Hair clipper with tethered trimmer attachment and on-board attachment storage

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6604287
  • Patent Number
    6,604,287
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, September 19, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 12, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A hair clipper has a housing and a pair of blades secured outside of the housing. One of the blades is stationary, and the other reciprocates. A hair trimmer or other attachment is tethered to the hair clipper so that it can be selectively placed over the hair clipper blades in use, but is not lost when removed from the blades. The attachment is stored in a recess in the housing when not in use.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to hair clippers, and more particularly, to hair clippers having tethered trimmer attachments that can be stored in the hair clipper.




Conventional hair clippers are often sold with one or more blade attachments. Some attachments set the distance between the clipper blades and the head or face. An attachment that has hair trimmer blades will be described here.




When attachments are removed they can easily be misplaced. Thus, there is a need for hair clippers having tethered attachments. Storing hair clipper attachments is inconvenient and often disorganized. There is also a need to conveniently store hair clipper attachments in an orderly manner.




Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide new and improved hair clippers.




Another object is to provide new and improved hair clippers having a tethered attachment.




Still another object is to provide new and improved hair clippers that store attachments in a convenient, orderly manner.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In keeping with one aspect of this invention, a hair clipper has a housing and a pair of blades secured outside of the housing. One of the blades is stationary, and the other reciprocates. A hair trimmer or other attachment is tethered to the hair clipper so that it can be selectively placed over the hair clipper blades in use, but is not lost when removed from the blades. The attachment is stored in the housing when not in use, preferably in a recess.




A variety of attachments can be used. One such attachment is a hair trimmer attachment that has a stationary blade and a moving blade that cut hair when the moving blade reciprocates. The moving blade of the attachment is driven by the moving blade of the hair clipper, which also reciprocates. The attachment has indentations and a snap that secure the attachment to the stationary blade or other part of the hair clipper when the attachment is in use. A drive member engages the moving blade of the hair clipper when the attachment is secured to the hair clipper in this manner, and the drive member in turn drives the moving blade of the hair trimmer attachment to cut hair.




The attachment also is attached to the hair clipper by a tether that is connected to the hair clipper on one end, and connected to the attachment on the other end. The tether itself can be stiff or flexible. The tethered attachment can be easily removed from the stationary blade and stored in the housing, so that the hair clipper blades can be used to cut hair in the usual manner.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The above mentioned and other features of this invention and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a hair clipper having an integral hair trimmer attachment made in accordance with this invention, shown with the attachment inside the clipper.





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the hair clipper of

FIG. 1

, showing the hair trimmer attachment removed from the housing of the hair clipper.





FIG. 3

is another perspective view of the hair clipper of

FIG. 1

, showing the attachment removed from the hair clipper housing.





FIG. 4

is a perspective view of the hair clipper of

FIG. 1

, shown with the hair trimmer attachment secured to the stationary blade of the hair clipper.





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the hair clipper of FIG.


1


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION





FIG. 1

shows a hair trimmer attachment


10


, and a hair clipper


12


having a housing


14


, a stationary blade


16


and a moving blade


18


. The attachment


10


is secured to the housing


14


for storage purposes.




The blades


16


,


18


have complimentary blade teeth separated by spaces. In operation, the moving blade


18


reciprocates across the spaces to cut hair that enters the spaces. The moving blade


18


can be driven by any suitable motor (not shown). The stationary blade


16


is secured to the housing


14


, typically with screws (not shown). A blade height adjustment


20


can be provided to adjust the height of the moving blade


18


with respect to the stationary blade


16


. The hair clipper


12


can be used to cut hair in the usual manner when the attachment


10


is in the housing, as in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 2

shows the attachment


10


removed from the housing


14


. Thus,

FIG. 2

reveals a recessed area


21


into which the attachment


10


fits for storage.

FIGS. 3 and 4

also show this recessed area.




As seen in

FIGS. 2 and 3

, the attachment


10


is secured to the hair clipper


12


by a tether


22


. The tether


22


can be a solid material such as metal or plastic, as shown, or it can be made of flexible material. In this embodiment, the tether


22


is flat and contoured to fit inside the recessed area


21


, but it could also be round or any other suitable shape. One end of the tether


22


is hingedly secured to the housing


14


, and the other end is hingedly secured to the attachment


10


. The housing


14


includes at least one embossment


24


. A pin


26


passes through an opening in the embossment


24


and openings provided in the tether


22


to secure the tether


22


to the hair clipper


12


. The attachment


10


is also hingedly secured to the tether


22


, as will be described.




The attachment


10


is described in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/955,690, filed concurrently herewith, and entitled “Attachment For Hair Clippers”, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Among other things, the attachment


10


includes a base


122


, a reciprocating blade


130


and a stationary blade


132


. Guides


134


,


136


are also provided. While two guides are shown, a one-piece construction is also contemplated. A rod


137


extends between the openings in the guides


134


,


136


and through an opening


139


in the tether


22


. The guides


134


,


136


also include recesses


194


into which the stationary blade


16


fits, the guides


134


,


136


extending over the top of the blade teeth of the stationary blade


16


, as seen in FIG.


4


.




The base


122


includes a bottom


138


and sides


140


,


142


. The sides


140


,


142


lie along and capture the sides of the hair clipper blades. A snap


144


is provided for securement to the stationary blade of the hair clipper


10


in use, and an elongated depression


146


can be provided, if desired, to accommodate the embossment


24


when the attachment is stored in the housing.




The recessed area


21


can be any suitable design that holds and secures an attachment in place. In

FIG. 3

, the recessed area


21


includes a lip


30


and a recess


32


. The blades


130


,


132


of the attachment


10


fit into the recess


32


, so that the outside surface of the base


122


in

FIG. 3

is flush with the housing


14


when the attachment is stored. Another lip


34


and recess


36


are also provided. The snap


144


fits into the recess


36


and is retained by the lip


34


when the attachment


10


is stored. That end of the bottom of the attachment is also flush with the housing


14


. Ears


37


are provided to pull the attachment away from the hair clipper. Another recess


38


is provided in the recessed area


21


for the tether


22


.





FIG. 4

shows the attachment


10


secured to the stationary blade


16


of the hair clipper


10


. The attachment is secured by rotating it over the hair clipper stationary blade and latching the snap


144


. In this manner, the attachment is stored on one side of the hair clipper (FIG.


1


), and used on the hair clipper blades on the other side of the hair clipper (FIG.


4


).




In

FIG. 5

, a hair clipper


200


includes an attachment


202


tethered by arms


204


,


206


, located on either side of the attachment


202


. The arms


204


,


206


are secured to the attachment


202


by any suitable means, such as a ball and socket joint. The arms


204


,


206


can be secured to the hair clipper


200


in a similar manner, such that the attachment


202


can rotate from a stationary blade


208


on the hair clipper


202


to a recessed area


210


for storage purposes. The recessed area


210


includes a lip


212


and recess


214


into which blades


216


of the attachment


202


fit, and a recess


218


into which a snap


219


on the attachment


202


fits.




The many advantages of this invention are now apparent. Hair trimmer attachments are tethered to the hair clipper, so they are not lost. The attachments can be easily stored in the housing, which is convenient and orderly, and further prevents loss of the attachment. If the attachment is concealed in the hair clipper housing, the attachment does not interfere with the regular use of the hair clipper.




While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific apparatus and applications, it is to be understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention. While a hair trimmer attachment has been described, it is contemplated that other devices, such as massagers, ear and nose hair trimmers and the like, could be attached to the hair clipper and driven in a similar manner.



Claims
  • 1. A hair clipper comprising:a housing; hair clipper blades; and an attachment selectively secured to and removed from the hair clipper blades; wherein the housing having means for receiving the attachment therein for storage purposes when the attachment is not secured to the hair clipper blades.
  • 2. The hair clipper of claim 1, wherein the means for receiving is a recessed area and the attachment is stored in the recessed area so as to not interfere with regular use of the hair clipper when the attachment is stored.
  • 3. The hair clipper of claim 2, wherein the recessed area includes at least one lip and one recess for securing the attachment in the housing.
  • 4. The hair clipper of claim 1, wherein the attachment includes means for releasing the attachment from storage in the housing.
  • 5. The hair clipper of claim 4, wherein the releasing means includes ears on the attachment.
  • 6. A hair clipper comprising:a housing; a stationary blade, a reciprocating blade, a blade attachment; and a tether attached to the housing on one end by a first hinge and the attachment on the other end by a second hinge.
  • 7. The hair clipper of claim 6, wherein the tether includes a first opening at the one end and a second opening at the other end, the tether being attached to the housing by a rod inserted through the first opening, the tether being attached to the blade attachment by a rod extending through the second opening.
  • 8. The hair clipper of claim 6, wherein the tether is a single piece of flat material.
  • 9. The hair clipper of claim 6, wherein the tether includes two arms located at sides of the blade attachment.
  • 10. A hair clipper comprising:a housing; a stationary blade, a reciprocating blade, a blade attachment; and a tether attached to the housing on one end and the attachment on the other end; wherein the tether includes two arms located at the sides of the blade attachment.
  • 11. A hair clipper comprising:a housing; a stationary blade, a reciprocating blade, a blade attachment; and a tether attached to the housing on one end and the attachment on the other end; wherein the tether includes a first opening at the one end and a second opening at the other end, the tether being attached to the housing by a rod inserted through the first opening, the tether being attached to the blade attachment by a rod extending through the second opening.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
2011351 Yancey et al. Aug 1935 A
2196599 Shryock Apr 1940 A
2291438 Andis, Jr. Jul 1942 A
3183591 Dumont May 1965 A
4614032 Szabo Sep 1986 A
4622745 Wahl Nov 1986 A
5542178 Harkleroad Aug 1996 A
5701675 Hall et al. Dec 1997 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
443 680 Aug 1991 EP
965 419 Dec 1999 EP
0010779 Mar 2000 WO