Patent Grant
9913522
Not applicable.
Not Applicable.
Personal grooming includes the trimming and cutting of finger nails and toe nails. Although that task sounds simple, the actual cutting and trimming of toe nails and finger nails into a specific desired shape and length can be problematic. The general ergonomics and mechanics of the human body can sometimes present obstacles to the person who wishes to position nail clippers as just the right angle to a finger or toe nail to achieve the desired clipping result. Additionally, there can be certain medical problems that can limit or even prevent a person from using nail clippers at all because the range of movement of the person is inhibited by the medical condition. Even the onset of old age can simply make the joints of a person have a smaller range of movement. Also, there are often situations where the nail cutter can be placed into position near a nail, but the cutting process cannot be completed because the cutting portion of the nail clipper is not facing the correct position in relation to the nail itself.
In yet other circumstances a person may be able to maneuver nail clippers near the correct position for cutting and trimming, but not be able to place the clippers into the exact final position because there is insufficient lighting to illuminate the nail being cut such that the person can properly place the nail clipper into position for cutting and trimming. This can result in improper cutting and trimming of the nails that can generate medical issues such as ingrown nails or wounded skin accidently cut during the nail trimming process.
As a result of these several issues, it can be very difficult to complete the process of trimming and shaping the nails of a user when using the nail clippers currently found in the art. It would be desirable to have a nail cutting device that can provide additional maneuverability of the cutting portion of the nail cutter while also providing illumination to the nail being cut to ensure the nail is being cut and trimmed in the desired manner.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In accordance with the various embodiments of the present invention, this invention relates to a uniquely design nail clipping device that provides an adjustable clipping portion that can be rotated in relation to the nail clipper handle to allow the clipper portion to be properly position for cutting a nail, while also providing illumination at the point where the clipping of the nail is to be executed such that the nail and the clipper can be readily positioned for cutting the nail. To be sure the illumination is being provided onto the proper location, the illuminating element and the cutting portion of certain preferred embodiments of the present invention are in a fixed relationship such that any rotating movement of the cutting portion will cause the illuminating portion to rotate in coordination and commensurately with the cutting portion.
In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification:
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding steps or parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.
While specific embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the above referenced drawings and in the following description, it is understood that the embodiments shown are merely some examples of various preferred embodiments and are offered for the purpose of illustration only, and that various changes in construction may be resorted to in the course of manufacture in order that the present invention may be utilized to the best advantage according to circumstances which may arise, without in any way departing from the spirit and intention of the present invention, which is to be limited only in accordance with the claims contained herein.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of some preferred embodiments, specific components, devices, and methods, in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that these specific details need not be exclusively employed, and should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In the development of any actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints. Such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but is nevertheless a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill.
At least one preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings and figures contained within this specification. More specifically, certain preferred embodiments of the present invention are generally disclosed and described in
Referring now to
It is noted that the illuminating element 9 as shown in the views of
The cutting portion 5 (
An exploded view of the present embodiment of the Nail Cutting Device A is shown in
More specifically, the handle 1, an upper base 23, the holder 11, the cutting portion 5 and the base 3 are held together by the shaft 7. It is understood that during assembly of the present embodiment, the handle 1, the upper base 23, the holder 11, the cutting portion 13, and the base 3 are positioned such that the openings 27A through 27D are axially aligned, and then the shaft 7 is inserted upward into the opening 27D of the cutting portion until a top shaft portion 29 of the shaft 7 nears a retention axle 31 of the handle 1. The retention axle 31 is then inserted into a retention notch 33 of the handle 1 and the spring loading bias of the material of the cutting portion 13 pulls a lower base 35 of the shaft 7 against the cutting portion to thereby captivate the handle 1, the upper base 23, the holder 11, the base 3, and the cutting portion 13 into a single sub-assembly.
The activation button 37 protrudes through a button opening 45 of the upper base 23 and when the handle 1 is in its stored position, the activation button is depressed downward against an activation arm 47 of the micro switch 39. It is understood that the micro switch 39 is in a normally closed position and that the position is changed to an open position by the activation button 37 when the handle 1, in its stored position, depresses the activation button against the activation arm 47. This allows the illuminating element 9 to be in operation only when the handle 1 is not pushing against the activation button 37, but allows the illuminating element to operate and provide illumination when the handle is positioned in its upward operating position during use of the Nail Cutting Device A.
To retain the components within the internal storage area 43 a cover 51 is attached to the base 3 with a fastener 53 and nut 55. When the fastener 53 is installed through the cover 51, a pivotable nail file 57 is pivotally captivated by the fastener.
In operation, the handle 1 is lifted from the upper base 23 and then rotated about 180 degrees. Lifting the handle 1 activates the illuminating element 9 by permitting the activation button 37 to extend upward above the surface of the upper base 23 and allow the activation arm 47 of the micro switch 39 to complete the electrical circuit and provide electrical power to the illuminating element. To clip a nail, the cutting portion 5 is then rotated into the positioned as desired until the nail to be trimmed or shaped is disposed between the upper blade 19 and the lower blade 21 of the cutting portion 5 and the handle 1 is depressed to cut off a portion of the nail.
In the present embodiment, the overall width of the Nail Cutting Device is about 33 mm and the overall length is about 28.5 mm and the handle 1, the upper base 23, the holder 11, the base 3, and the cover 51 are made from a plastic based material. It will be appreciated, however, but hose of skill in the art that the dimensions and the base material of the elements of the various embodiments of the Nail Cutting Device A can be modified and adjusted to fit the specific requirements of any particular applications and still remain within the scope of the present invention.
In the preceding description, numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, methods, in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that these specific details need not be employed, and should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In the development of any actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints. Such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but is nevertheless a routine undertaking of design, fabrication and manufacture for those of ordinary skill. The scope of the invention should be determined by any appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Additionally, it will be seen in the above disclosure that several of the intended purposes of the invention are achieved, and other advantageous and useful results are attained. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above descriptions or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Terms such as “proximate,” “distal,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “outer,” “inwardly,” “outwardly,” “exterior,” “interior,” and the like when used herein refer to positions of the respective elements as they are shown in the accompanying drawings, and the disclosure is not necessarily limited to such positions. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.
When introducing elements or features and the exemplary embodiments, the articles “a,” “an,” “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of such elements or features. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements or features other than those specifically noted. It is further to be understood that the method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “operatively connected,” “connected,” “coupled,” “engaged,” or “engageable” to and/or with another element, it can be directly connected, coupled, engaged, engageable to and/or with the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected,” “directly coupled,” “directly engaged,” or “directly engageable” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9266223 | Hoang | Feb 2016 | B2 |
| 20020178585 | Yang | Dec 2002 | A1 |
| 20060158871 | Hopkins | Jul 2006 | A1 |
