Uni-directional razor blade shaving devices have long been known, starting with the old straight-edge razor with an in-line handle used by barbers more than a century ago. In more recent times, most personal shaving has been done by individuals rather than barbers. Further, the predominant manual wet-shaving devices over at least the last five decades have been based upon the classic T-bar razor, with its elongated razor head and a handle which extends perpendicularly from the bottom of the razor's blade head.
In more recent decades, the quality of the T-bar razor blade head has improved, while its cost has been lowered and user safety increased. The modern wet-shaving razor typically features an angled T-bar handle and an elongated razor head having a blade-edge guarding system located about the razor-sharp edges to minimize the possibility of nicks and cuts, which were more of a problem with older T-bar razor designs, especially for an inexperienced user. Modern safety razor blade heads now feature front and rear elongated guards which establish a common working plane in which the razor-sharp edges of twin parallel razor blade strips are disposed. In this manner, the sharpened blade edges are only exposed by a few thousandths of an inch above the working plane, which helps minimize nicks and cuts. The angled neck on the T-bar handle also made it easier for the user to grip the handle comfortably while holding the razor head at an angle so that the working plane or face of the razor will lay flat against the skin to be shaved.
To further minimize nicks and to more readily allow the razor-sharp blade edges to follow the curving contour of a user's skin, some of the more advanced uni-directional razor blade heads now pivot or swivel while pressed lightly against the user's skin. Also, they often have spring-loaded razor blade strips that move with the undulations in the skin. Examples of such movable razor blade heads in commercial use, which are available in a replaceable cartridge style, include the wet-shaving manual shaving razors distributed by the Gillette Company of Boston, Mass., U.S.A. under the Sensor.RTM., the Sensor Excel.RTM., the Sensor for Women.TM., and the Mach3.TM. brand names. Also, a number of uni-directional razor blade head designs that are flexible have been made. Examples in commercial use, that are available in a replaceable cartridge-style, include the wet shaving razors distributed by the Warner-Lambert Company of Morris Plains, N.J., U.S.A. under the Schick Tracer.RTM. and Lady Schick.RTM. brand names.
In an effort to advance the safety and efficacy of the wet-shaving art, I developed single-head bi-directional wet-shaving devices which are disclosed in my first three earlier patents cited in the first paragraph of this specification. In spite of all of this development, there is still a real need for easy-to-use bi-directional shaving devices specifically designed to rapidly shave large body areas, including the arms and legs. This is an important task which is undertaken periodically by millions of women who shave their legs. It is also performed regularly by those in the medical community who shave patients for surgery or other treatments, by those in the athletic community (e.g., swimmers, wrestlers, body builders, etc.), and by caretakers who shave those who cannot shave themselves. There is a continuing need for improved manual shaving devices to perform these large-body shaving tasks.
Objects.
In light of the foregoing needs, it is desirable to provide still further improvements in bi-directional razor blade systems, structures and cartridges to allow a user to shave large areas of skin on the body, such as the legs and arms, rapidly and safely. With this in mind, I have created a new family of bi-directional razor blade shaving devices, called in-line bi-directional shaving devices, which can be separated into several classes. Each of these in-line shaving devices achieves one and usually several of the following objectives of the present invention.
A first major object of this invention is to provide several different in-line single-head razor devices, each with an elongated head and handle, which can each be used for rapidly and safely shaving large body areas in two opposite directions generally perpendicular to the major axes of the head and handle. A related object is to arrange the handle and head relative to one another so that this task of shaving large body areas bi-directionally can be accomplished in an entirely natural, completely comfortable, and easy-to-use way.
A second major object is to provide compact in-line bi-directional razor blade devices, with the elongated head and handle arranged generally in-line, which are easier to use than present-day uni-directional T-bar razor devices to rapidly shave the legs and arms or other large body areas.
A third object is to provide for several different constructions of a bi-directional straight razor blade cartridge for an in-line razor shaving device, which cartridges can be manually removed from the in-line razor handle and replaced with a fresh cartridge whenever the blades become dull or the user wishes to do so.
A fourth object is to provide an improved method of manual shaving large area body surfaces, namely bi-directional shaving using an in-line razor shaving device having an elongated handle for supporting a single bi-directional razor head generally in-line with the principal axis of the handle, where the user's handgrip on the razor's handle need not be changed as the bi-directional razor head is moved back and forth in opposite directions to shave an area of skin. A related object is to provide a method of shaving using in-line bi-directional razor devices which does not require any significant lifting, tilting or repositioning of the bi-directional razor head relative to the skin, and which substantially reduces the time and effort spent shaving.
A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an in-line wet shaving razor device that will more readily deliver a closer shave than conventional uni-directional dual-blade wet razor systems, by virtue of facilitating shaving the same area of skin from two opposite directions. A related object is to help prepare and condition the skin to be shaved by scraping it with one or two razor blade edges moving in a non-cutting direction, and/or by stretching it out by using front and rear guards which grip and/or smooth the skin from two directions.
A sixth object is to provide an in-line wet shaving razor device that stays sharper longer than a conventional uni-directional razor blade system by virtue of having twice as many shaving edges, and by having flow-through debris passages which allow a user to easily rinse away shaving debris that might otherwise remain on and eventually dull the blade strip edges.
A seventh object is to provide several different constructions of in-line bi-directional razor shaving devices which are particularly economical to manufacture at a cost essentially equal to or slightly more than conventional uni-directional razors.
An eighth object is to provide several different constructions of in-line bi-directional razor shaving devices which are economical to manufacture using a combined handle and razor made from a single elongated piece of molded plastic.
A ninth object is to provide single-head in-line bi-directional razor blade shaving devices wherein two sets of opposed blade strips both make effective use of a single rear guard/lubricant strip centrally located between them.
A tenth object of the present invention is to provide a first class of in-line bi-directional razor shaving devices which have all of the razor-sharp edges of the blade strips arranged in substantially the same working plane in a single head, and which need not be lifted, tilted or turned while speed-shaving in two opposite directions.
An eleventh object is to provide a second class of in-line bi-directional razor blade shaving devices, each having a single head with two sets of razor blade strips, with each set being located in its own working plane that faces away from and intersects the other pair's working plane at an angle in the range of about 5.degree. up to about 15.degree. or so, so that the in-line shaving devices need not be lifted or deliberately tilted or turned while speed-shaving in two opposite directions.
A twelfth object is to provide a third class of in-line bi-directional razor blade shaving devices, each having a single head with two sets of razor blade strips, with each set being located in its own working plane facing away from the other working plane, with the two working planes intersecting one another at an angle of about 20.degree. or more, so that the in-line devices must be deliberately tilted and turned at the end of each stroke (or at the beginning of the next stroke) to engage the other working plane for the next stroke in the opposite direction.
A thirteenth object is to provide a fourth class of in-line bi-directional razor devices which employ uni-directional razor cartridges with straight razor blade strips within a single head to form a single bi-directional razor blade head. A related object is to provide in-line bi-directional shaving devices by using a pair of conventional uni-directional razor cartridges to implement an in-line shaving device having a single bi-directional razor blade shaving head.
A fourteenth object is to provide a fifth class of in-line bi-directional razor blade shaving devices having an effective single bi-directional head formed of two identical uni-directional head portions connected to a single handle through a common neck, a bifurcated neck, or a yoke, with the two uni-directional heads being arranged generally parallel to and in close proximity to one another.
A fifteenth object of the present invention is to provide in-line bi-directional razor blade shaving devices having a bi-directional razor blade head and/or uni-directional half-heads provided with either a pivot mechanism or a shell-bearing mechanism to facilitate minor on-the-fly changes in the orientation of the full head or half-head portions relative to the user's skin which undulates or has gentle contours, without the need for the user to significantly lift, tilt or twist the handle of the razor as the shaving head is moved back and forth in opposite directions.
A sixteenth object is to provide in-line bi-directional razor blade shaving devices with two conventional uni-directional razor blade heads that can move independently in response to skin forces substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the razor head is being moved along the skin, so as to permit the individual heads to have their blade strips bear substantially continuously against a user's skin during back-and-forth shaving, even as the contour of the skin changes.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the Summary and the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the present invention which follow.