Patent Application
20130086730
1. Field of the Invention
Certain embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to hand coverings that can be used with touchscreen devices. In particular, cycling gloves for use with capacitive touchscreen devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
A capacitive touchscreen device 2 includes a touchscreen panel generally made of an insulator, such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor, such as indium tin oxide. As the human body 3 is also an electrical conductor, touching the surface of the screen, as in
Capacitive touchscreen technology is used in many popular consumer electronics. This can be problematic for cyclists and others when wearing gloves while engaging in a sport. For example, a capacitive touchscreen cyclocomputer, watch, GPS, or phone can be difficult to use while the cyclist is wearing full fingered gloves. Thus, there is a general need for improvement in gloves, such as cycling gloves, which can be utilized with capacitive touchscreen devices.
According to some embodiments, a glove, preferably a cycling glove, can include a plurality of fabric layers including a waterproof layer and a conductive strip that runs from a finger tip of the glove to the cuff, contacting the user's skin at the cuff without compromising the waterproof layer.
According to some embodiments, a glove can include a plurality of fabric layers including a waterproof layer and a conductive strip that runs from a finger tip to the bottom extent of the waterproof layer and passes around the waterproof layer into the interior of the glove, contacting the user's skin without compromising the waterproof layer.
Some embodiments of a glove, such as a cycling glove have a back side and a palm side. The glove can comprise an outer shell, an inner liner, a waterproof layer, and a conductive strip. The outer shell can substantially form an outer surface of the glove on the back side and the palm side of the glove. The inner liner can substantially form an inner surface of the glove on the back side and the palm side of the glove. The waterproof layer can be positioned between the outer shell and the inner liner on the back side and the palm side of the glove. The conductive strip can have a first end, a second end, and a connecting section extending between the first and second ends. The first end can pass through the outer shell to form a segment of the outer surface of the glove at a fingertip portion of a finger portion of the glove. The connecting section of the strip can extend from the index finger portion to a wrist portion of the glove while positioned between the outer shell and the waterproof layer. The second end can be at the wrist portion and can extend therefrom such that the second end will contact skin of the user when the glove is on the user's hand.
This second end may pass through a seam at the wrist portion and extend therefrom such that the second end will contact skin of the user when the glove is on the user's hand. The second end of the conductive strip can also be configured to contact skin on the palm side of the wrist when the glove is on the user's hand. Also, the glove may include a cuff portion extending from the wrist portion. The conductive strip can be made in many different ways and may comprise at least one of metallic plated fabric, metallic fibers and metallic yarn. The glove may also include an insulation layer positioned between the waterproof layer and the inner liner on the back side and the palm side of the glove.
In some embodiments, a cycling glove comprises a hand portion and a cuff portion extending from the hand portion, the glove having a back side and a palm side. The glove may also include an outer shell, an inner liner, a waterproof layer positioned between the outer shell and the inner liner, and a metallic ribbon. The outer shell can substantially form an outer surface of the glove on the back side and the palm side of the glove. The inner liner can substantially define an interior cavity at the hand portion of the glove and form an inner surface of the interior cavity on the back side and the palm side of the hand portion of the glove. The metallic ribbon can have a first end positioned at a fingertip of the hand portion and forming a part of the outer surface at the fingertip. The ribbon can be positioned between the outer shell and the waterproof layer from the fingertip to the cuff portion and a second end of the ribbon can pass through a seam on the palm side of the glove and extend into the interior cavity.
Some embodiments of the glove can have the seam located where the cuff portion extends from the hand portion. An elastic band may be positioned at the seam. The metallic ribbon can comprise at least one of metallic plated fabric, metallic fibers and metallic yarn.
The cycling glove can further include an insulation layer. The insulation layer can have heavier insulation on the back side of the glove as compared to the palm side. The inner liner can be a fleece liner or other type of material.
Various embodiments are depicted in the accompanying drawings for illustrative purposes, and should in no way be interpreted as limiting the scope of the inventions, in which like reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout similar embodiments.
A glove is a garment designed generally for covering the hand of a user. Gloves generally have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb, though as used herein, the term “glove” can include any type of hand covering including a mitten, a lobster claw, muff, etc. In addition, the term glove can also include coats, jackets, sweaters, and long sleeve shirts that include a hand covering at the end of or attached to the sleeve.
Gloves are generally intended to protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease. Gloves are made of all different types of materials including cloth, knitted or felted wool, leather, rubber, latex, neoprene, and KEVLAR®.
Cycling gloves are gloves designed for cycling. They generally fulfill three functions: warmth, comfort and protection. The design of most modern bicycles is such that the rider's hands remain on the handlebars while cycling, a position that leaves them exposed to weather. The hands are also relatively inactive, and do not have a great deal of muscle mass, which also contributes to the possibility of chill. Cycling also places a good deal of stress on the hands, in the form of prolonged pressure against handlebars and transmission of sudden road shocks through handlebars to the hands. Padded gloves can be useful to combat these stresses. Finally, as putting a hand out to break a fall is a natural reaction; many cyclists choose to wear gloves all year round to help avoid skin damage from a fall. These same or similar issues arise in many other sports besides cycling, such as skating, skiing, motocross, baseball, football, golf, etc. In addition, the gloves described herein can be any type of glove including: general purpose gloves, work gloves, sport gloves, recreational gloves, gardening gloves, etc.
Generally, when a person wants to use their capacitive touchscreen device and they have gloves on, they will need to use a stylus, or they will have to take their gloves off. This can be problematic for cyclists due to the demands of riding.
It is undesirable to use conductive thread piercing the glove fabric for winter gloves with a water resistance/proof liner. This is because piercing the glove fabric requires compromising the water resistance/proof liner which would then provide an access channel for water to enter the glove.
Looking now at
The glove 10 can also include a thumb 18, and fingers, including an index finger 20, a middle finger 22, a ring finger 24 and a pinky finger 26. As has been mentioned, one or more of the fingers may be combined to form a lobster claw, a mitten, or other design.
The glove 10 shown is the left side of a pair of cycling gloves, designed generally for use on the user's left hand. The right side is not shown but can be essentially a mirror image of the left side, the main exception being the configuration of the buckle or clip 28. The left side glove 10 is shown with a female side release buckle. The right side glove can have a corresponding male side release buckle. The buckles can allow the gloves to be connected together when desired.
The glove 10 can include elastic 25 in one or more locations to help secure the glove 10 to the user's hand. For example, elastic 25 can be located internally at the wrist area 16. The elastic 25 can extend all the way around the glove 10 or around only a portion of the glove 10.
Moving now to
The glove 10 has an outer shell 32. The outer shell 32 can form an outer surface of the glove on the back side and the palm side of the glove as shown. The outer shell 32 can be made of a single material or multiple materials. For example, the palm side of the outer shell 32 may be a different material from the back side of the outer shell 32. The palm side may be made of or treated to provide non-slip characteristics. The outer shell 32 can include various features depending on the desired use of the glove. The outer shell 32 can be made of or treated to provide a waterproof exterior. The outer shell 32 can include padding, such as foam or gel padding, protective plating, such as carbon fiber protective plating, full grained leather palms, a microfiber or terry cloth wipe 27 near the thumb for absorbing/wiping perspiration from the user's brow, a pull tab 29 to help with putting the glove on, etc. Some of these features may be incorporated into other layers, as well as, or instead of being part of the outer shell 32. For example, padding may be part of the inner liner 38.
The glove 10 may include a waterproof layer 34. The waterproof layer 34 can be positioned between the outer shell 34 and the inner liner 38 on both the back side and the palm side of the glove 10. It is generally desirable that the waterproof layer 34 cover the entire hand of the user such that water does not contact the user's hand, even where the outer shell has become wet. Thus, the waterproof layer 34 should desirably be impermeable to water and should not be compromised by making holes in the layer that could provide access paths through the waterproof layer 34 for water to pass through to the user's hand. Thus, the waterproof layer can be a bag or waterproof membrane liner.
Though the waterproof layer 34 preferably covers the entire hand of the user, the waterproof layer may extend over the fingers to the top of the palm, the middle of the palm, or below the palm. It may also extend to ⅔ or ⅓ of the way to the bottom of the palm. The waterproof layer 34 may cover more than just the hand and may also cover the wrist, and/or the forearm or a portion of the forearm of the user.
The glove 10 can include an inner liner 38. The inner liner 38 can substantially form an inner surface of the glove on the back side and the palm side of the glove 10. In some embodiments, the inner liner 38 can be fixed to or removable from the glove 10, for example, removable and washable. In some embodiments, the inner liner 38 comprises a fleece liner.
The glove 10 may also include an insulation layer 36. The insulation layer 36 may provide insulation in addition to that provided by the other layers. For example, the inner liner 38 can provide a layer of insulation and the insulation layer 36 can provide additional insulation on top of the insulation from the inner liner 38. In some embodiments, the insulation layer 36 comprises heavier insulation on the back side of the glove 10 as compared to the palm side.
The various layers generally extend throughout at least the hand portion 12 of the glove 10. For example, as shown, the waterproof layer 34, and the insulation layer 36 extend only in the hand portion 12, while the outer shell 32 extends through both the hand portion 12 and the cuff portion 14. Other configurations are also possible.
A conductive material 30 can also be provided within the glove 10. The conductive material 30 can be used to provide an electrical conduit from the skin of the user to a portion of the glove 10 for use with a capacitive touchscreen device. This can allow the user to use a capacitive touchscreen device with the glove still on.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the conductive material 30 extends into the interior of the glove 10 at the bottom extent of the waterproof layer 34. Thus, if the waterproof layer 30 covers the entire hand of the user, the conductive material 30 may extend into the glove interior at or below the bottom of the hand. In other configurations, where the waterproof layer 34 covers more or less than the entire hand, such as the fingers, portions of the palm, the wrist, etc. as discussed above, the conductive material 30 may extend into the glove interior at or below this same point. It should also be understood that the conductive material 30 may wrap around the waterproof layer 34 and may extend into the glove interior at a point other than where the conductive material 30 wraps around the waterproof layer 34.
It should also be understood that though the conductive material 30 may extend into the glove interior at or below a certain point in the glove, the conductive material may be directed in one or more directions from that point. Thus, the conductive material 30 may extend into the glove interior below a certain point, but be directed upwards and may extend back past that same point.
The first end 44 of the conductive material 30 can form a part of the outer surface of the glove 10. As can be seen in
The second end 46 can extend into the hand cavity of the glove through a seam 48. The seam 48 can be located at any location within the glove 10 and is preferably located at the wrist area 16 where the hand portion 12 and cuff portion 14 meet. The second end 46 can for a tab or extension that extends past the seam 48. The second end 46 can be loose or secured within the glove. As shown, the second end 46 is substantially loose after passing through the seam 48 and can therefore extend into either or both of the hand portion 12 and the cuff portion 14 of the glove 10.
Elastic, buttons, and/or VELCRO® can be used to help ensure that the second end 46 contacts the skin of the user. For example, elastic 25 can be used to secure and/or hold the second end 46 to the skin. A jacket or coat, for example, with elastic, buttons, and/or VELCRO® may also help serve this purpose.
The conductive material 30 is preferably provided in the form of a conductive band, strip, or ribbon, but can also take other forms. The conductive material 30 can be metallic plated fabric, metallic fibers and/or metallic yarn. The conductive material 30 can further be fibers composed of metal, plastic-coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core completely covered by metal.
The glove 10 can provide a minimally exposed conductive material 30 to beneficially protect the conductive material 30 from damage. For example, if the conductive material is exposed, on an outside surface of the glove, it will be subject to wear and tear, tarnishing, breaking of fibers, and other things that could reduce the conductivity of the conductive material 30. The glove 10 beneficially protects the conductive material and extends the life of the conductive material and the glove as a tool for using with a capacitive touchscreen.
The glove 10 is can be compatible with a variety of touchscreen devices. The glove 10 can have conductive material running between the outer layer at the palm and the inner liner of the glove. The conductive material can run all the way to the cuff, and touches the skin of the rider at the cuff, sending an electrical charge to the capacitive touchscreen. The glove 10 can have a conductive strip expending from outside the finger to the wrist or cuff area. The glove 10 can route conductive material around the water-proof layer so that the conductive material can touch the rider's skin.
Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. In addition, while a number of variations of the invention have been shown and described in detail, other modifications, which are within the scope of this invention, will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art based upon this disclosure. It is also contemplated that various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodiments may be made and still fall within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with or substituted for one another in order to form varying modes of the disclosed invention. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described above, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow.
Similarly, this method of disclosure, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that any claim require more features than are expressly recited in that claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in a combination of fewer than all features of any single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
