Grooming Tool Leaf Spring Housing for Blade Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety razors with motorized hair trimmers require a second step of disassembly to clean the blades due to the inclusion of both toothed blades and their respective springs in detachable blade assemblies, leading to inefficiencies in debris removal and reassembly.
Innovation Solution
A trimmer assembly with a leaf spring retained within the housing, allowing for a single disassembly step by separating the lower and moving blades during cleaning, and eliminating the need for additional clearance for the spring's movement, thus maintaining the ergonomic width of the safety razor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If detachable blade assemblies include both toothed blades and their respective springs, then the blades can be removed for cleaning, but a second step of disassembly is required to effectively clean debris from between the blades
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is extracted from the detachable blade assembly and retained in the housing instead. This allows the blade assembly to be separated into just the blades for cleaning, eliminating the need to disassemble the spring-blade connection. The spring remains in the housing and continues to function while the blades are removed for cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The trimmer assembly is segmented into separate functional components: the spring remains in the housing while the blade assembly becomes a separate removable unit. This segmentation allows independent cleaning of the blades without affecting the spring mechanism.
2Reliability
If wire springs are used to hold moving blades in place with to and fro movement, then the blades can be maintained in contact, but sufficient space must be provided within the housing for the spring's movement
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is extracted from the moving blade assembly and fixed in the housing. This eliminates the need for the spring to move with the blade, thereby eliminating the requirement for additional clearance space in the housing for spring movement.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of the spring moving with the blade (traditional approach), the blade moves while the spring remains stationary in the housing (inverted approach). This inversion allows the spring to maintain contact force without requiring movement space.
3Productivity
If multiple disassembly steps are required for cleaning, then complete cleaning can be achieved, but time and user effort are increased
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the spring from the blade assembly and retaining it in the housing, the cleaning process is simplified to a single disassembly step. Users only need to remove the blade assembly, not the spring, significantly reducing cleaning time and effort.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Simplifies the cleaning process by reducing the number of disassembly steps and allowing for a narrower housing design without compromising cutting efficiency, maintaining ergonomic familiarity for users.
Implementation Method 1
a leaf spring, a first end portion of the leaf spring being disposed in a recess of the trimmer housing and the opposed end portion acting on a driver part of the moving blade to maintain at least the toothed portions of the blades in sliding contact
Data Source
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AI summary
A grooming tool is provided that includes a safety razor assembly (20) adjoined to a hair trimmer assembly (10). Both assemblies include a housing (22, 12). The housings may be separable or may be integrally formed. The trimmer assembly includes a motor (40) operably connected to a moving toothed blade (60). A second toothed blade (50) is removably mounted to the housing of the trimmer. One end of the leaf spring (90) is disposed in a suitably sized recess (18) of the trimmer housing and the opposed second end bears against a driver (80) of the moving blade to maintain sliding contact between the toothed portions of the two blades during operation. When a user removes the second toothed blade, the moving blade may be separately removed while the leaf spring is retained in its recess. Both housings have a width less than 25mm and the grooming tool is ergonomically familiar to a typical safety razor user.