FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to protective gloves, sleeves and clothing and, in particular, to a pad and an article resistant to impact forces.
BACKGROUND
In a number of industries, such as the oil and mining industry, hands are subjected to heavy lifting and moving. As a result, hands are often in motion with heavy parts, tools and equipment, which causes mechanical impact hazards for workers' hands. Injuries in these types of environments may be due to such mechanical impact hazards.
The glove of choice by many workers in industries such as the oil and mining industry are ordinary “chore gloves,” an example of which is the Super Green King (SGK) glove sold by Jomac Canada of Quebec, Canada. The chore glove design provides warmth, mobility and grip in oily environments. Padding has not previously been provided, however, on such chore gloves to protect metacarpal bones from impact and pinch hazards. A need therefore exists for such padding that is effective on gloves, sleeves and other articles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the back of hand impact pad in an embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 2A and 2B are a perspective view and a top plan view, respectively, of the back of thumb impact pad in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the back of hand impact pad of FIG. 1 installed on the back of hand side of a glove;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a back of hand pad installed on a glove in a second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of a back of thumb pad installed on the glove of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a finger tip of the back of the hand impact pad of FIG. 1 taken along line 6-6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
While the present invention will be described below in terms of impact pads for/and gloves, it is to be understood that the present invention may be employed in sleeves and other articles.
A back of hand impact pad in a first embodiment of the present invention is indicated in general at 10 in FIG. 1. A back of thumb impact pad of the first embodiment is indicated in general at 12 in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The impact pads 10 and 12 are preferably a lamination of a padding material, such as cross-linked polyethylene foam, and fabric. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the fabric layer 14 is positioned upon and laminated to the cross-linked polyethylene foam layer 16 so as to follow the contours molded into the padding material of FIGS. 1-2B.
The cross-linked polyethylene foam (layer 16 of FIG. 6) preferably has a thickness ranging from approximately 6 mm to 12 mm, prior to molding, and a weight ranging from approximately 2 pcf to 4 pcf (pcf=pounds/cubic foot). The impact pad (both back of hand and back of thumb) may be constructed from standard or flame retardant cross-linked polyethylene foam. Alternative substances that may be used as the padding material include, but are not limited to, ethyl vinyl alcohol, polyurethane and styrene based foams.
The fabric 14 (FIG. 6) selected can be knitted or woven. Ideally, the fabric is approximately 4 osy to 8 osy weight (osy=ounces per square yard). The fabric 14 is selected based on the environment in which the glove or sleeve is used. The fabric protects the impact foam from mechanical hazards such as abrasion and heat. Examples of suitable fabrics include, but are not limited to, synthetic leathers, abrasion resistant knits and wovens incorporating spandex fibers for stretch and conformity to the molding process.
Construction of the impact pads 10 and 12 of FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B preferably involves a first step of laminating, via heat or adhesive, the impact foam in a flat form to the fabric. At this stage of the process, the laminated foam and fabric has a uniform thickness across the surface of the composite prior to being subjected to heat and pressure inside to molded form. The flat laminated materials are next placed in a single sided, concave mold where they are subjected to heat and pressure, as is known in the art. Under heat and pressure the foam becomes fluid and flows into the open mold cavities. As a result, impact pads having the shapes of FIGS. 1 and 2 are created. Alternatively, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the back of hand impact pad indicated at 17 and the back of thumb impact pad indicated at 19 may be created.
The concave mold of each impact pad of FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B (or FIGS. 4 and 5) is designed to best fit the bending and repeatable motions of the hand and wrist when the impact pads are secured to a glove as described below. Voids in the molded design create flexible pivot points or fold lines in the resulting molded part generally corresponding to the natural bending locations in a wearer's hand allowing for increased flexibility to the end user of the glove or sleeve. As an example only, fold lines or pivot points are indicated at 20 and 22 in FIG. 3, 24 and 26 in FIG. 4 and 28 in FIG. 5.
As illustrated at 29 in FIG. 3, each impact pad may feature one or more fully raised areas that provide higher impact resistance.
Once molded, the impact pads 10 and 12 (or 17 and 19) are trimmed into the back of hand shaped (FIGS. 1, 3 and 4) and back of thumb shaped (FIGS. 2A, 2B and 5) configurations and to dimensions that best fit the profile of the glove or sleeve where it is to be applied.
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a glove or sleeve is fitted with an impact pad on the back of the hand and thumb. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the back of hand impact pad 10 is attached to the back of hand portion of a glove 30.
In an alternative embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 4, the back of hand impact pad 17 is attached to the back of hand portion of a glove 32. The back of thumb impact pad 12 is attached to the back of thump portion of the glove (not visible in FIG. 3) in the manner illustrated for back of thumb impact pad 19 of FIG. 5.
The base glove or sleeve 30 of FIG. 3, and the base glove or sleeve 32 of FIGS. 4 and 5, is preferably a seamless knit or a cut and sewn patterned glove and may be a chore glove of the type described above. The base glove or sleeve may be constructed of cotton, polyester, wool, or any other fabric known in the art for use in gloves. The impact padding is preferably either sewn in place or bonded to the base glove or sleeve using heat or adhesive bonding methods.
It is possible to add a layer of impact gel material between the flat molded surface of each impact pad and the fabric portion of the glove prior to being sewn or glued in place.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.
Patent Application
20140137305
