The invention relates to a shaving apparatus having a skin contact surface accommodating at least one cutting unit comprising an external cutting member and a matching internal cutting member, and a device for providing a shaving aid to said skin contact surface.
Such a shaving apparatus is known for example, from WO 98/08660. This known shaving apparatus (or shaver) has three cutting units or shaving heads, which are provided in the skin contact surface. Each shaving head comprises an annular region provided with hair-trapping apertures, and an internal cutting member rotating during operation and having a number of knives for cutting hair protruding through the hair-trapping apertures. The skin contact surface in use contacts and supports the skin of the user during shaving and therefore also is called a skin support surface or skin support region. The skin contact surface surrounds the annular regions of the shaving heads and further comprises the region(s) enclosed by the annular region(s) of the shaving head(s).
A shaving apparatus of the above type typically comprises a holder for an additive or shaving aid like a shaving liquid, as well as means for supplying a certain amount of additive to the skin contact surface during shaving. Generally a push button will be provided which may be operated by the user of the shaver whenever he desires to obtain or increase a gliding effect provided by the additive.
A problem of the known shavers is that the shaving aid supplied to the skin contact surface has a tendency to flow into the shaving head(s) because of suction forces caused by the rotating internal cutting member(s).
For obvious reasons the size of a holder for shaving aid cannot be very large. Thus in order to obtain a suitable period of use between the moment the shaving aid holder is filled and the moment the holder must be refilled or, if the holder is (part of) a replaceable cartridge, to obtain a suitable period of use of such a cartridge, it is desired that the shaving aid be used as effectively as possible. Of course an optimum effective use of such a shaving aid is not possible if the shaving aid supplied to the skin contact surface of a shaver is rapidly drained away through the hair trapping apertures of the shaving head(s). Moreover, if it only takes a short time before the shaving aid is drawn away from the skin contact surface through the hair trapping apertures a certain risk exists that the shaving head will run dry and a user with a sensitive skin will damage his skin. Obviously this is undesirable.
In view of the above it is an object of the present invention to provide a shaving apparatus providing an improved effectiveness of the shaving liquid and/or other additive supplied to the skin contact surface of the shaving apparatus.
To this end, a shaving apparatus of the type indicated above is characterized by shaving aid retaining means provided on at least part of the skin contact surface.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawing.
The shown apparatus 10 has a housing 1 and a shaving head holder 2, which holder can be detached from the housing and/or is hinged to the housing. Three shaving heads or cutting units 3 are present in the shaving head holder, each comprising a stationary external cutting member 4 provided with hair trapping apertures 5 and an internal cutting member 6 with cutters 7 which can be driven into rotation with respect to the external cutting member. An on/off switch 8 is also provided.
As shown in
The shaving head holder 2 has a skin contact surface 9 comprising a first skin contact region 15 surrounding the shaving head(s) 3 and a second skin contact region 16 enclosed by the stationary annular cutting member of each shaving head.
The shaver 10 has a space 17 for accommodating a holder 40 for shaving aid. The space 17 in this example further accommodates a pump 20 for pumping shaving aid from the holder to an outlet opening 18 in or near the skin contact surface of the shaver. A switch, in this case a push-button switch 19, has been provided for operating the pump 20. Further details of the shaver 10, in particular the holder and the pump, may be found in WO 98/08660.
The shaving head of
The profiled decorative cap in this embodiment has a generally slightly domed shape and has three circular concentric, gently sloping ridges 30, 31, 32. Any shaving aid present on the decorative cap, i.e. between the decorative cap and the skin of the user, will to a certain extent be retained in the grooves 34, 35, 36 between the ridges and will be prevented from flowing straight to the hair trapping apertures 5. In fact, the grooves 34, 35, 36 function as temporary storage zones for shaving aid. The time it takes on average for a certain quantity of shaving aid on the decorative cap to completely flow away through the hair trapping apertures will be notably longer if a profiled decoration cap is used instead of a prior art flat cover.
Though the shaving aid retaining means described above and shown in
Shaving aid will also be present in the skin contact region 15 on the skin support member 42 surrounding the shaving head(s) during operation of the shaving apparatus. Such shaving aid will also be sucked into the hair trapping apertures. In order to prevent this from happening shaving aid retaining means may be provided around the shaving head(s). In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, at least one groove surrounds each annular cutting member. An example of such a groove is shown at 48 in
In accordance with a further elaboration of the idea of providing a shaving aid retaining groove in the skin contact surface surrounding an annular cutting member, a separate ring-shaped element 46 is provided around each socket for a shaving head. Such a ring-shaped element will be mounted in the skin support member around each annular cutting member and will form a low ridge preventing shaving aid from flowing straight from the skin contact region 15 into the hair trapping apertures of a shaving head.
Such ring-shaped elements 46 may be made from a suitable synthetic material or metal. The ring may be (partly) embedded into the material of the skin support member. During shaving, the top of the ring may be somewhat higher than the surrounding surface of the skin support member region, or the top of the ring may substantially be flush with the skin contact region, if a small groove is formed at the connecting faces of the shaving head holder and the ring. Such a groove may result from a somewhat lower shoulder of the shaving head holder and or the ring, or from differences in shape of mutually facing connecting surfaces of the shaving head holder and the ring near the skin contact surface.
Ring-shaped elements as well as a groove surrounding each element have been shown in
An example of a part of a shaving head holder provided with a separate ring-shaped element 46 is schematically shown in
Preferably, the ring-shaped element 46, or at least the top of said ring-shaped element has a low friction surface, as may be obtained, for example, by high-gloss polishing in order to enhance the gliding performance during shaving.
Of course it would be possible to provide two or even more concentric grooves in and/or around the ring-shaped elements.
It is observed that a shaving aid additive as referred to in this description may be a liquid or any other type of material suitable for the intended purpose such as, for example, a gel, a foam, a cream, a water-soluble hard material etc. . . .
In the above description, the invention has been explained with reference to a shaver having one or more cutting units of the rotary type. However, the invention does apply to other types of electric shavers like shavers having one or more cutting units of a vibrating type. Such cutting units generally have a bank of parallel cutter elements which in use vibrate below a perforated foil. The area around and, if applicable, between such vibrating cutters may be provided with shaving aid retaining means in accordance with the present invention. An example of such a shaver is disclosed in WO 02/051598 and is shown in
For a shaver having two or more vibrating cutting units it would be possible to use foils covering a cutting unit as well as at least part of the intermediate area 54 between two adjacent cutting units. Such foils would leave a slit or strip-shaped area 61 between their adjacent edges, as is diagrammatically shown in
As an alternative it is possible to use a frame 57, for example made of synthetic resin as shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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03101674.4 | Jun 2003 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB04/50806 | 5/28/2004 | WO | 12/6/2005 |