Patent Publication Number: US-11019901-B2

Title: Eyelash curler

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a personal adornment and, more particularly, to an eyelash curler. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional eyelash curler  10  in accordance with the prior art shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11  comprises a primary handle  11 , a secondary handle  12 , an upper curved plate  13 , a lower curved plate  14 , and a clamping member  15 . The primary handle  11  is pivotally connected with the secondary handle  12 . The upper curved plate  13  is secured on the secondary handle  12 . The lower curved plate  14  is movably mounted on the secondary handle  12  and movable relative to the upper curved plate  13 . Thus, the upper curved plate  13  and the lower curved plate  14  form a closed state or an opened state by a pivoting action between the primary handle  11  and the secondary handle  12 . The lower curved plate  14  is provided with a recessed seat  141 . The clamping member  15  has a top provided with an arcuate pressing face  151  and has a bottom provided with a mounting portion  152  received in the recessed seat  141  of the lower curved plate  14 . In operation, an eyelash “A” is initially placed on the clamping member  15 . Then, the lower curved plate  14  is pushed upward toward the upper curved plate  13  by the pivoting action between the primary handle  11  and the secondary handle  12 , so that the clamping member  15  is moved to press the upper curved plate  13 , and the eyelash “A” is clamped between the pressing face  151  of the clamping member  15  and the upper curved plate  13 . In such a manner, the rear end portion “A 1 ” of the eyelash “A” is compressed between the pressing face  151  of the clamping member  15  and the upper curved plate  13 , while the front end portion “A 2 ” of the eyelash “A” is curled upward. However, the pressing face  151  of the clamping member  15  has a smooth arcuate shape so that the pressing face  151  of the clamping member  15  cannot press the eyelash “A” exactly. Thus, the eyelash “A” is easily detached from the pressing face  151  of the clamping member  15  and cannot press the eyelash “A” so that the user has to repeatedly clamp the eyelash “A” many times so as to curl the eyelash “A”, thereby wasting the energy and time. In addition, the pressing face  151  and the mounting portion  152  of the clamping member  15  have the same length, so that the distal ends of the eyelash “A” cannot be extended outward during the clamping process of the eyelash “A” as shown in  FIG. 10 , thereby decreasing the curling effect of the eyelash “A”. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an eyelash curler that positions and clamps the user&#39;s eyelash easily, quickly and conveniently. 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an eyelash curler comprising a primary handle, a secondary handle, an upper curved plate, a lower curved plate and a clamping member. The primary handle is pivotally connected with the secondary handle. The upper curved plate is secured on the secondary handle. The lower curved plate is movably mounted on the secondary handle. The lower curved plate is provided with a recessed seat. The clamping member is mounted on the lower curved plate and faces the upper curved plate. The clamping member is an arcuate elastic strip which is formed integrally by injection molding. The clamping member includes an elongate arcuate section and a short arcuate section located under the elongate arcuate section. The clamping member has a bottom provided with a mounting portion received in the recessed seat of the lower curved plate. The clamping member has a top provided with a clamping portion corresponding to the upper curved plate. The clamping portion of the clamping member has a first side provided with a front arcuate guide face and a second side provided with a rear arcuate guide face lower than the front arcuate guide face. The front arcuate guide face and the rear arcuate guide face of the clamping member have a connection having a central line aligning with a lower pressing edge of the upper curved plate. The clamping portion of the clamping member has two ends each provided with an extension extending outward. An eyelash is clamped between the clamping portion of the clamping member and the upper curved plate, with a front end portion of the eyelash contacting the front arcuate guide face of the clamping member, and with a rear end portion of the eyelash contacting the rear arcuate guide face of the clamping member. The front arcuate guide face of the clamping member constructs a primary force bearing face, and the rear arcuate guide face of the clamping member constructs a secondary force bearing face. When the eyelash is clamped between the clamping portion of the clamping member and the upper curved plate, the eyelash is bent to rest on a face of the upper curved plate, and the front end portion of the eyelash is curled upward. 
     Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         FIG. 1  is a partially exploded perspective view of an eyelash curler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a clamping member of the eyelash curler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of the clamping member of the eyelash curler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side cross-sectional view of the clamping member of the eyelash curler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the clamping member of the eyelash curler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a partially perspective cross-sectional assembly view of the eyelash curler in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic operational view of the eyelash curler as shown in  FIG. 6  in use. 
         FIG. 8  is a side cross-sectional operational view of the eyelash curler as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a bottom perspective view of a clamping member of the eyelash curler in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a side cross-sectional operational view of a conventional eyelash curler in accordance with the prior art. 
         FIG. 11  is a partially perspective cross-sectional operational view of the conventional eyelash curler in accordance with the prior art. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-6 , an eyelash curler  20  in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a primary handle  21 , a secondary handle  22 , an upper curved plate  23 , a lower curved plate  24  and a clamping member  25 . 
     The primary handle  21  is pivotally connected with the secondary handle  22 . The upper curved plate  23  is secured on the secondary handle  22 . The lower curved plate  24  is movably mounted on the secondary handle  22  and is movable relative to the upper curved plate  23 . Thus, the upper curved plate  23  and the lower curved plate  24  form a closed state or an opened state by a pivoting action between the primary handle  21  and the secondary handle  22 . The lower curved plate  24  is provided with a recessed seat  241 . 
     The clamping member  25  is located between the upper curved plate  23  and the lower curved plate  24 . The clamping member  25  is mounted on the lower curved plate  24  and faces the upper curved plate  23 . The clamping member  25  is an arcuate elastic strip which is formed integrally by injection molding. Preferably, the clamping member  25  is made of rubber or plastic material. The clamping member  25  includes an elongate arcuate section and a short arcuate section located under the elongate arcuate section. 
     The clamping member  25  has a bottom provided with a mounting portion  254  received in the recessed seat  241  of the lower curved plate  24 . The mounting portion  254  of the clamping member  25  has two opposite sides each provided with a locking groove  255  locked onto a peripheral wall of the recessed seat  241  of the lower curved plate  24 , so that the clamping member  25  is positioned on the recessed seat  241  of the lower curved plate  24 . The locking groove  255  of the clamping member  25  has a shape similar to that of the mounting portion  254 , for example, an inverted U-shaped profile. 
     The clamping member  25  has a top provided with a clamping portion  251  corresponding to the upper curved plate  23 . The clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  has a stepped shape and has a first side provided with a front arcuate guide face  252  and a second side provided with a rear arcuate guide face  253  lower than the front arcuate guide face  252 . The front arcuate guide face  252  and the rear arcuate guide face  253  of the clamping member  25  have a connection having a central line aligning with a lower pressing edge of the upper curved plate  23 . The clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  has two ends each provided with an extension  2522  extending outward. The extension  2522  of the clamping member  25  has a distal portion protruding outward from the mounting portion  254 . Thus, the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  has a length greater than that of the mounting portion  254 , so that the clamping portion  251  and the mounting portion  254  of the clamping member  25  form a stepped gap. 
     In operation, referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8  with reference to  FIGS. 1-6 , an eyelash “A” is initially placed on the clamping member  25 . Then, the lower curved plate  24  is pushed upward toward the upper curved plate  23  by the pivoting action between the primary handle  21  and the secondary handle  22 , so that the clamping member  25  is driven by the lower curved plate  24  and is moved toward the upper curved plate  23  to press the upper curved plate  23 , and the eyelash “A” is clamped between the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  and the upper curved plate  23 . In such a manner, a front end portion “A 2 ” of the eyelash “A” contacts the front arcuate guide face  252  of the clamping member  25 , and a rear end portion “A 1 ” of the eyelash “A” contacts the rear arcuate guide face  253  of the clamping member  25 . At this time, the front arcuate guide face  252  of the clamping member  25  is located at a higher position, and the rear arcuate guide face  253  of the clamping member  25  is located at a lower position, so that when the eyelash “A” is clamped between the clamping member  25  and the upper curved plate  23 , the front arcuate guide face  252  of the clamping member  25  constructs a primary force bearing face, and the rear arcuate guide face  253  of the clamping member  25  constructs a secondary force bearing face. In such a manner, the clamping member  25  is an arcuate elastic strip, and the lower pressing edge of the upper curved plate  23  aligns with the central line of the connection of the front arcuate guide face  252  and the rear arcuate guide face  253  of the clamping member  25 , so that when the eyelash “A” is clamped between the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  and the upper curved plate  23 , the eyelash “A” is bent to rest on the face of the upper curved plate  23 , and the front end portion “A 2 ” of the eyelash “A” is curled upward as shown in  FIG. 8 . At the same time, when the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  is compressed, the extension  2522  of the clamping member  25  is stretched and extended outward, so that the two distal ends “A 3 ” (see  FIG. 7 ) of the eyelash “A” are outward stretched and curled naturally, thereby preventing the root of the eyelash “A” from being plucked. Thus, the eyelash “A” is curled to have an arcuate warped shape. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , the extension  2522  of the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  has a bottom provided with an oblique face  2523  connected to the mounting portion  254 . Thus, when the clamping member  25  is compressed, the extension  2522  of the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  is extended outward. 
     Accordingly, the eyelash “A” is exactly positioned between and will not be detached from the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  and the upper curved plate  23  to facilitate the user curling the eyelash “A”. In addition, the eyelash “A” is directly pressed between the clamping portion  251  of the clamping member  25  and the upper curved plate  23  so that the user can easily and quickly clamp and curl the eyelash “A” at a time, without having to successively apply forces many times for clamping the eyelash “A”, thereby greatly saving the user&#39;s energy and time. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the invention.