Abstract:
An apparatus and method for improving local illumination by a personal care implement, such as tweezers, tongs, pinchers and the like. The apparatus includes a first arm terminating at one end in a first gripping edge; a second arm, coupled to and biased away from said first arm, terminating at one end in a second gripping edge springingly engaging with said first gripping edge; an illumination system directing illumination into a field-of-view in an “ON” mode and said illumination system including an “OFF” mode in which said illumination system is inactive; a magnification system including a lens having a focus; and an illumination boom, coupled to said arms, for positioning said lens and a light source of said illumination system between a stowed position and an operating position, said stowed position engaging said OFF mode and said operating position including a stop to configure said boom and engage said ON mode to include said gripping edges within said field-of-view and at said focus.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The present application is related to and claims benefit of U.S. Application 60/594,940 entitled “Switching Illuminating Tweezers With Magnifier” filed 20 May 2005, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/308,857 entitled “Switching Illuminating Nail Clippers,” filed concurrently that claims benefit of related U.S. Application No. 60/594,937 entitled “Switching Illuminating Nail Clippers,” filed 20 May 2005, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/308,859 entitled “Switching Illuminating Scissors,” filed concurrently that claims benefit of related U.S. Application No. 60/594,938 entitled “Switching Illuminating Scissors,” filed 20 May 2005, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/308,860 entitled “Packaging Arrangement Having Package Feature For Biasing A Switch From An On Mode To An Off Mode,” filed concurrently that claims benefit of related U.S. Application No. 60/594,939 entitled “Packaging Arrangement Having Package Feature For Biasing A Switch From An On Mode To An Off Mode,” filed 20 May 2005 and each related application incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates generally to personal care products, and more specifically to illuminating implements for use by a caregiver when providing personal care to its charge. 
   Personal care products and tools have evolved and been developed for attending to personal hygiene of a human body. The evolution and development of these products and tools has largely been to enhance products for use by an individual in performance of their own personal care. When only a single person is involved, and that person controls the timing, urgency, and manner of performance of the product or tool, different parameters of the product or tool are optimized, created, emphasized and/or implemented. 
   However, when providing personal care for another person, particularly to a very young child or senior adult, the caregiver does not always control the timing, urgency, and manner of performance. Specifically, the caregiver may desire to provide various personal care procedures at times or locations that are not otherwise optimal. One common environmental factor that may not be able to be optimized in such situations is a level of ambient light in the vicinity of the procedure. 
   Besides these concerns, when providing personal care for another person, particularly to a very young child or senior adult, many caregivers prefer to enhance the level of care provided, including greater attention to safety procedures and use of safer tools. This is true even in situations where the caregiver may control some of the timing, urgency, and manner of performance, such as to increase a general level of ambient light. For this example, the caregiver may desire to precisely increase a level of illumination for use of personal care tool when a very young child or senior adult is involved. 
   Beyond these concerns, factors for acceptability and adoption of personal care procedures include ease of use, convenience, efficiency, and effectiveness. Portable illumination components (e.g., flashlights) have existed separate and distinct from tools so conventional systems either require coordination of the light source and a tool, or various forms of integration have been developed to mate a light to a tool. Some of the integration are simple physical connections that keep the tool and the light source together while others actually try to achieve a more synergistic combination. Maintaining ease of use, convenience, efficiency, and effectiveness becomes more challenging as multiple diverse functions are merged together. In the example of personal care applied to a young child or senior adult, enabling single-handed use and operation while providing the multiple diverse functions becomes increasingly difficult yet even more challenging. A caregiver often must use one hand for the tool and the other to interact with the young child or senior adult. 
   It should not be missed that improvements to procedures and tools that aid a care giver when attending to young children and senior adults may in many cases also assist in self-administration and self-care. Thus, it is a consideration that improvements to procedures and tools for administration to others not degrade or adversely affect self-administration. 
   One consequence of these factors is that some personal care products and tools are sometimes equipped with lights. Such conventional personal care products and tools have ON-OFF switches to control the light source independent from operation. The light for these devices is thus not always active and useful when the user operates the device. In some cases, operation of the device is delayed or interrupted while the light is manually illuminated. In other cases, the light is left on beyond the time of use because the switch was not manually returned to the off position, decreasing the longtime usefulness of the product or tool. Caregivers would prefer to have a product or tool that does not delay or interrupt their use, and one that does not have a premature end to its anticipated usefulness. 
   Today&#39;s consumer is inundated with offers to sell many different products and services, some of which may actually be of interest to the potential consumer. In some instances, interactive packaging (also sometimes referred to as “Try Me” packaging) may enhance an appeal of a product. For such products, it is advantageous to provide appropriate “Try Me” packaging. However, the state of the art does not permit a priori knowledge as to which products would be benefited from being packaged in an interactive format. Developing a superior product does not always equate with increased sales, at least until the market knows and understands the new product. There are many consumer products that incorporate microprocessors and microcontrollers that may include “Try Me” routines or programs that effectively address some of the concerns of “Try Me” packaging. However, for articles of manufacture that do not include electronic controllers, designing a product and its packaging to implement “Try Me” retailing is more challenging. Some conventional products have developed use of momentary switches or special multi-function switches so that a “continuous on” mode of the switch may be disabled by the packaging while providing access to an “On while pressed” mode of the switch. 
   What is needed are personal care products, tools, and procedures that address and overcome the deficiencies of the current products and tools; specifically what is needed are products, tools, and procedures for simply and efficiently increasing a level of illumination at the operational point of personal care products, tools, and procedures. Additionally, designing such products, tools, and procedures so that they include features or functions that may be emphasized in suitable interactive packaging is also beneficial. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Disclosed is an apparatus and method for improving local illumination by a personal care implement, such as tweezers, tongs, pinchers and the like. The apparatus includes a first arm terminating at one end in a first gripping edge; a second arm, coupled to and biased away from said first arm, terminating at one end in a second gripping edge springingly engaging with said first gripping edge; an illumination system directing illumination into a field-of-view in an “ON” mode and said illumination system including an “OFF” mode in which said illumination system is inactive; a magnification system including a lens having a focus; and an illumination boom, coupled to said arms, for positioning said lens and a light source of said illumination system between a stowed position and an operating position, said stowed position engaging said OFF mode and said operating position including a stop to configure said boom and engage said ON mode to include said gripping edges within said field-of-view and at said focus. 
   Preferred embodiments of the present invention include personal care products, tools, and procedures that address and overcome the deficiencies of the current products and tools; specifically products, tools, and procedures that simply and efficiently increase a level of illumination at the operational point of personal care products, tools, and procedures. Additionally, the preferred embodiments include features or functions that may be emphasized in suitable interactive packaging. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a lateral view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention for an illuminating tweezers in a closed configuration; 
       FIG. 2  is a lateral view of the illuminating tweezers of  FIG. 1  in an open mode with an illumination boom in an operational mode; and 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the illuminating tweezers shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides an apparatus and method for an illuminating tweezing implement as well as implementation of a design paradigm for enabling “Try Me” retail packaging with a function controlled by physical manipulation of a handle or lever included as part of the product. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein. 
     FIG. 1  is a lateral view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention for an illuminating tweezers  100  in a closed configuration. Tweezers  100  includes a first plate  105  and a second plate  110  coupled together at one fixed end and having pincers appropriate for the specific application/implementation deployed at another end of the plates. The plates thus include cooperating pincher edges, with plate  105  and plate  110  conventionally interconnected to produce a tweezing implement. This implement, as shown, is configured for generic tweezing, such as for removal of splinters or other small objects but as well-known, other configurations for the plates and pinchers may be adapted to grasp and hold other objects. 
   Tweezers  100  include, in addition to the components of the tweezing implement, an illumination subsystem that includes a housing  150  supporting an illumination boom  155  and a magnifier  158 , housing  150  moveably (e.g., rotationally) coupled to the fixed ends of plate  105  and plate  110 . Housing  150  contains a battery  160  and a switch  165  for controlling an illumination source  170  (such as a white LED) and is positioned between a back end of plate  105  and plate  110 . In the closed configuration shown in  FIG. 1 , tweezers  100  has illumination boom  155  folded against plate  105  and plate  110  in a stowed position. 
     FIG. 2  is a lateral view of the illuminating tweezers of  FIG. 1  in an open mode with illumination boom  155  rotated into an operational position. In the open mode, tweezers  100  operate in conventional fashion in which a user may springingly engage and disengage cooperating pinching edges disposed on ends of plate  105  and plate  110 . External lateral portions of the plates provide for grips so that the pinching edges are easily manipulated by squeezing and relaxing the plates relative to each other. In the preferred embodiments, the grips are adapted to enhance the tweezing experience, which may include widening, lengthening, conforming, and other modifications to the grip dimensions, as well as material selection (e.g., cushioning) to enhance operation of the tweezing subsystem. 
   Engaging the operational mode of illumination boom  155  exposes illumination source  170  and positions source  170  at a position between a user and the pinching edges to illuminate a field-of-view that includes the pinching edges, some appropriate radius around the pinching edges, and within a field-of-view of magnifier  158 . In the preferred embodiment, source  170  is powered by battery  160  and an ON/OFF status of source  170  is controlled by switch  165 . Switch  165  is coupled to illumination boom  155  so movement of boom  155  between the operational mode and the stowed mode controls switch operation. 
   As shown in this preferred embodiment, boom  155  rotates to the operational position when moving between the stowed and the operation modes and switch  165  is coupled to a pivot point so the rotation controls operation of switch  165 . In the most preferred embodiment, as explained below, the configuration of switch  165  in relation to ON/OFF switching responsive to rotation is established so that source  170  is off except for the last few degrees (e.g., about five degrees) of rotation, though implementations and embodiments may vary. 
   A threshold for determining the ON/OFF responsiveness of switch  165  varies in different embodiments and implementations, however the preferred embodiment more easily permits use of a package-enhancing features during marketing, such as a “Try Me” package. Thus the features of incorporating switch  165  into tweezers  100  in a manner that source  170  is responsive to operational deployment and establishing thresholds for ON/OFF responsiveness so that a desired feature (in this case illumination) is enabled during a small end-portion of boom-deploying rotation, combines to produce in this implementation characteristics for tweezers  100  that enable consumer-level retail “Try Me” packaging. (Such as, for example, providing packaging that lightly biases illumination boom  155  into a rotational position close to the threshold, but with source  170  inactive.) The packaging, in permitting a prospective customer to move boom  155  past the threshold to activate source  170  interactively presents the illumination feature, but returns source  170  to the inactive status when the prospective customer is done interacting with the packaging. Providing the boom close to the threshold, near the extreme end of range of movement, and using a lever arm, permits the biasing mechanism in the packaging to be implemented efficiently and inexpensively. For example, foam may be adhered to appropriate portions of a package in contact with the actuating handle. Other biasing systems, e.g., metal springs and the like, may also be used. This configuration permits light force, short distance biasing systems to be used that are often quite simple, effective, virtually error-free, and inexpensive. 
     FIG. 3  is a top view of illuminating tweezers  100  shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 3  illustrates (functionally—not the actual path) an electrically conductive path  305  that forms an electrical circuit for battery  160 , switch  165  and source  170 . Current in this electrical circuit is controlled by switch  165 , and switch  165  is controlled in turn by a positional rotation of illumination boom  155 . 
   In operation, a user opens tweezers  100  by rotating boom  155  to permit tweezing operations. Rotating boom  155  from the stowed position to the operational position provides illumination from source  170  to flood the pinching edges and an appropriate distance therearound, with magnifier  158  disposed in housing  150  near source  170  so that the illuminated pinching edges are within focus. Switch  165 , sometime during this rotation of boom  155  as determined by design considerations specific to an embodiment and implementation, closes conductive path  305  to cause battery  160  to produce an electrical potential across source  170  so that source  170  illuminates the tweezing zone. When tweezing is complete, or illumination is no longer needed or desired in the tweezing zone, the user rotates boom  155  from the operational mode to the stowed mode, opening path  305  and extinguishing source  170 . When boom  155  is in the stowed mode, boom  155  and the plates protect source  170  and help to keep it clean and undamaged. 
   Other variations and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, some of these variations and modifications are described above, Other variations and modifications include changes to battery location and a location/operation of boom  155 . Boom  155  variations may include differences in stowage/operational locations (e.g., illuminating from a location near a rear of the housing and the like), as well as a manner of transitioning between these modes besides or in addition to rotating (e.g., sliding, shifting, expanding, traversing, and the like). Further modifications include placement of the illumination source and the magnifier on the boom. Different configurations may provided different orientations and configurations and arrangements of these components, including a placement and ordering on the boom. Additional modifications include triggering the illumination subsystem based upon squeezing/releasing the plates. Different switches and triggering systems may be employed to provide for the illumination subsystem to be responsive to operational motion of the tweezers. 
   In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts, and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention. 
   Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “a specific embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus, respective appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in a specific embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the present invention may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other embodiments. It is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
   It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted in the drawings/figures may also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention to implement a program or code that may be stored in a machine-readable medium or transmitted using a carrier wave to permit a computer to perform any of the methods described above. 
   Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/Figures should be considered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwise specifically noted. Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein is generally intended to mean “and/or” unless otherwise indicated. Combinations of components or steps will also be considered as being noted, where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear. 
   As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
   The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, these modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
   Thus, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in following claims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. 
   The above-described arrangements of apparatus and methods are merely illustrative of applications of the principles of this invention and many other embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. 
   These and other novel aspects of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the drawings and the remaining portions of the specification. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined solely by the appended claims.