This invention relates to safety razors of the type which incorporate a hone, normally positioned away from the shaving zone, but reciprocable against the edge of the blade responsive to shaking of the razor.

One of the objects of the invention is to mount the hone on a swinging lever having longitudinal play in its pivotal connection and a spring for biasing it yieldingly toward the blade.

Another object of the invention is to arrange the spring so that it moves past dead center at each oscillation of the lever, thus positively moving the hone to its opposite limit positions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a razor of the class described, in which the handle and frame are so correlatively shaped that the major portion of the lever stays within the bounds of the handle throughout its amplitude of oscillation, affording room for a firm hand grip around the handle.

A further object of the invention is to provide an interfiling and interlocking head and cover plate between which the flexible blade is clamped and cambered, said head and cover plate being interlocked through relative sliding movement between them, and being provided with interengaging longitudinal guiding faces to facilitate the movement of the parts, the cover plate being held yieldingly locked through the reactive pressure of the blade in attempting to recover its normal flat shape.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description proceeds.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a razor embodying the principles of the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are similar side sectional views showing the hone respectively in retracted and extended positions;

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line 4—4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the blade supporting plate;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the cover plate;

Figure 7 is a detail showing in end elevation the means for securing the hone to the swinging lever;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the head portion of the frame, showing details of construction.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the frame 1 comprises a handle 2 and a head 3 transverse with respect to the handle. In the embodiment shown the frame is of plastic construction, divided into two halves 4 and 5 along a plane perpendicular to the direction of the edge 6 of the blade. These halves are formed with suitable matching recesses which define a spring housing 7 and a flat chamber 8, the latter opening by way of a slot 9 on the front of the frame adjacent the head. The two halves are formed with complementary bosses 10 on the one half, matching with corresponding recesses, not shown, on the other half, by which the two halves are precisely aligned. A blade supporting plate 11 engages the head 3, bridging the interface of separation, and is secured to the two halves by screws through the apertures 12 into the respective parts of the head. The parts of the handle are secured by a rivet 13, which intersects the chamber 8 between the parts of the handle. Obviously, if desired, the frame may be made in one piece and of metal.

It will be observed from Figures 2 and 3 that the blade supporting plate 11 inclines downwardly toward the front, and that the head 3 of the frame is diverted rearwardly with respect to the axis pf the handle, so that the forward portion of the cover plate overhangs the front portion of the handle, providing a recess beneath said blade supporting plate, into which the hone 14 rests when in retracted position. Said hone is mounted on the upper end of an arm or lever 15, the lower end of which is pivoted about the rivet 13.

It will be observed that the intermediate portion of the arm 15 is straight and narrower than the diameter of the handle, and that both the upper and lower ends of said arm are offset forwardly, so that when the hone is in retracted position the straight intermediate portion of the arm lies close to the rear side of the handle. This permits the arm 15 to remain within the bounds of the handle for the greater part of its length throughout the range of oscillation of said arm. When in extended position, the portion of said arm adjacent the hone projects through the slot 9. The flat chamber 8 is provided with an inclined wall 16 at its forward side, which serves as a stop to limit the forward motion of the arm 15.

The blade supporting plate 11 is provided with blade locating projections 17 and 18, adapted to interfit with corresponding apertures in the razor blade, and so positioned that the active edge 6 of the blade projects forwardly beyond the front edge of the supporting plate. A middle projection 18′ is preferably stamped up from the sheet metal body of the supporting plate 11, and formed with a hook end 19, facing forwardly. The supporting plate 11 is preferably flat, and when unstressed the blade is seated in engagement with the surface of the supporting plate. The cover plate 20 may be nonresilient. It is provided with an aperture 21, adapted to receive the projection 18 when the cover plate is in locked position. A depressed tongue 22 from one end wall of the aperture 21 is adapted to underlie the hook end 19 to lock the parts together against the blade. The cover plate is slidably moved to or from locked position longitudinally with respect to the supporting plate 11. Its width is such that the forward edge 23 engages the overhanging forward portion of the blade back of the edge 6. The shape or convexity of the cover plate is such that when the edge 23 rests upon the flat blade, the tongue 22 is above the level of the hook end 19, so that the cover plate must be pressed down against the blade in order to lower the tongue fully to enable it to slip beneath the hook end 19. This depresses the free edge 6 of the blade below the plane of the supporting plate 11, and when the pressure is released with the tongue 22 beneath the hook end 19, the blade cambers upwardly, pressing yieldingly against the cover plate, holding the tongue 22 frictionally against the hook end 19, retaining the cover plate in locked position. To assist in guiding the cover plate slidably into or out of locked position, it is provided with a longitudinal flange 24 at the rear, which engages the rear edge 25 of the supporting plate. As the cover plate may be slid at a high level with respect to the supporting plate until the tongue approaches the hook end 19 and then depressed to a lower level to permit locking engagement of the parts, the flange 24 extends depthwise below the edge 25, and the head of the frame is correspondingly rabbeted to receive the extended edge of said flange. The flange 24 also serves as a guard confronting the inactive edge of the blade. The cover plate is shaped to form a ridge 32, against which the cambered blade presses in a region between the locating projections and the inactive edge, thus equalizing the upward thrust of the tongue 22 against the under side of the hook end 19 and at the same time pressing the inactive edge of the blade firmly against the supporting plate 11.

The hone 14 is mounted on the arm 15 through the intermediary of a plate 26, rigidly secured to the arm 15, and having upturned end lugs 27 which engage the sides of the hone 14 in the inclined manner shown in Figure 4. The upper end of the arm 15 may pass through a slot in the plate 26 and secured by overturning it in opposite directions on the inner side of the plate 26, as shown at 28 in Figure 4. The plate 26 has a shaving guard 29, which when the hone 14 is in retracted position shown in Figure 2, assumes proper shaving position with respect to the edge 6 of the blade.

Figures 2 and 3 show that the lower end of the arm 15 beyond the pivotal connection is provided with a spring seat 30. A coil spring 31 is within the housing 7, having its lower end frictionally abutting the bottom of said housing and its upper end surrounding the spring seat 30. It is obvious that as the lever 15 oscillates the spring 31 snaps across dead center, thus positively biasing the hone 14 towards both its retracted and extended limits of oscillation. This makes for a much more positive action than in other razors of the shaking type, in which inertia alone is depended upon to move the hone through its full amplitude at each oscillation.

Figures 2 and 3 also show that there is lost motion in the pivotal connection between the arm 15 and the handle. This permits the spring to act upon the arm 15 through said lost motion biasing the hone yieldingly against the edge 6 of the blade. Thus, any misalignment between the blade edge and the surface of the hone is compensated and a uniform contact pressure produced.

The provision of upward yielding pressure of the hone against the blade instead of downward yielding pressure of the blade against the hone obviates the necessity of providing a resilient cover plate.

The hone may be made of a homogeneous piece of abrasive metal such as castiron, but is preferably made of abrasive particles molded in a suitable matrix.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the details of construction and arrangement of parts are by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Razor comprising a blade supporting unit including a handle, a hone supporting unit including an arm and a hone carried thereby, said hone supporting unit being pivotally connected to said handle with the hone in position to move in engagement with the edge of a blade carried by said blade supporting unit, when said razor is shaken, and a snap spring engaging said hone supporting unit to positively bias it towards the limits of its range of movement.

2. Razor comprising a blade supporting unit including a handle, a hone supporting unit including an arm and hone carried thereby, said hone supporting unit being pivotally connected to said handle with lost motion in its pivotal connection, the hone being positioned to move in engagement with the edge of a blade carried by said blade supporting unit, when said razor is shaken, and a snap spring engaging said hone supporting unit to positively bias it towards the limits of its range of movement, said spring being positioned to bias said arm through said lost motion to press said hone yieldingly against the edge of the blade.

3. Razor comprising a handle having a longitudinal chamber and having means at one end supporting a flexible blade with its shaving edge extending transversely forwardly of said handle, an oscillatable arm swingable in said chamber pivotally connected to said handle with lost motion in its pivotal connection, a transversely extending hone carried by the end of said arm, swingable therewith in a fore and aft direction through a range of amplitude in engagement with the edge of the blade, and a spring in said handle thrusting between said handle and arm, acting through said lost motion to bias said hone yieldingly against said blade edge.

4. Razor comprising a handle having a longitudinal chamber and having means at one end supporting a flexible blade with its shaving edge extending transversely forwardly of said handle, an oscillatable arm swingable in said chamber pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said handle with lost motion in its pivotal connection, a transversely extending hone carried by one end of said arm swingable therewith in a fore and aft direction through a range of amplitude in the forward part of which range it is in engagement with said blade edge, and at the rear limit of which range it is out of contact with said blade edge, a spring seat at the opposite end of said arm oscillatable therewith, and a spring within said handle fixed at one end, engaging said spring seat at the other, whereby it is flexed on opposite sides of said pivotal connection to positively bias said hone toward the forward and rearward limits of its range of movement, said spring acting through said lost motion to press said hone yieldingly against said blade edge.

5. Razor comprising a handle having a longitudinal chamber and having means at one end supporting a flexible blade with its shaving edge extending transversely forwardly of said handle, an oscillatable arm swingable in said chamber pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said handle, a transversely extending hone carried by one end of said arm, swingable with said arm in a fore and aft direction through a range of amplitude in the forward part of which range it is in engagement with said blade edge, and at the rear limit of which range it is out of contact with said blade edge, a spring seat at the opposite end of said arm oscillatable therewith, and a spring within said handle fixed at one end, engaging said spring seat at the other, whereby it is flexed on opposite sides of said pivotal connection, positively biasing said hone towards the forward and rearward limits of its range of movement.

6. Razor comprising a frame including a head and handle, said head being offset rearwardly of the axis of said handle and having a blade supporting plate extending forwardly of said axis, a blade sharpening unit including a hone and supporting arm therefor, the latter being swingable about a pivot within the handle and oscillating said hone, the width of said arm being so related to the width of the handle as to confine said arm within said handle for the greater part of its length throughout its amplitude of swing, the end of said arm adjacent said hone being offset forwardly through a slot in said handle to bring said hone beneath the forwardly extended portion of said blade supporting plate when in retracted position.

7. Razor comprising a frame including a head and handle, said head being offset rearwardly and having a blade supporting plate extending forwardly, said handle having a chamber flat in a fore and aft direction opening in a slot in the forward side of said handle adjacent said head, an arm oscillating within said chamber having an intermediate longitudinal straight portion and forwardly offset ends, one end being pivotally connected to said handle in such position that the straight portion of said arm is confined within the bounds of said handle throughout its amplitude of swing, a hone supported by the other end of said arm in a position beneath the extended portion of said blade supporting plate when in retracted position, said chamber having a forwardly inclined wall forming a stop to limit the forward oscillation of said arm and hone.

8. Razor comprising a frame including a head and handle divided in halves along a plane perpendicular to the edge of a blade carried by said razor, a blade supporting plate bridging said halves secured to both parts of said head and a rivet through said handle securing both parts of said handle.

9. Razor as claimed in claim 8, said halves being formed to define a flat chamber between said handle parts, an arm in said chamber pivoted on said rivet, and a hone at the end of said arm swingable in operative relation to said blade edge.

10. Razor including a blade supporting plate having blade locating projections in longitudinal alignment interfitting with corresponding apertures in a blade and so positioned as to cause the forward portion of the blade to overhang said plate, said plate also having a projection having a forwardly directed hook end, a cover plate slidable longitudinally relative to said blade supporting plate to blade securing position, having an aperture receiving said hook end and a depressed tongue from an end wall of said aperture underlying said hook end, the front edge of said cover plate overhanging the front edge of said blade supporting plate and being below the plane of the blade supporting plate when said cover plate is in locked position whereby when said tongue is beneath said hook end said blade is biased into an upward camber frictionally pressing said tongue against said hook end.

11. Razor as claimed in claim 10, said cover plate being formed with a longitudinal ridge to the rear of said locating projections, contacting the cambered blade along a line between said blade locating projections and the inactive edge of said blade.

12. Razor as claimed in claim 10, said cover plate having a flange at its rear contacting the back edge of said supporting plate to serve as a guide in sliding said cover plate to and from locked position, and to retain said tongue firmly against the projection having the hook end.

Paul H. Lotthamer.