Replaceable Razor Blade Scissors

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to scissors and particularly to scissors which incorporate replaceable razor blades for use in cutting of hair.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

There are a wide variety of scissors known to the prior art that employ additional implements as part of the specific embodiment used in a given application. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,606 discloses a scissors employing a plurality of razor blades affixed to a blade that make contact with a rigid metal surface for thinning eyelashes. The device appears dangerous to use and the direct contact with the metal surface by the razor blades will rapidly wear out the razor blade edges. A similar blade and anvil approach is used in U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,783 and the implement therein has most of the same limitations.

A scissors which allows for greater control by the user than the simple finger holds is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,967,549. This device includes a curved shank associated with one finger hold but is not adaptable to other associated implements; it contains only the usual tapered blades. Furthermore, as with any scissors employing a beveled edge blade for shear cutting, this device is not readily adaptable for use with either hand. The right- or left- handedness of most scissors is a serious disadvantage for most barbers.

An attempt to incorporate the control associated with a large kidney-shaped ring in the handle as well as adapting a blade to carry a razor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,195,353. This device uses rectangular members adapted to carry razor blades and blade supports in the place of ordinary scissor blades. The principal limitation of this device is the use of a very narrow rectangular member to engage the edge of a razor blade and this generates the required shear action for cutting. This arrangement requires high precision in the alignment of the parallel sides that engage the beveled edges of the razor blade in addition to generating a pulling action on any hair which could be most uncomfortable. The inwardly-angled sharp edges of the receiving member cannot exactly engage the sharp edge of the razor blade. This problem will result in hair pulling and a very ragged hair end cut. In fact, the scissors of this patent are not even adaptable for use in cutting hair.

Accordingly, none of the devices in the prior art provide the degree of control needed when using a razor blade in association with a cooperating scissors blade and the prior art also produces excessive dulling of the razor blade edge employed in such prior art scissors. Also, a scissors employing a razor blade as an implement must provide a good clean cut without pulling of the hair which has not been achieved by any of the prior art.

The present invention employs a razor blade to cleave the hair cleanly rather than a shear cut in the usual scissors action. This technique becomes important when attempting to use right-handed scissors with the left hand. The scissors are usually hinged and have beveled edges which assume a given shear cutting action will be used. Furthermore, the present invention can be opened for approximately 90.degree. opening so as to use the razor blade for conventional shaving and cutting by a beautician. None of the devices in the prior art provide the aforementioned advantages of the present invention, which also alleviates some of the problems inherent in or set forth above with respect to the prior art.

In accord with one aspect of this invention, a scissors for cutting hair comprises a cross pair of elongated unitary members each having opposite end portions, pivot means interconnecting the members intermediate their end portions, each member end portion forwardly of the pivot means having cooperating jaws and rearwardly of the pivot means having cooperating handles. The pivot means includes a hinge joint having cooperating shoulders on the members adjacent thereto limiting relative pivotal movements of the handles apart from each other and toward each other. One jaw releasedly receives a straight-edged razor blade, another of the jaws has a longitudinal recess disposed substantially centrally between vertical faces of the jaw with the hinge joint aligning one jaw in a vertical plane of the other jaw to accurately position a straight-edged razor carried by one jaw in substantially vertical alignment with the longitudinal recess in the other jaw.

Another aspect provides for the one jaw and one handle being a part of one member with the one handle having an inwardly disposed ring portion adapted to receive and fit a third finger of a hand. The other handle has an inwardly disposed ring portion adapted to receive and fit a little finger of a hand, with the one handle having a shank between the hinge joint and its ring portion. The shank of one handle has a first inwardly disposed recess adapted to receive a middle finger and second inwardly disposed recess located forwardly of the first recess adapted to alternatively receive a middle finger of a hand. One member includes a portion between a free end thereof and adjacent the hinge joint which is engageable by a thumb of a hand, and the other member has a portion between a free end thereof and adjacent to the hinge joint adapted to be engaged by an index finger of a hand whereby accurate movement and control is provided by and to the jaws during cutting of hair disposed therebetween. Also, the other member has a protrusion adjacent the joint hinge for engagement by the index finger.

Further aspects are seen herein with the cooperating shoulders of the hinge joint being positioned to limit the pivotal movement of the handles towards one another to inhibit contact of a sharpened edge of a straight-edged razor carried by one jaw with a lower surface of the longitudinal recess in the other jaw. One jaw also has a longitudinal recess disposed centrally therein sized for frictionally and releasably engaging a replaceable unsharpened edge portion of a straight-edged blade. The longitudinal recess of the other jaw includes a pair of spaced side walls and a lower surface extending substantially perpendicularly to the side walls, the lower surface being spaced outwardly from full closure of the scissors of a razor blade sharpened edge into the recess, the recess being disposable perpendicularly with respect to hair to be cut by the scissors. The recess with a razor blade in one jaw provides a chopping engagement by a straight-edged blade carried by the one jaw against hair being cleanly cut thereby. The hinge joint includes two oppositely disposed recessed hinge faces in contact in the vertical plane, the hinge joint also includes a headed pin securing the hinge faces in rotatable engagement with the cooperating shoulders including a shoulder on respective members. The shoulder on the first member including a first forwardly disposed inclined surface. The shoulder on the second member includes a rearwardly disposed declined surface, and the inclined and declined surfaces are positioned relative to each other so that they are engaged to limit the travel of the members when the members are moved away from one another by a hand engaged with the handles, the travel being limited for one-hand manipulation of the scissors. The cooperating shoulders include another shoulder on respective members spaced from the shoulder thereon with the shoulder and the other shoulder being on opposite sides of the pivot hinge. The other shoulder on a second member includes a second forwardly disposed declined surface and the shoulder on the first member includes a first forwardly disposed declined surface. The declined first and second surfaces are sized and positioned so that they are engaged to limit the travel of the members when the members are moved toward each other by a hand engaged with the handles, the travel being limited to prevent a sharpened edge of a straight-edged blade carried by one jaw from striking a lower surface of the longitudinal recess in the other jaw.

The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the scissors in accord with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the elongated member carrying a replaceable razor-blade;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the other elongated member;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the other member illustrating the elongated recess into which a sharpened edge of a razor blade enters;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the razor blade carrying member illustrating the recess into which is fitted the unsharpened edge portion of a razor blade;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of scissors according to the invention as it appeared in use when open for hair cutting; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 7 and showing the scissors being closed after cutting through the hair.

Referring now to the drawing, the razor blade carrying scissors according to the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10 in FIG. 1. The scissors is comprised of two members 10a, 10b pivotally connected intermediate between their ends and formed to provide handles 11 and 12 with ring-shaped finger holds 13 and 14, respectively. Handle 11 and finger hold 13 are integral to a substantially straight shank 15 which has integrally formed recessed pivot means in the form of a hinge joint 16. A tapered jaw 17 having a longitudinal recess 18, as more clearly illustrated in FIG. 4, is also integral to shank 15 and handle 11. Handle 12 has finger hold 14 integral with shank 19, hinge joint 20 and generally rectangular jaw 21 with longitudinal recess 22 as illustrated more clearly in FIG. 5. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the members 10a, 10b of the scissors 10 are each formed from individual sections of steel, or aluminum or other suitable material. The upwardly disposed surface 19a of shank 19 is designed to have a generally smooth face. The downwardly disposed surface 19 b is provided with two spaced curvilinear recesses 19c and 19d which provide finger rests. Finger rests 19c, 19d provide the user with the selectability of placing the middle finger in either rest 19c, 19d and a greater degree of control than a smooth surface found on many prior art scissors. The greater control achieved with the present invention is important when employing a razor 23 with a scissors 10, especially when a person's hair is wet with the likelihood of the user's hand also becoming wet and the possibility of slipping engagement between hand and scissors.

Razor blade 23 is of a conventional design which may include a head, 23a which is smooth and slightly thicker than blade 23 as is well known in the art. The elongated razor head 23a of razor 23 fits within and fills the longitudinal recess 22 of upper jaw 21. The lateral width of recess 22 is sized to frictionally engage the razor head 23a and prevent movement of razor 23 when the scissors 10 are in use, and also permits replacement thereof without undue force being applied thereto. Upper jaw 21 is vertically aligned with lower jaw 17 by placing into contact the internal hinge faces 16b and 20b and securing them in place by way of bolt or pin 25 which is common in the art. Because hinges 16 and 20 are offset and cut out of shanks 15 and 19, respectively, the jaws 21 and 17 are aligned in the vertical plane with the razor 23 directly over lower jaw recess 18. The limits of travel of the upper jaw 21 and lower jaw 17 with respect to each other are established by the engagement of faces of the hinges 16 and 20. When the scissors 10 are being closed the pivoting of lower jaw 17 and upper jaw 21 cause face 27 of hinge 20 to come into contact with inclined forward face 26 of hinge 16 and preventing further rotative motion, as shown in FIG. 1. When the scissors 10 are being opened, the pivoting of the upper jaw 21 continues to an opening of approximately 90.degree. where the lower edge 29 of rearwardly disposed inclined face 28a comes into contact with forward inclined face 30 of hinge 16 due to the dimensions of the cutout hinges 16 and 20. The linear dimensions and specific orientation of the various faces and shoulders 26, 26a, 30, 33, 34 of hinge 16 and faces and shoulders 20a, 27, 31, 32, 28a, 29 of hinge 20 allow for precision movement with ease and without the sharpened edge of the blade contacting the lower surface 18c or the side edges 18a and 18b of recess 18.

When razor blade 23 is closed down on hair, the cutting action takes place by way of a downward "cleave cut" rather than the usual "shear cut" associated with conventional scissors. The hair between razor 23 and lower jaw recess 18 is chopped cleanly rather than shear-sliced which may cause split ends or the like. The jaws 17, 21 of the scissors 10 are aligned to limit the travel of razor 23 to an extremely small distance above the bottom surface--of recess 18 to eliminate the dulling of the razor 23 which would occur as a result of contact with the surface--but to allow for sufficient travel of razor 23 to provide a complete cut through the hair.

The longitudinal recess 18 in lower jaw 17, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, has vertically disposed side walls 18a and 18b and lower surface 18c. The side walls 18a, 18b provide sufficient depth to lower surface 18c to prevent direct contact with sharpened edge 23a of razor 23 when the scissors 10 are used in cutting hair disposed generally laterally across the lower jaw 17. The longitudinal recess 22 in upper jaw 21, as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, has side walls 22a, 22b and bottom 22c sized to provide releasably frictional engagement with a standard straight-edged razor blade 23.

The lower jaw 17 has protrusion 17d which provides a convenient and secure surface for a user to be engaged by an index finger to achieve greater control of scissors 10 between a thumb engaging upper jaw 21 generally above protrusion 17d and the index finger engaging such protrusion whereby the forces applied to the scissors are by the index finger and thumb in cutting the hair while opening is achieved by action of the other fingers.

While the invention has been described with respect to a certain specific embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.