Rotary, or revolving, razors isn’t a new idea. I’ve featured several of them before. That did not stop Hirotsugu Matsuura from patenting one in 1969, with an interesting variation. He described it as being a rotary spare blade razor. The idea seems to have a plurality of sharp edges available as needed, without having to open or take the razor apart.
The blade carrying element of the razor was also replaceable, making this an early form of cartridge razor.
The patent describe two embodiments of the rotary spare blade safety razor. The first one was similar to the inventions of Mr Choate and Mr Curci. A rotating element, carrying several cutting edges, was enclosed in a cylindrical head. The most novel thing about this embodiment was the use of half double edged blades, secured to the rotating element with a screw.
The second embodiment is shown in figures four, five and six. I find this one way more interesting than the first one. An endless belt moved on a couple of rollers inside the body of the razor. A cogwheel, connected to a know, advanced the belt as required. And mounted on the belt; several blades. All in all, this makes for a much neater and convenient package than the huge cylindrical head often seen on revolver razors. The shape should be reasonable easy to grasp, and reminds me of early electrical razors.
Or, as Mr Matsuura states in the claims:
A rotary spare blade safety razor comprising a case having a transverse aperture therein; an endless belt positioned within said case; a plurality of blades attached at equal intervals to the outer surface of said endless belt; rotatable means extending through said case for driving said endless belt; means operatively associated with said case and said rotatable means for locking said endless belt in a position such that one of said blades extends through said aperture; and sliding plate means movably attached to said case to position, between the upper surface thereof and the upper edge of said aperture, said one blade; whereby said one blade may be selectively replaced from position in said aperture by a successive one of said blades by rotating said endless belt.
From US patent 3,619,900
Mr Matsuura filed and got a patent in Japan, the US, France, Great Britain, and Germany. As usual the full text of the patent can be read at Google Patents.
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