The field of the present disclosure relates generally to electric shavers, and more particularly to rotary electric shavers including a detachable shaving head.
Rotary electric shavers conventionally include a handle and a head releasably attached to the handle and carrying two or more sets of paired inner and outer cutter blades. The outer cutter blades, which are typically circular in shape, are supported by a frame of the shaver head and typically define the skin contacting surface of the shaver along with the outer surface of the shaver head. Openings or slots formed in the outer cutter allow hair to protrude through the outer cutter below an inner surface thereof as the shaver is moved over a user's skin. Inner cutter blades are housed in the shaver head below the outer cutter in sliding engagement with the inner surface of the outer cutter. The inner cutter blades are rotatably driven by an electric motor, typically housed within the handle, whereby rotation of the inner cutter acts to cut hairs protruding inward through the outer cutter.
In current rotary electric shaver constructions, the frame and the outer cutters together define the outer skin-facing or skin-contacting surface of the shaver, with the outer cutters each extending individually outward of the frame. However, when shaving with a rotary shaver, the outer cutters must pass over the user's various skin contours. The transition of the outer cutter over the skin surface is thus often not smooth and can be abrupt. The smoother the transition is over the entire skin-facing outer surface of the shaver head (e.g., from the frame to the outer surface of the outer cutter), the more comfortable the shaving experience will be.
With this current construction, as the shaver is moved over the user's face the skin is forced up over the edges of the outer cutters. This action can cause the skin to drag, or become pinched, and the shaver does not glide smoothly onto the top surface of the outer cutter.
Additionally, some shavers may incorporate a shaving head that is attached only at a center of the shaving head. However, due to the small attachment point, the shaving head is susceptible to damage if dropped. For example, if dropped, the attachment mechanism between the shaver body and shaving head may break, causing the shaving head to break off from the shaving body and render the shaver unusable.
There is a need, therefore, for a reduced bulk rotary electric shaver that facilitates a smoother, more comfortable shave and allows for the shaving head to safely decouple from the body.
In one aspect, a rotary electric shaver includes a handle assembly having a housing, a motor disposed in the housing, a drive shaft operatively connected to the motor and extending through the housing, and a socket for securing a shaver head thereto. The shaver head assembly includes a coupling for detachable coupling to the socket. The coupling is configured to allow the shaver head to be detachably coupled to the handle assembly in at least two different orientations of the shaver head relative to the handle assembly.
In another aspect, a detachable shaver head assembly for a rotary electric shaver is disclosed. The rotary electric shaver has a handle including a housing, a motor, and a drive shaft accessible by the shaver head assembly exterior of the housing. The shaver head assembly is positionable on the handle assembly and includes a coupling for detachable coupling to a complimentary socket of the handle. The coupling is configured to allow the shaver head to be detachably coupled to the handle assembly in at least two different orientations of the shaver head with respect to the handle assembly.
In yet another aspect, a method of positioning a detachable shaver head on an rotary electric shaver handle is disclosed. The rotary electric shaver has a handle including a housing, a motor, and a drive shaft accessible by the shaver head assembly exterior of the housing. A coupling of the shaver head is aligned with a complimentary socket of the handle. The coupling is configured for aligning with the socket in at least two different orientations of the shaver head with respect to the handle. The coupling is pressed to the socket such that the coupling is detachably coupled to the socket. The drive shaft engages with a drive coupling of the shaver head.
Unless otherwise indicated, corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best shown in
The lower base section 512 includes an intermediate wall 514, a drive gear set 516, and a lower housing 518. When assembled, the open space between the blade carrier 508 and the intermediate wall 514 defines a hair pocket 222 (shown in
A flexible sleeve 522 may be provided between the lower base section 512 and the handle assembly 102. In embodiments, the flexible sleeve 522 may provide protection for coupling 202 and may provide a spring action for biasing the shaver head 104 in a predetermined position.
As shown in
The coupling 202 and the socket 204 are configured to have complimentary shapes, such that the coupling 202 fits into the socket 204 in at least two different orientations. The complimentary shapes of the socket 204 and the coupling 202 are best seen in
Although the coupling 202 and socket 204 are shown including a hexagonal cross-sectional shape, any suitable cross sectional shape, such as triangular, round, octagonal, rectangular, oval, other geometric shapes or the like may be used that allow the shaver 100 to function as described herein.
As best seen in
The coupling 202 is configured to be press-fit into the socket 204, as shown in
In some embodiments, for example as seen in FIGS. 2 and 6-7, the coupling 202 includes a clip 216 that includes a spring arm 218 and a lug 220 extending therefrom. The clip 216 is configured for releasable engagement with socket 204. For example, as shown in
In addition, for improved resistance to damage, the clip 216 is configured to release if sufficient force is applied between the shaver head 104 and the handle 102. For example, in one suitable embodiment, the flexibility of the spring arm 218 is sufficient such that if the shaver 100 is dropped, for example causing the shaver head to strike a surface obliquely, the spring arm 218 will flex to the extent necessary to release the shaver head 104 from the handle 102, thus allowing the shaver head 104 to detach from the handle 102, thereby reducing or eliminating damage thereto.
It is understood that two or more clips 216 may be included on shaver head 104. For example, a second clip 416 is shown in
Referring again to
The intermediate wall 524 may be fabricated such that it is substantially smooth, allowing it to be easily cleaned by wiping or rinsing. In some embodiments, intermediate wall 514 and sealing members 224 are configured to create a substantially watertight seal with base 518. In this embodiment, if the shaver head is rinsed with a liquid such as water or a suitable cleaning solution, the liquid does not infiltrate the gear set 516 (
In some embodiments, the shaver head 104 is configured for pivotal movement with respect to handle assembly 102. In such embodiments, driveshaft 206 may be configured as a universal joint or the like, such that the drive shaft 206 may pivot in two or more directions. In such embodiments, coupling 202 and/or socket 204 may be sized such that the coupling 202 fits within the socket 204, but may pivot at least to some extent therein. Suitably, in such embodiments, flexible sleeve 522 may be provided between the lower base section 512 and the handle 102 to impart a spring action for centering, or biasing, the shaver head 104 in a predetermined position. For example, if the shaver head 104 is pivoted with respect to the handle assembly 102 (e.g., when a user moves the shaver head 104 across a contoured skin surface), the flexible sleeve 522 urges the shaver head 104 back to a centered position once the shaver is no longer against the skin surface. The flexible sleeve may be fabricated from a resilient synthetic or semi-synthetic, organic-based material (e.g., a “rubber” material) to facilitate conforming the flexible sleeve to a curvature of base 518 and/or head assembly mount 200.
In one embodiment of a method of coupling a shaver head to a handle, for example in a rotary shaver such as the rotary shaver 100, the shaver head 104 is coupled to the handle 102. In this embodiment, for example as discussed above, the shaver head 104 is positioned above the handle 102, such as in the position shown in
During an exemplary operation of the rotary shaver 100, a user grasps the handle assembly 102 and glides the outer cutters 506 over the skin such that hairs from the skin are directed into the slots of the outer cutters 506, wherein the hairs are cut via the rotating inner cutters 502, 504 and are stored in the hair pocket 222 for subsequent disposal. In some embodiments, as the outer cutters 506 glide over contours of the skin (e.g., the contours of the user's face), the outer cutters 500 and inner cutters 502, 504 are configured to float up and down on drive shafts 520 to facilitate maintaining the outer cutters 500 in contact with the skin.
To further facilitate maintaining the skin contacting surfaces 468 of the outer cutters 464 in contact with the skin when rounding contours of the skin, the shaver head 104 may be configured to float up and down with respect to the handle 102. In this embodiment, the coupling 202 is configured for sliding movement within socket 204. The extent of the sliding may be defined by the stop 212 and the lug 220 contacting the detent 400. For example, the flexible arm 218 may have a length such that when stop 212 abuts surface 214, the lug 220 is positioned below detent 400. Accordingly, in such an embodiment, when lug 220 is in contact with detent 400, the stop 212 is positioned above and not in contact with surface 214. In one suitable embodiment, the flexible sleeve 522 (
When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.