Apparatus For The Care Of The Body

Abstract

An apparatus which serves for the care of the body and which consists of a protective plate provided with an elongated handle, a cover plate and a cutting blade. The protective plate includes two planing holes and two slits, one extending transversely to the longitudinal axis and the other extending on the longitudinal axis of the apparatus. Each slit possesses at least one exposed tongue. The cover plate is provided with a bent-up tab which has at least one slit to enable it to be locked to the protective plate. The tab serves for the reception of an elongated guide slot in the removable and replaceable blade and passes through one of the slits of the protective plate whereby the exposed tongue engages the slit of the tab to clamp the blade.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an apparatus for the care of the body.

Appliances of this kind are mainly used for callous cutters and are known in a variety of versions. All of them, however, suffer from the major drawback that they only enable a draw cut, rather than a peeling action, to be applied to the callosity of the skin. It has been found in practice, however, that it is more frequently convenient, particularly for a user wishing to remove callouses from his own skin, but for the chiropodist likewise, to peel the callous off, rather than to remove it by a draw cut action. It is true that appliances are already known that enable the callous to be peeled. But these, in turn, do not enable a draw cut action to be effected if desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to improve on the prior art, in such a way that the callouses can be removed not only in the conventional manner, by a draw cut, but also by a peeling action, if desired.

To attain this object the present invention provides an apparatus for the care of the body which comprises an elongated handle; a protective plate carried by one end of the elongated handle and provided with a first slit and a second slit. The first slit extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus and possesses at least one exposed tongue. The second slit is situated on the longitudinal axis of the apparatus, intersecting the first slit and also possesses at least one exposed tongue which extends at right angles to the tongue of the first slit. The protective plate is further provided with two planing holes extending at right angles with respect to each other; and a cover plate provided, to enable it to be locked to the protective plate, with a bent-up tab which has at least one slit which serves for the reception of the elongated slot of a replaceable blade. The tab of the cover plate is adapted alternatively to be passed through one of the slits in the protective plate whereby the exposed tongue firmly engages the slit in the tab to clamp the blade.

If callouses are to be peeled off with this apparatus, after it has first been used for the application of a draw cut to the callosity, all that is necessary is to reposition the cover plate and the blade by an angle of 90.degree. with respect to the protective plate. The bent-up tab of the cover plate will then pass through the slit situated in the longitudinal axis of the protective plate of the apparatus and become locked to this latter plate as a result of the fact that its exposed tongue engages the slit of the tab of the cover plate.

The invention also resides in the fact that the protective plate and the cover plate of the apparatus are of the shape of a spherical segment.

This construction for the protective plate and the cover plate of the apparatus ensures that the blade, no matter whether its cutting edge is situated in the zone of one planing hole or of the other planing hole of the protective plate, can be clamped in a curved position, in the manner already known.

According to a further proposal covered by the invention, each slit of the protective plate of the apparatus is provided with two exposed tongues which correspond to slits belonging to the tab of the cover plate and which are situated close to the ends of each slit of the protective plate.

This ensures that after two tongues of the protective plate have engaged the slits of the tab of the cover plate, the entire length of this latter will rest against the protective plate, with an even tractive force.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cover plate of the apparatus, and

FIG. 4 is a side view thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The apparatus shown in the drawing consists of a protective plate 1 with an elongated handle 2 and a cover plate 3, a two-edged blade 4 of the flat type being clamped between said cover plate 3 and said protective plate 1. The protective plate 1 is provided with a planing hole 5, one cutting edge of the blade 4 being situated in the zone of said hole, and also with a slit 6 positioned transversely to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus. The slit 6 is provided, on one of its longitudinal edges, in the vicinity of each of its ends, with a tongue 7 cut out of the material so as to occupy an exposed self-supporting position. The cover plate 3 is provided with a bent-up tab 8 which properly positions the blade 4 by engaging a guide slot located in the blade 4. The tab 8 is provided with two slits 9 which correspond to the tongues 7 of the protective plate 1 and which can be engaged by said tongues 7 in order to lock the protective plate 1 to the cover plate 3.

The protective plate 1 is provided with a second slit 10 which is situated on the longitudinal axis of the apparatus and intersects the slit 6, two exposed tongues 11, formed by being cut out of the material and situated at right angles to the tongue 7, being likewise provided on one longitudinal edge of the said second slit 10 and in the vicinity of its respective ends. After the cover plate 3 with the blade 4 has been repositioned by an angle of 90.degree. and after the tab 8 of the said cover plate 3 has passed through the slit 10 of the protective plate 1, the tongues 11 of the latter engage the slits 9 of the tab 8 of the cover plate 3, in order to enable the cover plate 3 to be locked to the protective plate 1. One of the cutting edges of the blade 4 is thereafter situated in the zone of a second planing hole 12 which is provided in the protective plate 1 and which is situated at right angles to the planing hole 5. The apparatus can now be used for the removal of the callous by a peeling action. According to a further characteristic of the invention, the protective plate 1 and the cover plate 3 have the shape of a spherical segment, enabling the blade 4 to be clamped in a curved position, no matter what position it occupies in relation to the protective plate 1 and the cover plate 3.

It is naturally within the scope of the invention for a third planing hole to be provided, situated opposite the planing hole 12, thus enabling a peeling action to be carried out with the apparatus by a left-handed person likewise.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus which serves for the care of the body and which comprises:

a. an elongated handle;

b. a protective plate carried by one end of the elongated handle and provided with a first slit and a second slit, the first slit extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus and possessing at least one exposed tongue and the second slit being situated in the longitudinal axis of the apparatus, intersecting the first slit and possessing at least one exposed tongue which extends at right angles to the tongue of the first slit, said protective plate being further provided with two planing holes extending at right angles with respect to each other; and

c. a cover plate provided, to enable it to be locked to the protective plate, with a bent-up tab which has at least one slit and serves for the reception of the elongated slot of a replaceable blade, said tab of the cover plate adapted alternatively to be passed through one of the slits in the protective plate of which the exposed tongue engages the slit in the bend firmly to clamp the blade.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protective plate and the cover plate are in the shape of a spherical segment.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the slits of the protective plate is provided with two exposed tongues which correspond to slits in the bend of the cover plate and which are situated in the vicinity of the respective ends of each slit of the protective plate.

4. A cutting instrument comprising:

a. a protective plate provided with a first slit and a second slit; each slit arranged to perpendicularly bisect the other and includes at least one tongue member extending partially across the respective slit;

b. a blade member having a cutting edge and adapted to be positioned so that the cutting edge extends past an edge of the protective plate; and

c. a cover plate adapted to be secured to the protective plate and clamp the cutting blade member therebetween wherein the cover plate is provided with a bent-up tab member which includes a slit near the tab bend whereby the tab is passed through one of the slits of the protective plate and positioned so that the respective tongue member engages the slit in said tab.

5. A cutting instrument as defined in claim 4 wherein an elongated handle member is attached to the protective plate whereby the instrument can be conveniently and safely manipulated during the cutting process, and wherein the slits in the protective plate are aligned so that one slit lies on the longitudinal axis of the plate and handle and the second lies transverse thereto.

6. A cutting instrument as defined in claim 4 wherein the protective plate and the cover plate are formed in the shape of a spherical segment.

7. A cutting instrument as defined in claim 4 wherein each slit in the protective plate is provided with two tongue members which correspond respectively to individual slits in the tab member of the cover plate.

8. A cutting instrument as defined in claim 4 wherein two planing holes or slots are provided in the protective plate and wherein each slot extends parallel to one of the slits in the protective plate and the slots are spaced an equal distance from their respective slits; and wherein the blade member is positioned so that the cutting edge extends past the inner edge of the slot and the outer edge of said slot forms a blade guard and guide means during the cutting operation.

9. A cutting instrument as defined in claim 8 wherein the blade member has two cutting edges which are positioned parallel and directly opposite each other and wherein said blade includes a slot being adapted to fit the tab of the cover plate so that the blade member will be held and positioned by said tab member when the instrument is assembled.

10. A cutting instrument as defined in claim 8 wherein the dimension between the blade slot and one of the cutting edges is properly sized to position the cutting edge at an optimum cutting distance beyond the inner edge of the respective planing slot.