Patent Application
20060175853
The invention is in the field of hair removal devices such as tweezers.
Tweezers are used for a variety of purposes, including hair removal, or for medical purposes such as sliver removal. The typical tweezer has diverging arms with pointed tips. When the arms are compressed by the user, the tips converge and can be used to grip very small items such as hairs, slivers, and the like, and extract them. However, one common problem with the typical tweezer designs is that they can be difficult to grip and manipulate. Tweezer manufacturers have tried to address these difficulties by developing various types of ergnomic designs that facilitate easier gripping and manipulation. For example, U.S. Design Pat. No. 327,751 is directed to an ergonomic tweezer design having hollowed out sections on the upper arms in the area where the user grips the tweezer. U.S. Design Pat. No. 483,909 is directed to another type of ergonomic tweezer having widened portions on each arm. The user grips the widened portions with fingers for easier manipulation of the tweezer. However, in both cases the arms of the tweezers diverge in the usual manner. While the ergonomic portion facilitates gripping, the tweezer arms are in the standard configuration and do not do anything to facilitate grip.
Acccordingly, there is a need for a tweezer design that has ergonomic features both in the gripping portions and in the design of the tweezer arms.
It is an object of the invention to provide a tweezer with ergonomic handle grips.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a tweezer with tweezer arms that are designed so that they can be more easily gripped and manipulated by the user.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an ergonomically designed tweezer that is easily handled and manipulated by the user, with reduced chance of dropping.
In the most preferred embodiment of the invention 1 first section 4 is about one half the length of arm 3 and the second section 5A is about one half the length of arm 3. First section 4 may range from about one third to two thirds of the length of arm 3, and second section 5A may range from about one third to two thirds of the length of arm 3.
Second section 5A contains finger grip depressions 6. Preferably finger grip depressions 6 are in the shape of a truncated loop 7 with edge 8 bordering the slanted tip 9. Truncated loop 7 has a rounded edge 10, which preferably extends to midsection 11 of tweezer arms 3. If desired, the finger grip depressions 6 may contain one or more protrusions 12 that further facilitate gripping the tweezer 1. Most preferably each finger grip depression 6 contains at least three protrusions 12.
In one alternative embodiment of the invention, finger grip depression 6 may be over layered with a thin rubber layer 13 that further facilitates gripping. Rubber layer 13 may be slit to accommodate protrusions 12.
Tweezer 1 preferably has a slanted tip 9. The slanted tip 9 may be slanted at an angle ranging from about 1 to 90, preferably 5 to 50, more preferably about 7 to 40 degrees.
Tweezer 1 may be made from thermoplastic materials that have shape memory, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, styrene, and so on. In addition, tweezer 1 may be made from metals that have shape memory, such as tin, aluminum, iron, or alloys of such metals. Preferably the tweezer is made of a thermoplastic material with shape memory, or aluminum.
While the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
