Priority is claimed of KR20-2011-0010582, filed Nov. 29, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as if set forth at length.
The present invention relates to a nail-cleaning tool and, more particularly, to a nail-cleaning tool that can simply and efficiently remove dead skin cells or cuticles etc of the nail and clean it.
For nail art or for hygiene, it is necessary to remove dead skin cells or cuticles of the nails or of the toenails. Generally, it proceeds to push up the cuticles and remove them, after that, oil is applied to the removed place. In this case, special tools are necessary at each of the steps.
This applicant found Korean patent open-laid publication No. 10-2010-0130738 that provides a cleaning tool by which it is possible to simply and easily remove the cuticles of the nails.
This has a body part having a shape of a pen, and an oil reservoir reserving oil is installed in the body part. An abrasive member which is porous is protruded from the body part to the outside, and one end of the abrasive member is connected to the oil reservoir in the body part so that the oil in the oil reservoir is supplied to the abrasive member through the porous holes of the abrasive member.
Holding the body part and rubbing the abrasive member against the nail, the cuticles are removed as the oil is supplied to the nail through the porous holes of the abrasive member from the oil reservoir.
According to the open laid patent publication, the abrasive member must be porous because the oil should be supplied through the porous holes of the abrasive member. In this case, there is a possibility that the oil is not supplied well and, the possibility becomes higher as the viscosity of the oil becomes high.
As a result, a nail-cleaning tool that is not limited to have the porous abrasive member and where the smooth supply of the oil is guaranteed is desired. The present invention satisfies the demand.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a nail-cleaning tool that can effectively clean the nail with simple constitution. In one aspect of the present invention, the purpose is directed to provide the nail-cleaning tool that is not limited to have the porous abrasive member and that guarantees the smooth supply of the oil.
One aspect of the present invention provides a nail-cleaning tool comprising: a body part having an oil reservoir therein; an abrasive member protruded from the body part; and a nib protruded from the body part; wherein, the nib is connected to the oil reservoir so that oil is supplied to the nib from the oil reservoir, and the nib and the abrasive member are aligned to be contact with each other by their faces along the longitudinal direction of the body part.
In some embodiments, the contact may be direct without any intervening member.
In some embodiments, the nib is arranged to go through a through-hole on the center of the abrasive member so that the nib is in contact with the inner face of the through-hole around its outer face.
In some embodiments, the abrasive member and the nib are adjoined each other and their adjoined faces are in contact with each other.
In some embodiments, the external end surfaces of the nib and the abrasive member are continuous and form a plane.
In some embodiments, the plane is inclined.
In some embodiments, the nib and the abrasive member are installed into the body part by a holder inserted into the body part.
The present invention provides a nail-cleaning tool that can effectively clean the nail with simple constitution. According to the present invention, the abrasive member need not be porous and the oil is supplied smoothly.
The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.
The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The nail-cleaning tool 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a body part 100, and an oil reservoir 80 is installed in the body part 100.
The oil reservoir 80 reserves oil. For example, the oil reservoir 80 has a tube filled with fibers 88 made of polyester where the oil is reserved. The oil reservoir 80 may contain humectants as well as the oil.
An abrasive member 10 and a nib 20 are protruded from the body part 100 and the abrasive member 10 and the nib 20 are arranged to be contact with each other in their faces along the longitudinal direction of the body part 100.
Various materials can be used for the abrasive material 10 and it need not be porous. The mesh (abrasive particle size) can be various and, generally, what is used for polishing is appropriate.
The ceramic can be used for the material of the abrasive member 10 as the Korean laid open publication No. 10-2010-0130738 discloses.
The material produced by burning the mixture of the abrasive powder such as emery powder and the feldspar also can be used. The following shows processes to make the abrasive member 10 as an example.
1st step: Mixing aluminum oxide and feldspar: Mixing aluminum oxide (Haedong commercials, model No. 80) and feldspar (Duckyu ceramics Co., Ltd, India Potash Feldspar) at a ratio of 5:5 to 7:3 by weight.
2nd step: Placing the mixture into mold and pressing it: Placing the mixture into the mold and pressing it.
3rd step: Burning: Burning the mixture shaped by the pressing in the mold (e.g., at a temperature of 1300° C. by means of an electric kiln).
4th step: Working process: Working the burned thing into the abrasive member.
The nib 20 may be manufactured by cutting a rod-shaped precursor processed by pressing multiple polyester threads (or fibers) or nylon threads (or fibers) with heat, the polyester threads or nylon threads being drawn lengthily. This nib has the internal structure that the polyester threads or nylon threads are densely aligned. Generally, a nib as used in a highlighter-pen can be used.
In this embodiment, the nib 20 goes through a through-hole 12 in the center of the abrasive member 20 so that the nib 20 is in contact with the inner face of the through-hole 12 around its outer face. The exemplary contact is direct without any intervening layer or other member. The exemplary contact is of exactly longitudinally-extending surfaces (e.g., of a circular cylindrical nib outer face and circular cylindrical through-hole inner face).
The abrasive member 10 and the nib 20 are installed into the body part 100 by a holder 40 inserted into the body part 100. As the abrasive member 10 and the nib 20 are arranged to be contact with each other in their faces along the longitudinal direction of the body part 100, they are supported by each other and, therefore, the strength is kept when the nail-cleaning tool 1000 is cleaning the nail.
The nib 20 extends longer than the abrasive member 20 and a rear part 28 of the nib 20 is inserted into the oil reservoir 80 so that the oil is supplied to the nib 20 from the oil reservoir 80.
It is desirable that the external end surfaces 24 and 14 of the nib 20 and the abrasive member 10 are continuous with each other and form a single plane so that the plane contacts the surface of the nail as the nail-cleaning tool 1000 moves on the nail.
In this case, it is more desirable if the plane is inclined.
As shown in
The number 8 refers to a cap and the number 9 refers to a plug to cover the rear part of the body part 100.
As described above, the nail-cleaning tools 1000 and 1000′ have a simple constitution and the oil is supplied to the nail smoothly regardless of the porosity of the abrasive member. Accordingly, it is possible to simply and efficiently clean the nail.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20-2011-0010582 | Nov 2011 | KR | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1362601 | Chandler | Dec 1920 | A |
1715914 | Halk | Jun 1929 | A |
2399463 | Bryant | Apr 1946 | A |
2512100 | Haber | Jun 1950 | A |
2517283 | Bryant | Aug 1950 | A |
2550890 | Vaughn | May 1951 | A |
3130433 | John | Apr 1964 | A |
3825021 | Seidler | Jul 1974 | A |
4622985 | Jankewitz | Nov 1986 | A |
5960802 | Sakai | Oct 1999 | A |
7156573 | Bedhome | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7785026 | Eng et al. | Aug 2010 | B2 |
8161983 | Lee | Apr 2012 | B1 |
20020127046 | Gueret | Sep 2002 | A1 |
20040031500 | Reyzis | Feb 2004 | A1 |
20050217685 | Burkholz et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
20070227553 | Gueret | Oct 2007 | A1 |
20070251541 | Nasu et al. | Nov 2007 | A1 |
20070251542 | Tajima | Nov 2007 | A1 |
20090317432 | Kergosien | Dec 2009 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
10-2010-0130738 | Dec 2010 | KR |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130133677 A1 | May 2013 | US |