Patent Application
20240306742
Mittens are used to keep the hands warm while allowing the hand use for activities. The wearer or user needs sufficient hand strength and dexterity to put a mitten on the second hand after having put a mitten on the first. For this very reason, while the prior art mittens have stood the test of time, they are still difficult to use for people with disabilities concerned with the hand, such as paralysis, paresis, constrictions, and contractions caused by strokes, arthritis, Dupuytren's Disease, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Ganglion cysts and other ailment causing physical harm or damage to the hand.
More specifically, people with disabilities concerning the hand, such as paralysis, paresis, constrictions, and contractions, have significant trouble pulling on a traditional mitten due to weakness and/or dexterity. The hand is often not able to hold an open hand position while pulling on a traditional mitten. After the mitten is on the hand, often with the fingers curled up inside, the wearer does not have the strength to reopen the hand in the confinements of the mitten. It is therefore often that a sufferer of a hand disability will experience uncomfortable issues while wearing mittens or gloves or forego wearing any sort of hand covering at all despite weather conditions that would otherwise necessitate a hand covering.
Accordingly, a structure for a mitten which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art is desired.
According to an embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a mitten comprises a sleeve extending into a wrist portion for receiving a user hand. The sleeve comprises a back panel which is designed with a hand covering portion extending through the wrist portion. The hand covering portion comprises a pinky side panel and a thumb side panel. A zipper is affixed to the pinky side panel and the thumb side panel for selectively opening and closing the sleeve for providing access to an interior of the mitten. A thumb portion is affixed to the sleeve and operatively communicates with an interior of the sleeve, for receiving a thumb of the user hand. An overlay fixing structure is affixed to the interior surface of the sleeve for securing and encircling the mitten to the user hand within the sleeve.
The sleeve comprises a front panel that is secured to the hand covering portion of the back panel using a gusset. The gusset extends along the wrist portion. A cinching structure is disposed between an upper wrist portion and a lower wrist portion of the wrist portion adjacent the zipper and anchored at ends of the pinky side panel and the thumb side panel, for cinching the wrist portion around a wrist of the user hand. The cinching structure is an elastic cord secured in a tightened position by use of a spring-loaded cinch. The spring-loaded cinch allows a user to squeeze with a limited hand use.
The thumb portion comprises a back thumb panel that is secured to an inner thumb panel using a thumb gusset. The overlay fixing structure comprises a thumb side hand wrap which is affixed to the interior surface of the sleeve along one side to a lower insulating layer. The thumb side hand wrap is overlaid by the thumb side panel. A pinky side hand wrap is affixed to the interior surface of the sleeve along one side to the lower insulating layer of the sleeve. The pinky side hand wrap is overlaid by the pinky side panel.
An affixing means selectively affixes the thumb side hand wrap to the pinky side hand wrap, encircling the user hand within the sleeve. The affixing means comprises a hook and loop fastener. The hook and loop fastener comprises a first securing structure and a second securing structure. The first securing structure is affixed on an unsecured side of the thumb side hand wrap. The second securing structure is affixed on an unsecured side of the pinky side hand wrap. The thumb side hand wrap and the pinky side hand wrap are selectively moveable between an open position where no pressure is applied to the user hand, and a closed position where the pinky side hand wrap overlays the thumb side hand wrap. The second securing structure of the pinky side hand wrap engages the first securing structure of the thumb side hand wrap to maintain the thumb side hand wrap and the pinky side hand wrap in the closed position.
A top insulating layer is affixed to the lower insulating layer that substantially extends the length of the sleeve. The back panel with the hand covering portion is disposed on the top insulating layer.
In another embodiment, a method for securing a mitten on a user hand for use by people with limited hand dexterity is disclosed. The method comprises opening a zipper affixed to a pinky side panel and a thumb side panel of a hand covering portion of a sleeve where the pinky side panel and the thumb side panel are separated for providing access to an interior of the mitten. The sleeve extends into a wrist portion. The method comprises opening an overlay fixing structure which is affixed to the interior surface of the sleeve, on opening the zipper.
The method further comprises sliding a user hand into an interior of the sleeve, on opening the overlay fixing structure. Thereafter, the method comprises closing the overlay fixing structure for securing and encircling the mitten to the user hand within the sleeve. The method comprises closing the zipper for connecting the pinky side panel and the thumb side panel of the hand covering portion of the sleeve to enclose the overlay fixing structure.
Any combinations of the various embodiments and implementations disclosed herein can be used in a further embodiment, consistent with the disclosure. These and other aspects and features can be appreciated from the following description of certain embodiments presented herein in accordance with the disclosure and the accompanying drawings and claims.
The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more fully understood with reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein:
Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures. Like elements in the various figures may be denoted by like reference numerals for consistency. Further, in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description. Additionally, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the scale of the elements presented in the accompanying figures may vary without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure generally relate to a mitten design. In specific, a mitten is designed to facilitate people having hand disabilities to easily place and secure their hand in the mitten. A mitten according to embodiments of the design may also be utilized by individuals with limited hand dexterity for reasons other than disability or injury, such as children.
Reference is first made to
In one embodiment, the sleeve 20 may be formed as a unitary construction, but in a preferred non limiting embodiment, sleeve 20 includes a back panel 27 which is designed with the hand covering portion 22. The back panel 27 is secured to a front panel 24. The front panel 24 includes a palm covering portion 5.
In a preferred non limiting embodiment, the back panel 27 includes a fingertip cover 1. The hand covering portion 22 comprises a pinky side panel 2a and a thumb side panel 2b. The pinky side panel 2a is secured to the fingertip cover 1 and extended through the wrist portion 3. The thumb side panel 2b is secured to the fingertip cover 1, and extended through the wrist portion 3, along the length of the pinky side panel 2a. In other words, the pinky side panel 2a and the thumb side panel 2b form a part of the wrist portion 3.
In a preferred non limiting embodiment, the front panel 24 is secured to the hand covering portion 22 of the sleeve 20 by a gusset 4. The gusset 4 secures the pinky side panel 2a and the thumb side panel 2b to the hand covering portion 22, such that the gusset 4 extends along the wrist portion 3.
A securing/fastening structure, such as a waterproof zipper 28, in a non-limiting preferred embodiment. Other simple structures, such as a hook and loop fastener may be used. The zipper 28 is affixed to the pinky side panel 2a and the thumb side panel 2b for selectively opening and closing the sleeve 20 for providing access to an interior of the mitten 100. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the zipper 28 secures the pinky side panel 2a to the thumb side panel 2b, thereby closing the mitten 100 about the hand of the user as in
In another embodiment, the wrist portion 3 includes a lower wrist portion 7, adjacent an open end of the mitten 100 when used, and an upper wrist portion 6. The wrist portion 3 surrounds a wrist of the user when the mitten 100 is in a closed condition during use. A cinching structure is disposed between the upper wrist portion 6 and the lower wrist portion 7 of the wrist portion 3 adjacent the zipper 28. The wrist portion 3 is anchored at ends of the pinky side panel 2a and the thumb side panel 2b, for cinching the wrist portion 3 around the anatomical wrist of the user hand. The cinching structure, such as an elastic cord 40 is disposed within the wrist portion 3. The elastic cord 40 is respectively anchored at ends to an edge of the pinky side panel 2a and an edge of the thumb side panel 2b, adjacent the zipper 28. This enables one handed cinching, even while wearing the mitten 100. The elastic cord 40 may be secured in a tightened position by use of a spring-loaded cinch 42. To release the spring-loaded cinch 42, the spring-loaded cinch 42 need only be squeezed, an activity performable even with limited hand use. In a preferred non-limiting embodiment, to facilitate use of the spring-loaded cinch 42, for those with limited dexterity, the spring-loaded cinch 42 may be anchored in place to the front panel 24 at the wrist portion 3.
In one embodiment, a thumb portion, generally indicated as 30, is operatively connected to the front panel 24 of the mitten 100 at a position to enable a thumb of the user to be received by the thumb portion 30 when a hand of the user is in the sleeve 20. The thumb portion 30 is affixed to the sleeve 20 and operatively communicates with an interior of the sleeve 20, for receiving the thumb of the user hand. The thumb portion 30, in a preferred non limiting embodiment, includes a back thumb panel 8 which is secured to an inner thumb panel 10 to form the thumb portion 30. In a preferred non limiting embodiment, the inner thumb panel 10 is secured by a thumb gusset 9 to the back thumb panel 8.
Reference is now made to
In one embodiment, an overlay fixing structure is affixed to the interior surface of the sleeve 20 for securing and encircling the mitten 100 to the user hand within the sleeve 20. The overlay fixing structure comprises a thumb side hand wrap 15, a pinky side hand wrap 14, and an affixing means. The affixing means selectively affixes the thumb side hand wrap 15 to the pinky side hand wrap 14, encircling the user hand within the sleeve 20.
In one embodiment, the thumb side hand wrap 15 is affixed to the interior surface of the sleeve 20 along one side thereof, to the lower insulating layer 60 at a position either adjacent to a hand of a user, or beneath a hand of a user. The thumb side hand wrap 15 is overlaid by the thumb side panel 2b. The opposed side of the thumb side hand wrap 15 being unsecured to the lower insulating layer 60. An opening is formed in the thumb side hand wrap 15 to receive the thumb lining 16. A securing structure such as one part of a hook and loop fastener 52 is extended along the unsecured side of the thumb side hand wrap 15.
As seen in
In one embodiment, the affixing means comprises the hook and loop fastener. The hook and loop fastener comprises a first securing structure 52 and a second securing structure 54. The first securing structure 52 is affixed on an unsecured side of the thumb side hand wrap 15. The second securing structure 54 is affixed on an unsecured side of the pinky side hand wrap 14.
In a preferred embodiment, each of the thumb side hand wrap 15 and the pinky side hand wrap 14 has a length less than zipper 28 but is sufficiently long to overlay a sufficient portion of the hand and/or wrist of a user and secure the hand within the mitten 100. The thumb side hand wrap 15 and the pinky side hand wrap 14 are selectively moveable between an open position (
It should be noted that it is well within the scope of the invention for the thumb side hand wrap 15 and the pinky side hand wrap 14 to be formed as a unitary structure affixed to either or both of the front panel 24 and/or the lower insulating layer 60.
In one embodiment, a top insulating layer 50 is affixed to the lower insulating layer 60 that substantially extends the length of the sleeve 20. The back panel 27 with the hand covering portion 22 is disposed on the top insulating layer 50 and affixed to the front panel 24. Further, the affixing means maintains the top insulating layer 50 and the lower insulating layer 60 in place against the hand of the user.
In a preferred embodiment, the top insulating layer 50 is preferably substantially coextensive with the sleeve 20 and may be formed, in a non-limiting embodiment as a unitary structure with the lower insulating layer 60. In a preferred non limiting embodiment, the top insulating layer 50 and the lower insulating layer 60 may optionally be formed of fleece.
During use, the mitten 100 is in an open state as seen in
Further, as seen in
Thereafter, the method 800 comprises sliding, by the user, the user hand into the interior of the sleeve 20, as depicted in step 806, on opening the overlay fixing structure. The method 800 comprises closing, by the user, the overlay fixing structure for securing and encircling the mitten 100 to the user hand within the sleeve 20, as depicted in step 808. The second securing structure 54 is engaged with the first securing structure 52 for closing the overlay fixing structure. The method 800 further comprises closing, by the user, the zipper 28 for connecting the pinky side panel 2a and the thumb side panel 2b of the hand covering portion 22 of the sleeve 20, as depicted in step 810, to enclose the overlay fixing structure. Later, the method 800 comprises cinching, by the user, the wrist portion 3 around a wrist of the user hand using the cinching structure, as depicted in step 812, allowing one handed cinching, even while wearing the mitten 100.
It should be noted, that while the preferred embodiment, it is well within the invention to construct the mitten 100 without the insulating layers. Furthermore, by providing the elastic chord 42 on the palm side of the mitten 100, the mitten 100 lends itself to one handed cinching. By providing an opening for the pinky side hand wrap 14 and the thumb side hand wrap 15, and the top insulating layer 50 and the lower insulating layer 60 which extend form the fingertips to the wrist, the mitten 100 enables the user to easily place their hand in the thumb and hand compartments of the mitten 100.
As a result of the above-described structure, the described accessibility mitten 100 allows the user to open the mitten 100 up the back to just below the fingertips. The user can then open their hand, often a doable yet difficult exercise for those with hand impairments and lay the hand in the mitten 100 with ease. The soft inner mitten/wrap, made of a soft fleece, is then wrapped around the back of the hand and held closed with hook and loop tape to hold the hand open and in place, stabilizing the hand to easily zip the mitten 100 closed up the back of the hand and wrist. The inner fleece lining also provides warmth and a barrier between the inside of the zipper 28 and the back of the hand to eliminate chaffing. An elastic cord 40 with a cord lock affixed to the palm side of the mitten 100 allows the wearer to cinch the wrist portion 3 of the mitten 100 using their other hand and teeth as the cord lock does not slide away from the mitten 100. This is an added feature for warmth and keeping snow or rain from getting into the mitten 100. This could be around the base of the palm, set in from the edge of the mitten 100, and/or around the edge of the mitten 100.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, for example, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “contains,” “containing,” “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” and variations thereof, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Terms of orientation are used herein merely for purposes of convention and referencing and are not to be construed as limiting. However, it is recognized these terms could be used with reference to an operator or user. Accordingly, no limitations are implied or to be inferred. In addition, the use of ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, third, etc.) is for distinction and not counting. For example, the use of “third” does not imply there must be a corresponding “first” or “second.” Also, if used herein, the terms “coupled” or “coupled to” or “connected” or “connected to” or “attached” or “attached to” may indicate establishing either a direct or indirect connection and is not limited to either unless expressly referenced as such.
While the disclosure has described several exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made, and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to adapt a particular instrument, situation, or material to embodiments of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, or to the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, reference in the appended claims to an apparatus or system or a component of an apparatus or system being adapted to, arranged to, capable of, configured to, enabled to, operable to, or operative to perform a particular function encompasses that apparatus, system, or component, whether or not it or that particular function is activated, turned on, or unlocked, as long as that apparatus, system, or component is so adapted, arranged, capable, configured, enabled, operable, or operative.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63/490,796, filed Mar. 17, 2023, and titled, “MITTEN FOR PEOPLE WITH LIMITED HAND DEXTERITY,” the contents of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63490796 | Mar 2023 | US |
