Patent Document

CLAIM TO PRIORITY 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/134,520, filed May 17, 1999, and entitled “Pop Up Nails.” The cited provisional patent application is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to nail polish bottle holders that are utilized during application of the nail polish. More specifically, the present invention relates to a portable nail polish bottle holder that also provides a stable platform on which to rest one&#39;s hands during the application of the nail polish. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fingernail polish has been, and will continue to be, a popular cosmetic staple. When applying fingernail polish it is desirable not only to have a stable surface to place one&#39;s hand for application of the polish, but also to have a means of securely holding a bottle of fingernail polish so as to prevent any tipping and/or spilling of bottle. Furthermore, it is desirable to have the fingernail polish bottle in a location that is close to the polish application area to prevent the need for over-reaching and, again, the possibility of tipping and/or spilling of the bottle. Moreover, it is a desirable convenience that both the surface for application and the means for securely holding the bottle are portable, allowing the user to apply fingernail polish at any opportune location, e.g., at home while sitting on the couch, on the bus, in a car or airplane, at the beach, etc. 
     Various patents have attempted to address these desires. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,500 and 5,909,811 describe bottle holders. Each of these bottle holders is provided with a single bottle holding container to which is attached flexible arms that may be draped over the arm or leg of the user, or laid flat upon a surface. Each of these bottle holders accommodates only a single bottle and neither provides a flat surface upon which a user may rest their hand for fingernail polish application. The &#39;500 Patent does provide a ring of“petals” upon which a user may place one finger at a time for application of polish, however, the finger must be raised without any support under the hand causing it to be unstable/movable during polish application. Further, if the “petals” are used, the fingernail is in very close proximity to the bottle making application of the polish difficult and awkward. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,312 describes a nail polish bottle holder that also provides an area for resting of the hand during application of the polish. The device described in the &#39;312 Patent is comprised of a flexible foam material incorporating a plurality of notches into which may be inserted one or more bottles. The fact that the &#39;312 device is comprised of foam makes it rather unstable, e.g., bottles may be tipped and the user&#39;s hand is not rigidly supported, and less durable than something fabricated of a rigid material such as plastic. 
     In view of the above, there is a need in the art for a fingernail polish holder that is able to accommodate numerous types/shapes of nail polish bottles, that provides a stable surface for the hand during application of the polish, that places the bottle in close proximity to the hand during application of the polish allowing for non-awkward application of the polish, that is easily transported, and that is durable in construction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The desires and needs described above are in large measure met by the portable nail polish table of the present invention. The portable nail polish table generally comprises a base portion and a pair of side flaps. The base portion includes a nail polish bottle holding well and a grippable, stabilizing flange. The side flaps are proximate the base portion and are able to present a substantially horizontal work surface area. The stabilizing flange is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal works surface area when presented. Further, upon gripping of the stabilizing flange, e.g., with the knees or legs, the side flaps are maintained in a substantially horizontal orientation. 
     In a preferred configuration, the side flaps are hingedly secured to the base portion allowing the nail polish table to be configured between a usable configuration and a portable configuration. Further, in a preferred configuration, the base portion includes at least two, and more preferably three, nail polish bottle holding wells. Each of the holding wells are preferably of a different shape and/or size. The nail polish table may additionally include a lip edge that surrounds the substantially horizontal work surface area to prevent items/liquids from rolling off the work surface. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention incorporating hidden lines to better depict the various nail polish wells within the table; the table is in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 4 is an end view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its closed or portable configuration. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 6 is an end view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the portable nail polish table of the present invention in its open or usable configuration. 
     FIG. 9 depicts how the portable nail polish table is positioned between the knees of a user for use and how it provides a stable surface for nail polish application. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A portable nail polish table  10  of the present invention provides the user with a collapsible, portable device that may easily be placed in a handbag for transportation. Upon opening nail polish table  10  for use, the user is provided with a stable flat surface for applying nail polish as well as a plurality of wells for the placement and holding of the nail polish bottle. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-9, nail polish table  10  generally includes a base portion  12  and a pair of side flaps  14  that are movable to place nail polish table in an open or usable configuration, see FIGS. 1-3 and  5 - 9 , or a closed or portable configuration, see FIG.  4 . With reference to the description below, the preferred dimensions of nail polish table  10  are provided to exemplify the portable nature of nail polish table  10 , however, it should be noted that other dimensions may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. 
     Base portion  12  is preferably of a unitary configuration incorporating a lower extending flange  16  and an upper holding portion  18 . Flange  16  is substantially planar and is preferably approximately 0.1 inches in width, 2.6 inches in height and 4.9 inches in length. Flange  16  extends to the bottom wall  20  of upper holding portion  18  and integrates into end walls  22  of upper holding portion  18  via angled extension  24 . 
     Upper holding portion  18 , as indicated above, includes bottom wall  20 , the pair of end walls  22 , as well as a pair of side walls  26  and a plurality of wells  32 . End walls  22  and side walls  26  join to present upper holding portion  18  in a substantially rectangular configuration having a length of approximately 4.9 inches and a width of approximately 1.6 inches. The height of upper holding portion  18  is approximately 1.4 inches. Note that end walls  22  extend slightly beyond, e.g., 0.05 inches, an upper surface  28  of upper holding portion to present a lip edge  30 . Upper holding portion  18  is preferably provided with at least three wells  32 , however, fewer or more wells  32  may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. In the preferred configuration, each of the three wells  32  is of a different shape, e.g., square (1.25 inches by 1.25 inches), round (1.35 inch diameter), and elliptical (1.9 inches by 1.2 inches), to accommodate the various types of nail polish bottles that are currently available on the market. Each well  32  preferably has a depth of approximately 1.25 inches to easily maintain a bottle of nail polish and prevent its tipping. Of course, other shapes or a plurality of the same shape may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. 
     Referring to the bottom view of nail polish table  10 , FIGS. 2 and 8, it can be seen that each side of upper holding portion  18  is preferably provided with an extending edge  34  that adds approximately 0.3 inches in width to each side of upper holding portion  18 . The ends of each extending edge  34  are provided with a notch  36  to interface with a corresponding notch  38  at each end of each side flap  14 . Each notch  36  is provided with a hinge pin  37 . 
     Each side flap  14  is distinct from base portion  12 , however, is itself unitary in nature. Presenting a substantially planar surface, each side flap  14  includes an upper surface area  40 , a lower surface area  42 , an end wall  44 , a pair of side walls  46 , and an inner wall  48 . End wall  44  and side walls  46  extend continuously about the perimeter of upper and lower surface area  40 ,  42  and, further, extend above the height of upper surface area  40  to present a lip edge  50 . Inner wall  48  extends between notches  38 , each of which include an aperture  52  for insertion of hinge pin  37  allowing each side flap  14  to be hingedly secured to base portion  12 . Each side flap  14  is preferably 4.9 inches in length with a width of approximately 3.8 inches and a height of 0.2 inches with lip edge  50  comprising approximately 0.05 inches of that height. At notch  38 , each side flap is approximately 0.4 inches in height to accommodate placement of aperture  52 . 
     Base portion  12  and each side flap  14  are preferably fabricated from a substantially rigid material, e.g., plastics, polymers, etc., to ensure durability and stability of nail polish table  10 . 
     In use, nail polish table  10  of the present invention is interchangeable between an open or usable configuration, see FIGS. 1-3 and  5 - 9 , or a closed or portable configuration, see FIG.  4 . In the open or usable configuration, each of side flaps  14  is raised approximately 90° from a position proximate flange  16  to a position wherein inner wall  48  of each side flap  14  is proximate side walls  26  of base portion  12 . With side flaps  14  in this raised position, the user is presented with a substantially horizontal work area. Further, with side flaps  14  in this raised position, the user may grip flange  16  between the knees or legs, as shown in FIG. 9, whereby nail polish table  10  may be secured in position for use. Lower surface area  42  of each of side flaps  14  rests atop the user&#39;s leg or knee while upper surface area  40  is presented for the placement of a user&#39;s hand, see FIG. 9. A bottle of nail polish may then be placed within one or more of wells  32  as desired. 
     With side flaps  14  raised, a continuous lip edge, created by lip edge  30  and by lip edge  50  of each side flap  14 , exists around nail polish table. The continuous lip edge prevents any run-off from table  10  of nail polish that might occur during application and also allows the user to place items, e.g., orange stick, nail clippers, emery board, etc., atop upper surface area  40  without worry that the item will roll off of nail polish table  10 . In its open or usable configuration, nail polish table  10  presents an overall length of approximately 4.9 inches, an overall width of approximately 9.2 inches, and an overall height of approximately 3.9 inches. 
     In the closed or portable configuration, as depicted in FIG. 4, side flaps  14  are rotated downward from their substantially horizontal position to a substantially vertical position proximate flange  16  of base portion  12 ; end wall  44  of each side flap  14  is substantially flush with the lower edge of flange  16 . In this configuration, nail polish table  10  presents an overall length of approximately 4.9 inches, an overall width of approximately 2.3 inches, and an overall height of approximately 3.9 inches. 
     In view of the above, nail polish table  10  of the present invention presents the user with a stable surface to place one&#39;s hand for application of nail polish as well as a means for securely holding a bottle of nail polish to prevent tipping and/or spilling of the polish. Furthermore, the open or usable configuration of nail polish table enables a nail polish bottle to be in close proximity of the application area thereby eliminating the need for any over-reaching for the polish and any potential of tipping or spilling of the polish. Moreover, nail polish table  10  of the present invention is durable, compact, and, therefore, easily transportable as well as easily usable in any location due to flange  16  that allows the user to grip and use nail polish table  10  at any location where the user is in a seated position. Additionally, nail polish table  10  is configured to accommodate numerous shapes and sizes of nail polish bottles for ease of use. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the essential attributes thereof; therefore, the illustrated embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: 1