Bladeset with a drive bushing for a hair clipper

Abstract

A hair clipper is provided and includes a drive system having a drive member, where the drive system is coupled to a motor that linearly moves the drive member, a bladeset including a stationary blade and a moving blade configured for moving linearly relative to the stationary blade and a drive bushing attached to the moving blade, where the drive member engages the drive bushing to reciprocally move the moving blade relative to the stationary blade.

Description

BLADESET WITH A DRIVE BUSHING FOR A HAIR CLIPPERBACKGROUND

[0001] The present invention relates generally to powered hair cutting appliances, namely hair clippers and hair trimmers, and more specifically to powered hair cutting appliances with bladesets having teeth where the bladesets are driven by a reciprocating drive mechanism.

[0002] Powered hair cutting appliances, more specifically hair clippers and hair bimmers (here collectively referred to as “hair clippers”) are well known in the art, for both cutting and styling hair, and also for cutting hair of animals. Such devices are used by professional hair stylists and barbers, and also by consumers to trim ones’ own hair, hair of others or their pets’ hair.

[0003] Hair clippers typically include, at a minimum, a power source, a motor powered by the power source, a mechanical linkage or drive train between the motor and a moving blade, and a stationary blade where the moving blade reciprocates relative to the stationary blade. The motor may take on a variety of formats, including but not limited to rotary motors, linear motors, vibratory motors, and pivot motors. Most hair clippers include a bladeset that has a stationary blade and a moving blade, where the stationary blade and the moving blade each include a plurality of forward projecting teeth that are spaced apart along a front blade edge that defines a cutting line.

[0004] In some hair clippers, the motor and more specifically, the drive train includes a drive finger mounted at a pivot point, where the motor causes the drive finger to oscillate about the pivot point. Typically, the drive finger is made of a plastic material and mates directly with the moving blade of the hair clipper via surface contact between the moving blade and an end of the drive finger. Reciprocation of the end of the drive finger results in a linear reciprocation of the moving blade relative to the stationary blade to produce a cutting action.

[0005] The surface contact between the drive finger and moving blade is respectively plastic on metal. The metal surface of the moving blade is considerably harder than the plastic surface of the drive finger, which causes the drive finger to wear. As the drive finger wears down, there is an undesirable minimal and / or irregular surface contact between these components. This leads to a loss of cutting performance as well as an increase in operating noise.

[0006] A solution to address the wear on the drive finger has been to use a removable tip on the end of the drive finger. However, these removable tips wear down as well, thereby requiring replacement, which adds maintenance time and cost to a user over the operating life of the hair clipper.

[0007] Another solution is directed to making the moving blade and the drive arm with similar materials, but these designs tend to be overly complex and focus on force distribution as opposed to like material selection, to reduce wear. For example, U.S. Patent No. 3,812,389 to Bowerman (hereinafter “Bowerman”), the entirety of the teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated by referenceherein, is directed to a hair clipper that utilizes a complex multi-piece, multimaterial armature. This armature oscillates about a pivot point and mates with a linearly constrained drive shoe to which a moving blade is mounted. Oscillation of the armature creates a linear reciprocation of the drive shoe and correspondingly the moving blade.

[0008] Bowerman’s armature includes a spring loaded drive socket that abuts the drive shoe over a relatively large surface area, which reduces wear. Not only is this spring loaded system complex, but the drive shoe is relatively large and adds an undesirable amount of mass to the mechanical system of the hair clipper. Further, the interface between the armature and drive shoe is considerably spaced apart from the interface of the drive shoe and the moving blade. This creates a complexity of the force distribution between the armature, the drive shoe, and the moving blade that is likely to produce unwanted stresses at the interfaces of these components.

[0009] Thus, there is a need for an improved bladeset for hair clippers which reduces wear between the drive arm and the moving blade and extends the life of the drive components of the hair clippers.SUMMARY

[0010] The above-listed need is met or exceeded by the present hair clipper with a bladeset having a drive bushing designed for reducing wear on the drive system. In the present hair clipper, the bladeset includes drive bushing attached to the moving blade where the drive bushing is configured to receive a drive memberof a drive system and the drive bushing and the drive member are made with materials having the same or a similar hardness to help reduce wear on the drive member and extend the life of the drive system.

[0011] In an embodiment, a hair clipper is provided and includes a drive system having a drive member, where the drive system is coupled to a motor that linearly moves the drive member, a bladeset including a stationary blade and a moving blade configured for moving linearly relative to the stationary blade and a drive bushing attached to the moving blade, where the drive member engages the drive bushing to reciprocally move the moving blade relative to the stationary blade.

[0012] In another embodiment, a drive bushing for a bladeset of a hair clipper is provided and includes a front wall, a rear wall and opposing sidewalls attached together and defining a receptacle configured to receive a drive arm of a drive member coupled to a motor, where the opposing side walls each include at least one tab configured to engage the bladeset to removably attach the drive bushing to the bladeset.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a top perspective of a hair clipper including an embodiment of the present bladeset;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the hair clipper of Fig. 1 with a portion of the housing remove and the bladeset removed from the housing.

[0015] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the drive system, the mounting assembly and the bladeset of Fig. 1.

[0016] FIG 4 is a top perspective view of the bladeset of Fig. 1.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a front end of the housing of the hair clipper of Fig. 1 showing the mounting assembly.

[0018] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the bladeset showing an embodiment of the drive bushing.

[0019] Fig. 7A is a top view of the drive bushing shown in Fig. 6.

[0020] Fig. 7B is a bottom view of the drive bushing shown in Fig. 6.

[0021] Fig. 7C is a front view of the drive bushing shown in Fig. 6, where the rear view is a mirror image of the front view.

[0022] Fig. 7D is a right side view of the drive bushing shown in Fig. 6, where the left side view is a mirror image of the right side view.

[0023] Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the bladeset of Fig. 6 showing the drive bushing attached to the bladeset.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Referring to FIGs. 1-8, the present hair clipper is generally designated20, and includes a clipper housing 22 which encloses, among other things a drive motor 23, electronic circuitry (not shown), an optional rechargeable battery (not shown), which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the preferredembodiment, the housing 22 is provided in two opposing, clamshell-like halves, as is common in the industry, and has a front end or cutting end 24.

[0025] Included on the hair clipper 20 is a clipper bladeset 26, made up of a stationary blade 28 with a plurality of stationary blade teeth 30, and an opposing moving blade 32 having a plurality of moving blade teeth 34. A cutting line is formed by the engagement of the teeth 30, 34 as the moving blade 32 is reciprocated laterally relative to the stationary blade by the drive motor and associated power transmission components. The teeth 30 on the stationary blade 28 and the teeth 34 on the moving blade 32 each have a size and shape configured for cutting hair.

[0026] Referring to FIGs. 3, 5, 6 and 8, the bladeset 26 typically includes a biasing element 36 in the form of a spring which causes the moving blade 32 to be slidingly biased against the stationary blade 28 for more effective cutting action. In the present embodiment, the moving blade 32 defines a drive recess 38 (Fig. 6) for receiving a blade engagement device or drive bushing 40 that is attached to the moving blade as shown in Fig. 8.

[0027] A drive system, generally designated 42 moves a Y-shaped driving member 44 in an arc or curvilinear motion relative to the bladeset 26, where the driving member causes the moving blade 32 of the bladeset 26 to move reciprocally along an axis T (Fig. 2) that is transverse to a longitudinal axis L (Fig. 2) of the hair clipper 20.

[0028] Referring now to FIG. 3, the drive system 42 includes a chassis 46 having a front plate 48 and a base plate 50 and a pair of spaced, generally parallel,normally projecting side arms 52 that connect the base plate to the front plate. The base plate 50 includes a cutout 54 that fits about an output shaft 56 and throughholes 58 that are aligned with corresponding holes 60 in the motor 23 within the housing 22 where the throughholes 58 and holes 60 are configured to receive fasteners (not shown) for securing the base plate 50 of the chassis 46 to the motor 23. In the illustrated embodiment, the chassis 46 is preferably unitary, however a multicomponent chassis is also contemplated. The cutout 54 in the base plate 50 accommodates passage of the output shaft 56, which is coupled to the motor. The chassis 46 also includes a housing connector 62 having arms 64 extending to the side arms 52, and a post hole 66 that is configured to at least partially receive housing post 68 extending from the housing 22. A connecting post (not shown) extends from an inside surface of a housing cover (not shown) and at least partially extends into a receptacle 70 formed in the housing post 68 to secure the housing cover to the housing 22.

[0029] In the drive system, the driving member 44 has a body 72 with a drive arm 74 and opposing cam arms 76 extending from the drive arm that define a space 78 between the cam arms. A throughbore 80 in the driving member 44 is aligned with a throughbore 82 in the chassis 46, where a pivot pin 83 is inserted through the aligned throughbores 80, 82 of the chassis 46 and the driving member 44 to enable the driving member 44 to pivot relative to the chassis 46. Upon assembly, the housing post 68 and / or the connecting post on the housing cover are positioned atleast partially in the space 78 between the cam arms 76 so that the cam arms extend along opposing sides of the housing post 68 and / or the connecting post.[0030J Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the output shaft 56 is preferably unitary, but a multiple component shaft is also contemplated. An end 84 of the output shaft 56 is splined and secured in a friction fit into a corresponding shaft throughbore 86 in eccentric cam 88. A sleeve 90 having a central opening 92 is positioned on the eccentric cam 88 to form a cam member 94, where the front surfaces 96, 98 of the sleeve 90 and the eccentric cam 88 are substantially flush with each other, and the cam member 94 is rotated by the output shaft 56.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 2, the output shaft 56 is inserted into the throughbore 86 of the eccentric cam 88 of the cam member 94 at a position that is offset from a center of the eccentric cam 88 such that a greater portion of the cam member is on one side of the output shaft 56 than on another side of the output shaft. The positioning of the output shaft 56 offset from the center of the eccentric cam 88 causes the cam member 94 to altematingly contact the opposing cam arms 76 of the driving member 44 as the cam member 94 is rotated by the output shaft 56, which in turn, causes the driving member 44 to pivot back and forth relative to the chassis 46.

[0032] The bladeset 26 is removably attached to the front end 24 of the housing 22 so that the bladeset may be removed and repaired or replaced. As shown in Figs. 2-5, the bladeset 26 includes a mounting bracket 100. The mounting bracket100 has a planar body 102 and opposing ears 104 that extend from the body. Thebody 102 also includes mounting flanges 106 that extend from opposing sides of the body 102, where each of the mounting flanges 106 includes a throughhole 108. The mounting bracket 100 is attached to the bladeset 26 by positioning the mounting flanges 106 under the biasing element 36 and aligning the throughholes 108 with throughholes 110, 112 in the stationaiy blade 28 and the biasing element 36. After aligning the throughholes 108, 110 and 112, fasteners such as screws, are used to secure the stationary blade 28, the biasing element 36 and the mounting bracket 100 together.

[0033] A mounting assembly 114 is on the front end 24 of the housing 22 and includes a blade release member 116, a release member bracket 118 and a blade pivot member 120. In the illustrated embodiment, the release member bracket 118 includes a body 122 having opposing projecting walls 124 and opposing mounting flanges 126 that each have a throughhole 128. Each mounting flange 126 also has a tube 130 forming a throughbore 132 where the longitudinal axes of the tubes 130 are substantially aligned with each other. As shown in Fig. 3, an angled stop member 134 extends from an end of the body 122 on a same side as the projecting walls 124.

[0034] The blade pivot member 120 includes a planar body 136 with opposing ears 138 that project from a side of the body. The ears 138 each have throughholes 140 including a longitudinal axis, where the longitudinal axes of the throughholes 140 are substantially aligned with each other. An end 142 of the body136 includes a flange 144 that extends transversely from the body. A pivot pin 146is inserted through the throughholes 140 of the ears 138 and the throughbores 132 of the mounting flanges 126 to secure the blade pivot member 120 to the release member bracket 118 where the flange 144 is positioned on a side of the pivot pin 146 that is opposite to the front end of the body 136. The pivot pin 146 enables the blade pivot member 120 to rotate relative to the release member bracket 118. During rotation of the blade pivot member 120, the flange 144 contacts the pivot pin 146 to limit the rotating movement of the blade pivot member 120 relative to the release member bracket 118.

[0035] The blade release member 116 includes a body 148 having a front end 150 with a front blade hook 152 and a rear end 154 with a release lever 156 that both extend transversely from a common side of the body 148. The body 148 also includes a throughhole 158 defined by the front end 150, the rear end 154 and opposing side walls 160 of the body. As shown, the blade release member 116 is positioned on the release member bracket 118 so that body 148 is between the projecting walls 124 and the blade release member 116 is between the housing 22 and the release member bracket 118. Further, the angled stop member 134 of the release member bracket 118 is positioned at least partially in the throughhole 158 of the blade release member 116.

[0036] The mounting assembly 114 is secured to the front end 24 of the housing 22 by inserting fasteners such as screws 127, through the throughholes 128 of the release member bracket 118 and corresponding throughholes 162 on the front end 24 of the housing 22 where the fasteners are secured to the housing by nuts 164threaded onto the ends of the fasteners within the housing 22. After securing the mounting assembly 114 to the housing 22, the blade release member 116 slides relative to the release member bracket 118 where the stop member 134 limits the sliding movement of the blade release member 116 in a direction toward the bladeset 26.

[0037] Referring to Figs. 3-5, the bladeset 26 is attached to the mounting assembly 114 on the housing 22 by inserting the front end of the planar body 102 of the blade pivot member 120 into a space 166 (Fig. 4) formed between the body 102 of the mounting bracket 100 and the stationary blade 28. The bladeset 28 and blade pivot member 120 are then rotated together toward the housing 22 until the front blade hook 152 of the blade release member 116 engages a front edge 168 of the mounting bracket 100 to lock the bladeset 26 to the housing 22. The bladeset 26 is removed from the housing 22 by pushing the release lever 156 inwardly which simultaneously moves the front end hook 152 out of engagement with the front edge 168 of the mounting bracket 100. At the same time, the bladeset 26 and blade pivot member 120 are rotated away from the housing 22. The bladeset 26 is then moved outwardly until the mounting bracket 100 disengages from the body 136 of the blade pivot member 120.

[0038] Referring now to FIGs. 6, 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D and 8, the drive bushing 40 is secured in a drive recess 38 on the bladeset 26 where the recess is formed by a front wall 172 and opposing side walls 174 of the moving blade 32 and a surface of the stationary blade 28. The drive bushing 40 has a generally rectangular shape thatcorresponds to a rectangular shape of the recess 170 and is made with a wear resistant material, such as plastic material or a composite material. It should be appreciated that the drive bushing 40 and recess 170 may be any suitable size and shape and the drive bushing 40 may be made with any suitable material or combination of materials. In the illustrated embodiment, the drive bushing 40 has a front wall 176, a rear wall 178, opposing side walls 180, a top wall 182 and a bottom wall 184 that are integrally formed together. It should be appreciated that one or more of the front wall 176, the rear wall 178, the side walls 180, the top wall 182 and the bottom wall 184 may be made separately and joined together using a suitable attachment method. Also in another embodiment, the drive bushing 40 does not have a bottom wall, i.e., the bottom end of the drive bushing is open. In this embodiment, the top wall 182 includes an opening 186 that leads to an interior space 188 defined between the front wall, the rear wall, the side walls and the bottom wall of the drive bushing. As described in detail below, the opening 186 and interior space 188 are configured to receive the end of the drive arm 74 of the driving member 44. In this way, contact between the drive bushing 40 and the moving blade 32 and contact between the end of the drive arm 74 and the drive bushing 40 is stacked vertically such that the drive bushing 40 is primarily under a linear compressive force.

[0039] Referring to Figs. 6, 7A and 7C, the bottom ends of side walls 180 of the drive bushing 40 each include an angled protruding tab 190. Also, the top wall182 of the drive bushing 40 includes an angled protruding tab 192 at each comer ofthe top wall. The protruding tabs 190, 192 may extend along a portion of the side walls 180 and the top wall 182 as shown or may extend along the entire width of the side walls 180 and / or the top wall 182. In this embodiment, the drive bushing 40 is removably secured to the blade set 26 by inserting the drive bushing 40 in the recess 170 in the bladeset 26 until the protruding tabs 190 at the bottom ends of the side walls 180 engage corresponding bottom edges of the side walls 174 of the moving blade 32 and the protruding tabs 192 on the top wall 182 are seated on the surface of the moving blade 32 as shown in Fig. 8.

[0040] The drive bushing 40 is removable from the moving blade 32 and replaceable with another drive bushing when the drive bushing 40 becomes worn or breaks during use. It should be appreciated that the drive bushing 40 may have any suitable number of tabs that engage the moving blade 32 to secure the drive bushing to the moving blade. After securing the drive bushing 40 to the moving blade 32, the drive bushing 40 moves in unison with the moving blade 32 during operation of the hair clipper 20.

[0041] After the bladeset 26 is secured to the housing 22 as described above, the end of the drive arm 74 is at least partially inserted in the interior space 188 of the drive bushing 40 such that the end of the drive arm 74 matingly engages the drive bushing 40.

[0042] In operation, as the output shaft 56 turns under power from the motor, the cam member 94 is rotated by the output shaft to cause the driving member 44 to pivot linearly relative to the chassis 46. The pivoting of the driving member 44causes the drive arm 74 to pivot linearly so that the drive bushing 40 and the moving blade 32 both reciprocate linearly relative to the stationary blade 28.

[0043] In conventional hair clippers, the drive arm is commonly made with a plastic material or composite material and engages the moving blade of the bladeset directly, where the moving blade is made with metal. After repeated use, the drive arm wears relatively quickly due to the contact between the hard metal material of the moving blade and the softer plastic material or composite material of the drive arm.

[0044] The drive bushing 40 in the illustrated embodiment overcomes this problem by securing the drive bushing 40 to the moving blade 32 and having the drive arm 74 engage the drive bushing 40 in the moving blade 32, where both the drive aim 74 and the drive bushing 40 are made with materials having the same or similar hardness values, thereby reducing wear on the drive arm 74 and extending the life of the drive arm 74 and the drive system 42.

[0045] While a particular embodiments of the present hair clipper and associated bladeset have been described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A hair clipper comprising: a drive system having a drive member, wherein the drive system is coupled to a motor that linearly moves the drive member; a bladeset including a stationary blade and a moving blade configured for moving linearly relative to said stationary blade; and a drive bushing attached to the moving blade, wherein the drive member engages the drive bushing to reciprocally move the moving blade relative to the stationary blade.

2. The hair clipper of claim 1 , wherein the drive bushing includes a front wall, a rear wall and opposing sidewalls attached together and defining a receptacle configured to receive the drive member.

3. The hair clipper of claim 2, wherein the opposing side walls of the drive bushing each include at least one tab configured to engage the bladeset to removably attach the drive bushing to the bladeset.

4. The hair clipper of claim 2, wherein the drive bushing includes a bottom wall attached to the front wall, the rear wall and the opposing side walls.

5. The hair clipper of claim 1 , wherein the drive bushing is made of a plastic material.

6. The hair clipper of claim 1 , wherein the moving blade includes opposing walls defining a recess and the drive bushing includes a top wall and opposing tabs, the drive bushing being inserted in the recess of the moving blade so that the tabs engage bottom edges of the walls of the moving blade and the top wall is seated on a surface of the moving blade.

7. The hair clipper of claim 1, wherein the drive bushing is attached to a drive arm of the drive member.

8. A drive bushing for a bladeset of a hair clipper, the drive bushing comprising: a front wall, a rear wall and opposing sidewalls attached together and defining a receptacle configured to receive a drive arm of a drive member coupled to a motor, wherein the opposing side walls each include at least one tab configured to engage the bladeset to removably attach the drive bushing to the bladeset.

9. The drive bushing of claim 8, wherein the drive bushing includes a bottom wall attached to the front wall, the rear wall and the opposing sidewalls, wherein the front wall, the rear wall, the side walls and the bottom wall define a receptacle configured to receive the drive member.

10. The drive bushing of claim 9, wherein the front wall, the rear wall, the opposing side walls and the bottom wall are all made of a plastic material.

11. The drive bushing of claim 8, wherein the front wall, the rear wall and the opposing side walls are all made of a plastic material.

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