Flexible Shaving Strip Adapting to Skin Contours
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shaving cartridge heads are rigid, limiting the ability of blades to follow skin contours effectively, resulting in inconsistent blade-to-skin angles and preventing a close shave, which can lead to nicks and cuts.
Innovation Solution
A shaving cartridge with a flexible strip that allows the cutting members to assume various configurations, including convex, concave, and planar, by being assembled onto a flexible strip that can pivot relative to the housing, ensuring constant alignment with the skin surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional rigid shaving cartridge heads are used, then structural stability is maintained, but the blades cannot effectively follow skin contours, resulting in inconsistent blade-to-skin angles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the cartridge head flexible rather than rigid. The cartridge head is formed from a flexible material that allows it to dynamically adapt its shape to follow skin contours during shaving, while the blades remain securely retained through elastic retention members that maintain constant pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent directly applies this principle by constructing the cartridge head as a flexible shell that can deform to match skin topography. The flexible material allows the head to assume convex, concave, or planar configurations as needed to maintain optimal blade-to-skin angles across varying skin surfaces.
2Reliability
If metal clips are used to retain blades, then blade positioning is secured, but the blade-to-skin angle becomes inconsistent on contoured surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces static metal clips with dynamic elastic retention members that can flex and adapt as the cartridge head deforms. These retention members maintain constant pressure on the blades regardless of the head's configuration, ensuring consistent blade-to-skin angles whether the head is convex, concave, or planar.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the retention members from rigid to elastic, allowing them to change their shape and pressure distribution in response to head deformation. This parameter change enables the retention members to maintain reliable blade retention while adapting to maintain constant blade-to-skin angles across varying skin contours.
3Adaptability or versatility
If blades are allowed to move vertically relative to the head, then some skin contour following is achieved, but the movement is limited and insufficient for close shaves
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of limited vertical blade movement, the patent makes the entire cartridge head dynamic and flexible. This allows the head to assume various configurations (convex, concave, planar) that enable the blades to maintain optimal angles across a much wider range of skin contours, significantly improving close shave quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible cartridge head shell allows extensive deformation to follow skin contours, far exceeding the limited blade movement of conventional designs. This flexibility enables the blades to maintain consistent cutting angles across protrusions and recesses in the skin, achieving true close shaves without nicks or cuts.
Data Source
Figure 1~2B
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Figure 6A~6C
AI summary
A shaving component (10) for a shaving cartridge including at least one cutting member (2) and a at least one flexible strip (1) onto which the cutting member (2) is assembled. The flexible strip is able to assume different configurations such as a planar, convex and/or convex configuration while retaining the cutting member in a desired position. The shaving component is configured to be fastened to the shaving cartridge such as a hinged shaving cartridge.