Nail brush crimper

Abstract

A crimper for crimping nail brushes includes a pair of guide shafts and an upper jaw coupled to the pair of guide shafts adjacent an upper end portion of the guide shafts. A lower jaw is moveably coupled to the guide shafts, and includes 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 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 neutral and actuated positions. The upper jaw and lower jaw move toward each other as the actuating cam rotates from the neutral position toward the actuated position and assume a prescribed distance therebetween when the actuating cam is in the actuated position. A size adjustment dial may be positioned on the device to be selectively rotatable to facilitate adjustment of the crimping jaws based to correspond to the size of the nail brush.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A crimper for crimping brushes used to apply nail care products to human nails, the crimper comprising:
 a pair of guide shafts, each guide shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion;   an upper jaw coupled to the pair of guide shafts adjacent the upper end portion of the guide shafts, the upper jaw comprising an upper plate and an upper jaw body coupled to the upper plate;   a lower jaw moveably coupled to the pair of guide shafts, the lower jaw comprising a lower plate and a lower jaw body coupled to the lower plate;   an adjustment plate 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; and   an actuating cam configured to interface with the lower plate and the adjustment plate, the actuating cam being rotatable between a neutral position and an actuated position, the upper jaw and lower jaw moving 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.   
     
     
         2 . The crimper recited in  claim 1 , further comprising an adjustment cam being rotatable relative to the adjustment plate about a rotation axis, the adjustment cam having a plurality of adjustment surfaces, each of which are associated with a distinct radius relative to the rotation axis. 
     
     
         3 . The crimper recited in  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of adjustment surfaces includes a planar segment. 
     
     
         4 . The crimper recited in  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of adjustment surfaces includes at least three adjustment surfaces. 
     
     
         5 . The crimper recited in  claim 2 , wherein the adjustment plate is positioned between the actuating cam and the adjustment cam. 
     
     
         6 . The crimper recited in  claim 1 , wherein the actuating cam is of an oval shape. 
     
     
         7 . The crimper recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a pair of springs extending around respective ones of the pair of guide shafts. 
     
     
         8 . The crimper recited in  claim 7 , wherein the pair of springs are configured to bias the upper jaw away from the lower jaw. 
     
     
         9 . The crimper recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a housing, the adjustment plate being moveable within the housing. 
     
     
         10 . A method of sizing a crimper adapted for crimping brushes that are of different sizes, the brushes being adapted for applying a coating to a human nail, the method comprising the steps of:
 adjusting an allowable range of motion of a crimper comprising:
 a pair of guide shafts, each guide shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion; 
 an upper jaw coupled to the pair of guide shafts adjacent the upper end portion of the guide shafts, the upper jaw comprising an upper plate and an upper jaw body coupled to the upper plate; 
 a lower jaw moveably coupled to the pair of guide shafts, the lower jaw comprising a lower plate and a lower jaw body coupled to the lower plate, the upper jaw and lower jaw being moveable relative to each other within the allowable range of motion; 
 an adjustment plate 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; and 
 an actuating cam configured to interface with the lower plate and the adjustment plate and 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 including movement of the adjustment plate relative to the upper jaw.   
     
     
         11 . The method recited in  claim 10 , wherein the crimper additionally includes an adjustment cam being rotatable relative to the adjustment plate about a rotation axis, 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 including rotating the adjustment cam. 
     
     
         12 . A crimper for crimping brushes used in applying nail care products to human nails, the crimper comprising:
 an upper jaw and a lower jaw moveable relative to each other between a separated position and a crimping position, the distance between the upper jaw and lower jaw decreasing as the upper jaw and lower jaw transition from the separated position toward the crimping position, the upper jaw and the lower jaw being configured to crimp a brush when transitioned toward the crimping position;   an adjustment plate positioned relative to the upper jaw and lower jaw such that the lower jaw is located between the upper jaw and the adjustment plate; and   an actuating cam configured to interface with the lower plate and the adjustment plate, the actuating cam being rotatable between a neutral position and an actuated position, the upper jaw and lower jaw transitioning from the separated position toward the crimping position as the actuating cam rotates from the neutral position toward the actuated position.   
     
     
         13 . The crimper recited in  claim 12 , further comprising an adjustment cam being rotatable relative to the adjustment plate about a rotation axis, the adjustment cam having a plurality of adjustment surfaces, each of which are associated with a distinct radius relative to the rotation axis. 
     
     
         14 . The crimper recited in  claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of adjustment surfaces includes a planar segment. 
     
     
         15 . The crimper recited in  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of adjustment surfaces includes at least three adjustment surfaces. 
     
     
         16 . The crimper recited in  claim 13 , wherein the adjustment plate is positioned between the actuating cam and the adjustment cam. 
     
     
         17 . The crimper recited in  claim 12 , wherein the actuating cam is of an oval shape. 
     
     
         18 . The crimper recited in  claim 12 , further comprising a pair of springs extending between the upper jaw and the lower jaw. 
     
     
         19 . The crimper recited in  claim 18 , wherein the pair of springs are configured to bias the upper jaw away from the lower jaw. 
     
     
         20 . The crimper recited in  claim 12 , further comprising a housing, the adjustment plate being moveable within the housing.