Electric shaver

Abstract

 An electric shaver (1) provided with one or more outer blades (2) at a blade face (4a) of a shaver body (3), and a rib (30) adjacent to and in parallel with the outer blades (2) in an orthogonal direction (vertical direction) X to the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the outer blades (2), in which a top surface (51a) exposed on each end of an outer blade frame (25a) in the extending direction Y of the outer blades (2) is integrated with a top surface (35b) of the skin guard member (30) to form a continuous surface including a smooth curved surface.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application P2010-251911 filed on November 10,2010; the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to an electric shaver.

[0003] As one of the conventional electric shavers, Japanese Patent No. 4207080 discloses an electric shaver that is provided with outer blades at a blade face of a shaver body and a rib adjacent to and in parallel with the outer blade in an orthogonal direction to the extending direction of the outer blade.

[0004] In Japanese Patent No. 4207080, a skin guard member functioning as the above-mentioned rib is provided between net blades of the outer blades located adjacent to each other, so as to prevent the skin from being caught between the net blades located adjacent to each other and make it come into contact with the skin smoothly.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0005] However, in the conventional electric shaver, grooves and uneven portions are formed between the skin guard member functioning as the above-mentioned rib and the outer blade frame exposed on each side of the outer blade in the extending direction of the outer blades. Consequently, the grooves and uneven portions of such an electric shaver cause a nonsmooth contact with the skin that makes a user feel uncomfortable.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric shaver provided with an outer blade and a rib located adjacent to the outer blade, which comes into contact with the skin smoothly.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an electric shaver including: a shaver body; a blade face; a plurality of outer blades provided at the blade face of the shaver body; a rib provided adjacent to and in parallel with the outer blades in an orthogonal direction to an extending direction of the outer blades; and an outer blade frame attached to the outer blades at each end of the outer blades in the extending direction of the outer blades, in which a top surface of the outer blade frame and a top surface of the rib are integrated to form a continuous surface including a smooth curved surface.

[0008] According to the electric shaver of the present invention, the top surface of the outer blade flame is integrated with the top surface of the rib to form a continuous surface including a smooth curved surface. Therefore, the integrated surface can come into contact with the skin smoothly while preventing a user from feeling an irregular feel on the skin because of grooves and uneven portions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] 

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an electric shaver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a blade face of an electrical shaver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blade face shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an outer blade (net blade) in the blade face shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the outer blade (net blade) shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an outer blade (net blade) of a conventional blade face.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A description will be made below in detail of an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Figs. 1 to 6 are diagrams showing an electrical shaver according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the direction in which outer blades extend is defined as a horizontal direction Y. In addition, the direction in which a plurality of the outer blades are arranged in parallel is defined as a vertical direction X (a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the outer blades: a shaving direction), and the up-down direction in which a head portion is provided and the outer blades face upward is defined as an up-down direction Z (a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction).

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, an electric shaver 1 of the present embodiment is mainly made up of a shaver body 3, a blade portion 4 provided at the top edge (upper end) of the shaver body 3, and a drive member (not shown in the figure) that actuates the blade portion 4.

[0012] The shaver body 3 in the present embodiment is divided into a grip 7 to be held by a user and a head portion 5 connected to the grip 7. The blade portion 4 for shaving hair is provided at the head portion 5, and a press-button switch 9 to actuate the blade portion 4 (turn on or off the power) by the drive member is provided at the grip 7.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 2, the blade portion 4 is made up of one or more outer blades 2 exposed at the upper part of the head portion 5, and inner blades (not shown in the figure) provided inside the outer blades 2 (below the outer blades 2). In addition, blade holes 2a are provided in the outer blades 2 to take in hair, and the inner blades make movements relative to the outer blades 2 (reciprocating movements in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the outer blades 2), so that the inner blades and the outer blades 2 move in cooperation with each other to cut hair.

[0014] The head portion 5 includes a head body 30 attached to the grip 7, and a blade frame 50 detachably attached to the head body 30.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 2, the blade frame 50 includes a box-shaped outer blade cassette 51 provided with a plurality of the outer blades 2 that are vertically movable therein, and a cylindrical outer frame 52 in which the outer blade cassette 51 is attached and housed from the bottom of the outer frame 52, so that the entire circumference of the outer blade cassette 51 is covered with the outer frame 52.

[0016] The plurality of the outer blades 2 in the outer blade cassette 51 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction X. In the present embodiment, a blade face 4a of the electric shaver 1 is composed of the five outer blades 2, in which a first net blade 21, a second net blade 22, a slit blade 20, a third net blade 23, and a fourth net blade 24 are sequentially arranged from front (front side in Fig. 2) to back (rear side in Fig. 2) of the blade face 4a.

[0017] The first to fourth net blades 21 to 24 are formed into an inverted U shape in the vertical direction X so that the upper ends of the net blades protrude upward as viewed from the side (when the outer blades are viewed in the horizontal direction Y). The net blades 21 to 24 are provided with crosspieces on which a number of the blade holes 2a are formed.

[0018] In the present embodiment, the blade widths (widths in the vertical direction X) of the second and third net blades 22 and 23 are smaller than the blade widths (widths in the vertical direction X) of the first and fourth net blades 21 and 24. Due to the smaller blade widths of the net blades 22 and 23 compared with the blade widths of the net blades 21 and 24 (that is, smaller curvature radii of the net blades 22 and 23), the skin pressed against the surfaces of the net blades 22 and 23 protrudes inward from the blade holes 2a to a large extent, so as to shave hair effectively. Namely, in the present embodiment, the second and third net blades 22 and 23 are used as a finishing net blade.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the slit blade 20 is formed into an approximately inverted U shape in the vertical direction X, and is provided with a number of slits 2a perforated from the flat upper wall to the side wall. That is, the slit blade 20 is provided with a number of the slits (blade holes) 2a on an approximately inverted U-shaped crosspiece formed from the flat upper wall to the side wall and on a crosspiece extending in the horizontal direction Y.

[0020] In addition, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the respective net blades 21 to 24 and slit blade 20 that are the outer blades 2 are attached to dedicated outer blade frames 25a to 25e to compose outer blade units 26a to 26e, respectively. The respective outer blade units 26a to 26e are independently engaged with an frame (not shown in the figure) in such a manner that the outer blade units 26a to 26e are vertically movable. The outer blade units 26a to 26e are integrated with the frame, so as to compose the outer blade cassette 51.

[0021] In the present embodiment, among the outer blade frames 25a to 25e, the outer blade frames 25a and 25e to hold the first and fourth net blades 21 and 24 are provided with skin guard members 30 functioning as a rib extending in the same direction as the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the outer blades 2. The skin guard members 30 are provided adjacent to the outer blades 2 in the vertical direction X in which the plurality of the outer blades 2 are arranged in parallel.

[0022] In the present embodiment, the respective skin guard members 30 are provided between the first and the second net blades 21 and 22 and between the third and fourth net blades 23 and 24, each of which is a pair of the outer blades 2 adjacent to each other. The respective skin guard members 30 provided between the net blades 21 and 22 (23 and 24) adjacent to each other prevent the skin from being caught between the net blades 21 and 22 (23 and 24) located adjacent to each other, so that the net blades come into contact with the skin smoothly.

[0023] As described above, the skin guard members 30 are provided between the net blades 21 and 22 (23 and 24) located adjacent to each other in the present embodiment. However, the skin guard members 30 are not limited to this arrangement. For example, in the case in which the finishing net blades (the second and third net blades 22 and 23) having small curvature radii are located at both sides of the outer blade cassette 51 in the vertical direction X, the skin guard members 30 may be provided outside of the respective finishing net blades (the second and third net blades 22 and 23) (outside in the vertical direction X). Accordingly, the skin guard members 30 prevent the skin from being pressed strongly against the finishing net blades (the second and third net blades 22 and 23) having small curvature radii.

[0024] As described above, the electric shaver 1 of the present embodiment can shave hair (beard) efficiently while effectively preventing damage to the skin due to the skin guard members 30 provided adjacent to the outer blades 2.

[0025] In the conventional case shown in Fig. 7, an outer blade unit 126a using a conventional skin guard member 130 was provided with a groove D and an uneven portion B between the skin guard member 130 and an outer blade frame 125a exposed at each end of a net blade 121 (outer blade) in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the net blade 121. The skin guard member 130 was formed as a separate member purposely in order to make a user recognize the skin guard member 130. The skin guard member 130 as a separate member was attached to the outer blade frame 125a, so as to make the skin guard member 130 stand out. However, the groove D and the uneven portion B provided between the outer blade frame 125a and the skin guard member 130 cause a nonsmooth contact with the skin that makes the user feel uncomfortable during the use of the electric shaver 1.

[0026] In view of this, in the present embodiment as shown in Fig. 4, a top surface 51a of the outer blade frame 25a (25e) and a top surface 35b of the skin guard member 30 are put together into a continuous surface including a smooth curved surface. Namely, the outer blade frame 25a (25e) and the skin guard member 30 are integrally formed in such a manner that the respective top surfaces 51 a and 35b are formed to be a continuous surface.

[0027] In the present embodiment as described above, the top surface 51a exposed on each end of the outer blade frame 25a (25e) in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the outer blade 2 (net blade 21 or 24) is integrated with the top surface 35b of the skin guard member 30 so as to form a continuous surface. Therefore, the integrated surface can come into contact with the skin smoothly while preventing a user from feeling an irregular feel on the skin. In addition, the skin guard member 30 of the present embodiment is favorable because there is no uneven portion at the upper surface 35b of the skin guard member 30, unlike in the case of the skin guard member 130 (B1 in Fig. 7) in the conventional case.

[0028] In the present embodiment, the top surface 51a of the outer blade frame 25a (25e) and the top surface 25b of the skin guard member 30 have the same height in the up-down direction Z so as to be a continuous surface. However, the respective heights of the top surfaces 51a and 35b do not necessarily correspond with each other. In other words, the high top surface (for example, 51a) and the low top surface (for example, 35b) may be put together into a smooth curved surface, so that the same function effect as the present embodiment can be achieved.

[0029] In addition, in the present embodiment as shown in Figs. 4 to 6, a skin contact surface 35 of the skin guard member 30 is provided with a concave-convex section 40. The concave-convex section 40 applies the effect of lifting up hair to the skin guard member 30, thereby lifting up hair (beard) efficiently.

[0030] The concave-convex section 40 is provided on a side surface 35a of the skin guard member 30 in the present embodiment. The side surface 35a is one of the side surfaces of the skin guard member 30, which is located at the side that does not face the respective first and fourth net blades 21 and 24 in the vertical direction X of the electric shaver 1. That is, the side surface 35a is a part of the skin contact surface 35 that comes into contact with the skin during the use of the electric shaver 1. Accordingly, convex portions 40a (concave portions 40b) of the concave-convex section 40 are convexly (concavely) provided horizontally (in the vertical direction X in the present embodiment), so as to lift up hair effectively.

[0031] As described above, the two skin guard members 30 including a first skin guard member 30a attached to the first net blade 21 and a second skin guard member 30b attached to the fourth net blade 24 are used in the present embodiment. As shown in Figs 2 and 3, the two skin guard members 30a and 30b are provided in such a manner that the respective concave-convex sections 40 face each other. In addition, the other outer blades 2, which are the second net blade 22, the slit blade 20 and the third net blade 23, are located between the two skin guard members 30a and 30b. Thus, since the respective concave-convex sections 40 provided at the two skin guard members 30a and 30b face each other in the present embodiment, the concave-convex sections 40 can lift up hair even when the electric shaver 1 moves in any direction (in one direction or the other direction) of the vertical direction X during the use of the electric shaver 1.

[0032] The respective concave-convex sections 40 have a corrugated shape in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the skin guard members 30 in the present embodiment. The concave-convex sections 40 are continuously formed into a corrugated shape in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y. The concave-convex sections 40 have approximately the same length as the length of the outer blades 2 (first and fourth net blades 21 and 24) in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 6, the respective skin guard members 30 of the present embodiment are formed in such a manner that the top surface 35b and the side surface 35a provided with the concave-convex section 40 form an acute angle in cross-section in the vertical direction X. In other words, the skin guard member 30 has a tapered shape inclined toward the top surface 35b of the skin guard member 30 (upward in the figure). Since the skin guard member 30 is formed into a tapered shape in cross-section, the tapered tip section easily comes into contact with the skin (easily catches the skin), so as to lift up lying hair (hair having a small hair-lift angle) more effectively.

[0034] As described in detail above, in the electric shaver 1 of the present embodiment, the top surface 35b of the skin guard member 30 functioning as a rib and the top surface 51a of the outer blade frame 25a (25e) exposed at each end in the extending direction (horizontal direction) Y of the outer blade 2 (net blade 21 or 24) are integrally formed into a continuous surface including a smooth curved surface. Therefore, the integrated surface can come into contact with the skin smoothly while preventing a user from feeling an irregular feel on the skin because of grooves and uneven portions.

[0035] In the present embodiment, the blade face 4a of the electric shaver 1 (the shaver body 3) is composed of the plurality of the outer blades 2 arranged in parallel in the vertical direction (the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the outer blades) X. In addition, the respective skin guard members 30 functioning as a rib are provided between the first and the second net blades 21 and 22 and between the third and fourth net blades 23 and 24, each of which is a pair of the outer blades 2 adjacent to each other. Therefore, the skin guard members 30 prevent the skin from being caught between the outer blades 2 located adjacent to each other (the first and second net blades 21 and 22, and the third and fourth net blades 23 and 24), so that the outer blades 2 come into contact with the skin smoothly while preventing a user from feeling a pain in the skin.

[0036] Moreover, each skin guard member 30 functioning as a rib provided adjacent to the outer blades 2 in the present embodiment is provided with the concave-convex section 40. The concave-convex section 40 lifts up hair (beard) effectively, and as a result, an introduction efficiency of the lifted hair into the outer blades 2 (the blade holes 2a) can be improved, so as to shave the hair more promptly and effectively.

[0037] Further, the skin guard members 30 of the present embodiment stand out because each skin guard member 30 is provided with the concave-convex section 40 on the skin contact surface 35 even though the outer blade frame 25a (25e) and the skin guard member 30 attached to the outer blade frame 25a (25e) are formed integrally. Accordingly, a user can easily recognize the skin guard members 30 that stand out due to the respective concave-convex sections 40.

[0038] In addition, the respective concave-convex sections 40 of the present embodiment are formed on the side surface 35a of the skin guard member 30 facing in the vertical direction X. Therefore, the concave-convex sections 40 can slide into the base portion of hair when the electric shaver 1 vertically moves, so as to lift up hair more easily.

[0039] The skin guard members 30 of the present embodiment include the first skin guard member (first rib) 30a and the second skin guard member (second rib) 30b, each of which is provided with the concave-convex section 40 on the side surface 35a that is the skin contact surface 35. The first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b are arranged in such a manner that the respective concave-convex sections 40 face each other, and at least one outer blade 2 (for example, the second net blade 22) is provided between the first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b. Therefore, the concave-convex sections 40 can lift up hair even when the electric shaver 1 moves in any direction (in one direction or the other direction) of the vertical direction X during the use of the electric shaver 1. In addition, the lifted hair by the concave-convex sections 40 is introduced to the outer blade 2 (for example, the second net blade 22) provided between the first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b, so as to shave the hair more promptly and effectively. Moreover, the skin positioned between the first skin guard member 30a and the second skin guard member 30b is lifted up in such a manner that the surface of the skin is pulled upward when the electric shaver 1 vertically moves. Therefore, the hair lying along the skin can be easily lifted up.

[0040] In the present embodiment, the outer blade 2 provided between the first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b is the slit blade 20. The slit blade 20 is a blade having the highest hair introduction efficiency among the first to fourth net blades 21 to 24 and the slit blade 20 composing the outer blades 2. Thus, since the slit blade 20 having a high hair-introduction efficiency is provided between the first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b, the introduction efficiency of lifted hair into the outer blades 2 can be further improved. In the present embodiment, the three outer blades 2 are provided between the first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b. However, it is preferable to provide only the slit blade 20 between the first and second skin guard members 30a and 30b in order to obtain the effect of the slit blade 20 to the maximum extent.

[0041] The respective skin guard members 30 of the present embodiment are formed in such a manner that the top surface 35b and the side surface 35a provided with the concave-convex section 40 form an acute angle in cross-section in the vertical direction X. Thus, the tapered tip section easily comes into contact with the skin (easily catches the skin), so as to lift up lying hair (having a small hair lift angle) more effectively.

[0042] In the present embodiment, the concave-convex sections 40 are formed into a corrugated shape in the extending direction of the skin guard members 30. Therefore, the openings (the concave portions 40b) of the concave-convex sections 40 can be relatively widely formed. Accordingly, rigidity of the skin guard member 30 can be improved while hair is lifted up by the openings.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described above by reference to the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

[0044] For example, the present invention may also be applied to a rib provided adjacent to an outer blade that has a function other than the skin guard.

Claims

1. An electric shaver, comprising:

a shaver body (3);

a blade face (4a);

one or more outer blades (2) provided at the blade face (4a) of the shaver body (3);

a rib (30) provided adjacent to and in parallel with at least one of the outer blades (2) in an orthogonal direction to an extending direction of the outer blades (2); and

an outer blade frame (25a) attached to the outer blades (2) at each end thereof in the extending direction of the outer blades (2),

wherein a top surface (51a) of the outer blade frame (25a) and a top surface (35b) of the rib (30) are integrated to form a continuous surface including a smooth curved surface.

2. The electric shaver according to claim 1, wherein the blade face (4a) is composed of a plurality of the outer blades (2) provided in parallel in the orthogonal direction, and the rib (30) is provided between the outer blades (2) located adjacent to each other.

3. The electric shaver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a skin contact surface (35) of the rib (30) is provided with a concave-convex section (40).

4. The electric shaver according to claim 3, wherein the concave-convex section (40) is formed on a side surface (35a) of the rib (30) exposed in the orthogonal direction.

5. The electric shaver according to claim 4, wherein the rib (30) includes a first rib (30a) and a second rib (30b), each of which is provided with the concave-convex section (40) on the side surface (35a) thereof, and
the concave-convex section (40) of the first rib (30a) and the concave-convex section (40) of the second rib (30b) are arranged such that they face each other, and at least one outer blade (2) is provided between the first rib (30a) and the second rib (30b).

6. The electric shaver according to claim 5, wherein the at least one outer blade (2) provided between the first rib (30a) and the second rib (30b) is a slit blade (20).

7. The electric shaver according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the rib (30) is formed in such a manner that the top surface (35b) and the side surface (35a) to which the concave-convex section (40) is provided form an acute angle in cross-section in the orthogonal direction.

8. The electric shaver according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the concave-convex section (40) is formed into a corrugated shape along an extending direction of the rib (30).

Drawing