Nail Product Curing System And Method For Curing Nail Products
A nail product curing system for curing nail products includes a housing having a nail treatment space configured to receive a hand of a user and to position one or more nails of the user, and one or more LED light sources on the housing for generating light in the nail treatment space for performing a curing process. The nail product curing system also includes a sensing and controlling system that includes touchless sensors on the housing configured to sense placement of the hand in the nail treatment space, and to control various parameters of the curing process using movement of the user's hands. The sensing and controlling system also includes a circuit board on the housing and a radio transmission controller in signal communication with the circuit board configured to control the LED light sources and the curing process using programmed instructions.
Latest TSLC CORPORATION Patents:
This disclosure relates to curing systems for nail products and to a system and method for curing light-curable nail products in place on a user's hands or feet.
BACKGROUNDNail product curing systems are used in the beauty industry to cure light-curable nail products. For example, fingernails and toenails can be coated with light-curable nail products such as nail polishes, UV curable nail gels and artificial nails. The nail products can include photo-initiators in combination with selected polymers. The photo-initiators react with light to form radical photo-initiators that react with the polymers to form a nail coating. This process is known in the art as curing the nail products.
Nail product curing systems can include nail lamps for curing the nail products in place on the user's nails. These nail lamps typically include an opening for positioning an appendage (i.e., hand or foot) of the user in a nail treatment space. U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,855,543; 10,247,475; 10,357,094; and 11,641,919 disclose exemplary prior art nail lamps. These nail lamps are designed for use by nail service providers, such as salons, and by nail product users at home. However, conventional prior art nail lamps have some problems and shortcomings.
One problem with conventional nail lamps is that the light source typically comprises a UV tube or bulb, which does not produce light having a uniform brightness. In addition, the UV tubes or bulbs can produce excessive amounts of radiant energy and heat. The radiant energy can heat up a user's hands or feet causing discomfort. Some nail lamps include a fan for cooling down the light source or circuit but not the user. Also in conventional nail lamps, there can be several buttons on the body of the nail lamp. The buttons are designed to control the curing time, curing parameter, intensity, curing start and curing stop. However, it is easy to contaminate the buttons with the nail product with the touch of a finger. In addition, if a nail product covers a button or goes into the gap of the button, it can be difficult to clean, particularly after hardening.
Another problem is that a process for applying a nail product can include a base coat, a middle coat, and multiple color coats for each nail. A user may need to place his or her hands or feet into the chamber of the nail lamp multiple times, which is time consuming and requires energy and patience. Some products require each nail to be finished separately from a base coat to a color coat, requiring the user to place his or her hands or feet into the chamber even more times.
The present disclosure is directed to a nail product curing system and method designed to overcome some of the problems associated with conventional nail lamp curing systems. Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the nail product curing system and method will become more apparent as the description proceeds.
SUMMARYA nail product curing system for curing nail products includes a housing having a nail treatment space configured to receive one or more nails of a user for a curing process. The nail product curing system also includes a plurality of LED light sources on the housing for generating light in the nail treatment space. The LED light sources can comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit a particular wavelength of light (e.g., white light, colored light, UV light, blue light, or IR light). The LED light sources can also include UVC light emitting diodes for sterilization of the nail treatment source, as well as other components of the system.
The nail product curing system can also include a light blocker on the housing for preventing light from escaping the nail treatment space, a display panel on the housing for displaying information, and a handle on the housing for transport. The nail product curing system can also include an external LED lamp on the housing configured to allow inspection and curing of the nail product externally of the nail treatment space, as well as sterilization of the nail treatment space using UVC light. The nail product curing system can also include a base for the housing that can optionally include control buttons, a display panel, and a battery pack. The nail product curing system can also include a cooling system on the housing or the base configured to perform a cool down of the nail treatment space.
The nail product curing system also includes a sensing and controlling system that includes multiple touchless sensors on the housing and in the nail treatment space configured to sense placement of the hands and nails of the user in the nail treatment space. The touchless sensors can also be configured to control various parameters of the curing process such as start, stop, recipe, temperature and LED power using movement of the user's hands. The sensing and controlling system also includes a circuit board on the housing in electrical communication with the touchless sensors configured to control the LED light sources and the curing process using input from the touchless sensors and programmed instructions. The sensing and controlling system also includes a radio transmission controller in signal communication with the circuit board that functions as a remoter (or remote control) for controlling the curing process. The sensing and controlling system allows the curing process to be controlled by the user without touching any buttons.
A method for curing nail products includes the steps of providing a nail product curing system including a housing having a nail treatment space configured to receive a hand and one or more nails of a user for a curing process, one or more LED light sources on the housing for generating light in the nail treatment space, and a sensing and controlling system on the housing having a plurality of touchless sensors configured to sense placement of the hand in the nail treatment space and to control the LED light sources and the curing process using input from the sensors, movement of the user's hands and programmed instructions. The method also includes the steps of placing the hand in the nail treatment space, sensing the placement of the hand using the sensing and controlling system, and controlling the curing process using the sensing and controlling system.
Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and the figures disclosed herein be considered illustrative rather than limiting.
Referring to
As shown in
Still referring to
The wavelength of the light emitting diodes (LEDs) 26 can be selected to accommodate a particular nail product 17 with a peak wavelength intensity between 230-470 μm being representative. In addition, the light emitting diodes (LEDs) 26 can comprise color LEDs such as green, yellow, red, or IR for special skin treatment, as well as UVC (230 nm to 280 nm) for sterilization of the nail treatment space 14 and nails 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 13E (
The circuit board 24 can comprise one or more circuit boards inside the housing 12, such as a printed circuit board (PCB) or a metal circuit board having various electrical components assembled in circuits using designs and techniques that are known in the art. In addition, as will be further explained, the circuit board 24 can be in electrical communication with other electrical components of the nail product curing system 10 as well as power converting for the LED light sources 16.
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The touchless sensors 62 (
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and subcombinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.
Claims
1. A nail product curing system for curing nail products comprising:
- a housing having a nail treatment space configured to receive a hand and one or more nails of a user;
- one or more LED light sources on the housing for generating light in the nail treatment space for performing a curing process for curing a nail product on the nails of the user; and
- a sensing and controlling system comprising one or more touchless sensors on the housing configured to sense a placement of the hand of the user in the nail treatment space and to control the LED light sources and the curing process using input from the touchless sensors and programmed instructions.
2. The nail product curing system of claim 1 wherein the sensing and controlling system comprises a circuit board on the housing and a radio transmission controller in signal communication with the circuit board.
3. The nail product curing system of claim 1 wherein the touchless sensors include a hand activated sensor on the housing activated by movement of the hand of the user.
4. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising a light blocker on the housing for preventing light from escaping the nail treatment space.
5. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising a display panel on the housing for displaying information on the curing process.
6. The nail product curing system of claim 5 wherein the display panel is configured to display a remaining curing time.
7. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising a handle on the housing.
8. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising an external LED lamp removably attached to the housing.
9. The nail product curing system of claim 8 wherein the external LED lamp includes a blue light emitting diode (LED) configured to cure the nail product.
10. The nail product curing system of claim 8 wherein the external LED lamp includes a UVC light emitting diode (LED) configured to sterilize the nail treatment space.
11. The nail product curing system of claim 1 wherein the LED light sources include a UVC light emitting diode (LED) configured to sterilize the nail treatment space.
12. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising a base removably attachable to the housing having a rounded edge proximate to the nail treatment space.
13. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising a cooling system on the housing configured to perform a cool down of the nail treatment space.
14. The nail product curing system of claim 1 further comprising a rechargeable battery on the housing configured to provide power for the LED light sources and for the sensing and controlling system.
15. The nail product curing system of claim 14 wherein the battery comprises an element selected from the group consisting of Ni—Cd batteries, Li-ion batteries, Li-polymer batteries, NiMH batteries, LiFePO4 batteries and super capacitors.
16. The nail product curing system of claim 14 wherein the housing includes a cavity for the battery and a removeable cover for the cavity.
17. A nail product curing system for curing nail products comprising:
- a housing having an opening and a nail treatment space configured to receive a hand and one or more nails of a user for a curing process;
- one or more LED light sources on the housing for generating light in the nail treatment space for performing the curing process; and
- a sensing and controlling system comprising a plurality of touchless sensors on the housing configured to sense placement of the hand of the user in the nail treatment space and to control the LED light sources and the curing process, the sensing and controlling system comprising a control circuit including a circuit board on the housing and a radio transmission controller in signal communication with the circuit board, the touchless sensors including a hand activated sensor on the housing activated by movement of the hand of the user.
18. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein the radio transmission controller includes a voice actuated communication system.
19. The nail product curing system of claim 17 further comprising a light blocker on the housing proximate to the opening configured to prevent light from escaping the nail treatment space, the light blocker comprising a light absorbing material.
20. The nail product curing system of claim 17 further comprising an external LED lamp on the housing configured to allow inspection and/or curing of the nail product externally of the nail treatment space.
21. The nail product curing system of claim 17 further comprising a cooling system on the housing configured to perform a cool down of the nail treatment space.
22. The nail product curing system of claim 21 wherein the cooling system comprises a cooler, a fresh air inlet, and a heated air outlet, the cooler comprising a fan, a turbine, an evaporative cooler, a piezo cooler, or a peltier cooler.
23. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein the control circuit is configured to control operation of the array of LED light sources including power, brightness, peak wavelength, on/off, and time of operation.
24. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein the LED light sources include one or more UVC light emitting diodes (UVC LEDs) configured to sterilize the nail treatment space.
25. The nail product curing system of claim 17 further comprising a base for the housing having a magnetic fastening system and a rounded edge proximate to the opening.
26. The nail product curing system of claim 25 wherein the base includes a pin alignment system.
27. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein the radio transmission controller includes a rf technology selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth, LTE, RFID, GPRS, Wi-Fi, IrDA, UWB, Zig-Bee, NFC, and a smart phone App.
28. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein the LED light sources comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs) having a peak wavelength intensity of between 230-470μ m.
29. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein one or more of the LED light sources comprise color LEDs configured for skin treatment of the user.
30. The nail product curing system of claim 17 wherein the touchless sensors comprise an element selected from the group consisting of optical sensors, capacitance sensors, IR sensors, laser TOF sensors, camera sensors, and voice sensors.
31. The nail product curing system of claim 30 wherein the touchless sensors include feedback sensors configured to employ vibration and indicators to indicate the parameters of the curing process.
32. A method for curing nail products comprising:
- providing a housing having a nail treatment space configured to receive a hand and one or more nails of a user for a curing process, one or more LED light sources on the housing for generating light in the nail treatment space for performing a curing process for curing a nail product on the nails of the user, and a sensing and controlling system comprising one or more touchless sensors on the housing configured to sense a placement of the hand of the user in the nail treatment space and to control the LED light sources and the curing process using input from the touchless sensors and programmed instructions;
- placing the hand of the user in the nail treatment space;
- sensing the placement of the hand of the user using the sensing and controlling system; and
- controlling the curing process using the sensing and controlling system.
33. The method of claim 32 wherein the sensing and controlling system comprises a control circuit including a circuit board on the housing and a radio transmission controller in signal communication with the circuit board.
34. The method of claim 32 wherein the radio transmission controller includes a voice actuated communication system and further comprising controlling the curing process using the voice actuated communication system.
35. The method of claim 32 further comprising controlling power, brightness, peak wavelength, on/off, and time of operation of the LED light sources using the control circuit.
36. The method of claim 32 further comprising cooling the hand of the user during the controlling step.
37. The method of claim 32 further comprising providing a light blocker on the housing and preventing light from escaping the nail treatment space using the light blocker.
38. The method of claim 32 wherein the touchless sensors include a hand activated sensor on the housing activated by movement of the hand of the user and further comprising starting the curing process by moving the hand of the user proximate to the hand activated sensor.
39. The method of claim 32 wherein the LED light sources include one or more UVC light emitting diodes (UVC LEDs) configured to sterilize the nail treatment space and further comprising sterilizing the nail treatment space using the UVC light emitting diodes (UVC LEDs).
40. The method of claim 32 wherein the external LED lamp includes a blue light emitting diode (LED) configured to cure the nail product and further comprising curing the nail product using the external LED lamp.
41. The method of claim 32 wherein the external LED lamp includes a UVC light emitting diode (LED) configured to sterilize the nail treatment space and further comprising sterilizing the nail treatment space using the external LED lamp.
42. The method of claim 32 wherein the LED light sources include one or more color light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured for skin treatment of the user and further comprising treating the skin of the user using the color light emitting diodes (LEDs).
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 30, 2023
Publication Date: Jan 2, 2025
Applicant: TSLC CORPORATION (CHU-NAN)
Inventors: Po-Wei Lee (HSINCHU COUNTY), SHENG-HO LIU (MIAOLI COUNTY), YU-JU CHEN (CHANGHUA CITY), YEN-CHAO LIN (TAOYUAN CITY)
Application Number: 18/216,710