US2528894A - Safety razor blade sharpener - Google Patents

Description

Nqv. 7, 1950 A. MALEWSKI SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Filed April 21, 1947 INVENTOR. Hdam fl alews If i Patented Nov. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY RAZOR BLADE SHARPENER Adam Malewski, Philadelphia, Pa.

v Application April 21, 1947, Serial No. 742,860

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to a small, handy and very compact apparatus for stropping and honing a double edged razor blade, simultaneously at both edges.

Instead Of mounting the blade to swing or rock for alternately cutting one and then the other edge of the blade, as is now customary, I provide a fixed seat for the blade on which it is firmly clamping down during the sharpening operation. 7

Another feature of the invention is the provision of revolving sharpening rolls, with helical or twisted cutting ridges, causing the sharpening to advance gradually, at single points, from one end to the other of each blade edge, as the rolls turn away therefrom, instead of cutting the entire length, of the edge at the one time. By my method, a more effective and thorough sharpening of the edges is obtained, resulting in better, smoother and cleaner edges on the blades. In this manner the full pressure is applied only against one point of the edge at the time, instead of, as formerly, the pressure is divided along the full length of the edge, and as a consequence is much less effective.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the subjoined description with the aid of the attached drawing wherein like numerals denote the same details.

One embodiment of the invention is shown on the drawing and Figure 1 is a vertical section of the razor blade sharpener taken along a plane II of Figure 2 with a razor blade in position and the gear caps closed ready for operation;

Figure 2 is a side elevation and partial section seen from the right side of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a left end view as seen from line 33 of Figure 2 with the gear caps thrown open;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on a plane along line 44 of Figure 2 and in larger scale;

Figure 5 is a gear train diagram placed, at the left end of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a gear train diagram placed at the right end of Figure 2.

Reference numeral I represents a metal casing with a flat bottom II and upstanding side walls I2, 12a of which the right hand wall I2 is higher than the left hand wall I2a in order to provide a bearing for the stub shaft I4 of the crank handle I3, located in the vertical center of the right wall and provided with the main gear a with teeth I secured on the shaft I4 inside the upright wall I2.

This main gear a has two functions, the principal one being, upon the turning of the handle clockwise, as arrow X, to rotate the other wheels in the train, and the second function being to act as a ratchet wheel with its teeth cooperating with a pawl spring ll to prevent reverse turning of the gear train.

This spring pawl H has one end secured, as at IS, in the bottom II, Figure 4, while the free pawl end engages the teeth I6 of the main gear a and is supported by a tongue I9 cut out and bent inwardly from the high side wall I2. The handle l3 can thus be turned clockwise, that is to the left in Figure 4, when the pawl end I I will slip by the teeth I6 of the main gear a, but hold them firmly if the motion is reversed.

Below the stubshaft I4 and symmetrically spaced on each side of its vertical center line, is

' shown a pair of short studs or pivot pins 20, 2|

in the right hand or high side wall I2, and similarly in the left hand or low side wall I2a of the casing I I, a corresponding pair of such pins 28a, 2| a are shown in axial alinement with the first pair 20, 2|. These four pins serve as trunnions on which a pair of hones or lower grinding rolls 22, 23 are mounted to revolve. On the same pins are also mounted to oscillate a pair of shell shaped caps 24, 25 made of thin plate, each with flat end walls and semi-cylindrical outer portions, in the center of which are secured pivot pins 25, 26a and 21, 21a respectively in the end walls between which upper hones or grinding rolls 28, 29 are mounted to revolve.

Two trains of gears are used to operate this razor blade sharpener, namely a right hand train Figure 5, consisting of the main gear a and pinions 1), and d in mesh therewith near the right hand or high wall I2 and a left hand train Figure 6, consisting of pinions c, bl, (1!, and e. Said pinions and main gear are preferably all of one size and produced from sheet metal or other material.

Of these pinions b and M are carried between trunnions 2| and Ma to run freely together with the bone or roll 23 to which they are keyed by means of a small pin or screw 30, while the hone or roll 22 with pinion e, at its left hand end only, is similarly mounted on trunnions 20, 20a, within the cap 24.

The upper hone or roll 28, is similarly mounted to rotate with pinions d and (1!, within the cap 24, between trunnions 26 and 26a; and lastly the hone or roll 29 is mounted in the same manner to rotate with pinion c at one end only between trunnions 21, 27a within the cap 25. All four hones or rolls are keyed fast to their adjacent pinions by a pin or screw 30.

In Figures 5 and 6 are shown diagrammatically, the right hand end and the left hand end gear trains for operating the razor sharpener from the crank handle I3. Figure 5 is the right hand end train as viewed from the inner side of the adjacent wall I2, with the main gear a fastened on the crank shaft I4 together with the finished edge is the result.

crank handle [3. The main gear a. is in mesh with the lower pinion b and with the upper pinion d on the same or right hand side of the casing and the main gear a revolving clockwise, consequently the pinions b and (1 must run counterclockwise. In the left hand side gear train, Figure 6 pinion d, actuated from the main gear 11 thru pinion d at the right end, revolves counterclockwise. Since upper pinion all is in mesh with the lower pinion e, the latter must run clockwise. Similarly the upper pinion must run clockwise also, being in mesh with lower pinion bl which is actuated from the main gear 0. thru a pinion b on the opposite end. Arrows on the several gears denote their direction of turning.

.In the middleof the casing I0, is erected a table 35 secured on the bottom I! as by rivets,

the top surface of which coincides with a tangential plane between the contacting pitch circles of pinions b, c, d and c. On said top surface are provided three small knobs or warts 3la intended for engaging the usual apertures provided in the razor blade 32 to keep it from sliding in any direction during the sharpening process.

The hones or grinding rolls 22, 23, 28 and 29 are all made of some solid or pliable material, rubber for instance, either solid or mixed with some abrasive or coated with the same. These .rolls are not cylindrical as heretofore customary,

but are flattened along the surface in such a manner as to provide twisted or helical ridges 35 along the surface, from end to end thereof. In this manner the edge of a blade only contacts at one point at a time with the hone or roll, whereby all the pressure against said edge becomes applied at that point instead of along the entire length of the edge, as occurs with cylindrical rolls. In this manner, a much more effective grinding or honing is obtained. Several sets of rolls with different kinds of abrasive may be supplied for exchange in the casing.

The caps 24, 25, pivoted on trunnions 20, 2|

to swing outwardly thereon for the purpose of opening the casing and depositing a blade upon the upper surface of table 3|, are provided each with a downwardly extending straight edge 38,

the purpose of which is to press down onthe blade 32 to hold it firmly on the upper surface of table 31 during the grinding operation after the two caps 24, 25 have been closed and the gear trains are in mesh..

The following advantages of this razor sharpener may be mentioned:

It is small in size and can comfortably be carried in the vest pocket; has simple construction offew parts and accordingly can be manufactured at very low costs. A better and moreevenly The blade is held stationary during operation instead of being rocked as now is customary.

It is to be understood that the invention as (herein disclosedmay be varied from the details .lower portion of said casing, two covering caps pivotally mounted between said side walls, a

sharpening roller carried by each cap for coaction with one of the first named rollers when the caps are in closed positions, a table fixedly mounted horizontally above the first named rollers to support a blade to be sharpened, projections spaced along the longitudinal center of the upper side of said table for the engagement therewith of the usual openings provided in said blade to center and align the same relatively to said sharpening rollers, the inner sides of said caps engaging the upper surface of said blade at opposite sides of said projections to retain the blade in place during the sharpening operation, and means for imparting rotary motion to said sharpening rollers. 2. A razor blade sharpener as described in claim 1, wherein said means comprises a main gear revolvably mounted on one of said side walls and, a gear pinion carried .by the adjacent end of a roll of each pair and meshing with the main gear,

and-meshing gears carried by the other ends of the rolls of each pair.

3. A razor blade sharpener comprising a casing unit having a bottom and two spaced side walls, a pair of honing rolls rotatably supported in spaced side by side relation between said walls, a gear pinion carried at one end of each roll adjacent to one wall, a pair of long caps disposed in side by side relation between said walls, means supporting each cap at its ends for turning o the axis of a roll whereby the caps are turnable inwardly to covering position each over a roll, a honing roll carried within and lengthwise of each cap for rotation on'an axis parallel to the axes of the first rolls, each cap carried roll being positioned above and in cooperative relation with one of the first rolls when the caps are in said covering position, a gear pinion upon each end of one cap covered roll adjacent to the said one wall, a gear pinion upon one end only of the other cap covered roll adjacent to the said other wall, the pinions of the lower rolls' adjacent to the said one wall being in mesh with the adjacent pinions of the cap carried rolls, a driving gear rotatably supported on the said other wall between and connecting the two adjacent pinions when the caps are in the said covering position, means for turning said gear, and means mounted on said casing unit bottom for supporting a double ing position,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 998,442 Williams July 18, 1911 1,929,463 Wolcott Oct. 10, 1933 1,991,257 Perry Feb. 12, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number a Country Date 177,755 Great Britain I May 19, 1921 533,207 Germany Sept. 10, 1931

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