Materials and structures for nail enhancement system

Abstract

A nail enhancement includes a conductive substrate configured for placement proximal to a nail of a wearer and a color-changing layer comprising a chromic material that is integrated with the conductive substrate. The color-changing layer changes appearance when activated. The chromic material may be an electrochromic material, and the color-changing layer may change appearance when activated by a change in electrical current. The chromic material may be a thermochromic material, and the color-changing layer may change appearance when activated by a change in temperature.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A nail enhancement comprising:
 a conductive substrate configured for placement proximal to a nail of a wearer; and   a color-changing layer comprising a chromic material, the color-changing layer integrated with the conductive substrate;   wherein the color-changing layer changes appearance when activated.   
     
     
         2 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive substrate is graphene-based. 
     
     
         3 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive substrate is a metal. 
     
     
         4 . The nail enhancement of  claim 3 , wherein the metal is gold or silver. 
     
     
         5 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive substrate is a conductive polymer. 
     
     
         6 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive substrate is a conductive ink. 
     
     
         7 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1  further comprising a biofuel cell comprising the conductive substrate. 
     
     
         8 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive substrate has a material property contributing to a structural integrity of the nail enhancement. 
     
     
         9 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1 , wherein the color-changing layer comprises a pattern-changing layer. 
     
     
         10 . The nail enhancement of  claim 9 , wherein the pattern-changing layer includes electronic ink. 
     
     
         11 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1  further comprising a coating of a water-resistant material. 
     
     
         12 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1  further comprising a coating of a biocompatible material. 
     
     
         13 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1  further comprising an aroma-emitting layer integrated with the conductive substrate, the aroma-emitting layer comprising a scent released when the color-changing layer is activated to change appearance. 
     
     
         14 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1  further comprising an adhesive on an underside of the conductive substrate to secure the nail enhancement to the nail of the wearer. 
     
     
         15 . The nail enhancement of  claim 1  further comprising a micro-LED embedded into the conductive substrate. 
     
     
         16 . A nail enhancement comprising:
 a conductive substrate configured for placement proximal to a nail of a wearer; and   a color-changing layer comprising an electrochromic material, the color-changing layer integrated with the conductive substrate;   wherein the color-changing layer changes appearance when activated by a change in electrical current.   
     
     
         17 . A nail enhancement comprising:
 a conductive substrate configured for placement proximal to a nail of a wearer; and   a color-changing layer comprising a thermochromic material, the color-changing layer integrated with the conductive substrate;   wherein the color-changing layer changes appearance when activated by a change in temperature.   
     
     
         18 . A nail enhancement system comprising:
 a nail enhancement including:
 a conductive substrate configured for placement proximal to a nail of a wearer, and 
 a color-changing layer comprising a matrix of pixels, the color-changing layer integrated with the conductive substrate; and 
 a controller in communication with the matrix of pixels, each pixel of the matrix of pixels individually controllable by the controller. 
   
     
     
         19 . The nail enhancement system of  claim 18  further comprising an external device comprising the controller and a device wireless communication module, and the nail enhancement further comprising a nail wireless communication module in communication with each pixel of the matrix of pixels. 
     
     
         20 . The nail enhancement of  claim 18 , wherein the matrix of pixels are incorporated into a microdisplay.