Shaving Razor Handle Cartridge Interconnector Pivot Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shaving razor handle-to-cartridge connection mechanisms are costly, complex, and prone to manufacturing difficulties, requiring a simpler, less expensive, and more intuitive solution that maintains retention forces and facilitates easy cartridge replacement.
Innovation Solution
A shaving razor handle design featuring a cartridge interconnector with a platform defining an included angle of 35 to 60 degrees, a distal end with a skin-facing surface and curved lateral end walls, and a stepped platform to minimize size and enhance retention, while allowing for pivot motion and easy attachment/detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional pivot mechanisms are used to enable cartridge rotation, then the razor can follow skin contours, but the manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional pivot mechanism from the cartridge or handle interface and extracts only the essential function of enabling rotation. The solution uses a simple rounded cavity in the handle that receives a rounded cartridge base, allowing natural pivot motion without any mechanical pivot components, thereby eliminating manufacturing complexity while preserving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex pivot mechanisms with a simple, disposable-like connection geometry. The rounded cavity and rounded base design uses basic geometric forms that are inexpensive to manufacture via injection molding, treating the connection interface as a simple geometric fit rather than a precision mechanical assembly.
2Reliability
If robust retention forces are provided to secure the cartridge, then attachment integrity is maintained, but cartridge replacement becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamic retention system where the cartridge is held firmly during shaving through friction and geometric interference, but can be easily removed when force is applied in the removal direction. The rounded cavity provides radial retention forces during use, while the same geometry allows lateral or axial force to release the cartridge, achieving both strong attachment and easy replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses curved surfaces - a rounded cavity in the handle and a corresponding rounded base on the cartridge - to achieve both retention and ease of replacement. The curvature distributes retention forces evenly during shaving while allowing the cartridge to be gently pried off or pulled away without sharp edges or complex locking mechanisms that would hinder removal.
3Ease of operation
If the distal end height is increased to improve skin contact, then shaving performance improves, but the overall size of the interconnector increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the principle of local quality by providing the skin-contacting distal end with specific geometric features (rounded surface, appropriate height within 0.5-3mm) only where needed for skin interaction, while keeping the rest of the interconnector compact. The platform width and distal end dimensions are optimized locally to provide adequate skin contact area without unnecessarily increasing the overall volume of the interconnector component.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
A shaving razor handle 14 with an elongated gripping portion 16 at a first end 18. A cartridge interconnector 22 at a second end 20 of the elongated gripping portion has a platform 28 with an upper surface 46 and an opposing lower surface 48 that defines an included angle of about 35 degrees to about 60 degrees. A distal end 30 of the cartridge interconnector extends from the platform. The distal end has a skin facing surface 32 with a pair of side walls 34, 36 connected by a pair of curved lateral end walls 38, 40. The cartridge interconnector pivots relative to the elongated gripping portion.