Nail Brush Crimper

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/656,014 filed Jun. 4, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/670,424 filed Jul. 12, 2024, the contents of each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Not Applicable

The present disclosure relates generally to a crimper, and more specifically to a crimper for a brush used for applying a product to a fingernail or toenail.

Professional nail technicians and artists commonly use nail brushes to apply various nail products to a fingernail or toenail. For instance, acrylic powder may be applied to a fingernail or toenail for creating artificial nail enhancements. A conventional nail brush typically includes a handle, bristles, and a ferrule (metal band holding the bristles). Before the brush is first used, the nail tech may need to configure the brush to have a correct or desired shape by crimping. After multiple uses, nail brushes may lose their optimal shape of bristles. To restore the shape, nail professionals may tighten the ferrule to shape nail brushes for efficient use. When the shape of the bristles is too round or pointed, there may be difficulties in picking up the acrylic powder used in nail enhancements. It is generally desirable for the bristles to assume a flat and fanned-out configuration to allow nail techs to apply powder faster and more easily, resulting in a more beautiful outcome.

Crimping generally refers to a technique of manually changing the shape of a nail brush to improve its functionality. Crimping typically flattens the round ferrule (e.g., the metal part holding the bristles) of the brush to allow the bristles to fan out and conform to a more desirable shape. With a crimped brush, nail professionals may obtain a wider surface area to pick up more product (e.g., acrylic powder), thus saving time for their clients and for themselves. Efficient crimping may additionally yield flatter bristles for better control during nail art, resulting in enhanced outcome and satisfaction. A properly crimped nail brush may further provide comfort to the nail workers, preventing pain for their fingers and hands. In view of the several benefits associated with a crimped nail brush, a nail brush crimper may allow nail techs to save money, save products and save time by facilitating the efficient application of product (e.g. acrylic, dip or gel) so that the customer's nail does not overheat from filing due to excess product.

There are two conventional techniques commonly used by nail techs to crimp nail brushes. One technique is to use all-purpose, generic pliers to squeeze the ferrule, while the other technique is to use a door hinge to compress the brush. However, both techniques are associated with significant drawbacks. Firstly, pliers are not made for the delicate nail brushes and sometimes can cause damage if one is not careful and applies an excessive force when crimping. When that happens, the end result may be wasted time and money, as well as environmental waste. Secondly, the use of door hinges while crimping has resulted in a variety of injuries to nail workers' fingers. Nail professionals work primarily with their hands, and thus, to sustain injuries to their fingers from unsafe crimping not only entails bodily damage, but also a loss of productivity.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a nail brush crimper designed specifically for nail brushes to be used in the application of nail art. Various aspects of the present disclosure address this particular need, as will be discussed in more detail below.

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a crimping tool designed to enable nail technicians to easily shape nail brushes to ensure the bristles on the brush are in a desired position for optimal use. The crimping tool includes a crimping jaw having a selectively adjustable range of motion which conforms to the size of the brush. In this regard, the crimping jaw may open and close, with the degree to which the jaws close being adjustable, with the jaws being separated by a greater degree when closed around thicker/larger brushes, and the jaws being separated by a lesser degree when closed around smaller/thinner brushes. Such adjustment may result in reduced damage to the brushes, achieve a desired bristle orientation, enhance the safety to the nail tech, and improve the speed and efficiency of the work.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a crimper for crimping brushes used in painting or otherwise applying nail care products to human fingernails or toenails. For purposes of this disclosure, the term “nail brush” generally means a nail art brush used to apply acrylics, nail polish, nail gel, nail powder and other nail art products to human nails that includes fingernails and toenails. Although a thorough discussion of nail brushes is included herein, it is contemplated by this disclosure that the disclosed crimper device could be used on brushes that are not specific to nail art, but that share similar features of a nail brush such as a handle, bristles, and a ferrule (metal band holding the bristles). The crimper includes a pair of guide shafts with each guide shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion. An upper jaw is coupled to the pair of guide shafts adjacent the upper end portion of the guide shafts, with the upper jaw comprising an upper plate and an upper jaw body coupled to the upper plate. A lower jaw is moveably coupled to the pair of guide shafts, with the lower jaw comprising a lower plate and a lower jaw body coupled to the lower plate. An adjustment plate is coupled to the lower end portions of the pair of guide shafts such that the lower jaw is located between the upper jaw and the adjustment plate. An actuating cam is configured to interface with the lower plate and the adjustment plate, with the actuating cam being rotatable between a neutral position and an actuated position. The upper jaw and lower jaw move toward each other as the actuating cam rotates from the neutral position toward the actuated position and assuming a prescribed distance therebetween when the actuating cam is in the actuated position.

The crimper may additionally include an adjustment cam rotatable relative to the adjustment plate about a rotation axis. The adjustment cam may include a plurality of adjustment surfaces, each of which are associated with a distinct radius relative to the rotation axis. Each of the plurality of adjustment surfaces may include a planar segment. The plurality of adjustment surfaces may include at least three adjustment surfaces. The adjustment plate may be positioned between the actuating cam and the adjustment cam.

The actuating cam may be of an oval shape.

The crimper may additionally include comprising a pair of springs extending around respective ones of the pair of guide shafts. The pair of springs may be configured to bias the upper jaw away from the lower jaw.

The crimper may include a housing, with the adjustment plate being moveable within the housing.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of sizing a crimper adapted for crimping brushes that are of different sizes, with the brushes being adapted for applying a coating to a human nail which includes fingernails or toenails. The method includes adjusting an allowable range of motion of a crimper comprising a pair of guide shafts, with each guide shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion. An upper jaw is coupled to the pair of guide shafts adjacent the upper end portion of the guide shafts, with the upper jaw comprising an upper plate and an upper jaw body coupled to the upper plate. A lower jaw is moveably coupled to the pair of guide shafts, with the lower jaw comprising a lower plate and a lower jaw body coupled to the lower plate.

An adjustment plate may be coupled to the lower end portions of the pair of guide shafts such that the lower jaw is located between the upper jaw and the adjustment plate. An actuating cam is configured to interface with the lower plate and the adjustment plate, with the actuating cam being rotatable relative to the lower plate and the adjustment plate to facilitate movement of the lower plate relative to the upper plate. The adjustment of the allowable range of motion includes movement of the adjustment plate relative to the upper jaw.

The crimper may additionally include an adjustment cam rotatable relative to the adjustment plate about a rotation axis, with the adjustment cam having a plurality of adjustment surfaces, each of which are associated with a distinct radius relative to the rotation axis. The step of adjusting the allowable range of motion may include rotating the adjustment cam.

The present disclosure will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and the detailed description to indicate the same elements.

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of certain embodiments of a nail brush crimper and is not intended to represent the only forms that may be developed or utilized. The description sets forth the various structure and/or functions in connection with the illustrated embodiments, but it is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent structure and/or functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not for purposes of limiting the same, there is depicted a crimperfor crimping brushesused in applying product to human fingernails or toenails. For purposes of this disclosure, human nails or nails may mean human fingernails or human toenails. Likewise, even though a reference is made to a fingernail, there is equal applicability to a toenail. Crimping the brushesmay configure the bristlesof the brushin a desirable, fanned-out arrangement. For instance, crimping may cause the bristlesto transition from a generally cylindrical configuration to a generally fan-shaped configuration, which may be associated with several advantages, including facilitating precise positioning of the brush for effective treatment, e.g., acrylic powder application, nail sculpting, nail painting etc. In addition, the modified shape of the brush from crimping may facilitate accumulating an appropriate amount of acrylic nail powder evenly on the brush for optimal application of the powder to fingernail or toenail. The fan-shaped configuration may also enhance the speed and efficiency of the treatment. The crimping of the brushmay also increase the lifespan of the brush and increase customer satisfaction. The crimpermay also reduce workplace injuries by allow for safe and easy crimping of the brush, compared to traditional crimping techniques, such as using a door hinge.

is a front upper perspective views of the crimper, with the nail brushbeing positioned in alignment with crimping jawsof the crimper.is a rear upper perspective view of the crimper, whileare front and rear views, respectively. The crimperincludes a baseadapted to interface directly with an underlying support surface, such as a table or counter. The basemay have a slip-resistant lower surface configured to mitigate unwanted sliding or movement of the crimperon the support surface. The basemay be formed of rubber, plastic, wood, metal, or other materials known in the art.

A support pedestalmay extend upwardly from the baseand may be configured to elevate the crimping jawsto a desirable height. The support pedestalmay have a tapered configuration that becomes narrower as the support pedestalextends away from the base.

Extending from the support pedestalis a housing, which may be sized and configured to house several internal components, which will be described in more detail below. The exemplary housingis quadrangular in configuration, with opposing front and rear walls,, and opposing sidewalls,. The housingmay be hollow and define an internal cavity within which the internal components may be located. The housingmay be formed of metal, rubber, plastic, wood, or other materials known in the art.

A size adjustment dialmay be positioned in front of the front walland may be selectively rotatable to facilitate adjustment of the crimping jawsbased to correspond to the size of the brush, as will be described in more detail below. The size adjustment dialmay have indicia printed or formed thereon indicative of sizing associated with different brushes, as exemplified in. For instance, in the exemplary embodiment, the indicia includes the numbers,,,,, and, each being associated with a brush associated with that number. Thus, to crimp a size 12 brush, the size adjustment dialis rotated until theis at the top (e.g., the twelve o'clock position), and to crimp a size 14 brush, the size adjustment dialis rotated until theis at the top, and so forth.

On the rear of the crimper, an actuating shaftmay protrude through the rear walland may be adapted to interface with a gripping shaft. In one embodiment, the actuating shaftincludes a flat end portionthat is sized to be inserted into a similarly shaped opening formed in an end portion of the gripping shaft. The complementary configurations of the flat end portionand opening may allow the flat end portionto be inserted into the opening along an actuating axisdefined by the actuating shaft. Once the flat end portionis received within the opening, the gripping shaftmay be pivoted about the actuating axis, which in turn causes rotation of the actuating shaftabout the actuating axis.

The crimpermay additionally include a cover plateon top of the housing. The cover platemay extend across the cavity defined by the housingand over both the front and rear walls,and over the sidewalls,to generally enclose the cavity. The cover platemay be secured to the support pedestalthrough four elongate fasteners, with each fastenerextending through a respective corner region of the cover plate. Each fastenermay be externally threaded and configured to engage with corresponding internally threaded openings formed on the support pedestal.

The crimperadditionally includes an upper jawand a lower jaw, which collectively define the crimping jaws. The upper jawincludes an upper plateand an upper jaw bodycoupled to the upper plate. The upper jaw bodyincludes a upper crimping edgeconfigured to be pressed against the ferrule of the brushwhile crimping. The lower jawincludes a lower plateand a lower jaw bodycoupled to the lower plate. The lower jaw bodyincludes a lower crimping edgeconfigured to pressed against the ferrule of the brushopposite the upper crimping edgewhile crimping. In this regard, the upper and lower crimping edges,are configured to be simultaneously pressed into a desired portion of the brushto crimp the brush. The lower jaw bodymay protrude through a brush supporthaving support plateincluding a slot formed therein and sized to allow the lower jaw bodyto protrude therethrough. The brush supportadditionally includes a support flangea support notchlocated on opposite sides of the slot. The support flangemay be adapted to allow the bristles of the brushto rest thereon, while the shaft of the brushmay be supported by the notchduring the crimping process.

The upper and lower jaws,are both attached to a pair of guide shaftswhich extend through the upper and lower jaws,, through the cover plate, and into the cavity of the housing. The configuration of the guide shaftswithin the housingand how the guide shaftsinteract with other components within the housingwill be discussed in more detail below. The upper jawis attached to upper end portions of the guide shafts, while the lower end portions of the guide shaftsare located within the housing. The crimperadditionally includes a pair of springsextending around respective guide shafts. The springsmay apply a force on the upper and lower jaws,that bias the upper and lower jaws,away from each other. The guide shaftsmay also extend through openings in the cover plate, as well as the brush support. The brush supportmay include sleeves which extend around the guide shafts.

Turning now to, various internal components of the crimperwill now be discussed. The crimperincludes an actuating cam, an adjustment plate, and an adjustment camlocated within the housing. The actuating camis coupled to the actuating shaftand is configured to be rotatable about the actuating axisbetween a neutral position and an actuated position.shows the actuating camin the neutral position, whileshows the actuating camin the actuated position, which will be described in more detail below. According to one embodiment, the position of the actuating axisis fixed relative to the base, support pedestal, housing, and cover plate. The actuating cammay be positioned between the adjustment plateand the lower jaw, with the actuating cambeing configured to urge the adjustment plateand lower jawaway from each other as the actuating camis rotated from the neutral position toward the actuated position. In this regard, the actuating cammay have an oval shape, or other non-circular shape to vary the spacing between the adjustment plateand the lower jawas the actuating camrotates. For instance, in one position, the actuating cammay arranged such that the major axis (i.e., the longitudinal axis)of the oval is perpendicular to both the lower jawand the adjustment plateto create maximum separation between the adjustment plateand the lower jaw. In another position, the actuating cammay be arranged such that the minor axis (i.e., the latitudinal axis)of the oval is perpendicular to both the lower jawand the adjustment plateto create minimum separation between the adjustment plateand the lower jaw.

The adjustment plateis located within the housingand is coupled to the lower end portions of the pair of guide shaftssuch that the lower jawis located between the upper jawand the adjustment plate. Furthermore, the adjustment plateis located such that the actuating camis between the lower jawand the adjustment plate. The position of the adjustment plateis moveable within the housingto adjust the range of motion of the upper and lower jaws,. For instance, the range of motion may be adjusted to conform to the size of the brush; larger brushesmay require the upper and lower jaws,to be further apart when crimping, while smaller brushersmay require the upper and lower jaws,to be closer together when crimping.

The adjustment camis rotatable relative to the adjustment plateabout a rotation axis. The adjustment cammay include a plurality of adjustment surfaces,,,,,, each of which are associated with a distinct radius relative to the rotation axis. Each adjustment surface-may include a planar segment capable of abutting a planar surface on the adjustment plate.

The rotation axisof the adjustment cam, and the actuating axisof the actuating camare separated by a fixed distance. The components which may occupy space between the rotation axisand the actuating axisinclude the actuating cam, the adjustment plateand the adjustment cam. Given the fixed configuration of the adjustment plate, the only variables along that distance include the actuating cam(via rotation thereof), and the adjustment cam(via rotation thereof). Thus, when the actuating camis in the actuating position, the entirety of the space between the rotation axisand the actuating axisis occupied by the actuating cam, the adjustment plateand the adjustment cam. When the adjustment camis set in its desired position, it occupies a certain percentage of the distance between the rotation axisand the actuating axis. The remaining percentage is available for the adjustment plateand the actuating cam. Thus, the greater percentage occupied by the adjustment cam, the lesser percentage that can be occupied by the actuating cam, and the lesser percentage occupied by the adjustment cam, the greater percentage that can be occupied by the actuating cam. Therefore, due to the multi-sided nature of the adjustment cam, wherein each side is associated with a unique radius relative to the rotation axis, the adjustment camis capable of occupying a variable percentage of the distance between the rotation axisand the actuating axis, which in turn, varies the available space which may be occupied by the actuating cam.

With the basic structure of the devicehaving been described above, the following discussion relates to operation of the device. When a user has a desired brush, the user may identify the size of the brushfrom indicia on the brushand/or the packaging associated with the brush. When the size is known, the user may rotate the size adjustment dialto a setting corresponding to the size of the brush.

As the size adjustment dialis rotated, the adjustment camalso rotates about the rotation axisuntil the adjustment surface-associated with the desired brush size is moved adjacent to, and parallel to the lower surface of the adjustment plate. The selected adjustment surface-defines a unique distance to the rotation axis, which allows for adjustment of a closed/crimping position of the crimping jaws.

With the size adjustment dialhaving been set to its desired position, the brushmay be inserted within the crimping jaws, while the crimping jawsare in an open position. While the brushremains between the crimping jaws, the user grabs the gripping shaftand pivots the gripping shaftrelative to the housing, which in turn causes the actuating camto transition from the neutral position toward the actuating position. The rotation of the actuating cammay urge the adjustment platedownwardly, while the lower jawis urged upwardly. In other words, the adjustment plateand lower jawmay be urged/moved in opposite directions in response to movement of the actuating camfrom the neutral position toward the actuating position.

The upper jaw may move in concert with the adjustment platethrough their connection via the guide shafts. Thus, as the adjustment plate moves downwardly in response to the actuating camtransitioning from the neutral position toward the actuating position, the upper jaw may also move downwardly. Such downward movement of the upper jaw may occur concurrently/simultaneously to the lower jaw moving upwardly. Thus, the concurrent downward movement of the upper jaw and upward movement of the lower jaw corresponds to the crimping jaws moving from the open position toward the closed/crimping position. The movement of the upper and lower jaws toward each other compresses the springspositioned around the guide shafts, between the upper and lower jaws,.

When the actuating camassumes the actuating position, the lower jawand adjustment plateare separated by the maximum distance equal to the longitudinal dimension of the adjustment cam, while the lower jawand upper jaware separated by a minimum distance, as the lower jawno longer moves upwardly and the upper jawno longer moves downwardly. As the jaws,move toward the crimping position, the jaws,compress against the brush to crimp the brush, which in turn, results in the bristles transitioning to a desired fan, or arcuate arrangement.

In the example depicted in, the actuating camis capable of being rotated completely such that its major axisis in a generally vertical orientation. However, when the adjustment camis rotated to other positions, such as the position depicted in, to situate other adjustment surfaces-in operative alignment with the actuating cam, there may not be sufficient space to allow the actuating camto rotate to the position depicted in. In this regard, in, the actuating camis limited in its rotation away from the neutral position, as the adjustment plateis in abutment with the adjustment cam, and the lower jawis in abutment with the brush. In this regard, the actuating cammay be capable of a minimal amount of further rotation to impart the crimp into the brush; however, the actuating camwould not be capable of assuming the position depicted in.

To release the jaws,, the user simply releases some of the force being applied by the gripping shaft, and the biasing force applied by the springsurges the upper and lower jaws,away from each other.

The process of crimping the brushusing the crimping devicemay allow a nail technician to quickly, safely, and easily impart a crimp in the brush. The deviceis configured such that the user may simply interface with the size adjustment dialand engage the gripping shaft, and the mechanical interconnection between the components allows for implementation of any size adjustment in response to rotation of the size adjustment dial, and the transition of the jaws,toward their crimping position occurs in response to rotation of the gripping shaft.

The particulars shown herein are by way of example only for purposes of illustrative discussion, and are not presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, no attempt is made to show any more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the different features of the various embodiments, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how these may be implemented in practice.