ARTIFICIAL NAIL

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an artificial nail, and more particularly to an artificial nail including an upper plate having bosses on the bottom surface thereof and a lower plate being attached to the upper surface of a natural nail and having insert holes into which the bosses are inserted.

Description of the Related Art

In general, artificial nails are being widely used by women pursuing beauty. However, since conventional artificial nails are directly attached to natural nails by coating an adhesive on the upper surfaces of the natural nails, they can be inconveniently attached to and detached from the natural nail. Furthermore, since the artificial nails are moved over time as the natural nails grow, the cuticles of the natural nails are exposed.

Moreover, since the artificial nails are directly attached to the natural nails, the natural nails happen to be damaged as in FIG. 1, when impacts are applied to the artificial nails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an artificial nail allowing easy attachment and detachment of an upper plate to exchange the upper plate in correspondence to the taste of a user, allowing prevention of damage to a natural nail even in the case of an abrupt impact, and allowing easy adjustment of the position of the upper plate when the natural nail grows.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an artificial nail attached to a natural nail, comprising: an upper plate having bosses on the bottom surface thereof; and a lower plate having insert holes into which the bosses are inserted and fitted and the bottom surface of which is attached to the upper surface of the natural nail, the upper plate being freely attached to and detached from the lower plate. Preferably, at least two bosses are formed along the lengthwise direction of the upper plate.

Moreover, the boss located at the distal end of the upper plate is formed on the front side so as to be spaced apart from the natural nail and has a length passing through

the lower plate. The insert holes fijrther include a plurality of auxiliary holes spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the insert holes have a rectangular shape forming a main axis in the lengthwise direction of the upper plate.

Further, the bosses have hexahedral shapes so as to be slidably engaged with the insert holes .

Furthermore, female screw threads are formed on the inner surfaces of the insert holes and male screw threads are formed on the outer surfaces of the bosses so as to be inserted into and engaged with the female screw threads. The female screw threads and the male screw threads have saw-tooth shapes that are inclined to one side. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the lower plate can be freely separated such that the insert holes can be divided along the lengthwise direction thereof by hinge-coupling one end thereof and fixing the other end thereof to a fixing means. According to the present invention, since an upper plate is attached to a natural nail by using a lower plate, the natural nail is prevented from being damaged by an abrupt impact. Further, since the upper plate can be easily attached and detached, a plurality of upper plates having various

colors and patterns can be easily exchanged according to the taste of a user.

Furthermore, a plurality of bosses can prevent rotation and distortion of the upper plate on the lower plate, and a distal end boss is located on the front side of the natural nail and passes through the lower plate, thereby enhancing the engaging force between the upper plate and the lower plate.

Furthermore, a plurality of insert holes into which the bosses of the upper plate are inserted are formed in the lower plate and the insert holes form main axes in the lengthwise direction of the upper plate so that the bosses can slide, thereby allowing easy adjustment of the position of the upper plate.

Moreover, a use can easily move the upper plate by a predetermined length by forming screw threads on the outer surfaces of the bosses and the inner surfaces of the insert holes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating attachment of a conventional artificial nail and a side view illustrating damage to a natural nail when an abrupt impact is applied to the artificial nail; FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating attachment of an artificial nail according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an artificial nail according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating engagement of an upper plate and a lower plate according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating attachment of the lower plate to a natural nail;

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view illustrating engagement of the artificial nail according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an artificial nail according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating engagement of an upper plate and a lower plate of the artificial nail according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view and a partially- enlarged view of an artificial nail, according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views illustrating engagement of bosses and insert holes according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of an artificial nail according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a lower plate according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, artificial nails according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1 Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, an artificial nail according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an upper plate 200 having at least two cylindrical bosses 210, 210a, 210b, and 210c on the bottom surface thereof, and a lower plate having insert holes 110a, 120a, and 130a into which the

bosses 210 are inserted and fitted and being attached to the upper surface of a natural nail 1.

The number and position of the bosses 210 is not specifically limited, but as illustrated in the figures, in the first embodiment of the present invention, three bosses 210 are arranged at a central portion of the upper plate 200 along the lengthwise direction of the upper plate 200.

Meanwhile, the boss 210a located at the distal end 210a of the upper plate 200 and the insert holes 110a, 120a, and 130a coupled to the boss 210a are separated from the natural nail 1 and disposed on the front side. The distal end boss 210a is longer than the other bosses 210a and 210c so as to enhance the coupling force between the upper plate 200 and the lower plate 100. The bosses 210b and 210c other than the distal end boss 210a are located on the upper side of the natural nail so as not to pass through the lower plate 100.

Moreover, the lower plate 100 further includes a plurality of auxiliary holes HOb, 120b, 130b, HOc, 120c, and 130c spaced apart from the insert holes 110-a, 120a, and 130a. The auxiliary holes HOb, 120b, 130b, HOc, 120c, and 130c are designed to retreat the upper plate 200 as the natural nail 1 grows so that cuticles cannot be exposed and have the same inner diameter into which the bosses 210b and 210c can be inserted and fitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, expansion grooves 140 are formed on the bottom surface (the surface attached to the natural nail) of the lower plate 100 at ends of the insert holes and the auxiliary holes. According to the artificial nail of the present invention, the upper plate 200 and the lower plate 100 have resiliency to allow insertion coupling thereof. Accordingly, as shown in the enlarged portion of FIG. 6, when the boss 210c is engaged with the insert hole or the auxiliary holes, an end of the boss is inserted into the insertion hole or the auxiliary holes so as to prevent the boss from being loosely withdrawn from the insert hoLe or the auxiliary holes since the volume of the boss is relatively expanded in the expansion groove 140 rather than in the portions of the insert hole or the auxiliary holes, into which the boss is inserted and pressed (since the boss is a resilient body) . Further, since the distal end boss 210a passes through and is fitted into the insert ho Le 110a or the auxiliary holes 120a and 130a, a portion of the boss 210a which has passed through the insert hole 110a or the auxiliary holes L20a and 130a is also expanded so as to have a similar or same effect. That is, the expansion groove 140 is formed at the ends of the insert hole 110b and 110c and the auxiliary holes 120b, 130b, 120c, and 130c attached to the upper surface of the natural nail.

Meanwhile, the lower plate 100 is curved by a

predetermined curvature or has a sufficient resiliency so as to be attached to the upper surface of the natural nail and is attached to the upper surface of the natural nail by using a conventional adhesive as illustrated in FIG. 5. Therefore, it is preferable that the lower plate 100 is formed of a rubber or a synthetic resin.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the artificial nail according to the first embodiment of the present invention, an end of the lower plate 100 is separated from an end of the natural nail by a predetermine distance when attached to the natural nail, so that the distal end boss 210a is fixed to the front side of the natural nail. After the lower plate 100 is attached, the user presses the upper plate to insert the bosses into the corresponding insert hole or auxiliary holes and thereby complete the wearing operation.

According to the artificial nail of the first embodiment of the present invention, if the natural nail grows as the time passes by and then the lower plate 100 and the upper plate 200 are moved, the position of the upper plate can be adjusted by separating only the upper plate 200 and inserting the bosses at proper positions, with the lower plate 100 not being removed.

Embodiment 2

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, rectangular insert holes 150, 150a, 150b, and 150c having the major axes in the lengthwise

direction (the direction along which a natural nail 1 grows) of the upper plate 200 or the natural nail 1 are formed in the lower plate 100 of an artificial nail according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Hexahedral bosses 220, 220a, 220b, and 220c inserted and fitted into the insert holes 150 and slidable in the insert holes 150 are formed on the bottom surface of the upper plate.-

Furthermore, it is preferable that as in the first embodiment of the present invention, in the artificial nail according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the distal end boss 220a is engaged with the front side of the natural nail and has a length by which the insert hole 220a passes through.

According to the artificial nail of the second embodiment of the present invention, when the position of the upper plate 200 is adjusted as the natural nail grows, the upper plate 200 and the lower plate 100 are not separated from each other and the upper plate 200 is slid, with the upper plate 200 engaged with the lower plate 100. That is, the boss 220 is slid along the shape of the insert hole 220 when a force is applied to the upper plate 200 in the lengthwise direction of the upper plate 200, differently from the first embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, according to the artificial nail of the second embodiment of the present invention, the upper plate 200

can be moved more precisely than in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiment 3

Referring to FIG. 9, in an artificial nail according to the third embodiment of the present invention, female screw threads 160, 160a, 160b, and 160c are formed on the inner surfaces of the insert hole 150 of a lower plate 100 and male screw threads engaged with the female screw threads are formed on the bosses of an upper plate. That is, the third embodiment of the present invention is constituted by forming the screw threads on the bosses and the insert holes.

Meanwhile, the screw threads can have various shapes and the effects of the threads can be varied according to the shapes of the screw threads.

As shown in FIG. 10, when conventional triangular screw threads are formed on the bosses and the insert holes, the bosses cannot be slid in the insert holes but the user can move the upper plate by a precisely determined length (the distance between adjacent screw threads) .

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 11, if the screw threads formed in the bosses and the insert holes are inclined to one side and have saw-tooth shapes, the upper plate 200 cannot be slid in the direction indicated by the arrow X but

can be slid in the direction indicated by the arrow O, so that a user can move the upper plate 200 by a predetermined length (the distance between adjacent screw threads)

Embodiment 4 As illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, according to an artificial nail of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, a lower plate 100 can be separated.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the lower plate 100 is separated so as to bifurcate the insert holes . Hinge holes 171a and 171b are formed at ends of the separated lower plates so as to fix the lower plates by a hinge pin 170, and protrusions 181a and 181b are formed at the other ends thereof so as to be inserted and fitted into a fixing tab 180.

In the state in which the fixing tab is separated from the lower plates 100, one end of the Lower plates 100 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is fixed and the other end thereof is rotatable so that the lower plates 100 can be moved like scissors. Accordingly, the lower plates can be engaged with upper plates havincj different diameters and having different bosses. Therefore, it is preferable that the fixing tab 180 has a resilient force so that the insert holes can be further expanded in correspondence to the bosses.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beeα disclosed for illustrative purposes, those

skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims .