NAIL ORNAMENT

Abstract

The present invention relates to a nail ornament having a base substrate and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments attached to the base substrate in that the lower surface of the base substrate is configured to substantially conform to a nail and the plurality of ornaments are embedded in the upper surface of the base substrate. Recesses are formed in the upper surface of the base substrate and the plurality of three-dimensional ornaments fits into the recesses. The lower surface of the base substrate is curved such that the lower surface substantially conforms to a contour of a nail when placed in contact with the nail.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a nail ornament and, more particularly, to a nail ornament having a base substrate and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments attached to the base substrate in that the lower surface of the base substrate is configured to substantially conform to a nail and the plurality of ornaments are embedded in the upper surface of the base substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Artificial nails or fake nails have been invented and introduced. Artificial nails are nail-shaped and generally made of lightweight plastic plates such as acrylic. They are placed over and glued to fingernails as fashion accessories.

To add a sense of style to the artificial nails, a number of techniques have been introduced such as painting or highlights on the artificial nails, or affixing decals or other features on the artificial nails.

For instance, US Pat. Pub. No 2012/0132220 filed by Sung Yong Chang and entitled “Artificial nail with three-dimensional ornament and manufacturing method thereof” discloses an artificial nail decorated with three-dimensional ornaments thereon. The ornaments are first attached to a film layer and the film layer is attached to the artificial nail by an adhesive.

Another example is WO 2009/060488 filed by Natalia Nikolaeva entitled “Embellishment Object for Nails”. It discloses a structure to secure fashion jewels to an artificial nail. The structure is comprised of two pins, a screwable or press-insertable clip, and a tab.

However, those artificial nails having ornaments thereon necessitate several layers or complex structure to support the ornaments. Thus, manufacturing process becomes more complicated and expensive.

Accordingly, to solve the above problems, a need for a nail ornament having a simple structure of a base substrate and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments attached to the base substrate has been present for a long time considering the expansive demands in the everyday life. This invention is directed to solve these problems and satisfy the long-felt need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention contrives to solve the disadvantages of the prior art. The present invention provides a nail ornament having a base substrate and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments attached to the base substrate.

The object of the invention is to provide a nail ornament having a base substrate and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments attached to the base substrate in that the lower surface of the base substrate is configured to substantially conform to a nail and the plurality of ornaments are embedded in the upper surface of the base substrate. Recesses are formed in the upper surface of the base substrate and the plurality of three-dimensional ornaments fits into the recesses. The lower surface of the base substrate is curved such that the lower surface substantially conforms to a contour of a nail when placed in contact with the nail.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nail ornament, which includes a base substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface, and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments, fitting into recesses of the upper surface. The lower surface is curved to conform to a contour of a nail. The lower surface is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 10 mm or 13 mm, depending on the shape of nails. Furthermore, the distance from the bottom of the recesses to the lower surface is about 0.5 mm.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing the nail ornament of the present invention. The method includes the steps of engraving an original nail ornament into upper and lower rubber molds; curing the upper and lower rubber molds; forming flow channels on surfaces of the upper and lower rubber molds; spinning the upper and rubber molds together and injecting the casting material into the cavity of the molds; cooling the casting material and removing the nail ornament casting from the molds; mixing and rotating the nail ornament casting with stone and water; and attaching ornaments to the nail ornament casting.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of using the nail ornament of the present invention, including the steps of bonding a nail ornament to a nail using an adhesive and removing the nail ornament from the nail using a remover. The adhesive is an epoxy adhesive and the remover is acetone.

The advantages of the present invention are: (1) the present invention provides a simple structure of a nail ornament, having a base substrate and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments attached to the base substrate; (2) the nail ornament of the present is small and light enough to be worn over a fingernail; (3) the base substrate of the nail ornament is small but durable and ornaments are securely embedded into the base substrate; (4) a number of different stylish designs are possible by flexibly changing the shape of the base substrate and changing the layout of the ornaments; (5) the nail ornament of the present invention is easy to manufacture and the manufacturing cost is low; (6) the nail ornament of the present invention is durable and malleable enough that a user can adjust the curvature of the nail ornament by hand; and (7) delicate designs such as a flower or a leaf, which could not be expressed using a conventional casting method, have become possible using the method of the present invention.

Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of the first embodiment of the nail ornament of the present invention;

FIG. 1B shows a perspective view of the second embodiment of the nail ornament of the present invention;

FIG. 2A shows a plan view of the first embodiment of the nail ornament of the present invention;

FIG. 2B shows a plan view of the second embodiment of the nail ornament of the present invention;

FIG. 3A shows a front elevational view of the cross section 3A-3A′ of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3B shows a front elevational view of the cross section 3B-3B′ of FIG. 2B;

FIG. 4 shows dimensions of the first embodiment of the nail ornament of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a mold to manufacture a plurality of nail ornaments of the present invention;

FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of still another embodiment of the nail ornament of the present invention;

FIG. 6B shows a front elevational view of the nail ornament in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7A shows the first embodiment of the present invention placed over and glued to a fingernail; and

FIG. 7B shows the second embodiment of the present invention placed over and glued to a fingernail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective views of the first and second embodiments of the nail ornament according to the present invention. These two nail ornaments are given only to illustrate design examples of the present invention, and it is to be construed that the technical scope of the invention is not limited by the examples given, many design variations of which are possible without departing from the concept of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate plan views of the first and second embodiments. The nail ornament 100 includes a base substrate 10, having an upper surface 20 and a lower surface 30 wherein recesses 40 are formed in the upper surface 20; and a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments 50, fitting into the recesses 40. The ornaments may be fashion jewels, imitate jewels, or the like. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the lower surface 30 is curved such that the lower surface 30 substantially conforms to a contour of a nail when placed in contact with the nail.

The base substrate 10 may be made of Babbitt, and preferable, tin-based Babbitt. Optimally, the tin-based Babbitt includes about 30˜40 weight percentage of tin, and preferably, about 35 weight percentage of tin. Alternatively, the base substrate may be made of brass.

Tin-based Babbitt, having about 35 weight percentage of tin, makes it possible to manufacture a durable nail ornament 100 of the present invention which has the structure and dimensions described hereinwith.

FIG. 4 shows dimensions of the embodiment of the nail ornament. The lower surface 30 is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 13 mm. Alternatively, when the nail ornament is for the little finger or pinky, the lower surface 30 is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 10 mm. Tests show that when the diameter is either about 13 mm or 10 mm, the nail ornament 100 can flexibly cover various curves of finger nails and when glued to a fingernail, the nail ornament 100 is stably and securely placed over the fingernail. Preferably, the upper surface 20 has substantially identical curvature as that of the lower surface 30.

In FIG. 4, “a” represents the distance from the bottom of a recess 40 to the lower surface 30 whereas “b” represents the distance from the upper surface 20 to the lower surface 30. “c” represents the width of the nail ornament 100. The depth from a bottom of the recesses 40 to the lower surface 30 (“a”) is about 0.4˜0.6 mm, and preferably, about 0.5 mm. If “a” is smaller than about 0.4 mm, the nail ornament 100 is susceptible to breakage or other damages.

The depth (“b”) from the upper surface 20 to the lower surface 30 along a vertical central axis is about 2˜3 mm. In addition, the width (“c”) of the nail ornament 100 along a horizontal axis is about 6˜10 mm, and preferably, about 6˜7 mm. Furthermore, nickel-free coating may be applied to the base substrate.

FIG. 5 shows a lower or upper rubber mold to manufacture the nail ornaments 100. The method of manufacturing a nail ornament 100 of the present invention includes the steps of engraving about half of an original nail ornament into a lower rubber mold; engraving about the other half of the original nail ornament into an upper rubber mold by piling up the upper and lower rubber molds together so that the upper and lower rubber molds have a cavity 80 therein in a shape of the original nail ornament; curing the upper and lower rubber molds; forming a channel 60 on surfaces of the upper and lower rubber molds, the channel 60 through which a casting material flows into the cavity 80; piling up and spinning the upper and rubber molds together; injecting the casting material through an opening 70 at centers of the upper and lower rubber molds so that the casting material flows into the cavity 80; cooling the casting material for producing a nail ornament casting; removing the nail ornament casting from the upper and lower rubber molds; mixing and rotating the nail ornament casting with stone and water for polishing surface of the nail ornament casting; coating the surface of the nail ornament casting; and attaching ornaments to the nail ornament casting. The method may further comprise the step of coating the surface of the nail ornament casting right before the step of attaching ornaments to the nail ornament casting. The nail ornament casting 10 comprises an upper surface 20 and a lower surface 30 and recesses 40 are formed in the upper surface 20 and the ornaments 50 fit into the recesses 40. Furthermore, the lower surface 30 of the nail ornament casting 10 is curved such that the lower surface 30 substantially conforms to a contour of a nail when placed in contact with the nail. The casting material may be tin-based Babbitt, containing about 35 weight percentage of tin. In addition, the lower surface 30 of the nail ornament casting 10 is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle, preferably having a diameter of about 13 mm.

The present invention also discloses a method of using the nail ornament 100, comprising the steps of bonding a nail ornament to a nail using an adhesive; and removing the nail ornament from the nail using a remover. The adhesive may be an epoxy adhesive and the remover may be acetone. The nail ornament 100 may further include a plurality of three-dimensional ornaments 50, an upper surface 20, and a lower surface 30. Recesses 40 are formed in the upper surface 20 and the three-dimensional ornaments 50 fit into the recesses 40. The lower surface 30 is curved such that the lower surface 30 substantially conforms to a contour of a nail when placed in contact with the nail. The nail ornament 100 is made of tin-based Babbitt, containing about 35 weight percentage of tin. The lower surface 30 is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle, preferably having a diameter of about 13 mm, and the depth (“a”) from a bottom of the recesses to the lower surface is about 0.5 mm.

Crazy glue or super glue turns out to be not suitable as the adhesive of the present invention because it causes blushing of the nail ornament 100 and the nail ornament 100 turns white. Regular artificial nail glue is not suitable as well because it does not provide enough bonding strength for the nail ornament 100 to be attached to a fingernail.

Experiments show that one part epoxy adhesives or two part epoxy adhesives provide enough bonding strength for the present invention. For two part epoxy adhesives, one to one ratio between the resin and the hardener is recommended. Recommended epoxy adhesives for the present invention are 5 minute (30 or 60 minute) KEIN(trademark) High Strength epoxy adhesive, WOOSONG(trademark) two part epoxy adhesive, DEVCON® 30 (5 or 60 minute) minute two part epoxy adhesive, E6000(trademark) epoxy adhesive, LOCTITE® epoxy adhesive, and EPONS® epoxy adhesive.

FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively show a perspective and a front elevational views of still another embodiment of the nail ornament. The overall sizes of the nail ornament vary depending on whether it is for a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger or a little finger. Besides, the nail is durable and malleable enough that a user can adjust the curvature of the nail ornament by hand to fit her finger size and shape.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show the first and second embodiments of the present invention placed over and glued to a fingernail of a person.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to different embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations in form, detail, compositions and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A nail ornament, comprising: a base substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface wherein recesses are formed in the upper surface; anda plurality of three-dimensional ornaments, fitting into the recesses,

2. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein the lower surface is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 13 mm.

3. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein the lower surface is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 10 mm.

4. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein a depth from a bottom of the recesses to the lower surface is about 0.4˜0.6 mm.

5. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein a depth from a bottom of the recesses to the lower surface is about 0.5 mm.

6. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein a depth from the upper surface to the lower surface along a vertical central axis is about 2˜3 mm.

7. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein a width of the nail ornament along a horizontal axis is about 6˜10 mm.

8. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein a width of the nail ornament along a horizontal axis is about 6˜7 mm.

9. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein the base substrate is made of Babbitt.

10. The nail ornament of claim 9 wherein the base substrate is made of tin-based Babbitt.

11. The nail ornament of claim 10 wherein the tin-based Babbitt comprises about 30˜40 weight percentage of tin.

12. The nail ornament of claim 11 wherein the tin-based Babbitt comprises about 35 weight percentage of tin.

13. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein the base substrate is made of brass.

14. The nail ornament of claim 1 wherein nickel-free coating is applied to the base substrate.

15. A method of manufacturing a nail ornament, comprising the steps of: engraving about half of an original nail ornament into a lower rubber mold;engraving about the other half of the original nail ornament into an upper rubber mold by piling up the upper and lower rubber molds together so that the upper and lower rubber molds have a cavity therein in a shape of the original nail ornament;curing the upper and lower rubber molds;forming a channel on surfaces of the upper and lower rubber molds, the channel through which a casting material flows into the cavity;piling up and spinning the upper and rubber molds together;injecting the casting material through an opening at centers of the upper and lower rubber molds so that the casting material flows into the cavity;cooling the casting material for producing a nail ornament casting;removing the nail ornament casting from the upper and lower rubber molds;mixing and rotating the nail ornament casting with stone and water for polishing surface of the nail ornament casting;coating the surface of the nail ornament casting; andattaching ornaments to the nail ornament casting, wherein the nail ornament casting comprises an upper surface and a lower surface wherein recesses are formed in the upper surface and the ornaments fit into the recesses, wherein the lower surface of the nail ornament casting is curved such that the lower surface substantially conforms to a contour of a nail when placed in contact with the nail.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the casting material is tin-based Babbitt, containing about 35 weight percentage of tin.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the lower surface of the nail ornament casting is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 13 mm.

18. A method of using a nail ornament, comprising the steps of: bonding a nail ornament to a nail using an adhesive; andremoving the nail ornament from the nail using a remover,

19. The method of using a nail ornament according to claim 18, wherein the nail ornament is made of tin-based Babbitt, containing about 35 weight percentage of tin.

20. The method of using a nail ornament according to claim 18, wherein the lower surface is in an arc shape which substantially conforms to a circle having a diameter of about 13 mm, and wherein a depth from a bottom of the recesses to the lower surface is about 0.5 mm.