Dry shaver

• US 7,461,456 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2004
• Issued: 12/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shiba, Takeshi, Iwasaki, Jyuzaemon, Yamasaki, Masanobu, Tsushio, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ashley; Boyer D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, LAURA MICHELLE
• Application Number:
  US11/013,447
• Publication Number:
  US 20050138821A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 30 4391- 4392, 305/27, 305/31, 305/28, 305/29, 305/32
• US Class Current: 30/43.92
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/048 Complete cutting head being movable

Abstract

A dry shaver includes a swingable shaving head which is provided with a pair of support points through which the shaving head is supported to a grip through a linkage mechanism. The linkage mechanism includes a pair of cranks each connected at its one end to each one of the support points and connected at the other end to each one of the anchor points on the side of the grip. A frame projects on top of the grip in an overlapping relation with the shaving head to give the anchor points which are positioned upwardly of the support points with respect to a height axis of the grip for suspending the shaving head an top of the grip by the frame.

Claims

1. A dry shaver comprising:

a grip extending along a height axis;

a shaving head having a cutting face on its top and a cradle base at its bottom;

a frame assembly including a base frame member and a pair of prop members spaced- apart from one another and connected to the base frame member to define a generally U-shaped space between and among the base frame member and the pair of prop members, the frame assembly connected to the grip such that the pair of prop members project outwardly from the grip parallel to the height axis; and

a linkage mechanism coupling said shaving head to said frame assembly for allowing said shaving head to swing relative to said grip;

wherein the generally U-shaped space receives the shaving head such that the cradle base of the shaving head is disposed adjacent the base frame member and between the pair of prop members;

wherein the linkage mechanism includes at least one U-shaped crank having a pair of side links spaced apart from one another and a crank base linking the pair of side links together in a manner to form a U-shaped configuration;

wherein each one of the pair of prop members has a distal prop end portion disposed opposite the base frame member and has at least one pivot hole formed therethrough to define an anchor point, and the cradle base has a pair of pivot grooves disposed apart from one another and formed into the cradle base, each pivot groove defining a support point; and

wherein said support points are spaced from each other by a coupler distance (C) greater than a frame distance (F) between said anchor points.

2. The dry shaver as set forth in claim ,1 wherein said frame assembly includes a slider slidably connected to the grip and operative to slide along the height axis, the slider being spring-biased upwardly.

3. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cutting face is elongated in a width direction of said shaving head.

4. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cutting face is elongated in a width direction and narrowed in a thickness direction of said shaving head.

5. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 1, wherein respective ones of the pair of pivot grooves pivotably receives a respective one of the crank base links and respective ones of the distal prop end portions are pivotably connected to respective ones of the side links via respective ones of the pivot holes.

6. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cranks are angled with each other at an angle of 30°

to 120°

.

7. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 1, wherein said coupler distance (C) is at least 1.5 times of said frame distance (F).

8. A dry shaver comprising:

a grip extending along a height axis;

a shaving head composed of a cradle case mounted on its top, an outer cutter, and an inner cutter;

said cradle case accommodating therein an actuator connected to drive the inner cutter relative to the outer cutter, said cradle case having a cradle base at its bottom;

a pair of prop members projecting upwardly from the grip parallel to the height axis, said prop members being spaced-apart from one another to define a space therebetween;

a linkage mechanism configured to couple said shaving head to said prop members for allowing said shaving head to swing relative to said grip,

wherein said space receives the shaving head such that the cradle base of the shaving head is disposed adjacent lower ends of said prop members between the pair of the prop members; and

wherein said linkage mechanism includes a pair of cranks each pivotally connected at its upper end to upper ends of said prop members and pivotally connected at its lower end to said cradle base at the lower end of the cradle case such that the connection of each of said cranks with each of said prop members are located upwardly of the connection of each of said cranks with said cradle base along said height axis, and

wherein;

(A) the pair of prop members defines anchor points at its upper end for pivotal connection respectively to said cranks,

(B) said cradle case has in its bottom-with a pair of pivot grooves spaced apart from each other to define support points for pivotal connection respectively to said cranks, and

(C) said support points are spaced from each other by a coupler distance (C) greater than a frame distance (F) between said anchor points.

9. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 8, wherein said shaving head is given a spring bias against which said shaving head swings relative to said grip.

10. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 8, wherein said coupler distance (C) is at least 1.5 times of said frame distance (F).

11. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 8, wherein said cranks are angled with each other at an angle of 30°

to 120°

.

12. The dry shaver as set forth in claim 8, wherein the upper end of the prop member is lower than the upper end of the shaving head.