QUILTED INSULATING DIVING GLOVE

BACKGROUND

Diving suits exist in both wet suit and dry suit varieties. Wet suits are so called because they are constructed of water permeable material that allows water to reach a wearer's skin. Wet suits are therefore tend to be suitable for relatively shallow, warm water. On the other hand, dry suits, which include a waterproof layer to prevent water from reaching the wearer's skin, are typically used for dives in colder water.

In addition to the waterproof layer, when wearing dry suits the user can include insulating articles underneath the waterproof layer to keep the wearer warm. Such insulating articles can be constructed similarly to typical winter coats, meaning they can be constructed of porous fabric configured to hold air stationary near the wearer's body.

Diving in particularly deep water can expose a dry diving suit to significant pressure. The insulating articles in a dry diving suit can become very thin under the pressures typical of deep sea diving, leaving little air trapped between the wearer's skin and the waterproof layer. The wearer's skin can lose heat quickly to water flowing across the waterproof layer under such conditions. These difficulties in insulating a diver are readily apparent to the diver's hands, which are located further from the diver's core and may therefore be likely to become numb and cold relatively quickly. Moreover, the use of thick or inflexible insulating material to cover a diver's hands can compromise a diver's manual dexterity, potentially making the diver's tasks difficult to complete.

SUMMARY

There exists a need for articles that can insulate a diver's hands under pressures typical of deep sea diving without unduly hampering the diver's dexterity and movement.

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, an insulating glove may be constructed from a quilted material defining pockets filled with beads. The beads may be made of aerogel material. The pockets may be divided by seams that prevent the beads from flowing between pockets. The seams may be distributed across the glove to maintain a distribution of beads across the glove that is effective for insulating the hand without unduly hampering the wearer's manual dexterity. The seams may be placed to align with natural lines or points of articulation of a typical wearer's hand to prevent beads from collecting where the glove is needed to bend around a relatively small radius. For example, seams may be placed on the glove to approximately align with the thenar (e.g., the ball of the thumb), transverse, and digital creases of a typical wearer's hand. The glove may also be provided with a web extending across a back side of some or all of the fingers. The web may be insulated so that the wearer can enclose the fingers and thumb within an insulated space surrounded by the web portion and the back of the glove by closing the hand into a fist. Various portions of the glove may include beads in certain ratios relative to one another to provide adequate insulation with minimal reduction of manual dexterity.

According to another aspect, a glove may include quilted material defining a plurality of pockets and shaped to receive a hand of a wearer and aerogel beads filling each pocket in the plurality of pockets.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the plurality of pockets may collectively extends across at least 75% of the exterior of the glove and the exterior of the glove is configured to enclose an entirety of the wearer's hand distal of the wearer's wrist.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include four fingers configured to receive the wearer's index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. The glove may also include a web portion extending across a back side of the fingers.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the web portion may include at least one of pocket among the plurality of pockets.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, each finger of the glove may have a front side opposite the web portion, and a sum total quantity of the aerogel beads contained in the front sides of the fingers is less than two thirds the quantity of the aerogel beads contained in the web portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include a back portion configured to cover a back of the wearer's hand, a wrist portion located proximally of the back portion and the palm portion and configured to enclose the wearer's wrist, and a thumb portion configured to receive the wearer's thumb. A sum total quantity of the aerogel beads contained in the back portion and the web portion may be more than half of a sum total quantity of the aerogel beads contained by the glove outside of the thumb portion and distally of the wrist portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may contain between 110 and 130 grams of the aerogel beads outside of the thumb portion and distally of the wrist portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, any one or any combination of the fingers of the glove may extend distally beyond a distal end of the web portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, each of the four fingers may be defined at least partially by a respective piece of quilted material attached to the web portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include a palm portion configured to cover a palm of the wearer. The palm portion may include multiple pockets among the plurality of pockets.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include thumb portion enclosing a cavity configured to receive the wearer's thumb, a digital seam separating the thumb portion from the palm portion, and a thenar seam. The thenar seam may extend in an arc across the palm portion from a point located at a medial edge of the palm portion distal of the cavity to a proximal edge of the palm portion and separating at least one of the pockets of the palm portion from another of the pockets of the palm portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include a transverse seam extending from the point to a lateral edge of the palm portion and separating at least one of the pockets of the palm portion from another of the pockets of the palm portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include a palm portion configured to cover a palm of the wearer's hand and including at least one pocket among the plurality of pockets. The glove may also include fingers each including at least one pocket among the plurality of pockets and configured to receive a respective one of the wearer's index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger. The glove may also include a thumb portion configured to receive the wearer's thumb and including at least one pocket among the plurality of pockets. The glove may also include a first digital seam separating the at least one pocket of the thumb portion from the at least one pocket of the palm portion. The glove may also include at least a second digital seam separating the pockets of the fingers from the at least one pocket of the palm portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, any one or any combination of the thumb portion and the fingers of the glove may include at least a proximal pocket and a distal pocket separated by an intradigital seam located distally of one of the digital seams.

In another aspect, a diving suit may include a first glove. The first glove may include quilted material defining a plurality of pockets and be shaped to receive a hand of a wearer. The first glove may also include aerogel beads filling each pocket in the plurality of pockets. The diving suit may also include a second, waterproof glove enclosing the first glove.

In another arrangement according to any of the foregoing, the diving suit may include multiple quilted articles defining additional pockets, and each of the additional pockets may be filled with additional aerogel beads.

In another aspect, a glove may include a palm portion configured to cover a palm of a wearer's hand, a back portion configured to cover a back of the wearer's hand, fingers extending distally of the palm portion and the back portion and configured to receive fingers of the wearer, and a web portion extending distally of the back portion and across a back side of the fingers. The palm portion, back portion, fingers, and web portion may all be constructed of quilted material defining pockets filled with beads.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include a waterproof layer outside of the quilted material.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the glove may include a wrist portion extending proximally from the palm portion and the back portion. The wrist portion may be configured to enclose a wrist of the wearer and constructed of quilted material defining wrist portion pockets filled with beads. The wrist portion pockets may be separated from the pockets of the palm portion and the back portion such that beads are prevented from travelling to the wrist portion from the palm portion or the back portion.

In some arrangements according to any of the foregoing, the beads may be aerogel beads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification.

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a pocket filled with aerogel beads according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a palm side of a glove according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a plan view of a back side of a glove according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3A-3F are plan views of individual panels of material from which a glove may be constructed according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A shows insulation efficacy test results of a portion of an insulating article according to some embodiments of the present disclosure compared to other insulating materials.

FIG. 4B shows insulation efficacy test results of an insulating article according to some embodiments of the present disclosure compared to another insulating article.

In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some embodiments “distal” can refer to anatomical features further from an individual's heart, while “proximal” refers to features nearer to the individual's heart. For example, when applied to portions of articles, the terms “distal” and “proximal” can refer to features designed to cover portions of the wearer further from or nearer to, respectively, the wearer's heart. In one aspect, in the specific context of hands or articles designed for hands, “medial” can refer to the thumb side of the hand, while “lateral” can refer to the side of the hand opposite from the thumb side. In some embodiments, the terms “quilt” and “quilted” can refer to articles having an inner layer and an outer layer connected together to define one or more separate pockets. “Quilted material” can refer to a structure of two layers of material joined together to define pockets, regardless of whether the two layers are of the same or different materials.

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a pocket 110, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, FIG. 1 may illustrate a pocket 110 filled with beads 122, e.g., aerosol beads, which may be used to insulate an article, e.g., a glove, garment, etc.

In some embodiments, pocket 110 is defined between an inner material layer 114 and an outer material layer 118. The edges of pocket 110 may be defined by seams 126 where outer material layer 118 is connected to inner material layer 114. Though seams 126 are visible at two opposite edges of pocket 110 in FIG. 1, seams 126 may completely surround pocket 110 and separate pocket 110 from adjacent pockets in the same article. Seams 126 may be where outer material layer 118 sewn, welded, adhesively bonded, connected by a bridging material, or in any other way joined to inner material layer 114.

In some embodiments, an article that includes pocket 110 may optionally be worn under a waterproof material 128. For example, where the article that includes pocket 110 is a glove for a dry diving suit, the inner material layer 114 and outer material layer 118 may be fleece, LYCRA®, or any other type of material suitable for making articles without necessarily being waterproof while waterproof material 128 is an overlying glove made of rubber or another waterproof material usable for constructing waterproof diving suits. Inner material layer 114, outer material layer 118, and beads 122 may therefore cooperate to insulate a space 10 within the article that includes pocket 110 without necessarily being waterproof while waterproof layer 128 prevents water from reaching the space 10. In some examples, space 10 may be occupied by the wearer when the article is worn.

In some embodiments, pocket 110 is filled with beads 122, e.g., insulating beads. Beads 122 can be loose within pocket 110, meaning beads 122 can be unattached to inner material layer 114, outer material layer 118, and one another. Beads 122 may therefore move across one another within pocket 110 so that pocket 110 may assume different shapes as the article containing pocket 110 deforms. Beads 122 may be of any shape or material and of any size that enables beads 122 to move within pocket 110. In some examples, beads 122 may be cubic, spherical, or hemispherical, though beads 122 may be of any shape. For example, beads 122 within a single pocket 110 may optionally be either all of the same shape or of different shapes. Though beads 122 may be of any shape, rounder shapes tend to leave beads 122 relatively free to roll and move across one another within pocket 110. Further, the beads 122 may be sized such that a longest distance between any two points on a single bead 122 is, according to various examples, 4 mm or less, 3 mm or less, 2 mm or less, or 1 mm or less, though beads 122 in other examples may be larger than any of the foregoing sizes. In some examples according to any of the foregoing, the beads 122 may optionally all have a minimum size of at least 0.1 mm across in at least one dimension.

In some examples, beads 122 may be made of aerogel. Though all aerogels are contemplated, the aerogels mentioned in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 16/940,628, filed Jul. 28, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, are examples of materials from which beads 122 may be constructed. However, beads 122 may be made from any type of aerogel. Some specific examples include polymer aerogels, including polymer aerogel structures of about 95% air by volume or more and average pore sizes of about 20 μm or less than or equal to 100 μm across. In some aspects, aerogel beads may be made by cryogenic (cryo) milling larger blanks of aerogel material, thereby breaking the blanks into smaller particles while maintaining the original internal porous structure. In further examples, aerogel beads may be made by breaking larger blanks of aerogel material into beads using machines such as plastic shredders, granulators, grinders, or comminutors such as those used to prepare bulk polymer for recycling. In a more specific example, a blade-based comminutor may be used to break aerogel blanks into beads. Aerogel beads prepared by using a bench-scale comminutor according to some of the foregoing examples were tested for thermal resistance, and no significant loss of thermal resistance compared to aerogel in blank form was found to result from the comminution.

In some aspects, aerogel beads can also be made by combining monomeric polyamic acid backbone precursors. These may be, for example, combinations of dianhydrides with diamines, diisocyanates, or combinations of dianydrides with both diamins and diisocyantes. These can include, for example, a mixture of dimethylbenzidine and biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride, with a medium, such as triethylamine, In one aspect, a syringe or other type of nozzle can be used to dispense individual drops of the slurry into an emulsion bath containing a cross-linking catalyst, such as 1,3,5-triaminophenoxybenzene, 2,4,6-tris(4-aminophenyl)pyridine, octa(aminophenoxy)-silsesquioxane, or 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl trichloride. In some aspects, passing through the surface tension of the bath will form the slurry into sphere shapes, and the polarity discrepancy in the bath will maintain the sphere shape throughout polymerization. In some aspects, supercritical fluid extraction can then be used to convert the polymerized spheres to aerogel beads. In other examples, beads 122 may be made of solid polymers, such as, for example, nylon, or any other type of polymer suitable for forming a small, rigid bead 122.

In some embodiments, aerogels can provide significant thermal insulation in addition to being lightweight and resistant to deforming under compressive loads. Filling pocket 110 with aerogel beads 122 can therefore create significant resistance to the transfer of heat across pocket 110 and can prevent pocket 110 from losing a significant amount of thickness when exposed to pressures typical of even deep sea diving. In some aspects, because beads 122 are free to move within pocket 110, beads 122 will allow pocket 110 to deform so that an article quilted with pockets 110 will remain flexible.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan views of a palm side and back side, respectively, of a glove 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, a glove 100 includes pockets 110 similar to pocket 110 of FIG. 1. It is to be appreciated that FIGS. 2A-2B, and FIGS. 3A-3F, are individually illustrated to scale, but may not be illustrated to scale with respect to one another. In some embodiments, glove 100 may be constructed to deviate from the proportions of any of the elements of FIGS. 2A-2B and 3A-3F.

In some embodiments, a surface of glove 100 can be quilted over with pockets 110 so pockets 110 cooperate to thermally insulate a wearer's hand. Pockets 110 of glove 100 can be filled with beads 122 in the same manner as described above with respect to pocket 110 of FIG. 1, making glove 100 suitable for insulating a wearer's hand during underwater diving.

In some embodiments, glove 100 may be a water permeable glove made of water permeable materials, such as, for example, fleece, LYCRA®, or any other water permeable materials from which articles may be constructed, to be worn under a waterproof glove in a dry diving suit. In other examples, glove 100 may be made from intrinsically waterproof material, or may be water permeable and adapted for use with a wet suit.

In the illustrated example, pockets 110 extend across substantially an entire surface area of an exterior of glove 100. In various other examples, pockets 110 may extend across at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 75%, at least 90%, or at least 95% of the surface area of the exterior of glove 100. Glove 100 of the illustrated example is configured to enclose an entirety of a wearer's hand distal of the wearer's wrist, though the concepts of the present disclosure are also applicable to gloves that partially cover the wearer's hand.

In the illustrated example, pockets 110 are distributed across glove 100 with respective sizes and locations to provide effective insulation to a wearer's hand with minimal impact to the wearer's manual dexterity. For that purpose, seams 126 defining the pockets 110 may be placed to maintain an intended distribution of beads 122 (not visible in FIGS. 2A and 2B) across the front and back of glove 100. Beads 122 can therefore be prevented from collecting at one end of glove 100, which could lead to poor insulation where too few beads 122 remain and hamper flexibility and dexterity where too many beads 122 accumulate.

In the illustrated example, seams 126 divide glove 100 into a finger portion 130 that includes glove's 100 fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D, a thumb portion 134 that is configured to receive a wearer's thumb, a palm portion 138 that is configured to cover a wearer's palm, a back portion 158 that is configured to cover a back of a wearer's hand, a wrist portion 142 that is configured to enclose and cover a wearer's wrist, and a web portion 154 that extends across the back of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D. Fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D of the illustrated example are each configured to separately receive an individual one of the wearer's fingers and to be movable relative to one another. Each finger 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D individually extends distally beyond a distal edge of web portion 154, which can improve the wearer's manual dexterity by giving the tips of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D relative to move relative to one another, but in other examples the length of web portion 154 relative to fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D may vary.

Here, reference to anatomical features with respect to portions of glove 100 generally indicates the anatomical features of the wearer that the respective portions of glove 100 are configured to cover and receive or enclose. Thus, within the illustrated example, index finger 146A is configured to receive the wearer's index finger, middle finger 146B is configured to receive the wearer's middle finger, ring finger 146C is configured to receive the wearer's ring finger, and little finger 146D is configured to receive the wearer's little finger. An exception to the foregoing nomenclature applicable to the illustrated example is web portion 154, which extends across the back of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D as noted above, and finger portion 130, which receives and partially covers the wearer's fingers but specifically does not include web portion 154. Thus, the portion of the exterior of glove 100 of the illustrated example included by finger portion 130 is the front and tips of the exteriors of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D. Finger portion 130 of the illustrated example therefore includes all of the pockets 110 that cover fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D except for the pockets 110 of web portion 154. Specifically, finger portion 130 of the illustrated example includes all front distal pockets 110A, front proximal pockets 110B, and back distal pockets 110C of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D. However, gloves 100 according to other arrangements may lack a web portion 154, and finger portions 130 of gloves 100 according to such other arrangements may include pockets 110 covering the back of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D. In such other arrangements, each of the fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D may have an arrangement of pockets 110 similar that of thumb portion 134 of the illustrated example. In further arrangements, finger portion 130 may be divided into fewer than four fingers, with any combination of adjacent fingers grouped together into individual appendages, such as in “lobster claw” or mitten style hand coverings.

In some embodiments, each of the above listed portions 130, 134, 138, 142, 154, 158 of glove include pockets 110 may be filled with beads 122, with the arrangement and distribution of pockets 110 according to some examples being illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B and described below. However, the arrangement of pockets 110 within the foregoing portions of glove 100 and the relative proportions of the portions can differ in other embodiments.

In the illustrated example, seams 126 may be placed to approximately align with the joints and natural folding points of a wearer's hand. In addition to being usable to maintain a distribution of beads 122 that insulates the wearer's hand well, such seam placement can be conducive to the wearer's manual dexterity because it leads to fewer beads 122 and a lower thickness of the glove 100 at locations where the wearer's hand will bend or fold over in natural grasping motions. In such embodiments, glove 100 may be able to bend around a relatively small radius along any seams 126, meaning placement of seams 126 on the palm side of glove 100 may minimize resistance to grasping motions.

Although the seams 126 in the illustrated example form irregular patterns (that is, the pockets 110 are shaped differently from each other), in other example embodiments the seams 126 may form regular or repeating patterns. For example, in one embodiment, the seams 126 may for a series of square, rectangular, and/or diamond-shaped pockets 110, although alternative example embodiments are not limited thereto.

Referring still to FIGS. 2A and 2B, one or more digital seams 126A may separate pockets 110 in the finger portion 130 and thumb portion 134 of glove 100 from pockets 110 in the palm portion 138 of glove 100. In such embodiments, digital seams 126A may be approximately aligned with the digital creases of the wearer's hand when glove 100 is worn. This placement of digital seams 126A may prevent beads 122 from escaping the finger portion 130 and thumb portion 134 of glove 100 and keeps the finger portion 130 and thumb portion 134 movable relative to the palm portion 138.

In the illustrated example, an intradigital seam 126B may be located about halfway along each finger 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D and the thumb portion 134 of glove 100. The intradigical seams may provide flexibility and maintain a favorable distribution of beads 122 within each finger 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D and the thumb portion 134 of glove 100. Each digit of glove 100 may therefore have at least one proximal and one distal pocket. In the illustrated example, a front distal pocket 110A, a front proximal pocket 110B, and a back distal pocket 110C are defined on each finger 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D of glove. Similarly, a front distal pocket 110D, a front proximal pocket 110E, a back distal pocket 110F, and a back proximal pocket 110G cooperate to cover the thumb portion 134 of glove 100 in the illustrated example. Finger portion 130 of the illustrated example 130 may therefore include front distal pockets 110A, front proximal pockets 110B, and back distal pockets 110C, while thumb portion 134 includes front distal pocket 110D, front proximal pocket 110E, back distal pocket 110F, and back proximal pocket 110G. However, in other examples, the number of intradigital seams 126B on any one or any combination of the digits 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D, 134 of glove 134 could be zero or any plural number, meaning any digit could have any number of pockets 110 along its length. Additionally, in some examples, any one or any combination of the pockets 110 on one or any combination of the digits 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D, 134 may extend around an entire circumference of the respective digit, while in further examples any one or any combination of the digits 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D, 134 may have three or more pockets 110 at a given axial location therealong.

The illustrated example also includes a transverse seam 126C and thenar seam 126D that similarly maintain the intended distribution of beads 122 and promote flexibility resembling the mobility of a typical human hand within palm portion 138. Transverse seam 126C may extend across palm portion 138 to be approximately aligned over the wearer's proximal and distal transverse creases and thenar seam 126D may extend across palm portion 138 to be approximately aligned over the wearer's thenar crease. The transverse seam 126C and thenar seam 126D may thereby cooperate to maintain an intended distribution of beads 122 across palm portion 138 and to facilitate palm portion 138's flexibility in a manner consistent with the natural movement of the wearer's hand. That is, palm portion 138 may tend to fold at transverse seam 126C and thenar seam 126D in a way that resembles the folding motion of a typical human hand about the transverse and thenar creases. In the illustrated example, transverse seam 126C extends from a medial end of transverse seam 126C to a lateral edge of palm portion 138, while thenar seam 126D extends in an arc from a medial end of thenar seam 126D to a center of a proximal end of palm portion 138. The exact positions of the medial ends of transverse seam 126C and thenar seam 134 may vary, and in various examples the medial ends of transverse seam 126C and thenar seam 126D may be located at a medial edge of palm portion 138 and distally of a cavity in glove 100 configured for receiving the wearer's thumb, at a distal edge of the digital seam 126A separating thumb portion 134 from palm portion 138, or generally within or distal of a distal half of a transitional area between a portion of glove 100 that covers the wearer's thumb and a portion of glove 100 that covers the wearer's palm. Either or both of the transverse seam 126C and the thenar seam 126D may include a medial end that meets a distal point on the digital seam 126A located between thumb portion 134 and palm portion 138. In other examples, the end points and curvatures of the transverse and thenar seams 126C, 126D could differ from those illustrated and described herein in other examples.

In the illustrated example, a medial seam 126E runs along a medial edge of glove 100 while a lateral seam 126F runs along a lateral edge of glove 100. Medial seam 126E and lateral seam 126F may each be either a single continuous seam or a group of discontinuous seams acting together. Regardless, the medial seam 126E and the lateral seam 126F of the illustrated example may separate any pockets visible in FIG. 2A from any pockets visible in FIG. 2B. Thus, palm portion 138 of the illustrated example includes a distal pocket 110H defined between transverse seam 126C and the digital seam 126A at the base of finger portion 130, a medial pocket 110I defined between thenar seam 126D, medial seam 126E, and a front wrist seam 126G, and a lateral pocket 110J defined between transverse seam 126C, thenar seam 126D, and front wrist seam 126G. The arc of thenar seam 126D according to the illustrated example is such that the edge of medial pocket 110I facing lateral pocket 110J is convex and the edge of lateral pocket 110J facing medial pocket 110I is concave. Nonetheless, in other examples, palm portion 138 may include more or fewer pockets 110, some pockets in common with a back portion 158 of glove 100, or pockets 110 of different shapes than those illustrated in FIG. 2A.

In some embodiments, front wrist seam 126G and a back wrist seam 126H separate palm portion 138 and back portion 158, respectively, from wrist portion 142. While a distal end of wrist portion 142 may be defined by front wrist seam 126G and back wrist seam 126H, a proximal end of wrist portion 142 may be defined by a cuff 150. Cuff 150 may be the proximal terminal end of glove 100 and is therefore the point where glove 100 is joined to an arm portion of a larger article, such as, for example, a dive suit. Cuff may be a seam encircling a portion of the glove 100 intended to extend over a portion of a wearer's forearm or may further include a distinct panel of material forming a distinct ring encircling glove's 100 proximal opening. In the illustrated example, thenar seam 126D extends across front wrist seam 126G to cuff 150. Wrist portion 142 of the illustrated example therefore includes a medial pocket 110K defined between thenar seam 126D, medial seam 126E, front wrist seam 126G, and cuff 150, a lateral pocket 110L defined between thenar seam 126D, lateral seam 126F, front wrist seam 126G, and cuff 150, and a back pocket 110P defined between back wrist seam 126H, medial seam 126E, lateral seam 126F, and cuff 150. However, in various other examples, any one or any combination of thenar seam 126D, medial seam 126E, and lateral seam 126F may not extend into wrist portion 142, and wrist portion 142 may include other seams creating any number of pockets 110 within wrist portion. In further examples, wrist portion 142 may include pockets 110 in common with pockets 110 of palm portion 138 or back portion 158.

In the illustrated example, back portion 158 extends across a portion of glove 100 intended to cover a back of the wearer's hand. Back portion 158 includes a single back pocket 110M defined between medial seam 126E, lateral seam 126F, back wrist seam 126H, a proximal web seam 126I, and the digital seam 126A that separates back portion 158 from thumb portion 134. In some embodiments, the digital seam 126A that separates back portion 158 from thumb portion 134 of the illustrated example is a collection of seams that connect a panel 119 of additional material to the joint between thumb portion 134 and back portion 158. However, panel 119 is optional, and the digital seam 126A between thumb portion 134 and back portion 158 may be a single continuous seam in other examples. Though back portion 158 of the illustrated example includes the single back pocket 110M, back portion 158 of other examples may be subdivided into any number of pockets 110.

In the illustrated example, web portion 154 includes a proximal pocket 110N, which is defined between proximal web seam 126I, medial seam 126E, lateral seam 126F, and distal web seam 126I, and a distal pocket 110O, which is defined between distal web seam 126I, medial seam 126E, lateral seam 126F, and a distal end of web portion 154. Including both proximal pocket 110N and distal pocket 110O on web portion 154 may contribute to keeping the wearer's fingers evenly insulated, though, as noted above with regard to other portions of glove 100, the pockets within web portion 154 may be arranged differently or provided in different quantity in other examples.

Because web portion 154 of the illustrated example extends across a back side of the wearer's fingers, web portion 154 may not need to be able to fold to as narrow a radius of curvature as front portions of the glove to accommodate the mechanics of a typical wearer's hand. Pockets 110N, 110O of web portion 154 may therefore be filled with a relatively large quantity of beads 122. Moreover, provision of web portion 154 across the back of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D may enable the wearer to enclose their fingers and thumb within web portion 154 by balling the hand wearing glove 100 into a fist. The ability to enclose the wearer's fingers and thumb in the web portion 154 and the freedom to fill the pockets 110N, 110O of web portion 154 with a relatively large quantity of beads 122 may both contribute to conserving heat in the wearer's fingers and thumb with minimal impact on the wearer's manual dexterity. These effects of web portion 154 may therefore compensate for the relative speed with which extremities such as fingers and thumbs can lose heat and the difficulty in adding insulation to the thumb portion 134 or the pockets 110A, 110B on the front of fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D with relatively little reduction to manual dexterity. Web portion 154 may therefore enable pockets 110A, 110B, 110C within finger portion 130 of glove 100 to be filled with relatively small amounts of beads 122 to preserve manual dexterity.

In some embodiments, distributions of beads conforming to certain mathematical relationships may provide satisfactory balances between insulation and manual dexterity. For the purposes of the following mathematical relationships, two quantities being “about equal” or “approximately equal” means that one quantity is from 90% to 110% of the other quantity. The following mathematical relationships are contemplated as applying where quantities of beads 122 are measured by number or where quantities of beads 122 are measured by weight. Web portion 154, back portion 158, and palm portion 138 may all include equal or about equal total quantities of beads 122 within their respective pockets 110. That is, the sum total quantity of beads 122 in pockets 110N, 110O together may be equal to or about equal to the number of beads 122 in pocket 110M individually and equal to or about equal to the number of beads in pockets 110I, 110J, 110H together.

In some embodiments, a total quantity of beads 122 in the finger portion 130 may be less than or equal to, or about equal to, the total quantity of beads 122 in the web portion 154, the total quantity of beads 122 in the back portion 158, or the total quantity of beads 122 in the palm portion 138. In some embodiments, a total quantity of beads 122 in the thumb portion 134 may be between two times and three times the total quantity of beads 122 in the front distal pocket 110A, front proximal pocket 110B, and back distal pocket 110C of any one of the fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D. In further examples, the total number of beads 122 in thumb portion 134 maybe equal to or about equal to half the total number of beads 122 in finger portion 130. The total quantity of beads 122 in the little finger 146D may be less than or equal to the total quantity of beads 122 in any one of the index finger 146A, the middle finger 146B, or ring finger 146C. The total quantity of beads 122 in wrist portion 142 may, in various examples, be between one and a half and two times the total quantity of beads 122 in the web portion 154, the total quantity of beads 122 in the back portion 158, or the total quantity of beads 122 in the palm portion 138. In further examples, the total quantity of beads 122 in wrist portion 142 may be equal to or about equal to twice the total number of beads 122 in finger portion 130. In various examples, the pockets 110 in each portion 130, 134, 138, 142, 154, 158 may have equal to, about equal to, or up to 150% as many beads 122 as all other pockets 110 within the same portion 130, 134, 138, 142, 154, 158. The total quantity of beads 122 in glove 100 may have a mass of between about 150 g and about 200 g or between about 160 g and about 190 g.

In some embodiments, because a back side of glove 100, referring generally to back portion 158 and web portion 154, may not need to fold across a small radius at any specific point to accommodate the mechanics of a typical wearer's hand and because web portion 154 enables a wearer to enclose and insulate the fingers and palm of the wearer's hand by forming a fist, filling relatively large quantities of beads 122 into back portion 158 and web portion 154 and relatively small quantities of beads 122 into finger portion 130 and palm portion 138 may enable glove 100 to insulate the wearer's hand well with relatively little compromise to the wearer's manual dexterity. Certain ratios of bead 122 fill between portions of the back and front sides of glove 100 may balance insulation and dexterity well. For example, the total quantity of beads 122 contained in pockets 110 covering front sides of the fingers 146A, 146B, 146C, 146D, which would be front distal pockets 110A and front proximal pockets 110B in the illustrated example, may be less than two thirds of the quantity of beads 122 contained in web portion 154. Back portion 158 and web portion 154 together may contain more than half of a sum total quantity of beads 122 contained by glove 100 outside of thumb portion 134 and distally of wrist portion 142. The sum total quantity of beads 122 contained by glove 100 outside of thumb portion 134 and distally of wrist portion 142 may have a mass of between 110 and 130 g.

According to various arrangements, articles 100 can be made that deviate from any one or any combination of the foregoing mathematical relationships. That is, in various arrangements, any one or any combination of the foregoing mathematical relationships may be true, and in further arrangements, any one or any combination of the foregoing mathematical relationships may be false. The total weight of beads 122 may also vary depending on the material from which beads 122 are constructed and the size of the glove 100.

FIGS. 3A-3F are plan views of individual panels of material from which an article 100 may be constructed according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3A is a plan view of a back finger panel 162 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 3B is a plan view of a front finger panel 170 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 3C is a plan view of a thumb panel 182 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 3D is a plan view of a back and web panel 190 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 3E is a plan view of a palm panel 194, and FIG. 3F is a plan view of a back liner 198 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, back finger panel 162, front finger panel 170, thumb panel 182, back and web panel 190, and palm panel 194 may all include two layers of material between which a cavity 166 is formed. The perimeter of each cavity 166 may be defined by a seam, which may be similar to the seams 126 described above, joining the two layers of the respective panel together. Marks 174 indicate where seams 126 can be sewn or otherwise created across cavities 166 to divide cavities 166 into the pockets 110 of glove 100. Additional seams can optionally be placed at marks 178 to join proximal portions of adjacent fingers 146 to one another.

In some embodiments, the panels of FIGS. 3A-3F can be stitched or otherwise connected together to form a glove as article 100. Four back finger panels 162 may be sewn to corresponding distal projections 184 of back liner 198. Then, back finger panels 162 may each be connected to a respective front finger panel 170. Adjacent front finger panels 170 may then optionally be joined at marks 178 before front finger panels 170 are connected to a distal end 194A of palm panel 194. Then thumb panel 182 may be connected to thumb edge 194B of palm panel 194 and thumb edge 198B of back liner 198. Following connection of thumb panel 182 to palm panel 194, and optionally before or after connection of thumb panel 182 to back liner 198, front finger panels 170 may each be connected to a respective distal projection 184 of back liner 198. After being connected to palm panel 194 and back liner 198, thumb panel 182 may be folded at fold line 186 and sewn shut or otherwise closed to form thumb portion 134. Edges of palm panel 194, back liner 198, and back and web panel 190 may then be joined and a cuff 150 may be formed to create glove 100 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. A distal end 190A of back and web panel 190 may be connected to back finger panels 162 at any stage. Marks 174 on back liner 198 indicate where back panel 180 may be connected to back and web panel 190. Each of the foregoing connections can be any of the processes or structures suitable for creating seams 126 as described above, such as sewing, welding, or adhesive bonding. Optionally, the layers of material can be connected to form cavities 166, then seams 126 can be placed along marks 174 to divide cavities 166 into pockets 110, before the panels are attached to one another. Pockets 110 can be filled with beads 122 at any subsequent stage of forming glove 100.

The foregoing panels and processes for joining them are some examples of how glove 100 may be constructed. In other examples, glove 100 may be formed by connecting portions of material in a different order than the order described above or by joining panels of material that differ in number and shape from the panels shown in FIGS. 3A-3F.

Glove 100 is one example of an insulating article that can be worn under a waterproof layer of a dry diving suit. Any other article worn under the waterproof layer of a dry diving suit may be similarly constructed of quilted layers defining pockets filled with beads of aerogel or other insulating materials. Thus, an entire body suit of quilted material defining pockets filled with beads of aerogel or other insulating materials may be worn under a waterproof layer to form a dry diving suit. In further examples, a body suit of quilted material defining pockets filled with beads of aerogel or other insulating materials may be constructed such that the inner layer, the outer layer, or both is waterproof, or a body suit of quilted material defining pockets filled with beads of aerogel or other insulating materials may be worn without a waterproof layer as a wet suit. In any of the foregoing examples, seams may separate the pockets to maintain a distribution of beads across the wearer that results in effective insulation and avoids restricting the wearer's movement. In any of the foregoing examples, glove 100 and any other quilted insulating articles may be constructed to provide effective insulation for dives at 700 feet below sea level, or at 45 psig.

FIG. 4A shows thermal resistance test results of aerogel beads according to some embodiments of the present disclosure in comparison with other materials at different hydrostatic pressures. The results are expressed in CLO units.

For each material, a 2″ square sample or coupon of the material was tested for thermal efficacy at 0 psig, 15 psig, 30 psig, and 45 psig of hydrostatic pressure. The Example 1 coupon, which lacked aerogel beads and was made from insulating fabric material alike to the material marketed under the trade name THINSULATE®, is shown to have lost most of its insulating capability at 15 psig, which compressed the sample and thus prevented it from holding an insulating layer of air. By contrast, a solid aerogel blank was observed to have nearly constant insulating capability across all pressures tested. The coupon in the form of a pocket filled with aerogel beads, which was alike to the pockets 110 of beads 122 described with respect to some examples related to FIGS. 1A-3F, exhibited good insulation efficacy in general and the most consistent insulation efficacy across all tested hydrostatic pressures without loss.

FIG. 4B shows a comparison of thermal resistance between the Example 2 glove, which was made from the same material as the Example 1 coupon described above, and an aerogel bead containing glove alike to some of the example articles and gloves 100 discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1A-3F in CLO units, normalized for material thickness. For each article, the left bar shows the thermal resistance in air, while the right bar shows the thermal resistance under water. The thermal resistance under water was normalized to the thermal resistance in air. After normalizing, each article achieved 1 CLO unit in air, but the Example 2 glove lost about twice as great a proportion of its original thermal resistance as the aerogel bead glove under water. This difference in the amount of thermal resistance lost at higher pressure is attributable to the greater compressibility of the padded insulated materials than of aerogel beads.

It is to be appreciated that the Detailed Description section, and not any other section, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. Other sections can set forth one or more but not all exemplary embodiments as contemplated by the inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit this disclosure or the appended claims in any way.

While this disclosure describes exemplary embodiments for exemplary fields and applications, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. Other embodiments and modifications thereto are possible, and are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. For example, and without limiting the generality of this paragraph, embodiments are not limited to the software, hardware, firmware, and/or entities illustrated in the figures and/or described herein. Further, embodiments (whether or not explicitly described herein) have significant utility to fields and applications beyond the examples described herein.

Embodiments have been described herein with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined as long as the specified functions and relationships (or equivalents thereof) are appropriately performed. Also, alternative embodiments can perform functional blocks, steps, operations, methods, etc. using orderings different than those described herein.

References herein to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” or similar phrases, indicate that the embodiment described can include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment can not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it would be within the knowledge of persons skilled in the relevant art(s) to incorporate such feature, structure, or characteristic into other embodiments whether or not explicitly mentioned or described herein. Additionally, some embodiments can be described using the expression “coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. These terms are not necessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example, some embodiments can be described using the terms “connected” and/or “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, can also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

The breadth and scope of this disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

QUILTED INSULATING DIVING GLOVE

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