Patent Application
20050044719
The present invention relates to a rattle dampening structure for a comb attachment of a hair trimmer with a cutter block having comb-shaped reciprocating blades, only one of which is movable. The hair trimmer cuts hair and beard by the operation of the reciprocating blades, over which the comb attachment is placed so that the trim length can be varied.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H1-214388 (hereinafter refer to as “Patent 1”) discloses therein a trim length adjusting structure for a conventional hair cutter. In the conventional example described in Patent 1, a cutter block consisting of a stationary and movable blade, both of which are comb-shaped and one of which reciprocates, is protrudingly disposed at one end portion of a main body. A cylindrical comb attachment in a comb shape for trim length adjustment is movably engaged at the portion of the main body where the cutter block is disposed and along the projected direction of the cutter block. An elastic hook provided at the rear portion of the comb attachment is engaged with an annular groove provided at the front end of a cylindrical adjustment element which is rotatably and movably disposed around the main body. A protrusion projecting on the exterior surface of the main body is inserted into a spiral groove formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical adjustment element. By rotating the cylindrical adjustment element, the adjustment element is moved in the longitudinal direction while it rotates around the main body along the spiral groove. As a result, the comb attachment in a comb shape is movable in the projected direction of the cutter block.
Further, hair or beard brought in from the base portion of the comb attachment comes in contact with the stationary blade in a comb shape and then cut by the movable blade at desired cutting length. In this case, the cutting length can be adjusted by rotating the adjustment element.
However, in the conventional example above, since the cylindrical comb attachment is merely movably engaged with the main body, it rattles in an approximately perpendicular direction to its movable direction, thereby making a rattling noise while interfering the trimmer's handling quality. Further, also in the area where the protrusion on the main body's exterior surface is inserted in the spiral groove, the cylindrical adjustment element rattles and makes a similar noise. In this case, in order to eliminate such rattling, if the comb attachment and the main body are made to engage tightly, or otherwise, the spiral groove and the protrusion on the main body's exterior surface are tightly fitted, the friction between the parts would increase, so that precise operation of the cutter becomes more difficult. Further, in order to mass produce the cutter with features with such subtle dimensional variations, maintaining the product quality becomes a formidable challenge.
The present invention has been developed to solve the problems of the conventional cutter discussed above. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rattle-dampening structure for a hair trimmer's comb attachment which is for trim length adjustment, wherein the structure has an unsophisticated design which possesses excellent manipulability and allows for an easy guarantee of product quality by eliminating the rattling of the comb attachment.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hair trimmer with a rattle dampening structure, including: an elongated main body; a cutter block having a stationary blade and a movable blade, both of which are comb-shaped and are slidably in contact with each other, the cutter block being protrudingly installed at one end of the main body; a comb-shaped cylindrical comb attachment covering the cutter block such that it is movable in a projected direction of the cutter block; and an elastic member for elastically pressing the comb attachment for trim length adjustment, in a direction approximately perpendicular to a moving direction of the comb attachment.
With such configuration, as for movably (loosely) disposing the cylindrical comb attachment along the reciprocating direction of the cutter block of the main body, even if the comb attachment is slightly loosely sized relative to the main body without requiring exact dimensional precision, the rattling of the comb attachment approximately perpendicular to the trim length adjustment direction can be prevented, thereby eliminating a rattling noise. Further, since the comb attachment can be adjusted smoothly, the manipulability of the trimmer can be enhanced. Still further, as the requirement for dimensional precision becomes less scrupulous, it becomes easier to maintain product quality with an unsophisticated structure.
Further, it is preferable that the elastic member is disposed in the main body.
By providing the elastic member in the main body, the structure of the comb attachment can be made simpler.
Further, it is preferable that the hair trimmer further includes a connecting member, which is moved by a control mechanism, provided in the main body, wherein the connecting member is engaged with the comb attachment at one sidewall of the comb attachment, the elastic member being disposed such that it presses a side of the comb attachment opposing said one sidewall in a direction approximately perpendicular to the moving direction of the comb attachment.
With such configuration, it is possible to prevent the rattling of the portion where the comb attachment and the connecting member are engaged, thereby eliminating a rattling noise of the engaging portion.
Further, it is preferable that the hair trimmer further includes guided rail portions provided on the comb attachment in parallel with the moving direction of the comb attachment; and guiding rail portions provided on the main body, wherein the guided rail portions are slidably inserted in the guiding rail portions.
With such configuration, the comb attachment for trim length adjustment can steadily move in a predetermined direction under the guidance of the guiding rail portions to the guided rail portions wherein the guiding allows comb attachment for trim length adjustment to become movable.
Further, it is preferable that the hair trimmer further includes a pressure receiving element provided on the comb attachment so that it is in contact with the elastic member; and a receiving groove portion provided in the main body, wherein a part of the pressure receiving element is movably inserted in the receiving groove portion.
With such configuration, since the pressure receiving element does not interfere with a user's grip by touching the holding hand, the trimmer becomes more convenient to use.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in accordance with a preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A hair trimmer A is configured such that a cutter block 4 having a stationary blade 2 in combination with a movable blade 3 both of which are comb-shaped and slidably in contact with each other, is protrudingly disposed at one end portion in the lengthwise direction of an approximately cylindrical main body 1 which extends from the one end to the other end portion. The main body 1 is formed as shown in
In case the one side-surface of the main body 1 where the rotary dial 7 and the operation switch 8 are provided is defined as the front, the comb-shaped movable blade 3 of the cutter block 4 is positioned at the front portion whereas the comb-shaped stationary blade 2 is positioned at the rear portion behind the movable blade 3, as illustrated in
The main body 1 is provided with housings 1a, 1b and 1c, wherein the housing 1a serving as the front portion of the main body 1 is provided with a mortise 10 for disposing the rotary dial 7 and the operation switch 8. An annular recess 11 is additionally formed approximately at the central portion of the mortise 10, and a switching hole 10a is provided approximately at the opposite side from the cutter block 4 as the annular recess 11 of the mortise 10 as the point of symmetry. A switch mechanism (not illustrated) is accommodated in the rear portion of the switching hole 10a of the housing 1a, and an engagement hole (not shown) provided at an operation portion (not shown) for turning on/off the switch mechanism faces the switching hole 10a. Engagement holes 18 are provided in the area surrounded by the annular recess 11 of the central portion of the mortise 10, as illustrated in
As shown in
In the rotary dial 7 illustrated in
When the rotary dial 7 is rotatably mounted on the mortise 10, the rear protrusion portion 7b is inserted into the annular recess 11, and the click gear 7d becomes interlocked with the push protrusion portion 16a of the click spring 16. Further, the interlocking gear wheel 7c is meshed with the rack gear portion 6a of the connecting member 6, as illustrated in
By installing the dial retaining plate 17 when mounting the rotary dial 7 on the main body 1, it is possible to prevent the rotary dial 7 from separating from the main body 1. The engaging portion 17a is protrudingly formed at the outermost end of the dial retaining plate 17 toward the rear portion. Further, slide engaging tracks 17b, which are a pair of elongated holes, and an extension piece 17d having a display hole 17c is protrudingly provided on the outer circumference of the dial retaining plate 17.
Further, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The operation switch 8 described above is disposed on the exterior of the rotary dial 7 in the mortise 10, as illustrated in
In this manner, the rotary dial 7 which transmits its movement to the connecting member 6 is disposed at one side surface of the main body 1 approximately in parallel with the corresponding one side surface, and the operation switch 8 is disposed at the exterior of the same side surface of the main body 1 over the rotary dial 7. Disposing the operation switch 8 over the rotary dial 7, thereby overlapping them in the same place of the main body 1, the length of the main body 1 becomes shorter in comparison with a design having the operation switch 8 and the rotary dial 7 disposed at different places of the main body 1 along the lengthwise direction. Further, the overall size of the main body can be made smaller as a result.
In this case, some part of the outer circumferential portion of the rotary dial 7 is exposed from the operation switch 8. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, some part of the rotary dial 7 is projected from the sides of the operation switch 8. Further, the operation switch 8, seen from the front, is formed in a V shape in which the width becomes narrower from one side to the other, wherein the portion where the width is the narrowest is placed furthest from the cutter block 4 on the main body 1. Some Part of the rotary dial 7 is projected and exposed from both sides of the operation switch 8 at a section where the width of the V-shaped operation switch 8 turns narrower.
If the operation switch 8 is moved in the lengthwise direction of the main body 1, the switch mechanism then turns on/off a driving mechanism 19 such as a motor or a linear actuator accommodated in the main body 1, thereby driving the movable blade 3 of the cutter block 4 to reciprocate or otherwise, stopping the operation thereof (the driving mechanism 19 is turned on when the operation switch 8 is moved closer to the cutter block 4 whereas it is turned off if moved further from the cutter block 4).
Further, since the interlocking gear wheel 7c is engaged with the rack gear portion 6a of the connecting member 6 as illustrated in
As shown in
The housing 1c is installed on housing 1b such that it covers a part of the housing 1b and a part of the guide groove 22 of the housing 1b (a portion away from the cutter block 4). The receiving groove portion 22a is provided with a part of the guide groove 22 and the housing 1c.
Further, guiding rail portions 23 are provided on both left/right sides of the comb attachment placement head 14 of the main body 1 along the lengthwise direction of the main body 1.
The cylindrical comb attachment 5 has one open end portion and slidably covers the comb attachment placement head 14 of the main body 1 having the cutter block 4 at one end portion thereof.
As described above, while the comb attachment placement head 14 of the main body 1 is covered by the cylindrical comb attachment 5 with one open end portion for trim length attachment, among the sides of the cylindrical comb attachment 5, if the side where the operation switch is disposed is defined as the front side portion 5a, the side portion facing the front side portion 5a becomes a rear side portion 5b. Further, the side portions connecting both edge portions of the front side portion 5a and the rear side portion 5b become left/right side portions 5c, and the side portion facing the opening becomes an end surface portion 5d. Further, multiple rows of slits 25 are formed from the front side portion 5a to the rear side portion 5b via the end surface portion 5d to thereby form a comb-shaped section 26.
An engager portion 27 is disposed on the inner surface of the front side portion 5a of the cylindrical comb attachment 5. As illustrated in
Further, a flat plate-shaped pressure receiving element 29 is provided at the rear side portion 5b of the cylindrical comb attachment 5 and projected from the inner surface of the rear side portion 5b toward the opposite direction of the end surface portion 5d via the open end. Further, a elastic pressing protrusion 21a of the elastic member 21 projecting through the window portion 20 of the main body 1 is elastically in contact with the pressure receiving element 29 while covering the comb attachment placement head 14 of the main body 1 with the cylindrical comb attachment 5. The pressing direction on the pressure receiving element 29 by the elastic pressing protrusion 21a of the elastic member 21 is perpendicular to the moving direction of the comb attachment 5 (in this case, the perpendicular direction in the present invention includes an approximately perpendicular direction). Further, as illustrated by arrows of
Especially, since the portion where an elastic force of the elastic member 21 is applied to the comb attachment 5 approximately perpendicular to the moving direction of the comb attachment 5 is located on the opposite side with respect to the connecting portion where the cylindrical comb attachment 5 and the main body 1 are engaged (i.e., the connecting portion where the engager portion 27 of the comb attachment 5 is engaged with the engaging hook 6c of the connecting member 6 disposed in the main body 1), the elastic pressing on the comb attachment also serves to eliminate the rattling in the connecting portion between the cylindrical comb attachment 5 and the main body 1. Further, even if the corresponding connecting portion is loosely sized, it is possible to prevent its rattling as well, therefore its rattling noise.
Further, in the embodiment described above, with respect to the elastic member 21 for elastically pressing the comb attachment 5 in an approximately perpendicular direction to its moving direction is disposed in the main body 1. However, it is possible to install the elastic member 21 in one of the four sides of the cylindrical comb attachment 5 so that the elastic member 21 elastically presses corresponding one side of the main body 1. As a result, the same effect can be achieved by elastically pressing the guided rail portions 28 or the side portion opposite to where the elastic member 21 of the cylindrical comb attachment 5 in an approximately perpendicular direction to the moving direction of the comb attachment 5.
A step-by-step use of the hair trimmer A having the aforementioned comb attachment 5 movably disposed will be described in detail hereinafter.
Namely, while holding the main body 1 with one hand, the trim length is adjusted by turning the rotary dial 7 so that the comb attachment 5 would move in the projected direction of the cutter block 4. By turning on the operation switch, the movable blade 3 would start to reciprocate, and hair or bear brought in through the slits between the comb-shaped section 26 of the comb attachment 5 is cut by the stationary blade 2 and the movable blade 3 at desired trim length. In this case, as discussed above regarding the present invention, since the operation switch 8 is disposed over the rotary dial 7 at the same place on the main body 1, when cutting hair or beard while grabbing the main body 1 with the hand, the operation switch 8 and the rotary dial 7 can be controlled with the same hand holding the trimmer's main body without switching hands. Therefore, the manipulability of the hair trimmer is enhanced.
In this case, as in the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, along the lengthwise direction of the main body 1, a neck portion 9 having a narrow width between both sides is formed, and the rotary dial 7 and the operation switch 8 are disposed on a side perpendicular to the both sides of the corresponding neck portion. Therefore, when the main body 1 which is to be hand held is grabbed by the hand, the main body 1 would be grabbed in a manner such that the thumb and the index finger would be placed on the neck portion 9, and the rotary dial 7 and the operation switch 8 can be reached by the tip of the thumb while holding the main body 1. Accordingly, a user can easily operate the rotary dial 7 and the operation switch 8 without switching hands.
In order to operate the operation switch 8 while holding the main body 1 with one hand, the hair trimmer can be turned on and off only by sliding the thumb in the lengthwise direction of the main body 1 without switching hands while pressing on the surface of the operation switch 8. Further, in order to operate the rotary dial 7 while holding the main body 1 with one hand, by turning the exposed part of the rotary dial 7 from the operation switch 8, a desired trim length adjustment can be obtained simply by shifting the rotary dial 7 with the thumb without switching hands, thereby moving the comb attachment 5.
Since a part of the rotary dial 7 is exposed from the side of the operation switch 8 as shown in the embodiment in the accompanying drawings, when the exposed part of the rotary dial 7 projecting from the side of the operation switch 8, is changed with the fingers, the rotary dial 7 is easily turned without disturbing the operation switch 8 thereby further enhancing the manipulability of the hair trimmer. In this case, as shown in
However, when a user turns the rotary dial 7, it causes a change in the relatively meshed section between the interlocking gear wheel 7c and the rack gear portion 6a of the connecting member 6, thereby moving the connecting member 6 and shifting the comb attachment 5 in stages. In this case, when the comb attachment 5 is moved in stages, since the click gear 7d and the push protrusion portion 16a of the click spring 16 stay interlocked at different shifting stages, each shifting position can be maintained. Further, when shifting the trim length by turning the rotary dial 7 to adjust the position of the comb attachment 5, a user would notice a clicking sensation accompanied by a clicking sound, thereby the trim length can be adjusted with confidence. Further, as shown in
With the present invention, as for movably disposing the cylindrical comb attachment along the reciprocating direction of the cutter block of the main body, even if the comb attachment is slightly loosely sized relative to the main body without requiring its precise dimensions, the rattling of the comb attachment perpendicular to its trim length adjustment direction can be prevented, thereby eliminating a rattling noise. Further, since the comb attachment can be smoothly adjusted on the main body, the manipulability of the hair trimmer is enhanced. Further, as noted above, since the comb attachment does not need to be sized precisely, it becomes easier to streamline the product quality maintenance by taking advantage of such an unsophisticated structure, ultimately making mass production easier.
While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-307759 | Aug 2003 | JP | national |
