Nail station

Abstract

A curing system including a curing oven defining a finger slot for receiving an end portion of at least one finger. The curing oven includes at least one UV light source positioned within the finger slot. The curing system also includes a connector assembly having a data connector for connection to an electronic device. The data connector is operably connected to each UV light source such that each UV light source is controllable by the electronic device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A curing system, comprising:
 a curing oven defining a finger slot for receiving an end portion of at least one finger, wherein the curing oven includes at least one UV light source positioned within the finger slot; and   a connector assembly having a data connector for connection to an electronic device, wherein the data connector is operably connected to each UV light source such that each UV light source is controllable by the electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the curing oven comprises a plurality of UV light sources positioned within the finger slot. 
     
     
         3 . The curing system of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of UV light sources are arranged in a linear orientation. 
     
     
         4 . The curing system of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of UV light sources are arranged in a staggered orientation. 
     
     
         5 . The curing system of  claim 2 , wherein at least one first UV light source of the plurality of UV light sources emits UV light at a first wavelength and at least one second UV light source of the plurality of UV light sources emits UV light at a second wavelength. 
     
     
         6 . The curing system of  claim 2 , wherein at least one first UV light source of the plurality of UV light sources emits UV light at a first peak wavelength and at least one second UV light source of the plurality of UV light sources emits UV light at a second peak wavelength. 
     
     
         7 . The curing system of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the UV light sources is selected from a group consisting of a light-emitting diode (LED) light, cold cathode light and a compact fluorescent light. 
     
     
         8 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the finger slot is elongated to simultaneously receive a plurality of fingers. 
     
     
         9 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the connector assembly includes an electronic device housing defining an electronic device slot for receiving an electronic device. 
     
     
         10 . The curing system of  claim 9 , wherein the electronic device housing comprises:
 a base defining an end of the electronic device slot;   a back support for engaging a back surface of an electronic device received within the electronic device slot; and   a pair of wings positioned on opposing sides of the back support, each for engaging a side surface of an electronic device received within the electronic device slot.   
     
     
         11 . The curing system of  claim 10 , wherein the electronic device housing comprises a stand rotatably affixed to the back support, wherein the stand is rotatable between a retracted position and at least one deployed position;
 wherein the stand is generally parallel to the back support when the stand is rotated into the retracted position;   wherein the stand is generally transverse to the back support when the stand is rotated into the extended position to angle the back support to orient a electronic device received in the electronic device slot at a predetermined orientation.   
     
     
         12 . The curing system of  claim 11 , wherein the stand is rotatable between a first deployed position and a second deployed position;
 wherein back support is angled to orient an electronic device received in the electronic device slot at a first predetermined orientation when the stand is rotated into the first deployed position;   wherein back support is angled to orient an electronic device received in the electronic device slot at a first predetermined orientation when the stand is rotated into the second deployed position.   
     
     
         13 . The curing system of  claim 9 , wherein the curing oven and the electronic device housing are rotatably connected,
 wherein the rotatable joint is rotatably engagable to the corresponding rotatable joint such that the curing oven is rotatable relative to the electronic device housing between a deployed position and a retracted position;   wherein the curing oven is oriented parallel to the electronic device housing when rotated into the retracted position;   wherein the curing oven is oriented transverse to the electronic device housing when rotated into the deployed position.   
     
     
         14 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein each UV light source is controlled by an mobile electronic device connectably attachable to the data connector, the mobile electronic device being configured to control the plurality of UV lights in a manner to cure a nail gel preparation. 
     
     
         15 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile electronic device includes a power supply. 
     
     
         16 . The curing system of  claim 15 , wherein the connector assembly includes a secondary power supply for supplementing the power provided by the power supply of the mobile electronic device. 
     
     
         17 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the connector assembly includes an integrated power supply for powering each UV light source. 
     
     
         18 . The curing system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile electronic device is further configured to access content and cause at least a portion of the content to be displayed to a user of the curing system. 
     
     
         19 . The curing system of  claim 18 , wherein the content includes at least one of an advertisement or an instruction. 
     
     
         20 . The curing system of  claim 18 , wherein the content is accessed from over a network. 
     
     
         21 . The curing system of  claim 20 , wherein the network comprises a wide-area network. 
     
     
         22 . A method for curing a nail gel preparation, comprising:
 providing a curing oven defining a finger slot for receiving at least one finger to which the nail gel preparation is applied, wherein at least one UV light source is positioned within the finger slot;   providing a connector assembly operably connected to each UV light source and having a data connector operably connected to each UV light source;   connecting a mobile electronic device to the data connector to operably connect the mobile electronic device to each UV light source;   presenting a user interface to a user;   receiving a signal from a user to begin a predetermined curing sequence; and   configuring each UV light source to emit UV light within the finger slot according to the predetermined curing sequence.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying the nail gel preparation comprises:
 obtaining an image of a product container for the nail gel preparation;   identifying a product code from the image; and   using the product code to determine a curing configuration for the nail gel preparation;   and wherein configuring the UV light source comprises using the curing configuration.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein obtaining the image is performed with a built-in camera in the mobile electronic device. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein identifying the product code from the image comprises identifying and parsing a bar code contained in the image to obtain the product code. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein using the product code to determine a curing configuration comprises:
 transmitting the product code to a remote data store with a query to obtain the curing configuration; and   receiving the curing configuration from the remote data store.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the predetermined curing sequence includes a cure time. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the predetermined curing sequence includes a target wavelength. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 identifying the nail gel preparation with the mobile electronic device;   wherein identifying the nail gel preparation comprises receiving user input to identify the nail gel preparation.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising displaying a presentation to a user of the mobile electronic device substantially contemporaneously with the operation of each UV light source according to the predetermined curing sequence. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the presentation comprises a timer, the timer indicating an approximate time left to cure the nail gel preparation. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the presentation comprises at least one of: an advertisement or a tip. 
     
     
         33 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a mobile electronic device, cause the mobile electronic device to:
 present a login interface to obtain a user identity of a user of the computer;   identify a nail formulation; and   configure at least one UV light source to apply UV light according to a predetermined curing sequence.   
     
     
         34 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 33 , further comprising instructions to:
 transmit the user identity and an identification of the nail formulation to a remote data store.   
     
     
         35 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 33 , further comprising instructions to:
 obtain a location of the computer; and   transmit the location to a remote data store.   
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 35 , further comprising instructions to:
 receive location-specific data from the remote data store; and   present at least a portion of the location-specific data to the user.   
     
     
         37 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein the location-specific data comprises an advertisement for an establishment in proximity to the user.