Abstract:
A nail designer kit for holding and manipulating artificial fingernails while being polished or decorated comprising a container and a plurality of design sticks on which artificial fingernails are mounted. When separated from the container, each design stick is easily handled and manipulated to facilitate applying nail polish and other decorations to artificial fingernails mounted thereto.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to aids for polishing and decorating artificial fingernails and, more specifically, to a kit for holding and manipulating artificial fingernails while being polished and decorated. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Artificial fingernails are widely used by women to improve the, appearance of their fingernails. With artificial fingernails, a woman is able to easily cover natural fingernails that may be cracked, chipped or uneven, with a set of fingernails of uniformed length that appear both polished and professionally manicured. Typically, artificial fingernails are constructed of a synthetic material that mimics the appearance and feel of natural fingernails, and are secured over a woman&#39;s natural fingernails via an adhesive. 
     Often nail polish, decals or other decorations are applied to artificial fingernails after they have been secured over natural fingernails. Unfortunately, however, once artificial fingernails have been secured in place, applying nail polish or other decorations can be messy, awkward and time-consuming. Nail polish is often spilled or painted onto fingers; applying polish to fingernails on the dominant hand requires use of the non-dominant hand; and time is required to both apply nail polish and to allow the polish to dry. 
     Consequently, a means for decorating artificial fingernails before they are secured in place, is desirable. Such a means would allow a woman to decorate artificial fingernails in advance of their use; to apply nail polish and other decorations with more precision; and to avoid being incapacitated while nails are drying. 
     Although the prior art does not teach such a means, it does teach a variety of aids for applying nail polish to fingernails on a person, and a variety of means for packaging and transferring artificial fingernails. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,162,155, 2,234,657 and 2,262,977 to, respectfully, Calvin, Smaldone and Vasil provide examples in the prior art of aids for applying nail polish to fingernails. These patents teach devices used for stenciling or masking fingernails that allow a user to apply polish to select areas of a fingernail and to avoid applying polish to areas of the fingers near a fingernail. However, while these devices aid in the decoration of a fingernail on a person, they are not useful for decorating a set of artificial fingernails prior to being secure over a person&#39;s own fingernails. 
     Examples in the prior art of devices for transferring artificial fingernails are provided by U.K. Pat. No. GB2,111,431A to Spackman and by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,633,139 and 2,746,460 to, respectfully, Pettey and Jellinek. Each of these patents teaches a carrier sheet on which a set of artificial fingernails is arranged. The artificial fingernails are peeled from the carrier sheet and applied to a user&#39;s own fingernails. Although these devices may be helpful for transferring a set of artificial fingernails to a user&#39;s own nails, the devices do not facilitate holding and manipulating individual artificial fingernails while being polished, nor do they protect polished fingernails prior to application. 
     Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,551 to Bartolucci teaches a kit fabricated by injection molding in which artificial fingernails are attached to a frame via a stem. The artificial fingernails are removed from the kit by breaking the stem. However, once removed from the kit, the artificial fingernail cannot be reattached to it. Hence, as with the devices taught by Spackman, Pettey and Jellinek, this device does not facilitate holding and manipulating individual artificial fingernails while being polished. 
     Consequently, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Therefore, a nail designer kit solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a nail designer kit comprising a container and a plurality of design sticks on which artificial fingernails are mounted. Each stick can be slidably removed from and replaced in the container, and holds up to two artificial fingernails. When removed from the container, each stick can be easily handled and manipulated to facilitate applying nail polish and other decorations to an artificial fingernail mounted thereto. Once the artificial fingernail has been polished, the stick can be returned to the container while the fingernail dries. 
     Accordingly, it is a principle object of the invention to provide a device that allows an individual to easily handle and manipulate artificial fingernails, thereby facilitating polishing of artificial fingernails in a manner that is simple and error free, yet in a manner that results in polished fingernails that appear professionally prepared. Hence, it is a principle object of the invention to allow an individual to save both time and money by adeptly preparing her own artificial fingernails as opposed to having them prepared by a salon professional. 
     It is another object of the invention to allow artificial fingernails to be polished before being affixed to an individual&#39;s own fingernails, thereby allowing the polishing of an individual&#39;s fingernails when most convenient to the individual. 
     It is a further object of the invention to allow for drying of polished artificial fingernails before being affixed to an individual&#39;s own fingernails, thereby allowing an individual to perform normal activities without the worry of marring freshly polished nails. 
     Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nail designer kit according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged-scale perspective view of a design stick from the nail designer kit shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of a nail designer kit shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a nail designer kit according to the present invention. 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative preferred embodiment. 
     FIG. 1 presents an elevational view of a nail designer kit  10  comprised of a container  11  and  16 , an internal wall  13  within the container  11  and  16 , an inner container  14 , and a plurality of designer sticks  20 . 
     The container  11  and  16  is a box constructed of a transparent or semi-transparent material. The container&#39;s lid  11  is attached to its base  16  via two hinges  12 , and pivots open to provide access to the contents of the container  11  and  16 . An internal wall  13  and an inner container  14  are secured to the interior of the container  11  and  16 . 
     The internal wall  13  runs from one side of the container  11  and  16  to one side of the inner container  14 , and design sticks  20  are mounted onto the its top edge. The height of the internal wall  13  is less than that of the container  11  and  16  such that the lid  11  of the container can be closed while design sticks  20  are mounted on the internal wall  13 . 
     The inner container  14  is a box secured to the back, bottom and one side of the container  11  and  16 . The top of the inner container  14  has three openings  15  which are shaped and dimensioned to receive a standard size bottle of fingernail polish. When a bottle of fingernail polish is placed in one of the openings  15 , the bottle is held in place by the edges of the opening  15  with the bottle&#39;s bottom resting on the base of the inner container. 
     FIG. 2 shows a design stick  20 . The design stick  20  is substantially flat and elongated with rounded ends and, like the container, is constructed of a transparent or semi-transparent material. 
     Two mounts  24  are located on the top surface  21  of the design stick  20 , with an artificial fingernail  23  attached to each mount. Artificial fingernails  23  are secured to the mounts  24  either by a fastening means selected from the group consisting of prongs, clips, posts, tabs, vacuum cups, and suction cups; or by an adherent substance selected from the group consisting of waxes, clays, adhesives, cements, glycerins, polymers, sealants and adhesive tapes. 
     A handle  22  is attached to the bottom of the design stick. The handle is formed from an elongated rectangular piece of material and has groove  25  corrugated at one end. The groove  25  is shaped and dimensioned such that the design stick  20  is slidably attached to the internal wall  13  by lowering the corrugated groove  15  onto the top edge of the internal wall  13 . From the corrugated groove  25 , the handle arcs upward to the underside of the design stick, forming a semi-circular gripping area  26 . An individual grips the handle  22  with her index finger and thumb by placing the index finger on the side of the gripping area  26  facing the corrugated groove  25  and the thumb on the opposite side. 
     When gripping the handle  22  with fingers from one hand, an individual is able to apply fingernail polish with the other hand. 
     FIG. 3 shows a top view of the nail designer kit  10  with the lid  11  in an open position. The design sticks  20  are mounted on the internal wall  13  with each design stick  20  having two, artificial fingernails  23  secured to its mounts  24 . The inner container  16 , with three openings  15  for receiving bottles of fingernail polish, is secured to the back and right side of the container  11  and  16 . 
     FIG. 4 presents an alternative embodiment  30  of a nail designer kit according to the present invention. Like the embodiment discussed above, the alternative embodiment  30  includes a container  31  and  36 , and an internal wall  33  within the container, an inner container  34 , and a plurality of designer sticks  20 . However, unlike the embodiment discussed above, the alternative embodiment also includes a drawer  37  with a handle  38 . The drawer  37  allows items related to polishing and decorating artificial fingernails to be stored in the nail designer kit  30 . 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.