US2505086A - Means for correcting and curing ingrowing toenails - Google Patents

Description

April 25, 1950 R. P. ANDREWS 2,505,086

MEANS FOR CORRECTING AND CURING INGROWING TOENAILS Filed Feb. 11, 1946 bEv/cE BEFORE BEING NORMAL GLUEDl/V PLACE NOTE:

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ATTQRNEY Patented Apr. 25, 1950 MEANS FOR CORRECTING AND CURING menowme TOENAILS Ralph P. Andrews, Boca Raton, Fla. Application February 11,1946, Serial No. 646,905

1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to improved method and means for correcting and curing ingrowing toenails.

Devices intended for this general purpose have been proposed, but such prior devices have been either too bulky, held the nail in an unnatural position, proved painful to the user, restricted the movement of the digit, or required frequent attention due to the fact that they tend to become detached from the nail.

The primary object of the present invention is accordingly to provide improved means intended for the desired purpose which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to apply and difficult to detect even on close scrutiny. Such a device is particularly adapted for use by beach leathers and by ladies wearing opentoed shoes.

The desirable characteristics of my improved device are (1) ease of application; plicity and naturalness of design; (3) comfort and convenience to user; and (4) substantial invisibility when in use. 7

In accordance with my invention the ingrown side of the toenail is artificially lengthened by means of an extension member or sheet of pliable material, which is preferablyglued in place by means of a waterproof cement of such character as not to cause infection and which will not dissolve the material of which the device is made.

The improved correcting device may be left in place and trimmed along with the nail as natural growth of the nail demands, until such time as the ingrowing tendency is cured and the nail has grown sufficiently to overlap the toe. At this time the correcting device may be removed with cement remover, or left in place and trimmed until natural growth has completely replaced it.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing and the following detailed description.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of the toe having an ingrown nail to which the corrective device of the (2) sim- Fig. 4 is an end view of the device showing the attaching flap; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same with the attaching flap folded under.

Referring to the drawing, reference numeral i0 denotes the main body of the protecting device which may be in the form of a sheet of plastic material, preferably flesh colored and of cellulosic origin, such as cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate, and of approximately the same stiffness as the normal nail. The size of the device should be large enough for the average large male and may be out smaller to fit smaller nails.

The correcting device In is provided with an attaching flap II which may be integral therewith and flexibly connected thereto along edge I2. A toe A having nail B ingrown along one edge thereof is indicated in Fig. 1. In accordance with my invention the attaching flap H of the correctin device It] is inserted under the nail along the ingrowing side thereof, after which the main body In of the correcting device is adhesively secured to the nail by means of any suitable waterproof cement. It will be noted that the tip M of the correcting device located on the side of the ingrown portion of the nail extends well beyond the ingrown portion and rests upon a portion of the toe beyond the ingrown nail. It will be further noted that the front edge l5 of the protecting device slope rearwardly from the tip [4 to its intersection with the nail B at [6, thus forming a V-shaped notch adjacent the intersection. As the nail grows the correcting device Ill moves forwardly with it and gradually guides the ingrown portion of the nail out of the toe to a natural position until the ingrown efiect is completely overcome.

The correcting device is preferably colored to correspond with the coloring of the nail itself so that it is substantially invisible when in use. Where both sides of the nail are ingrown two such correcting devices may be used in a manner similar to that described in connection with the single ingrown portion. The invention is also adapted for use with ingrowing fingernails.

The invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, but it will be obvion that numerous modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

3 I claim: A one-piece nail protective device comprising a main body portion consisting of a sheet of pliable plastic material having approximately the to be adhesively secured'to the top surface of the nail, and an integral attaching flap flexibly connected along one edge only of the main body portion and adapted to be inserted beneath the nail along one edge thereof, after which the main body portion may be swung downwardly into contact with the nail and adhesively secured thereto.

"RALPH P. ANDREWS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number stiffness of the natural nail and being adapted 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Foster Apr. 14, 1908 Haener Aug. 17, 1926 Schmidthofier June 4, 1940 C0ates Feb. 22, 1944

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