Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
W093/00203 PCT/US92/040~
7 ~ ~
WOMEN'S SHAV~
The present invention relates to the
combination of a cover for ret~i ni ng a disp~nser
contAining a plurality of safety razor blade cartridges
and a razor handle assembly having a substantially
planar hand-gripping portion to provide a compact
assembled unit for storage and packaging, the razor
handle assembly being of the type wherein the blade
assembly is pivotally movable during a shaving
operation.
A number of razor handles are available on
the market which are designed to receive a cartridge
releasably attached to the razor handle and pivotally
supported about an axis parallel to the razor edge.
Razors of this type are to be found in U.S. Patents
4,026,016 issued May 31, 1977, 4,198,746 issued
April 26, 1980, 4,253,237 issued March 3, 1981,
4,253,236 issued March 3, 1981, 4,253,235, issued
March 3, 1981; and 4,492,025 ics~ January 8, 1985,
all assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
In U.S. Patent 4,168,571 issued September 25,
1979 and assigned to the assignee of the present
invention, it is also suggested to employ a razor of
the block type comprising a casing of a size and shape
to be gripped in the palm of the hand in the manner of
a conventional electric razor, however, to be employed
with blade members in the wet shaving process.
w093/00203 2 G 8 ~ 7 ~ 9 PCT/US92/~0~
~ 2
While many of the various razor structures
employing elements of the aforementioned patent~ have
gained popularity and various modifications have
aehieved eommereial s~lsee~C, a need has arisen for a
razor of the type deseribed above whieh is lightweight,
simple in construction and is attractive to the
ror--C~lmer.
It has been suggested in U.S. Design Patent
Number DES 320,342 to Michael J. Gray to provide a
combined blade cartridge tray wherein a safety razor
may be fixedly clamped to one side of the tray, the
blade cartridge being stored in a disp~nc~r on the
opposite side of the tray. While such a clamping
arrangement is s~lecGssfully employed with a razor of
the type having an elongated stock type handle t the
aforementioned razor having a substantially flat planar
body member does not lend itself to this type of
clamping structure where it is desired to provide a
compact combination of razor and dispencer retA i n; ~g
means for shipping and storage ~u~o c_. It is further
desirable to provide a contact between-the razor and
the dispen-cer ret~ining structure which does not
encourage the user to grasp both elements and use the
combination in the wet shaving process, as the unused
2S blades in the cartridge may contain materials which
would be altered or reduced in effectiveness by
beeoming wet prior to the use in the shaving process.
It is therefore an objeet of the present
invention to provide a cover for receiving and
retaining a dispenser eont~inin~ a plurality of safety
razor blade cartridges, which may be employed in
combination with a razor having a substantially planar
body member forming a handle, which cover is simple to
manufacture and structurally compatible with the razor
handle.
W O 93/00203 PC~r/US92/04084
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Another object of the invention is to provide
a cover of the type described which serves as a holding
or resting surface for the razor when not in use.
A further object of the invention is to
provide a diep~n~er retAining cover of the type
described which is compact and forms a combination of
razor and cover which is easily packaged and shipped as
a unit.
Yet another object of the present invention
lo to provide a razor handle assembly of the type to be
held with the fingers or in the palm of the hand which
is simple in manufacture of its components and easy to
assembly.
Still another object of the invention is to
provide a razor handle of the above type which combines
a simple structure for attachment of blade elements to
the handle combined with a substantially rigid hand-
gripping portion.
A further object of the invention is to
provide a razor handle of the above type having a
housing contAi n; ng the functional elemente which may be
employed throughout a line of razors and combined with
a plurality of handle design variations.
Yet another object of the invention is to
provide a razor handle which is comfortable to grip and
provides ease of blade changing.
The above objects and other objectives which
will become apparent as the description proceeds are
accomplished by providing a combination of a razor
handle assembly having a substantially planar body
member with a concave surface comprising a plurality of
sinuous reces~es formed therein, and a cover for
receiving and retA;n;ng a dispenser con~Ai n; ng a
plurality of safety razor blade cartridges. The cover
comprises wall structure forming a substantially
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W093/00203 PCT/US92/~0~
rectangular op~ning on the bottom thereof for receiving
a dispen~~r therein and a top wall having an outer
surface of convex configuration for meeting engagement
with the handle concave surface. A pair of sinuous
upwardly projecting ribs are provided for interfitting
engagement with a selected pair of re~e~eeC in the
razor handle and are effective to locate and retain the
combination razor and ~i~pens?r cover for storage and
packaging.
In the construction wherein a portion of the
razor handle extends from the planar body member to
form an angle with the razor body the top wall outer
surface, the cover is contoured for mating engagement
with the forward portion of the razor when the pair of
ribs are engaged with the receC~e~ in the razor handle.
The cover is generally manufactured of a
plastic material and the wall structure forming the
rectangular op~n;ng is provided with a plurality of
detent members for interloc~i~q engagement with a
dispens~r for ret~i~ing the disp~ received within
the rectangular openi ng .
The razor handle assembly comprises a
substantially flat planar body member with a top shell
member mounted on one surface thereof and a bottom
shell m ~her mounted on the opposite surface thereof,
each of the shell members covering only a portion of
the peripheral top and bottom surface of the body
member. The top shell member and the bottom shell
member each have a portion ext~n~ing forwardly beyond
the body member and are attached one to the other to
form a substantially enclosed housing. An opening is
formed in the forward end of the housing having a pair
of bearing members disposed adjacent the opening, the
bearing members being movable toward and away from each
other and adapted to receive a razor blade assembly and
W093/00203 2 ~ 8 9 7 ~ 9 PCT/US92/040~
permit pivotal movement of the razor blade assembly on
the handle assembly. Means are disposed in the housing
for moving the bearing members toward and away from
each other.
The forward portions of the shells forming
the housing are generally inclined downwardly to form
an angle with the body member and a pair of open;ngs
are formed one at each side of the housing, each
op~ning contA~ing one of a pair of buttons which
extend through the openings. Each of the buttons are
movable inwardly into the housing to cause the bearing
member moving means to move the bearing members toward
each other to release a razor blade assembly retained
on the bearing members. The buttons may be
interconnected by a flexible ronn~ctor di~ within
the housing and at least one of the shell members com-
prises means cooperating with each of the buttons to
guide the button in a direction parallel to movement of
the bearing members.
The bearing members are generally formed on
the forward end of a unitary blade attachment member
which is part of the mean~ for moving the bearing
members toward and away from each other. The legs are
inte~ ected by a flexible hinge portion of the blade
attachment member and a pair of laterally facing
opposed surfaces are disposed one on each leg of the
blade attachment member for contacting a respective
button. A V-sh~pe~ spring member is di~ ed between
the legs of the blade attachment member adjacent the
flexible hinge biasing the leg surfaces outwardly
against the buttons. The blade attachment member and
the button assembly are both manufa~u~ed of a
resilient plastic material to meet the functional
requirements required during manufacturing assembly,
and use in the razor handle.
W093/00203 2 G ~ g 7 ~ 9 PCT/US92/040~
Figure 1 is a left side elevational view
showing the combination of a safety razor handle and
blade disp~n~er cover constructed in accordance with
the teachings of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top plan view, showing the
safety razor assembly of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a left side elevational view
showing the assembly structure of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a left elevational sectional view
taken along the lines IV-IV of Figure 2 showing details
of the structure of Figures 2 and 3;
Figure 5 is a rear elevational sectional view
taken along the lines V-V of Figure 2 showing further
details of the structure of Figures 2 through 4;
Figure 6 is a top front sectional view taken
along the lines VI-VI of Figure 1 showing details of
the operative mechAni~m of the safety razor handle
assembly shown in Figures 2 through 5 during operation;
Figure 7 is a top front sectional view
similar to Figure 6 showing details of the mechAni~m of
Figure 6 in the at rest position;
Figure 8 is a top plan view of the dispenser
cover shown in Figure l;
Figure 9 is a bottom plan view of the
structure shown in Figure 8;
Figure 10 is a left side elevational view of
the structure of Figures 8 and 9;
Figure 11 is a right side elevational view of
the structure of Figures 8 through 10;
Figure 12 is front elevational view of the
disp~n~er cover of Figures 8 through 11;
Figure 13 is a rear elevational view of the
dispenser cover of Figures 8 through 12;
Figure 14 is a left side elevational
sectional view taken on the line XIV - XIV of Figure 12
W093/00203 PCT/US92/~0~
7 ~ ~
showing details of the disre~-~r cover of Figures 8
through 13 in combination with a razor of the type
shown in Figures 1 through 7;
Figure 15 shows a portion of the structure of
Figure 14 taken on an enlarged scale for clarity; and
Figure 16 is a rear elevational cross
sectional view taken on the line XVI - XVI of Figure 10
showing details of the dispen~~r cover of Figures 8
through 13 in combination with the mating razor of
Figures 1 through 7.
Referring now to the drawing, and in
particular to Figure 1, there is shown a combination
safety razor handle 10 and blade dispenser cover 110.
The safety razor handle assembly 10 comprises a
substantially flat planar body member 12 having a top
shell member 14 and a bottom shell member 16 mounted on
the opposite surfaces of the body member, as best shown
in Figures 2 through 5. The body member 12 is
manufactured of a substantially rigid plastic material
such as a styrene and may be of a color or design which
is attractive to the user employing the razor handle
assembly 10.
The top shell member 14 and bottom shell
member 16 each are manufa~Lu~ed of a resilient plastic
material such as ABS and as best shown in Figure 1, the
bottom shell member 16 is provided with a plurality of
upwardly projecting cylindrical pins 18 which extend
through an equal number of aligned circular openings 19
in the body member 12. With the body member 12 and the
bottom shell member 16 assembled as shown in Figures 2
through 5, the upper portion of each of the pins 18 is
formed to the configuration shown in Figure 5,
producing a head 20 and locking the two members
together. As it will further be noted, the body member
12 is provided with a plurality of slots 22, each
W093/00203 PCT/US92/040~
~9~ 49
- 8 -
having an outwardly ex~n~;ng flange 23 disposed in
alignment with the op~nin~. The top shell member 14 is
provided with a plurality of downwardly exten~ing
detents 24, as best shown in Figure 4, in the same
number as the slots 22 and aligned therewith such that
when the top shell member 14 is placed onto the
ass~bled body member 12 and bottom shell member 16,
the detents 24 are snapped over the flanges 23 to
secure the top shell member to the handle assembly 10.
With the top shell member 14, body member 12
and bottom shell member 16 thus assembled, it will be
observed that the shell members 14 and 16 extend only
about the periphery of the body member 12 and therefore
enable the body member to be of a colored material or
of a designed surface which may be changed from time to
time, while ret~ g the top shell member and bottom
shell member assembly employed in the present
construction. With the members thus, the body member
12 extends slightly beyond the top shell member 14 and
bottom shell member 16 to provide a firm and rigid
sandwich structure for the grasp of the user.
Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, it will be
noted that a portion of the top shell member 14 and
bottom shell member 16 extend beyond the body member 12
and are curved downwardly at an angle of about 45- with
the body member 12. That portion of the combined shell
members 14 and 16 form a substantially enclosed housing
26 having a slotted opening 27 formed at the forward-
most end of the shell members 14 and 16 and a pair of
slotted openings 28 and 29 formed at the sides of the
housing.
Referring now to Figures 6 and 7, taken in
conjunction with Figures 2 through 5, a button assembly
including a pair of buttons 30 and 31 are disposed
3~ within the housing 26 and are interconnected by a
~Q~7~
g
flexible web 32, the buttons 30 and 31 each extending
through a respective slotted opening 28 and 29, as best
seen in Figure 6. The button is generally manufactured
of Nylon or similar material suitable for employment in
the operative mechanism to be described below.
A pair of bearing members 34 and 36 are
disposed adjacent the slotted opening 27 and are movable
toward and away from each other to accept a razor blade
assembly for pivotal movement, as is well known in the
art. The razor blade assembly for which the bearing
members 34 and 36 are designed, as well as similar
bearing members, are shown and described in U.S. Patent
4,492,025 assigned to the assignee of the present
invention. Therefore, the bearing members and the
related razor blade assembly will not be described in
detail herein.
Referring back to Figures 6 and 7, the bearing
members 34 and 36 are each formed on a pair of forwardly
extending legs 38 and 40, respectively, which are
interconnected by a flexible hinge 41 providing a unitary
structure which is of one piece molded construction. A
pair of laterally facing opposed surfaces 42 and 44 are
disposed one on each of the legs 38 and 39 for contact
with a respective button 30 or 31, and a V-shaped spring
45 is disposed between the legs 38 and 40 biasing the
surfaces 42 and 44 against the buttons 30 and 31. Within
the V-shaped spring 45 is located a plunger 46 having a
pair of arms 47 and 48 which extend laterally and
forwardly to contact a pair of detents 49 and 50 disposed
on the legs 38 and 40. A helical spring 52 is received
in a cylindrical opening in the base of the plunger 46
and extends rearwardly to contact the spring 45 and bias
the plunger forwardly within the unitary assembly
containing the legs 38
Icd:
W093/00203 ' PCT/US92/~0~
7 ~ 9
--~ 10 --
and 39.
In operation, the operative elements of the
razor handle assembly 10 are in the configuration shown
in Figure 6 of the drawing when a blade assembly is not
disposed on the razor handle, movement of the bearing
members 34 and 36 toward one another being required for
receiving a razor assembly for pivotal movement, as
described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent 4,492,025.
The V-~h~re~ spring 45 is biasing the buttons 30 and 31
outwardly and the helical spring 52 is biasing the
plunger 46 forwardly, the forward surface of the arms
47 and 48 contacting the detents 49 and 50. In order
to move the bearings members 34 and 36 inwardly to
receive a razor assembly, the buttons 30 and 31 are
pushed simultaneously inwardly and ride linearly
inwardly guided by a pair of guide members 55 and 56
formed on the bottom shell 16, which are received in a
pair of slots 57 and 58 formed in the buttons 30
and 31.
With the legs 38 and 40 moved inwardly by
virtue of movement of the buttons 30 and 31, the
detents 49 and 50 are moved inwardly to a position
which allows the arms 47 and 48 of the plunger 46 to
assume the locked position shown in Figure 5, the
plunger 46 moving forwardly under the action of the
spring 52. As described in the previously cited U.S.
Patent 4,492,025, when the blade assembly is placed
over the bearing members, a portion of the blade
assembly contacts the plunger 46 moving it inwardly to
the released position, as shown in Figure 7, in which
the bearing members 34 and 36 are received in proper
alignment in the blade assembly, the structural
elements assuming the position as shown in Figure 7
until the buttons 30 and 31 are again depressed to
release the blade assembly.
2Q~749
Referring now to Figures 8 through 13 there
is shown the cover 110 for retaining a dispenser (not
shown) containing a plurality of safety razor blade
cartridges. The dispenser is generally of the type
shown in U.S. Design patent DES 316,962 issued to
Michael J. Gray.
The cover 110 comprises wall structure
including a top wall 112, side walls 114 extending
downwardly from the top wall 112 forming the right side
wall and the rear wall of the cover 110 and terminating
to provide a side opening 115 into a rectangular cavity
116 in the bottom of the cover. A front wall 18
contains an indentation 20 formed in the lower surface
thereof which is generally provided for easy removal of
a safety razor blade cartridge dispenser having a tab
extending outwardly therefrom, which will be explained
as the description proceeds.
As best shown in Figure 9, in addition to the
wall structure described above, the cavity 116 is
further formed by inner walls 122, 123 and 124 which
provide a box-like structure in combination with a pair
of ribs 126 and 127. The box-like structure is
dimensioned to receive a blade dispenser of generally
rectangular configuration therein and a pair of detents
128 and 129 on the wall 124 in combination with a
single detent 130 disposed on the wall 122 are
dimensioned and so spaced as to retain the blade
dispenser within the cavity 116 with the blade
dispenser resting on the ribs 126 and 127 and the
opposite side of the dispenser firmly held within the
detents 128, 129 and 130.
As best shown in Figures 8 and 10 through 13,
the top wall 112 is formed of a substantially domed
configuration having an elongated convex surface 132
centrally located on the upper surface of the top wall.
~ ~,
W093/00203 PCT/US92/04084
~ ~ - 12 -
Midway between the ends of the raised elongated surface
132 there is provided a pair of sinuous outwardly
projecting ribs 134 and 136 extenAi~g laterally
substantially entirely across the ~o.lvex surface 132.
At the forward end of the cover 110 the top
wall 112 and the front wall 118 are joined by a radial
surface 138 exten~i~g laterally across the width of the
cover 110. The cover 110 is preferably manufactured of
a T grade ABS material, however it should be understood
that the cover may be fabricated from any of a
plurality of similar plastic materials.
Referring now to Figures 14, 15 and 16, the
above described cover 110 is shown in combination with
the razor handle 10 indicated by the dotted lines of
Figures 14, lS and 16. The razor handle 10 comprises
the flat planar body member 12 having a forward portion
104 ext~n~i ng downwardly forming an angle with the
handle 10. The lower surface of the handle 10 is
provided with a plurality of sinuous recesses 106 which
are provided to offer a gripping surface for the user
during the shaving process. Each of the recesses 106
is a mirror image of the sinuous ribs 134 and 136
provided on the cover 110 and are formed in a concave
portion 108 of the razor, the concave portion 108 being
of a dimension for nesting with the elongated convex
surface 132 of the cover 110.
The receCC~s 106 are of the same lateral
extent as the ribs 134 and 136 however as best shown in
Figure 14, there is one position wherein the ribs 134
and 136 mate with a corresponding pair of recesses 106
the two pairs of ribs and recesses falling into
interfitting engagement when the lower surface of the
forward portion 104 of the razor is in contact with the
radial surface 138 of the cover and the concave portion
108 of the razor is properly located on the convex
~ W093/00203 PCT/US92/040~
7 ~ ~
surface 132 of the cover 110. With the ribs 134 and
136 so located, the razor handle 10 is locked from
movement in any direction in a plane parallel to the
top wall 112 of the cover 110.
The razor handle 10 cover 110 combination is
now provided as a compact unit which may be packaged
for ~hipment as a unit and may be stored as a compact
unit by the user during the life of the razor, as shown
in Figure 1.
In the present embodiment the ribs 134 and
136 are dimensions such that their fit with the
rPc~c-e- 106 does not provide a loc~ ng engagement in
the vertical direction but merely a nesting of razor
handle 10 and cover 110 which prevents movement in the
direction of the plain of the top wall 12 of the cover.
Thus, there is little likelihood that the user would
attempt to employ the combination of razor handle 10
and cover 110 in the shaving process thereby wetting
the unused blades retained within the cover. However,
it should be understood that the pair of ribs 134 and
136 could be of a dimension to provide such locking
engagement, and in addition more than two ribs could be
provided to contact more than two recesses, if desired.
