Patent Number: 049888838
Section: summary

Cross-reference to related application, assigned to the assignee of the present invention: OPPAWSKY & BURCKHARDT, U.S. Ser. No. 07/378,636, filed July 12, 1989. The invention relates to a fingernail light system for curing photopolymerizable plastics on fingernails, having a housing with a bottom plate, in which housing a support body, with grooves or indentations on its outer contour, is provided for positioning the fingers of the hand to be irradiated, and having at least one irradiation lamp at least partially surrounding the support body in a spaced-apart manner in the irradiation position. The support body is accessible in the irradiation position via an opening in the housing. BACKGROUND A fingernail light system of this kind is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,541, SHOEMAKER/CONAIR. This system has a column-like support arm 5, which can be secured for instance to a tabletop with a clamping screw 7. A housing 3 of circular outer contour is located on the end of this support arm 5. On its underside, that is, the side oriented toward the tabletop or bottom plate of the support arm, the housing 3 has an introduction opening 11 into which a plate-like support body or handle 15, centrally secured on a telescoping shaft 14, is movable and from which it can be removed. An annular irradiation lamp 21, defining a closed circle, is secured in the housing, centered on telescoping shaft 14. The support body or handle 15, which is quite flat, in the form of a plate, has notches or grooves 17 on its outer periphery that serve to position a hand grasping the plate 15. For irradiating the fingernails, the hand grips the periphery of the support body from below, in such a way that the end joints of the fingers rest on the top of the support body, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the patent. In this position, the fingernails are horizontally aligned, and point in the direction of the support arm or shaft 14 located in the center of the plate. Depending on the length of the fingernails, the fingernails extend as far as the support arm 14. The plate 15 grasped in this way is then moved into the housing into an upper position, guided on the support arm 14. The radiation emitted by the irradiation lamp 21, which extends with its axis slightly above the top of the support plate 15, is reflected by the upper region 25 of the housing 3 and an additional reflector 27 onto the fingers and onto the fingernails that are to be cured. Once the irradiation is finished, the plate 15 can be pulled downward back out of the housing again. Another design for a fingernail light system is known from German Utility Model DE-GM No. 85 13 789, NK-OPTIK GmbH. This system has a support plate with a plurality of low-pressure fluorescent tubes (2a-2f) that extend parallel to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing and form a tunnel. Technical Bulletin No. 7070, entitled "LEE UV NAILS", of Lee Pharmaceuticals, in South El Monte, California, published in 1975, describes another light system for curing artificial nail replacements; in its basic concept, it is similar in design to the system of German Utility Model DE-GM No. 85 13 789. In this system, the hand that is to be irradiated is thrust under the light source through a slit in the housing wall. Another system for curing photocuring plastics on fingernails is known from German Utility Model DE-GM No. 86 09 293, Desonic-Kunststoff GmbH. This system is equipped with a plurality of elongated UV light sources, in a particular embodiment being four in number, arranged to form a tunnel; in its structure, this system is identical to the system known from German Utility Model DE-GM No. 85 13 789. The housing of this system can be pivoted upward about a horizontal rear axis 3. Finally, the advertising brochure entitled "TAMI NAIL LIGHT SYSTEM LICHTHARTENDES CEL-SYSTEM FUR DIE FINGERNAGELKOSMETIK" ["TAMI NAIL LIGHT SYSTEM, PHOTOHARDENING GEL SYSTEMS FOR COSMETIC FINGERNAILS"] of the firm of TAMARA KOSMETIK, 8000 Munich, Federal Republic of Germany, shows a light system that in its external design is equivalent to the system of German Utility Model DE-GM No. 86 09 293. The above-discussed systems are required in order to cure what are known as tips, which are placed on short or broken-off fingernails and coated with UV-hardening plastics. For an artificial fingernail, tips up to 5 cm in length are used. The emplaced tip, which ends on top of a natural fingernail, must be coated afterward to equalize the levels of the tip and the nail. In this process, a plastic composition is repeatedly applied and repeatedly cured. Only after the emplaced fingernails have been coated are they shortened to the desired length and, normally, polished. THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention, based on a light system as described above, to provide a system that meets the indicated needs and assures uniform irradiation of all the fingernails of both the left and the right hand, in which the light originating in the irradiation lamp substantially strikes the fingernails to be cured, in which fingernails of great length can also be irradiated, and in which, during the irradiation, a comfortable hand posture is provided that can be maintained even for a relatively long period on the order of half a minute. Briefly, this object is achieved by forming the support body with an approximately cylindrical or frusto-conical outer contour, at least in the vicinity of the grooves. The grooves are in the form of channels that extend substantially in the direction of the axis of the support body, and the axis of the support body forms an angle in the range from 0.degree. to 90.degree. with the direction orthogonal to the bottom plate. Because the fingers of the hand to be irradiated are laid on the outside of this cylindrical or frustoconical support body, the directions orthogonal to the respective fingernails, to be irradiated, are aligned approximately radially to the axis of the support body. Thus, sufficient space is available to position even very long fingernails in such a way that they do not touch any part of the housing or other parts, since they are aligned parallel to the axis. Besides the grooves in the form of elongated channels, which form a large support area for the various fingers, a preferred embodiment has stops for the fingertips, in order to position the various fingers at the correct point on the support body. Preferably, such stops are located on the lower end of the support body, that is, the end toward the bottom plate, so that the fingernails to be irradiated will protrude freely beyond the end of the support body, which may for instance be held by a telescoping rod. Since the support body is accessible via an opening on the top of the housing, the hand to be irradiated can be placed on the support body in an extremely comfortable and relaxed posture. In a simple geometric embodiment of the support body in the form of a cylinder or truncated cone, with an annular irradiation lamp that surrounds the support body, equal spacing of the various fingernails of both the left and the right hand with respect to the irradiation lamp, and hence a uniform curing of the plastics to be polymerized, are achieved. The axis of the support body should either be aligned vertically to the bottom plate or form an angle of a maximum of 90.degree. to the direction orthogonal to the bottom plate; the selection of the angle depends on the height of the table on which the system is placed, among other factors. The preferred angle that the axis of the support body forms with the area normal of the bottom plate is in the range from 0.degree. to 60.degree., so that the hand can be placed onto the support body vertically or obliquely from above. The channels of the support body are symmetrical to a first plane extending through the axis of the support body and in the direction of the arm of a hand to be placed on the support body, so that equal irradiation of the fingernails of a left and right hand placed on the support body is assured. To limit the number of channels required, only one channel is provided for the middle fingers of the left and right hand; this channel extends in the region of the first plane, and thus is located out of sight of the person placing his hand on the support body, on the side of the support body opposite the seated position of that person. The channels for the little fingers of the left and right hand are preferably positioned approximately along the second plane, which extends through the axis of the support body and is vertical to the first plane; that is, the channels are offset from one another by an angle of 180.degree.. The channels for the little fingers, in an advantageous feature of the invention, are located on a raised portion of the support body, in such a way that the finger nails of the little finger are located outside the shadow of the ring finger. This kind of provision may be necessary since the fingernails of the little fingers, in constrast to the fingernails of the thumbs, index fingers, middle fingers and ring fingers, have a slightly twisted alignment and depending on the diameter of the support body may be adequately irradiated only if the positioning channels are located on a raised portion. This means that the support body, seen in cross section, deviates from a circular outer contour and is curved outward at the point where the channels for the little fingers are located. The channels should be distributed over a maximum angle range of 320.degree. to 360.degree. over the circumference of the support body, so that the base of the irradiation lamp, or if an annular irradiation lamp is for instance divided into two arc-shaped lamps, the bases of a plurality of irradiation lamps, can be located in the zone of the remaining angular range of from 40.degree. to 60.degree.. To enable simple and accurate positioning of the hand on the support body, the support body should be movable axially inward and outward. Preferably, the support body is held out of its upper position, that is, its position retracted from the housing, by springs, which are selected such that the weight of the hand placed on the support body is capable of thrusting the support body into the housing. Once the irradiation process is completed, the support body is removed from the housing once again by slightly lifting the hand. To provide additional support for the hand, the periphery of the housing opening can merge with a support on which the forearm of the hand to be irradiated rests. As additional protection against glare, the housing opening can be partly covered by a hinged glare protection shade. An end switch, which is actuated upon lowering of the support body into the housing, can switch the system on and off. For geometric simplicity of the lamp, in particular with lamps having a straight axis that are available on the market, the circle or circular segment, over which the irradiation lamps are to extend, can be approximated by means of 3 to 4 irradiation lamps having a straight-line lamp axis.