EP2939561A1

EP2939561A1 - Fingertip cap

Info

Publication number: EP2939561A1
Application number: EP14075067.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Elke Goldstein
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-05-02
Filing date: 2014-09-20
Publication date: 2015-11-04

Abstract

For protecting long and decorated fingernails at work and at household chores as well as for better grip and feel at precision work - like operating small touchscreens or inserting or extracting contact lenses - fingertip caps are provided with a small cushion (6) to fill the gap between the tip of the nail (2) and the genuine fingertip (4).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a means for guarding fingernails, particularly long and decorated fingernails and very specially for those with artificial nail covers.
The invention further provides a means for packing and easily putting on said sheaths.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Teenage girls and ladies are increasingly addicted to long and decoratively styled fingernails. However, wearing long fingernails have some drawbacks when operating keyboards, doing domestic cores and at sports.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED

Therefore a solution needs to be found for being able to effectively type on even miniature keyboards and touchscreens and to operate tweezers etc.
A particular problem to be solved is how to insert and remove contact lenses without risk of damaging the sclera, or, as quite often to risk irritation of the conjunctiva due to staining. With available means -e.g. special tweezers- the physical sensation is to touch foreign body and manipulation with it is strange compared to using your own fingers.
Risk of damaging nails -that rises along with their length- is at stake and works of art performed on fingernails should be protected without much obstructing their appearance.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fingertips are covered by highly transparent sheaths of thin, fully transparent Polyurethane, slightly beaded behind the distal rim of intermediate phalanx (the first knuckle) and padded with a small lump of gel or silicone under the protruding section of the nail, so to lengthen the finger tip.
The invention further provides a means for packing and putting on said sheaths:
They may be packed in selected sizes on a cardboard box dispenser, where a finger tip can be pushed in and be covered automatically.

PRIOR ART

There are a multitude of propositions how to protect fingers against injury, particularly against cuts and bruises at work, as in US 2,740,121 and CH 275 408 , or JP 60-230442 for work gloves and US 5,924,137 for sport gloves, or finger tip bandages for injuries, as in US 3,476,109 , US 3,348,541 and US 6,307,118 B1 .
Other fingercots refer to special purposes, like handling paper sheets in US 2007/0118947 , or protect at inspections of visceral cavities or surgical applications, as with AT 77887 and
US 5,761,743 , whereas DE 10 2012 016 818 A1 refers to a protecting sleeve ("Schutzhülse") for fingertips with small injuries collateral to the nail bed.
For particularly protecting long finger nails JP2001 087 032 (A ) teaches a method of covering the finger nail with a "synthetic resin which is softened when heated and solidified at ambient temperature", plus ligated behind the first finger joint and "thereby engaging a cap for a long fingernail with the joint". It seems to be very questionable, wether this cap of resin will be comfortable and operable on a longer term.
However, hitherto there are no propositions known which allow normal operation on keyboards with long nails, let alone without concealing them.

CLOSER DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION ALONG TO THE DRAWING:

Fig. 1 shows the profile of a distal part of one finger 1 together with an extended finger nail 2, a thin, glass-clear PU sheating 3, covering the finger tip 4, while encompassing the first knuckle 5, and fixed to it a silicone or gel padding 6 under the nail tip, so to mimic an elongated finger tip.
Fig 2 shows a set of five fingertip covers, as possibly packed on top of a cardboard box display. the sheaths are ready to slip in with the fingertips wherein 7 to 11 is meant for declining sizes of fingers.

Claims

A fingertip cap, comprising a sheathing of thin, highly transparent and flexible material, that extends from the nail tip unto behind the first knuckle, comprising a pad of semi-rigid material, filling the space at the edge and between a protruding nail and the natural fingertip.
Finger tip cap as to claim 1, wherein the thin sheating film is of extended polyurethane
Finger tip cap as to claim 1, wherein the thin pad is of semi-rigid silicone or polyurethane foam.
A method of packing and application of a finger tip cap as to claim 1, wherein the sheaths are packed in selected sizes as folded-up clusters, where a finger tip can be pushed in and be covered automatically.