MINIATURE ORNAMENTAL ASSEMBLY FOR NAIL DECORATION AND METHOD OF APPLICATION

Field of the invention

The present invention generally finds application in the field of human body adornment accessories and particularly relates to a miniature ornamental assembly for decoration of nails and a method of application thereof.

Background of the invention

A number of products and methods for human body decoration are known in the fields of beauty care and fashion, particularly for decorating hand nails, which may be more or less invasive.

A first type of such decorations consist of drawings to be made on various parts of the body or natural or precious stones to be applied using adhesive layers or bearing devices.

For example, a nail decoration is known from GB2354706 which consists of a self- adhesive film, that can be easily removed without using any agent.

This solution has the shortcoming that overlapping decorations are external to the natural nail, and are likely to be unwillingly partially removed. Furthermore, these decorations have a poor aesthetic value, as no precious stone can be associated therewith.

WO2007/052865 discloses a nail art accessory comprising a support for a precious stone or another decorative element, which consists of a thread-like helical body designed to be fixed to the nail in a screw-like fashion.

At its upper part, which is designed to project out of the upper surface of the nail, TRANSLATION (RULE 12.3) ¹

the thread-like body is conformed as a receptacle of the decorative element, which will be held in position by the elastic force exerted thereon by the thread-like body itself.

While this solution obviates the above drawbacks, it still provides a poorly stable and difficultly implantable nail art accessory. The accessory also has a rather complex shape, which increases fabrication complexity.

Summary of the invention

The object of this invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing a miniature ornamental assembly for decoration of nails that obviates the prior art problems.

A particular object is to provide a miniature ornamental assembly that ensures high coupling stability when applied to a hand nail.

An additional object is to provide a miniature ornamental assembly that can be easily and quickly applied and removed.

Yet another object is to provide a miniature ornamental assembly that has one or more decorative stones, possibly precious stones, stably fixed to the support, preventing any accidental disengagement and loss thereof.

Another important object is to provide a highly simple, inexpensive and effective method of application of a miniature ornamental assembly to a hand nail.

These and other objects, as better explained hereafter, are fulfilled by a miniature ornamental assembly for decoration of human nails as defined in claim 1 , which comprises a support member with an upper portion designed to project out of the outer surface of a nail and to support one or more decorative elements and a lower portion designed to be at least partly received in a through hole formed in an

edge portion of the nail projecting from the finger.

The miniature assembly is characterized in that it comprises an anchor member designed to be removably and stably coupled to said lower portion of said support in such a manner to be located, when coupled, on the side of the nail opposite said upper portion.

Thanks to this particular configuration, the miniature ornamental assembly of the invention may be mounted to a nail of a hand or a foot in a relatively simple and quick manner, while ensuring highly stable coupling.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of application of a miniature nail ornamental assembly to a nail, as defined in claim 12.

Brief description of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent upon reading the detailed description of a preferred, non-exclusive embodiment of a miniature ornamental assembly and a method of application thereof to a nail according to the invention, which are described as a non-limiting example with the help of the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of miniature ornamental assembly of the invention according to a first preferred embodiment;

FIGS. 2a and 2b show a sequence of application of a miniature assembly of the invention to a hand nail;

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the miniature assembly of FIG. 1 when applied to a hand nail;

FIG. 4 is a lateral exploded view of miniature assembly of the invention according to a second preferred embodiment; Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of a method of application of a miniature ornamental assembly to a nail.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Referring to the above figures, the miniature assembly of the invention, generally designated by numeral 1 , may be applied to a nail N of a hand or a foot to add aesthetic value thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1 and in FIGS 2a and 2b, a miniature ornamental assembly of the invention comprises a support member 2 with an upper portion 3 designed to project out of the outer surface E of a nail N and to support one or more decorative elements 4, 4', 4", ... and a lower portion 5 designed to be at least partly received in a through hole H formed in an edge portion P of the nail N projecting from the finger.

According to a peculiar feature of the invention, the miniature assembly 1 comprises an anchor member 6 designed to be removably and stably coupled to the lower portion 5 of the support member 2 and to be located, when coupled, on the side of the nail N opposite the upper portion 3 thereof.

This will ensure stable coupling of the support member 2 to the nail, and allow the latter to be decorated in a safe and customizable manner, while substantially avoiding any risk of removal of the support member 2 and the decorative elements 4, 4', 4", ... associated thereto from the nail N, and preventing any nail damage.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower portion 5 of the support member 2 may be formed in such a manner as to have a maximum longitudinal dimension h substantially coincident with the typical thickness of a nail N of a hand or a foot.

In turn the anchor member 6 may have a portion 7 designed to be coupled with the lower portion 5 of the support member 2 with a maximum longitudinal dimension I ₂ substantially coincident with the maximum longitudinal dimension U of the latter.

This will prevent any displacement of the miniature assembly 1 relative to the nail

N and will add stability to their mutual coupling arrangement.

As shown in the figures, the anchor member 6 may include a substantially cylindrical bushing, which in this embodiment corresponds to its coupling portion 7, and is dimensioned for stable engagement of the lower portion 5 of the support member 2.

Nonetheless, the bushing or coupling portion 7 may also have such a size as to prevent it from being entirely received in the through hole H formed in the nail N, without departure from the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 , the lower portion 5 of the support member 2 may include a tubular body δ having a substantially cylindrical sidewall 9, with predetermined internal and external diameters dj and d _e , and with an at least partially threaded inner surface 10.

Furthermore, the cylindrical coupling bushing 7 may have an external diameter d' _e comparable, i.e. substantially coincident with the internal diameter dj of the tubular body 8 and a sidewall 11 having an outer surface 12 at least partially counter- threaded for screw engagement with the threaded inner surface 10 of the tubular body 8.

In an alternative embodiment, not shown herein, the coupling bushing 7 may have a substantially smooth sidewall 11 for snap engagement, possibly with a predetermined interference, into the tubular body 8, which may have either a smooth or a threaded interior.

According to another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the sidewall 9 of the tubular body 8 may have an at least partially threaded outer surface 13, whereas the coupling bushing 7 may have a tubular shape with an internal diameter d'j comparable, i.e. substantially coincident, with the external diameter d _e of the tubular body 8.

In this case, the counter-threads, indicated herein by dashed lines, may be formed on the inner surface 14 of the sidewall 11 of the bushing 7, which may be thus tightened onto the externally threaded sidewall 9 of the tubular body 8.

In each of the configurations as described and illustrated herein, which shall be intended by way of example and without limitation to the present invention, the counter-threads on the cylindrical bushing 7 and the threads on the tubular body 7 of the support may have respective predetermined pitches substantially coincident with each other.

Also, the anchor member 6 may have a substantially annular lower plate 15 integrally joined with the bushing 7 below it. For instance, the coupling bushing 7 and the lower plate 15 may form a single piece obtained by a turning or molding process or other known machining processes.

The annular plate 15 may have an appropriately shaped blind or through hole 16 at its center, preferably of square or polygonal shape, e.g. of hexagonal shape as shown, which is adapted to be engaged by a key member 17 with a counter- shaped end 18, to facilitate screw coupling of the bushing 7 and the support member 2.

In addition to or in alternative to the above, the lower plate 15 may have a substantially diametrical groove 20 on its underside 19, which is preferably but without limitation formed at the central hole 16.

The groove 20 may be adapted to be engaged by an additional external key member, not shown, such as a screw driver or the like, which may be used instead of the other key member for easier tightening of the bushing 7 with the support member 2.

In view of adding aesthetic value to the miniature assembly 1 , the upper portion 3 of the support member 2 may include an upper plate 21 with an underside 22

designed to contact the outer surface of the nail N and a free topside 23 with one or more receptacles 24, 24', 24" formed therein for receiving corresponding decorative elements 4, 4', 4", ... mounted therein.

The latter may include precious or semi-precious stones or other decorative elements of any shape and material, commonly used for making human body ornaments, such as bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces or the like.

The upper plate 21 may have a retaining rim, generally designated by numeral 25, on its topside 23, at the periphery of each of the receptacles 24, 24', 24", ... , which is configured to be bent into each receptacle 24, 24', 24", ... to reduce its aperture and lock the decorative elements 4, 4', 4", ... held therein.

The number and arrangement of the receptacles 24, 24', 24", ... and hence of the respective decorative elements 4, 4', 4", ... on the upper plate 21 may change in any manner to obtain different ornamental designs or miniature assemblies 1 or higher or lower value.

The material of the support member 2 and/or other parts of the miniature assembly 1 may be selected from the group comprising precious or semi-precious metals and alloys thereof, but may include steel, aluminum or other metals or metal alloys, even or lower or little value, as well as plastic.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a method of application of a miniature ornamental assembly 1 to a human nail N, comprising, not necessarily in this order, the steps of a) providing a support member 2 having a lower portion 5 and an upper portion

3 with at least one mounting receptacle 24 for one or more decorative elements

4,4', 4", ... , b) providing an anchor member 6 adapted to be removably coupled to the lower portion 5 of the support member 2, c) forming a through hole H on an edge portion P of a nail N, projecting from the finger, to provide free upper E and lower I surfaces.

A step d) is provided, which consists in inserting the lower portion 5 of the support member 2 into the through hole H of the nail N so that the upper portion 3 at least partially projects out of the upper surface E thereof.

The next step e) consists in coupling the anchor member 6 to the lower portion 5 of the support member 2 so that the former is anchored to the upper portion 3 of the support member 2 on the opposite side of the nail N.

In a first embodiment of the method, which is preferred when the miniature assembly is as shown in FIG. 1 or substantially similar thereto, the coupling step e) may be carried out either by tightening the bushing 7 into the tubular body 8 of the support member 2 or by snap engagement thereof.

In the case of miniature ornamental assemblies 1 as shown in FIG. 4 or the like, the coupling step e) may be carried out by tightening the coupling bushing 7 into the tubular body 8 of the support member 2.

Also, in the case of a support member 2 having an externally threaded and downwardly tapered cylindrical tubular body 9, not shown, the step c) of formation of the through hole H may be carried out by directly tightening the tubular body 8 into the edge portion P of the nail N, for later coupling e) of the support member 2 to the bushing 7 by screw or snap engagement thereof.

The above disclosure clearly shows that the invention fulfills the intended objects and particularly meets the requirement of providing a miniature human nail art assembly that can be simply and quickly applied without affecting the stability of their mutual coupling arrangement.

It will be appreciated that any one of the embodiments described herein and/or illustrated in the figures annexed hereto affords very quick coupling of the anchor member 6 to the support member 2 for the decorative elements 4, 4', 4", ... as required for fixing the latter to the nail N, possibly using an external member, such

as a hex key or a screw driver, without requiring any special skill by the operator, and providing remarkable cost-effectiveness.

The miniature ornamental assembly and method of application of the invention are susceptible to a number of changes or variants, within the inventive concept disclosed in the annexed claims. All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts, and the materials may vary depending on different needs, without departure from the scope of the invention.

While the miniature ornamental assembly and method have been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.