US20090144925A1

US20090144925A1 - Disposable hand-mounted substance applicator and remover comprising an integrated rapid hygienic removal element

Info

Publication number: US20090144925A1
Application number: US12/333,290
Authority: US
Inventors: Gail A. Orffeo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-12-11
Filing date: 2008-12-11
Publication date: 2009-06-11

Abstract

A novel disposable hand-mounted product for applying substances configured for one or more predetermined tasks, for wiping or polishing various surfaces, and/or for removing undesirable substances from various surfaces is provided. The inventive product may be readily utilized to apply one or more task substances/solutions, and/or it may be utilized to remove one or more undesirable substances. The inventive product is generally mitten or glove shaped in certain embodiments thereof, and generally planar with an internal glove-like region therein in other embodiments to enable ready control over the inventive product, and comprises at least one pull-tab positioned proximal to at least one of its sides and outer lips, that accomplishes two goals: (1) enables the user to readily pull the product from its dispenser (if one is provided), and (2) more importantly, after the product has been placed on the user's hand (e.g., after use), the user may pull on the tab in a direction toward the tip of their hand to then “roll” the product off their hand in an “inside-out” manner, thus ensuring that the user does not come into contact with exterior surfaces of the product and also ensuring that the soiled surfaces of the product, along with any undesirable substance(s) thereon are encapsulated for easy disposal. Optionally, the tab may be positioned on a resilient wrist sleeve, that ay be provided and positioned at the hand-receiving opening of the product, and sized and configured to encapsulate a soiled product for disposal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims priority from the U.S. Provisional Patent Application of Gail A. Orffeo entitled “DISPOSABLE HAND-MOUNTED SUBSTANCE APPLICATOR AND REMOVER COMPRISING AN INTEGRATED RAPID HYGIENIC REMOVAL ELEMENT” (Ser. No. 61/012,905), filed on Dec. 11, 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cleaning products, both with and without assistance of cleaning and/or disinfectant features, and more particularly to disposable hand-mounted substance applicator, substance remover, and wiping products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Disposable cleaning and/or disinfecting products are utilized daily in a wide variety of consumer, healthcare, institutional, and industrial applications. While the most common cleaning/disinfecting products comprise a flexible cloth or disposable paper product to which a cleaning/disinfecting solution is typically applied, such that the product can then be used to clean (for example by wiping, polishing, etc.) various surfaces (such as walls, windows, floors, doors, countertops, and/or furnishings, or portions thereof. Such products may also be configured for utilization healthcare/childcare applications to clean various parts of the human body. While having served mankind for many years, the traditional approaches to cleaning and disinfecting suffer from a number of serious disadvantages, including, but not limited to, the following:

- They require a separate supply of both the cleaning/disinfecting solution, as well as the cloth and/or paper applicators;
- Impregnating the applicators with the right amount of the solution is unwieldy and requires a significant amount of time and experience, as well as a safe location where this task may be performed;
- Since in many cases cleaning solutions may be toxic, one must wear cumbersome hand protection when utilizing the solution and applicators;
- Often, aerosol delivered disinfectant sprays, or cleaning solutions, become airborne to be ingested by the user or those in proximity thereto, and absorbed into the environment;
- Certain cleaning/disinfecting solutions are expensive and the tendency of most people to soak the applicators in the solution often uses up far more of the solution than is actually necessary for the task at hand; and
- Disposal of used applicators is cumbersome, and unless carefully performed, may cause the person disposing of the applicators to come into contact with undesirable and/or toxic substances thereon.

In recent years, there have been a number of attempts to address the above disadvantages, the chief of which has been the introduction of disposable cleaning/disinfecting sheet-type products (hereinafter “wipes”) that have been pre-impregnated with a cleaning/disinfecting solution, and that are typically stored in a sealed, but easily accessible container. Many such containers have a pre-configured internal arrangement of stored and inter-folded wipes that, each time a wipe is removed from the container, automatically advances another wipe to facilitate future removal thereof.
The disposable wipes have become quite popular in many applications, ranging from childcare (where such wipes are commonly known as “baby wipes”), to more robust household and commercial cleaning wipes, with many specialized offerings targeted at wiping metals, ceramics, wood, and kitchen counter surfaces.
Nevertheless, these wipes do not adequately address all of the above-noted challenges facing applicator-based cleaning/disinfecting products. Specifically, they fail to address the issue of avoiding contact with the surface of the wipe which has been used to clean/disinfect—an especially challenging task during the disposal of the wipe (a particularly vexing challenge when the person attempting to discard the soiled wipe is in the process of controlling an infant at the same time.
Several proposed solutions attempted to address this dilemma by providing a generally mitten-shaped applicator which is mounted on one hand for use, and which is then removed by the other hand grasping the mitten lip and pulling it off the hand. While this approach is certainly superior to attempting to fold a conventional used wipe for disposal, there is still significant risk that while removing the mitten applicator, the user may come into contact with the used portion of the applicator surface (and thus contact one or more undesirable substances).
This flaw of mitten applicators is particularly evident when the applicator is used to clean substances which do not get entirely absorbed into the cleaning surface of the applicator—for example wiping a baby's bottom, or cleaning grease from machinery. In such a case, the risk of exposure to the undesirable unabsorbed substance is significantly increased—even more so than with respect to traditional wipes, because a mitten allows the user far less control over the soiled surface while the mitten is being removed. Another disadvantage of mitten applicators, is that in putting them on, the user may have to come into contact with an applicator surface impregnated with a solution that is toxic, or that is otherwise undesirable to contact—this is especially the case when such applicators are being removed from their dispensers. Additionally, such applicators need to be configured for left or right handed use, and, if two-sided, then, when the side of the mitten, corresponding to the non-dominant hand is used, the wearer gives up a great deal of control over the product.
It would thus be desirable to provide a disposable cleaning/disinfecting substance applicator and undesirable substance remover/wiper that is easy to remove from the user's hand after use, without contacting any soiled or other exterior surface of the applicator. It would also be desirable to provide a disposable cleaning/disinfecting substance applicator and undesirable substance remover that is easy to configure for disposal after removal by safely encapsulating the soiled surface(s), along with any undesirable substance(s) thereon. It would further be desirable to provide a disposable cleaning/disinfecting substance applicator and undesirable substance remover/wiper that is easy to place on the user's hand, without contacting exterior surface(s) of the applicator that have been impregnated with one or more substances related to the target use of the applicator. It would moreover be desirable to provide a disposable cleaning/disinfecting substance applicator and undesirable substance remover/wiper, as noted above, but that is also easy to control for both right- and left-handed users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding or similar elements throughout the various figures:

FIG. 1A is an exemplary diagram of a first exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper;

FIGS. 1B to 1D show exemplary diagrams of the various stages of removal of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is an exemplary diagram of a second exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover comprises a specially configured task surface;

FIG. 2B is an exemplary diagram showing a third exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover/wiper comprises a specially configured task surface, and which is configured as a glove;

FIG. 2C is an exemplary diagram showing a fourth exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover/wiper comprises two pull-tabs for removal thereof from a user's hand;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram of a fifth exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover/wiper is configured as a glove;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a storage/dispenser device for storing and dispensing the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wipers of FIGS. 1A to 3, and FIGS. 5A to 6;

FIG. 5A is an exemplary diagram of a sixth exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover/wiper is configured as a generally flat planar task component with an interior two-way reversible generally glove-shaped region sized and configured to receive a user's hand, and that enables greater control over both sides of the task component;

FIG. 5B is an exemplary diagram of a seventh exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover/wiper is configured as a generally flat planar task component, with an interior region comprising a plurality of channels sized and configured to receive at least a portion of the user's fingers, and that enables greater control over both sides of the task component; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram of an eighth exemplary embodiment of the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper, in which the applicator/remover/wiper is configured as a generally flat two-way mitten-shaped region, with two opposing thumb-receiving areas, being sized and configured to receive a user's right or left hand, and that enables greater control over both sides of the task component.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus and method of the present invention address and resolve all of the disadvantages of the previously known relevant cleaning/polishing/disinfecting solutions by advantageously providing a novel disposable hand-mounted product for applying substances configured for one or more predetermined tasks, for wiping or polishing various surfaces, and/or for removing undesirable substances from various surfaces is provided. The inventive product may be readily utilized to apply one or more task substances/solutions (e.g., cleaning, disinfecting, solvent, sealant, lubricant, etc.), and/or it may be utilized to remove one or more undesirable substances, for example during use in cleaning/disinfecting applications.
In several exemplary embodiments thereof, the inventive product is generally mitten or glove shaped, and comprises at least one pull-tab positioned proximal to at least one of its sides and outer lips, that accomplishes two goals: (1) enables the user to readily pull the product from its dispenser (if one is provided), and (2) more importantly, after the product has been placed on the user's hand (e.g., after use), the user may pull on the tab in a direction toward the tip of their hand to then “roll” the product off their hand in an “inside-out” manner, thus ensuring that the user does not come into contact with exterior surfaces of the product and also ensuring that the soiled surfaces of the product, along with any undesirable substance(s) thereon are encapsulated for easy disposal.
The inventive Hand-Mounted Substance Applicator/Substance Remover/Wiper (“HMSA/SR/W”) product, may be configured in a wide variety of embodiments with features/elements suitable for a vast number of different applications. These embodiments/features/elements of the inventive HMSA/SR/W product, may include, but are not limited to, the following:

- The product may be provided in a variety of sizes and lengths and may be pre-configured for right-handed to left-handed users;
- The product may include one or more task surfaces on its outer surface, sized, positioned and configured for one or more tasks, that may include but that are not limited to, one or a combination of two or more of the following:
  - Substance-impregnated task surface for applying a substance/solution to a surface (e.g., cleaner (optionally targeted to specific cleaning applications—glass, steel, wood, stone, etc.), disinfectant, solvent, sealant, lubricant, topical solution (healthcare/personal care), lotion, medicine, etc.);
  - Absorbent task surface for absorbing and removing liquids or other substances from surfaces; and
  - Abrasive task surface for scrubbing or otherwise abrading one more surfaces
- The product may be provided in a mitten-style configuration for certain applications (such as household/industrial larger surface cleaning), or it may be provided in a glove configuration for more delicate tasks, such as cleaning a baby's bottom, cleaning fine machinery or electronic devices, or in combinations of outer planar components configured for covering greater surface area during performance of cleaning/disinfecting/etc. tasks, but with internal glove-like regions configured to enable the wearer to better control the HMSA/SR/W product.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper of the present invention remedies the flaws and drawbacks of all previously known conventional wipes and mitten or glove-based wipes. The capability inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover, to be readily removed without any contact with one or more of its exterior surfaces, further enables its utilization in other areas where use of previously known wipes was not appropriate, such as application of topical medication, and cleaning of toxic substances. Furthermore, certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention, provide an additional level of pre-disposal encapsulation of a soiled product—a particularly advantageous solution for a number of medical, industrial, or other “heavy-duty” applications.
Before describing the present invention in greater detail, it should be noted that the present invention, in its various embodiments, may be readily utilized to apply one or more task substances/solutions (e.g., cleaning, disinfecting, solvent, sealant, lubricant, etc.), and/or it may be utilized to remove one or more undesirable substances during use in cleaning/disinfecting applications, and can also be used for wiping and/or polishing various surfaces. However, for the sake of convenience the inventive hand-mounted substance applicator/remover/wiper shall be hereinafter referred to as Hand-Mounted Substance Applicator/Substance Remover/Wiper (“HMSA/SR/W”) product.
Various embodiments of the inventive HMSA/SR/W product are shown as exemplary HMSA/SR/ W products 100, 150, 170, 190, 200, 400, 450, and 500, of FIGS. 1A, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, 5A, 5B, and 6, respectively.
The essence of at least a portion of the embodiments of the present invention (e.g., HMSA/SR/ W products 100, 150, 170, 190, and 200), is that at least one pull-tab is provided proximal to at least one side and outer lip of the HMSA/SR/W product, that accomplishes two goals: (1) enables the user to readily pull the HMSA/SR/W product from its dispenser (if one is provided) (such as an exemplary dispenser 300 of FIG. 4), and (2) more importantly, after the HMSA/SR/W product has been placed on the user's hand (e.g., after use), the user may pull on the tab in a direction toward the tip of their hand, to then “roll” the product off their hand in an “inside-out” manner, thus ensuring that the user does not come into contact with exterior surfaces of the HMSA/SR/W product and also ensuring that the soiled surfaces of the HMSA/SR/W product, along with any undesirable substance(s) thereon are encapsulated for easy disposal (See FIGS. 1A to 1D, for a step-by step illustration of an exemplary implementation of this process).
Advantageously, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A and 3, the pull-tab may be positioned and configured with the corresponding HMSA/SR/W product, in a wide variety of ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, a pull-tab 104 may be attached to an inside surface 102 b of the HMSA/SR/W product 100 (FIG. 1A), or it may be an integral extension of one of the HMSA/SR/W product 200 outer lips (tab 202 of FIG. 3). Furthermore the pull-tab may include an optional pull-element, to assist the user in gripping and pulling the pull-tab, such as a ring shown on the tab 104 in FIG. 1A, or selected from one or more other elements, by way of example as are shown on exemplary tab embodiments 156 a to 156 c of FIG. 2A. It should also be noted, that while a single pull-tab is shown in the various figures in connection with HMSA/SR/ W products 100, 150, 170, 190, 200, 400, 450, and 500, in accordance with the present invention, as is shown for HMSA/SR/W product 190 in FIG. 2C (which is already supplied with a tab 194 a), an additional tab 194 b, may be readily provided, proximal to the outer lip of a side opposite that of the lip where the first pull-tab 194 a, is positioned at any other particular embodiment of the HMSA/SR/W product. This dual tab configuration may be useful in facilitating the use of the product in left and right handed configurations (for example, if the product has multiple (upper/lower task surfaces).
The inventive HMSA/SR/W product may be readily configured as a mitten-type device (with or without an area set aside for the thumb—(HMSA/SR/ W products 100, 150, and 190 of FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 2B, respectively), or for two different thumb-receiving areas (HMSA/SR/W products 500, FIG. 6), or it may be configured as a glove (FIGS. 2B, 3), or as a planar component with an interior glove-like compartment therein (FIGS. 5A, 5B), as a matter of design choice, without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, while in preferred embodiments of the present invention, the HMSA/SR/W product comprises at least one task surface (i.e. surface(s) configured for applying one or more substances and/or for performing other tasks, such as abrading, scrubbing, etc.) by way of example shown as task surface elements 154, 192 of HMSA/SR/ W products 150, 190, respectively), in an alternate embodiment of the present invention, various embodiments of the inventive HMSA/SR/W product, may simply be constructed of a material suitable for specific tasks, such as wiping dirt, and may not include any specific separate “task” surface (for example, the HMSA/SR/W product 170 of FIG. 2B, comprises such an outer “task surface” 172). Nevertheless, its advantageous pull-tab removal feature is equally applicable to all possible embodiments because in each case, after use, there is at one portion of the outer surface of the product with which is it advisable for the user to avoid contact.
The various “task surfaces” described in connection with the various embodiments of the present invention, may be implemented in a variety of different ways, but for larger (e.g., mitten-shaped regions) the task surfaces may be flocked with one or more particulate materials (cotton, nylon, rayon, polyester) I is applied to the outer surface of the glove.
The HMSA/SR/W product of the present invention may be provided in individual or small quantity sealed flexible containers (such as “tear-open” envelopes), or, as shown in FIG. 4 by way of example, a specially folded and positioned HMSA/SR/W product 302 may be provided in quantity through a storage/dispenser container 300—a pull-tab 304 may then be used to readily remove each product 302 for use from the container 300, while automatically advancing the next product (not shown) for removal. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the dispenser 300 of FIG. 4, may contain at least one additional compartment storing at least one task-oriented substance/solution/solvent, into which the user may insert the HMSA/SR/W product 302, while wearing it, to easily and cleanly apply additional quantities of one or more desired substances/solutions to one or more task surfaces thereof. Optionally, the dispenser 300 may be supplied with a solvent operable to illuminate contaminants in the surrounding air.
Referring now to FIG. 1A, a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 100, having an outer surface 102 a, at least partially configured for performing at least one HMSA/SR/W task (e.g., through at least partial treatment thereof with at least one specific predetermined substance, or by being provided with an applied task surface (such as the task surface element 154 of FIG. 3)), and having an inner surface 102 b for contact with the users hand, when inserted therein. As was described above, an exemplary pull-tab 104 (with an optional pull element shown mounted thereon for convenience) is connected to the inner surface 102 b. After the HMSA/SR/W product 100 has been sufficiently soiled (e.g., through task performance by the wearer) to merit disposal thereof, the user may simply pull and then reverse the tab 104 to roll off, and simultaneously invert, the HMSA/SR/W product 100 from the user's hand. FIGS. 1B to 1D show exemplary diagrams of the various stages of removal and inversion (to facilitate disposal without contact with soiled areas), of the inventive HMSA/SR/W product 100 of FIG. 1A.
Referring now to FIG. 2A, a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 150, having an outer surface 152, with the applied specially prepared task surface element 154, configured for performing at least one predetermined HMSA/SR/W task, and at least one pull-tab selected from alternate pull tab embodiments 156 a to 156 c.
Referring now to FIG. 2B, a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 170, being substantially glove-shaped, and having the outer task surface 172, in its entirety configured for performing at least one predetermined HMSA/SR/W task, and at least one pull-tab 174. The HMSA/SR/W product 170 is particularly well suited for cleaning/disinfecting tasks where particularly fine manipulation and/or manual dexterity may be necessary,
Referring now to FIG. 2C, a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 190, having an applied task surface 192 disposed over at least a portion of one of its outer region, and also comprises two pull- tabs 194 a, 194 b, positioned and configured for facilitating safe removal thereof, from a user's right (or left) hand.
Referring now to FIG. 3, a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 200, being substantially glove-shaped, which may be configured as any one of the above-discussed HMSA/SR/ W products 100, 150, 170, or 190, but that also comprises at least one integral tab 202 extending from its outer wall(s).
Referring now to FIG. 4, an exemplary embodiment of the storage/dispenser device 300 for storing and dispensing the inventive HMSA/SR/W products of FIGS. 1A to 3, and FIGS. 5A to 6 (shown by way of example as general HMSA/SR/W products 302, having corresponding tabs 304).
Referring now to FIG. 5A, a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 400, having a generally flat planar task component 402, with at least one task surface 402 a, and/or 402 b, and having an interior two-way reversible generally glove-shaped region 404 sized and configured to receive a user's hand, and that enables greater control over both sides of the task component 402. Right and left handed users can both utilize this HMSA/SR/W product 400 with the same ease and level of control (for example due to the presence of the two “mirrored” opposing thumb-receiving regions). Preferably (but not as a matter of necessity), a resilient sleeve 406, configured to receive the wearer's wrist and a portion of the forearm, to provide additional protection against harmful or undesirable substances during task performance by the wearer. Moreover, rather than mounting a tab 408 directly to the task component 402, the HMSA/SR/W product 400 comprises the tab 408 positioned at the end of the resilient sleeve 406 opposite to the task component 402. Advantageously, when the tab 408 is pulled toward the tip of the wearer's hand, the resilient sleeve 406 flows over a soiled (or otherwise disposal-ready) task component 402, substantially encapsulating it therein, in resilient packaging suitable for being discarded, and thus, facilitating quick, safe, and easy disposal thereof. Optionally, the inner region of the resilient sleeve 406 may comprise color coded and/or text and symbol-coded markings corresponding to the nature of the task for which the HMSA/SR/W product 400 is configured (e.g., “human Waste Material”, “Biohazard”, etc.).
By way of example only, the HMSA/SR/W product 400, may be implemented as follows in at least one practical application—the glove-shaped region 404 may be an elastic glove which uses the same material and sizing as standard disposal medical gloves (e.g., such as a powder free synthetic glove. The task component 402 may be a non-woven textile material laminated to enclose the glove 404. By way of example, this textile material may be cotton, as it would provide optimal absorbency, or may alternately be rayon.
Referring now to FIG. 5B, a seventh exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 450, having a generally flat planar task component 452, with at least one task surface 452 a, and/or 452 b, and having an interior region comprising a plurality of channels 454 sized and configured to receive at least a portion of the user's fingers, and that enables greater control over both sides of the task component 452, and that preferably also comprises a resilient sleeve 456 and a tab 458. Other than the configuration of the internal plural channels 454, the HMSA/SR/W product 450 is otherwise substantially similar in all respects to the HMSA/SR/W product 400 of FIG. 5A.
Referring now to FIG. 6, an eighth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is shown as the HMSA/SR/W product 500 configured as a generally flat two-way mitten-shaped task component 502, with two opposing thumb-receiving area 506 a, 506 b, and having an internal cavity 504, being sized and configured to receive a user's right or left hand, thus enabling greater control over both sides of the task component 502.
The inventive HMSA/SR/W product therefore has at least the following advantages over previously available wipe solutions:

- The product significantly limits the spread of undesirable germs (bacteria, viruses, etc.) because it eliminates direct contact with various germs on soiled task surfaces.
- The product is environmentally friendly and eliminates the need for use of spray-based cleaning solvents.
- The product eliminates the re-use of soiled cleaning applicators, such as cleaning towels/rags in commercial facilities, such as restaurants, schools, healthcare facilities, public buildings, etc.

Thus, while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the inventive system and method as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices and methods illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A hand-mounted apparatus for applying at least one substance configured for at least one predetermined task, and/or for removing at least one undesirable substance from target surfaces, comprising

a hollow elongated body, comprising:

an internal cavity shaped and configured to receive and retain a human hand;

an inner surface for contacting the human hand;

an outer surface configured for contact with the target surfaces;

an outer lip defining an intersection of an opening into said internal cavity and a boundary of said outer surface; and

at least one pull-tab positioned proximal to, and extending beyond and perpendicular to, said outer lip, when pulled by a user in a predetermined direction, being operable to remove said hollow body from the hand, while substantially turning said hollow body inside-out, thereby exposing said inner surface and substantially encapsulating said outer surface, such that the possibility of contact between the user and said outer surface is minimized while said hollow body is being removed.

2. The hand-mounted apparatus of claim 1, wherein said outer surface comprises at least one pre-configured task surface operable to perform at least one predetermined task, when said hollow body is placed on the user's hand.

3. The hand-mounted apparatus of claim 1 configured for application of at least one task substance to the at least one target surface, wherein said at least one pre-configured task surface comprises at least one task substance suitable for application to the at least one target surface.

4. The hand-mounted apparatus of claim 3, wherein said at least one task substance comprises at least one of: cleaner, polisher, disinfectant, solvent, sealant, lubricant, topical solution, lotion, abrasive material, and medicine.

5. The hand-mounted apparatus of claim 1, wherein said hollow body is generally shaped as a mitten.

6. The hand-mounted apparatus of claim 1, wherein said hollow body is generally shaped as a glove.