Hair removal device

p0001The invention relates to a hair removal device according to the preamble of claim 1.

p0002Such a hair removal device is, for example, shown in FIG <patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="WO2005102623A2"><text>WO 2005/102623 A2</text></patcit> , Which document shows a wet shaver known per se, to which an electrically drivable trimmer is additionally mounted. This trimmer is slidably or pivotably attached to the handle of the wet shaver. The trimmer can thereby be moved approximately between a storage position and a use position, wherein the trimmer comes to lie above the wet shaver in the use position in such a way that the wet shaver is not in the field of view of the user during use.

p0003The invention is based on the object of further forming a hair removal device of the abovementioned type, so that the usability of the combined device of the wet shaver and trimmer is improved.

p0004This object is achieved according to the invention by the characterizing features of claim 1.

p0005The solution according to the invention enables the common use of a trimmer and a wet shaving unit (which has at least one sharp-edged razor blade) arranged on a movable support element, so that a hygienic and aesthetically effective hair removal is made possible in a single usage cycle. The trimmer has at least two shearing parts which can be driven relative to one another and each have rows of teeth, and shears (or shears) the long body hair at first just above the skin, and the wet shaving unit removes the short cut hair thoroughly to the skin. The trimmer is particularly suitable for trimming moist or shaved hair with shaving lotion or shaving foam and is in particular washable. The wet shaving unit has at least one sharp-edged razor blade and is particularly suitable for shaving moist or shaved hair with shaving foam or shaving lotion. The wet shaving unit can thereby be brought into a storage position by means of the support element, in which the sharp-edged razor blade is in particular protected against unintended contact with the skin, which makes it easier to use the device compared to devices as described in the<patcit id="pcit0002" dnum="WO2005102623A2"><text>WO 2005/102623 A2</text></patcit> Where the wet shaving unit does not have such a storage position, but is always exposed to the extent that it can come into contact with the skin of the user and then can painfully cut the skin of the user. In particular, the protected position is distinguished in that the at least one razor blade of the wet shaving unit is concealed in the storage position by the housing of the hair removal device and / or that the sharp-edged razor blade is located inside tangents which are applied to the housing of the hair removal device and the outer contour of the wet shaving unit Of the hair removal device formed by the tangents, so that contact of the sharp-edged razor blade can only be achieved by deliberately extending into the space between housing of the hair removal device and the wet shaving unit. The wet shaving unit furthermore has a use position in which the wet shaving unit is arranged behind the trimmer in the direction of use. Since a goal in the body-grooming apparatus is to achieve an aesthetic, effective hair removal, such a use position of the wet shaving unit facilitates and improves the use of the apparatus since the desired complete hair removal can be achieved by use in one pull. In the use position, the wet shaving unit is arranged in such a way that the front edge of the sharp-edged razor blade lies in a plane with the front edge of the trimmer comb of the trimmer or is in use when the shaving blade is used A certain pivoting movement has been carried out by the pressure on the skin) or, if the trimmer has a protective attachment such that the trimmer teeth themselves do not come into contact with the skin of the user, in a plane with the front edge of the protective attachment of the trimmer comb.

p0006The support element, on which the wet shaving unit is arranged, is, for example, guided displaceably on the housing, whereby the displacement can be rectilinear and / or along a curve. This allows simple positioning by the user, whereby the positioning into different operating positions can be further simplified by means of corresponding latching elements arranged along the displacement path (the storage position and the usage position are operating positions, further operating positions are possible, for example an operating position in which the wet shaving unit is connected via the (The trimming unit is then in an exposed position), so that a pure wet shave is possible without an additional leading trimmer). Alternatively or additionally, a pivotable mounting of the support element on the housing is also possible, as a result of which further design possibilities for positioning the wet shaving unit are provided. Thus, the wet shaving unit could be brought out of the storage position into the use position by pivoting movement.

p0007According to a particularly simple embodiment of the invention, the trimmer is disposed in a stationary manner on the housing. However, it is advantageous to increase the shaving comfort and / or with respect to a better adaptation of the trimmer to the contour of the skin surface to be shaved when the trimmer is mounted in a floating manner on the housing. Such an embodiment allows the trimmer to submerge against a resilient bias of the trimmer as a function of the pressure applied by the user.

p0008To enable simultaneous use of trimmer and wet shaving unit (in the use position), the tooth tips of the trimmer's tooth rows are oriented substantially in the same direction as the cutting edge of the razor blade. The trimmer is arranged in such a way that it is located in front of the cutting edge of the razor blade in the direction of the razor pull (in the direction of use), as a result of which the shaving blade is completely shaved off Respectively.

p0009In order to optimally adapt the wet shaving unit to the contour of the skin to be shaved, it is provided in a further advantageous embodiment of the invention that the wet shaving unit is mounted pivotably and / or floating on the support element. If, for example, the trimmer is mounted in a floating manner, then the wet shaving unit can follow the descent of the trimmer through a likewise floating bearing and thus always come to an optimum utilization position.

p0010An embodiment of the invention optimized in particular for the shaving thoroughness provides for the wet shaving unit to have a plurality of razor blades which are arranged, in particular, on a common carrier. This multi-blade arrangement known per se causes a more thorough shaving with the same number of shaving razors. When the trimmer and the wet shaving unit are used simultaneously, the front edges of all the razor blades lie in a plane with the front edge of the trimmer comb or the front edge of a trimmer comb or the front edges of the razor blades A pivoting and / or floating bearing - to lie in a plane with the front edge of the trimmer.

p0011In connection with a distance comb, which is assigned to the trimmer, per se, for example, from the <patcit id="pcit0003" dnum="WO0037225A1"><text>WO 00/37225 A1</text></patcit> The hair removal device according to the invention can be used not only for shaving but also for shortening hair to a preselected length. For this purpose, an embodiment of the invention is provided with an attachment possibility for such a distance comb. A distance between the skin to be shaved and the trimmer is defined by the distance comb. This distance then determines the length of the remaining hairs. The distance comb can be designed so as to be adjustable in a manner known per se so that the user can set different distances with a single distance comb and thus different remaining hair lengths. However, it is also possible to adjust the remaining hair length by selecting a distance comb of the desired length from a set of distance combs of different lengths and then attaching it to the housing of the hair removal device.

p0012In one embodiment of the hair removal device, the wet shaving unit is completely covered by the distance comb, so that an undesirable shortening of the hair and in particular a risk of injury by the wet shaving unit is prevented (the wet shaving unit could be inadvertently displaced from the storage position, which is prevented by the distance comb). Even if the razor blade of the wet shaving unit is arranged in a protected position in the storage position in front of an unintended skin contact, hair can still come into contact with the razor blade. This is also prevented by the embodiment of the spacer combin.

p0013Further objects, features and possible applications of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of an exemplary embodiment. All the features described or illustrated by themselves or in any combination form the subject matter of the present invention, also independent of their summary in the claims or their back-reference.

p0014For this purpose,<dl id="dl0001"><dt>FIG. 1 and FIG. 2</dt><dd>In each case a section through a hair removal device according to the invention, the support element of the wet shaving unit being in the retracted position, the wet shaving unit being thus in the storage position,</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>Such a section in which the support element is in a maximally deployed position allowing the sole use of the wet shaving unit, </dd><dt>FIGS. 4 to 6</dt><dd>A hair removal device according to the invention in which the support element with the wet shaving unit is in a middle operating position in which the hair removal is simultaneously made possible by the trimmer leading in the direction of use and the wet shaving unit running in the direction of use;</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>The trimmer according <figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> In an enlarged view.</dd></dl>

p0015This in <figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> As a side view of a section, has a housing 1, which accommodates an electric motor 2 and an electrical energy accumulator designed as an electrical accumulator 3. A trimmer 4 is arranged at the upper end section 5 of the elongated housing 1, the cutting elements of which point towards the front side 6 of the housing. In<figref idrefs="f0007">FIG</figref> The trimmer, which is designed in a manner known per se, is shown enlarged. The trimmer 4 is composed of a fixed trimmer comb 7 and a driven trimmer blade 8, the trimmer blade 8 being arranged below the trimmer comb. Both the trimmer comb 7 and the trimmer blade 8 are formed in the form of a comb with a plurality of tines arranged one behind the other in the form of a row, the tines being oriented toward the left in the direction of the front side 6 of the housing. While the trimmer comb 7 is installed in the housing, the trimmer blade 8 running parallel to it is fastened at the end of an oscillating lever 9, which is mounted on the inner side of the housing front part 6 so as to pivot about a rotary bearing 10, which defines an axis of rotation 11. A driver 12 is formed on the end of the rocker arm 9 opposite the trimmer blade 8, into which the drive pin 13, which is formed on a swing bridge 14 (see FIG<figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref>). The eccentric 15, which is arranged on the drive shaft 16 of the electric motor 2 that can be driven in a rotational manner, engages again in this oscillating bridge 14. The oscillating bridge 14 generates a linear oscillation movement, which is perpendicular to the drawing plane, from the rotating movement of the drive shaft 16. An on / off switch 17 arranged in the housing front part 6 serves to connect or disconnect the electric motor 2 with or from the electrical energy supply through the accumulator 3. When the electric motor 2 is switched on, the rotary drive shaft 16, in conjunction with the eccentric 15, generates the oscillation movement of the oscillating bridge 14, which is transmitted via the drive pin 13 to the driver 12 on the rocker arm 9. This in turn leads to an oscillating pivoting movement of the oscillating lever 9 about the axis of rotation 11 and thus to an oscillating displacement of the trimmer blade 8 relative to the trimmer comb 7 so that hair which is located between the teeth of this shearing system is sheared off.

p0016On the housing side 18, a support element 19 designed as a slide is arranged vertically displaceable. For this purpose, guides (not shown) are arranged on these parts.<figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> Shows the support element 19 in a lower operating position. A receptacle 20 for a wet shaving unit 21 is arranged at the upper end of the support element 19. The receptacle 20 enables the wet shaving unit to be mounted or detached on which a plurality of sharp-edged razor blades 22 are arranged. The receptacle 20 has a release button 23 with an upwardly directed ram 24. The release button 23 is moved upwards, so that the tappet 24 acts on the wet shaving unit 21 and pushes it out of the receptacle 20. As an alternative to the embodiment shown, a single sharp-edged razor blade 22 can also be arranged as a wet shaving unit 21 instead of the realization of the wet shaving unit 21 shown here as a blade carrier (also called a blade cartridge). The wet shaving unit 21 is in the lower operating position in a storage position where the sharp-edged razor blade 22 is concealed from skin contact in such a way that the skin is not injured in the case of an incautious mode of use (tilting of the hair removal device against the skin) Can The storage position need not be a position in which skin contact with the razor blade can not be forced at all (for example by deliberately moving a finger into the space between the wet shaving unit and the back wall of the trimmer housing 1) but is a position in which skin contact occurs in a conventional manner Using the hair removal device typically does not occur. The sharp-edged razor blade 22 lies within an envelope of the hair removal device, which is formed by tangents on the housing 1 and the outer contour of the wet shaving unit 21. Then the skin can not come into contact with the sharp-edged razor blade by tilting the hair removal device on a flat skin surface which is flat relative to the distance between the housing 1 and the wet shaving unit 21.

p0017In the <figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> Is a storage position for the wet shaving unit, in which the razor blades 22 are located protected behind the upper end section 5 of the housing 1. The shaving blades 22, In this storage position, the trimmer 4 can be used alone for removing or trimming the hair.

p0018<figref idrefs="f0002">FIG</figref> Shows the hair removal device according to the invention with razor blades located in the storage position, ie, as already described in FIG <figref idrefs="f0001">FIG</figref> , However, a distance comb 25 is placed on the upper end portion 5. The distance comb is, in particular, displaceably supported on the hair removal device by means of retaining and / or guide elements known per se. A distance between the trimmer 4 and the skin to be shaved is defined by the distance comb in a manner known per se, which means that when the trimmer 4 is used with the spacer comb 25, only the hair is shortened to a certain degree, but no Complete shaving. The hairs to be shortened are fed to the trimmer 4 by means of slots 26 which extend parallel to the extent of the prongs of the trimmer comb 7 or the trimmer blade 8 and are arranged in the front part of the distance comb 25. The rear part 27 of the distance comb 25 can thereby cover the wet shaving unit 21 and thus the sharp-edged razor blades 22 so that they can not come into contact with the hair on the skin surface to be treated.

p0019<figref idrefs="f0003">FIG</figref> Shows the hair removal device in an operating state, in which the carrying element 19 is located in a further position, namely a maximum extension position, that is to say it extends completely upwards. This position of the support element 19 is then set by the user if he only wants to use the wet shaving unit 21 for (wet) shaving. In this high-extended position, the wet shaving unit is located so far away from the trimmer 4 that no risk of accidental scratching of the skin during the use of the razor blades 22 can occur. By means of corresponding electrical or mechanical means, which are not shown here, it can also be ensured that, in the maximum extended position of the support element 19, switching on of the electric motor 2 is not possible. For the best possible adaptation of the razor blades 22 to the contour of the skin to be shaved, the wet shaving unit 21 is mounted so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis 28 on the slider 19 or on the receptacle 20.

p0020The <figref idrefs="f0004 f0005 f0006">FIGS. 4 to 6</figref> Show the hair removal device according to the invention with the support element 19 in a position of use which allows simultaneous use of both the trimmer 4 and the wet shaving unit 21 for a so-called "combirasur". If the hair removal device is now in the position of use of the support element 19, as shown in FIG<figref idrefs="f0004">FIG</figref> Is pulled in the direction of use, ie according to the arrow P, over the skin surface to be shaved, the hair present there is initially shortened by the trimmer 4 leading in the direction of use (depending on the trimmer geometry, typically hair having a length of less than one millimeter) remains On the skin) and then still remaining hair are then thoroughly shaved during the same train through the wet shaving unit. Devices as they are from the<patcit id="pcit0004" dnum="WO2005102623A2"><text>WO 2005/102623 A2</text></patcit> , Do not offer the possibility of protecting the at least one sharp-edged razor blade of the wet shaving unit in a storage position from unwanted skin contact or the possibility of shaving in one pull due to the arrangement of the trimmer on the back of the wet shaving unit. So a shave in a train is also at the<patcit id="pcit0005" dnum="WO2005102623A2"><text>WO 2005/102623 A2</text></patcit> Not provided, but only a single individual use of either the wet shaver or the trimmer. However, the special arrangement as proposed here offers the possibility of shaving in one pull, since the trimmer of the wet shaving unit advances in the direction of use, so that the trimmer can first cut long hairs to just above the skin before the wet shaving unit the task To remove the remaining short hair thoroughly, as the user knows from a wet razor. Because the trimmer first shortens the hair in the course of the hair removal process, the wet shaving unit only has to cope with the usual task of shaving short hair, so that an aesthetically clean shaving result is achieved. As with known combinations of wet shavers and trimmers, it is not necessary to ride twice over the skin section to be shaved so as to first shorten the long hair with the trimmer and then shave off the shortened hair with the wet shaving unit. The proposed arrangement is particularly useful for body shaving.