Safety Razor Handle With Tactile Gripping Areas

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing safety razor handles lack intuitive gripping features that allow users to easily locate and switch between different gripping positions, affecting the comfort and precision of shaving.

Innovation Solution

The safety razor handle features an elongated body with a razor head end, a free end, and an upper surface comprising a first and second gripping area, each provided by arcuate protrusions forming partial or complete circles, separated by a smooth area, made of elastomeric material, allowing users to easily switch between gripping positions through tactile feedback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the handle is provided with various gripping features, then the user can grip the handle, but it is difficult for the user to easily locate different possible gripping positions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegripping comfortVSAvoidlocation of gripping positions
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies tactile contrast through alternating textured and smooth surfaces on the handle. The textured areas (with arcuate protrusions) provide tactile feedback that indicates gripping positions, while the smooth areas provide contrast. This allows users to easily locate different gripping positions through touch alone, resolving the problem of not being able to easily find gripping positions while maintaining gripping comfort.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

2Ease of operation

If the upper surface is made with textured gripping areas, then fingertip grip is improved, but the surface becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefingertip gripVSAvoidsurface complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by providing textured gripping areas (with arcuate protrusions) only at specific locations on the handle where fingers need to grip, while leaving other areas smooth. This localized texturing improves fingertip grip exactly where needed without unnecessarily complicating the entire surface, resolving the contradiction between grip improvement and surface complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The handle surface is segmented into distinct textured gripping areas and smooth areas. The textured areas are further segmented into multiple arcuate protrusions arranged in alternating patterns. This segmentation allows the surface to provide enhanced grip where needed while maintaining simplicity elsewhere, reducing the overall complexity burden.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3199309B1Safety razor handle
Publication Date: 2020.02.12 BEIERSDORF AG
  • EP3199309B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3199309B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3199309B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A razor handle 2 in the form of an elongated body, comprising: a razor head end 4 with a connecting structure 6, to connect the razor handle to a razor head 3 having a plurality of blades with respective cutting edges which lie in a shaving plane and which exert a cutting action when moved across a user's skin in a shaving direction; a free end 8 opposite the razor head end; a lower surface 10 on the same side as the cutting edges of the blades when the razor head is connected to the razor handle; an upper surface 12 opposite the lower surface; a first gripping area 14 on the upper surface, to provide a first gripping position for a finger or thumb of the user; and a second gripping area 16 on the upper surface, to provide a second gripping position for the finger or thumb of the user, wherein the first and second gripping areas have textured surfaces and are separated from one another by a smooth area 18 of the upper surface.