US3800172A

US3800172A - Hair clipper having blade illumination and field wire strain relief

Info

Publication number: US3800172A
Application number: US00305367A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Artin; R Petroske
Original assignee: John Oster Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: John Oster Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1972-11-10
Filing date: 1972-11-10
Publication date: 1974-03-26
Anticipated expiration: 1991-03-26

Abstract

A hair clipper having a vibratory motor with a laminated field core is formed on a plastic bobbin which has a snap-in lamp socket projecting therefrom. The vibratory motor is enclosed in a plastic housing which has a transparent panel that is positioned so that the lightbulb which is inserted in the light socket will be positioned to illuminate the cutting blades. The laminated field core is positioned with its longitudinal axis running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing of the clipper so that a housing with an elongated shape is provided.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 Artin et al.

[4 1 Mar. 26, 1974 HAIR CLIPPER HAVING BLADE ILLUMINATION AND FIELD WIRE STRAIN RELIEF [75] Inventors: Robert Lee Artin; Robert Paul Petroske, both of Menomonee Falls, Wis.

[73] Assignee: John Oster Manufacturing Co.,

Milwaukee, Wis.

[22] Filed: Nov. 10, 1972 [211 App]. No.: 305,367

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 138,719, April 29, 1971.

[52] US. Cl 310/50, 310/71, 336/192, 339/217 S, [51] Int. Cl H02k 11/00, HOlf 15/10, H0lr9/Q8 [58]. Field of Search 310/50, 71, 29, 42, 43, 310/47; 336/192; 30/210; 339/217 S [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,189,772 6/1965 Wingler et al. 310/71 X 2,959,762 11/1960 Schlee 339/217 S X 3,585,450 6/1971 Lane 336/192 X Primary Examiner-J. D. Miller Assistant Examiner-Robert J. Hickey Attorney, Agent, or Firm-George R. Clark; Neil M. Rose; John S. Pacocha [57] ABSTRACT A hair clipper having a vibratory motor with a laminated field core is formed on a plastic bobbin which has a snap-in lamp socket projecting therefrom. The vibratory motor is enclosed in a plastic housing which has a transparent panel that is positioned so that the lightbulb which is inserted in the light socket will be positioned to illuminate the cutting blades. The laminated field core is positioned with its longitudinal axis running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing of the clipper so that a housing with an elongated shape is provided.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures HAIR CLIPPER HAVING BLADE ILLUMINATION AND FIELD WIRE STRAIN RELIEF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to electric hair clippers and, more specifically, to an electric hair clipper which is provided with a snap-in lamp for blade illumination. Since hair clippers will be used at various locations in which the illumination will vary substantially, it is desirable to provide a self-contained blade illumination lamp in the clipper. The blade illumination provisions must be of a low cost, and they must not interfere with the operation or the balance of the clipper.

A woman's dry shaver which employs a light that is supported within the shaver housing and a lens for diffusing the light from the bulb is described in Spohr U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,652. In this dry shaver, the longitudinal axis of the field core is parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the shaving head. The lightbulb in the shaver of the Spohr patent is mounted intermediate the ends of the laminated field core at a point approximately midway between the ends along the longitudinal axis of the core. A stamped bracket, which is secured to the frame by a pair of tabs which extend through openings in the bracket, is required to support the lightbulb. The plastic diffusing lens which is inserted in the side of the housing has a forward portion which allows light from the bulb to be directed towards the cutting edge of the shaver.

While the illumination provisions of the Spohr patent provide a relatively simple way of illuminating the cutting edge of a womans dry shaver, the employment of these provisions in a hair clipper would not be desirable since the preferable shape for a womans dry shaver is thin and relatively flat, as shown in the Spohr patent, while the preferable shape for a hair clipper is generally rectangular and elongated, as shown in the Niemela U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,793 which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. Mounting of a lamp on a hair clipper such as that shown in the Niemela patent in the manner described in the Spohr patent would be bulky and hard to hold. The shape and feel of a hair clipper is very important since it must be capable of use continuously by professional barbers without fatigue for many hours. In addition, the screwin type of lamp bulb and socket and the stamped bracket are more costly and larger in size than is desirable in such shavers.

Another example of an electrically operated dry shaver that employs a bulb illumination means is shown in Jepson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,323. In the shaver of this patent, the longitudinal axis of the filed core is parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the shaving head. However, the bulb and socket are ofa costly and relatively space-consuming screw-in design. Furthermore, a separate bracket must be secured to the pole pieces of the motor. It is desirable in a hair clipper to employ a lamp for illumination of the cutting edges of the clipper wherein the lamp is of the snap-in type and the lamp socket is formed integrally with the plastic bobbin that supports the field windings of the clipper motor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a motorized device having an elongated shape with a snap-in lightbulb for illuminating the operating portion of the motorized device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an illumination means for a motorized device wherein a lamp socket for a snap-in lightbulb extends from an end plate of a bobbin which preferably is integrally formed with the lamp socket of an insulating material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a strain relief for the field core wire of a motor by means of a pocket that extends from the bobbin on which the core wire is wound and a resilient metal connector that fits into the pocket and has the core wire secured thereto.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an improved strain relief for a motorized device wherein a resilient male connector is inserted into a pocket which extends from an end plate of a bobbin on which the field core wires of the motor are wound and which preferably is integrally formed with the pocket of an insulating material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofa hair clipper embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the hair clipper taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the hair clipper taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the hair clipper taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bobbin structure of the hair clipper; and

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the armature and field core of the motor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a hair clipper designated generally by reference num beral 11. The hair clipper 11 includes a housing 12 which is made up of an upper housing member 13 and a lower housing member 14 which are secured together in abutting relation by screws 15, as shown in FIG. 4, which extend through openings in the bottom housing 14 into metal threaded inserts 15a in the upper housing 1 3 to form a motor enclosure 16.

The forward end of the elongated housing 12 receives a blade set 18 which consists of a comb 19 and a cutter 21 which is pressed into shearing engagement with the comb 19 by means of a biasing spring 22. The biasing spring 22 is a frame member having a plastic bearing portion 23 secured on its outer end for sliding engagement with a groove 21a formed in the cutter 21. At its inner edge, the biasing spring 22 is secured to the lower housing member 14 by means of screws 24.

The comb 19 and the cutter 21 are'provided with teeth 19a and 21b, respectively, along their abutting outer edges as is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The comb 19 is supported for movement relative to the lower housing member 14 by means of a blade support 26. The blade support 26 extends across the bottom of the housing member 14 and has inwardly turned ends 26a which are received in slots in the side wall of housing member 14 permitting the support 26 to slide in the plane of the blade set 18. The comb 19 is secured to the blade support 26 by means of screws 27. The position of the blade support and the comb 19 is controlled by means of a lever 28 which has on its inner face eccentric means to move the blade support 26 as the lever 28 is rotated. This type of control is old and well known in the art and serves to change the relative position of the comb 19 with respect to the cutter 21 so that the barber may cut hair very short when the blade set is positioned, as shown in FIG. 4, or cut hair longer when the comb is displaced further outwardly with respect to the cutter 21.

Mounted within the enclosure 16 is a motor 30 which includes a field or stator 31 and an oscillating armature 32. The armature 32 is supported of oscillating movement by means of a bearing pin 34 which is secured to the lower housing member 14 by having its lower end molded into the plastic housing member 14. The armature itself includes an oil impregnated bearing bushing 35 which is secured to a nylon frame or carrier 36. The carrier 36 is formed with an internal pocket 36a in which is received a permanent magnet 37 and a pair of

pole pieces

38 and 39. The

pole pieces

38 and 39 are elongated members of magnetically permeable material such as soft iron and are formed at their outer ends with crescent shaped poles 38a and 39a which define a pair of salient pole faces 38b and 38c and 39b and 39c, respectively. Thus, each pole piece has a pair of salient pole faces formed by the crescent shaped poles on the outer ends thereof. The permanent magnet 37 is polarized so that the

pole pieces

38 and 39 are magnetized to the opposite polarity. As a consequence, the salient pole faces 38b and 38c formed on the pole 38a will be polarized to the opposite polarity from the other armature pole 39a having salient pole faces 39b and 396.

In order to assemble the

pole pieces

38 and 39 to the nylon carrier 36, the pole pieces are first inserted into the pocket 36a. They are then spread apart until suitable retaining ribs 38d and 39d engage corresponding notches in the nylon carrier 36. The permanent magnet 37 is then inserted downwardly into the pocket 36a thereby locking the

pole pieces

38 and 39 against removal or displacement. The frictional engagement between the permanent magnet 37 and the

pole pieces

38 and 39 within the pocket 36a tends to prevent its removal from the pocket 36a. In addition, the strong magnetic force of the permanent magnet 37 tends to retain it within the pocket 36a.

The nylon carrier 36 of the armature 32 is formed with a driving lever 41 which extends radially from the bearing pin 34 in a direction opposite from the permanent magnet 37 and the

pole pieces

38 and 39. The cutter 21 is formed with a slot 210 which receives the end of the driving lever 41. As the armature 32 oscillates about the axis of the bearing pin 34, the cutter 21 is reciprocated in shearing engagement with the comb 19. As is conventional in the hair clipper art, the area around the driving lever 41, where it extends outwardly from the motor enclosure 16, is surrounded by a plastic foam 42 which prevents the entrance of hair clippings into the motor 16.

The armature 32 is biased to a central position by means of coil springs 44 which are compressed between the lower housing member 14 and the nylon carrier 36. The housing member 14 is formed with a pair of U-shaped recesses or spring seats 45 which receive the outer ends of the springs 44. The inner ends of the springs 44 are received on locating bosses 46 which are formed integrally with the nylon carrier 36. To dampen vibration noises which otherwise might be associated with the springs 44, they may be filled with foam plastic material 47.

The motor field 31 is supported within the motor enclosure 16 by means of a sheet metal member 50 which is the field supporting frame. The member 50 serves not only to support the field 31 but also accurately locates the field 31 with respect to the armature 32. This accurate location of the field is accomplished by locating the frame 50 from the bearing pin 34. An opening 51 in the frame 50 receives the upper end of the bearing pin 34 as shown in FIG. 2. The frame 50 is secured to the lower housing member 14 by means of four screws 52 which extend through openings in the corners of the frame 50. The field 31 is riveted to the frame 50 by means of the rivets 53 which also retain the laminations in assembled relation.

The field 31 includes an E-shaped core 55 made of laminations of magnetically permeable material which are retained together and secured to the frame 50 by means of the rivets 53 as explained above. The E- shaped core 55 has a pair of outer legs 56 and a central leg 57, the central leg being substantially thicker than the outer legs and terminating in a pair of salient pole faces 57a and 57b. The outer legs of the core 55 terminate in salient poles 56a and 56b. Surrounding the central leg 57 of the core 55 is the coil 58 which includes a plastic bobbin 59 and conventional insulated windings. When the coil 58 is energized by current flowing in either direction, it will induce magnetic flux which will cause the salient pole faces on the center leg 57 to be magnetized to one polarity while the salient poles 56a and 5612 on the outer legs will be magnetized to the opposite polarity. The field will then have two pairs of oppositely polarized pole faces, and oscillation of the motor will begin.

In analyzing the operation of the hair clipper 11, it should be understood that the device is intended to be energized by an alternating current power source such as the conventional 60 cycle ll0 volt power supply. The coil 58 receives current flowing first in one direction and then in the other direction in each half cycle. This causes the polarity of the field poles to be reversed each half cycle. It should be appreciated that the armature poles will, of course, always remain polarized in the same manner which has arbitrarily been shown in the figures as the pole piece 38 polarized south and the pole piece 39 polarized north. When the coil 58 receives current such that the central leg 57 is polarized north, the armature 32 tends to rotate clockwise by virtue of the attraction between the salient pole faces 39c and 56a and pole faces 38c and 57b and the repulsion between the salient pole faces 39b and 57a and pole faces 38b and 56b. The repelling and attracting forces contribute equally to the output torque when averaged over each entire cycle. There is some tendency from the armature 32 to override because of its inertia moving past the field poles. At this point, the attraction exerted by the poles retards the armature movement before the current fiow changes and reverses the polarity. This action combined with the action of the springs 44 tends to provide a smooth reversal in the direction of the motion of the armature 32 with a minimum amount of vibration being produced. An important design criteria is the dimensioning of each armature pole 38a and 39a with a width equal to approximately the distance between the outer pole face 56a and 56b and the adjacent center pole face 57a and 57b, respectively. This arrangement permits alignment of the field poles to exert maximum torque in either attracting or repelling the adjacent armature poles.

The forward end of the upper housing member 13 has a lower plane surface 61 with a recess 62 formed therein. A spring steel locking spring 63 having a pair of hooks 64 and a generally rectangular portion extending between the hooks 64 is secured to the upper housing 13 by means of rivets 65. The spring steel hooks 64 snap over the ledge 66 and grip the flat housing surface 67 of the lower housing member 14 which forms an acute angle with the plane surface 61. The only screws used to hold the upper housing member 13 and the lower housing member 14 together are the screws which are located on the rear of the unit. The locking spring 63 enables the upper and lower housing members to be locked together to allow the illumination window 68 to be positioned very close to the blade set 18. In addition, the use of screws would detract from the appearance of the clipper.

The hair clipper 11 is provided with a power cord 71 which is connected to the end of the hair clipper opposite from the end on which the blade set 18 is mounted. To control the supply of power to the motor 30, there is provided and on/off switch 72. The switch 72 is secured to one end of the field supporting frame 50 by means of a river 70. Suitable leads are provided to interconnect the power cord 71, the switch 72 and the field coil 58. It should be noted that the assembly of the parts to the housing 12 is simplified considerably by having the switch 72 mounted integrally with the coil 31 and the supporting frame 50. The switch 72 is a slide switch having an operating bottom 73 and is located within the enclosure 16.

To permit operation of the switch 62 when the housing members 13 and 14 are assembled together, a switch control member 74 is provided. The switch control member 74 is formed with a knob 75 which is exposed for finger operation on the outer surfaces of the housing 12. The knob 75 has a post 75a that extends in an opening 75b in the lower housing member 14. The operating button 73 of switch 72 is located in a recess 76 between two inwardly extending grips 77 of the control member 74. The control member 74 is clamped between the housing members 13 and 14 with sufficient clearance provided so that it may move between its various operating positions to control the on-off switch 72. Thus, the control member 74 provides a simple and effective means of operating the switch 72. This arrangement permits the use of a simple inexpensive slide switch which may be mounted directly to the motor thereby simplifying the assembly of the components to the housing 12. At the same time, the simple control member 74 provides an attractive and easily operated control for switch 72. The bobbin 59 on which the coil 58 is wound includes a simplified means for making the lead connections to the very fine coil wire of the coil 58. This means includes a plastic pocket 78 which is formed integrally with the end wall of the bobbin 59 and which will be subsequently described in more detail.

In accordance with the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plastic bobbin 49, on which the coil 58 is would, supports a removable snap-in lightbulb 80 which is used for illuminating the blade of the hair clipper through the transparent illumination window 68. The illumination window 68 is mounted at an angle with respect to the upper housing member 13 between two side walls 81. The plastic bobbin 59 consists of a central tube portion 83 on which the coil wire 58 is wound. One end of the wire of the coil 58 is electrically connected to a resilient U-shaped male connector 84 which is rigidly held in place in the overhanging U- shaped plastic pocket 78 that is formed integrally with the rear plate 85 of the bobbin 59. The pocket 78 has a bottom wall 86 and a U-shaped side wall 87. Positioned inwardly of the U-shaped wall 87 is a cavity 88 formed by the side wall 87 and an upstanding boss 96. The boss 96 is positioned and shaped so that a U- shaped groove 89 is provided between the side wall 87 and the boss 96. The metal connector 84 is wedged into the U-shaped groove 89 and is rigidly held in place by means of outwardly extending tabs 90 which grip the plastic as the connector 84 is pushed into place so as to resist removal of the connector 84. The connector 84 is positioned in the pocket 78 so that its outer end 94 is spaced sufficiently far from the outer portion of the side wall 87 and from the boss 96 so that connection may be made with a female connector 69a through the connecting lead 69 to the switch 72. Connection between the coil 58 and the male connector 84 is provided by an end of the coil 58 which runs through the notch 92 in the rear plate 85 of the bobbin 59 and the notch 93 in the connector 84 which is in alignment with the notch 92 when the connector 84 is in place in pocket 78. The end of the coil 58 is then wrapped and soldered around the outer end 94.

In the previously mentioned Niemela patent, an overhanging plastic pocket was provided in which the connecting lead was drawn into a loop and positioned in the pocket. This method of connecting the lead to the coil wire provided a measure of strain relief if the wire was properly positioned when the clipper was assembled. However, if the wire was not properly positioned, a slight variation in position of the connecting wire during assembly could result in a broken connection between the connecting lead and the coil wire. The improved U-shaped plastic pocket 78 of the present invention, in combination with the resilient connector 84, provides an improved strain relief connection wherein the strain relief is obtained with a resilient metallic connector 84 which is secured in the plastic pocket 78. Connection of the female connector on the lead 69 to the male connector 84 can, therefore, be ac complished without placing any strain on the end of the coil 58 in accordance with the present invention.

The pocket 78 is designed so that the outer portion of the side wall 87 has a generally triangular section 95 which abuts the male connector 84 to provide an abutment which maintains the end of the connector 84 positioned in parallel spaced relation to the edge of the side wall 87 to provide sufficient clearance so that the female connector 69a on the lead 69 may be received on the male end of the connector 84. The boss 96 is provided with a generally elongated portion 96a which has a rounded end 97 that contacts the surface of the connector 84. As best shown in FIG. 4, triangular ribs 781: are provided which extend between the bottom wall 86 of the plastic pocket 78 and the rear plate 85 of the bobbin 59 to help to support the pocket 78. The bottom wall 86 of the pocket 78 also rests on the sheet metal member 50 for support.

At the opposite end from plate 85, the bobbin 59 is formed with a front plate 98 which has an integrally formed snap-in lamp holder 99 thereon. The lamp holder 99 consists of a rectangular plastic holder 100 into which a pair of resilient metal connectors 101 and 102 for receiving the terminals of the snap-in lightbulb 80 are wedged. It is preferred that the connectors 101, 102 are designed so that they have three

resilient arms

103, 104 and 105 which engage the top wall 106, the side walls 107 and the bottom wall 108 of the plastic holder 100, respectively. The

resilient arms

103 and 105 are bent'so as to provide a resilient electrical connection to the leads 110 which extend from the lightbulb 80. The plastic holder 100 is also provided with an aperture 111 through which the glass base 112 formed on the lightbulb 80 is inserted. Electrical connection to the connectors 101 and 102 is provided by extending

ears

113 and 114 which are formed to extend through

slots

115 and 116, respectively, in the side walls 107. The extending ear 114 of the snap connector 102 is connected to one end of the coil wire 58, and the extending car 113 of the snap connector 101 is connected to the third wire of coil 58 and to the lead 118, the other end of which is connected to the line voltage through the switch 72. The lightbulb 80 is thus connected across a portion of the field winding in order to provide energization of the bulb when the switch 72 is closed and the motor 30 is energized.

Triangular ribs 120, the edges of which engage the front surface 121 of the front plate 98 and the bottom wall 108 of the holder 100, are provided to support the plastic holder 100. The

protuberances

122, 123, 124 and 125 on the upper and lower walls of the plastic holder 100 are provided to hold the connectors 101, 102 in place in the holder 100. The protuberance 122 extends along the width of the bottom wall 108 and abuts the arm 105 of the connector 102, and it ends along the entire width of the wall 108. The protuberance 123 extends along the width of the upper wall 106 and abuts the arm 103 of the connector 101. The short protuberance 124 at the rear of the upper wall 106 abuts the rear section of the arm 103 of the connector 102, and the short protuberance 125 at the rear of the lower wall 108 similarly abuts the rear portion of the arm 105 of the connector 101.

In the light of the description presented above, it is evident that there is provided a simple, compact and inexpensive means of supporting an illuminating means for a hair clipper within the motor enclosing housing. By a snap-in bulb socket integrally formed with the coil bobbin, a minimum amount of space is required for the socket and its mounting. In addition, the use of simple snap-in connectors 101 and 102 provides an inexpensive means for mounting the bulb 80 with respect to the motor 30 and for electrically interconnecting the bulb to a source of power. Since the plastic holder 100 which forms the lamp holder 99 is formed integrally with the coil bobbin 59, it adds little or nothing to the overall cost of the hair clipper. Thus, the illuminating feature is obtained for a very minimal cost involving only the cost of the bulb 80, the lens 68 and the connectors 101 and 102.

While there has been illustrated and described a particular embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention may occur to those skilled in the art, and it is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An electric device comprising operating means, a motor for driving said operating means, having a moving armature and a stationary field and field coil, a bobbin having a strain relief support plate, a housing which encloses said motor and said bobbin, said field coil being wound on said bobbin, a generally U-shaped pocket extending from said strain relief support plate of said bobbin and being formed by a botton wall and a generally U-shaped side wall, an upstanding boss extending upwardly from said bottom wall and having a rounded end, said boss and a portion of said U-shaped side wall furthest from said strain relief support plate defining a cavity, said side wall and said rounded end of said boss being constructed to form a curved groove, an electrical connector having a first elongated segment with a male terminal on the end thereof, a curved segment and a second elongated segment connected to said field coil, said curved segment of said connector being positioned in said groove and said first elongated segment of said connector being positioned to extend into said cavity so that a female terminal may be connected thereto.

2. An electric device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said strain relief support plate of said bobbin and said pocket are integrally formed of electrically insulated material.

3. An electric device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said strain relief support plate of said bobbin has a first notch therein for receiving said field coil wire therein, said second elongated segment of said connector has a second notch in alignment with said first notch for receiving said field coil wire therein, and said elongated segment of said connector has a terminal portion which extends outwardly from said bobbin for connection thereto of the end of said field coil wire which is received in said first and second notches.

4. An electric device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said pocket comprises support ribs which extend between said strain relief support plate of said bobbin and said bottom wall of said pocket.

5. An electric device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said connector has resilient tabs that extend outwardly towards said side wall of said U-shaped pocket, said tabs being constructed such that they allow for relatively easy insertion of said connector into said pocket, but such that they grip into said side wall when removal of said connector from said pocket is attempted.