Patent Application
20100242154
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gloves, and more particularly to gloves having both aesthetic and functional designs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gloves for general utility and gardening are well known in the art. Various utility and gardening gloves have been developed for protection of the hand and to allow for improved gripping. When working on general utility tasks or in the garden, it is important for the glove wearer to use a glove that is sufficiently protective of the hands while still allowing flexibility, dexterity, comfort and tactile feel. However, many utility and gardening gloves are designed for a wide variety of hands such that they come in one size and shape that is generally wearable on substantially all hands. Such gloves may provide some protection for the glove wearer's hands, but because they may not adequately fit the contour of an individual wearer's hand, they may make it difficult for the user's hands to maintain desired flexibility, dexterity, comfort and tactile feel.
Additionally, many general utility and gardening gloves are not aesthetically pleasing. In the alternative, many utility and gardening gloves may be aesthetically pleasing, but do not offer the level of protection and functionality desired by many glove users. It is thus desirable to provide a glove that can sufficiently protect a user's hands, while providing the fit, flexibility, comfort, tactile feel, and aesthetically pleasing design many glove wearers desire.
The present invention seeks to provide an aesthetically pleasing glove that comfortably fits the contours of a user's hands and allows for proper tactile feel, with the glove also being durable, sufficiently flexible, comfortable, and customizable. One embodiment of a glove according to the present invention comprises a palm portion configured to substantially cover a user's palm and palm side surface of the user's fingers and thumb, and a back portion configured to substantially cover the back of a user's hand and back surface of the user's fingers and thumb. One or more gripping portions on the palm portion are also provided, with the back portion and the gripping portions comprising the same design pattern.
Another embodiment of a glove according to the present invention comprises a palm portion configured to substantially cover a user's palm and palm side surface of the user's fingers and thumb, and a back portion configured to substantially cover the back of a user's hand and back surface of the user's fingers and thumb. A gripping portion on the thumb and a gripping portion on at least one of the fingers is also provided, with the back portion and the gripping portions comprising a design pattern.
Another embodiment according to the present invention comprises a garden glove. The glove comprises a palm portion configured to substantially cover a user's palm, a back portion configured to substantially cover the back of a user's hand, finger portions configured to substantially cover the fingers of a user's hand, and a thumb portion configured to substantially cover the thumb of a user's hand. One or more gripping portions are provided on the palm portion, with the gripping portion comprising a design pattern.
These and other further features and advantages of the invention would be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention provides an aesthetically pleasing glove that comfortably fits the contours of a user's hands and allows for proper tactile feel, with the glove also being durable, sufficiently flexible, comfortable, and customizable. The glove comprises design features that are also functional in nature. This results in a general utility/gardening glove comprising a design pattern that can carry over to the palm side of the glove and provide improved gripping, protection, tactile feel, and dexterity. The present invention is generally directed to gloves used for general utility purposes and gardening, but it is understood that the gloves may be appropriate for a number of applications.
The glove 10 also includes a palm portion 14 that substantially covers the user's palm and palm side surface of the fingers. The palm is preferably made of leather, synthetic leather, heavy mesh, Spandex, or Lycra®, although it is understood that other suitable materials may also be used. The palm portion 14 may comprise pieces of material joined together, and can also be a combination of leather, synthetic leather, heavy mesh, Spandex, Lycra®, and/or other suitable materials, and can also include padding where appropriate.
Finger sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d may be an extension of either the back portion 12 or palm portion 14 of the glove 10, or both. Alternatively, finger sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d can be separate portions from back portion 12 or palm portion 14, such that they are stitched or otherwise attached separately to the remainder of the glove. They may also comprise various pieces of material that are joined together via stitching, gluing or another suitable means of joining the materials. Finger sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d preferably cover substantially all of the fingers. Alternatively, sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d may cover the surfaces running between the saddle of adjacent fingers, such that they are attached to the glove to combine back portion 12 and palm portion 14. Finger sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d can be made of leather, synthetic leathers, heavy mesh, Spandex, Lycra®, or any combination thereof, although it is understood that other suitable materials may also be used.
Thumb section 18 may likewise be an extension of either the back portion 12 or palm portion 14 of the glove 10, or both. Alternatively, thumb section 18 can be a separate portion from back portion 12 or palm portion 14, such that it is stitched glued, or otherwise suitable attached separately to the remainder of the glove. Thumb section 18 preferably covers substantially all of the thumb. Thumb section 18 can be made of leather, synthetic leather, heavy mesh, Spandex, Lycra®, or any combination thereof, although it is understood that other suitable materials may also be used.
Finger sections 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d and thumb section 18 may comprise vent holes (not shown) or a breathable material to allow air to pass through the glove and enhance the breath-ability of the glove. Alternatively, vent holes (not shown) or a breathable material can be added to the back portion 12 or palm portion 14 of the glove to enhance breath-ability.
Glove 10 further comprises a design pattern 20 on back portion 12, with the pattern covering substantially all of or only portions of back portion 12. Design pattern 20 may be a design inherent in the fabric of back portion 12, or may be a pattern that is later painted on, etched onto, layered onto, or otherwise added as a secondary step onto back portion 12. Design pattern 20 is intended to be aesthetically pleasing for the glove user, such that it comprises a look that is artistic and visually appealing to the user. Pattern 20 may comprise any number of colors or color combinations and may be any pattern that is aesthetically pleasing to the user.
Glove 10 further comprises gripping portions 22, which are added to cover portions of or substantially all of the palm portion 14. In the embodiment shown in
Gripping portions 22 are preferably layered onto sections of palm portion 14 using deposition techniques well known in the art, such that portions 22 are texturally raised from the surface of the material comprising palm portion 14. However, it is understood that they may also be glued on, sewn on, or attached via another suitable method. Gripping portions 22 further comprise a design pattern which is intended to be aesthetically appealing for the glove user. In the embodiment shown in
The gripping portions 22 provide a number of advantages. One advantage is to provide one or more grip surfaces on the palm side of the glove such that the glove 10 acts like a tool for the user and improves the user's ability to effectively grab objects and maintain desired contact with them. Additionally, providing the gripping portions 22 improves the dexterity of the user and improves the tactile feel enabled by the glove. Another advantage is to provide an aesthetically attractive or pleasing means of functionality such that a user is able to have effective gripping, dexterity and tactile feel while also exhibiting an outward appearance that coincides with the user's aesthetic tastes.
Glove 10 may also comprise a wrist portion 24 that is adjacent to and extends from back and palm portions 12 and 14, with wrist portion 24 configured to encircle the user's wrist to help secure the glove. The wrist portion 24 may extend beyond the user's wrist and partially up the arm to add additional protection. In one embodiment according to the present invention, the wrist portion 24 comprises an elastic portion 26 that can fit snugly about the user's wrist such that dirt and debris is prevented from entering the inside of the glove. A large section of wrist portion 24 may extend beyond elastic portion 26 up a portion of the arm. The wrist portion 24 may also include a wrist closure tab (not shown) that closes the wrist portion 24 around the user's wrist and is held in place by Velcro (not shown). The closure tab and Velcro can act together to tighten or loosen the glove at the wrist according to the user's preference. Alternatively, a wrist portion can include a closure strap that closes the wrist section around the user's wrist and is held in place by a hook and loop closure (not shown). It is understood that many additional, suitable means of closure about the wrist portion can also be utilized.
Wrist portion 24 may also comprise a tab portion 28, which may extend from palm portion 14 past wrist portion 24 and aid in the user's ability to easily pull the glove onto his/her hand. Additionally, the tab portion 28 may comprise a loop section (not shown) that extends beyond wrist portion 24 and provides a means for the glove 10 to be hung on a hook or the like, be connected with a another glove 10, or be displayed on an appropriate retail display apparatus (not shown).
All parts of the glove 10 are preferably connected together using a sewn inseam. However, it is understood that other suitable methods of joining the various portions together may also be used, including using an outer seam or using an adhesive such as glue. The glove 10 is preferably comprised of material or a combination of materials that allow it to be easily cleaned, such as in a washing machine.
Further, gripping portions 44 are shown in sections on the thumb and all four fingers of the glove, but it is understood that they may also be included on less than all of the fingers and not on the thumb. Moreover, the gripping portions 44 may also be disposed on portions of the palm (not shown). While design patterns 20, 32, and 42 and the patterns of gripping portions 22, 34, and 44 represent some possible, preferred embodiments of patterns that can be used to provide features that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional, it is understood that a number of different patterns and combinations of patterns can be used.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred configurations thereof, other versions are possible. The aesthetic and functional designs can be used in many different types of gloves, and the gloves may be utilized for a number of varying purposes. The designs can also have many different shapes and can be configured around the gloves in many different ways. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the invention should not be limited to the preferred versions of the invention described above.
