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[0001] This application claims priority from and hereby expressly incorporates by reference U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/207,871 filed May 30, 2000.
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the cleaning and polishing arts and, more particularly, to a specially conformed mitt that is specifically adapted for polishing and cleaning hard-to-reach areas and areas where precise contact with the surface being cleaned/polished is required.
[0003] Cleaning and polishing hand mitts are generally well known and in wide use. Hand mitts offer numerous advantages over simple use of a towel rag, sponge, or the like, not the least of which is the ease with which a mitt is maneuvered due to its conformance with the user's hand. Heretofore, however, mitts have been conformed with a flat, gently rounded, or blunt closed or distal ends that are not conducive for cleaning/polishing hard-to-reach areas, and that are not suitable for cleaning/polishing areas where precise control of the mitt is required. For example, prior mitts for wax application/removal have not been well suited for application to a narrow strip of the surface being treated or adjacent a window, trim assembly, or the like. Oftentimes, the closed, distal end of conventional mitts are large and bulbous and cannot be inserted into restricted areas such as where two surfaces intersect at a small angle, e.g., where a windshield meets a dashboard assembly, or into grooves defined between adjacent body panels or the like.
[0004] Another deficiency associated with conventional cleaning/polishing mitts is that they are not well suited for use in pairs. Conventional mitts are provided separately and may be used respectively on a user's two hands. However, such an approach does not provide any great synergistic advantage to the user, i.e., the cleaning/polishing effect is simply the combined effect of two mitts.
[0005] Prior mitts have been formed with a separate thumb-receiving area or in a thumbless configuration, i.e., with a single cavity that receives a user's entire hand. While these two types of mitts have enjoyed widespread commercial success, deficiencies with each have been identified. Mitts with a separate thumb-receiving cavity do not present a smooth and uninterrupted cleaning/polishing surface. The space between the thumb-receiving region and the finger-receiving region can result in uneven cleaning/polishing. Furthermore, these mitts are more complicated and costly to manufacture. Thumbless mitts, on the other hand, have generally been deemed to be superior for cleaning/polishing activities, but some users object to placement of their entire hand inside of the mitt. For example, when a user's entire hand is placed inside of a mitt, the user has no free thumb or fingers for activities that cannot be performed with the mitt in place, e.g., itching his/her body, adjusting eye glasses, etc.
[0006] In light of the foregoing, it has been deemed desirable to develop a new and improved ergonomic utility hand mitt with a pointed closed or distal end. Furthermore, it has been deemed desirable to develop such a mitt in a thumbless as well as a four-finger conformation. A need has also been identified for a pair of such cleaning/polishing mitts interconnected by a cleaning/polishing cloth that, itself, provides further cleaning/polishing action on a surface being cleaned/polished in addition to the action of the pair of mitts.
[0007] In accordance with the present invention, a cleaning and/or polishing hand mitt is provided. The mitt includes first and second side members arranged with their respective inner faces in opposed facing relation and interconnected along a substantial portion their respective peripheries so that a hand-receiving recess is defined therebetween. A mouth to the hand-receiving recess is defined between the first and second side members where they are not interconnected. The exposed, outer faces of the first and second members preferably comprise a soft, non-abrasive, and absorbent material adapted for cleaning/polishing operations. The innermost end of the hand-receiving recess, preferably directly opposite the mouth, defines a region that converges to a point in a direction moving away from the mouth and that is specifically adapted for closely receiving the user's third or middle finger. Correspondingly, the exposed, outer faces of the side members are conformed to define a sharply pointed distal end to the mitt that overlies the converging finger-receiving region in the mitt recess. Thus, in operation, a user's middle finger is received into the converging finger-receiving portion of the recess, and the user is then able to use his/her middle finger to manipulate the sharply pointed exterior distal end of the mitt as required for cleaning/polishing restricted areas and areas where precise control of the mitt is required.
[0008] Preferably, the first and second side members define the distal end of the mitt to have a generally triangular conformation, the tip of which forms the pointed exterior distal end of the mitt and the corresponding pointed finger-receiving region in the recess. Preferably, the exposed tip of the triangular conformation defines an interior angle of not more than about 135°, and most preferably of not more than 110°. The triangular conformation is also preferred in that it presents first and second linear edges that converge to define the exposed tip and that are well-suited for application of wax or the like adjacent trim, glass, or other surfaces that are not intended to be contacted with the wax or other substance being applied with the mitt.
[0009] Preferably, the mitt has an overall pentagonal shape, and the hand-receiving recess can be sized to accommodate either a user's entire hand (i.e., a thumbless mitt) or merely four fingers of the user's hand, with the thumb of the hand and the palm remaining outside of the mitt. In the former case, the mitt optionally comprises an elastic cuff adjacent the mouth of the recess for closely encircling a users wrist and/or arm when the users hand is placed in the mitt recess. In either case, one or both exposed exterior faces of the mitt can be impregnated with wax, a cleaning compound, or other substance to be applied to a surface. This, then, eliminates the expense, inconvenience, and storage associated with use of a separate container of the impregnated substance.
[0010] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a pair of mitts is provided and these are interconnected by a central cleaning/polishing cloth that preferably comprises a soft, absorbent material on at least one face. The central cloth is long enough so that a user can place one of his/her hands in each mitt and use the mitts independently. The central cloth provides additional cleaning/polishing action as it contacts the object surface. Most preferably, at least one side member defining each mitt and the central cloth section are defined as a one-piece construction.
[0011] In accordance with still another feature of the present invention, a method a manufacturing a mitt with a pointed closed end is provided. The method includes forming a single blank of material so that it defines first and second identical adjacent side members. The blank is then folded upon itself and all but one section of the mating peripheral portions of the blanks are sewn or otherwise fixedly secured together. The mating peripheral portions not affixed to each other define a mouth to a hand/finger-receiving recess located between the overlapping side members.
[0012] One advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of a cleaning/polishing mitt with a pointed closed end that facilitates cleaning/polishing hard-to-reach areas not accessible with a conventional mitt.
[0013] Another advantage of the present invention is found in the provision of a pair of cleaning/polishing mitts, each with a pointed closed end, wherein the pair are interconnected.
[0014] A further advantage of the present invention is the provision of a four-finger mitt having a pointed closed end that facilitates cleaning and/or polishing hard-to-reach areas.
[0015] Still another advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of a cleaning/polishing mitt with a pointed closed end that facilitates cleaning/polishing hard-to-reach areas not accessible with a conventional mitt, wherein at least one exposed outer face of the mitt is impregnated with wax or another substance to be applied to a surface being cleaned and/or polished.
[0016] Yet another advantage is found in the provision of an improved method for manufacturing a mitt with a pointed closed end.
[0017] Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains upon reading and understanding the following specification.
[0018] The invention may take form in certain components and structures and in certain steps and procedures, preferred embodiments of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof and wherein:
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[0030] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are only for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments and not for the purpose of limiting the invention,
[0031] The first and second side members
[0032] The subject mitt
[0033] The overall pentagonal shape of the mitt and recess is preferred in that it conforms generally to the shape of a human hand. Referring briefly to
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[0035] With reference now to
[0036] Details of the four-finger mitt
[0037] With reference now to
[0038] To form the mitt
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[0040] The invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding the preceding specification. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they are encompassed by the appended claims as construed literally and/or according to the doctrine of equivalents.