Patent Application
20060156551
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hand-held trimmers and more particularly to a method for manufacturing a hand-held hair trimmer with a non-slip handle for an enhanced grip.
2. Description of Prior Art
Hand held hair trimmers of the type to which the present invention relates are known in the art, see for example D488,260 issued to Khubani on, Apr. 6, 2004. Those trimmers commonly include a rigid elongated, generally cylindrical housing made of plastic or metal. The front end of the housing carries a stationary blade and a movable blade situated in side-by-side relation. The housing encloses a motor for reciprocating the movable blade. The back end of the housing is provided with an open recess adapted to receive a battery for energizing the motor. A switch with an exposed actuator is provided to conditionally connect the battery and the motor to reciprocate the moveable blade.
A hollow cylindrical metal handle is provided. The handle has a housing-receiving channel and an open end. The back end of the housing is slidingly received within the handle channel such the battery-receiving recess is covered. The housing can be withdrawn from the handle to replace the battery.
In order to permit the housing to be withdrawn from the handle without the application of an unduly large amount of force, it is necessary to form the exterior of the housing and the interior of the handle recess with relatively low friction surfaces. However, since the handle is made of metal, the exterior surface of the handle tends to be slippery, particularly when the hands of the user are moist. Moreover, the exterior surface of a metal handle is hard and not very pleasing to the touch.
The exterior surface of the handle could be coated with a non-slip material such as rubber or plastic to provide a handle with an enhanced grip and a softer feel. However, reliably coating the exterior of the metal handle with a non-slip material layer is without coating the interior adds considerably to the cost of the trimmer. Since hair trimmers of this type are designed to be a relatively low cost item, the extra expense of coating the handle exterior is contraindicated.
It is therefore a prime object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a hair trimmer with a non-slip handle for enhanced grip.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for inexpensively manufacturing a hair trimmer with a non-slip handle inexpensively.
It is another object to provide a method of manufacturing a hair trimmer with a non-slip handle utilizing an intermediate metal member between the housing and the grip portion of the handle assembly such that the grip can be fabricated entirely of non-slip material.
In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided for manufacturing a hand-held hair trimmer. The trimmer has a rigid housing carrying a stationary blade, a movable blade and a motor for moving the movable blade relative to the stationary blade. A recess is provided in the housing for receiving a battery to energize the motor. The manufacturing method includes forming an intermediate member. First and second semi-tubular grip parts are also formed. A handle assembly with a channel is formed by placing the intermediate member between the grip parts and by fixing the grip parts to the intermediate member, and to each other. A portion of the housing is inserted into the handle assembly channel. The housing is releaseably connected to the handle assembly in order to permit the housing to be withdrawn from the handle assembly for battery replacement.
Preferably the intermediate member is fabricated of metal. It is formed to have a tubular configuration.
The method also includes the steps of forming a protrusion on the intermediate member and forming a protrusion-receiving recess on the handle assembly. The protrusion is received within the protrusion-receiving recess to define the rotational relationship between the intermediate member and grip parts, before the intermediate member is fixed to the grip parts.
The step of forming the grip parts includes the step of forming the grip parts of non-slip material.
The step of fixing the grip parts to the intermediate member comprises the step of providing an adhesive layer between the member and the grip parts.
To these and to such other objects that may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hand-held hair trimmer with a non-slip handle, as set forth in detail in the following specification and recited in the annexed claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
As seen in
The parts of the trimmer are shown in exploded isometric in
The trimmer includes a rigid housing, generally designated A, preferably made of plastic with metal parts. Housing A has a tapered front end 10 which carries a pair of metal cutting blades 12, situated in side-by-side relation. One of the blades 12 is stationary, being fixed to the housing. The other blade 12 is movably mounted on the housing such that it can be reciprocated relative to the stationary blade by a small electric motor (not shown) situated within the housing.
The back end 14 of housing A defines an open recess 16 adapted to receive a battery 18. Battery 18 is conditionally connected to the motor through a slide switch situated within the housing A, also not shown. An actuator 20 for the slide switch is exposed on the housing surface and is movable along the housing surface in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing to conditionally connect the battery to energize the motor.
The wall of the housing adjacent the battery-receiving recess 16 is open to permit battery 18 to be inserted into and removed from the housing. The back end 14 of housing A is received within the handle assembly, generally designed B, in order to cover the battery-receiving recess opening in order to protect the battery and to prevent the battery from accidentally falling out of the housing.
As is best seen in
Member 24 is tubular. It is and preferably formed by cutting a tube into sections. The tube is preferably made of metal, such as aluminum or other rigid material with a relatively smooth interior surface. A recess 30 is cut into the tube section that forms the member to accommodate the switch actuator 20.
Member 24 is also provided with an outwardly directed protrusion 32. The interior surface of one of the grip parts 26 is provided with a recess 34. Recess 34 is adapted to receive protrusion 32 on member 24 as the grip parts 26, 28 are assembled around member 24 to define the rotational relationship between the intermediate member and the grip portion.
Further, a shoulder 36 is cut or molded into the interior surface of one or both of the grip parts. Shoulder 36 defines the axial position of member 24 relative to the grip portion.
Grip parts 26, 28 are preferably joined together to form a hollow cylinder encircling a portion of member 24 using adhesive deposited along the edges of the parts. However, other conventional joining techniques such as heat or sonic welding could be employed. Adhesive is preferred because no special equipment is required. In addition, a layer of adhesive is preferably situated between the exterior surface of member 24 and the interior surfaces of the grip parts to permanently and securely fix member 24 to the grip portion.
Handle assembly B defines an internal channel with a closed end at the rear. The closed end of the handle assembly channel is formed by the semicircular end parts 38 of the grip parts. The interior diameter of the portion of the handle assembly channel defined by member 24 is preferably slightly smaller than the interior diameter of the channel portion defined by the grip parts. The interior diameter of member 24 is slightly larger than the diameter of the exterior surface of housing A proximate switch actuation 20 such that the housing can be inserted into and removed from the handle assembly with relative ease.
Means are provided for releasably connecting the housing to the handle assembly in the fully inserted position of the housing within the handle assembly. The connecting means serves to retain the housing within the handle assembly in the proper position in “snap-fit” fashion, when the housing is fully inserted into the handle assembly.
The connecting means are illustrated in
Ribs 42 on housing A cooperate with ribs 44 on handle assembly B to retain the housing in the desired position within the handle assembly, as illustrated in
Referring back to
It will now be appreciated that the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a hand-held hair trimmer with a non-slip handle which utilizes an intermediate tubular metal member interposed between the blade-carrying housing and the non-slip grip portion of the handle to permit easy insertion and withdrawal of the housing relative to the handle assembly.
While only a single preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for purposes of illustration, it is obvious that many variations and modifications could be made thereto. It is intended to cover all of those modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims:
