Segmented Attachment Comb for Hair Clippers

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current attachment combs for hair clippers face issues such as hair falling out during cutting, especially with longer or fine hair, leading to uneven cuts, increased production costs due to uniform full-sized teeth, and hair backup or tangling at the base portion, which can cause damage and inefficiency.

Innovation Solution

The attachment comb features a base portion with a plurality of teeth, including full and intermediate teeth with ridges for hair retention, a shorter base for reduced hair backup, and a design that allows easy hair exit after cutting, made from lightweight plastic to minimize material usage and weight, ensuring efficient cutting and comfort.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If uniformly shaped full-sized teeth are used in the attachment comb, then the comb provides sufficient support to the hair, but the production cost increases and the comb weight increases requiring greater pushing force

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesupport to hairVSAvoidproduction cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The teeth are divided into different types: full-sized teeth at the ends for support, and shorter intermediate teeth in between. This segmentation allows the comb to provide sufficient hair support where needed while reducing material usage and weight in less critical areas, thereby lowering production costs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the comb have different tooth characteristics. The end teeth are full-sized for maximum support, while intermediate teeth are shorter to reduce material. This local differentiation optimizes the balance between support reliability and manufacturing cost/weight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Productivity

If the base portion of the comb is longer, then more hair can be fed to the blade set, but hair becomes bunched up or backed up at the base portion causing it to be pushed away from the blade set

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehair feeding capacityVSAvoidhair flow smoothness

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The base portion includes a hair guide surface with specific geometry that segments the hair flow path. This guided segmentation prevents bunching by distributing hair evenly toward the blade set, maintaining smooth flow while effectively utilizing the base portion length for hair feeding.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If the teeth are configured to retain hair tightly, then hair does not fall out during cutting, but cut hair cannot exit the comb easily causing interference with the blade set

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehair retentionVSAvoidhair exit ease

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The tooth geometry is designed with asymmetric features: the entry side has formations that retain hair during cutting, while the exit side has openings or reduced retention features that allow cut hair to exit easily. This inverted approach to retention at different locations resolves the contradiction between holding hair during cutting and releasing it afterward.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS7918029B2Attachment comb for a hair clipper

Publication Date: 2011.04.05 WAHL CLIPPER CORP

AI summary

An attachment comb for a hair clipper includes a base portion constructed and arranged for releasably engaging the hair clipper, and a plurality of teeth extending from the base portion, each of the teeth including a body portion defined between an upper peripheral edge and a lower peripheral edge, a proximal end adjacent the base portion and a distal end opposite thereof, wherein the body portion includes at least one formation for retaining hair.