Patent Application
20150121605
Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.
1. Field of the Invention
The present application generally relates to gloves. More particularly, the present application relates to gloves with a closure member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gloves are used in a variety of contexts to protect the hands of the wearer. The gloves are donned by inserting a hand through a cuff region of each glove. The cuff region can include elastic, can be secured with straps or can remain open, depending upon the style of the glove.
In some applications, it is advantageous to secure the glove more tightly around a wrist of a wearer. For example, by tightening the cuff against the wrist of the wearer, the glove can be more secure and less dirt and debris may enter into the interior of the glove.
Presently, gloves can be secured using a hook and loop fastener. In such configurations, the hook portion can be secured to the body of the glove while the loop fastener is on a strap that is secured to the hook portion. In such configurations, there is a limit to the amount of adjustability in the closure member. In other words, a fairly narrow range of adjustment is available. Moreover, the limited region that interacts between the hook and loop fasteners can result in a less secure connection than desired. Accordingly, an improved closure member is desired.
In some configurations, a glove comprises a top panel and a bottom panel. The top panel and the bottom panel each comprises a proximal end. The proximal end of the top panel and the proximal end of the bottom panel define an opening. The opening defines a length. A strip of loop material extends along at least a portion of both the proximal end of the top panel and the proximal end of the bottom panel and has a length of more than 50 percent of the length of the opening.
In some configurations, a glove comprises a top panel and a bottom panel. The top panel has a proximal end. The proximal end defines at least a portion of a cuff of the glove. The proximal end has a length. A strip of loop material extends along the top panel and has a length longer than the length of the proximal end of the top panel.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings of a preferred embodiment, which embodiment is intended to illustrate and not to limit the invention, and in which figures:
With reference now to
With reference to
In the illustrated configuration, an enlarged protective element 20 can be positioned on the top panel 12. The protective element 20 can have any suitable configuration. In some configurations, the protective element 20 is enveloped within an overlay member 22. The overlay member 22 can be formed of a material different from the material used to form the majority of the top panel 12. In some configurations, the material used for the overlay member 22 is more durable than the material used to form the majority of the top panel 12. In some configurations, the overlay member 22 is formed of a synthetic leather material or leather, for example but without limitation.
The overlay member 22 can extend along at least a portion of the thumb of the glove 10 as well as extend along the back of the hand at the base of the index and middle fingers. In some configurations, the overlay member 22 does not extend to the base of the ring finger. In some configurations, the overlay member 22 extends only to the base of the interdigital gap between the ring finger and the middle finger. In some configurations, the overlay member 22 extends over only two knuckles and terminates just before the third knuckle. In some configurations, the overlay member 22 is separated into a first portion that extends along the thumb and a second portion that extends along the back of the hand. By separating the overlay member 22 into the two portions, the flexibility of the overlay member 22 can be improved. In some configurations, the first portion can be formed of a different material relative to the second portion. The two different materials can provide improved abrasion resistance to the first portion (i.e., the thumb portion).
With reference to
With reference again to
With reference to
The proximal edge of the cuff 28 (i.e., the portion that defines the opening 30 and the slit 33) can be reinforced and finished with edging 34. The edging 34 can reduce the likelihood of fraying material in the glove 10. In some configurations, the edging 34 wraps over the edge of the top panel 12 and the bottom panel 14. The edging 34 can be stitched to the top panel 12 and the bottom panel 14 such that a single row of stitching secures the edging to the outside and inside of the top and bottom panels 12, 14. The edging can be formed of a vinyl strip. Other suitable materials also can be used.
In the illustrated configuration, the opening 30 can be tightened around the wrist of the wearer using a hook and loop fastener assembly 36. The assembly comprises a strip of loop material 38 and a strip of hook fastener material 40. The hook fastener material 40 can grab onto the loop material 38 in any suitable manner.
With reference to
The wrist closure member 42 can be formed of any suitable material. In the illustrated configuration, the wrist closure member 42 is formed of a medium durometer thermoplastic rubber. Any other suitable material also can be used. In some configurations, the perimeter of the wrist closure member includes a stitch groove 44. In such configurations, a double stitch can be positioned within the stitch groove 44 to securely connect the wrist closure member 42 and the hook fastener material. A first end of the wrist closure member can be stitched into position between the inside surface of the bottom panel 14 and the edging 34. Other configurations are possible but the illustrated configuration advantageously draws the slit 33 closed during fastening.
In the illustrated configuration, the loop material 38 spans the full top panel 12 and wraps rearward toward the bottom panel 14. In the illustrated configuration, the loop material 38 spans more than 50 percent of the distance defined by the opening. In the illustrated configuration, the loop material 38 abuts the edging 34 on two sides. In other words, the end edge of the loop material 38 that is closest to the slit 32 and the side edge of the loop material 38 that is most proximal (i.e., furthest from the fingers 16), abuts or underlies the edging 34. In the illustrated configuration, the loop material 38 does not extend the full distance around the opening 30. Rather, the loop material 38 extends along the entire dorsal side of the glove 10 and wraps around the thumb side of the glove 10. Such a configuration advantageously increases the adjustability of the opening size while not significantly impacting the grip on the palmar side of the glove 10. Moreover, contrary to prior constructions in which the hook member was mounted to the body of the glove 10, the illustrated construction secures the loop material 38 to the glove body. The loop material 38 is more flexible than the hook fastener material 40 and, because of the length of the strip of the loop material 38 used in the illustrated configuration, using such a length of hook fastener material 40 would stiffen the opening and decrease comfort. Moreover, because of the increased contact surface area that can result from the lengthened loop material 38, the hook fastener material 40, which is more rigid than the softer loop material 38, is better suited for securing to the wrist closure member 42. It has been found that securing the loop material 38 to the wrist closure member 42 results in the loop material 38 tending to separate from the wrist closure member 42 over time because of the forces encountered during decoupling of the hook fastener material 40 from the loop material 38.
In some configurations, the wrist closure member 42 has a length of 80 mm. In some configurations, the width of the cuff of the glove is 120 mm. In some configurations, the length of the strip of loop material 38 is more than 120 mm. In some configurations, the length of the wrist closure member 42 is ⅔ of the length of the strip of the loop material 38.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of a certain embodiment, other embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art also are within the scope of this invention. Thus, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For instance, various components may be repositioned as desired. Moreover, not all of the features, aspects and advantages are necessarily required to practice the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to be defined only by the claims that follow.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61898898 | Nov 2013 | US |
