Apparatus for safely clipping the nails of young children and method of use thereof

Abstract

An apparatus for safely clipping nails comprises a blade/base assembly, a lever, and a shaft. The blade/base assembly comprises a blade incorporating a sharp cutting edge, a base incorporating a ledge having a front face for aligning the tool to the nail and a top face for supporting the nail, and a rivet to fix said blade to said base. The lever is designed to actuate the apparatus, having a fixed end, an unconstrained end, and a cam. The fixed end is mechanically fixed to said blade/base assembly by means of a shaft designed to place said blade/base assembly into a spring-loaded condition. The cam is designed to compress the blade/base assembly as the unconstrained end of the lever is pressed toward blade/base assembly, thereby causing the sharp cutting edge to clamp down upon and cut through the nail.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for safely clipping a nail, comprising:
 a blade/base assembly, said blade/base assembly further comprising:
 a blade, said blade incorporating a sharp cutting edge for cutting said nail; 
 a base, said base incorporating a ledge, having an front face for aligning said blade/base assembly to the nail to be clipped and a top face for supporting the nail as said apparatus is used; and 
 a rivet designed and configured to mechanically fix said blade to said base; and 
   a lever for actuating said apparatus, said lever having:
 a fixed end and an unconstrained end, said fixed end of said lever being mechanically fixed to said blade/base assembly by means of a shaft that incorporates a slot designed to simultaneously capture said fixed end of said lever and to place said blade/base assembly into a spring-loaded condition; and 
 a cam feature designed to compress said blade/base assembly, thereby causing said sharp cutting edge to clamp down on said ledge when said unconstrained end of said lever is pressed toward said blade/base assembly. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said top face of said ledge incorporates a groove designed and configured to align with said sharp cutting edge of said blade and to enable said sharp cutting edge to cut all the way through said nail. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said top face of said ledge is of a contrasting color to that of a person's skin and nails, said contrasting color configured to provide visual confirmation, through said nail, that only the nail, and not the skin of the finger, is resting on said ledge. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein said groove is of a contrasting color to that of a person's skin and nails, said contrasting color configured to provide visual confirmation, through said nail, that only the nail, and not the skin of the finger, is resting over said groove. 
     
     
         5 . A method of using the apparatus according to  claim 1  or  2  to safely clip a nail of a finger of a person, comprising the following steps:
 aligning said apparatus to said nail by:
 placing said top face of said ledge beneath said nail; and 
 pressing said front face of said ledge against said finger beneath said nail; and 
 
 pressing said unconstrained end of said lever toward said blade/base assembly, thereby causing said sharp cutting edge to clamp down on said nail, capturing said nail between said sharp cutting edge and said ledge, and causing said sharp cutting edge to cut through said nail.