US2633139A - Fingernail cover - Google Patents

Description

H. L. PETTEY FINGERNAIL COVER Flled Feb 7 1951 1/1 1 11/ 11/111 1111 11 1111111111111, II II 1/11/11,:

March 31, 1953 Patented Mar. 31, 1953 umrso STATES PATENT OFFICE FINGERNAIL COVER Herbert L. Pettey, Bronxville, N. Y.

Application February 7, 1951, Serial No. 209,889

9 Claims. (01. 132-73) 1. This invention relates to a finger nail cover. and more particularly, to ornamental covers whichmay be of any desired color and which are made of thin distensibl waterproof material of high mechanical strength provided on one face with a Waterproof pressure sensitive adhesive so that the covers will conform to the compound curvature of the nails and ten-aciously adhere thereto so as to not only provide anornamental covering but also protect the nail.

In my copending application, Serial No. 145,181, filed February 20, 1950, I have disclosed a finger nail cover made up of a thin film of colored plastic or resinous material having suificient distensibility to enable the cover to conform to the compound curvature of a finger nail and suflicient elasticity and'mechanical' strength toresist marring and tearing when positioned on a finger nail. While in some casesit is possible to provide a main film with sufficient opacity and even coloration, the finger nail cover" disclosed in said application is preferably provided with one or more outer coatings of coloring material in the nature of a lacquer applied to the main film and dried thereon in order to secure adequate opacity and an even distribution of color. It also has a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on the side opposite the colored coating and in general, it has been found desirable to apply one or more priming or subbing coats to the undersurface of the'main film in order to secure satisfactory adherence" of the pressure sensitive adhesive to the main film. Theresulting product has been found to. be an effective ornamental finger nail cover capable of being used for an extended period of time and adhering to the nail even under adversebondition's of.use.-

In accordance with they present invention, however, I have found that a more easily manufactured and more. durable finger nail covering may be made by employing asthe main film an uncolored transparent or substantially transparent main film of plastic or resinous material having essentially the same characteristics as that described in my said copending application except that coloring material is omitted. --N o color coatings are applied to the exposed surface of the film, i. e., the exposed surface of the finger nail cover when in position on a fingernaiLbut insteadQ bne or more colored coatings re applied t'o'the lower surface, i.e., the surface nearest the.

coating on the lower surface of the cover is visible through the main film and provides an especially pleasing appearance. Furthermore, the colored coatings are protected against abrasion or accidental removal by the main film itself.

It has also been found that the colored coating or coatings themselves function as a'primer or subbing coat for the pressure sensitive adhesive so that no separate primer coat is required. That is to say, the small amount of residual solvent left inthe color coating and the porosity due to evaporation of solvent therefrom provides an excellent layer for adhesion of the pressure sensitive adhesive. The resulting finger nail cover therefore requires less manufacturing steps and provides a covering of improved appearance.

As stated in my copending application referred to a large number of workers in the art have been concerned with the problem of improving the properties of liquid finger nail coatings or of finding some way of substituting a preformed nail covering forsuch liquid coatings so as to avoid the recognized disadvantage of the liquid coatings. As is well known, the liquid nail coatings are lacquers containing a plastic material or mixture of plastic materials usually predominantly cellulose nitrate in solution in a solvent or solvent mixture, usually predominantly aryl acetate, and a dye or pigment or mixtures thereof. Such liquid nail coatingsare diificultto apply evenly andrequire considerable time for dry ing after application. Furthermore, they chip and crack if subjected to mechanical stresses and the entire coating has to be frequently completely removedand renewed. A solvent for the coating must be employed for removal of the coating and repeated use of solvents including the solvent in the liquid coating itself tends to render the nails brittle. Repeated attempts have been made to provide solid coverings which can be adhered to finger nails to take the place of liquid coating compositions. Such coverings have taken the form of decalcomanias, coated fabric or paper, cellophane'films, etc. Such coverings have not been successful primarily because the covering materials have not had the requisite physical characteristics.

The general characteristics of the finger nail cover of the present invention are similar to those'discussed with respect to the finger nail cover disclosed in my said copending application. That is to-say, the film must have high mechanical strength so as to not'easily tear or mar. In addition'to high mechanical strength, the most important physical characteristic appears to be a limited distensibility so that the film can conform to the compound curvature of the nail. Inspection of the finger nails of even a few individuals will show that finger nails, in general, have a pronounced lateral curvature and also a pronounced longitudinal curvature. These curvatures will vary with different individuals and even with the various nails. of the same individual but a substantially non-distensible film such as cellophane or conventional plasticized polyvinyl chloride or similar material even if coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive cannot be pressed into contact with the entire exposed surfaces of the finger nails withoutwrinkling. The distensibility of the film must, therefore, be great enough to allow substantial distortion of the film, i. e., stretching in the central portions of the finger nail covering in order for it to form a smooth covering. On the other hand, the film must not too readily stretch or otherwise deform as in that event it will be easily damaged by manipulation of the film during application to the nail and by stresses applied to the film by contact with articles handled by the person wearing the nail covers.

In general, the film should be flexible and have a certain amount of elasticity, i. e., it should be capable of stretching under stress and have .a tendency to return to its original size and shape whendistorted but the elastic force produced by the film after distortion within the limits required for conforming to the nail surfaces should be less than the adhesive forces of the pressure sensitive adhesive for the film and nail surfaces. The .film itself as well as the pressure sensitive adhesive should, of course, be resistant to water and all of the common detergents or other materials likely to comeinto contact with the finger nail covers. It is also important that the resultant productincluding the various ingredients employed in making the film itself, the colored coating and theadhesive have no harmful effect upon the-nails or adjacent portionsof the fingers.

It has been found possible to provide thin plastic films which meet all of the conditions discussed above. Such films may be made of a variety of plasticized resinous materials. That is to say, it is the physical characteristics of the film rather than its chemical constituents which are of major importance. I have found that plasticized polyvinyl'chloride films or plasticized films of copolymers of vinyl chloride and .vinyl acetate are ideally suited for fabricating finger nail covers. Such films may be made in transparent form and are easily provided with a high surface polish. Covers made therefrom can be made to adhere tenaciously to any of several known pressure sensitive adhesives and may be produced in substantially any desired thickness and within the proper range of distensibility while still retaining high mechanical strength. Tabs or covering elements of such material .of the approximate shape of finger nails and having a polished exposed surface, a first colored coating and a second coating of pressure sensitive adhesive on the other surfacemay be provided in sets. The elements of such sets may be adhered to substantially any desired surface by the pressure sensitive adhesive so as to'enable the various elements to be strippedfrom the surface and then applied to the finger nails. The ele ments may be easilytrimmed, as described below, to the outline of the nails to which theyare applied. If desired, the covers-may at any time be stripped from the nails and reapplied and this removal and reapplication may be repeated many times.

The limited distensibility of the covers, in conjunction with the pressure sensitive adhesive, however, causes the covers to resist accidental displacement from the nails, and if partial or complete accidental displacement does occur, it is merely necessary to again smooth the displaced portions of the covers against the nail. The films themselves are practically indestructible in ordinary use. They have been applied to finger nails and have been subjected to the wear and tear of household activities including dish washing for periods of several weeks without substantial impairment of their appearance. In this connection, it is to be noted that growing of the nails will carry the covers away from the cuticle and when this occurs, they may be removed and reapplied higher up on the nails. The exposed ends of the nails may then be trimmed. .Not only do the covers of the present invention :add to the appearance .of the finger nails but they also act as flexible reinforcements for the nails. Instead of causing the nails to becomebrittle, asis the case when liquid coatings and solvent removers are repeatedly employed, the present covers preserve the natural strength of the nails and furthermore retard breakage of normally brittle nails. While the .above discussion has dealt primarily with :finger nails, it is, ofcourse, apparent that the coversof the present invention may similarly be applied to toe nails, if desired.

.Itis therefore an object of the present invention. to provide ornamental and protective covers for the nails of human digits which covers include a transparent film of plastic or resinous material having limited distensibility, a colored coating on the lower surface .of the vfilm and a coating of pressure sensitiveadhesive for adhering the cover to such nails.

.Another object of the invention is to provide flexible covers for the nails of human digits in the formof thin films of transparent plasticized polyvinyl chloride or plasticized copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate having coatings of coloring material and pressure sensitive adhesive on their .lowersurfaces and being of limited distensibility to enable the coatings to conform to the surfacesof such nails.

Other objects .and advantages of theinvention willappearin the following descriptionof a'preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the attached drawing, of which:

Fig. l isaplan view .of aset oftfingernail coverings adhered to a card of transparent material;

Fig. 2 is a plan viewof one of the coverings of Fig. 1 on an enlargedscale;

Fig. 3 is a vertical-section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 on a greatly enlarged scale;

Fig. .4 .is a, curve .on a greatly enlarged scale showing the form of the lateral curvature of the exposed surface of a representative finger nail; and

Fig. .5 is a curve similar to Fig. ishowing the form of thelongitudinal curvature :of the upper surface of a representative finger nail.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a card In upon which is mounted a plurality of finger nail covers. Such a card may be of any desired material, for example, transparent cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, or ethylcellulose or may be of any suitable opaque material such as glazed cardboard -:or fabric. A

set of finger nail covers may include ten or .more thin films of plastic material having the general shape of finger nails, the set shown in the drawing being made up of twelve covers. Thus the covers H may be suitable for application to the nails of the little fingers, the covers 12 may be suitable for application to slightly larger finger nails, the covers [3 being suitable for application to still larger finger nails and the covers I 4' being suitable for application to thumb nails. Any of the larger covers can be trimmed to smaller size and the twelve covers illustrated have been found adequat for all applications.

The cover shown in Fig. 2 may be any one of the covers of Fig. 1, for example cover 13. A cross-section of such a cover is shown in Fig. 3 on a very much enlarged scale and may include an upper lamination I6 of suitable transparent or translucent plasticized resinous material, an intermediate coating 11 which may be of substantially the same material as the material of the lamination I6 except that it contains a pigment or dye and a coating 18 of pressure sensitive adhesive applied over the coating H. The pressure sensitive adhesive i=8 may be employed to adhere the variouscovers to the card 10. This coating of pressure sensitive adhesive [8 differentially adheres to the colored coating 11 so that the various covers may be stripped from the card l and the adhesive l8 remains on the finger n-ail cover.

As stated above, it has been found that the plastic or resinous material making up the film I6 of the various covers must have certain physical characteristics. these physical characteristics is that of limited distensibility. The various covers must be capable of conforming the compound curvature of a finger nail as otherwise they will either wrinkle when app-lied to the finger nail or will pull away after such application. An attempt has been made to illustrate the compound curvature of a typical finger nail in Figs. 4 and 5. That is to say, the curve l9 of Fig. 4 represents the lateral curve of a typical finger nail on a median position along the length of the nail, for example, along a section through a nail taken at a position corresponding to the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Similarly, the curve 2| of Fig. represents the longitudinal curvature of the upper surface of a typical finger nail'along a median section through the nail, for example, along a line corresponding to the line indicated at 22 in Fig. 2. Curves similar to Fig. 4 can be drawn for any lateral section of a finger nail and while these curves will vary depending upon the position of the section taken, and will also vary with different individuals and different nails of the same individual, substantially all of them will have a pronounced curvature. Similar considerations exist-with respect to the longitudinal curvature illustrated in Fig. 5.

It will be apparent from. the curves of Figs. 4. and 5 that the upper surfaces of finger nails in general have a compound curvature substantially throughout such surfaces and that a film or sheet cannot be made to conform to such surfaces with out substantial deformation of the sheet. That is to say, the central portions of a cover applied to and conforming to the upper surface of a finger nail must be capable of being stretched to a limited extent if wrinkling of the peripheral portions of the cover is to be avoided. Films. which do not have substantialdistensibility cannot be made to thus conform as can easily be determined by attempting to apply a properly shaped piece of the ordinary transparent tapes of commerce made Perhaps the most important of from cellophane coated on one surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive. Such a piece of tape will invariably wrinkle during applicatiOnand such wrinkles cannot be smoothed out.

It has been found that thin films of plastic material having a thickness ranging from approximately .005 to .012", preferably from .0085" to .011", can be employed. These films must have the limited distensibility above referred to. That is to say, they must be capable of stretching a sufficient amount to conform to the compound curvature above discussed but at the same time they must not stretch too easily, as otherwise the covers will be excessively deformed during application to the finger nails.

Films which are satisfactory for the present invention require tensile stresses ranging from approximately 1500 to 2700 lbs. per square inch for 100% elongation. These stresses are measured prior to applying any coating such as coating l1 and before the pressure sensitive adhesive I8 is applied. Since the film I7 is very thin in all cases and is usually of substantially the same material as the main lamination l6 of the cover, the elongation characteristics above given still apply to films having a coating IT. The tensile stress required to produce a given elongation is substantially proportional to the elongation up to at least 100% elongation, and when the thinness of the film, the small size of the cover and the relatively small linear distortion of the film required to cause the cover to fit a finger nail are considered, it will be apparent that the total stress required to distort the cover into conformation of a finger nail is quite small. Approximate calculations indicate that the maximum stretching of the film is in the neighborhood of 2 to 6% elongation and that the maximum tensile stress to which the film is subjected is in the neighborhood of 0.4 to 1.6 pounds per linear inch. Since this maximum stress occurs only in the centralportions of the cover the total tensile stress along a median cross section of the cover is in the neighborhood of 0.1 to 0.3 pound. This is, of course, the elastic force tangent to the applied cover tending to return the film to its original flat condition and it follows that the adhesive employed must be capable of resisting this stress as otherwise the cover will pull away from the nail. That is to say, if the force resisting distortion of the film is too high, pressure sensitive adhesives will not retain the cover in position even if the cover can be smoothed on the nail and. if this force is still higher, it is impossible to apply the cover without wrinkling. On the other hand, if the force resisting distortion is too low, the cover will be pulled out of shape during application.

The plastic material employed for the covers in accordance with the present invention must also have substantial mechanic-a1 strength, i. e., it must resist marring and tearing. Plastic materials found suitable for employment in the present invention have a Shore hardness ranging between approximately and 90. Similarly, plastic materials suitable for the present invention have a percentage of elongation before failure under tensile stresses ranging from approximately 200 to 325%, the ultimate tensile strength of such materials ranging from approximately 2000 to 3500 lbs. per square inch.

The plastic material which has been found most suitable for the films of the present invention, when all of the various factors including physical characteristics, expense, ease of fabrication, etc., are takeninto :consideration,' :is plasticized polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride, when polymerized to a high molecular weight, is a brittle transparent solid. Although the preferred material for the main film [6 of the covers of the present invention has been referred to as plasticized polyvinyl chloride, it is not to be understood that such films are the conventional plasticized films of commerce. That is to say, the film of the present invention contains a substantially greater amount of plasticizer and has greater distensibility than such conventional films. The known plasticizers for vinyl chloride polymers can, however, be employed, but as indicated above, are employed in sufficient amounts to impart a much greater plasticizing action. A large number of suitable plasticizers are known for polyvinyl chloride and by incorporating such plasticizers into the polyvinyl chloride in proper amounts, materials falling within the ranges above given are obtained. Examples of such plasticizers are tricresyl phosphate, dibutoxy ethyl phthalate, triglycol dihexate, dibutyl phthalate, glycol phthalate, etc. Such plasticizing materials should be non-migratory and nonvolatile so that the films produced from the plastic material retain their physical characteristics indefinitely. A preferred plasticizing material is glycol phthalate and the amount of the plasticizer will ordinarily range from about 27% to 45% by weight based on the weight of the polyvinyl chloride. The amount of plasticizer will, however, depend to some extent upon the film thickness, the amount of plasticizer increasing with film thickness. .Such a plastic composition, as is known to the art, will ordinarily contain small amounts of stabilizers such as tin maleate and calcium carbonate which preserve but do not otherwise materially affect its physical characteristics. In addition to the above, it has been found that a small amount of stearic acid is desirable as a releasing agent to prevent the plasticized material .from adhering to the .rolls during the forming of the film. The amount of stearic acid, if employed, may range between 0.1% and 0.7

After compounding of the composition, the resulting material may be sheeted on a calender to the required thickness. In the absence of added coloringmaterial such a film willordinarily be transparent in thin films such as those contemplated by the present invention. The calendering operation will ordinarily provide a polished surface on both sides of the film but'if necessary, the film may be polished by running it between a pair of cold polishing rolls rotated at differen tial speeds so as to give a polishing action. The coating ll of coloring material may then heapplied to one surface of the film. In general, the colored coating material may be a solvent solution of'substantially the same material as that making up .the main film I6 except that coloring material is added. Any suitable coloring material known to the art for producing colored films of polyvinyl chloride may be employed, it being understood that such coloring material should be non-toxic and non-irritating to the human skin. No polishing of the film of coloredlacquer thusapplied is required as the contact between the colored film and the main film it, visible through the upper surface of the transparent mainfilm, gives the effect of a high polish. Upon evaporation of the solvent, the colored coating 11 not only imparts a colored appearance to the main film i6 but is also-a particularly effective primer-or subbing matter the pressure sensitive adhesive.

The film formed as above described may then be coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive. Pressure sensitive adhesives and processes of application are known to the prior art and any one of several pressure sensitive adhesives may be employed. By way of example and not of limitation, the following pressure sensitive adhesives are suitable, the parts being by weight:

Adhesive No. 1

Parts Crude rubber 100 Zinc oxide Aluminum hydroxide 50 Rosin Pine tar 10 Phenyl beta naphthyalanine 2 Adhesive N o. 2

Parts Polyisobutylene (molecular Wt. 80,000) Factice 30 Liqui polyisobutylene 80 Aluminum hydroxide 200 Mineral oil 10 Polyterpene (melting point 70 C.) 100 While the above adhesives are entirely satisfactory so far as adhesiveness is concerned, it is preferred to substitute 10 parts of lanolin for the pine tar in Adhesive No. 1 and for the mineral oil in Adhesive No. 2. The lanolin performs the same softening function as the pine tar or mineral oil and is more suitable for compositions coming in contact with the nails or skin of the user.

Such pressure sensitive adhesives may be applied to the film either by heating and calendering onto the film or by solvent spreading. By reason of the colored coating functioning as a primer coating, the adhesive adheres to the finger nail covering to a greater extent than to the surfaces of a finger nail or to the surface of a backing material to which the nail covers are adhered for sale to customers.

After the pressure-sensitive adhesive has been applied to the film, the film may then be adhered to a suitable backing material such as the backing materials above discussed. A preferred backing material is a sheet of transparent ethyl cellulose. After being adhered to the backing material, the tabs or nail coverings may be cut from the film by suitable dies, the cutting edges of the dies severing the tabs from the film but not cutting through the'backing material. The Wast material may then be removed from between the nail covers to leave the nail covers mounted on the backing material.

As a specific example of a suitable plastic film material, a polymerized vinyl chloride of high molecular weight was melted and mixed with glycol phthalate as a plasticizer, the amount of plasticizer being'40% by Weight based on the total Weight of the polyvinyl chloride and plasticizer. Approximately 03% of tin maleate was admixed therewith along with approximately 0.3 of stearic acid as a releasing agent. The resulting mixture was cooled to plastic condition and sheeted on a calender to provide a film having a thickness of approximately .009". The Weight of this film was 9.7 ounces per square yard. The tensile stress required for 100% elongation in the direction *of the sheeting operation was 2400 lbs. per square inch and in a direction at right angles to the sheeting operation, was 1880 lbs. per square inch,, The maximum elongation before. failure 9 was 220% in'the direction of sheeting and 250% at right angles to the direction of sheeting. The

ultimate tensile strength in the direction of sheeting. was 3100 lbs. per square inch and in a direction at right angles to. the sheeting was 2364 lbs. per square inch. The film thus prepared was then coated with three coatings ofcolored plasticized vinyl chloride in sufilcient, ethylmethyl ketone as a solvent to provide a lacquer of spreading consistency. The colored plasticized vinyl chloride had substantially the same composition as that given for the main film l6 except that suflicient red pigment, known in the art as Rubine Lake was added to render the dried film opaque. The coating solution contained approximately 20% solids by weight, the amount of pigment being about 3% of the solids and each coating was dried before application of the next. After drying of the colored coatings, a coating of pressure sensitive adhesive as above described was applied over the coatings of colored material by a calendering operation.

Although plasticized polyvinyl chloride is the preferred plastic material for forming the distensible film of the present invention, various other resinous materials may be employed such as plasticized vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate copolymers and plasticized polyethylene compounds, or mixtures ofvarious plastic materials. That is to say',"any' plastic materials which may be formed into colored films and which have physical characteristics similar to those above discussed are suitable for employment in the present invention.

Thus another suitable composition for the main film is the same as that given in the above specific example except that 2 to 5% polyvinyl acetate is substituted for a like amount of polyvinyl chloride, the acetate and chloride being admixed in monomeric form and polymerized together so as to produce a copolymer of the two materials. Also the color coatings may contain as their main constituent a copolymer of the vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate in which the polyvinyl acetate may range between 5 and 8%.

The resulting covering elements may be easily applied to the finger nails. Any old nail polish should be removed and the cuticle softened and pushed back. The hands are then preferably washed in warm water. A nail file or a point of small scissors may be employed to lift the tip of a cover element from the supporting card after which the element can be stripped from the card by grasping the raised tip with the fingers. This element may then be positioned on the finger nail and pressed firmly around the sides of the nail and over the tip. The element may then be stripped from the nail and it will be found that a clear imprint of the nail is left on the adhesive side of the element. The element may then be trimmed with scissors just slightly inside the boundaries of the imprint. By again pressing the trimmed element into place and smoothing toward the sides and cuticle a "perfectly fitting, highly polished covering is obtained.

From the above description of the invention, it will be apparent that I have provided an im proved ornamental and protective cover for the nails of human digits.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a

' thin film of flexible transparent plasticized poly- ,vinyl chloride of high mechanical strength hav ing suflicient distensibility to enable the film to conform to the compound curvature of the surface of said nail when pressed thereagainst by the fingers of the user, said film having a colored coating on one surface thereof and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to said colto the compound curvature of the surface of said nail when pressed thereagainst by the fingers ofthe user, said film having an opaque colored coating on one surface thereof and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to saidcolored coating.

3. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a film of fiexible transparentplasticized polyvinyl chloride, an opaque colored coating on one surface of said film and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to said colored coating, whereby said colored coating is visible through and is protected by said film of transparent material when said coveris adhered to said nail by said adhesive, said film having sufficient mechanical strength to resist marring and tearing and having sufficient elastic distensibility to enable the film to be distorted to conform to the compound curvature of the surface of said nail, the elastic force produced by said distortion and tending to return said film to its undistorted condition being less than the adhesive force of said adhesive for the surface of said nail.

4. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising a film of flexible transparent material, an opaque colored coating on one surface of said film and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to said colored coating, whereby said colored coating is visible through and is protected by said film of transparent material when said cover is adhered to said nail by said adhesive, said film having per cent elastic elongation under a tensile stress between approximately 1,500 and 2,700 pounds per square inch, whereby to provide sufiicient elastic distensibility to enable the film to be distorted to conform to the compound curvature of the surface of said nail without producing an elastic restoring force greater than the adhesive force of said adhesive for the surface of said nail.

5. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a film of flexible transparent material, an opaque colored coating on one surface of said film and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to said colored coating, whereby said colored coating is visible through and is protected by said film of transparent material when said cover is adhered to said nail by said adhesive, said film having a thickness between approximately .005" and .012" and 100% elastic elongation under a tensile stress between approximately 1500 and 2700 pounds per square inch so as to provide sufiicient distensibility to enable said film to conform to the compound curvature of the surface of said nail.

6. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a thin film of flexible transparent plasticized polyvinyl chloride having sufficient distensibility to enable the film to. conform to the compound curvature of the surface of said nail when pressed thereagainst by the fingers of the user, said film having an opaque colored coating on one surface. thereof and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered tosaid colored coating.

7. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a film of flexible transparent plasticized polyvinyl chloride, an opaque colored coating on one surface of said film and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to said colored coating, whereby said colored coating is visible through and is protected by said film of transparent plasticized polyvinyl chloride when said cover is adhered to said nail by said adhesive, said film having sufiicient elastic distensibility to enable the film to be distorted to conform to the compound curvature of the surface of said nail without producing an elastic restoring force greater than the adhesive force of said adhesive for the surface of said nail.

8. As an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a

thin film of flexible transparent plasticized copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate having sufficient distensibility to enable the film to conform to the compound curvature of the surface-of said nailwhen pressed thereagainst by the fingers of the user, said film having a. colored coating onone surface thereof and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered totsaid colored coating.

9?. As'an article of manufacture, a cover for the nail of a human digit, said cover comprising, a film of flexible transparent plasticized copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, an opaque colored coating on one surface of said film and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive adhered to said colored coating, whereby said colored coating is visible through and is protected by said film of transparent plasticized copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate when said cover is adhered to said nail bysaid adhesive, said film having sufficient elastic distensibility to enable the film to be distorted to conform to the compound curvature ofthe surface of said nailwithout producing an elastic restoring force greater than the adhesive force of said adhesive for the surface of said nail.

HERBERT L. PETTE-Y.

REFERENCES CITED The following. references are of rec rd file of this patent: O, m the UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,374,940 Kemmler May 1, 1945 2,413,537 Aberbach Dec. 31, I946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 934,512 France Jan, 10,-1948

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