Abstract:
A nail care apparatus including a hand-or-foot of a person with nails having been applied with nail caring substances, nail curing means for curing nails of said person, a first air-moving means, and a first odor-removing means, wherein said first-air-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-foot receptacle to said first odor-removing means, said first odor-removing means including means for substantially removing smells, odors or other volatile substances emanated from said applied nail caring substances.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to personal care means, devices and apparatuses. More particularly, this invention relates to means, devices and apparatus for manicure and/or pedicure. More specifically, although of course not solely limited thereto, this invention relates to nail care apparatus.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     In recent years, it has been noted that people are paying increasing attention to the beauty and care of their nails. As a result, manicure and pedicure products and services are becoming more and more visible in the personal care and beauty business or industries. To decorate finger or toe nails, many pedicure or manicure products such as nail polish, nail varnish, nail colours or nail gels are readily available.  
         [0003]     Many nail care substances are in liquid, fluid or gel form which are to be applied in layers to achieve optimal results. Usually, optimal results can only be obtained if subsequent layers are applied after the previous layers have been thoroughly dried. As a result, a complete manicure or pedicure process can take a considerably long time. Most known fluid based nail care substances contain volatile solvents which have strong scent or odours and may be adverse to health if subject to prolonged exposure.  
         [0004]     Therefore, it is highly desirable if there can be provided means, devices or apparatus which alleviate the above problems or potential hazards as well as shortening the time for optimal manicure or pedicure. While apparatus for drying decorated finger nails are known, their functions are limited to drying and do not provide sufficient utility or sufficiently alleviate the aforesaid problems. Furthermore, in using such drying apparatus, a user has to transfer his/her hand or foot from a support surface on which the nail caring substances were applied to the drying apparatus. This can be a nuisance if several layers of nail caring substances are to be applied. Accordingly, it would be highly desirable if improved means, devices or apparatus for nail care can be provided.  
       OBJECT OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved nail care means, devices or apparatus. More specifically, although of course not limited thereto, it is an object of the present invention to provide nail caring apparatus which alleviates at least some of the problems associated with conventional nail care methods or apparatus. Of course, the above objectives are to be read disjunctively with the minimum of providing the public with a useful choice.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     According to the present invention, there is provided anail care apparatus including: 
        hand-or-foot receptacle for receiving a hand or a foot of a person with nails having been applied with nail caring substances,     nail curing means for curing nail caring substances, already applied on the nails of said person,     a first air-moving means, and     a first odour-removing means, 
 
 wherein said first air-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-foot receptacle to said first odour-removing means, said first odour-removing means including means for substantially removing smells, odours or other volatile substances emanated from said applied nail caring substances. 
       
 
         [0011]     Preferably, said nail curing means including an ultra-violet radiation source.  
         [0012]     Preferably, said nail curing means including a heater and an air blower.  
         [0013]     Preferably, said hand-or-foot receptacle for receiving a hand or a foot being intermediate of said nail curing means and said first air-moving means.  
         [0014]     Preferably, said nail care apparatus including a first housing and a second housing, said nail curing means being accommodated by said first housing, said first air-moving means being accommodated by said second housing, said first housing and said second housing being inter-connected by a support housing.  
         [0015]     Preferably, said supporting housing including means for adjusting separation between said foot-or-hand receptacle and said first housing.  
         [0016]     Preferably, said nail curing means including a heater and an air blower, said first housing being tiltable relative to said support housing.  
         [0017]     Preferably, said first housing being pivotable about said support housing, the separation between said first housing and said hand-or-foot receptacle being adjustable by pivotally tilting said first housing about said support housing, further including latching means to latch said first housing at a inclination selectable by a user.  
         [0018]     Preferably, said first odour-removing means including a de-odourizing filter such as an activated carbon filter or the like.  
         [0019]     Preferably, said first air-moving means including a propeller fan the rotation plane of which being substantially parallel to the absorption plane of said de-odourizing filter.  
         [0020]     Preferably, said apparatus further including a hand-or-foot support, said hand-or-foot support including a perforated surface and a second air-moving means, said second air-moving means being also adapted for moving air from said perforated surface to a de-odourizing filter along a second predefined channel.  
         [0021]     Preferably, said second air-moving means being adapted to move air from said hand-or-foot receptacle to said odour-removing means via a first pre-defined channel, said first and second pre-defined channels being configured for alternative operation.  
         [0022]     Preferably, said first and second pre-defined channels being communicable via a valve.  
         [0023]     Preferably, said apparatus further including sensing means and valve control means, said sensing means being adapted to detect the presence of a hand or a foot at said hand-or-foot receptacle or said hand-or-foot support and generates corresponding control signal, said valve control means activate one of said alternate pre-defined channels upon detection of said control signals.  
         [0024]     Preferably, said apparatus including switching means to switch operation of said apparatus alternating between said first and said second pre-defined channels.  
         [0025]     Preferably, said first and said second air-moving means being a single air-moving device.  
         [0026]     Preferably, said apparatus further including a hand-or-foot support, a second air-moving means, a second odour-removing means, said hand-or-foot support being adapted for supporting a hand or a foot of a person to facilitate application of nail care substances, said second air-moving means being adapted for moving air from said hand-or-foot support to said second odour-removing means so that when nail care substances are being applied onto the hand or the foot of a person with said hand or said foot resting on said hand-or-foot support, smell, odour or other volatile substances emanating from said nail care substances will be drawn towards said second odour-removing means for removal.  
         [0027]     Preferably, said apparatus further including a first housing, a second housing and a support housing interconnecting said first and said housing, wherein said hand-or-foot support and said hand-or-foot receptacle respectively formed on said first and said second housing, said hand-or-foot support being on a surface of said first housing distal from said hand-or-foot receptacle.  
         [0028]     Preferably, said hand-or-foot support includes an ergonomically shaped surface for receiving the palm or the plantar surface of the foot of a user during application of nail care substances.  
         [0029]     Preferably, said first housing being generally hollow and said hand-or-foot support including a percolated surface, said second air-moving means being disposed so that, when said apparatus operating as a de-odourizing means during application of nail care substances, air in the vicinity of said hand-or-foot support will be drawn into a hollow compartment inside said first housing, a de-odourizing means being disposed in said hollow compartment for removing smell, odour or other volatile substances. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in further detail below by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0031]      FIG. 1  is a partially exposed perspective view of a nail caring apparatus showing a first preferred embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0032]      FIG. 1   a  is a top plan view of the apparatus of  FIG. 1 ,  
         [0033]      FIG. 2  is a longitudinal cross-section of the first preferred embodiment of the nail caring apparatus of  FIG. 1  with the section line taken along the centre (A-A) of the apparatus and viewed from one side,  
         [0034]      FIG. 3  is a longitudinal cross-section of the apparatus of  FIG. 2  with the support housing extended to elevate the first housing,  
         [0035]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 2  with the first housing tilted relative to the support housing,  
         [0036]      FIG. 5  shows the front view of a second preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus of the present invention,  
         [0037]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 5  along the section line A-A,  
         [0038]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 6  along the section line A-A with the first housing elevated from the base support,  
         [0039]      FIG. 8  is the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 7  with arrows schematically showing air movements during operation,  
         [0040]      FIG. 9  shows a longitudinal cross-section of a third preferred embodiment of a nail caring apparatus of the present invention,  
         [0041]      FIG. 10  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 9  with the first housing elevated and with arrows showing general direction of air-flow when operating as means for drying nails when the nails are placed on the hand- and-foot receptacle,  
         [0042]      FIG. 11  is the longitudinal cross-section of  FIG. 10  but showing general directions of air-flow when the apparatus is operating as means for removing volatile substances when a hand or foot is placed on the top housing,  
         [0043]      FIG. 12  shows the front view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0044]      FIG. 13  shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 12  with arrows showing direction of air movements during operation,  
         [0045]      FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 12  with the first housing elevated,  
         [0046]      FIG. 15  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 13  with the first housing tilted relative to the support housing,  
         [0047]      FIG. 16  shows the bottom view of the apparatus of  FIG. 12 ,  
         [0048]      FIG. 17  is a front view showing a fifth preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus of the present invention,  
         [0049]      FIG. 18  is a longitudinal cross-section along the section line A-A of  FIG. 17 ,  
         [0050]      FIG. 19  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus of  FIG. 17  taken along the line A-A with the support housing extended so that the first housing is elevated,  
         [0051]      FIG. 20  is the longitudinal view of  FIG. 18  with the first housing tilted upwards relative to the support housing,  
         [0052]      FIG. 21  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a nail care apparatus of a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention and with arrows showing the general direction of air movement, and  
         [0053]      FIG. 22  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of  FIG. 21  with the support housing extended. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0054]     Referring firstly to FIGS.  1  to  4 , the nail care apparatus  100  includes a first housing  110 , a second housing  120  and a support housing  130  interconnecting the first housing  110  and the second housing  120 . The first housing  110  is generally made of a heat resistance and insulating material such as hard plastics and includes a hollow compartment  111 . Nail curing means such as a conventional heater assembly  112 , an ultra-violet radiation means  113  or other appropriate curing means, whether in combination or as alternatives, are accommodated in the hollow compartment  111  of the first housing  110 . A rotary blower assembly  114  is also mounted inside the first housing  110  to supply hot air to speed up drying of the nail care substances.  
         [0055]     The first housing  110  includes a top portion  115  and a bottom portion  116  between which the hollow compartment is formed. The bottom portion  116  of the first housing  110  includes a transparent window  117  for passage of the ultra-violet radiation generated by the ultra-violet source  113  and an air-window  118  for transmitting the heat or hot air generated by the heater assembly  112  towards the hand-or-foot receptacle  121  on the second housing  120 .  
         [0056]     The second housing  120  generally defines the base of the apparatus  100  and provides support to the entire apparatus  100 . In this preferred embodiment, the second housing  120  is also made of a heat resistant material such as hard plastics and includes a hollow compartment inside which there is mounted a propeller fan  122 . A volatile nail caring substances removal means  123 , which can be, for example, absorption means, adsorption means or other appropriate means such as a de-odourizing means, a de-odourizing filter or other appropriate devices or arrangements suitable for removing smell, odour or volatile substances is disposed adjacent to the propeller fan  122 . The volatile nail caring substances removing means is placed downstream to the propeller fan in this example. Of course, this volatile nail caring substances removal means can be placed upstream, downstream or both upstream and downstream of the propeller fan  122 . The top portion  124  of the second housing  120  (or the base) which is facing or opposite the first housing  110  includes a perforated surface so that air in the space between the first  110  and the second housing  120  can enter the second housing  120  through the perforations and by the suction caused by the propeller fan  122 .  
         [0057]     The support housing  130  interconnects the first housing  110  and the second housing  120  so that the first housing  110  is elevated above the second housing  120 . The space between the first housing  110  and the second housing  120  is for receiving the hand or the foot of a user to be explained below. The support housing  130  also includes an extension means so that the distance of separation between the first housing  110  and the second housing  120  can be adjusted and maintained. The extension means includes a telescopic-type structure with an internal helical spring  131  to provide spring bias so that when the catching mechanism is released while the extension means is under spring urge, the extension means will extend the support housing  13  upwards, thereby increasing the separation between the first housing  110  and the second housing  120 .  
         [0058]     A switching actuator  141  is mounted on the first housing  110  for actuating and de-actuating the nail curing means (including the heater assembly  112 , the ultra-violet radiation source  113  and the blower  114 ). The switching actuator  141  includes a shaft which spans transversely across the support housing  130  and is controllable by a switching lever  142 . The switching lever  142  includes a plurality of salient or protruding actuation contacts which are positioned and adapted for mechanically coupling with the switching actuator  141  at various positions of the support housing  130 , including the unextended and various pre-determined extended positions of the support housing.  
         [0059]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , it will be noted that the first housing  110  is pivotally movable relative to the support housing  130  about a pivotal joint  132 . The pivotal joint  132  also includes a latching mechanism to latch or hold the first housing  110  at a plurality of pre-determined inclination angles.  
         [0060]     Turning to an exemplary use of this apparatus. After application of nail caring substances onto a user&#39;s nails has been completed, the first housing  110  can be tilted upwards to provide more space so that a user can place his hand or foot onto the hand-or-foot receptacle  121  while alleviating the risk of the newly treated or painted nails from being scratched by the first housing  110 . Alternatively, a user can also apply nail caring substances with his hand or foot placed on the hand-or-foot receptacle  121  while the first housing  110  is tilted upwards to save the trouble of having to move the hand or foot from where the nail curing substances were applied to the hand-or-foot receptacle  121 . Of course, the hand-or-foot receptacle  121  may also include an ergonomically shaped surface for receiving the palm or the plantar surface of the foot for enhanced comfort.  
         [0061]     When a hand or foot having been applied with nail caring substances is placed on the hand-or-foot receptacle  121 , the first housing  110  is restored to the configuration of FIGS.  2  or  3 , depending on the size of the hand or foot. Next, the nail curing means will be activated so that the treated nails will be subject to the appropriate curing treatments such as heating, ultra-violet irradiation or a combination of both. The blower  114  may also be activated to increase the drying speed where appropriate. When the curing process is taking place, the propeller fan  122  will operate as a first air-moving means to draw air in the vicinity of the nails towards the de-odouring filters to reduce or alleviate the smell, odour or the volatile substances which may be hazardous to health.  
         [0062]     In a slightly modified version of this first preferred embodiment, the first housing  110  includes a perforated top surface  119 . This perforated surface  119  is disposed at the top of the first housing  110  and is distal or distant from the second housing  120 . This perforated surface  119  provides a path for air above it to move into the hollow compartment  111  for subsequent removal of the residual nail caring substances by absorption means disposed in the second housing described below. In addition, this perforated surface  115  is adapted for receiving the palm of a user and is ergonomically shaped for this purpose.  
         [0063]     Turning now to an exemplary use of this slightly modified version of the first preferred embodiment, the top perforated surface  115  of the first housing is optimally designed to receive the palm of a user to facilitate comfortable and convenient application of nail caring substances such as, for example, nail coating or polishes, nail varnish or nail gels. The perforated surface  115  is ergonomically designed and curved for enhanced comfort while the nails are being attended to. To alleviate problems with smell or odour emanating from the volatile nail caring substances, the nail, the air blower  114  and the propeller  122  will be actuated during application of the volatile nail caring substances to draw air in the vicinity of the perforated surface  115  towards the filter  123 , thereby removing smell, odour or the residual volatile nail caring substances.  
         [0064]     Hence, in the present example of the slightly modified version, the apparatus includes first air-moving means comprising the propeller fan  122  for moving air from the hand-and-foot receptacle to the de-odourizing means arid second air-moving means comprising the air blower  114  for moving scented air in the vicinity of the top perforated surface  115  towards the deodorizing means.  
         [0065]     In the following, numeral reference to the figures has the following convention where appropriate and unless otherwise stated. The first digit refers to the embodiment number and the last two digits refer to the parts as designated by the second and third digits of the numerals used in the first preferred embodiment even if the numerals are not further described or repeated in the specification for brevity.  
         [0066]     Referring to FIGS.  5  to  8 , there is shown a second preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus of the present invention. The apparatus  200  includes a first housing  210 , a second housing  220  and a support housing  230  interconnecting the first housing and the second housing. Similar to the first preferred embodiment, nail curing means such as a conventional heater assembly  212 , an ultra-violet radiation means  213  or other appropriate curing means, whether in combination or as alternatives, are mounted in the hollow compartment  211  of the first housing  210 . Similarly, a rotary blower assembly  214  is also mounted inside the hollow compartment  211 . Unlike the first preferred embodiment, the rotary blower assembly is functioning both as the first air-moving means for moving air from the hand-and-foot receptacle and the second air-moving means for moving scented air in the vicinity of the top perforated surface  215  of the first housing  210  towards the de-odourizing means. The dual functionality of this rotary blower is made possible by configuring the hollow compartment into two alternative air-channels or air-passage ways and through the control of a two-way valve  250 .  
         [0067]     Unlike the first preferred embodiment, while the second housing  220  functions as the supporting base of the apparatus  200 , it does not provide a perforated surface or a passageway for air to move from the hand-and-foot receptacle  221  towards the deodurizing means  253 . Instead, a perforated surface, which is in communication with an air channel formed inside the first housing  210 , and the support housing  230  is formed on the surface of the support housing adjacent the hand-and-foot receptacle  221 . By controlling the two-way valve  251 , two alternative air-passage paths, namely, the first air-passage path and the second air-passage path, are formed.  
         [0068]     The first air-passage path defines generally the direction of air-flow while the apparatus is configured as means for removing volatile nail caring substances when the nails are being treated and with the palm resting on the top perforated surface  219 . During this operation mode, the two-way valve  251  is moved anti-clockwisely until the second air-passage path is closed. In this operating mode, the rotary blower operates as the second air-moving means and the low-pressure region generated by the air-blower will cause air in the vicinity of the top perforated surface  219  to move towards the hollow compartment  211  through the de-odourizing filter  253  and exhaust through the air-window  218 . Alternatively, and as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 8 , when the apparatus  200  operates as a nail curing apparatus, the two-way valve  251  will be moved clockwisely until the first air-passage path, which is connected to the first filtering means or first de-odorising means  253 , is closed. During this operating mode, the air blower  214  functions as the first air-moving means and the second air-passage path defines the direction of air-flow while the apparatus is operating for drying the treated nails. This first air-moving means causes hot air to move towards the hand-and-foot receptacle  221  and the suction generated will cause the air in the vicinity of the hand-and-foot receptacle  221  to move towards the support housing  230  through the perforated surface  233  and return to the hollow compartment  211  through a second filtering means or a second de-odourizing filter  252 .  
         [0069]     Referring to FIGS.  9  to  11 , there is shown a third preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus  300  of the present invention. The apparatus  300  is generally identical to the apparatus  200  of the second preferred embodiment except that the hollow compartment and the air channels are configured so that a common volatile nail caring substances removal means, for example, a de-odorising filter  354 , is installed along a common path shared by the first and the second alternative air-passage paths through the control of the two-way valve  351 . More specifically, a buffering compartment  355  is formed inside the hollow compartment  311 . The buffering compartment  355  includes first  356  and second  357  alternative inlets which are respectively connected to the first and the second air-passage channels and at the upstream ends of the buffering compartment  355 . The common de-odourizing filter  354  is disposed at the outlet or the downstream end of the buffering compartment. By selectively switching the opening or closing of the two-way valve  351 , the de-odourizing filter  354  will function as a de-odourizing filter for the respective air-passage channels, thereby simplifying the structure of the apparatus as well as reducing the number of individual de-odourizing filters required.  
         [0070]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the apparatus  300  is configured for functioning as a nail care apparatus for drying or curing nail care substances already treated on nails. Under this operation mode, the rotary air blower  314 , the heater assembly  312  and the U-V radiation source  313  will operate in the manner as described above. The hot or warm air originating from the rotary air blower will be delivered towards the hand-and-foot receptacle. As a result of the low-pressure region generated in the vicinity of the rotary air blower and as a result of the switching of the two-way valve to close the inlet which is communicable with the top perforated surface, the air in the region of the hand-and-foot receptacle will enter the hollow portion of the support housing through the perforated surface, passing through the common de-odourizing means and return towards the rotary air blower.  
         [0071]     On the other hand, when the nail care apparatus  300  is operated as means for removing odour during application of the volatile nail caring substances onto nails as shown in  FIG. 11 , the two-way valve  351  is selectively switched to close the communication between the buffering compartment and the second air-passage path. Under this operation mode, the rotary air blower will operate to suck air from the vicinity of the top perforated surface, via the common de-odourizing means and then release through the air-window.  
         [0072]     Referring to  FIGS. 12-16 , there is shown a fourth preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus  400  of the present invention. The apparatus  400  is generally the same as the nail care apparatus  100  of the first preferred embodiment and including a first housing, a second housing a support housing.  
         [0073]     The first housing  410  includes a hollow compartment  411  inside which there are mounted a rotary air blower  414 , a heater assembly  412  and an ultra-violet radiation source  413 . An air-window  418  and a transparent window  417  are respectively provided for passage of hot air emanating from the heater assembly and for passage of the curing radiation emanating from the ultra-violet or other appropriate curing sources.  
         [0074]     The second housing  420  includes a first air-moving means and comprises a propeller fan  432  for moving air from the hand-and-foot receptacle  421  to a de-odourizing means disposed downstream of the propeller fan  422 .  
         [0075]     The support housing  430  includes a hollow chamber  434  and an extension means for extending the support housing so as to change the elevation of the first housing above the second housing. Unlike the first preferred embodiment, a perforated surface  433  is formed on the surface of the support housing opposite the hand-and-foot receptacle to allow passage of air in the vicinity of the hand-and-foot receptacle into the support housing. The air channel formed inside the hollow compartment of the support housing provides a path for air streams originating from the hand-and-foot receptacle to move towards the upstream end of the propeller fan for further transmission towards the filtering or de-odourizing means and then for subsequent release from the apparatus.  
         [0076]     In this preferred embodiment, the top surface  424  of the second housing  420  is non-perforated so that motion of the propeller fan will generate a low-pressure region within the second housing to provide adequate suction to attract air in the vicinity of the perforated surface of the support housing. Similar to other preferred embodiments, the first housing can also be tilted relative to the support housing and can be latched at several pre-determined positions for more convenient placing of a hand or foot onto the hand-and-foot receptacle.  
         [0077]     FIGS.  17  to  20  show a fifth preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus  500  of the present invention. The apparatus includes a first housing  510 , a second housing  520  and a support housing  530 . The first housing  510  is substantially identical to that of the first preferred embodiment. The second housing  520  is substantial identical to that of the second housing. The support housing  530  is generally the same as that of the fourth preferred embodiment except that the de-odourizing means  554  and the air-moving means  556  are both disposed within the support housing  530  and are configured to suck and filter the air in the vicinity of the hand-and-foot receptacle through the perforated surface and then to release the filtered air at the back of the support housing.  
         [0078]     Referring to  FIGS. 21 and 22 , there is shown a sixth preferred embodiment of a nail care apparatus  600  of the present invention. This apparatus  600  is substantially the same as the apparatus of the third embodiment except that the apparatus is configured as means for removing odour emanating from volatile nail caring substances when the nails are being treated on the top perforated surface of the first housing. A filter is disposed adjacent and downstream to the top perforated surface. By actuating the rotary air blower, air in the vicinity of the top perforated surface will be sucked into the hollow compartment of the first housing, passing through the de-odourizing means, which is inserted intermediate of the top perforated surface and the rotary air blower, and subsequently released through the air-window. Due to the de-odourizing means the odour emanating from the treated or polished nails will be sucked into the hollow compartment and will be substantially removed.  
         [0079]     While the present invention has been explained by reference to the preferred embodiments described above, it will be appreciated that the embodiments are illustrated as examples to assist understanding of the present invention and are not meant to be restrictive on the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of this invention should be determined from the general principles and spirit of the invention as described above. In particular, variations or modifications which are obvious or trivial to persons skilled in the art, as well as improvements made on the basis of the present invention, should be considered as falling within the scope and boundary of the present invention.  
         [0080]     Furthermore, while the present invention has been explained by reference to a nail care apparatus, it should be appreciated that the invention can apply, whether with or without modification, to other personal care apparatus without loss of generality. More specifically, as can be seen from the various preferred embodiments above that, the various parts, configuration and structures of the preferred embodiments can be selectively combined or used alternatively without loss of generality.  
       NUMBER LIST  
       [0081]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 100 
                 apparatus 
               
               
                 110 
                 first housing 
               
               
                 111 
                 hollow compartment 
               
               
                 112 
                 heater assembly 
               
               
                 113 
                 U—V radiation source 
               
               
                 114 
                 rotary air-blower 
               
               
                 115 
                 top portion of the first housing 
               
               
                 116 
                 bottom portion of the first housing 
               
               
                 117 
                 transparent window 
               
               
                 118 
                 air-passage window 
               
               
                 119 
                 top perforated surface 
               
               
                 120 
                 second housing (base) 
               
               
                 121 
                 hand-or-foot receptacle 
               
               
                 122 
                 propeller fan 
               
               
                 123 
                 nail caring substances removal means 
               
               
                 124 
                 top portion of second housing 
               
               
                 130 
                 support housing 
               
               
                 131 
                 helical spring 
               
               
                 132 
                 pivotal joint 
               
               
                 141 
                 switch actuator 
               
               
                 142 
                 switching lever 
               
               
                 200 
                 apparatus 
               
               
                 210 
                 first housing 
               
               
                 211 
                 hollow compartment 
               
               
                 212 
                 heater assembly 
               
               
                 213 
                 U—V radiation source 
               
               
                 214 
                 rotary air-blower 
               
               
                 215 
                 top portion of the first housing 
               
               
                 216 
                 bottom portion of the first housing 
               
               
                 217 
                 transparent window 
               
               
                 218 
                 air-passage window 
               
               
                 219 
                 top perforated surface 
               
               
                 220 
                 second housing (base) 
               
               
                 221 
                 hand-or-foot receptacle 
               
               
                 222 
                 propeller fan 
               
               
                 223 
                 nail caring substances removal means 
               
               
                 224 
                 top portion of second housing 
               
               
                 230 
                 support housing 
               
               
                 231 
                 helical spring 
               
               
                 232 
                 pivotal joint 
               
               
                 233 
                 side perforated surface 
               
               
                 241 
                 switch actuator 
               
               
                 242 
                 switching lever 
               
               
                 251 
                 two-way valve 
               
               
                 252 
                 first filter 
               
               
                 253 
                 second filter 
               
               
                 300 
                 apparatus 
               
               
                 310 
                 first housing 
               
               
                 311 
                 hollow compartment 
               
               
                 312 
                 heater assembly 
               
               
                 313 
                 U—V radiation source 
               
               
                 314 
                 rotary air-blower 
               
               
                 315 
                 top portion of the first housing 
               
               
                 316 
                 bottom portion of the first housing 
               
               
                 317 
                 transparent window 
               
               
                 318 
                 air-passage window 
               
               
                 319 
                 top perforated surface 
               
               
                 320 
                 second housing (base) 
               
               
                 321 
                 hand-or-foot receptacle 
               
               
                 322 
                 propeller fan 
               
               
                 323 
                 nail caring substances removal means 
               
               
                 324 
                 top portion of second housing 
               
               
                 330 
                 support housing 
               
               
                 331 
                 helical spring 
               
               
                 332 
                 pivotal joint 
               
               
                 333 
                 side perforated surface 
               
               
                 341 
                 switch actuator 
               
               
                 342 
                 switching lever 
               
               
                 351 
                 two-way valve 
               
               
                 352 
                 first filter 
               
               
                 353 
                 second filter 
               
               
                 354 
                 filter 
               
               
                 355 
                 buffering compartment 
               
               
                 356 
                 first inlet 
               
               
                 357 
                 second inlet 
               
               
                 400 
                 apparatus 
               
               
                 410 
                 first housing 
               
               
                 411 
                 hollow compartment 
               
               
                 412 
                 heater assembly 
               
               
                 413 
                 ultra-violet radiation source 
               
               
                 414 
                 rotary air blower 
               
               
                 417 
                 transparent window 
               
               
                 418 
                 air-window 
               
               
                 420 
                 second housing 
               
               
                 421 
                 hand-and-foot receptacle 
               
               
                 422 
                 propeller fan 
               
               
                 424 
                 top surface of second housing 
               
               
                 430 
                 support housing 
               
               
                 433 
                 perforated surface 
               
               
                 434 
                 hollow compartment of support housing 
               
               
                 500 
                 apparatus 
               
               
                 510 
                 first housing 
               
               
                 520 
                 second housing 
               
               
                 530 
                 support housing 
               
               
                 533 
                 perforated surface 
               
               
                 534 
                 hollow compartment of support housing 
               
               
                 554 
                 filter 
               
               
                 556 
                 air-moving means