The present invention relates to a nail clipper of the type comprising a cutting device consisting of two oppo ^¬ site facing spring-loaded jaws and a lever arm which, upon application of pressure, urges the two jaws against each other for cutting a nail, and a chamber for collect¬ ing cut nail fragments.

A large number of nail clippers is known, one of the best known clippers being the "Three-in-one" nail clipper which consists of two resilient aws whose cutting edges face each other, and which may be caused to nip a nail in the same manner as a pair of nippers by means of a lever mechanism having an arm which also serves as a nail cleaner. In use, this known nail clipper causes the cut nail fragments to be spread, which is unsatisfactory for hygienic reasons among others.

In view of this, a nail clipper type comprising a chamber for collecting cut nail fragments has been developed. Thus, US-A-3 855 698 describes a nail clipper consisting of an upper part and a lower part which may be moved linearly with respect to each other. The lower part ac¬ commodates a cutting device comprising two resilient aws, and a lever to activate the cutting device. Re¬ cesses collecting cut nail fragments are provided on each side of the resilient jaws. Further, two inclined slide tracks are arranged on each side in parallel with the general extent of the cutting device, said upper part, which forms the lid of the collecting chamber, being slidable to and fro on said slide tracks. In order to empty the collecting chamber, the lid is moved back so that the recesses are exposed and the contents may be poured out.

However, following emptying some fragments may still be left which will be able to prevent easy reciprocation of the upper part, and the collected nail fragments can eas¬ ily settle between the two resilient aws, which may m- terfere with the operation of the nail clipper.

Finally, the slide guide results m an essentially quad¬ rangular shape, which is not very convenient to a user seen from an ergonomic point of view.

The object of the invention is to provide a nail clipper which is ergonomically shaped, and which ensures a satis¬ factory function also in case of a relatively filled col¬ lection chamber, it being also desirable to provide a nail clipper of the type mentioned in the opening para¬ graph which is suitable for incorporation in a "three-m- one" nail clipper.

The invention comprises a nail clipper of the type men- tioned m the opening paragraph, wherein said collecting chamber is arranged immediately below the cutting device, and emptying means are provided.

As the collecting chamber is arranged below the resilient jaws, the collected nail fragments may be "shaken" away from the cutting device, so that the contents of the col¬ lecting chamber do not prevent satisfactory operation of the cutting device. Moreover, it is realized by the in¬ vention that the additional thickness of the nail clipper required by this position of the collecting chamber may be used for shaping the nail clipper ergonomically so that it is easy and convenient to use.

The nail clipper moreover has an essentially cylindrical shape with a bulging central portion. This cylindrical

"barrel shape", the contour of which the nail clipper ex-

hibits according to this preferred embodiment of the in ^¬ vention, provides an attractive ergonomic structure which makes the nail clipper convenient to operate.

In a preferred embodiment of a nail clipper according to the invention, the emptying means comprise a through hole from the collecting chamber to the outer side of the nail clipper, preferably at its underside, and a removable plug is positioned in this hole. This simple embodiment of the emptying means allows the emptying of the collect¬ ing chamber to be performed in an easy and uncomplicated manner.

In a particular embodiment, the plug may be constructed as a screw, and the hole is provided with corresponding screw threads. This may be an advantage in the event that it is desired to have an additional safeguard against un¬ intentional loosening of the plug, whereby the contents of the collecting chamber will be emptied.

In the preferred embodiment of a nail clipper according to the invention, it is provided with a nail cleaner which may be pivotally arranged at the essentially plane underside of the nail clipper. Further, the lever arm may have an essentially cylindrical shape and be provided with a preferably concave file area, and the arm prefer¬ ably forms the upper side of the nail clipper. This pro¬ vides a "three-in-one" nail clipper which, in contrast to already known nail clippers of this type, is both ergo- nomically shaped and provided with a collecting function. In the preferred arrangement of the nail cleaner and the nail file on a nail clipper according to this preferred embodiment of the invention it is also ensured that there are no protruding sharp edges or parts. This makes it ad- ditionally convenient to use, as the risk of getting in¬ jured on pointed ends or sharp edges has been eliminated.

The invention will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

fig. 1 is a top view of a nail clipper according to the invention, fig. 2 is a sectional, lateral view through the nail clipper according to the invention, fig. 3 is a bottom view of the nail clipper, and fig. 4 is a front view of the same.

Fig. 1 shows a nail clipper according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. It comprises a housing 1 whose outer shape is cylindrical with a bulge in the centre, or barrel-shaped. At the top, the nail clipper has a circular lever arm 2 which is connected with the clipper device 3 consisting of two resilient jaws 10 which are rearwardly fixed to the housing 1 in a screw connection 7. The lever arm 2 is pivotally suspended in the housing 1 by means of a transverse pin 6 extending therethrough.

At the front, the jaws have two cutting edges 10 which face each other and which may be squeezed together with a great force when pressure is applied to the lever arm 2. This is achieved in that the arm 2 pivots about the transverse through pin 6, causing a projection 11, which may already be in contact with one of the jaws, to urge this jaw against the other jaw utilizing the lever prin¬ ciple, see also fig. 2. The arm 2 is locked with respect to the housing 1 by a pawl 8 positioned oppositely to the cutting edges 10 of the jaws. In the area 12 around the cutting edges 10, the housing has an opening provided with a concave recess 12 in such a manner that the end of a finger may be placed against the edge of this opening, and that the nail extends inwardly between the cutting edges on the cutting device 3.

The lever arm 2 is moreover provided with an area on the outer side of great roughness, thereby serving as a file, which allows a nail clipper according to the invention to be used as a nail file as well. This area is preferably a concave, circular file area 13 which is concentric with the outer contour of the nail clipper. An expedient ge¬ ometry of the file area relative to the contour of a nail is obtained hereby.

As appears from fig. 2, and as is indicated in dotted line m fig. 1, a collecting chamber 4 is provided below the cutting device 3. The chamber extends transversely to the cutting device 3 and in a plane below it.

As will be seen from fig. 3, the underside of the nail clipper mounts a nail cleaner 5 which may be pivoted out¬ wards as it is pivotally mounted on a pawl 7. Further¬ more, emptying means 9 are provided at the underside, said means being in the form of a through hole which is externally closed by a removable plug. This plug may op¬ tionally be secured in the housing 1 with a screw connec¬ tion. This emptying device 9 is arranged at one side of the nail clipper, as will be seen inter alia from fig. 4.