This application is a national stage application of International Application No. PCT/EP2005/001631, filed on Feb. 3, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a safety razor. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to an ergonomic razor handle provided with gripping areas for enhancing comfort of hand grasping during shaving operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous razor handles comprising a body portion for hand grasping and a head portion at a front end thereof to which a razor head is mounted via an appropriate bearing structure are known.
Various kinds of razor handles have been proposed in the past for improving hand grasping by means of gripping areas provided on a side surface of the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,511 to Miller shows a rectilinear composite razor handle structure having a housing structure with an array of spaced apertures and a compressible resilient insert structure including projection portions which that extend through the apertures.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2004/0103545 to Dansreau shows a razor handle having an outer layer made from a compressible elastomeric material and formed around an inner rigid core. The elongated handle is provided with a series of spaced fins having a substantially uniform aspect ratio D:T, wherein D is a depth of each individual fin viewed in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the shaver handle, and T is a thickness of each of the fins viewed in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis.
These designs, however, fail to provide an acceptable compromise between a firm hand gripping and a good touch feeling of the handle while shaving, especially in certain grasping positions.
It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide a razor handle with improved ergonomics, in order to enhance the grasping and comfort qualities of the razor handle while shaving.
The proposed razor handle has a rigid core and a layer of compressible elastomeric material. The razor handle comprises a head portion for connection to a razor head, and an elongated body portion. The body portion has a neck portion in the vicinity of the head portion and the neck portion is provided with opposite side gripping areas. Each side gripping area comprises a series of spaced fins made of elastomeric material, protruding from said rigid core.
There is therefore provided an imbricate structure formed of the elastomeric fins and the rigid core, thereby providing a good compromise between softness and rigidity for firm and comfortable grasping of the razor handle
The above and other objects and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The following description will often make reference to different hand grasping positions of the handle 2. Various positions are illustrated in
Referring now to
Handle 2 has, extending along its length, an upper surface 9, a lower surface 10 opposite the upper surface 9, and side surfaces 11, 12 joining the upper surface 9 and lower surface 10. Handle 2 is symmetrical with respect to a median plane P made visible in
As depicted in
The upper surface 9 and the lower surface 10 together define, from a side view in the symmetry plane P, a height H of the handle 2. It is visible in
Referring to
More specifically, from a top view, each side surface 11, 12 extends substantially along an arc of a circle in the neck portion 17. Such a circle has a radius of approximately 5 cm to 10 cm, and preferably approximately 6 cm. This particular shape of the neck portion 17 aims at facilitating hand grasping, especially in the first position (
As depicted in
As depicted in
It can be seen in
It can further be seen in
The razor handle 2 is of the composite type and is comprised of a rigid core 24 made of a moldable nonelastomeric material such as polypropylene or ABS resin, and a layer 25 made of a compressible elastomeric material (thermoplastic rubber) such as Santoprene. The rigid core 24 provides structural strength to the handle 2 while the layer 25 of compressible elastomeric material provides the softness required for comfortable hand grasping and firm finger gripping in any shaving position.
As can be seen, for example, in
The rigid core 24 defines: part of the side surfaces 11, 12 between the side overflowing portions 26 of the layer 25 of compressible elastomeric material, from a location near the back end 4 to the median location 13; part of the side surfaces 11, 12; the whole lower surface 10 from the median location 13 to the head portion 6; and substantially the whole head portion 6, including the side ribs 20, which are therefore integral with the rigid core 24.
As depicted in
As depicted in
The body portion 5 is also provided with a local lower front gripping area 30 located opposite the upper front gripping area 27, comprising a plurality of spaced projections 31 protruding from the lower surface 10. Because, at this location, the lower surface 10 of the body portion 5 is formed by the rigid core 24, the projections 31, in the form of pins, are integral with the rigid core 24. The lower front gripping area 30 provides, in combination with the upper front gripping area 27, enhanced gripping properties in certain shaving positions, such as the one (not depicted) where the razor handle 2 is grasped between the thumb and the index finger in the vicinity of the head portion 6, whereas the rest of the handle 2 is free. Such a shaving position, in which the index finger rests onto the upper front gripping area 27 while the thumb rests onto the lower front gripping area 30, is sometimes used for precise shaving operations, such as mustache trimming.
The body portion 5 is also provided with a local upper back gripping area 32 comprising a plurality of spaced projections 33 in the form of pins protruding from the upper surface 9, and centered on a point 34 located at a distance of approximately 2 cm from the back end 4 of the body portion 5. The body portion also comprises a local lower back gripping area 35, located substantially opposite the upper back gripping area 32, comprising a plurality of spaced projections 36 in the form of pins protruding from the recess 21 in the lower surface 10 and centered on a point 37 located at a distance of approximately 2.5 cm from the back end 4. Because, in this region, the upper and lower surfaces 9, 10 are defined by the layer 25 of compressible elastomeric material, the pins 33, 36 of the upper and lower back gripping areas 32, 35 are integral with the elastomeric layer 25. This enhances hand grasping in certain shaving positions, such as the fourth position (
The lower back gripping area 35 can also be used in combination with the upper front gripping area 27 in certain shaving positions such as the first position (
As depicted in
The air cushion 38 is built up during the manufacturing process of the handle 2, in which there is provided a step of molding the rigid core 24, followed by a step of molding the layer 25 of compressible elastomeric material over the rigid core 24 after a short predetermined rest time (few seconds) where the rigid core 24 is allowed to cool. The resin of which the core 24 is made of is injected at a primary injection point 41 located near the middle of the handle 2, whereas the compressible elastomeric material is injected at a secondary injection point 42 that faces the groove 39 near the head portion. The flow of pressurized elastomeric material generates an air bubble which is imprisoned at the bottom 40 of the groove 39, thereby building up the air cushion 38 between the rigid core 24 and the elastomeric layer 25.
As depicted in
More specifically, in the region of the neck portion 17, the rigid core 24 and the layer 25 of compressible material define complementary comb-like structures 46, 47 embedded and imbricated in each other as depicted in
As depicted in
The imbricate structure of the side gripping areas 43, 44 provides a good compromise between softness (via the elastomeric fins 45) and rigidity (via the rigid core 24) for firm and comfortable grasping of the razor handle 2, especially in the first position (
As depicted in
Turning now to
In the disclosed embodiment, the razor head 7 is of the swiveling type, the bearing structures 8 comprising arcuate rails 53 clipped into corresponding hooks 54 provided on the razor head 7, wherein a longitudinal flexible tongue 55, extending between the arms 51, 52 and cooperating with a groove formed on the razor head 7, provides a spring force which biases the razor head 7 towards a median rest position as illustrated in
As depicted in
In the depicted embodiment, where the razor 1 is of the disposable type, which means that once mounted on the handle 2, the razor head 7 does not have to be dismounted, each arm 51, 52 comprises a median wall 60 interconnecting the side walls 56, 57, and perpendicular to the side walls 56, 57 and to the stiffeners 58, thereby increasing longitudinal rigidity of the arms 51, 52.
It can be appreciated from
As a result of all the described features, the razor handle 2 has an enhanced design that improves finger gripping and provides more hand grasping comfort during shaving operations than known razor handles.
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PCT/EP2005/001631 | 2/3/2005 | WO | 00 | 8/13/2007 |
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WO2006/081837 | 8/10/2006 | WO | A |
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