Patent Publication Number: US-8118039-B2

Title: Artificial nail sets and manufacturing methods thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0026208, filed on Mar. 27, 2009, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to artificial nail sets adapted to attach artificial nails to natural nails. More specifically, the present invention relates to artificial nail sets that protect artificial nails susceptible to damage even by a weak shock, allow artificial nails to be easily attached to natural nails while preventing the lateral sides of artificial nails from being detached from natural nails, use an auxiliary member made of a material not adherent to artificial nails and glue, and have a circular arc shape. The present invention also relates to methods for manufacturing the artificial nail sets. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Two nail care methods have been widely used for aesthetic purposes. The first method is to paint patterns or colors on natural nails using manicure or apply manicure to natural nails. The second method is to attach artificial nails to natural nails. 
     Artificial nails are generally used to improve the aesthetic appearance of fingers and/or toes and to replace lost or damaged natural nails. Typically, artificial nails are used to protect weak and fragile natural nails from damage and to obtain desired length and/or shape of natural nails. 
     With the recent development of beauty industry, artificial nails have drawn a great deal of attention and interest. Healthy and neat nails are recognized as essential aesthetic elements to make women more feminine and beautiful. 
     Advances in modern technology have made it possible to produce much smaller artificial nails in thickness. In actuality, thin artificial nails play a role in protecting natural nails from damage without causing inconvenience to wearers. 
     Thin artificial nails manufactured through several processes are likely to be deformed (e.g., folded or distorted) by a weak shock during subsequent packaging and transport, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In severe cases, thin artificial nails may be damaged, such as broken or scratched. 
     Conventional artificial nails are directly attached to user&#39;s natural nails for themselves or with the help of professional beauty artists without using any device. However, fingerprints and other impurities may be left on artificial nails, causing dirty or aesthetically unpleasant appearance. Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , after a thin artificial nail  120  is attached to a natural nail, the lateral sides of the artificial nail  120  are detached from the natural nail, which leads to shortened service life and poor appearance of the artificial nail. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide artificial nail sets that can be used to easily attach thin artificial nails to user&#39;s natural nails and prevent the lateral sides of artificial nails from being detached from user&#39;s natural nails while maintaining the original shape of the artificial nails susceptible to embrittlement even by a weak shock. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide methods for manufacturing the artificial nail sets. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an artificial nail set which includes an artificial nail having a connecting part formed at one side thereof and an auxiliary member having a coupling portion formed at one side thereof and surrounding the outer surface of the artificial nail wherein the auxiliary member is not adherent to the artificial nail and the connecting part of the artificial nail is coupled to the coupling portion of the auxiliary member. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an artificial nail set which includes an artificial nail having a protrusion formed on the outer surface thereof and an auxiliary member having an insertion recess formed on the inner surface thereof and surrounding the outer surface of the artificial nail wherein the auxiliary member is not adherent to the artificial nail and the protrusion of the artificial nail is fitted into the insertion recess of the auxiliary member. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an artificial nail set, the method including: producing an auxiliary member having a coupling portion and an artificial nail having a connecting part separately by injection molding; and coupling the connecting part of the artificial nail to the coupling portion of the auxiliary member such that the auxiliary member surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail. 
     According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an artificial nail set, the method including producing an artificial nail having a connecting part and an auxiliary member having a coupling portion simultaneously by injection molding such that the auxiliary member surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an artificial nail after transport without using any auxiliary member; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an artificial nail after being attached to a user&#39;s nail without using any auxiliary member; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of an artificial nail set according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the artificial nail set of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  are exploded perspective views illustrating artificial nail sets according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  illustrates plan views of several modifications of the artificial nail set of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The same constitutions of the present invention as the prior art will now be explained with reference to the prior art, and further detailed explanation thereof is omitted herein. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of an artificial nail set according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the artificial nail set of  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 4 , and  FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  are exploded perspective views illustrating artificial nail sets according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the artificial nail set  100  includes an auxiliary member  110  and an artificial nail  120 . A protective film  112  may be formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary member  110  to protect the artificial nail  120  from damage. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the auxiliary member  110  not adherent to the artificial nail  120  surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail  120  having a small thickness to protect the artificial nail  120  from damage. That is, the auxiliary member  110  acts as a protective film for the artificial nail  120 . This constitution permits the transportation of the artificial nail set  100  without giving any damage to the original shape of the artificial nail  120 . Examples of the artificial nail  120  include typical nails like full cover nails and tip nails that are used in the art. 
     The expression ‘the auxiliary member  110  is not adherent to the artificial nail  120 ’ as used herein means that the auxiliary member  110  is in close contact with but not bonded to the artificial nail  120 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . That is, the auxiliary member  110  is separable from the artificial nail  120 . The expression ‘the auxiliary member  110  surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail  120 ’ means that the auxiliary member  110  having a larger size surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail  120  having a smaller size to protect the artificial nail  120  from damage. 
     The auxiliary member  110  may have a coupling portion  111  at one side thereof and the artificial nail  120  may have a connecting part  121  at one side thereof. So long as the connecting part  121  is connected to the artificial nail  120  and is coupled to the coupling portion  111 , the connecting part  121  does not require any particular shape. Preferably, the connecting part  121  is in the shape of a bar. 
     The coupling portion  111  is adapted to couple to the connecting part  121 . The coupling portion  111  may have a groove into which the connecting part  121  is fitted, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Further, the coupling portion  111  may have an insertion recess  114  formed on the inner surface thereof and the connecting part  121  may have a protrusion  123  on the outer surface thereof, as illustrated in  FIG. 6   a . In the latter case, the protrusion  123  is fitted into the insertion recess  114  to couple the connecting part  121  to the coupling portion  111 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6   b , the artificial nail  120  may have a protrusion  123  formed on the outer surface of the artificial nail  120  and the auxiliary member  110  may have an insertion recess  114 , whose shape corresponds to the shape of the protrusion  123 , formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary member  120 , thus avoiding the need to form the connection portion  121  and the coupling portion  111  illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 6   a . The protrusion  123  can be fitted into the insertion recess  114  to couple the artificial nail  120  to the auxiliary member  110 . 
     In the case where a tip nail or a wrap nail as the artificial nail  120  is attached to the end portion of a user&#39;s nail, it is difficult for the user to see where the distal end of the user&#39;s nail is. To overcome this difficulty, the artificial nail set  100  includes stoppers  113  protruding from the inner surface of the auxiliary member  110  to allow a user to easily see the distal end of the user&#39;s nail. Specifically, the stoppers  113  are formed in positions of the auxiliary member  110  where the coupling portion  111  is formed. That is, the stoppers  113  are formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary member  110  surrounding the outer surface of the artificial nail  120 . 
     The auxiliary member  110  may be made of any suitable material that is not adherent to glue applied to the artificial nail  120  and is not chemically bonded to the artificial nail  120  during double injection molding. Preferably, the auxiliary member  110  is made of a material selected from polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyamide, and polyacetal (polyoxymethylene (POM)). The artificial nail  120  may be made of any material that is commonly used in the art. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is preferred as a material for the artificial nail  120 . 
     The auxiliary member  110  may be transparent or slightly opaque so that the user can visually see the physical states (e.g., size, shape, color and preservation) of the artificial nail  120 . 
     The auxiliary member  110  may have a circular arc shape. Specifically, the side of the auxiliary member  110  at which the coupling portion  111  is formed and the opposite side thereof are convex upward with the same curvature. 
     The artificial nail  120  may also have a circular arc shape. Specifically, the side of the artificial nail  120  at which the connecting part  121  is formed and the opposite side thereof are convex upward with the same curvature. The coupling portion  111  may also have a circular arc shape so as to be convex upward with the same curvature as the auxiliary member  110 . Alternatively, the coupling portion  111  may be flat. 
     Both sides of the auxiliary member  110  in the shape of a circular arc have uniform thicknesses. With these dimensions, a force is uniformly distributed throughout the auxiliary member  110 . Particularly, the force is strongly applied to both sides of the auxiliary member  110  to allow a user to easily attach the artificial nail  120  to the user&#39;s nail and to prevent both sides of the artificial nail  120  from being detached from both sides of the user&#39;s nail. 
     Although the auxiliary member  110  is not adherent to the artificial nail  120 , the coupling between the coupling portion  111  of the auxiliary member  110  and the connecting part  121  of the artificial nail  120  allows the auxiliary member  110  to surround the outer surface of the artificial nail  120  and prevents the artificial nail  120  from escaping from the auxiliary member  110 . 
     The artificial nail  120  is attached to a user&#39;s nail in accordance with the following procedure. First, the artificial nail  120  positioned on the inner surface of the auxiliary member  110  is attached to the user&#39;s nail. Then, the connecting portion between the artificial nail  120  and the connecting part  121  is cut by using a suitable cutting tool, such as scissors or a nail clipper. The connecting part  121  may be forcibly twisted by hand. As a result of the cutting or twisting, the artificial nail  120  and the auxiliary member  110  are easily separated from each other, leaving only the artificial nail  120  on the user&#39;s nail. 
     In the case of the artificial nail set  100  in which the artificial nail  120  is directly coupled to the auxiliary member  110  without the connecting part  121 , after the artificial nail  120  positioned on the inner surface of the auxiliary member  110  is attached to a user&#39;s nail, a portion of the protrusion  123  is cut by using a suitable cutting tool, such as scissors or a nail clipper, to attach only the artificial nail  120  to the user&#39;s nail. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates plan views of several modifications of the artificial nail set  100 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the shape of the artificial nail set  100  is not particularly limited so long as the auxiliary member  110  surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail  120 . The shape of the artificial nail set  100  may be slightly varied depending on the kind of the artificial nail  120  or the shape of the coupling portion  111 . 
     The modified artificial nail sets  100  of  FIGS. 7   a  ( 7   d ),  7   b  ( 7   e ) and  7   c  ( 7   f ) use full cover nails, long tip nails and short tip nails as artificial nails, respectively. The artificial nail sets  100  of  FIGS. 7   a  and  7   d  use no protective film  112 , unlike the other artificial nail sets. Stoppers  113  are provided in the artificial nail sets  100  of  FIGS. 7   b,    7   c ,  7   e  and  7   f  to assist users in seeing the distal ends of their nails more easily. 
     Each of the artificial nails  120  may have a connecting part  121  in the form of a bar at one side thereof, as illustrated in  FIGS. 7   a ,  7   b  and  7   c.    
     The shape of the auxiliary members  110  is not essentially limited. The auxiliary members  110  may have a partially rectangular shape, as illustrated in FIGS.  7   a ,  7   b  and  7   c , or a substantially rectangular shape, as illustrated in  FIGS. 7   d ,  7   e  and  7   f.    
     The artificial nails  120  can be made in different sizes. A size label  22  may be attached to each of the coupling portions  111  and the connecting parts  121  to display the size of the artificial nail  120 , so that a user can choose a suitable size of the artificial nail  120  in view of the size of the user&#39;s nail. 
     Hereinafter, methods for manufacturing the artificial nail set  100  of  FIG. 3  or  6   a  will be explained. 
     Single injection molding and double injection molding are suitable processes for the manufacture of the artificial nail set  100 . According to the single molding process, the auxiliary member  110  and the artificial nail  120  are produced separately and are coupled to each other. Specifically, the method of the present invention based on the single injection molding process includes producing a transparent or opaque auxiliary member  110  having a coupling portion  111  formed at one side thereof by injection molding, producing an artificial nail  120  having a connecting part  121  formed at one side thereof by injection molding, and coupling to the connecting part  121  of the artificial nail  120  to the coupling portion  111  of the auxiliary member  110  to allow the auxiliary member  110  to surround the outer surface of the artificial nail  120 . 
     The auxiliary member  110  and the artificial nail  120  may be produced simultaneously by double injection molding. Specifically, the method of the present invention based on the double injection molding process includes producing an artificial nail  120  having a connecting part  121  formed at one side thereof and a transparent or opaque auxiliary member  110  having a coupling portion  111  formed at one side thereof simultaneously by injection molding such that the auxiliary member  110  surrounds the outer surface of the artificial nail  120 . 
     The coupling portion  111  of the auxiliary member and the connecting part  121  of the artificial nail are not bonded to each other, but can be physically coupled to each other. The auxiliary member  110  and the artificial nail  120  may be coupled to each other in various ways, depending on the shape of the connecting part  121 . Specifically, the connecting part  121  may be fitted into the groove of the coupling portion  111  ( FIG. 3 ) or the connecting part  121  may be coupled to the coupling portion  111  by fitting the protrusion  123  of the connecting part  121  into the insertion recess  114 , whose shape corresponds to the shape of the protrusion  123 , of the coupling portion  111  ( FIG. 6   a ). 
     Alternatively, as illustrated in  FIG. 6   b , the protrusion  123  formed on the outer surface of the artificial nail  120  can be fitted into the insertion recess  114 , whose shape corresponds to the shape of the protrusion  123 , formed on the inner surface of the auxiliary member  110  to directly couple the artificial nail  120  to the auxiliary member  110 . 
     The auxiliary member  110  is not bonded to the artificial nail  120  because the auxiliary member  110  and the artificial nail  120  are made of different materials not adherent to each other. In the foregoing embodiments, the connecting part  121  of the artificial nail  120  may be coupled to the coupling portion  111  of the auxiliary member  110  to couple the artificial nail  120  to the auxiliary member  110 , or the artificial nail  120  may be directly coupled to the auxiliary member  110 . This coupling structure prevents the artificial nail  120  from escaping from the auxiliary member  120  during transport of the artificial nail set  110 . 
     Any connecting structure may be adopted to connect the artificial nail  120  and the auxiliary member  110  without limitation so long as the artificial nail  120  does not escape from the auxiliary member  110 . 
     As is apparent from the above description, the artificial nail sets and the methods according to the present invention have the following advantageous effects. 
     First, the use of the auxiliary member can protect the thin artificial nail from damage during transport or by a shock while maintaining the natural shape of the artificial nail. 
     Further, the auxiliary member is made of a transparent or slightly opaque material so that a user can visually see the physical states (e.g., size, shape, color and preservation) of the artificial nail. 
     Further, the artificial nail can be made in different sizes and its size can displayed to allow a user to choose a suitable size of the artificial nail in view of the size of the user&#39;s nail. 
     Further, a force applied to the lateral sides of the auxiliary member can prevent the lateral sides of the artificial nail from being detached from a user&#39;s nail. 
     The artificial nail, to which glue is applied, can be easily attached to a user&#39;s nail without leaving impurities thereon. In contrast, according to the prior art, a beauty artist attaches an artificial nail, to which glue is applied, to a user&#39;s nail without using any instrument, leaving impurities, such as fingerprints of the artist, on the artificial nail. 
     Further, the stoppers allow a user to easily see the distal end of the user&#39;s nail, so that the user can accurately position the artificial nail at the distal end of the user&#39;s nail. 
     The artificial nail sets of the present invention are applicable to all kinds of nails, particularly, are useful in attaching artificial nails to the end portions of natural nails. 
     Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to its exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.