CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION^ )

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/077882, filed September 14, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57, and should be considered a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

Field

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to an artificial nail assembly using magnets to couple the artificial nail to the natural nail.

Description of the Related Art

[0003] Artificial or press-on nails may be attached directly to a natural nail using an adhesive. However, this can have several drawbacks. For example, the size or shape of the artificial nails can be inappropriate or undesirable for the user. The artificial nails can be too large, small, wide, narrow, long, or narrow for a user’s nails. Additionally, artificial nails can be applied with liquid adhesive or a strip of adhesive. The adhesive can be ineffective or insufficient in maintaining the coupling of the artificial nail to the natural nail, which can lead to the artificial nail popping off the natural nail or being dislodged from its desired position. Further, the adhesive can be difficult to apply correctly or precisely to position the artificial nail. Even if the adhesive is applied correctly, the artificial nail can be incorrectly positioned or oriented on the natural nail. The adhesive may set or dry quickly, which prevents the artificial nail from being repositioned on the natural nail in a desired manner. Furthermore, there can be shortcoming to the designs where the artificial nail may not look visually correct on the natural nail.

[0004] Another drawback is that the artificial nail can be difficult to remove, often involving soaking in or using chemicals to remove adhesive, and/or remove the artificial nail using a tool to break and chip off the artificial nail. The process can leave adhesive material residue on the natural nail. The chemicals and tools for removal can cause damage to or irritate the user’s natural nail or the surrounding skin. Additionally, the artificial nail can be broken or damaged during the process of removal, preventing it from being used again. Further, even if the artificial nail is removed in one piece such that it is reusable, there is a limited number of reuses as it is unlikely to withstand the process of adhesion and removal without damage. Lastly, even if the artificial nail is removable for reuse, the process of removal is difficult and time consuming, thus making it undesirable for the user to change the artificial nail.

SUMMARY

[0005] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved artificial nail assembly. Disclosed herein are embodiments of artificial nails that include magnets for application and removal of the artificial nail from a user’s nails. Advantageously, the artificial nails using magnets overcome at least some of the drawbacks of existing applicators discussed above.

[0006] In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, an artificial nail assembly is provided. The artificial nail assembly comprises a base comprising a top side and an opposing bottom side. The top side of the base and the opposing bottom side of the base each being contoured. The base configured to be coupled to a natural nail. The artificial nail assembly further comprises an artificial nail comprising a top side and an opposing bottom side, the top side of the artificial nail and the opposing bottom side of the artificial nail each being contoured. The artificial nail assembly further comprises a magnet associated with one of the artificial nail and the base. The artificial nail and the base are removably coupled to each other via the magnet. The artificial nail assembly further comprises a second magnet associated with another of the artificial nail and the base. The magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base is configured to removably couple to the second magnet. The magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base has an opposite polarity than the second magnet. The magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base comprises a plurality of magnets. The second magnet comprises a plurality of magnets. The magnet is associated with the base. The artificial nail comprises a metallic material. The base is configured to be coupled to a natural nail via an adhesive on the bottom side of the base. The magnet is associated with the artificial nail and is attached to the bottom side of the artificial nail. The magnet is attached to the artificial nail via an adhesive on the bottom side of the artificial nail. The magnet is integral with the bottom side of the artificial nail. The magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base comprises a magnetic layer. The second magnet comprises a magnetic layer. The magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base or the second magnet is contoured. The artificial nail assembly further comprises a non-magnetic layer positioned between the magnet associated with the base and the base. A length of the artificial nail is equal to a length of the base. A length of the base is less than a length of the artificial nail. The artificial nail comprises gel or plastic. The magnet associated with one of the artificial nail and the base comprises magnetic liquid, a rare earth magnet, a flexible magnet, or a neodymium magnet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 is an exploded schematic view of one embodiment of an artificial nail assembly with magnets.

[0008] Figure 2 is a bottom schematic view of the artificial nail.

[0009] Figure 3 is a cross section side view of the artificial nail assembly positioned on a natural nail.

[0010] Figure 4 is a perspective top view of the assembled artificial nail assembly positioned on the natural nail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Disclosed herein are several embodiments of a press-on or artificial nail 30 using one or more magnets to couple to a natural nail 10. The term “magnet” or “magnetic material” can include a magnet of various forms, such as strip magnet, magnetic tape, a magnetic disc, a rectangular magnet, a liquid magnet, or any combination thereof. The term “magnet” or “magnetic material” can include magnetic liquid, rare earth magnets, flexible magnets, neodymium magnets or any combination thereof. The use of magnets in the artificial nails can advantageously allow a user to easily remove, replace, or reposition of the artificial nail 30 relative to a base 20 and the natural nail 10. The use of magnets can also provide an adequate coupling force to secure the artificial nail 30 to the natural nail 10 while minimizing damage to the artificial nail 30 or to the natural nail 10.

[0012] Figure 1 shows one embodiment of an artificial nail assembly using one or more magnets. The assembly can include an artificial nail 30 and a base 20. The artificial nail 30 can include a top or first side 32 and an opposing bottom or second side 34. The assembly can include a base or intermediate piece 20 positioned between the natural nail 10 and the artificial nail 30. The base 20 include a top or first side 22 and opposing bottom or second side 24. One or both sides of the artificial nail 30 and/or the base 20 can be contoured for aesthetic purposes or to match the contour of the natural nail 10. One or both of the artificial nail 30 and the base 20 include one or more magnets, such that the magnetic force of the one or more magnets couples the artificial nail 30 and the base 20. The base 20 can be attached to or coupled to the natural nail 10. In some examples, the base 20 can be attached to the natural nail using an adhesive suitable for application on the natural nail 10. In some examples, the base 20 can be smaller in size than the artificial nail 30, which can advantageously reduce the amount of adhesive used on the natural nail 10. The artificial nail 30 can be made of various materials, such as gel or plastic (including ABS plastic).

[0013] Figure 2 shows a bottom view of the bottom side 34 of the artificial nail 30. The bottom side 34 of the artificial nail 30 can include a magnet 36. The magnet 36 can be one or more magnets. The magnet 36 can be attached to or integral with the bottom side 34 of the artificial nail 30. The magnet 36 can be a magnetic layer applied to a portion of or all of the second side 34 of the artificial nail 30. In some examples, the magnet 36 is attached to the artificial nail 34 with adhesive. The magnet 36 can be contoured, such as matching the contour of the portion of the artificial nail 34 where the magnet 36 is coupled to. The magnet 36 can extend along the majority of the area of the underside 34 of the artificial nail 30. The magnet 36 can have a length at least 50% of the length of the artificial nail 30. In other examples, the magnet 36 can have a length shorter than 50% of the length of the artificial nail 30. In some examples, the underside 34 of the artificial nail 30 can include one or more magnets positioned at different locations on the underside 34 of the artificial nail 30. In some examples, a non-magnetic layer can be positioned between the magnet 36 and the artificial nail 30 such that the magnetic force is directed in a downward direction towards the base 20 and is not directed upward toward the artificial nail 30.

[0014] Figure 3 is a cross section side view of the artificial nail assembly with the artificial nail 30 coupled to and positioned on a natural nail 10. As shown in Figure 3, the artificial nail 30 is directly coupled to the base 20 which directly coupled to the natural nail 10. In the shown embodiment, the base 20 is the same length and shape as the artificial nail 30 and the natural nail 10. In other examples, the base 20 is smaller in length and/or width than the natural nail 10 and/or the artificial nail 30. Similarly, the artificial nail 30 can be the same size and shape as the natural nail 10, as shown. In some examples, the artificial nail 30 can be longer or wider than the natural nail 10.

[0015] As described above, the artificial nail 30 can have a magnet 36 for coupling the artificial nail 30 to the natural nail 10. In one example, the base 20 can include or be made of a metallic material. The one or more magnets 36 of the artificial nail 30 can be configured to couple to the metallic material of the base 20.

[0016] The magnet 36 on the underside 34 of the artificial nail 30 can couple to a magnet or magnetic material (not shown) on the base 20. In some examples, the base 20 also has a magnet or magnetic material, which can be similar to the magnet 36 of the artificial nail 30 as described above. The magnet of the base 20 can be positioned on or adhered to the first side 22 of the base 20. The magnet can be a magnetic layer applied to a portion of or all of the first side 22 of the base 20. The base 20 can also be made of magnetic material or have magnetic material integral with the base 20. The magnet of the base 20 can be one or more magnets. In some examples, the magnet is attached to the base 20 with adhesive. The magnet can be contoured, such as matching the contour of the portion of the base 20 where the magnet is coupled to and/or to the portion of the underside 34 of the artificial nail 30 the magnet of the base 20 is configured to couple to. The magnet of the base 20 can extend along the majority of the area of the top side 22 of the base 20. The magnet on the base 20 can be the same size or larger or smaller than the magnet 36 of the artificial nail 30. In some examples, the top side 22 of the base 20 can include one or more magnets positioned at different locations on the top side 22 of the base 20.

[0017] The magnet of the base 20 can be configured to attach to the magnet 36 of the artificial nail 30 as described above. The magnet of the base 20 can configured to align with the magnets 36 of the artificial nail 30. For example, if the magnet 36 of the artificial nail 30 included one or more magnets located at different locations on the underside 34, the base 20 can include one or more magnets in corresponding locations that align with the locations of the magnets 36 of the artificial nail 30. The magnet of the base 20 can have an opposite polarity of the magnet 36 of the artificial nail 30. In some examples, a non-magnetic layer can be positioned between the magnet and the base such that the magnetic force is directed in a upward direction towards the artificial nail 30 and is not directed downward toward the natural nail 10. [0018] In another example, the artificial nail 30 excludes the magnet 36 and can include or be made of a metallic material. The base 20 can include one or more magnets, as described above, and be configured to couple to the metallic material of the artificial nail 30.

[0019] The magnets described herein can vary in size and shape. In some examples, the thickness of the magnets can be between 0.1 mm and 1 mm, such as 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm or 1 mm. In some examples, the length of the magnets can be between 0.1 mm and 10 mm, such as 0.5 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm or 10 mm. In some examples, the width of the magnets can be between 0.1 mm and 6 mm, such as 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.0 mm, 3.5 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm, 5 mm, 5.5 mm or 6 mm. However the magnets can have other suitable dimensions (e.g., suitable lengths, widths and/or thicknesses) and/or shapes.

Additional Embodiments

[0020] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a magnetic artificial nail may be in accordance with any of the following clauses:

Clause 1: An artificial nail assembly, comprising: a base comprising a top side and an opposing bottom side, the top side of the base and the opposing bottom side of the base each being contoured, the base configured to be coupled to a natural nail; and an artificial nail comprising a top side and an opposing bottom side, the top side of the artificial nail and the opposing bottom side of the artificial nail each being contoured; and a magnet associated with one of the artificial nail and the base, wherein the artificial nail and the base are removably coupled to each other via the magnet.

Clause 2: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, further comprising a second magnet associated with another of the artificial nail and the base.

Clause 3: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base is configured to removably couple to the second magnet. Clause 4: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base has an opposite polarity than the second magnet.

Clause 5: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base comprises a plurality of magnets.

Clause 6: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the second magnet comprises a plurality of magnets.

Clause 7: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet is associated with the base, wherein the artificial nail comprises a metallic material.

Clause 8: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the base is configured to be coupled to a natural nail via an adhesive on the bottom side of the base.

Clause 9: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet is associated with the artificial nail and is attached to the bottom side of the artificial nail.

Clause 10: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet is attached to the artificial nail via an adhesive on the bottom side of the artificial nail.

Clause 11: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet is integral with the bottom side of the artificial nail.

Clause 12: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base comprises a magnetic layer.

Clause 13: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the second magnet comprises a magnetic layer.

Clause 14: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet associated with the one of the artificial nail and the base or the second magnet is contoured.

Clause 15: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, further comprising a non-magnetic layer positioned between the magnet associated with the base and the base.

Clause 16: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein a length of the artificial nail is equal to a length of the base.

Clause 17: The artificial assembly of any preceding clause, wherein a length of the base is less than a length of the artificial nail.

Clause 18: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the artificial nail comprises gel or plastic. Clause 19: The artificial nail assembly of any preceding clause, wherein the magnet associated with one of the artificial nail and the base comprises magnetic liquid, a rare earth magnet, a flexible magnet, or a neodymium magnet.

[0021] While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the systems and methods described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For example, one portion of one of the embodiments described herein can be substituted for another portion in another embodiment described herein.

[0022] Features, materials, characteristics, or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment, or example are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described in this section or elsewhere in this specification unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The protection is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The protection extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

[0023] Furthermore, certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised from the combination, and the combination may be claimed as a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0024] Moreover, while operations may be depicted in the drawings or described in the specification in a particular order, such operations need not be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Other operations that are not depicted or described can be incorporated in the example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the described operations. Further, the operations may be rearranged or reordered in other implementations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the actual steps taken in the processes illustrated and/or disclosed may differ from those shown in the figures. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps described above may be removed, others may be added. Furthermore, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products.

[0025] For purposes of this disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features are described herein. Not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves one advantage or a group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

[0026] Conditional language, such as “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

[0027] Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.

[0028] Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately”, “about”, “generally,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and within less than 0.01% of the stated amount.

[0029] The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosures of preferred embodiments in this section or elsewhere in this specification, and may be defined by claims as presented in this section or elsewhere in this specification or as presented in the future. The language of the claims is to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to the examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.