This invention relates to shaving razors and cartridges intended for mounting on such shaving razors wherein the cartridges include a mounted solid shaving aid that is wing shaped and that exhibits an improved conformation to a shaving consumer's skin surface.
Razors for wet shaving typically include a blade unit carried by a handle, the blade unit including an elongate blade with a rectilinear sharpened edge, or a plurality of such blades with parallel edges. The blade unit may be fixedly mounted on the handle with the intention that the entire razor be discarded when the blade edge or edges have become dulled. Alternatively, the blade unit can be detachably connected to the handle to enable replacement of a used blade unit with a fresh blade unit. Replaceable blade units are commonly referred to as cartridges.
Some shavers, in particular women, use this type of razor in the shower. For example, when shaving her legs a woman will often apply a film or lather of soap to an area of skin to be shaved, shave that area, apply soap to another area, and shave that area. This process is repeated until shaving is complete. Shaving in this manner may be difficult and frustrating, as it generally requires the shaver to hold a wet bar of soap in one hand while wielding a razor in the other hand, often while standing in an awkward position on a slippery shower floor.
Attempts have been made to address this problem by providing soap mounted on a razor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,584,690 describes a razor that carries a shaving preparation, e.g., in the form of a solid cake of soap that surrounds the cartridge. Copending U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 11/471,903, 10/969,392, and 11/595,490 also relate to razor products that provide a shave preparation material to the skin's surface while shaving.
There still remains a need, however, to satisfy the needs of sophisticated shaving consumers that desire a razor product that not only applies a shaving aid to the skin during the shaving experience but also one that provides an improved conformation to the uneven surface of the skin to be shaved.
The present invention features razor cartridges and razors including such razor cartridges where the cartridges deliver a shaving aid to a user's skin during shaving. In one aspect, the invention features a shaving razor comprising:
In another aspect, the invention relates to a disposable razor cartridge comprising
In an even further aspect, the invention relates to a method of shaving hair from skin comprising the steps of:
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
The present invention is directed to a razor that is able to provide improved conformation to the surface of the skin by exhibiting biased movement in a z-direction along a y-axis of the razor product. This mechanism of this biased movement in the z-direction along the y-axis (which extends from a top edge to a bottom edge, both of a cartridge of the present invention). The top edge runs parallel to and is outboard of the below mentioned rear edge while the bottom edge runs parallel and is outboard of a front edge. Referring to
The shaving aid holder 30 (depicted as underlying the wings) of
The razor blade unit 20 comprises at least one razor blade 15 and is similar to blade units described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,907. The handle 14 is similar to those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,855,071, 5,956,851 and 6,052,903.
In the embodiment of
The shaving aid portions are mounted so that they will resiliently deflect upon contact with the skin, from a normal, undeflected (concave) position (
The holder 30 may be mounted so that it is removable from the blade unit 20 by the consumer (e.g., if the consumer wishes to add a shaving aid holder to a blade unit that does not include one), or, alternatively, may be permanently mounted on the blade unit or integrally molded with the blade unit. In the holder depicted in
In another embodiment of the present invention, the shaving aid holder 30 of
Various features of the cartridge 12 will now be described in further detail.
Referring to
Referring to
The wings may or may not include a plurality of apertures 46 (
Elastomeric bumpers 48, 50 may be provided at the corners of the wings, underlying the shaving aid portions, so that as the shaving aid portions are exhausted the user's skin will contact elastomer rather than hard plastic. Generally, the elastomeric bumpers have a thickness of at least 1 mm, e.g., about 1.5 to 3 mm. The elastomer may be relatively soft for user comfort and so that the hinge will have a soft flex. For example, the elastomer may have a hardness of less than about 50 Shore A, e.g., less than about 40 Shore A. The elastomer may be, for example, a block copolymer such as those available under the tradename KRATON. In certain instances, the elastomer has sufficient chemical resistance so that it will not degrade during prolonged contact with the ingredients of the shaving aid composition.
Referring to
Wings 42, 44 are resiliently mounted on the housing 36, to allow deflection of the shaving aid portions 31A, 31B during shaving, from the normal position shown in
Hinges 52, 54 may be formed of an elastomeric material, e.g., a block copolymer. The hinges may be formed of the same elastomeric material as the elastomeric bumpers 48, 50 discussed above. The elastomeric material is generally selected to provide a soft flex, so that the wings deflect readily upon contact with the user's skin, while also providing a good spring return to the wings. For example, the elastomeric material may have a flexural modulus of about 100 to 300 psi. The modulus that will provide the desired product characteristics will depend upon the thickness T and length of the hinges. The thickness and length of two opposing central support hinges can be the same or different, and these dimensions and the elastomeric material used can be selected to give the two pairs of wings desired flexural characteristics. Recall, it is quite possible for an embodiment of the present invention to include a single central support with a single pair of wings either before or after the blade unit. In any event, the thickness of the hinges may be, for example, from about 0.1 to 2.0 mm and the length may be from about 0.1 to 3.0 mm. In the embodiment shown in
The central support hinges 52, 54 may be overmolded onto the housing. In such an embodiment, the housing is connected to each of the wings by one or more connecting members that extend integrally from the housing to the wings, particularly in the vicinity of the sides 38. If desired, these connecting members may be cut after overmolding has been completed. Alternatively, the wings and housing may be separate components that are placed in an insert mold and overmolded with elastomer. Forming the hinges solely of elastomer (i.e., substantially free of rigid plastic) may result in a softer flexing hinge in some cases.
As discussed above, referring to
Any desired formulation may be used to form the shaving aid portions. In certain embodiments, the shaving aid portions have sufficient wear resistance so that the shaving aid portions last for the intended life of the cartridge. If desired, the shaving aid holder may be removable and replaceable by the consumer, in which case the shaving aid portions may be exhausted before it is necessary to replace the cartridge.
In some instances, the shaving aid portions may include soap, e.g., poured or extruded soap. Such soap-based compositions may be modified to increase their hardness, wear resistance, lubricity and/or skin moisturizing and conditioning properties.
If desired, the shaving aid portions may serve as a wear indicator, indicating to the user when the cartridge should be replaced. The shaving aid portions can be formulated to be exhausted at the end of the intended life of the cartridge, as discussed above, so that running out of shaving aid will indicate to the user that the cartridge should be replaced. In other implementations, the shaving aid portions may include an embedded indicia, e.g., a logo, design, or word, that appears when a predetermined amount of shaving aid has been washed away, or an indicia may be embossed on the shaving aid, which disappears as the shaving aid is used. In these cases, appearance or disappearance, respectively, of the indicia would indicate to the user that the cartridge should be replaced. Similarly, a lubricating strip may be mounted on one or both of the wings, underlying the shaving aid portion(s) or even adjacent to the shaving aid portion(s), either after the front shaving aid portion or before the rear one. In this case, as the shaving aid is exhausted the lubricating strip will be revealed, indicating that the cartridge should be replaced. The lubricating strip will provide the added benefit of lubrication and skin conditioning during the period of time until the user is able to replace the cartridge.
Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, while particular cartridge and handle types have been discussed above, the shaving aid holder may be used with any desired type of cartridge and/or handle. If a different cartridge shape is used, the shape of the frame of the shaving aid holder and/or the dimensions of the shaving aid holder may be adjusted accordingly.
Moreover, while two shaving aid portions are shown in the figures and described above, if desired the shaving aid holder may include only a single shaving aid portion, e.g., the front shaving aid portion if only a shave preparation composition is desired, or the rear portion if only skin conditioning is desired (for example, if the user will be using a separate shave preparation such as a bar of soap or a shave gel). In this case, the shaving aid holder will generally include only a single pair of front or rear wings and a single central support.
Additionally, while the wings described above include apertures to secure the shaving aid in place, solid wings may be used if the shaving aid exhibits adequate adhesion to the wings or is attached to the wings in a different manner. Also, while the central support hinges described above are formed of an elastomeric material, in some cases the hinges may be formed of rigid plastic, e.g., “living hinges.”
In some embodiments, the cartridge may include a cap with a lubricating strip, e.g., mounted in a slot at the rear of the cartridge housing. The lubricating strip may be made of a material comprising a mixture of a hydrophobic material and a water leachable hydrophilic polymer material, as is known in the art and described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,585 and 5,454,164.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm”.
All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention. To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/904,560, filed Mar. 2, 2007.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60904560 | Mar 2007 | US |