Patent Application
20050144700
This invention relates to protective gloves.
Protective gloves and garments made of metal mesh material are used by butchers and meat packers and also other industries where there is a risk of cuts or punctures or the like.
Since the mesh gloves are inherently flexible but also fairly heavy, they tend to hang from the user's hand and would fall off but for a securing strap. Various types of straps have been developed to secure the glove about the user's wrist and/or forearm.
The prior art, however, discloses a number of often unsuitable straps. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,250,150 shows a helical coil strap joined to the mesh portion of the glove; U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,123 shows the use of a spring as a glove stiffening elements; U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,495 shows a cuff enclosing a strap with a fastener; and PCT/EP95/04040 shows the use of a helical spring as a strap inside the cuff portion of the glove. All of these patents are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,833, also incorporated herein by this reference, and by the applicant hereof, discloses an improved strap in the form of a continuous, flat, flexible band inside a cuff formed in the glove providing a more comfortable wrist closure element. The '833 patent notes that the helical spring of the '150 patent can result in an uncomfortable and gangly appearing glove.
The benefit of a coiled spring type closure element, however, is the low cost and ease of assembly. In this application, those benefits are realized by employing, not a round coiled spring which is uncomfortable and gangly in appearance, but a coiled spring which is much wider than it is thick resulting in improved comfort and a neater finished appearance.
Another problem with the prior art is the difficulty of the user ascertaining the size of the glove. Trying on a number of gloves to find the correct size is inefficient. In this invention, that inefficiency is overcome.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a closure element for a glove which need not be coupled or decoupled from about the wearer's wrist.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a closure element which is more comfortable than prior art helical spring type closure elements.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a closure element which has a neat and finished appearance.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a closure element which is infinitely adjustable.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a closure element which has a longer useful life when compared to many prior art closure elements.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a closure element which makes it easier for the user to ascertain the correct size of the glove.
The invention results from the realization that a more comfortable and easy to manufacture closure element for a mesh glove which also has a neat and finished appearance is effected by a coiled spring which is much wider than it is thick and which can optionally be color coded to indicate to the user the size of the glove.
This invention features a protective glove comprising a glove portion made of mesh material, a wrist portion also made of mesh material, and an elastic element attached to the wrist portion in the form of a coiled spring wider than it is thick to improve comfort.
In the preferred embodiment, the coiled spring is at least twice as wide as it is thick and each coil of the coiled spring extends parallel to the glove portion for the width of the coiled spring and then turns perpendicular to the glove portion for the thickness of the coiled spring. Typically, the turns of each coil are rounded.
In one example, there are between 9 and 11 coils per inch, the width of each coil is between 0.5 and 1 inches, and the thickness of each coil is between 0.2 and 0.3 inches.
The coiled spring is preferably made of metal and the ends of the coiled spring are welded together. Typically, the coils of the coiled spring extend through the terminal links of the wrist portion of the glove.
Also, in an optional embodiment, the coiled spring is color coded wherein different colors indicate different size gloves. Preferably, the coiled spring is color coded with a coating that complies with the FDA's CFR title 21 section 175.300.
In another embodiment, the glove includes a forearm portion and also includes a second elastic element attached thereto in the form of a coiled spring wider than it is thick to improve comfort. Typically, the first coiled spring is attached to the wrist portion on one end thereof and attached to the forearm portion on the other end thereof.
This invention also features a glove portion made of metal mesh material, a wrist portion also made of metal mesh material, and an elastic element attached to the wrist portion in the form of a coiled spring at least twice as wide as it is thick and wherein each coil extends parallel to the glove portion for the width of the coiled spring and then turns perpendicular to the glove portion in a rounded manner for the thickness of the coiled spring to improve comfort.
One protective glove in accordance with this invention includes a glove portion made of metal mesh material, a wrist portion also made of metal mesh material, and an elastic element attached to the wrist portion in the form of a coiled spring wider than it is thick to improve comfort and color coded to indicate the size of the glove.
Another protective glove in accordance with this invention features a glove portion made of metal mesh material, a wrist portion also made of metal mesh material, a forearm portion, an elastic closure element attached to the wrist portion in the form of a coiled spring wider than it is thick to improve comfort, and another elastic element attached to the distal end of the forearm portion also in the form of a coiled spring wider than it is thick to improve comfort.
Still another protective glove includes a glove portion, a wrist portion, and an elastic closure element for the wrist portion color coded to indicate the size of the glove. Preferably, the elastic closure element is in the form of a coiled spring wider than it is thick to improve comfort.
Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:
Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.
In one example, protective glove 10,
Preferably, coiled spring 16 is at least twice as wide as it is thick (e.g., between 0.5 and 1 inches wide and between 0.2 and 0.3 inches thick). In the preferred embodiment, there are between 9 and 11 coils per inch and angle α,
As shown in
In the preferred embodiment, coiled spring closure element 16′,
The result is an improved closure element for a mesh glove which does not need to be adjusted prior to use, which does not need to be coupled or decoupled from about the wearer's wrist, which is more comfortable than prior art helical spring type closure elements, which is neat and finished in appearance, which is infinitely adjustable, and which has a long useful life. When the closure element is color coded as set forth above, users can readily determine the correct size and/or type glove for their needs.
Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. For example, the innovations disclosed in the '123 and '833 patents may be incorporated in the gloves of the subject disclosure. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments. For example, gloves with only a thumb and no fingers and gloves with a thumb and only one or two fingers are also possible embodiments.
Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims:
