US3757734A — Apparatus for processing razor blades

Claim 1

Independent Claim 244 words

Apparatus for processing razor blades to adhere a thin metal film on the sharpened blade edges comprising a vacuum chamber, a source of metal distributed along an axis in said vacuum chamber, a plurality of support structures in said chamber, said support structures being located at fixed predetermined positions in said chamber and being spaced equidistantly from said source with the axis of each said support structure being disposed parallel to the axis of said source, each said support structure supporting a multiplicity of razor blades with their bodies in face to face contact and their sharpened edges aligned with one another in a plane with said plane disposed perpendicularly to a line extending radially from the axis of said source, the length of said source being greater than the length of said stack of blades and extending beyond either end of said stack of blades so that the final facet of each blade edge exposed to said source is exposed to a portion of said source at an angle of at least about 45*, means for reducing the pressure iN said vacuum chamber to provide an environment of reduced pressure, and circuitry for energizing said source of metal to transfer metal from said source for application to the sharpened edges of razor blades on said support structures to form a continuous, thin, adherent coating of metal less than 600 Angstroms in thickness on the sharpened edges of the razor blades in said stacks.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 244 words

Apparatus for processing razor blades to adhere a thin metal film on the sharpened blade edges comprising a vacuum chamber, a source of metal distributed along an axis in said vacuum chamber, a plurality of support structures in said chamber, said support structures being located at fixed predetermined positions in said chamber and being spaced equidistantly from said source with the axis of each said support structure being disposed parallel to the axis of said source, each said support structure supporting a multiplicity of razor blades with their bodies in face to face contact and their sharpened edges aligned with one another in a plane with said plane disposed perpendicularly to a line extending radially from the axis of said source, the length of said source being greater than the length of said stack of blades and extending beyond either end of said stack of blades so that the final facet of each blade edge exposed to said source is exposed to a portion of said source at an angle of at least about 45*, means for reducing the pressure iN said vacuum chamber to provide an environment of reduced pressure, and circuitry for energizing said source of metal to transfer metal from said source for application to the sharpened edges of razor blades on said support structures to form a continuous, thin, adherent coating of metal less than 600 Angstroms in thickness on the sharpened edges of the razor blades in said stacks.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 30 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said source of metal includes a plurality of discrete source elements disposed at a series of unequally spaced positions along said line.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 42 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein each said source element is a substrate structure coated with the metal to be vaporized and said circuitry further includes control for energizing said source of metal to vaporize all of said coating metal.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 46 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means operative in said environment of reduced pressure for removing a contamination layer from the sharpened edges of said razor blades prior to the formation of said thin adherent coating of metal on said sharpened edges.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 27 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said contamination layer removing means includes means to heat said blades to a temperature of at least about 600*F.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 31 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said contamination layer removing means includes means to establish a glow discharge at the sharpened edges of said razor blades in said environment.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 70 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 and further including an electrode structure, circuitry for connecting said stack support structure as a second electrode, and energizing circuitry for energizing said electrode structure and said stack support structure to create an electrostatic field in said environment of reduced pressure to establish a glow discharge condition at the sharpened edges of a stack of razor blades disposed on said stack support structure.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said electrode structure is a portion of the chamber wall defining said reduced pressure environment system.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 63 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said source of metal includes a plurality of discrete source elements disposed at a series of unequally spaced positions along said line, each said source element being a coil of tungsten wire plated with chromium, and said circuitry further includes a control for energizing said source of metal to vaporize all of said coating metal.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 46 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 and further including means operative in said environment of reduced pressure for removing a contamination layer from the sharpened edges of said razor blades prior to the formation of said thin adherent coating of metal on said sharpened edges.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 92 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein said contamination layer removing means includes means to establish a glow discharge at the sharpened edges of said razor blades in said environment comprising an electrode structure, circuitry for connecting said stack support structure as a second electrode, and energizing circuitry for energizing said electrode structure and said stack support structure to create an electrostatic field in said environment of reduced pressure to establish a glow discharge condition at the sharpened edges of the stacks of razor blades disposed on said stack support structures.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 37 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each said support structure includes structure for receiving a coiled stack of razor blades, and further including means for rotating said coiled stack receiving structure at a uniform rate.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 31 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the axis of each said support structure is defined by mask structure disposed between each said support structure and said source of material.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 63 words

The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said source of metal includes a plurality of discrete source elements disposed at a series of unequally spaced positions along said linE, each said source element being a coil of tungsten wire plated with chromium, and said circuitry further includes a control for energizing said source of metal to vaporize all of said coating metal.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-09-10	1977-03-12	1977-09-11	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-09-10	1981-03-12	1981-09-11	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-09-10	1985-03-12	1985-09-11	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Apparatus for processing razor blades

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