Safety razor with plural adjustable blades

• US 4,868,983 A
• Filed: 12/28/1988
• Issued: 09/26/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gillette Company (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Original Assignee: Gillette Company (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Inventors: Francis, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Watts, Douglas D.
• Application Number:
  US07/299,810
• Time in Patent Office: 272 Days
• Field of Search: 30/47-50, 30/51, 30/32, 30/346.5, 30/346.58, 30/346.59
• US Class Current: 30/50
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 21/227 with blades being resiliently mounted in the changeable unit
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 21/54 Razor-blades B26B21/4006 takes precedence

Abstract

A pair of compact blade units are connected together at each end by a spring metal link comprising independent spring fingers 2, a lug 7 having inner guide surfaces 8 and an end wall 3 with an aperture providing outer guide edges 9, and a top wall 6. Blade support members are guided vertically by co-operating pairs of guide edges 8, 9 and spring loaded upwardly by the respective spring fingers 2.

Claims

1. A tandem blade assembly for a safety razor, comprising a pair of compact blade units, each having a blade strip and a blade support, said blade unit being connected together at their respective ends by a pair of links, each link being of integral form shaped to provide:

guide surfaces for lateral location of the respective blade supports to maintain their spacing, the surfaces permitting limited movement of the blade supports therealong in directions transverse to a notional plane containing the cutting edges of the blade strips; and

a pair of independent spring fingers bearing upwardly on the respective supports to bias them upwardly along the guide surfaces, the links co-operating with the blade units to retain the links longitudinally with respect to the blade units.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein each link comprises a horizontal base portion and a transverse end wall upstanding therefrom, the end wall having an aperture whose vertical side edges constitute the outer guide surfaces, and an upwardly extending lug whose side edges are spaced inwardly from the said side edges and constitute the inner guide surfaces.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the base portion has two separate, cantilever spring fingers struck out of it, the fingers being joined at their roots to the base portion and sloping upwardly and outwardly towards the end wall of the link.

4. An assembly according to claim 3, wherein the free, upper ends of the spring fingers engage under the respective blade units, each of which has an inwardly facing shoulder positioned beyond the end of the respective finger and is engageable therewith to limit longitudinal inward movement of the link, relative to the blade units.

5. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the blade strip of each blade unit projects forwardly and upwardly from its support and the end wall of each link. carries an inwardly projecting top wall which acts as an abutment for engaging the end edges of the blade strips to limit displacement of the links inwardly of the blade units.

6. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the base of the lug is doubled back over the base portion to present an outwardly directed ledge.

7. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the lugs extends upwardly and inwardly from the outer edge of the base portion of the link.

8. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the said links are interconnected by one or more elongate elements.