancing the hair groomer or stylist's view of the cutting area. Designers of such outliner trimmers or clippers are forced to balance the often competing demands of enhanced visibility of the cutting area and the requirement for stabilized mechanical and electrical connection of the bladeset to the clipper drive system.
Still another challenge to hair grooming, besides creating precision modern hairstyles with such design shapes, is that the customer often wants to take the hair clipper into the bath or shower to perform the grooming operation, or even to be able to rinse the clipper under a tap for cleaning. As such, manufacturers of clippers need to protect their products from damage due to exposure to water.
One approach to providing a water-resistant hair clipper is disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/241,895, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. A clipper motor pod with chassis is encased in a tube of shrink-wrap plastic, and are provided with end seals to prevent entry of water to the motor and the clipper control system.
A challenge for manufacturing such an encapsulated motor pod structure is fastening the pod to the housing in a way that secures the pod in place during operation without piercing the water-resistant encapsulating membrane. It has been found that an encapsulated vibrating clipper motor pod has the tendency to both rotate about a longitudinal axis and also to move linearly along the longitudinal axis relative to the clipper housing.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved hair clipper which addresses the above-listed design consideration, including securing an encapsulated clipper motor pod within a clipper housing without piercing the waterproof membrane.
The above-listed need is met or exceeded by the present hair clipper housing with enhanced motor mount. One feature of the present hair clipper housing is a fastening arrangement that is configured so that the respective clamshell clipper housing halves are secured together at at least one end by fasteners inserted along an axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the clipper housing. This arrangement enables the housing to be secured together without the use of conventional vertical bosses oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal clipper axis. Accordingly, the resulting reduced housing profile at least near the clipper bladeset enhances blade visibility compared to conventional clipper housings.
Another feature of the present hair clipper housing is a configuration designed to securely retain an encapsulated motor pod without piercing the water-resistant encapsulation membrane. The motor pod is provided with a chassis having a pod attachment formation adjacent the offset cam used to drive the hair clipper bladeset. As the housing halves are assembled about the encapsulated motor pod, each of first and second housing halves have locking formations that engage the pod attachment formation so as to prevent movement of the motor pod relative to the assembled housing in both a rotational and a linear direction.
In a preferred embodiment, the chassis pod attachment formation is provided in the form of a semi-circular keying protrusion. Included on the keying protrusion is a vertically positioned, semicircular flange axially spaced from the chassis to form a groove. A second, lower housing half has a semi-circular cradle formation configured for engaging the groove. A first, upper housing half has a pair of shoulders that engage ends of the flange, and upon the first and second housing halves being secured together, the shoulders prevent the pod from rotating, and the engagement of the groove with the cradle prevents axial movement of the pod in the housing. Also, attachment of the first and second housing halves using the fasteners oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the clipper as described above secures the two housing halves together and also capture the encapsulated pod.
Still further features of the present hair clipper include features on the motor chassis to more securely retain the motor, a battery and a control system circuit board to the chassis. In a preferred embodiment, these features take the form of integral tabs or protrusions that retain at least the motor, but also a rechargeable battery and the circuit board to the chassis.
A front seal plate of the chassis provides a front attachment point for the encapsulating tube as it is heat sealed, and also forms a base for the semi-circular keying protrusion. A rear seal plate of the chassis provides a rear attachment point for the encapsulating tube as it is heat sealed, and also defines a polygonal shaped charging cowl that is retained by the juncture of the first and second housing halves to also retain the pod in place in the housing against operation-induced movement. In addition to the encapsulating tube, which forms an outer motor seal, the present clipper is provided with a resilient inner tube surrounding at least a drive end of the motor to form an inner motor seal.
More specifically, 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.
In an embodiment, the clipper includes a chassis configured for securing a motor, a battery and a control system, a radially enlarged flange at each of the ends. A tubular sleeve of heat deformable plastic film is provided, being dimensioned for slidingly surrounding the chassis and extending axially at least to the flanges, such that upon application of heat, the sleeve deforms around the chassis, the motor, the battery and the control system, and forms a sealed motor pod. The chassis includes a pod attachment formation configured for being engaged by the attachment formations of the first and second housing halves for preventing movement of the pod relative to the housing upon assembly of the first and second housing halves.
In an embodiment, each of the 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. Preferably, attachment of the first and second housing halves using the fasteners oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the clipper secure the two housing halves together and also capture the encapsulated motor pod. Also, the attachment formations on the first and second housing halves near the bladeset are constructed and arranged to lack fastener bosses projecting perpendicular to the longitudinal housing axis.
In an embodiment, the 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. Also, the second housing half has a semi-circular cradle formation configured for engaging the groove, and the first housing half has a pair of shoulders that engage ends of the flange, and upon the first and second housing halves being secured together, the shoulders prevent the motor pod from rotating, and the engagement of the groove with the cradle prevents axial movement of the motor pod in the housing.
In an embodiment the encapsulating tube forms an outer motor seal, and the clipper is provided with a further inner motor seal surrounding at least a drive end of the motor. Also, the chassis preferably includes integral tabs configured for retaining at least one of the motor and the battery to said chassis.
In an embodiment, a front seal plate or flange of the chassis provides a front attachment point for the encapsulating tube upon heat sealing, and also forms a base for the semi-circular keying protrusion, and a rear seal plate or flange of the chassis provides a rear attachment point for the encapsulating tube upon heat sealing, the rear seal plate defines a polygonal shaped charging cowl configured for being retained by the juncture of the first and second housing halves to retain the motor pod in place in the housing against operation-induced movement.
In an embodiment, formations on the first and second housing halves are included for retaining a rear end of the motor pod from movement relative to the housing upon assembly of said first and second halves.
In another embodiment, 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, each front end defining an attachment formation. A chassis is configured for securing a motor, a battery and a control system, a radially enlarged flange at each of the ends. A tubular sleeve of heat deformable plastic film is dimensioned for slidingly surrounding the chassis and extending axially at least to the flanges, such that upon application of heat, the sleeve deforms around the chassis, motor, battery and control system, and forms a sealed motor pod. Included on the chassis is a pod attachment formation configured for being engaged by the attachment formations of the first and second housing halves for preventing movement of the pod relative to the housing upon assembly of the first and second housing halves.
in the direction generally indicated;
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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
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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 (
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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.
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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.
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 (
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Further, on the first housing half 14, a pair of depending shoulders 120 located behind the loop 104 are configured to engage ends 122 (
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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.
Referring now to
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.
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.