BACKGROUND
1. Field
The disclosure of the present patent application relates generally to handwear accessories and devices for assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs), and particularly to a multi-purpose glove with removable attachments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hair brushing is an activity of daily living ADL that many people do themselves to get tidy and professional for work. Another ADL is opening jars and bottles by hand. For those with weak gripping strength, many ADLs, such as opening jars and even holding a hand brush, can be difficult or even impossible. Grip strength in adults tends to increase until a peak between the ages of 30 to 39, then declines generally from midlife onward in all genders. Studies have shown that the prevalence of weak grip strength increases rapidly late in life. Twenty percent of subjects had weak grip strength at age 65-69 years. Besides age, there are other conditions that are linked to weak grip strength, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA has been shown to be a chronic disease affecting over 1.3 million Americans and as much as 1% of the population worldwide. The prevalence of RA in Al Qassim city was estimated at 22 per thousand people. It has also been noted that the prevalence of the disease increases with age and was more common in females. Other conditions that are linked to weak grip strength, include osteoarthritis (OA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). OA is an arthritic disease that is the most common cause of disability in the United States and now affects 46 million Americans, or more than 21% of the adult population. MS is the most widespread disabling neurological condition of young adults around the world. Recent findings from a National MS Society study estimate nearly 1 million people in the United States are living with MS. In another study, done on random workers, it was shown that the prevalence of tendinitis and related disorders for the overall group was 11.6% (carpal tunnel syndrome 1.1%, epicondylitis 2.0%, tendinitis 3.5%).
While there are devices on the market for assisting in ADLs, such as hair brushing and jar opening, these devices tend to require some amount of hand grip. In addition, finger mounted brushes have only a limited amount of bristles, thereby requiring many strokes to cover the same area, which is not only time consuming but tiring, particularly with the disabled. While rubber can opener sheets or pads are available in a variety shapes and ways to use them, they require a firm grip, particularly with hard to open jars.
Thus, a multi-purpose glove with removable attachments solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY
The multi-purpose glove with removable attachments assists people with weak hand grip strength to independently brush their hair and open cans, pain-free. The glove is made of cotton and includes loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material (such as that sold under the brand VELCRO® Brand Fasteners) attached to and completely covering the palm and palm side of the fingers of the glove. A nylon, jersey lined, ventilated neoprene wrist strap is provided to firmly secure the glove's position on the user's hand. A first attachment or head is a hairbrush for straight hair, with widely spaced, wooden bristles that cover all the palm side of the hand and fingers. A second attachment is a hairbrush for frizzy and coarse hair with closely spaced, boar bristles that cover all the palm side of the hand and fingers. A third attachment is made of rubber which covers part of the palm side of the hand and fingers of the hand to assist the user in unsticking and opening jars. The glove and attachments may be made for right or left hands. The glove and attachments can assist people with weak grip strength due to many different causes (arthritis, age, injury, etc.), as outlined above and can make these people more independent in performing activities of ADLs and to reduce their functional limitation. The multi-purpose glove with removable attachments is easy to use, inexpensive, light weight and convenient to store or carry. It may be offered as a kit, with one or more gloves and attachments included in the kit.
These and other features of the present subject matter will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a right-handed multi-purpose glove.
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the right handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a back view of a left-handed multi-purpose glove.
FIG. 4 is a back view of a left-handed attachment for the left-handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a front view of a first type of left-handed hair brush attachment for the left-handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a front view showing a second type of left-handed hair brush attachment attached to the left-handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 3.
FIG. 7 is a front view of a friction attachment for the left-handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 is a front view showing the friction attachment of FIG. 7 attached to the left-handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 3.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a perspective view and a right side view of a right handed multi-purpose glove 10, respectively. It should be understood that the description refers equally to a left handed glove as well. The glove 10 has a main body 12 that is preferably made of a breathable fabric, such as cotton, although other materials may be used. The back side of the main body 12 includes a plurality of small pores 20 for ventilation. A wrist wrap 16 is fastened around the opening of the glove 10, and is made of a stretchable nylon jersey lined ventilated neoprene, to firmly hold the glove 10 on the user's hand. The entire palm side of the glove 10, including the entire palm side of the fingers of the glove 10, is covered with soft, loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material 14, for connecting various attachments to the body 12 of the glove 10, as described further below.
FIG. 3 shows a back view of a left-handed multi-purpose glove 30. As with the right-handed glove 10, the left-handed glove 30 has a main body 32 that is preferably made of a breathable fabric, such as cotton, although other materials may be used. The back side of the main body 32 includes a plurality of small pores 36 for ventilation. A wrist wrap 34 is fastened around the opening of the glove 30, and is made of a stretchable nylon jersey lined ventilated neoprene, to firmly hold the glove 30 on the user's hand. The entire palm side of the glove 30, including the entire palm side of the fingers of the glove 30, is covered with soft, loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material for connecting various attachments to the body 32 of the glove 30, as described further below.
FIG. 4 shows the back side of a left-handed generic attachment 40. The left-handed generic attachment 40 could be any of the attachments as shown and described below with reference to FIGS. 5-8. It should be understood that the description refers equally to a right-handed attachment as well. The entire back side of the attachment 40 is covered with rough, hook-type material 42 of hook and loop fastener material. The hook-type material 42 mates with the soft, loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material 14 of glove 10 or glove 30, to firmly and releasably connect the appropriate attachment to the palm and palm side of the fingers of gloves 10, 30.
FIG. 5 shows the front side of a first embodiment of a left-handed hairbrush attachment 50 for attachment to the front side of the left-handed multi-purpose glove 30. The hairbrush attachment 50 is best for use with straight hair, having a plurality of widely spaced, wooden bristles 54 that cover all the front side of the hand and fingers of the attachment 50. The attachment 50 includes a flat plastic body 52 with the plurality of the wooden bristles 54 extending from the front surface of the plastic body 52. The rear surface of attachment 50 includes hook-type material 42 that mates with the soft, loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material 14 of glove 10 or glove 30, as described above with respect to generic attachment 40.
FIG. 6 shows the front side of a second embodiment of a left-handed hairbrush attachment 60, attached to the left-handed multi-purpose glove 30. The hairbrush attachment 60 is best for use with curly, frizzy and generally coarse hair, having a plurality of closely spaced, boar bristles 64 that cover all the palm side of the hand and fingers. The attachment 60 includes a flat plastic body 62 with the plurality of closely spaced, boar bristles 64 extending from the front surface of the plastic body 62. The rear surface of attachment 60 includes hook-type material 42 that mates with the soft, loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material 14 of glove 10 or glove 30, as described above with respect to generic attachment 40.
FIG. 7 shows a front view of a left-handed friction attachment 70, while FIG. 8 shows a front view of the friction attachment 70 attached to the left-handed multi-purpose glove of FIG. 3. The friction attachment 70 is intended for use in assisting a user in opening jars, bottles or other containers with twistable caps, and is made of rubber or similar material. The front surface of the friction attachment 70 includes a plurality of diagonally extending prominences or ridges 72, or may be a knurled surface. The ridges 72 are made of a sticky rubber to assist in gripping the cap of a container, or other surfaces. The rear surface of attachment 70 includes hook-type material 42 that mates with the soft, loop-type material of hook and loop fastener material 14 of glove 10 or glove 30, as described above with respect to generic attachment 40.
It is to be understood that the multi-purpose glove with removable attachments is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the generic language of the following claims enabled by the embodiments described herein, or otherwise shown in the drawings or described above in terms sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the claimed subject matter.
Patent Application
20240292917
