Patent Publication Number: US-7210171-B2

Title: Cleaning glove

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
   This invention relates generally to a glove with specialized cleaning surfaces. In particular, the present invention relates to a specialized glove for cleaning dishes and performing similar tasks. 
   There is always room to improve the tedious job of dishwashing. Even after the introduction of automatic dishwashing machines, the extreme versatility of the human hand remains the primary weapon in the war against the daily onslaught of dirty dishes. There are special tools for jobs that a scrub pad won&#39;t handle, but finding and storing these articles is a chore in itself. Some people, especially those affected by arthritis, find grasping a dishrag difficult. A single tool that uses the inherent agility and flexibility of the hand to handle common dishwashing situations is unavailable. The glove disclosed herein provides the necessary tools and keeps them literally at a user&#39;s fingertips. As such, the dishrag, scouring pad, cup brush, and other tools may be discarded as unnecessary. Furthermore, because the cleaning glove fits around the hand instead of being grasped, individuals with arthritis may use the device without pain. 
   Various proposals for cleaning gloves are found in the art. Such gloves are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,227,707; 2,745,128; 3,643,386; 4,038,787; 4,107,840; 4,621,388; 6,000,060; 6,016,571; and 6,018,837. While assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices do not provide a cleaning glove with an artificial thumbnail and other strategically placed cleaning members for washing cups and dishes. The artificial thumbnail incorporated in the current invention provides a user with natural leverage when cleaning, and it is designed to be easily used. In fact, all of the features of the current invention are designed to take advantage of the hand&#39;s natural movements. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a cleaning glove having an artificial thumbnail and other strategically placed cleaning members for washing cups and dishes. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
   A cleaning glove according to the present invention includes a waterproof glove having at least one finger stall and a thumb stall, a rigid mounting plate mounted to the thumb stall, a rigid artificial thumbnail connected to the mounting plate, a cleaning material bonded to a palm portion of the waterproof glove, a first elongate scouring surface positioned on a thumbward side of a first finger stall and an outer end of the first finger stall, a second elongate scouring surface positioned on an exterior side of an outermost finger stall, and an elongate arm portion attached to the waterproof glove. The artificial thumbnail has a generally crescent-shaped configuration and protrudes from the thumb stall for scraping objects when a wearer&#39;s thumb moves the thumb stall in a back and forth motion. The mounting plate distributes the forces on the waterproof glove that result from the artificial thumbnail scraping objects, thus keeping the waterproof glove from tearing, and the mounting plate keeps the artificial thumbnail oriented so as to protrude away from the thumb stall. 
   In use, a wearer&#39;s hand is first inserted in the waterproof glove. The wearer may then wash dishes or perform other cleaning tasks. The wearer may use the artificial thumbnail to dislodge an object while cleaning by moving his thumb in a back and forth motion over the object. The configuration and the positioning of the artificial thumbnail provide the user with natural leverage when cleaning and take advantage of the hand&#39;s natural movements. The rigid mounting plate ensures that the forces from this scraping are distributed about the thumb stall, which keeps the waterproof glove from tearing. The cleaning material may be used to scour or to transport water and a cleaning agent, and the first elongate scouring surface allows the wearer to reach into and clean crevices and cup bottoms. By inserting his hand into a cup and rotating the cup relative to his hand, the wearer may use the first and second elongate scouring surfaces cooperatively for cleaning an inner surface of the cup. The elongate arm portion protects the wearer&#39;s hand by keeping dishwater from contacting the hand. 
   Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove that has an artificial thumbnail. 
   Another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove, as aforesaid, with other strategically placed cleaning members for washing cups and dishes. 
   Still another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove, as aforesaid, that eliminates the need for additional dishwashing tools. 
   Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove, as aforesaid, that takes advantage of the hand&#39;s natural movements. 
   A further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove, as aforesaid, that is comfortable to wear. 
   A still further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove, as aforesaid, that protects a user&#39;s hands. 
   An even further object of this invention is to provide a cleaning glove, as aforesaid, that benefits all users, including those with reduced dexterity. 
   Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cleaning glove for the left hand according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front view of the cleaning glove as in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a rear view of the cleaning glove as in  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a mounting plate and an artificial thumbnail as in  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
   A cleaning glove according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 4  of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, a cleaning glove  100  includes a waterproof glove  110 , a rigid mounting plate  120 , a rigid artificial thumbnail  130 , a cleaning material  140 , a first elongate scouring surface  150 , a second elongate scouring surface  160 , and an elongate arm portion  170  ( FIG. 1 ). 
   The waterproof glove  110  has a palm portion  112 , a back portion  113 , at least one finger stall  114 , and a thumb stall  118  cooperatively conjoined to fit a wearer&#39;s hand ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ; hand not shown). The at least one finger stall  114  is preferably a first, second, third, and fourth finger stall  114   a ,  114   b ,  114   c ,  114   d , respectively, though either a single finger stall  114  or a plurality of finger stalls  114  would be acceptable. The finger stall  114  positioned closest to the thumb stall  118  is the first finger stall  114   a , and the finger stall  114  positioned furthest from the thumb stall  118  may be referred to as the outermost finger stall  116 . The waterproof glove  110  is preferably constructed of elastic, water impervious material such as latex, synthetic rubber, or natural rubber. 
   The rigid mounting plate  120  is mounted to the thumb stall  118  with the artificial thumbnail  130  being attached to the mounting plate  120  ( FIG. 4 ). The artificial thumbnail  130  is preferably fixedly connected to the mounting plate  120 , though this need not be the case. Indeed, the artificial thumbnail  130  may be removably connected to the mounting plate  120 . 
   The artificial thumbnail  130  has a generally crescent-shaped configuration  130   a  and is positioned on a side  118   b  of the thumb stall  118  proximate an outer end  118   a  of the thumb stall  118  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). The artificial thumbnail  130  protrudes from the thumb stall  118 , for scraping objects when a wearer&#39;s thumb (not shown) moves the thumb stall  118  in a back and forth motion. In other words, the artificial thumbnail  130  provides the wearer with a rigid scraping surface. The configuration  130   a  and the positioning of the artificial thumbnail  130  provide the user with natural leverage when cleaning and take advantage of the hand&#39;s natural movements. The mounting plate  120  distributes the forces on the waterproof glove  110  that result from the artificial thumbnail  130  scraping objects. The mounting plate  120  also keeps the artificial thumbnail  130  oriented so as to protrude away from the thumb stall  118 . While the artificial thumbnail  130  may be directly connected to the waterproof  110  without using the mounting plate  120 , this is not preferred because the forces that result from the artificial thumbnail  130  scraping objects would be more concentrated, likely causing the waterproof glove  110  to tear. 
   The cleaning material  140  is bonded to the palm portion  112  of the waterproof glove  110  for absorbing a quantity of water or scouring ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). Extending from the palm portion  112 , the cleaning material  140  is also bonded to the at least one finger stall  114  and the thumb stall  118  for scouring or for absorbing a quantity of water and thus allowing much of the cleaning glove  100  to act as a dishrag. While the cleaning material  140  is preferably a water-absorbent material or a scouring material such as knotted polyester, other cleaning materials may be suitable. 
   The first elongate scouring surface  150  is positioned on a thumbward side  115   a  of the first finger stall  114   a  and on an outer end  115   b  of the first finger stall  114   a  and bonded thereto ( FIGS. 1 through 3 ). The second elongate scouring surface  160  is positioned on an exterior side  116   a  of the outermost finger stall  116  and bonded thereto ( FIGS. 1 through 3 ) for cleaning an inner surface of a cup (not shown) cooperatively with the first elongate scouring surface  150  when a wearer&#39;s hand is inserted in the cup and rotated relative to the cup. 
   The elongate arm portion  170  extends from the palm portion  112  ( FIG. 2 ) and the back portion  113  ( FIG. 3 ) of the waterproof glove  110  for keeping dishwater from contacting a wearer&#39;s hand. The elongate arm portion  170  is preferably constructed of the same material as the waterproof glove  110 , and the elongate arm portion  170  and the waterproof glove  110  are preferably constructed as a single piece. 
   In use, a wearer&#39;s hand is inserted in the waterproof glove  110  with his thumb positioned in the thumb stall  118  and his fingers positioned in the at least one finger stall  114 . The wearer may then wash dishes or perform other cleaning tasks. To dislodge an object while cleaning, the wearer may use the artificial thumbnail  130  to scrape the object by moving his thumb in a back and forth motion over the object. The configuration  130   a  and the positioning of the artificial thumbnail  130  provide the user with natural leverage when cleaning and take advantage of the hand&#39;s natural movements. The rigid mounting plate  120  ensures that the forces from this scraping are distributed about the thumb stall  118 , which keeps the waterproof glove  110  from tearing. The cleaning material  140  may be used to scour or to transport water and a cleaning agent (such as soap) to an object being cleaned in a manner similar to that of a dishrag. The first elongate scouring surface  150  allows the wearer to reach into and clean crevices as well as cup bottoms, due to the portion covering the outer end ( 115   b  of the first finger stall  114   a . By inserting his hand into a cup and rotating the cup relative to his hand, the wearer may use the first and second elongate scouring surfaces  150 ,  160  cooperatively for cleaning an inner surface of the cup. The elongate arm portion  170  ensures that dishwater does not contact the wearer&#39;s hand. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.