AU2005100709A4 - Hand-Held Nail Tool - Google Patents

Description

P001ool Section 29 Regulation 32(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Hand-held nail tool The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: HAND-HELD NAIL TOOL 0 cFIELD OF THE INNOVATION The present innovation relates to hand-held tools for performing manicures and/or pedicures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INNOVATION A number of prior art nail tools have been used by nail technicians to o perform abrasive treatment to nails, for example, filing, shaping, polishing and obuffing.

0Nail technicians need to be aware of hygienic practices. Fingernails and toenails can be susceptible to bacteria and infectious diseases, which can 0 N contaminate a nail tool used thereon. Subsequent use of a contaminated nail tool on a healthy nail risks facilitating the spread of disease or bacteria to that nail.

A common type of abrasive nail tool is the nail file which is traditionally in the form of a narrow, flat strip having two opposed planar surfaces. Metal nail files are formed with permanent etched or scored abrasive surfaces. In terms of hygiene, such metal nail files can be sterilized in an autoclave after each use.

However, metal nail files are usually limited to having one or two grades of abrasive coarseness. Therefore, given the permanency of the abrasive surfaces, a nail technician requiring a range of coarseness grades is obliged to have a large number of such tools.

Other known nail files have a wood, foam, plastic or paper structure to which abrasive, eg grit or sand, is bonded to planar surfaces. Such materials are incapable of withstanding sterilization in an autoclave. Wood, foam and paper structures due to their porous nature are not able to withstand sterilization fluids.

Plastic structures tend to deform due to the heated working environment of an autoclave. Hence, such nail files are intended to be disposable after use. The problem with such nail files is that they are generally too flexible and can be susceptible to unwanted breaking during use.

It is an object of the present innovation to provide a hand-held nail tool which provides versatility of abrasive coarseness while promoting hygienic practice.

o SUMMARY OF THE INNOVATION 0According to a first aspect of the present innovation there is provided a hand-held tool for performing abrasive treatment to nails, said tool including: a body portion formed of a material suitable for sterilization in a heated pressurised sterilization unit, said body portion including a working surface; and a disposable abrasive treatment material formed of a flexible material o having an abrasive surface and an opposed surface having attachment means, owherein said attachment means allows said abrasive treatment material to be attached to said working surface, in order to perform abrasive treatment to nails, o 10 and subsequently removed from said working surface for disposal.

0 N Preferably, the body portion is formed of stainless steel and the abrasive treatment material is sanding paper having an adhesive. The tool may include a handle portion. Preferably, also, the body portion includes a number of working surfaces to which different abrasive treatment materials can be attached.

According to a second aspect of the innovation there is provided an abrasive treatment unit for performing abrasive treatment to nails, said abrasive treatment unit having an abrasive surface having an abrasive material and an opposed surface having attachment means, said attachment means being adapted to allow said abrasive treatment unit to be attached to a hand-held rigid member, in order to perform abrasive treatment to nails, and subsequently removed from said hand-held member for disposal.

According to a third aspect of the present innovation there is provided a method of performing hygienic abrasive treatment to nails, said method including: providing a sterile hand-held member, said member being formed of a material suitable for repeated sterilization in a heated pressurised sterilization unit; attaching a disposable abrasive treatment material to said member; performing abrasive treatment to a nail using said member having said disposable abrasive treatment material attached; removing said abrasive treatment material from said member after abrasive treatment has been performed for disposal of said abrasive treatment material; and sterilizing said hand-held member in a heated pressurised sterilization unit.

o The present innovation advantageously provides a nail tool which can be 0 readily sterilized after each use, and provides versatility in terms of allowing a variety of abrasive coarseness grades to be used with the one tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further features and aspects of the innovation will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in relation to the oaccompanying drawings, in which: oFig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a hand-held tool; 0Fig. 2 is a side view of the hand-held tool of Fig. 1; 0 10 Fig. 3 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a hand-held tool; and N Figs. 4a-4e are top views of alternative embodiments of a hand-held tool.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a hand-held tool 10 having a flat, thin, rectangular shape. The tool 10 includes a body portion 12 having a top working surface 14 and a bottom working surface 16. The body portion 12 is preferably made of stainless steel, which can withstand repeated sterilization in a heated pressurised sterilization unit, such as an autoclave. Therefore, the body portion 12 is able to be thoroughly sterilized before and after use to provide hygienic treatment. It is expected that the body portion 12 could also be made of nickel, aluminium, glass, brass copper, iron or various carbide materials.

A disposable abrasive treatment material 18 is shown partially attached to the top working surface 14. The treatment material 18 is formed of a flexible material having an abrasive surface 20. A suitable treatment material is sanding paper which can be provided with different degrees of coarseness. The treatment material 18 has an adhesive back 22 which allows the treatment material 18 to be attached to the top working surface 14, whereby the top working surface 14 can be used to apply abrasive nail treatment. Following treatment, the treatment material 18 can be removed from the top working surface 14 and disposed. The body portion can then be sterilized before attaching a replacement treatment material. The replacement treatment material could have an abrasive surface of different coarseness. It will be appreciated that adhesive is only one convenient and preferred form of removably attaching the treatment material 18 to the top o working surface 14, other attachment means such as magnets or hook-and-loop 0 cfasteners could also conceivably be applied.

The body portion 12, shown in Fig. 1, could carry two treatment materials simultaneously, one on the top working surface 14 and one on the bottom working surface 16. The two treatment materials could have abrasive surfaces of differing coarseness.

0It will be appreciated that many modifications can be made to the form of the tool described above subject to falling within the scope of the annexed claims.

For, example, the hand tool 10 can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes for o 10 different treatment applications, see Figs. 4a-4e. Preferably, the tools are 0 manufactured by laser cutting the respective type of sheet material. The tools can be provided with distinct handle portions welded thereto. Alternatively, weighted tools can be made with portions of different thicknesses, whereby the thicker and heavier portion would coincide with the working area, while the thinner portion would be used for gripping the tool, such weighted tools would require less pressure to be applied by the user. Furthermore, the tools can have curved or rounded body portions along their length, see Fig. 3.

Claims (4)

1. A hand-held tool for performing abrasive treatment to nails, said tool including: a body portion formed of a material suitable for repeated sterilization in a heated pressurised sterilization unit, said body portion including a working 0surface; and a disposable abrasive treatment material formed of a flexible material having an abrasive surface and an opposed surface having attachment means, owherein said attachment means allows said abrasive treatment material to be 0 attached to said working surface, in order to perform abrasive treatment to nails, and subsequently removed from said working surface for disposal.

2. The hand-held tool according to claim 1, further including a handle portion attached to said body portion.

3. The hand-held tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said body portion includes at least one further working surface for receiving at least one further disposable abrasive treatment material.

4. An abrasive treatment unit for performing abrasive treatment to nails, said abrasive treatment unit having an abrasive surface having an abrasive material and an opposed surface having attachment means, said attachment means being adapted to allow said abrasive treatment unit to be attached to a hand-held rigid member, in order to perform abrasive treatment to nails, and subsequently removed from said hand-held member for disposal. A method of performing hygienic abrasive treatment to nails, said method including: providing a sterile hand-held member, said member being formed of a material suitable for repeated sterilization in a heated pressurised sterilization unit; attaching a disposable abrasive treatment material to said member; 0 performing abrasive treatment to a nail using said member having said N disposable abrasive treatment material attached; removing said abrasive treatment material from said member after abrasive treatment has been performed for disposal of said abrasive treatment material; and sterilizing said hand-held member in a heated pressurised sterilization unit. o DATED this 23rd day of August 2005 AUSTRALIAN ACCREDITED TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION PTY LTD 0 N WATERMARK PATENT TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS BUILDING 1,.BINARY CENTRE RIVERSIDE CORPORATE PARK LEVEL 3,3 RICHARDSON PLACE NORTH RYDE NSW 2113 AUSTRALIA