CUTTING APPARATUS FOR FALSE EYELASHES

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to cutting implements and more particularly pertains to a new cutting implement for forming an uneven edge on a false eyelash.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art discloses various cutting implements for trimming eyelashes or false eyelashes, including imparting a curve to the eyelashes similar to the natural curve resulting from eyelashes growing in a fan-like shape from an individual's convexly shaped eyelids. However, the prior art fails to describe such an implement which comprises a plurality of spaced cutting teeth arranged along an arcuate path such that only a subset of the fibers of a false eyelash are trimmed. A result from such a device would include eyelash fibers of different lengths and a more natural, uneven edge to the false eyelash.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising an upper jaw and a lower jaw which are movably coupled together. The upper and lower jaws are movable toward each other in a cutting action to trim a false eyelash. The upper jaw comprises a plurality of cutting teeth which are distributed along a bottom edge of the upper jaw between a pair of lateral edges of the upper jaw. The cutting teeth are spaced apart from each other.

Another embodiment of the disclosure includes a method of trimming a false eyelash which comprises positioning a plurality of fibers of a false eyelash between an upper jaw and a lower jaw of a cutting apparatus and closing the upper and lower jaws of the cutting apparatus in a cutting action against a subset of fibers of the plurality of fibers. There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cutting apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a side in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 thereof, a new cutting implement embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the cutting apparatus 10 generally comprises an upper jaw 12 and a lower jaw 14 which are movably coupled together. The upper and lower jaws 12, 14 are movable toward each other in a cutting action to trim a false eyelash 50 therebetween. The false eyelash 50 comprises a base strip 52 which is elongated and a plurality of fibers 54 coupled to the base strip 52. The fibers 54 are distributed longitudinally along the base strip 52 and extend away from the base strip 52 transversely to a longitudinal axis of the base strip 52. The upper and lower jaws 12, 14 are moved in the cutting action to sever end portions of a subset of fibers 54 of the plurality of fibers 54 such that the false eyelash 50 has an uneven or “feathered” end that may look more natural than a false eyelash having a more clearly defined edge (e.g., continuously arced or straight).

The upper jaw 12 comprises a plurality of cutting teeth 16 which are distributed along a bottom edge 18 of the upper jaw 12 between a pair of lateral edges 20 of the upper jaw 12. The cutting teeth 16 are evenly spaced apart from each other, but in other embodiments the cutting teeth 16 may be irregularly spaced. The cutting teeth 16 also have equal widths to each other, but in other embodiments the cutting teeth 16 may have varying widths which may follow a pattern or may be irregularly sized compared to each other. The upper jaw 12 has a front side 22 and a back side 24, and the cutting teeth 16 are distributed generally along an arcuate path with a concave side which faces forwardly with respect to the upper jaw 12. In some embodiments, each cutting tooth 16 of the cutting teeth 16 may be offset forwardly or rearwardly of the arcuate path such that fibers 54 of the false eyelash 50 are trimmed at varying distances from the base strip 52.

The lower jaw 14 has a top surface 26 which moves toward the cutting teeth 16 of the upper jaw 12 when the upper and lower jaws 12, 14 are moved in the cutting action. The lower jaw 14 comprises a resilient material such as rubber, silicone, or the like. In the cutting action, the cutting teeth 16 of the upper jaw 12 cleave through fibers 54 of the false eyelash 50 while the top surface 26 of the lower jaw 14 supports the cut fibers 54 from below. The lower jaw 14 is resilient such that the cutting teeth 16 deform the top surface 26 of the lower jaw 14 when urged against it such that the lower jaw 14 avoids blunting the cutting teeth 16. The resilient material has sufficient strength to resist being pierced by the cutting teeth 16 and resiliently returns to its original shape once a force urging the cutting teeth 16 into the lower jaw 14 is released. In other embodiments, the lower jaw 14 may instead have a blade or teeth of its own such that the upper and lower jaws 12, 14 shear the fibers 54 of the false eyelash 50 in a scissor-like fashion.

A first handle 30 is coupled to the upper jaw 12 and a second handle 40 is coupled to the lower jaw 14. The first and second handles 30, 40 are pivotably coupled together. A distal end 32 of the first handle 30 with respect to the upper jaw 12 is movable toward a distal end 42 of the second handle 40 with respect to the lower jaw 14 to move the upper and lower jaws 12, 14 in the cutting action. The first handle 30 comprises a loop 34 at the distal end 32 of the first handle 30 which is sized to accommodate one or more fingers of a hand 56 of a user, and the second handle 40 also comprises a loop 44 at the distal end 42 of the second handle 40 which is sized to accommodate one or more fingers of the hand 56. For example, the loop 34 of the first handle 30 may accommodate a thumb 58 of the hand 56 while the loop 44 of the second handle 40 accommodates at least an index finger 60 of the hand 56.

The first handle 30 has a jaw section 36 and a grip section 38. The jaw section 36 is coupled to and extends between the back side 24 of the upper jaw 12 and the grip section 38. The grip section 38 extends downwardly from the jaw section 36 with respect to the upper jaw 12 to the loop 34 of the first handle 30. The second handle 40 has a jaw portion 46 and a grip portion 48. The jaw portion 46 is coupled to and extends between a back surface 28 of the lower jaw 14 and the grip portion 48. The grip portion 48 extends downwardly from the jaw portion 46 with respect to the lower jaw 14 to the loop 44 of the second handle 40. The grip section 38 of the first handle 30 is pivotably coupled to the grip portion 48 of the second handle 40.

In use, the cutting apparatus 10 is used in a method 62 of trimming the false eyelash 50. The method comprises steps substantially described above, including positioning 64 the plurality of fibers 54 of the false eyelash 50 between the upper and lower jaws 12, 14 of the cutting apparatus 10 and closing 66 the upper and lower jaws 12, 14 in the cutting action described. The concave side of the arcuate path of the cutting teeth 16 of the upper jaw 12 face toward the base strip 52 during the closing of the upper and lower jaws 12, 14. In other words, the front side 22 of the upper jaw 12 faces generally toward the base strip 52. The fibers 54 of the subset of fibers 54 are cut simultaneously during this method. A remainder of fibers 54 of the plurality of fibers 54 which do not belong to the subset of fibers 54 being cut are generally positioned within gaps between the cutting teeth 16 of the upper jaw 12 during the cutting action, and thereby are not cut.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded.

A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.