Patent Publication Number: US-2021177120-A1

Title: Attaching an artificial fingernail

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2018/000497, filed on Oct. 31, 2018 and which claims benefit to German Patent Application No. 10 2017 010 335.6, filed on Nov. 8, 2017. The International Application was published in German on May 16, 2019 as WO 2019/091595 A1 under PCT Article 21(2). 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the attachment of an artificial fingernail to a natural fingernail using a double-sided adhesive strip. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It is known to attach artificial fingernails on natural fingernails using liquid adhesive. Once attached, the artificial fingernail can hardly be detached. A forced detachment generally results in damage to the natural fingernail so that one waits until the artificial fingernail grows off with the natural fingernail. It is also known to attach the artificial fingernail with a double-sided adhesive strip. This also results in the problem that the artificial fingernail can hardly be detached. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present invention is to provide an attachment of an artificial fingernail on a natural fingernail that can be easily detached at any time without damaging the natural and/or the artificial fingernail with the fingers or with a tool such as a hook or tweezers so that the artificial fingernail can be easily replaced at any time. 
     In an embodiment, the present invention provides an attachment for attaching an artificial fingernail to a natural fingernail. The attachment includes a double-sided adhesive strip. The double-sided adhesive strip consists of an elastic material which is configured to reduce an elastic material width when a pull is exerted in a longitudinal direction so as to reduce an adhesive force, and a grip tab which projects at a front end of the double-sided adhesive strip. The grip tab is arranged underneath an outwardly projecting portion of the artificial fingernail once the artificial fingernail has been attached. The pull on the double-sided adhesive strip is exerted via the grip tab. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       The present invention is described in greater detail below on the basis of embodiments and of the drawing in which: 
       The FIGURE schematically shows an embodiment of the present invention with a vertical section through the front part of a finger. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In an embodiment, the present invention provides an adhesive strip which consists of an elastic material which reduces its width when pulled in its longitudinal direction and thus reduces the adhesive force and in that for exerting the pull, a grip tab projects at the front end of the adhesive strip and is located underneath the outwardly projecting portion of the artificial fingernail once an artificial fingernail has been attached. 
     The detachment of the artificial fingernail is accomplished in a simple manner in that it is only necessary to pull at the grip tab underneath the artificial fingernail so as to reduce the adhesive force to such an extent that the artificial fingernail can be easily lifted off. In an embodiment, the length of the grip tab projecting at the front end underneath the projecting portion of the artificial fingernail can, for example, be 20 to 80% of the length of the projecting portion of the artificial fingernail. 
     An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated schematically in the FIGURE which shows a vertical section through the front part of a finger. 
     At the front end of a finger  1 , there is the natural fingernail  2  to which an artificial fingernail  3  is attached, the artificial fingernail  3  projecting beyond the front end of the natural fingernail. The length of the projecting portion of the artificial fingernail  3  is indicated in the FIGURE with LF. 
     An adhesive strip  4  is adhered on the natural fingernail  2 . The adhesive strip has an adhesive area on both sides with a permanently tacky, for example, waterproof pressure-sensitive adhesive so that, after adhering the adhesive strip  4  on the natural fingernail  2 , the artificial fingernail  3  is placed on the top side of the adhesive of the adhesive strip  4 , and is then pressed on so as to be attached. 
     Projecting at the front end of the adhesive strip  4  is a grip tab  5 , the length LG of which is shorter than the length LF of the projecting portion of the artificial fingernail  3  so that the grip tab  5  will be covered by the artificial fingernail  3  and hence, as a rule, will not be visible. It is thereby also important that the grip tab  5  has a width which is less than a width of the artificial fingernail  3 . 
     The present invention is not limited to embodiments described herein; reference should be had to the appended claims.