DRY SHAVER CONSTRUCTION

• US 3,750,279 A
• Filed: 09/09/1971
• Issued: 08/07/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Christian Cobarg, Erich Fenner, Franz Otto, Helmut Thomann, Max Guntersdorfer, Rudolf Schofer, Walter Heywang
• Original Assignee: Christian Cobarg, Erich Fenner, Franz Otto, Helmut Thomann, Max Guntersdorfer, Rudolf Schofer, Walter Heywang
• Inventors: Cobarg, Christian, Fenner, Erich, Guntersdorfer, Max, Heywang, Walter, Otto, Franz, Schofer, Rudolf, Thomann, Helmut
• Primary Examiner(s): Simpson, Othell M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Gary L.
• Application Number:
  US05/179,066
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 30/43.7,43.8,43.9,43.91,43.92,45 310/8.1,8.6
• US Class Current: 30/43.9
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0603 using a piezoelectric bender, e.g. bimorph
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/282 Motors without a rotating central drive shaft, e.g. linear motors
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/02 producing linear motion, e.g. actuators; Linear positioners ; Linear motors
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/08 signals being recorded or played back by vibration of a stylus in two orthogonal directions simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/2043 connected at their free ends, e.g. parallelogram type

Abstract

A dry shaver has an oscillatable shear unit and a drive connected with the unit for oscillating it, the drive being composed of at least one body having a plurality of bi-laminar oscillatory elements of ferro-electric ceramic material which are electrically and mechanically connected in parallel.

Claims

1. In a dry shaver, in combination, an reciprocable shear unit;

and drive means connected in motion-transmitting relationship with said shear unit, said drive means including at least one body which comprises a plurality of electrically connected bilaminar oscillatory elements of ferro-electric ceramic material which are mechanically connected in parallelism with one another.

2. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1;

further comprising an articulated resilient transmission element connecting said drive means and shear unit in said motion-transmitting relationship.

3. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1, said bi-laminar elements each having opposite ends and being arranged laterally adjacent to but spaced from one another;

further comprising a housing; and

a pair of mounting rails each fast with said bi-laminar elements at one of said ends, one of said rails being mounted in said housing and the other being coupled with said shear unit.

4. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 3, said shear unit comprising an upper section and a reciprocating lower section;

and wherein said drive means is connected with said lower section.

5. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 3, wherein said bi-laminar elements have major surfaces, and wherein the major surfaces of adjacent ones of said bi-laminar elements are juxtaposed.

6. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 3, said drive means comprising a cylindrically curved upper section and a lower section beneath said upper section and mounted for rotary oscillation about the cylinder axis of said upper section;

and wherein said bi-laminar elements have respectively juxtaposed longitudinal edges and are arranged adjacent but spaced from one another.

7. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 6, wherein said bi-laminar elements are arranged in the plane of symmetry of said shear unit.

8. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1, wherein said material is barium titanate.

9. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1, wherein said material is lead-zirconate-titanate.

10. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1;

further comprising a housing and a frame mounted in said housing;

wherein said bi-laminar elements are arranged adjacent but spaced from one another and have opposite ends fixed in said frame and oscillatory center portions, said drive means further comprising coupling means coupling said center portions for oscillations in unison; and

motion-transmitting means connecting said center portions with said shear unit.

11. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 10, said shear unit having a cylindrically curved upper section, and a lower section mounted for rotary oscillatory movement about the cylinder axis of said upper section;

and wherein said frame is mounted in parallel with said cylinder axis and extends normal to the center plane of said shear unit.

12. In dry shaver as defined in claim 1, said shear unit comprising a pair of shear sections, and said drive means comprising an additional body, each of said bodies being connected with one of said shear sections, and said bi-laminar elements of the respective bodies being connectable to alternating current and being polarized or electrically connected in such a manner that said bodies oscillate in mutually opposite direction.

13. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1, said shear unit having two shear sections which are oscillatable in mutually opposite directions;

said bi-laminar elements having opposite ends and being arranged adjacent but spaced from one another; and

further comprising a pair of mounting rails each fixedly connected with said bi-laminar elements at one of said ends, each of said rails being coupled with a motion-transmitting member which engages a respective one of said sections.

14. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1;

further comprising at least one additional similar body;

said bodies being connected with said shear unit and the bi-laminar elements of one of Said bodies performing oscillatory movements oppositely to those of the other of said bodies.

15. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 1, said bi-laminar elements having a resonance frequency of their basic oscillation which is between 2 and 10 Hz higher than the frequency of a source of alternating current with which said drive means is to be connected.

16. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 15, wherein said resonance frequency is between 3 and 5 Hz higher than said frequency of said source.

17. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 3, wherein said bi-laminar elements each have two halves at opposite sides of a centerline intermediate their opposite ends, and wherein each half oscillates in direction opposite the other half so that during oscillation each bi-laminar element oscillates in a substantially S-shaped configuration. 18. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 3, said bi-laminar elements having opposite ends and outer laminae of ceramic material;

and wherein said rails also engage said outer laminae at least at one of said opposite ends.

19. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 18, said rails being comb-shaped and slotted;

and wherein said opposite ends are each received in one of said slots; and

further comprising a hardenable resin in each slot retaining the respective end therein.

20. In a dry shaver as defined in claim 18, said rails being of synthetic plastic material, and said opposite ends each being embedded in one of said rails.