Safety Razors

This invention relates to safety razors.

According to the present invention there is provided a safety razor comprising a handle, a guard bar adapted to receive a razor blade thereon, a top cap linked to said guard bar and manually movable into a position in which a razor blade can be trapped between said top cap and said guard bar, a catch for securing said top cap on said guard bar in said position, said catch having a first component on said top cap and a second component which engages with said handle, said first and second components being brought into engagement when said top cap is in said position, said handle being movable relative to said guard bar to move said top cap relative to said guard bar for applying a clamping action to a razor blade located therebetween.

One construction of razor in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of this embodiment of razor seen from one side and slightly above, with the top cap in the open position,

FIG. 2 is a part-sectional side view of the razor in the locked position,

FIG. 3 is a sectional end view of the razor in the locked position,

FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3 but with the top cap (not shown) in the unlocked and open position,

FIG. 5 is a section on the line V--V in FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a section on the line VI--VI in FIG. 4,

FIG. 7 is a section on the line VII--VII in FIG. 3,

FIG. 8 is a section on the line VIII--VIII in FIG. 4, and

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a razor blade.

The razor comprises a handle 10, a guard bar 11 providing two guard surfaces 11a, 11a, a top cap 12, a toggle 13 linking the guard bar 11 to the top cap 12 to retain the top cap 12 when it is opened by being swung upwardly and to one end of the guard bar 11, a latch arm 14 and a release button 15.

The handle 10 can be rotated about its longitudinal axis, relative to the guard bar 11, through a quarter turn, the two extreme positions being shown in FIG. 3 and 4 respectively. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a key 10a1 on the shank 10a of the handle 10 prevents movement of the handle 10 beyond these two positions by engagement of the key 10a1 with the respective end faces of a keyway 11a in the bore of the stem 11b of the guard bar 11 in which the shank 10a of the handle 10 is accommodated.

A used blade is removed from the upper surface of the guard bar 11 and a new blade placed thereon, when the top cap 12 is in the position shown in FIG. 1. The guard bar 11 has two longitudinal keys 11d for engaging the central slot 17a in a razor blade 17 (see FIG. 9) in order to give initial location as the blade 17 is laid on the guard bar 11. More precise location of the blade 17 on the guard bar 11 is by four corner pips 11e the inner face 11e1 (FIG. 4) of each of which engages a respective edge 17b1 of one end of the tangs 17b on the razor blade 17. The inner faces 11e1 of each corner pip 11e are inclined at a slight angle to form a tapered lead in, so that when the blade 17 is pressed downwardly by the top cap 12, the tang edges 17b1 are brought into firm engagement with the faces 11e1. Because the distance between the tang edges 17b1 and the cutting edges 17c are controlled during manufacture, such location ensures that the spacing of the cutting edges 17c relative to their adjacent guard surfaces 11a lies within limits which are closer than would be possible if the location was dependent only upon the engagement of the central slot 17a with the keys 11d. Thereafter the top cap 12 is hinged over and downwardly and is snapped shut, the toggle 13 being designed to allow the top cap 12 to adopt a parallel attitude with respect to the guard bar 11 at closure, thereby ensuring uniform clamping along the length of the blade 16 (FIG. 3). In the course of this movement a claw 14a on the upper end of the latch arm 14 is displaced sideways by the downward movement of a tongue 12a depending from the underside of the top cap 12. An intermediate portion 14d of the latch arm 14 is eccentric relative to the longitudinal axis of the lower end 14b and is sufficiently flexible to permit this sideways displacement of the claw 14a. With further downward movement the claw 14a is restored due to the resilience of the portion 14d and thereafter enters an aperture 12b in the tongue 12a to secure the top cap 12. A slot 11c in the guard bar 11 locates the tongue 12a in its downward movement, prior to the engagement with the claw 14a, thereby preventing any possible sideways pressure on the blade 16. As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the tongue 12a is generally flat and is shaped to stiffen the top cap 12.

To clamp the blade 16, the handle 10 is turned relative to the guard bar 11 from the position shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6 to the position shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. The lower end 14b of the latch arm 14 is in screw-threaded engagement with the bore of the handle 10 and, because the latch arm 14 is prevented from rotating by the release button 15, the quarter turn of the handle 10 draws the latch arm 14 downwards. Due to the engagement of the claw 14a in the aperture 12b in the tongue 12a, this downward movement clamps the blade 16 on the guard bar 11.

The rotation of the handle 10 also locks the release button 15 because, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 7, a key 14c is provided on the latch arm 14 which, in the locked position, abuts the periphery of the bore in the shank 10a of the handle 10. When the top cap 12 is to be released the handle must be turned to the position shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6 and the release button 15 can then be depressed because the key 14c is now aligned with, and can enter, a slot 10b in the shank 10a of the handle 10, as seen in FIG. 8, thereby moving the claw 14a out of the aperture 12b in the latch tongue 12a to free the top cap 12.

The handle 10 is preferably non-circular more readily to distinguish the locked position of the handle 10 from the unlocked position.