Patent Application
20220225707
The present disclosure generally relates to a holder for a glove, and more specifically, a holder for a glove that can receive a hand of a wearer without repositioning the glove on the holder.
When gloves are not being worn by a user, they are generally laid flat or wadded up inside a bag, within a pocket, on a shelf, or in a drawer.
In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a holder for holding a work glove. The holder includes a support arm and a catch arm. The support arm has a first end portion and a second end portion spaced apart along a longitudinal axis such that the first end portion is spaced apart from the second end portion in a glove insertion direction along the longitudinal axis. The support arm also includes an inner face facing generally in first direction along an arm spacing axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The catch arm has a first end portion connected to the first end portion of the support arm and a free second end portion spaced apart from the first end portion of the catch arm in a glove removal direction along the longitudinal axis. The glove removal direction is opposite the glove insertion direction. The catch arm has an inner face facing generally in a second direction that is opposite the first direction along the arm spacing axis. At least a portion of the inner face of the catch arm is disposed in adjacent, face-to-face relationship with at least a portion of the inner face of the support arm such that the holder defines the glove retention area between the support arm and the catch arm. The holder grips a portion of a cuff of the glove in the glove retention area between the support arm and the catch arm whereby the holder retains the glove.
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the disclosure, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference is made in the following detailed description of one or more embodiments to accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals may designate like parts throughout that are corresponding and/or analogous. It will be appreciated that the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale, such as for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration. For example, dimensions of some aspects may be exaggerated relative to others. Further, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized. Furthermore, structural and/or other changes may be made without departing from claimed subject matter. References throughout this specification to “claimed subject matter” refer to subject matter intended to be covered by one or more claims, or any portion thereof, and are not necessarily intended to refer to a complete claim set, to a particular combination of claim sets (e.g., method claims, apparatus claims, etc.), or to a particular claim.
The inventor has recognized that conventional ways of storing gloves (e.g., work gloves) are not optimal for occupations that require the donning of gloves at a moment's notice. For instance, when firefighters are called upon, they must immediately don their gloves along with other protective gear. The conventional ways of storing gloves do not hold the gloves in a way that allows for them to be quickly put on. Further, the conventional ways of storing gloves often invite glove owners to wad the gloves up when not in use. Wadded gloves can sometimes become stiff, which complicates and delays the process of putting gloves on when called upon. Further, it is believed that wadded up gloves can retain moisture and thereby promote bacterial growth and/or other unsanitary conditions. Additionally, the inventor believes that it would be advantageous to provide a means for holding gloves on a person's body in a ready-to-wear condition so that the gloves can be quickly donned at a moment's notice. Therefore, there is a need for a glove holder that is time efficient and does not require additional handling of the gloves prior to putting the gloves on the hands of the wearer.
The present disclosure provides a holder 10 for a glove G, as shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, the support arm 12 can further include a hook 34, as shown in
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment, as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The middle section 54 is spaced apart between the first end portion 47 of the catch arm 14 and the free second end portion 48 of the catch arm 14. As shown, the middle section 54 is oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis 26. In one or more embodiments, as shown, the middle section 54 is longer than the flared section 52. A portion of the illustrated middle section 54 opposes the second end portion 20 of the support arm 12 in close, face-to-face relation. Thus, the middle section 54 defines a portion of the glove retention area, e.g., a portion of the glove can be retained (e.g., clipped, gripped, or pinched) between the opposing portions of the middle section and the support arm 12.
In the illustrated embodiment, the tapering section 56 that extends longitudinally from the first end portion 47 of the catch arm 14 to the middle section 54 of the catch arm. The tapering section 56 is angled to extend in the second direction 50 along the arm spacing axis 32 as it extends longitudinally from the first end portion 47 of the catch arm 14 to the middle section 54. As shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, the main body of the holder 10, which includes the support arm 12, the catch arm 14, and the U-shaped portion 16, is formed from a single piece of monolithic material. Suitably, the material is resiliently bendable. This enables the u-shaped portion 16 to resiliently bend to allow the catch arm 14 to move away from the support arm 12 along the arm spacing axis 32, which opens the holder 10 for receiving the glove G. When the force used to separate the catch arm 14 from the support arm 12 is released, the U-shaped portion resiliently rebounds to return the holder to the closed position shown in the drawings. In certain embodiments (not shown), the holder 10 can include additional retention features for retaining the holder in the closed position when the glove G is in place.
Various materials can be used to form the main body of the holder 10 without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For instance, in one or more embodiments, the holder 10 of the present disclosure is formed from Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or another thermoplastic polymer. Other suitable materials include Ultem (polyetherimide) and tempered metals. As one skilled in the art would understand, the material used for the holder 10 can withstand a variety of environmental conditions based off their material properties correlating with the material.
An exemplary method of using the holder 10 will now be briefly described. In certain embodiments, two holders 10 are secured to a garment such as the belt S using suitable fasteners. In these embodiments, a separate holder is provided for the glove of each hand of the wearer. The holders 10 are mounted on the belt S so that the support arm 12 is located close to the body and the catch arm 14 is disposed outboard of the support arm. In an exemplary embodiment, the holders 10 are mounted so that the two holders are located on opposite lateral sides of the body, with the catch arms 14 pointing somewhat laterally inward toward the navel. Other positions and orientations are also contemplated within the scope of the disclosure.
A user wearing gloves G can place the gloves on the holders 10 by drawing the gloves proximal-end-first toward the holders. For each glove G, the flared section 52 of the catch arm 14 will catch the cuff C, and the inner surface 49 of the catch arm will then guide the cuff in the glove insertion direction 24 toward the glove retention area. A portion of the cuff C will pass into the glove retention area—the space between the opposing inner surfaces 22, 49. A portion of the cuff will pass longitudinally over the hook 34, into the enlarged space provided by the tapering section 56 of the catch arm. Fabric of the cuff C can bunch up inside this enlarged space after passing over the hook 34. Engagement of the cuff C with the U-shaped portion 16 will stop movement of the glove G, causing the cuff to slip of the user's hand. (It will be appreciated that the glove G can also be installed in the holder 10 when it is not being worn using essentially the same steps.) It can be seen that the holder 10 enables doffing of each glove with a simple movement of the gloved hand toward and along the holder, and this simple causes the glove to be supported in ready-to-wear condition.
Once the glove G is positioned on the holder 10, the hooking end 40 of the hook 34 opposes a portion of the cuff C to resist unintended pullout of the glove. Further, a portion of the glove G is gripped between the ramped end 38 of the hook and the opposing portion of the tapering section 56, as well as between the middle section 54 of the catch arm 14 and the opposing portion of the support arm 12. The holder 10 thus retains the glove G such that cuff C is partially open and a remainder of the glove hangs at least somewhat outstretched from the holder. This positions the glove G so that it is ready, without adjustment, for receiving the hand of a wearer.
When duty requires use of the gloves G held by the holders H, the user simply places hands into the partially open cuffs C of the gloves suspended from the holders. The positioning of the gloves held by the holders H prevents the fingers or palm region from wadding—instead they remain somewhat open—so that the user's hand can easily slip into place. As the user continues to move the hands in the distal direction, the hands will naturally tend to sweep in the direction 30 along the arm spacing axis 32. This will cause the holder 10 to open, releasing the glove G from the hook 34. The fluid, sweeping movement of the hands thus moves the gloves G out of the holders 10 in the glove removal direction 28. The holders 10 thus enable donning of each glove with a clean, efficient, one-handed motion.
The foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of this disclosure. Indeed, while certain features of this disclosure have been shown, described and/or claimed, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the apparatuses, forms, method, steps and system illustrated and, in its operation, can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, the foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the disclosure. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosed system and method, and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
