Patent Application
20210274867
The present invention relates to a heated glove, and more particularly, to a heated glove having a pocket secured to each upper portion of finger members, each pocket removably receiving a heating member. The heated glove includes glove apertures disposed in an index finger member and a thumb member of the glove for allowing a thumb and an index finger of a user to protrude from the heated glove and operate equipment or grasp an object capable of being elevated via the positioning of the object between the thumb and index finger.
Heated gloves are well known and are heated via chemical or electrical components. Electrically heated gloves are relatively more expensive than chemically heated gloves, but the batteries used to heat the gloves are re-chargeable and the heating wire connected to the batteries can be disposed within the fabric and throughout the entire glove, thereby warming all portions of a hand including fingers inserted in the glove.
Although the prior art chemically heated gloves are relatively less expensive then electrically heated gloves, chemical packets inserted in glove pockets or pouches sufficiently heat only portions of a hand that engage the glove pockets containing heat generating chemical packets. Generally, prior art chemically heated gloves do not provide a sufficient number of pockets joined to finger portions of a glove to sufficiently warm all the fingers of the hand inserted in the glove; and the prior art chemically heated gloves that do provide a sufficient quantity of pockets, do not provide an efficient apparatus to replace spent chemical packets from the glove pockets with new chemical packets.
Further, prior art chemically heated gloves do not provide finger and thumb apertures that enable a person wearing the heated glove to protrude an index finger and thumb from the glove to grasp and elevate an object when the chemical packets are generating heat to warm inside portions of the glove. A need exists for a chemically heated glove that includes one or more finger and thumb apertures that enable a person wearing the heated glove to protrude one or more fingers and thumb from the heated glove to operate equipment or grasp and elevate an object; whereupon, after the person releases the equipment or object, one or more finger and thumb apertures allow the fingers and thumb to return inside the glove, and be warmed by the chemical packets continuously heating the inside of the glove.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome many of the disadvantages associated with prior art heated gloves. A principal object of the present invention is to provide a chemically heated glove having apertures that allow at least an index finger and a thumb of a hand inserted in the heated glove to protrude from the glove and grasp and object, and after disposing the object, the apertures allow the index finger and thumb to return inside the heated the glove. A feature of the heated glove is one or more glove pockets disposed upon an outer or top side of one or more finger members and a thumb member of the glove. Another feature of the heated glove is a chemical packet removably inserted into each pocket, each chemical packet ultimately generating sufficient heat to warm the internal cavity of each finger and thumb member and the finger and thumb therein. Still another feature of the heated glove is a relatively large hand pocket disposed upon a top or outer portion of the glove. The hand pocket receives a relatively large chemical packet that, when activated, warms the cavity of the hand portion of the heated glove and the palm and respective hand portions of the user. An advantage of the heated glove is that the glove pockets, chemical packets and finger and thumb apertures cooperate to heat the user's hand and allow one or more fingers and the thumb to protrude from the glove to operate equipment or grasp an object without removing the heated glove from his or her hand, thereby enabling the return of the one or more exposed fingers and thumb to the warm confines of the heated glove.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a chemically heated glove that enables spent chemical packets to be replaced by fresh chemical packets in a minimum time period. A feature of the heated glove are pouches having pouch covers removably secured to cooperating upper portions of finger members. Another feature of the heated glove is to secure a loop material to preselected upper portions of finger members. Another feature of the heated glove is to secure a hook material to preselected portions of the pouch covers. An advantage of the heated glove is that the pouch covers are relatively quickly separated from and replaced upon the upper portions of the finger members, thereby enabling spent chemical packets to be relatively quickly removed from the glove pockets and new chemical packets to be inserted into the glove pockets; whereupon, the pouch covers are quickly secured upon the finger members.
The foregoing invention and its advantages may be readily appreciated from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to drawings 1-6, a heated glove having finger protrusion apertures in accordance with the present invention is denoted as numeral 10. The heated glove 10 includes a glove member 12 having a predetermined configuration and dimensions; a pocket or pouch 14 secured to each upper or outer portion 16 of finger members 18 of the predetermined glove 12; finger heating members 20 removably disposed in each pocket or pouch 14 secured to each of the upper or outer portions 16 of the finger members 18, the finger heating members 20 each emitting a predetermined heat energy to warm an inner cavity in each finger member 18; and glove apertures 22 disposed in an index finger member 24 and a thumb aperture 23 disposed in a thumb member 26 of the glove 12 for allowing a thumb 28 and an index finger 30 of a user to protrude from the glove 12; whereby, the user is enabled to operate equipment or lift objects via the exposed thumb 28 and index finger 30 when a heated glove 10 is worn on each hand of the user.
Although the preferred glove member configuration includes multiple pockets 14 secured to one or more outer portions 16 of the finger members 18, a thumb pocket 14 (not depicted) may be secured to an outer portion of the thumb member 26 for heating the thumb, but the heating member 20 disposed in the thumb pocket 14 would reduce the articulating range of the thumb when inside the heated glove 10. A thumb pocket 14 for the thumb member would be constructed and configured the same as for the pockets 14 for the finger members 18 described infra. Further, when the heated glove 10 is designed for a specific function such as firing a shotgun, only the index finger member 18 and thumb member 26 would require respective finger and thumb apertures 22 and 23 to enable a person to fire the shotgun by manipulating the index finger 30 and thumb 28 through the respective aperture 22 and 23 to engage the trigger and gun stock portions of the shotgun.
The glove member 12 is manufactured from water proof or non-water proof materials that include but not limited to leather, latex, spandex, polyester, fleece, sheep leather, canvas, cotton, linen, rubber and combinations thereof. The preferred materials for manufacturing the glove 12 includes leather 36 forming a bottom or lower portion 32 of the glove 12, and leather 36 and polyester 38 forming a top portion 34 of the glove 12, thereby promoting the stretching of the top portion 34 of the glove 12 to allow the glove 12 to be disposed upon varying sized hands and for promoting heat transfer from the heating members 20 onto a user's fingers.
The pockets 14 of the heated glove 10 include loop material 40 (trademarked “Velcro”) secured to opposing longitudinal portions 42 of the upper portions 16 of the finger members 18, and loop material 41 (trademarked “Velcro”) secured to an inner lateral portion 44 of the upper portions 16 of the finger members 18. The pockets 14 further include a cover 46 having a first lateral portion 48 secured to an end portion 50 (via stitching 51 or similar securing elements) of each upper portion 16 of the finger members 18. The cover 46 has a second lateral portion 52 with hook material 54 secured to the second lateral portion 52 such that the hook material 54 ultimately engages the loop material 40 of the inner lateral portion 44 of an upper portion 16 of a corresponding finger member 18, thereby detachably securing the second lateral portion 52 of the pocket cover 46 to the inner lateral portion 44 of the upper portion 16 of the corresponding finger member 18.
The cover 46 further includes longitudinal portions 56 having hook material 58 secured to the longitudinal portions 56 such that the hook material 58 ultimately engages the loop material 40 of the longitudinal portions 42 of an upper portion 16 of a corresponding finger member 18, thereby detachably securing the longitudinal portions 56 of the cover 46 to the longitudinal portions 42 of the upper portion 16 of the corresponding finger member 18, resulting in the securing of the heating members 20 to the finger members 18.
The heated glove 10 are warmed by disposable heating members 20 fabricated from iron and additives that causes the iron to oxidize when exposed to air and produce heat. The heating members 20 are manufactured by “HeatPax” and “Hothands” both companies can be found on the internet. The heating members 20 are configured to snugly insert into the pockets 14 on the finger members 18. The heating members 20 extend longitudinally upon the upper portions 16 of the finger members 18 such that the longitudinal dimension of the heating members 20 are substantially the same as the longitudinal dimension of the respective finger member 18 to which the corresponding heating member 20 is secured.
The heating members 20 are disposed between the pocket covers 46 and the upper portions 16 of the finger members 18; whereupon, the pocket covers 46 are secured to the upper portions 16 of the finger member 18 via the longitudinal and lateral hook materials 54 land 58 engaging cooperating longitudinal and lateral loop materials 40 and 41, respectively, thereby securing the position of the heating members 20 relative to the corresponding finger member 18. The heating members 20 are flexible to allow the user to bend his or her fingers and grasp and hold an object. In the event that flexible heating members 20 are not available to heat the glove member 12, the heating members 20 can be comprised of two separated rigid sections having longitudinal dimensions corresponding to finger joints of the user, thereby allowing the user to bend his or her fingers to make a first to grasp and hold an object.
A relatively larger hand heating member 60 is configured (substantially square) to snugly insert into an upper hand portion 62 having a hand pocket 64 that includes a hand cover 65 secured to the upper hand portion 62 via the same loop 66 and hook 68 materials described above. The hand cover 65 is secured via stitching 70 proximate to the finger members 18 such that the hand pocket 64 covers substantially the entire surface area of the upper hand portion 62, thereby providing sufficient heating to warm the hand of the user
The glove apertures 22 can be disposed in each finger member 18 to allow one or more fingers including the index finger 30 and the thumb 28 via the thumb aperture 23 to exit the glove 12 to enable the user to grasp and lift a relatively heavy object. Irrespective of the number of glove apertures 22 and 23 included in the glove 12, each aperture 22 and 23 is disposed proximate to a midportion of the finger members 18 and thumb member 26. The aperture 22 of the index finger member 24 is formed via an unsecured flexible overlap portion 72 or “flap” of a bottom portion 32 of the index finger member 24 engaging a non-flexible bottom surface 74 of the index finger member 24. The aperture 23 of the thumb member 26 is formed via an unsecured flexible overlap portion 73 of a bottom portion 76 of the thumb member 26 upon a non-flexible bottom surface 78 of the thumb member 26. The unsecured overlap portions 72 and 73 are relatively flexible to allow a user's thumb 28 and finger 30 to forcibly separate the overlap portions 72 and 73 from respective bottom surfaces 74 and 78 to enable the user to extend the thumb 28 and index finger 30 through respective apertures 22 and 23, thereby exposing the thumb 28 and index finger 30 to atmospheric conditions. When the user's finger and thumb are returned to a position inside the heated glove, the overlap portions 72 and 73 return to the same overlap configuration existing before the finger and thumb exited the glove 12.
The heated glove 10 further includes wrist flap 80 for adjustably securing the glove 12 about a user's wrist. The wrist flap 80 is adjusted by placing a flap edge portion 81 having a loop material (not depicted) secured to a bottom side of the edge portion 81 upon a user selected portion of cooperating hook material 82 secured to a top portion of a wrist portion 84 of the glove 12.
Referring to
The foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended to limit the scope of protection accorded this invention. The scope of protection is to be measured by the following claims, which should be interpreted as broadly as the inventive contribution permits.
This Utility patent application is based on Provisional Patent Application No. 62/984,371, filed on Mar. 3, 2020.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62984371 | Mar 2020 | US |
