Patent Application
20210289858
This invention is related to gloves. Specifically, but not intended to limit the invention, embodiments of the invention are related to gloves for capturing or holding animals.
A number of gloves for use by veterinarians or other animal handlers are known in the industry. Usually, the gloves are made of leather and/or a man-made material in an effort to reduce the risk of injury. There remains a need, however, or an animal handling glove or method having new and innovative features.
An exemplary glove for wear by a user having a hand with a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger has at least one of: (a) a distal portion having a first sheath shaped and configured for receiving the thumb, a second sheath shaped and configured for receiving the index finger, and a third sheath shaped and configured for receiving the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger; or (b) a distal portion having a first sheath shaped and configured for receiving at least one of the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, or the little finger, wherein the first sheath is formed by stitching a first leather fabric, a second leather fabric, and a finger reinforcement together in a wrong side out configuration followed by turning the first sheath right side out, whereby the finger reinforcement is positioned on an interior portion of the first sheath.
An exemplary method of making a glove for wear by a user having a hand with a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger is described. The exemplary method includes provide a first leather fabric and a second leather fabric. The exemplary method includes stitch the first leather fabric and the second leather fabric together to form one of: (a) a distal portion having a first sheath shaped and configured for receiving the thumb, a second sheath shaped and configured for receiving the index finger, and a third sheath shaped and configured for receiving the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger; or (b) a distal portion having a first sheath shaped and configured for receiving at least one of the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, or the little finger, wherein the first sheath is formed by stitching a first leather fabric, a second leather fabric, and a finger reinforcement together in a wrong side out configuration followed by turning the first sheath right side out, whereby the finger reinforcement is positioned on an interior portion of the first sheath.
Persons working in industries requiring physical handling of animals such as small primates and small mammals require protection of their hands and, depending on the size of the animal, forearms. A variety of leather and man-made material gloves are available on the market today. Improvements described herein, however, may assist in improving the safety of animal handlers.
Turning now to
As seen most clearly in
The glove 100 may be configured for handling primates, which have the ability to isolate the individual fingers of users who are wearing standard or five finger gloves. In some embodiments, the third sheath 114, which may also be referenced herein as a pocket, is configured to receive and/or protect the users middle, ring and little finger to assist in preventing the animal from separating and isolating the users middle, ring and little finger, thereby reducing the likelihood of injuries.
This configuration is in contrast to other gloves having a mitten portion for all fingers except the thumb and allows the user to maintain dexterity and use of the more active index finger and thumb, through the first and second sheaths 110, 112.
In some embodiments, the glove 100 has a first distraction flap 106. The first distraction flap 106 may be a panel or a piece of leather fabric or other material attached to a top portion of the glove 100, such as by way of a stitching that biases the first distraction flap 106 in a first configuration, such as against the top portion of the glove 100. The first distraction flap 106 may be suited to distracting the primate or animal being handled by providing something for the animal to grasp, explore, and/or attack. The first distraction flap 106 may be made of a material different from the rest of the glove 100.
In some embodiments and as best illustrated in
In some embodiments, the glove 100 has an upper panel 120, a lower panel 126, and a thumb panel 132 stitched or otherwise joined together to form the distal portion 102 and proximal portion 104 of the glove 100. A first upper protective layer 122 may be stitched or otherwise joined to the upper panel 120 to protect the handler's wrist or forearm area. A second upper panel protective layer 124 may be stitched or otherwise joined to the upper panel 120 to protect the upper portions of the handler's/user's hands or fingers. The second upper panel protective layer 124 may be positioned between the first distraction flap 106 and the upper panel 120.
A first lower protective layer 128 may be stitched or otherwise joined to the lower panel 126 to protect the handler's wrist or forearm area. The layers 128, 122 may be attached to the panels 120, 126 in a wrong side out configuration, then turned right side out to form a proximal sheath for protecting the handler's wrist or forearm area.
The thumb panel 132 may be a separate panel attached to the upper panel 120 and/or the lower panel 126, or the thumb panel 132 may be unitary with the upper panel 120 or the lower panel 126, to form a sheath 110 for the handler's thumb. A thumb protective layer 134 may be stitched or otherwise joined to the thumb panel 132 to protect the handler's thumb without reducing dexterity of the thumb. A thumb distraction mechanism 136 may be provided at a distal portion of the sheath 110, as most clearly seen in
In some embodiments, and as shown in
The proximal portion 104 may have a sheath extending proximally toward the user's wrist, forearm, elbow, or shoulder. The length of the proximal portion 104 may be dictated by the size of the animal being contemplated for handling.
One or more of panels 120, 126, 132 may be made of a first material, such as a first leather, having a first flexibility. The layers 124, 130, 122, 128, 134 and flaps 106, 108 may be made of a second material, such as a second leather, having a second flexibility. That is the material for the panels 120, 126, 132 may be selected for comfort and dexterity, while the material for the layers 124, 130, 122, 128, 134 and flaps 106, 108 may be selected for puncture resistance.
One or more of the panels 120, 126, 132 and/or the layers 124, 130, 122, 128, 134 and/or the flaps 106, 108 may be made of a hydrophobic leather and/or may be treated with a chemical, whereby one or more of the panels 120, 126, 132 and/or the layers 124, 130, 122, 128, 134 and/or the flaps 106, 108 have a hydrophobic property for hygienic cleaning/washing and sanitizing.
The panels 120, 126, 132 by be attached together using stitching methods that offer distractive features, such as protruding pieces of material, for the animal.
The entirety of the glove 100 may be made of puncture-resistant leather.
Turning now to
In some embodiments, protective panels and/or molded inserts may be provided on the interior of the glove 700 in any shape or location suitable for protecting the user's hand or fingers.
In some embodiments, the glove 700 may include features described with reference to the glove 100 previously described herein. For example, without limitation, the glove 700 may include impact protection panel(s) 122a, 128a as shown in
Turning now to
The method 800 may include attaching 808 a first distraction flap. The method 800 may include attaching 810 a second distraction flap.
The method 800 may include stitching the first leather fabric and the second leather fabric together to form the distal portion having the first sheath shaped and configured for receiving the thumb, the second sheath shaped and configured for receiving the index finger, and the third sheath shaped and configured for receiving the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger; forming a proximal portion, wherein forming the proximal portion comprises forming a sheath and inserting a protection panel into a pocket in the sheath; and attaching the distal portion to the proximal portion, whereby the proximal portion is shaped and configured to guide the user's hand toward the distal portion. The method 800 may include attaching 812 a finger reinforcement. The method 800 may include attaching one or more bite protection panels to the proximal portion and/or the distal portion. The method 800 may include inserting one or more impact protection panels in the proximal portion.
The method 800 may be used to make the glove 100 previously described herein.
Turning now to
Each of the various elements disclosed herein may be achieved in a variety of manners. This disclosure should be understood to encompass each such variation, be it a variation of an embodiment of any apparatus embodiment, a method or process embodiment, or even merely a variation of any element of these. Particularly, it should be understood that the words for each element may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms or method terms—even if only the function or result is the same. Such equivalent, broader, or even more generic terms should be considered to be encompassed in the description of each element or action. Such terms can be substituted where desired to make explicit the implicitly broad coverage to which this invention is entitled.
As but one example, it should be understood that all action may be expressed as a means for taking that action or as an element which causes that action. Similarly, each physical element disclosed should be understood to encompass a disclosure of the action which that physical element facilitates. Regarding this last aspect, the disclosure of a “fastener” should be understood to encompass disclosure of the act of “fastening”—whether explicitly discussed or not—and, conversely, were there only disclosure of the act of “fastening”, such a disclosure should be understood to encompass disclosure of a “fastening mechanism”. Such changes and alternative terms are to be understood to be explicitly included in the description.
Moreover, the claims shall be construed such that a claim that recites “at least one of A, B, or C” shall read on a device that requires “A” only. The claim shall also read on a device that requires “B” only. The claim shall also read on a device that requires “C” only.
Similarly, the claim shall also read on a device that requires “A+B”. The claim shall also read on a device that requires “A+B+C”, and so forth.
The claims shall also be construed such that any relational language (e.g. perpendicular, straight, parallel, flat, etc.) is understood to include the recitation “within a reasonable manufacturing tolerance at the time the device is manufactured or at the time of the invention, whichever manufacturing tolerance is greater”.
Those skilled in the art can readily recognize that numerous variations and substitutions may be made in the invention, its use and its configuration to achieve substantially the same results as achieved by the embodiments described herein.
Accordingly, there is no intention to limit the invention to the disclosed exemplary forms. Many variations, modifications and alternative constructions fall within the scope and spirit of the invention as expressed in the claims.
