Patent Publication Number: US-6990984-B2

Title: Hand held nail polish removal tool

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a grooming device. It relates more particularly to a hand held tool for the removal of nail polish from finger and toe nails. 
   The removal of nail polish is a tedious task. The process usually involves wetting a pad or cotton swab with a volatile solvent and rubbing the coating repeatedly with the pad or swab until the polish is removed. The procedure is also fairly messy because the nail polish becomes soft and finds it way into crevices in the cuticle. Very often the solvent must be reapplied to the pad or swab and more than one swab must be used in order to remove the polish completely from the nail. This may take a good hour to completely clean a set of nails manually during which time one is exposed to the toxic fumes and annoying smell of the solvent. 
   There have been attempts to make the nail cleaning process more efficient. For example, there are devices that enable one to bathe all of the nails in a polish removing solution in order to facilitate the rubbing away of the polish. We are also aware of devices that brush the nails while they are immersed in a solvent in order to remove the polish. However, these devices take up space, they are prone to spilling, they require the use of an excessive amount of solvent and they are somewhat hazardous to use in confined spaces because of the toxic fumes given off by the solvent. 
   Also, when such devices are used to remove of polish from toe nails, some people find it difficult to bend down and scrub the softened polish from the toe nails. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a hand held tool to facilitate the removal of polish from finger and toe nails. 
   Another object of the invention is to provide a finger and toe nail-cleaning device in the nature of an electrical tool which relies on a moving pad with or without a solvent to remove the polish. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide a nail polish removal tool which is easy to use even by aged and infirm individuals. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide such a tool which increases the reach of the user while cleaning the nails. 
   Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter. 
   The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. 
   Briefly, my nail polish removal tool is a small compact power tool having a main body leading to a narrow neck terminated by a small head which may be rapidly moved or vibrated by an electrically driven vibrator inside the body. The head is normally covered by a cover member in the nature of a scouring pad. When the tool is in use, the cover member thereon is placed against the surface of a finger or toe nail with the result that the rubbing action of the cover member abrades away any polish or other covering on the nail. The surface of the cover member is such that the elements of that vibrating surface are able to penetrate into cracks and crevices enabling the tool to clean even around the cuticle. 
   Preferably, the tool is used with a polish removing agent or solvent. As we shall see, the solvent may be applied externally to the cover member or incorporated into the cover member itself. In an especially preferred embodiment, the tool may contain a supply of solvent which is delivered under operator control to the cover member via the vibrating tool head. The combination of the vibrating cover member and solvent is particularly effective in removing multiple coatings of polish from finger and toe nails. 
   As will become apparent, the tool described herein is easy to use and is configured so that it extends the user&#39;s reach so that it makes the removal of polish from toe nails much easier for those who have difficulty bending over. The tool is easily adaptable for occasional home use or for intensive use in a salon, clinic, hospital or the like where time is of the essence. Indeed, the tool should greatly reduce the overall time and effort spent on removing polish and other coverings from finger and toe nails. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an elevational view with parts broken away showing an automatic nail polish removal tool incorporating the invention and used in conjunction with a first type of cover member; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded side elevational view, with parts broken away, of the tool equipped with a second type of cover member; 
       FIG. 3  is a similar view of a third type of cover member which may be used with the  FIG. 1  tool, and 
       FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 1  of a second tool embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a battery operated nail polish removal tool shown generally at  10  is shown partially seated in a recharging stand  12  having a vertical shaft or receptacle  14  for receiving the lower end of tool  10 . A pair of contacts  16   a  and  16   b  at the bottom of receptacle  14  are connected by wires  18   a  and  18   b  extending along a passage  22  in stand  12 . Wires  18   a  and  18   b  are connected to a standard AC/DC converter  24  which, when plugged into a standard AC outlet, delivers DC power, e.g. 12 volts, to contacts  16   a  and  16   b.  When tool  10  is fully seated in receptacle  14 , battery recharging power may be delivered to the tool. 
   Still referring to  FIG. 1 , tool  10  comprises a hollow housing  26  made of a suitable impact-resistant, electrically insulating plastic material such as high density polyethylene, polypropylene or the like. Housing  26  has a generally cylindrically main body  26   a  which transitions at a shoulder portion  26   b  to an elongated smaller diameter tubular neck portion  26   c.  A generally discoid hollow head  28  having a circumfrential groove  28   a  is mounted on its axis to the free end of neck portion  26   c.  Preferably neck portion  26   c  is curved and head  28  is angled relative to housing  26  such that when one holds the tool  10  at housing body  26   a,  the working face or surface  28   b  of head  28  may be placed flush against the surface of a finger or toe nail. While the head surface  28   b  is shown as being flat, it may be curved to conform more to the contour of a nail. For the same reason, surface  28   b  may be elliptical instead of round as shown. In any event, the illustrated head  28  on tool  10  is hollow and its surface  28   b  is provided with a multiplicity of tiny through holes  32  which are distributed over that surface. 
   Still referring to  FIG. 1 , tool  10  includes a relatively large container  34  which is situated in housing body  26   a.  Container  34  may be filled with a conventional nail polish solvent via a fill inlet  34   a  extending through the side wall of housing body  26   a.  Inlet  34   a  may be closed by a cap  36 . Alternatively, container  34  may be in the form of a replaceable cartridge which may be installed via a suitable door (not shown) in the wall of housing portion  26   a.    
   Container  34  includes an integral piston pump  38  at the top of the container which pump may be of a conventional design. The illustrated pump includes a spring-loaded piston  38   a  which when retracted draws solvent from container  34  via a first check valve  39  into piston chamber  38   b.  When the piston  38   a  is extended, the fluid in the chamber  38   b  is delivered via a second check valve  40  to a tube  41  which leads from pump  38  to the interior of head  28 . Piston  38   a  is moved to its extended position in opposition to the spring bias by a user pressing on a button  42  in the side of housing body  26   a.  Once the head  28  is primed with solvent, each additional push of button  42  results in solvent exiting the head  28  via holes  32 . Preferably, the holes of  32  are small enough and their number is small enough so that the head will remain primed with solvent for a relatively long time between uses and solvent will not leak from head  28  when the tool is laid down on its side. 
   When tool  10  is being used in a salon or the like, the cap  36  may be removed and the inlet  34   a  connected to a flexible conduit  43  shown in phantom in FIG.  1  and extending to a large volume solvent source (not shown). If container is a cartridge as described above, it may be charged with a gas to expel the solvent through the tube  41  when a valve button is depressed. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , tool  10  also includes an electric motor-driven vibrator  44  which is situated in the housing body  26   a  above pump  38 . The vibrator  44  may be of the type used in conventional electric toothbrushes and arranged so that it vibrates the neck portion  26   c  and/or the head  28  in the same manner as the necks and heads of standard electric toothbrushes. Vibrator  44  receives its power from a rechargeable battery  46  located in housing body  26   a  below container  34 . Battery  46  has a contact  46   a  connected by a wire  48   a  to vibrator  44 . A second battery contact  46   b  is connected to the vibrator by a wire  48   b  which is diverted on its way to vibrator  44  to a switch  52  mounted in the wall of housing body  26   a  adjacent to button  42 . The switch has an actuator  52   a  which projects through the wall of housing body  26 . When depressed, actuator  52   a  closes the switch so the power from battery  46  is delivered to vibrator  44  with the result that head  28  vibrates rapidly more or less in the plane of its surface  28   b.    
   Battery contacts  46   a  and  46   b  are also connected to external contacts  56   a  and  56   b,  respectively, mounted in a removable bottom wall  26   d  of housing  26 . When the tool  10  is fully seated in the receptacle  14  of recharge stand  12 , the two contacts  56   a  and  56   b  connect to the stand contacts,  16   a,    16   b  respectively so that DC power from the converter  24  will be delivered to battery  46 . 
   When tool  10  is in use, its head  28  is usually covered by an abrasive cover member shown generally at  58  in FIG.  1 . Cover member  58  should be shaped to conform to the shape of head  28 . It includes a generally flat porous rubbing surface  58   a  which is preferably of a woven nylon material similar to a conventional scouring pad. Cover member  58  also includes a skirt  58   b  which extends from the edge of surface  58   a  and is adapted to engage around head  28 . Skirt  58   b  is provided with an internal rib  58   c  which can engage in groove  28   a  of head  28  to secure the cover member to the head so that surface  58   a  overlies the openings  32  in the head. Alternatively, an elastic may be hemmed into the edge of skirt  58   b  and adapted to engage around the head  28 . 
   Prior to using tool  10 , the head  28  is primed with solvent by repeatedly depressing button  42  until solvent issues from holes  32  and penetrates the surface  58   a  of cover member  58 . To help maintain the surface  58   a  in a wetted condition, a thin layer of open cell foam material may be provided on the inside of surface  58   a  as is shown at  58   d  in FIG.  1 . Once the head  28  is primed with solvent, the tool  10  may be manipulated to position the cover member  58  against the nail to be cleaned. Subsequent depression of switch actuator  52   a  energizes vibrator  44  causing head  28  and the cover member  58  thereon to vibrate rapidly. This rapid vibration works the solvent present at the cover member surface  58   a  into the nail polish layer thereby softening that layer and allowing it to be abraded away by surface  58   a,  elements of which are able to penetrate into depressions and crevices at the nail cuticle. Resultantly, tool  10  allows the nail to be cleaned thoroughly in a minimum amount of time. 
     FIG. 2  shows generally at  62  a somewhat different cover member which may be used with a tool such as tool  10 . Like cover member  58 , cover member  62  has a perforate scouring or abrasive surface  62   a  and a skirt  62   b  arranged to engage around a grooved tool head  28 ′. In addition, however, the cover member  62  contains a supply of solvent gel  64  backing up the surface  62   a.  When the cover member is fitted on head  28 ′, the gel layer  64  is engaged by the working surface of head  28 ′. The cover member may be held in place on head  28 ′ by an O-ring  66  which presses the skirt  62   b  into the circumfrential groove in the head  28 ′. Of course, in lieu of O-ring  66 , the cover member  62  may be provided with an internal rib similar to rib  58   c  in FIG.  1 . 
   When using my tool with the cover member  62 , the pressure of the tool head  28 ′ against the nail forces the solvent gel  64  through tiny holes  68  in the cleaning member surface  62   a  so that that surface and the nail which it contacts are wetted with solvent. Resultantly when head  28 ′ is vibrated, nail polish is removed in the same efficient manner described above in connection with FIG.  1 . Also, since the tool itself is not delivering solvent, head  28 ′ may be solid and the solvent delivery system in the tool, i.e. container  34 , pump  38  and tube  41  may be eliminated, thereby reducing the cost of the tool. 
   Once the polish is removed from the nails using tool  10 , those nails may be buffed by substituting for the cover member  58  or  62  a similarly shaped cover member having a smooth surface and the tool used without the application of solvent. 
     FIG. 3  illustrates generally at  72  still another type of cover member which may be used with the  FIG. 1  tool  10  when the tool is not supplying solvent. In this case, cover member  72  is a segment of woven nylon scouring or abrasive material separated at a parting line  73  from a segmented strip or roll  72 ′ of such material. The cover member  72  from strip  72 ′ may be gathered around head  28 ′ (or  28 ) and held in place by an O-ring  66  as shown in FIG.  3 . 
   Turn now to  FIG. 4  which shows generally at  76  a hand held nail polish removal tool that cleans ultrasonically. Tool  76  includes a hollow housing  78  which supports a hollow head  82  containing an ultrasonic transducer  84 . Transducer  84  is connected electrically by wires  85  to a conventional signal generator  86  including a driver in housing  78 , the generator being powered by a rechargeable battery  88  in the housing. Once a switch button  92  in the side of housing  78  is depressed, unit  86  delivers a high frequency, e.g. greater than 17 kHz, driving signal to transducer  84  so that the working surface or head  84   a  of transducer  84  vibrates ultrasonically. 
   The ultrasonic tool  76  is used in conjunction with a cleaning member shown generally at  92 . For this, the head  82  has a bottom opening  94  and an end slot  96  which leads to a pair of laterally spaced apart parallel rails  98 ,  98  adjacent bottom opening  94 , these slotted rails forming a keyway in head  82 . 
   Member  92  is shaped and arranged to slide into slot  96  and key into head  82 . More particularly, cleaning member  92  comprises an abrasive scrubbing strip  104  which is supported by a support  106  in the form of a key enabling member  92  to be slid endwise into the end of housing  82  through slot  96  so that the upper surface of support  106  is engaged by the transducer head  84   a  and the abrasive strip  104  hugs the underside of housing  52  as shown in FIG.  4 . In accordance with the invention, the cleaning member  92 , and particularly its support  106 , is rigid so that when transducer  84  is operative, the vibrations produced thereby are coupled via support  106  to strip  104  and thence to the nail contacted by that strip. 
   When using tool  76  to clean finger and toe nails if it is desired to apply solvent to the nails, that may be done by momentarily dipping the cleaning member  92  in solvent or by modifying the tool  76  to include the solvent dispensing system illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
   In some tool models it may be desirable to make the head or neck separable from the main body of the tool to facilitate replacement of the head and/or repair of the tool. In this event, a suitable connection or joint may be provided in housings  26  and  78  between the neck portion and the housing main body, e.g. a bayonet or pin-in-slot connection. 
   It will be seen from the forgoing that my tool provides a very efficient means for removing nail polish from finger and toe nails and for generally cleaning and buffing such nails. The tool is easy to use even by aged and infirm individuals and, since the solvent is confined to the tool head  28  (or  28 ′ or  82 ) and its cover member, the toxic and noxious effects of the solvent are kept away from the user. Therefore, the tool should prove to be a very marketable toiletry item. 
   It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained. Also, certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the AC/DC converter could be incorporated into tools  10  or  76 . Therefore, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
   It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein.