FR2480653A1 - SHAVING MEMBER, AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WELDING A BLADE ON A SUPPORT - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A PROCESS AND AN APPARATUS FOR WELDING BLADES ON A SUPPORT. IT RELATES TO AN APPARATUS IN WHICH TWO THIN ELONGATED BLADES ARE WELDED TO A SUPPORT ORGAN BY BEING HELD AGAINST THEM BY COVERS WITH HOLES 20. A LASER 1 TRANSMITS A FOCUSED BEAM IN THE HOLES AND THUS SUSES THERE AT POINTS. BLADE ON THE BRACKET. APPLICATION TO THE MANUFACTURING OF RAZORS.

Description

The present invention relates to a

  ge, as well as a method and apparatus for welding a blade

on a support.

  The blades of conventional shaving razors have a large width measured perpendicularly to the cutting edge and they are held in position in the razor by clamping between members that cooperate with the faces.

  opposite of the blade itself. It has already been proposed to replace

  These blades are made from very narrow webs which not only allow cost-effective use of the material but can also be easily rinsed after use and can be mounted to provide greater flexibility than conventional blades. It has also been proposed to keep these narrow strip strips under tension longitudinally and / or to give them a particular section so that they

have the proper rigidity.

  It has also been proposed to provide a shaving member comprising a narrow and elongated strip forming a sharpened blade along a longitudinal edge, and an elongated support member having a length greater than that of the strip and which has, on a length at least equal to the effective shaving length of the strip forming the blade, a substantially flat surface, one face of the strip being fixed along its length to the surface of the support member,

  the cutting edge of the blade protruding from the support member

  Harbor. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,063,357

  and 4,084,316 disclose shaving members of this type.

  During the production of these shaving members, the strips forming the blades are positioned on the support member and maintained using techniques

conventional welding.

  Existing welding techniques include gas welding, using a fuel gas such as

  acetylene or hydrogen, rc welding in the

  the fusion energy is drawn from an electric arc, the resistance welding in which a current flows in the part placed between the ends of two electrodes, the ultrasonic welding in which the parts to be welded are

  between anvils through which

  high frequency canic are coupled to the workpiece so that adjacent surfaces are welded together,

  electron beam welding during which a

  focused electron beam transmits fusion energy to parts that are held under vacuum, and laser welding in which the fusion energy is transmitted by a

  focused beam of infrared rays. An optimal technique

  Welding male obviously includes the features

  advantages of all the techniques, that is to say a

  precise setting of the position and the size of the welding area, a precise adjustment of the energy supplied, a great

  welding speed, minimizing the area

  caused by heat, a minimal disturbance of the

  metallurgical structure, a great cleanliness avoiding the

  oxidation actions, a contactless operation, and a pos-

  convenient accessibility of automatic manufacturing. Among the pro-

  specified welding processes, laser welding

  combination of benefits that makes it particularly

  interesting in specialty welding applications

  Lisa. These advantages include: (1) the laser beam can be optically focused so that it

  allows precise positioning and adjustment of the

  the welding area, (2) the focus point energy density can be precisely adjusted and adjusted

  between low and very high values, (3) we can use

  very high welding speeds by using high energy densities and / or using a pulsed laser, (4) when using high welding speeds, the resulting area affected by heat is

  very small and the disturbance of the metallurgical structure

  that a certain distance from the fusion zone is mini-

  male, (5) the operation is very clean and oxidation reactions can be easily avoided by using an inert protective gas, (6) the welding is done without an enclosure,

  unlike electron beam welding, which

  usually stops using vacuum, (7) the process is non-contact, and (8) laser welding is easily integrated into an automatic high-speed manufacturing process. The invention relates to a method and an apparatus and a shaving member, produced by using the energy of a laser for welding a narrow elongated strip of razor blade on a support member,

  the cutting edge of the band protruding from the support member

  wearing and forming a shaving member. A blade strip which is under tension is positioned relative to the support member and is welded thereon by a laser beam. In one embodiment of the invention, a perforated welding shield formed of a metal having a coefficient

  high reflection of the laser energy, determines the

  spacing welds connecting the two bodies. In an advantageous embodiment, a protective inert gas stream or bag is formed in the weld zone so that the welds and heat affected areas are formed.

  do not undergo undesirable oxidation.

  Other features and advantages of the

  will be better understood by reading the description

  which will follow examples of embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a perspective of a device

  assembly used for the laser welding of laser tape

  razors on support organs; FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective on a larger scale of part of the mounting device of FIG. 1; - Figure 3 is an enlarged partial section showing the relative disposition of the two members of the blade and their support relative to the mounting device and the covers;

  FIG. 4 is a partial section representing

  both the implementation of a welding cover having S openings to chambering; and - Figure 5 is a perspective of an organ

  shaving device according to the invention, representing the inter-

  broken used during the implementation of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser welding apparatus in which a laser source 1 creates a focused beam 2 of infrared rays and directs it to

  a base 3 of a device for mounting the members to be welded.

  The laser 1 can be a pulsed or wave power laser

  maintained of well-known type, for example with

  of a wavelength of 6 microns, a neodymium, yttrium and aluminum garnet laser (Nd: YAG) emitting 1.06 micron radiation, a neodymium 1.06 micron radiation, or a ruby laser emitting 0.694 micron. The increased pulsed mode melting efficiency increases the use of high welding frequencies or increases the penetration of the melted zone when welding thicker materials. Details of laser 1 are well known and are not described.

so no.

  The particular apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is intended for the positioning of two separate members intended to form blades with respect to a single support member so that the assembly forms a shaving member having

  two cutting edges, one primary and the other secondary.

  However, it is also possible to use the process according to the invention.

  also advantageously for mounting a single cutting member on a support and forming a conventional shaving member at a single cutting edge, or for

  mounting at least three cutting members for the formation of

  tion of a shaving member with many cutting edges.

  The apparatus shown in particular in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a base 3 on which are mounted; by means of screws 4, a reference block 5 for a primary blade and a reference block 6 for a secondary blade. A primary blade positioning slot 7 and a secondary blade positioning slot 8 are formed by juxtaposition of the blocks 5 and 6, these slots being separated by a rib 22. Spring plungers (not shown) may be added so that they repel

  the strips of blade forward against the stops of re-

  the edge of the blade is better positioned.

  A blade support positioning rib 9 is so-

the lidar of block 5 reference.

  In operation, a primary blade 10 and a secondary blade 11, each in the form of a stainless steel strip having a width of about 1 mm and sharpened with a cutting edge along its entire length, are arranged on an organ 12 of blade support when it has been positioned in a support cradle 13 having end projections 14 which abut against the support rib 9 of the support. Magnets 23 in the form of bars of "Alnico" are placed in

  holes in block 5 as shown so that

  14 are well positioned against the rib 9. The block -5 is formed of a non-magnetic material, for example

  austenitic stainless steel, brass or aluminum.

  In an apparatus intended for a large production, machines

  wear-resistant elements are located at the wear points, located at the positioning rib 9, at the reference blocks 5 and 6 and at other levels.

  points undergoing significant wear.

  End clips are first tightened with screws so that the blades 10 and 11 are under tension and have no lateral curvature or shape.

  sinuous and so that they are maintained in the line

  of the support member 12. A rod 27 which bears against the upper face of the primary blade 10 and in a similar manner in contact with the secondary blade 11 as indicated in FIG. 1, is pushed down by a spring 24 which takes bearing against a shoulder 28 of a recess and against a foot 26 so that it exerts a force applied individually down on the strips 10 and 11. A member 17 of bet

  under tension is lifted until the rod 27 disengages

  a slot 29, and a shaft 25 is rotated until the rod 27 bears against the upper face of the block 5 so that the force applied to one or the other blade can be removed. A primary blade welding cover 18 and a secondary blade welding cover 19 are then positioned relative to the blades 10 and 11 so that holes having a recess are centered on the parts of the blades that are to be exposed to the blade. Laser welding energy. The covers can be held in position using screws or pliers (not shown). The welding caps act as pliers and radiators so that (a) the contact is intimate between the blade and the support member during welding, (b) the blade does not deform upon heating, and (c) the conduction of heat which

  could cause annealing of the edge of the blade to be

  moth-eaten. For this purpose, it is important that the contact surface of the covers is maximum with a minimum of the diameter of the holes 20 in the parts of the caches which are

  find the closest to the surface 21 which is

  tact of that of the blades. The holes 20 are provided with a chamber

  brage (or similar enlargement) as indicated on

  Figures 3 and 4 so that they do not cut too much energy.

  laser beam when it enters each hole

and goes out.

  The covers 18 and 19 can be formed of any metal that reflects radiation well at the wavelength

  particular of the laser used so that it is not itself

  even welded during the operation. Two excellent materials that reflect well in the wavelength range of interest are copper and gold. Suitable wear resistance of the covers including soft materials such as copper or gold can be obtained by placing hard materials on the wear surfaces of the covers, or by forming the covers by these hard materials. such as sintered carbides, hardened steel or

  ceramics, then by mechanical, chemical or

  by a material with a high coefficient of reflection, on

  surfaces that receive radiation.

  In another embodiment, the holes 20 formed in the covers may be replaced by a continuous slot nib, and the interrupted (dot) seam may be performed by repeated interruption of the action of the

  laser beam as it moves along the slit.

  An example of a welding pattern obtained by using a perforated cover or by repeated sealing of the laser beam

is shown in Figure 5.

  When the welding covers have been suitable-

  arranged in relation to the blades and

  In this case, the covers are tightened in place by means of screws (not shown) so that the surfaces 21 bear directly on the blades and thus keep them in close contact with the support member. The blades are welded to the support by moving the assembly 3 of the apparatus of

  mount or laser 1 so that the focused beam 2 comes

  do not hit the upper faces of the primary blades and se-

  10 and 11 during the passage in the holes 20 formed in the covers 18 and 19. Given these interruptions of the reflective cover, the formed figure is discontinuous so that the blades are fixed to the support member without

  the disadvantages presented when using the

  very welding processes. After welding, the ends of the blades 10 and 11 are cut to the same length as

  the support member 12, by mechanical shearing or

laser cut for example.

  It is important that a protective inert gas that does not substantially react with the welded material, or be used so that the welds and the areas affected by

  heat during welding does not oxidize.

  Although the embodiment described above

  demtion relates to an apparatus for welding a primary blade and a secondary blade on a single support for the formation of a shaving member, in a single operation,

  the process also applies to manufacturing operations

continued.

  When applying the invention to a production

  the essential assembly and implementation functions described above are retained. However, the configuration of the apparatus is suitably modified so that the operations of advance, orientation, clamping, arrangement of the covers and welding are automatic. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, a plurality of dual mounting devices may be mounted on a machine having a plurality of positions identified, so that when each mounting device passes to the different stations, the media loading operations, advance, positioning and clamping of blades, positioning of covers, welding

  laser, cutting the ends of the blades and discharging

  of the finished set are made.

  Of course, various modifications can

  to be provided by those skilled in the art to the devices and

  which have just been described as examples only

  non-limiting plies without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

  1. A method of welding an elongate metal strip (10, 11) on a metal support member (12), characterized in that it comprises the positioning of the strip (10, 11) and the member (12). )   relative to each other, the positioning of a cache of   (18, 19) so that the web and the support member are in intimate contact, and the treatment of the combination by a laser beam so that energy passes through the cover and welds the   tape and the support member one on the other.   2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that.   that the welding cover (18, 19) is perforated so that it determines the spacing of the welds.   3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the welding cover has a continuous narrow slot, and an interrupted weld is performed by repeated interruption of the laser beam   when moving along the slot.   4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that   the welding cover (18, 19) has a very reflective surface vis-à-   screw radiation at the wavelength of the particular laser beam   used so that it is not itself welded during the operation.   Apparatus for welding a metal strip (10, 11) to a metal support member (12) by using the energy of a laser, characterized in that it comprises a mounting base (3) , a device (5, 6) mounted on the base and intended to position the metal strip and the support strip relative to each other, a device (15) for putting the metal strip under traction, and a welding cover (18, 19) for ensuring the intimate contact between the metal strip   and the support member during welding.   Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that   the welding cover (18, 19) is perforated so that it determines the spacing welding.   Shaving device, characterized in that it comprises a device (10, 11) with a narrow and elongated blade having a cutting edge, in combination with a support member (12), the blade device   and the support member being connected by laser welding.   8. Body according to claim 7, characterized in that   the blade device (10, 11) and the support member (12) are connected   corded by several laser welds, the spacing of which is determined   undermined by the use of a welding cover (18, 19).   9. Body according to claim 7, characterized in that   the blade device (10, 11) and the support member (12) are connected   corded by an interrupted laser weld formed using a cache having a continuous slot.   10. Body according to any one of claims 7 to 9%   characterized in that the blade device (10, 11) comprises a plurality of sieurs strips of stainless steel.