Razor cartridge with non-cutting element

Abstract

A novel razor cartridge includes at least one non-cutting element disposed anywhere within a blade array between a guard and a cap and/or in a blade position of a frame providing skin/hair management. This non-cutting element allows the fine-tuning of parameters such as blade-skin contact, hair orientation, blade spans and rinse-through gaps in manners that improve shaving comfort, closeness, efficiency, and/or rinse-ability. The non-cutting element may include projections, fin-like elements, comb-like features having teeth, exfoliation or lubricating capabilities. By having a fixed non-cutting element disposed midway in a blade array, a multi-stage cartridge is provided with a middle control point with potentially different functionality before and after the non-cutting element. The non-cutting element is not attached to another blade in the blade array though it may be manufactured as a modified blade support, attached to a blade support, or as part of the frame or the clips.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A razor cartridge comprising:
 a housing having a guard, a cap and a frame with a first blade slot and a second blade slot and a non-cutting element formed as a portion of the frame;   a first razor blade positioned with the first blade slot and a second blade positioned in the second blade slot, each of said razor blades having a cutting edge positioned between the guard and the cap, wherein the non-cutting element is positioned between the first razor blade and the second razor blade   
     
     
         2 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein a blade exposure of both blades is negative relative to the non-cutting element. 
     
     
         3 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein the non-cutting element is spaced apart from the first razor blade and the second razor blade. 
     
     
         4 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein the non-cutting element has a plurality of open slots defined between a pair of projections disposed next to each other. 
     
     
         5 . The razor cartridge of  claim 5  wherein a leading end portion of the slots receives hairs and the slot's trailing end portion feeds the hair to the blades and a width of the leading end portion is 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The razor cartridge of  claim 5  wherein a pitch of the open slots is 0.20 mm to 1 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein the non-cutting element comprises a plurality of waves having an angle opening of 15 degrees to 60 degrees. 
     
     
         8 . The razor cartridge of  claim 7  wherein the waves have a pitch of 0.30 mm to 0.80 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The razor cartridge of  claim 8  wherein the waves have a depth of 0.20 mm to 1 mm and 
     
     
         10 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein there are 50 to 100 waves across a length of the non-cutting element. 
     
     
         11 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein the non-cutting element is embedded with a shaving aid material. 
     
     
         12 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein the non-cutting element comprises an upper surface having an exfoliation layer. 
     
     
         13 . The razor cartridge of  claim 1  wherein the non-cutting element comprises a valley extending across a length of the non-cutting element. 
     
     
         14 . The razor cartridge of  claim 13  further comprising a shaving aid disposed in the valley. 
     
     
         15 . A razor cartridge comprising:
 a housing having a guard, a cap and a frame with a first blade slot and a second blade slot and a non-cutting element formed as a portion of the frame;   a first razor blade positioned with the first blade slot and a second blade positioned in the second blade slot, each of said razor blades having a cutting edge positioned between the guard and the cap, the non-cutting element is spaced apart from and positioned between the first razor blade and the second razor blade, wherein a blade exposure of both razor blades is negative relative to the non-cutting element.   
     
     
         16 . The razor cartridge of  claim 15  wherein the non-cutting element has a plurality of open slots defined between a pair of projections disposed next to each other. 
     
     
         17 . The razor cartridge of  claim 16  wherein a leading end portion of the slots receives hairs and the slot's trailing end portion feeds the hair to the blades and a width of the leading end portion is 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The razor cartridge of  claim 17  wherein a pitch of the open slots is 0.20 mm to 1 mm. 
     
     
         19 . The razor cartridge of  claim 15  wherein the non-cutting element comprises a plurality of waves having an angle opening of 15 degrees to 60 degrees. 
     
     
         20 . The razor cartridge of  claim 19  wherein the waves have a pitch of 0.30 mm to 0.80 mm and a depth of 0.20 mm to 1 mm.