Patent Publication Number: US-6984165-B1

Title: Polish and applying buffing mitt, kit and method

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   This application is directed to a disposable polish applying and buffing mitt, a disposable polish applying and buffing kit, and methods of using the mitt and kit. 
   The consumer market for quick disposable products that provide high quality polishing results is growing. The demand is great for a product that provides a high quality polish without the need for time consuming clean-up in a variety of environments such as shining shoes, waxing an automobile, applying plastic protectants to an automobile, polishing silverware, staining furniture, cleaning furniture, oven cleaning, medical equipment cleanup, washing windows, cleaning and conditioning leather and even for wiping and clean-up of babies. 
   Many products on the market today promise to instantly polish an object. However, many of these products do not actually apply a polish but rather only clean or shine the object and then do not provide a proper, long lasting polish because of the limitations on the choice of polish which result from the disposable character thereof. 
   Polishing mitts are well known. Typically, they utilize the same material for applying the polish and buffing and, require reversing of the mitt on the hand between the application of the polish and buffing of the polish. Often this allows polish to be absorbed into the polish application layer during the polishing step resulting in the need for a great quantity of polish and staining the hand. In addition, the polish application layer surface is exposed during buffing and often results in soiling of the hands or clothes of the person doing the polishing. Many also require cleanup after use. 
   Accordingly it is the object of the present invention to provide novel devices and methods which obviate many of the deficiencies of known disposable polishers. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel disposable polish applying and buffing mitt and a polish applying and buffing kit for use in applying a polish to an object and buffing the polish into the object. 
   It is still a another object of the present invention to provide a novel disposable polish applying and buffing kit that contains a polish. 
   It is yet a another object of the present invention to provide a novel disposable polish applying and buffing mitt and kit that includes a first layer that can be used to clean the object before the polish is applied. 
   It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel disposable polish applying and buffing mitt and kit that can be used for two different applications. 
   It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a polish applying and buffing mitt and a novel method of applying polish to an object using the mitt. 
   It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a polish applying and buffing kit and a novel method of applying polish to an object using the kit. 
   These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of a hand sized embodiment of the mitt of the present invention with a polish impervious layer on one side. 
       FIG. 2  is a section taken through lines  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a pictorial view of a finger shaped embodiment of the mitt of the present invention in a partial section illustrating cleaning, polish applying, and buffing layers. 
       FIG. 4  is a pictorial view of a first embodiment of a hand sized kit illustrating a polish containing compartment adjacent the distal end thereof. 
       FIG. 5  is a section taken through lines  5 — 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   With reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , one embodiment of the disposable polish applying and buffing mitt  10  of the present invention is dimensioned and configured to receive a human hand. The polish applying and buffing mitt can also be dimensioned and configured to receive one, two, three, or four fingers; or have a thumb sleeve; or be gloved shaped. The configuration and dimension of the buffing mitt is desirably selected based on the object to be polished. For example, to apply a car wax a large mitt would be preferred, while to polish smaller objects like silverware, a one-finger or two-finger shaped mitt would be preferred. 
   The polish applying and buffing mitt  10  is a multilayered mitt that comprises a buffing mitt  12  of a material pervious to the polish to be applied to the object suitable for buffing. The material pervious to the polish may be any material suitable for buffing the object to be polished, e.g., cotton, cotton flannel, fabric, terry cloth, chamois, or paper product. The mitt  10  further comprises a layer of material  14  impervious to the polish that is removably secured to the buffing mitt  12  on one side of the polish applying and buffing mitt  10 . The layer  14  may be any material suitable for applying polish to the object, e.g., plastic or polymer film. The size of the polish impervious layer on the buffing mitt is dependent on the object to be polished. For example, to apply wax to a car the polish impervious layer may cover at least one side of the mitt, while for shining a shoe the polish impervious layer may cover approximately one third of the closed end of the mitt one side thereof. 
   The polish impervious layer  14  is removably secured to the buffing mitt  12  such that the layer  14  can be removed from the buffing mitt  12  once the polish has been applied to the object. In the present embodiment a tab  16 , attached to the layer  14 , is pulled to remove the layer  14  from the buffing mitt  12 . The layers of the mitt and kit can be removably secured to each other by any suitable means, e.g., the layer is removably secured to the buffing mitt by plastic perforation that can be released by pulling a tab attached to the layer; a tab attached to the layer that comprises a plastic sealing ring can be pulled to remove the layer from the buffing mitt; or a tab attached to the layer can be pulled to remove the layer from the buffing mitt by breaking the seal between the layer and the buffing mitt. The seal between the layer and the buffing mitt may be any conventional seal such as a heat seal or pressure sensitive seal. 
   The mitt  10  is dimensioned and configured to receive a human hand into the open pocket of the buffing mitt and may be dipped into a polish so that the polish impervious layer  14  receives the polish and the layer  14  is used to apply the polish to the object by the hand within the buffing mitt  10 . After the proper amount of polish has been applied to the object the layer  14  can be removed exposing the buffing mitt  12 . The layer  14  can be removed from the buffing mitt  12  by pulling the tab  16  attached to the layer  14 . The buffing mitt  12  can then be used to buff the polish into the object by the hand within said buffing mitt. When the buffing is completed the buffing mitt  12  can be removed from the hand for disposal. 
   In another embodiment of the disposable polish applying and buffing mitt, separate polish impervious layers may be removably secured on opposite sides of the buffing mitt to the buffing mitt such that the buffing mitt can be used on two separate occasions for application of polish. 
   With reference to  FIG. 3 , polish applying and buffing mitt  30  is dimensioned and configured to receive a finger and to include a layer of cleaning material  32  removably secured to the polish impervious layer  34 . The cleaning material layer can be comprised of any material suitable for the cleaning of the object to be polished, e.g., cotton, cotton flannel, fabric, terry cloth, or paper product. Pulling the tab  38  attached to the cleaning layer  32  removes the cleaning layer  32  from the polish impervious layer  34 . The layer  34  is removably secured to the buffing mitt  36  by a tab  40  which is attached to the layer  34  thereof such that pulling the tab  40  removes the polish impervious layer  34  from said buffing mitt  36  as described in connection with the mitt of  FIG. 1 . 
   A finger can be inserted into the open end of the mitt  30  and the cleaning layer  32  may be used to clean the object to be polished. When the object has been cleaned, the cleaning layer  32  can be removed by pulling the tab  38  attached to the cleaning layer  32  which removes the cleaning layer  32  from the polish impervious layer  34 . The layer  34  may then be dipped into a polish so that the layer  34  is used to apply the polish to the object by the finger within the buffing mitt  36 . After the proper amount of polish has been applied to the object, the layer  34  can be removed from the buffing mitt  36  by pulling on the tab  40  attached to layer  34  to remove the layer  34  and expose the buffing mitt  36 . The mitt  36  can then be used to buff the polish into the object by the finger within said buffing mitt  36 . After the buffing of the object is completed, the finger shaped buffing mitt  36  can be removed for disposal. 
   With reference now to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a disposable polish applying and buffing kit  40  is dimensioned and configured to receive a human hand which is inserted into the open pocket of the kit  40 . The kit  40  has a first layer of material  42  impervious to the polish to be applied to the object. The first layer  42  is removably secured to a second layer of material  48  impervious to the polish and forms a sealed compartment  44  between said first and second layers. The sealed compartment  44  contains a quantity of polish  46  sufficient to cover the object to be polished. The polish can be any material suitable for polishing an object, e.g., shoe polish, car wax, furniture wax, silver polish, plastic and vinyl protectants, leather cleaner, window cleaner and other general types of cleaners (e.g., solvents, degreasers, disinfectants, and soaps). 
   The first layer  42  is removably secured to the second layer  48  and can be removed from the second layer to expose the polish  46  by pulling the tab  52  attached to the first layer  42 . The second layer  48  is removably secured to the buffing mitt  50  and can be removed from the buffing mitt  50  by pulling the tab  46  attached to the second layer  48 . 
   The polish applying and buffing kit  40  can be used by placing a hand inside the open end of the kit  40 . The first layer  42  is removed from the second layer  48  by pulling tab  52  which removes the first layer  42  and exposes the polish  46 . The layer  48  is then used to apply the polish  46  to the object by the hand within the buffing mitt  50 . When the proper amount of polish  46  has been applied to the object to be polished the second layer  48  can be removed from the buffing mitt  50  by pulling tab  54  attached to the second layer  48 . Pulling tab  54  removes the second layer  48  from the kit  40  and exposes the buffing mitt  50 . The buffing mitt  50  can then be used to buff the polish  46  into the object by the hand within the buffing mitt  50 . After buffing of the object is completed, the buffing mitt  50  can be removed for disposal. 
   In another embodiment of the polish applying and buffing kit, a layer of cleaning material can be removably secured to the first layer of polish impervious material so that the layer of cleaning material can be used to clean the object to be polished prior to applying a polish. The cleaning layer is removably secured to the first layer and is removed from the kit after the object has been cleaned by pulling a tab attached to the cleaning layer. 
   In yet another embodiment, the disposable polish applying and buffing kit has separate first layers, polish, and second layers on opposite sides of the buffing kit to allow for the kit to be used twice. The first and second layers are removably secured such that they are separately removed from one side of the kit. 
   In a further embodiment, the disposable polish applying and buffing kit is comprises a glove-shaped buffing mitt that is maintained in the shape of a mitt by the second polish impervious layer. When the second layer is removed from the buffing mitt, the buffing mitt can be formed into a glove shape by moving the fingers with the glove shaped buffing mitt. This embodiment is effective for polishing objects that have smaller pockets into which the polish needs to be buffed such as finely crafted furniture with embossed ornamentations on the surface thereof. 
   ADVANTAGES AND SCOPE OF THE INVENTION 
   The advantages of the present inventions are numerous. The polish applying and buffing mitt and the polish applying and buffing kit can be designed to optimize the polishing of an object by selecting a polish impervious layer and pervious material for the buffing mitt based on the object to be polished and the polish to be used. The same object can require different polish operations. For example, a boot could require a design to apply shoe polish and another design to apply water proofing material. 
   The use of a polish impervious material in the design allows for less polish required for the polish applying step. Since less polish is required in the design, manufacturing costs will be reduced without a decrease in polishing results. 
   The polish applying and buffing mitt and the polish applying and buffing kit can be dimensioned and configured to ensure the object is polished correctly. Basing the configuration of the mitt and kit on the object to be polished will ensure a higher quality polish. The mitt and kit can be shaped to receive a hand, have a thumb sleeve in the mitt, receive one to four fingers, be round or square. However the possible configurations of the mitt and kit are not based on size and shape alone. Additional features can be added to the mitt and kit to optimize the polishing of an object. An outer cleaning layer can be added to the mitt or kit. For example the cleaning layer may comprise an absorbent material. An additional buffing strap can be included inside the mitt or kit. In some cases two buffing layers removably secured to each other will be required to properly polish the object. The two buffing layers can even be made of different materials resulting in a higher quality polish than just one buffing layer. The same holds true for the polish impervious layers where in some cases two layers may be needed to apply the polish to the object with a first specific layer of polish impervious material and a second polish impervious layer to further aid the application of the polish prior to buffing. 
   The polish applying and buffing mitt is suitable for any operation that benefits from the application of a polish to an object by a polish impervious layer and buffing of the polish into the object by a pervious layer, including wiping, washing, cleaning or dusting of an object. Such operations include but are not limited to cleaning and polishing mechanical equipment. The cleaning layer may be used to remove substances such as excess grease from mechanical equipment. After cleaning, the cleaning layer may be removed and the polish impervious layer may be used to apply degreaser to the equipment. After application of the degreaser, the polish impervious layer may be removed and the pervious material of the buffing mitt may then be used to buff the degreaser into the equipment. When buffing is completed the buffing mitt can be removed for disposal. The result is clean equipment without the soiling of the hands. 
   Further by way of example, the polish applying and buffing mitt may be useful in the cleanup of medical equipment if utilized with hospital gloves. The cleaning layer may be used to wipe the medical wastes from medical equipment, such as an operating table. After cleaning, the cleaning layer may be removed and the polish impervious layer may further wipe any excess medical wastes from the table if required, and then may be used to apply a disinfectant or cleaner to the medical equipment. After application of the disinfectant or cleaner the polish impervious layer maybe removed and the pervious material of the buffing mitt may then be used to buff the disinfectant or cleaner into the equipment. When the buffing is completed the buffing mitt may be removed for disposal. The use of medical gloves in conjunction with the polish applying and buffing mitt would protect the user from the medical wastes. 
   The polish applying and buffing mitt and the polish applying and buffing kit allow for the consumer to polish an object without requiring cleanup. There is no need to reverse orient the mitt on the consumer&#39;s hand while polishing an object which could result in soiling of the hand or fingers. The removable layers are designed so that the consumer will never come in contact with the polish. Often the polish impervious layer is removed after the polish is applied so that there is not an exposed layer of polish during buffing. This cleanup free feature lends itself to travelers or to consumers in a hurry to complete the polishing of an object. 
   While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence, many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof.