US5295305A — Razor blade technology

Claim 1

Independent Claim 85 words

A process for forming a razor blade comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming a wedge-shaped sharpened edge on said substrate that has an included angle of less than thirty degrees and a tip radius of less than twelve hundred angstroms; depositing an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said sharpened edge; and depositing a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) material on said interlayer.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 85 words

A process for forming a razor blade comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming a wedge-shaped sharpened edge on said substrate that has an included angle of less than thirty degrees and a tip radius of less than twelve hundred angstroms; depositing an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said sharpened edge; and depositing a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) material on said interlayer.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 22 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said substrate is mechanically abraded in a sequence of honing steps to form said sharpened edge.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 24 words

The process of claim 1 and further including the step of applying an adherent polymer coating on said diamond or DLC coated cutting edge.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 60 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said interlayer on said cutting edge has a thickness of less than about five hundred angstroms, and said diamond or DLC coating on said interlayer coated cutting edge has a thickness of, at least twelve hundred angstroms from the sharpened tip of said substrate to a distance of forty micrometers from the sharpened tip.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 27 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said substrate is of metal and said diamond or DLC coating is at least twice as hard as said metal substrate.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 68 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said layer of diamond or DLC carbon material is deposited by a technique selected from the group consisting of plasma decomposition of hydrocarbon gases, sputter deposition using ions from either a plasma or an ion gun to bombard a graphite target, directly using a beam of carbon ions, and an ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) process using either E-Beam or sputtering sources.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 66 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material is deposited in an argon atmosphere in an evacuated chamber in which a graphite target and a shutter are located; said graphite target is energized; and said shutter is opened to deposit said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said sharpened edge while an RF bias is-applied to said substrate.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 27 words

The process of claim 7 and further including a niobium target in said chamber, and an interlayer of niobium is deposited on said blade edge by sputtering.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 101 words

A process for forming a razor blade comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming on said substrate a wedge-shaped edge that has an included angle of less than 30° and a tip radius less than 1,200 angstroms; depositing an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said wedge-shaped edge; and depositing a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) material on said interlayer to provide a radius at the ultimate tip of said diamond or diamond-like carbon material of less than 1,200 angstroms.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 101 words

A process for forming a razor blade comprising the steps of providing a substrate, forming on said substrate a wedge-shaped edge that has an included angle of less than 30° and a tip radius less than 1,200 angstroms; depositing an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said wedge-shaped edge; and depositing a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) material on said interlayer to provide a radius at the ultimate tip of said diamond or diamond-like carbon material of less than 1,200 angstroms.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 19 words

The process of claim 9 wherein said interlayer and said diamond or diamond-like carbon material are deposited by sputtering.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 43 words

The process of claim 9 wherein said interlayer on said wedge-shaped edge has a thickness of less than about five hundred angstroms, and said diamond or DLC coating on said interlayer cutting edge has a thickness of at least about twelve hundred angstroms.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 24 words

The process of claim 11 and further including the step of applying an adherent polymer coating on said diamond or DLC coated cutting edge.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 23 words

The process of claim 12 wherein said diamond or DLC coating on said cutting edge has a thickness of about two thousand angstroms.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 72 words

A razor blade comprising a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge defined by facets that have a width of at least about 0.1 millimeter and an included angle of less than thirty degrees, an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said wedge-shaped edge; and a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said interlayer.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 72 words

A razor blade comprising a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge defined by facets that have a width of at least about 0.1 millimeter and an included angle of less than thirty degrees, an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said wedge-shaped edge; and a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said interlayer.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 32 words

The razor blade of claim 14 wherein said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) material has a Raman peak at about 1331 cm -1 (diamond) or about 1552 cm -1 (DLC).

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 38 words

The razor blade of claim 15 wherein said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) has an aspect ratio of less than about 3:1; substantial sp3 carbon bonding; and a mass density greater than 1.5 grams/cm 3 .

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 22 words

The razor blade of claim 16 and further including an adherent polymer coating on said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 40 words

The razor blade of claim 17 wherein said interlayer is of niobium and has a thickness of less than about five hundred angstroms, and said diamond or DLC coating on said interlayer has a thickness of about two thousand angstroms.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 114 words

A razor blade comprising a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge, an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on the tip and flanks of said wedge-shaped edge, the thickness of said interlayer being in the range of about 50-500 angstroms, and a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said interlayer, said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material having a thickness of at least about twelve hundred angstroms from the sharpened tip of said substrate to a distance of forty micrometers from the sharpened tip and defining a tip radius of less than about 1000 angstroms.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 114 words

A razor blade comprising a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge, an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on the tip and flanks of said wedge-shaped edge, the thickness of said interlayer being in the range of about 50-500 angstroms, and a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said interlayer, said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material having a thickness of at least about twelve hundred angstroms from the sharpened tip of said substrate to a distance of forty micrometers from the sharpened tip and defining a tip radius of less than about 1000 angstroms.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 41 words

The razor blade of claim 19 wherein said substrate is steel; said wedge-shaped edge is formed by a sequence of mechanical abrading steps; said interlayer is of niobium; and said interlayer and diamond or diamond-like carbon material are formed by sputtering.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 62 words

The razor blade of claim 20 wherein said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon (DLC) material has substantial sp3 carbon bonding; a mass density greater than 1.5 grams/cm 3 ; and a Raman peak at about 1331 cm -1 diamond or about 1552 cm -1 (DLC); and further including an adherent polymer coating on said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 85 words

A shaving unit comprising support structure that defines spaced skin-engaging surfaces, and razor blade structure secured to said support structure, said razor blade structure including a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge, an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said wedge-shaped edge; and a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said interlayer, said diamond or diamond-like carbon coated wedge-shaped edge being disposed between said skin-engaging surfaces.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 85 words

A shaving unit comprising support structure that defines spaced skin-engaging surfaces, and razor blade structure secured to said support structure, said razor blade structure including a substrate with a wedge-shaped edge, an interlayer of material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, vanadium, tantalum, niobium, and niobium-molybdenum alloy and alloys of such materials on said wedge-shaped edge; and a layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material on said interlayer, said diamond or diamond-like carbon coated wedge-shaped edge being disposed between said skin-engaging surfaces.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 29 words

The shaving unit of claim 22 wherein said razor blade structure includes two substrates, and said coated wedge-shaped edges are disposed parallel to one another between said skin-engaging surfaces.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 92 words

The shaving unit of claim 23 wherein each said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material has substantial sp3 carbon bonding; a mass density greater than 1.5 grams/cm 3 ; and a Raman peak at about 1331 cm -1 (diamond) or 1552 cm -1 (DLC); each said interlayer has a thickness of less than five hundred angstroms; and each said diamond or DLC coating on said interlayer has a thickness of about two thousand angstroms; and further including an adherent polymer coating on each said layer of diamond or diamond-like carbon material.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1997-03-21	1997-09-20	1998-03-22	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2001-03-21	2001-09-20	2002-03-22	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2005-03-21	2005-09-20	2006-03-22	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Razor blade technology

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