Fingernail guard

A fingernail guard assembly characterized by a main body member which engages the finger, and a number of shield members removably engagable with the main body member. The main body member can be engaged with the finger prior to the painting of the nails, and the shield member inserted after the nails are painted to protect them as they dry. Shield members are provided in various lengths and configurations to provide a close match to the size and shape of the fingernail being protected.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to tools used during the application of 
cosmetics, and more particularly to fingernail guards which protect 
freshly painted fingernails. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It takes up to thirty minutes for freshly painted fingernails to dry. 
During this period, it is advisable for the woman to minimize her 
movements to prevent damage to the wet polish. Waiting for fingernail 
polish to dry can be a tedious prospect, and even if great care is taken 
the finish is often accidentally damaged. 
To address this problem, a number of devices have been developed which 
protect the fingernail polish during the drying process. For example, in 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,225,571 of Smith, a finger attachment of unitary design is 
disclosed including a resilient, annular finger engaging portion, and a 
substantially rigid forward tapering portion which extends over a finger 
nail. Other fingernail protection devices of unitary design are disclosed 
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,297,807 of Somers, 2,458,709 of Kayer, 2,323,854 of 
Silverman, and 2,487,101 of Colby et al. 
A problem with unitary fingernail guards of the prior art is that it is 
difficult to engage the fingernail guard with a finger without damaging 
the wet fingernail polish. This problem was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 
2,546,619 of Turner which teaches a U-shaped frame formed from a single 
strip of flexible material to which a guard member is hinged. When using 
Turner's device, the fingernail is painted with the guard in a vertical 
position, and then the guard is pivoted to a horizontal position overlying 
the fingernail to protect the wet fingernail polish. However, Turner 
sacrificed the simplicity of the unitary fingernail guards of the prior 
art to accomplish his purpose. 
A problem not addressed in the prior art is that of fingernails of various 
lengths and shapes. Ideally, a fingernail guard should be just long enough 
to cover the fingernail to minimize the cumbersomeness of the device. With 
the fingernail guards of the prior art, the shield portion of the devices 
are of fixed length and shape, and must therefore be large enough to 
accommodate the largest of fingernails. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of this invention is to provide a fingernail guard which can be 
engaged with the finger prior to the application of the fingernail polish. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a fingernail guard having a 
removable shield member which can substantially match the shape of a 
particular fingernail. 
Briefly, the invention comprises a main body member which engages a finger 
near the fingernail, and a removable shield member which engages a slot in 
a U-shaped recess provided in the main body member. The main body member 
can be engaged with the finger prior to the application of the fingernail 
polish, and a shield member of appropriate size and length can be inserted 
into the slot of the main body member after the fingernail polish has been 
applied. Preferably, a number of shield members are provided such that 
their shapes can be closely matched to a particular fingernail. 
An advantage of this invention is that the main body member can be engaged 
with the finger prior to the application of the fingernail polish. This 
avoids the problem of damaging the fingernail polish during the process of 
applying the fingernail guard. 
Another advantage of this invention is that the shield member is removable. 
This permits the shield member to be engaged with the main body member 
after the nail polish has been applied and permits shield members of 
various shapes and sizes. 
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will no 
doubt become apparent upon a reading of the following descriptions and a 
study of the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
In FIG. 1, a number of fingernail guard assemblies 10 in accordance with 
the present invention are shown engaged with the fingers of a hand 12. 
Each of the fingernail guard assemblies 10 include a main body member 14 
and a shield member 16. 
Referring generally to FIGS. 2-5, main body member 14 includes a finger 
engaging portion 18 proximate a first end thereof, and a forwardly 
extending portion 20 proximate a second end thereof. The forwardly 
extending portion 20 is provided with a U-shaped recess 22. A peripheral 
slot 24 is provided in forwardly extending portion 20 to engage the edge 
of shield member 16. As best seen in FIG. 2, shield 16 is removably 
engagable with peripheral slot 24. 
Finger engaging portion 18 substantially encircles the finger but is 
provided with an opening 26 near its lower surface. Opening 26 forms the 
finger engaging portion 18 into a split-ring such that the internal 
diameter of the finger engaging portion 18 may be varied to accommodate 
fingers of different sizes. Due to the U-shaped recess 22, the forward 
extending portion 20 forms a pair of projections 28 and 30 which follow 
the contour of a portion of an average fingernail. 
In FIG. 6, the engagement of the fingernail guard assembly 10 with a finger 
F will be discussed in greater detail. Finger engaging portion 18 snugly 
engages finger F near the last joint of the finger. Shield member 16 
(which is engaged with peripheral slot 24) is cantilevered over the nail N 
of the finger to fully cover the nail without touching it. 
In use, the main body members 14 are engaged with the fingers such that 
U-shaped recesses 22 are roughly in alignment with the cuticles of the 
fingernails. Once the fingernails have been painted, a shield member 16 
can be engaged with the peripheral slot 24 of each of the main body 
members 14 to cover and protect the fingernails. 
Referring to FIG. 7, a first shield member 16 and a second shield member 
16' are shown in top plan view. Both shields 16 and 16' are similar in 
configuration, that is, they are both elongated and convex in shape. 
However, shield member 16 is of a first length L, and shield member 16' is 
of a second, greater length L'. The two shield members 16 and 16' 
illustrate the concept that shield members can be of various lengths so as 
to provide a close match with the underlying fingernail. Likewise, the 
widths and shapes of the shield members can vary, as long as they have an 
end which is engagable with slot 24 of main body member 14. By providing 
shields of various sizes and shapes, the awkwardness of wearing the 
fingernail guards can be minimized while still providing protection for 
the fingernail polish as it dries. 
While this invention has been described in terms of a few preferred 
embodiments, it is contemplated that persons reading the preceding 
descriptions and studying the drawing will realize various alterations, 
permutations and modifications thereof. It is therefore intended that the 
following appended claims be interpreted as including all such 
alterations, permutations and modifications as fall within the true spirit 
and scope of the present invention.