Tongs For Handling False Eyelashes

Abstract

A tongs having an integral molded hinge joining a pair of legs, each leg having a crosspiece at its outer end, the crosspieces being curved to grasp the lashes of a false eyelash and to exert an even pressure on all the lashes when the crosspieces flex under closing forces, the legs having interlocking tongue-and-groove elements to prevent relative sliding of the crosspieces.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

False eyelashes are comprised of a cordlike spine from which a row of lashes or hairs projects. Such false eyelashes are attached to the eyelids by a bead or strip of adhesive which is applied by the wearer to the spine before putting the false eyelashes in place on her eyelids.

Correct handling of the false eyelash is difficult for many wearers. It is small and flexible. Placement on the eyelid is done with a mirror while the eye in question is closed. It is an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive tongs with which the false eyelash may be more easily manipulated than is presently possible when using the fingers alone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a tongs which is molded in one piece of polypropylene. The legs of the tongs can be joined by a molded-in hinge section so that hinge barrels and pintles are unnecessary. The outer end of each leg has a crosspiece shaped to grasp the lashes or hairs of the false eyelash and to hold it in a position which is convenient for application to the eyelid.

The design incorporates several features necessitated by the flexibility of the plastic material employed and the requirements of holding the false eyelash. The hinge is long in order to avoid as far as possible misalignment of the ends of the legs. For the same purpose a tongue-and-groove arrangement is provided on opposed surfaces of the two legs. The legs are of U-shaped cross section for rigidity, and the abutting surfaces of the crosspieces are molded with different radii of curvature so that when flexed by the finger pressure of the user they exert a constant gripping force on the lashes at all points along their length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the tongs closed about a false eyelash;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tongs in use;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the open tongs in cross section;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inside of the tongs with the legs extended in opposite directions; and

FIG. 5 is a front view of the tongs in closed position as seen by the user as it approaches the user's face.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The tongs 10 is a unitary structure molded of polypropylene. It is comprised of an upper leg 11 and a lower leg 12 connected by a flexible web 13 which serves as a hinge. In order to insure that the legs come together with precision, the web is relatively long; as shown it is approximately two-thirds as long as a leg of the tongs. As a further means of insuring that the ends of the legs meet properly the lower leg 12 bears a tongue 14 which projects into the space between the legs. Two ridges 15, 15 form a groove between them into which the tongue 14 projects as the legs come together.

Each leg of the tongs is of U-shaped cross section, with side flanges 16, 16 and 17, 17 serving to strengthen the upper and lower legs, respectively.

An upper crosspiece 18 on the upper leg abuts a lower crosspiece 19 on the lower leg when the tongs are closed. An arcuate edge 20 on the upper crosspiece is aligned with an arcuate surface 21 on the lower crosspiece when the tongs is closed. The radii of the edge and the arcuate surface is approximately that of the lower margin of the human eyelid (or of the spine of a false eyelash when in place), so that the spine of a false eyelash held by the tongs is properly shaped to adhere to the eyelid at all points along its length.

The false eyelash 22 is comprised of a cordlike spine 23 and hair like lashes 24 which project at right angles therefrom in a common direction. The crosspieces of the tongs grip the lashes 24 between them, the lower crosspiece having a concave lower gripping surface 25 and the upper crosspiece a convex upper gripping surface 26. The provision of a slight concavity and convexity to these surfaces allows them to grip the lashes 24, which usually curve upward at their outer ends, without straightening them from their curved shape. The upper gripping surface 26 is also provided with shallow furrows in a cross-patch pattern to increase its grip on the lashes.

The edge 20, and the mating edge of arcuate surface 21, are arcs, and each establishes an "edge plane," which may be defined as the plane in which the edge lies. During the normal use of the tongs when the spine of the false eyelash is in contact with the margin of the eyelid the edge planes will be parallel and roughly horizontal, while the legs of the tongs extend down and away from the face at about a 45.degree. angle to said planes. This angle is a convenient one for a finger grip on the tongs. In addition, it locates the legs of the tongs and the user's hand below the horizontal line of sight between the eyes of the user and a vertical mirror in front of the user's face.

While the spine of the false eyelash is held in an arc which lies in a substantially horizontal edge plane during application (see FIG. 2), the lashes will extend downward from the spine, rather than outward in a horizontal direction (see the angle of surface 25 in FIG. 2). The shape of the gripping surfaces thus position the lash properly for application.

The use of crosspieces at the ends of the legs of the tongs allows the tongs to grip a false eyelash along substantially the whole length of the spine, while at the same time minimizing the obstruction to the user's view caused by the presence of the tongs.

Because of the flexibility of the polypropylene used in the tongs the gripping surfaces 25 and 26 might fail to get an even grip on the lashes if said surfaces were congruent surfaces when not under strain. Instead the upper gripping surface 26 has a smaller radius of curvature than the lower gripping surface 25. As these surfaces approach each other their outer ends meet first; as further finger pressure is applied they flex so that they also meet in the middle. This structure avoids the effect which would be achieved if both surfaces were flat or if both had the same radius of curvature; i.e., a stronger gripping of the lashes in the center of the false eyelash than of those near the ends.

The interlocked tongue 14 and ridges 15, 15 not only guide the legs of the tongues into proper engagement, as described above, but serve to hold the crosspieces located at their outer ends against sideways slippage relative to each other while so engaged. Such slippage, which otherwise might occur, would tend to roll the hairs of the false eyelash between the crosspieces, damaging them or altering their curvature. Thus, the tongue 14 and ridges 15, 15 compensate for the lack of rigidity which is inherent in the use of polypropylene for the legs and the hinge.

When the tongs if formed with the legs separated, as for example in FIG. 4, sufficient springiness remains in the web 13 to open the legs as shown in FIG. 3, when finger pressure is released. This is an advantage in using the tongs to pick up a false eyelash.

The tongs described is adapted to inexpensive production by means of plastic injection molding techniques. It enables the user to hold a false eyelash securely while coating its spine with adhesive and while fixing it to the eyelid. The tongs is simple, easy to clean, and free of dangerous projections. The structure of the crosspieces is adapted to hold a false eyelash without injuring it, and to present it to the eyelid at the proper angle when the handles of the tongs are held at the natural angle to the face, i.e., sloping down and away at approximately a 45.degree. angle as shown in FIG. 2.

Claims

I claim:

1. A device for holding a false eyelash having a spine from which a plurality of lashes project, said device comprising

a. an upper jaw;

b. a lower jaw;

c. means for moving the jaws toward each other;

d. an upper gripping surface on said upper jaw;

e. a lower gripping surface on said lower jaw movable into juxtaposition to said upper gripping surface when said jaws are brought together; said upper and lower gripping surfaces defining between them, when in juxtaposition, a lash-receiving slot;

f. at least one gripping surface having an arcuate outer edge substantially equal in radius to the margin of a human eyelid, said outer edge defining an edge plane in which it is located;

g. the lash-receiving slot being so shaped that lashes extending into said slot from the spine of a false eyelash, when said spine extends along the arcuate outer edge, make an acute angle with the edge plane; and

h. said upper jaw being curved more than the lower, whereby said jaws first contact each other at their ends as said jaws are closed, and then flex slightly as further closing motion brings the jaws together.

2. A device for holding a false eyelash having a spine from which a plurality of false lashes project, said device comprising

a. an upper jaw;

b. a lower jaw;

c. means for moving the jaws toward each other;

d. an upper gripping surface on said upper jaw;

e. a lower gripping surface on said lower jaw movable into juxtaposition to said upper gripping surface when said jaws are brought together; said upper and lower gripping surfaces defining between them, when in juxtaposition, a lash-receiving slot;

f. at least one gripping surface having an arcuate outer edge substantially equal in radius to the margin of a human eyelid, said outer edge defining an edge plane in which it is located;

g. the lash-receiving slot being so shaped that lashes extending into said slot from the spine of a false eyelash, when said spine extends along the arcuate outer edge, make an acute angle with the edge plane; and

h. said upper jaw having a smaller radius or curvature than the lower jaw.