Oval frame razor

[0002] This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/US96/18192, with an international filing date of Nov. 8, 1996.

[0003] This invention relates to safety razors of the kind having a blade unit carried by a handle, the blade unit including an elongate blade with a rectilinear sharpened edge, or a plurality of such blades with parallel edges. The blade unit may be fixedly mounted on the handle with the intention that the entire razor be discarded when the blade edge or edges have become dulled. Alternatively, the blade unit can be detachably connected to the handle to enable replacement of a used blade unit with a fresh blade unit. Replaceable blade units are commonly referred to as cartridges.

[0004] There has been a general tendency over recent years for razor blade units to have been reduced in size, especially regarding the area of the surfaces which contact the skin around the blades during shaving, and the majority of blade units currently available in the marketplace are long and narrow with substantially rectangular configurations as viewed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the skin contacting surfaces. On the whole razor blade units of such shape and size have been found to provide an enhanced shaving performance in comparison with earlier blade units of larger dimensions.

[0005] The present invention is aimed specifically at a blade unit for body shaving, primarily in the axillary area. There are already on the market razors intended for use by ladies who do commonly shave their axillae, and like other razors there has been a strong trend towards making the blade units of these female razors with a narrow rectangular configuration as mentioned above. It has become the accepted thinking within the art that such blade units of narrow dimensions are especially beneficial for shaving the axillae since they will more readily fit into the rather deep concave socket of the axilla.

[0006] The present invention makes a significant departure from this current thinking in the shaving field and goes directly against all recent developments in this technical area as regards blade unit dimensions. Surprisingly, and contrary to all expectations, shaving tests have shown that not only can a blade unit of relatively large dimensions at least equal the shaving effectiveness of the smaller prior art blade units when shaving the axillae, but large blade units can be shaped to conform to the axilla region of the body so that shaving performance is not diminished, and that in terms of overall comfort large blade units have a superior performance to the prior art blade units and are preferred by users. It appears the added stability given by a large contact area with the skin gives the user greater confidence when shaving the axilla which cannot be viewed very easily during the shaving process, and as a consequence an improved comfort is perceived by the user and this more than counteracts any loss of performance due to the large contact area.

[0007] For most adult females, the underarm cavity has a minimum radius of curvature of about 25 to 30 mm. Therefore, a razor blade unit according to the invention has a length not greater than 60 mm, preferably not greater than 50 mm, and a length in the range of 40 to 45 mm is preferred. The width of the blade unit is preferably such that the aspect ratio, namely the ratio of the overall length to the overall width measured perpendicular to the blade, is in the range of 1 to 4, and in most of the preferred embodiments of the invention the aspect ratio is from 1.5 to 2.8, and more precisely in the range of 2.0 to 2.5. In the preferred embodiments the width of the blade unit is in the range of 12 to 23 mm, in particular 15 to 20 mm. Guard and cap surfaces are defined in front of and behind the blade or blades for contact with the skin in front of and behind the blade or blades during shaving, and preferably each of the guard and cap surfaces has a width of not less than 4.0 mm, at least where the width of the blade unit is at a maximum. The guard and cap each has a skin contact area which is preferably not less than 140 mm², and the combined skin contact areas of the cap and guard are preferably at least 400 mm², and most preferably in the range of 450 to 500 mm². As the blade unit of the present invention is rather wide, in order to facilitate contact with the skin in the axilla over at least most of the guard and cap areas, as viewed in cross section in a plane perpendicular to the blade edges, the skin contacting surface is made convex. It is important to understand that the word “convex” as used in the present specification does not necessarily mean that the skin contacting surface is smoothly curved and it implies only that the guard and cap surfaces extend upwardly in the direction from their edges remote from the blade or blades so that the blade edge or edges are at a level above the remote edges of the cap and guard surfaces. More particularly, a straight line joining the outer and inner limits of each of the guard and cap surfaces is inclined at an angle of at least 5°, and possibly up to 25°, to a plane which is tangential to the skin contacting surfaces immediately in front of and behind the blades. In the preferred embodiments the angle of inclination is in the range of 10 to 20 degrees, and more specifically substantially equal to 15°. By virtue of the convexity of the skin contacting surface, the blade unit is preferably shaped to make at least three point contact with an imaginary circumscribing circle having a diameter of from 30 to 100 mm, and preferably of about 50 mm whereby it will be ensured that the blade unit convexity will at least approximately conform to that of the axilla.

[0008] An important aspect of the blade unit according to the invention is that it defines a large area over which contact can be made with the skin during shaving, and a circumscribing perimeter extending about the skin contacting surface confines an area, referred to hereinafter as the “footprint area”, of at least 450 mm². The most preferred footprint area is in the range of 600-750 mm², and more specifically between 650 and 720 mm².

[0009] Since the invention proposes a blade unit with a long and wide shape, a substantially rectangular configuration with sharp angled corners, at least at the edge adjacent the guard surface, is inappropriate. For the purposes of the present specification a sharp angled corner may be considered to be an angle less than about 120° with a radius of curvature less than around 3 mm. Preferably the curvature at any corner is at least 5 mm. The unacceptability of a substantially rectangular configuration and the objective of providing a large skin contact area means that the blade unit needs to be profiled, as seen in plan generally perpendicular to the skin contacting area, to obtain a relatively large area within the confines of the overall length and width dimensions. The “circularity” of a two dimensional shape is a convenient way of relating the area enclosed by its perimeter to the length of the perimeter, and expressing it in terms of a percentage compared with a circle which always provides the maximum area for any given perimeter length. Thus, the circularity for any shape is defined by the equation: $\mathrm{circularity}=\frac{A}{P^2}\times 4\pi \times 100$ $\mathrm{where}A=\mathrm{the}\mathrm{area}$ $P=\mathrm{the}\mathrm{perimeter}$

[0010] Razor blade units according to the present invention have a circularity not less than the lower of (a) 65%, and (b) the circularity of a substantially rectangular area having the same length and width as the skin contacting area and having corner radii of 30% of said width. Preferably the circularity is greater than that of a rectangle with the same overall length and width and rounded corners with radii equal to 10% of the length. For blade units with a low aspect ratio, i.e. less than about 3, the lower limit (a) will apply, although even in the case of these blade units it is preferable that the circularity also exceeds limit (b). Acceptable oval blade units with an aspect ratio above 3.25 may have a circularity of less than 65%. Preferred embodiments with aspect ratios below about 2.75 have a circularity greater than 70%, and more particularly in the order of 80%. Typical prior art blade units have a circularity of less than 65%. The comparatively large circularity of a blade unit according to the invention can be achieved with rounded corners at the ends of the blade unit with relatively large radii of curvature of at least 6 mm, or with oval, elliptical or polygonal shapes which need not necessarily be symmetrical.

[0011] Having regard to the foregoing, the present invention resides in a razor blade unit comprising at least one elongate blade having a rectilinear sharpened edge and mounted in a substantially inflexible carrier, a skin contacting surface surrounding the blade edge(s) and including guard and cap surfaces on opposite sides of the blade edge(s), the aspect ratio of the length to width of the skin contacting surface being in the range of from 1 to 4, as seen in cross section in a plane perpendicular to the blade edge(s) the skin contacting surface being convex, the overall length of the blade unit at the skin contacting surface being not greater than 60 mm, the skin contacting surface having a circumscribing perimeter confining a footprint area of at least 450 mm², and the circumscribing perimeter being so shaped that the footprint area confined by said perimeter has a circularity (as herein above defined) not less than the lower of (a) 65%, and (b) the circularity of a substantially rectangular area having the same length and width as the footprint area of the skin contacting surface and having corner radii of 30% of said width, and the edge of the blade unit adjacent the guard surface being free of sharp angled corners.

[0012] A razor equipped with a blade unit as described above has been found in shave tests to achieve a significantly improved overall performance in shaving the axilla and has also been found to be very effective in shaving other body areas, such as the legs.

[0013] It should be understood that unless otherwise stated, all dimensions and areas quoted herein are measured in a projected plane and as seen in plan view so the effect of the convex curvature of the skin contacting surface of the blade unit has not been taken into account in determining the relevant dimensional

[0014] To further illustrate the invention some forms of razor blade unit shaped and dimensioned in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] FIGS. 1 to 9 are schematic plan views of razor blade units embodying the invention;

[0016] FIG. 10 is a graph showing circularity plotted against aspect ratio (maximum length/maximum width) and showing the results for the blade units of FIGS. 1 to 9 and for some prior art blade units;

[0017] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-section through the blade unit of FIG. 1;

[0018] FIG. 12 illustrates a modified shape of guard and cap surfaces for the blade unit of FIG. 1;

[0019] FIG. 13 illustrates in perspective a blade housing of a blade unit as shown in FIG. 1;

[0020] FIG. 14 illustrates in partial perspective view a blade unit as shown in FIG. 1 and having guard and cap surfaces similar to those of the FIG. 13 embodiment; and

[0021] FIGS. 15 and 16 are views corresponding to FIG. 14 showing blade units with two and three forwardly facing blades, respectively.

[0022] FIG. 17 represents a shaving unit of FIG. 13 on a handle.

[0023] Each of the blade units shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 will comprise a blade housing which incorporates a substantially inflexible blade carrier frame conveniently moulded from plastics material. The housing defines a skin contact area surrounding an elongate rectangular aperture 2 in which a blade (not shown in FIGS. 1-9) with a sharp rectilinear edge is mounted. A single blade may be provided, but preferably two or more blades with parallel sharpened edges are mounted in the aperture 2. In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 14, there are three blades, two facing forwardly and one facing rearwardly so that the razor blade unit will shave in both directions although forward movement across the skin will generally provide a slightly better result. FIG. 15 shows an embodiment with two blades in tandem, and FIG. 16 shows another embodiment with three blades with parallel edges all facing in the forward direction. Each of the blade units of FIGS. 1 to 9 may be regarded as being adapted to receive two blades, or three blades mounted similarly to the blades in FIG. 14 or all in tandem. The blade housing in each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 has a guard area 3, which is located forwardly (below as viewed in the drawings) of the blade aperture, and a cap area 4 behind (above in the drawings) of the blade aperture 2.

[0024] The particular blade unit of FIG. 1 is oval and has the shape of a rectangle with semicircular ends. The dimensions as measured in the projected plan view as illustrated are as follows:

[0025] The blade unit of FIG. 2 is approximately rectangular with corners of large radii of curvature. The particular dimensions for this embodiment are:

[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates a blade unit of asymmetric configuration. At the ends of the front edge of the blade unit housing are rounded corners of large radius (as in ˜FIG. 2), and the corners at the ends of the rear edge are rounded with a substantially greater radius of curvature. The specific dimensions are:

[0027] FIGS. 4-6 show blade units with housings of the same overall shape and size of that shown in FIG. 1, but the position of the blade aperture is different. In FIG. 4 the aperture is located so that the guard and cap areas are equal, whereas in FIG. 5 it is positioned so that the cap area is substantially smaller than the guard area (but still at least 140 mm²) and in FIG. 6 it is positioned so that the guard area is substantially smaller than the cap area (but still at least 140 mm²).

[0028] FIG. 7 illustrates a polygononal blade unit shaped essentially as a rectangle with chamfered corners 7 with faces at 135° to the longitudinal front and rear sides and to the ends. In the case of a blade unit of overall length 42 mm and overall width 18 mm, the chamfers may lie along the diagonals of squares measuring 5 mm×5 mm.

[0029] All the embodiments of FIGS. 1-7 have rectilinear front and rear edge portions which, at least over a major part of the blade length are parallel to the blade edge(s). This can be desirable to ease orientation of the blade unit and assist the user in knowing in which direction the blade unit should be moved over the skin. It is not essential, however, and the dimensional criteria of a blade unit embodying the invention can be obtained with other configurations. FIG. 8, for example shows a blade unit of elliptical outline, and even a circular shape as shown in FIG. 9 is possible although it is not the most desirable embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 10 shows a graph showing circularity plotted against aspect ratio, i.e. the maximum length/maximum width of the blade unit. The points representative of the blade units of FIGS. 1-9 are indicated (1) . . . (9), the points representative of three prior art female razor blade units currently marketed are indicated A, B and C, and the point representative of a square is indicated S for comparison purposes. The line R_Wwhich extends generally diagonally across the graph is representative of rectangles with corner radii of 30% of the rectangle width. The dotted line R_Lis representative of rectangles with corner radii of 10% of the rectangle length. The horizontal line is drawn at a circularity of 65%. It can be seen that all the preferred embodiments of the invention denoted on the graph have aspect ratios between 1.5 and 2.8, and for the majority the aspect ratio is in the range of 2.0 to 2.5. Furthermore, the embodiments of the invention have circularity greater than the circularity of a corresponding rectangle with the same aspect ratio and having corners rounded at a radius of 10% of the rectangle length (R_L) or of 30% of the rectangle width (R_W). In addition, the embodiments of the invention have greater circularity than the prior art blade units and those included on the graph all have values above 60%, and more especially above 70%. (It may be noted that there are two points (8) shown in FIG. 10 to depict two alternative elliptical shapes).

[0031] In all of the embodiments of the invention the skin contacting surfaces are not flat and the views of FIGS. 1 to 9 are merely the projected plan areas. The surfaces are preferably shaped to make at least three point, and ideally at least four point contact with an imaginary circumscribing circle with a radius of 25 mm. FIG. 11 shows this preferred relationship for a blade which could, for example, be the blade unit of FIG. 1. The imaginary circle is drawn in dotted line, and it can be seen that the cap and guard surfaces are in substantial conformity with this circle. In FIG. 11 the guard and cap surfaces are essentially flat, but they could be convexly curved to provide even closer conformity, e.g. as depicted in the schematic illustration of FIG. 12. The cap and guard surfaces are inclined to a plane P, which is the “shaving surface” tangential to the skin contact surfaces immediately in front of and behind the blade(s), at an angle which is 15° in the exemplary embodiment illustrated. In any particular embodiment the most appropriate inclination angle will depend on the blade unit width and will be chosen accordingly, but for most embodiments of the invention at least, an angle in the range of 10° to 20° will be required to ensure close conformity with the imaginary circle. In the case of a convex guard and/or cap surface, as in FIG. 12, it will be appropriate to consider the inclination of a chord line intersecting the edges of the surface in question nearest and most remote from the adjacent blade.

[0032] In FIG. 13 there is illustrated a preferred form of blade unit housing. It has a frame 10 defining an aperture 2 to accommodate the blades and the components which fix them in the frame. Mounted on the frame are guard and cap components each having an elastomeric surface element 12 defining a skin contact area formed with an array of cylindrical pockets 13 evenly distributed over essentially the entire surface area. For ease of manufacture and assembly the elastomeric element is moulded onto a support 14 which is firmly fastened in the frame 10. FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 show a modified construction wherein the elastomeric elements 12 are carried directly by the frame of the blade unit. These figures also shows the blades 15 fitted within the frames, and one of the securing clips 16 which are provided at each end of the blade unit to retain the blades in place.

[0033] It is important to note that, as previously mentioned, all the dimensions quoted in the description and claims of this specification regarding length, width and area are based on the profile of the blade unit skin contacting surface projected onto a plane which is parallel to the plane of the shaving surface i.e. the plane denoted P in FIG. 11. In addition, when calculating the circularity, any minor irregularities in the perimeter, e.g. due to small indentations, such as narrow notches or projections which can significantly change the perimeter without substantially changing the area, should be disregarded.