WELDING FINGER COT AND HAND GUARD

Abstract

The welding finger cot is formed from a single sleeve of a fire retardant material. The sleeve is of a predetermined length and diameter. By folding and inverting the ends of the sleeve in a specific manner, a finger receiving portion and an adjustable tail portion are formed. The user inserts a gloved finger into the finger receiving portion, and then pulls on the adjustable tail portion so as to adjust the same to a desired length. The finger cot with extended adjustable tail portion allows the user to rest or stabilize their hand on a hot surface during a welding operation.

Description

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present principles relate to welding. More particularly, it relates to a finger cot for using during welding.

Related Art

Those of skill in the welding trade will appreciate that the steadiness of their hands (and tools) during the welding operation is paramount to providing top quality welds and welding services. Due to the high heat environment associated with welding, the use of gloves during welding operations is very common.

Often times, these gloves are marketed and presented as being heat resistant, however the same is not entirely true. Depending on the particular welding operation, it is common for the user to rest one hand on a stationary, often times, very hot workpiece in order to secure the steadiness required for the particular weld. In other instances, the proximity of the user's gloved hand to a hot welding arc or hot welding surface can be dangerous. Unfortunately, the gloves used for these types of welding operations cannot withstand this type of prolonged exposure to such heat, and often burn through the gloves, or otherwise cause too much discomfort to the user that a proper stable weld operation cannot be performed.

As such, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a finger cot for welding gloves that overcomes the shortfalls of the use of gloves alone.

SUMMARY

According to an implementation, the welding finger cot includes a finger receiving portion and a tail portion extending from said finger receiving portion. A user inserts a gloved finger into the finger receiving portion and pulls the tail portion to a desired length. The finger cot being positioned between the user's gloved finger and a high heat area or surface.

According to another implementation, the welding finger cot includes a sleeve having a first end, a second end and a central portion. The second end is folded into itself one or more times to create a first rounded end. The first end is folded over onto itself one or more times to create a second rounded end, and the folded over first end is again folded over onto itself into the central region to form a finger receiving portion. The remaining portion of the sleeve and the second end form an adjustable tail portion.

According to another implementation, a method for creating a welding finger cot includes providing a sleeve having a first end, a second end and a central portion. The second end is then folded into itself one or more times to create a first rounded end. The first end is folded over onto itself one or more times to create a second rounded end. Then the folded over first end is further folded over onto itself into the central region to form a finger receiving portion with a remaining portion of the sleeve and the second end forming an adjustable tail portion.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present principles will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present principles may be better understood in accordance with the following exemplary figures, in which:

FIGS. 1-5 are schematic diagrams of the assembly of the welding finger cot, according to one implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 6-9 are schematic diagrams of the assembly of the welding finger cot, according to a preferred implementation of the present principles;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are plan views of the welding finger cot with leather insert, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the welding finger cot with a strap, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the welding finger cot after being assembled and before placement on a finger, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the welding finger cot positioned on a user's finger, over the welding glove, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the adjustment of the welding finger cot according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the welding finger cot from the palm side of the user's hand, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the welding finger cot as applied to the user's middle finger, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 18 is plan viewing showing an example of the welding finger cot in use during a welding operation, according to an implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 19 is another plan view showing the welding finger cot positioned on the pinky of the user, according to another implementation of the present principles;

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing another example of the welding finger cot in use during a welding operation, according to an implementation of the present principles; and

FIG. 21 is a plan view of a TIG welding operation showing the welding finger cot in use, according to an implementation of the present principles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present principles are directed to welding operations, and more particularly to a welding finger cot to be used during welding operations.

The present description illustrates the present principles. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the present principles and are included within its spirit and scope.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the present principles and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present principles, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function including, for example, a) a combination of circuit elements that performs that function or b) software in any form, including, therefore, firmware, microcode or the like, combined with appropriate circuitry for executing that software to perform the function. The present principles as defined by such claims reside in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. It is thus regarded that any means that can provide those functionalities are equivalent to those shown herein.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present principles, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Specific references to materials used throughout the specification are only many to illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention. The invention is adaptable and useable with any of the many materials used for glove manufacturing known in the art and any of the many glove types in the art.

FIG. 1-5 show the assembly or folding process for the welding finger cot 10 according to an embodiment of the invention.

Initially we start off with a highly heat resistant material such as, for example, fiberglass sleeve 12 of a predetermined length (e.g., 15 inches) and a predetermined diameter (e.g., 2.5 inches). By way of further example, the material the finger cot is made of can include, silica, silicone, para-aramid (KEVLAR®), meta-aramid (NOMEX®), carbon fiber, including oxidized, thermally stabilized polyacrylonitrile fiber, modacrylic, leather, aluminized materials, flame resistance, flame retardant, or fire resistance enhanced cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, lyocell, viscose, or any other common fiber or blend, polybenzimidzole, or any blend of the above listing of fibers. The ends 14 and 16 of sleeve 12 are often frayed and can be glued, cauterized or any other method implemented to prevent further fraying of the same. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the length and diameter of the sleeve 12 can be modified depending on a desired application or other factors. Examples of such sizes can be, for example, the overall length of the sleeve 12 before any assembly begins can be in a range of 10-94 cm. This accounts for any stretch in different materials and for the different combinations of the head (finger receiving portion) and the tail (adjustment portion) that may need to be produced for different customer needs. Likewise, an inner diameter of the sleeve 12 measured as an open circle will range from 2-8 cm. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that if the tube is flattened before such diameter measurement, the diameter will be longer. As such, are more accurate measurement can be the inner circumference of the sleeve which can be in a range of 6-25 cm.

The end 16 is then folded over into itself at ¾ to 1 inch intervals 18, 1 to 4 times, thus creating a rounded or smooth transition end 20. The next step is to take the opposite end and invert the sleeve into itself, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2 and the result shown in FIG. 3. Next the end 14 is pulled through the sleeve (as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3) so it comes out the other side (FIG. 4). Once end 14 extends beyond the end 20, the ends folded over into itself approximately ¾-1 inch 1 to 4 times, which will help prevent fraying and adds to the rigidity of the overall finger cot. The finally assembled welding finger cot is shown in FIG. 5 with a larger portion 32 and the adjustment portion 30.

FIGS. 6-9 show another more preferred method for folding the welding finger cot 10 according to an implementation of the present principles. In a first step, the end 16 is folded into itself one or two times at a small ¼-½ inch to create the rounded end 20. The opposing end 14 is then folded over itself (FIG. 8) one or two times to create another rounded end 80. The folded over portion which is end 80 is then again folded over itself a predetermined amount to create the finger receiving portion 32 and the tail portion 30. As shown in FIG. 9, the finger receiving portion 32 has a length X and the tail portion has a length Y. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that these lengths can be different depending on the particular applicant and/or need by the user. According to one implementation, the length X of the finger receiving portion 32 is in a range of 2-18 cm, while the length Y of the tail portion can be in a range of 0-40 cm.

As will be appreciated from FIGS. 5 and 9, there is no requirement that the finger receiving portion 32 be larger than the tail/adjustment portion 30, depending on the particular use. In fact, depending on the use application, sometimes the finger receiving portion 32 will be larger or longer than the tail portion 30, and other times, the tail portion 30 will be larger or longer than the finger receiving portion.

FIGS. 10-11 show another implementation of the welding finger cot 100 according to an implementation of the present principles. As shown, a leather insert 50 is configured to be received into the opening at the end 20 of the tail 30. The leather insert 50 is inserted into the tail 30 and thereby provides increased heat resistance of the tail portion 30.

FIG. 12 shows another implementation of the welding finger cot 110 according to the present principles. In this implementation, a label or tag 55 is provided on the tail portion 30, and a strap 60 is freely threaded through the label which acts to hold the strap 60 onto the same. The strap 60 has opposing ends that are configured to wrap around the user's gloved hand and be secured to each other with any known means (e.g., hook and loop fastener, etc.). The strap 60 will wrap around the user's wrist and operate to keep the tail portion 30 of the finger cot in a desired position on the user's hand during use and maintain such position during use.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the fiberglass welding finger cot completely assembled as described above from either embodiment. The finger cot is now ready for use, where the user will insert one of their gloved fingers into the end 20 such that the adjustment portion 30 extends therefrom, as shown in FIG. 14. Once the finger cot is positioned on the user's selected finger, the adjustment portion 30 is pulled (see FIG. 15) to extend the same to a desired length. FIG. 16 shows what the palm side of the user's hand looks like with the finger cot positioned on their middle finger where portion 32 completely surrounds the same. FIG. 17 shows the adjustment portion or tail 30 extended. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the finger cot of the present principles will be used primarily on the pinky finger, ring finger or both at the same time.

FIG. 18 shows on example of how the finger cot is used to allow the user to rest on a surface 100. Those of skill in the art will recognize that it is not often a vertical surface adjacent a welding operation is a hot surface, however certain types of welding operations (e.g., P10 welding) may have such limitations. As such, the user wearing the finger cot of the present principles will then be able to use the surface 100 to help stabilize their hand during the welding operation.

FIGS. 19 and 20 show another embodiment where the finger cot is positioned on the pinky of the user such that adjustment or tail portion 30 extends along the outer portion of the user's hand. This allows the user to rest their hand on a hot object or workpiece 102, without having to worry about heat or burning due to the insufficiency of the welding gloves. The tail portion 30 will not only allow the user to stabilize their hand on the hot surface, it will also allow them to drag their hand along the hot surface, thereby allowing the user to maintain both continuity and stability during the weld, regardless of the nearby hot surface.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a TIG welding application using a TIG torch 1000. TIG welders wear very thin gloves because they need a high level of dexterity for this precision type of welding. However, as will be appreciated, thin gloves do not offer enough heat insulation in many situations, which is where the welding finger cot of the present invention is most applicable. As such, TIG welders can use the welding finger cot of the present principles to cover both their ring finger and pinky at the same time, and the tail will protect the edge of the users' hand as shown.

As shown, the welder wearing the finger cot of the present principles would benefit from the added heat insulation all along the edge of the hand where it meets the hot welding surface, indicated by point 1003. The finger receiving portion 32 would operate to protect the user's fingers closest to the hot welding arc near the tip 1001 of the TIG 1000, as well as in the vicinity 1002 near the same, while the tail portion 30 operates to insulate the edge of the user's hand as it rests on the hot surface at point 1003.

These and other features and advantages of the present principles may be readily ascertained by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art based on the teachings herein.

Although the illustrative embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present principles is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art without departing from the scope or spirit of the present principles. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present principles as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A welding finger cot comprising: a finger receiving portion and an tail portion extending from said finger receiving portion;wherein a user inserts a gloved finger into the finger receiving portion and pulls the tail portion to a desired length, said finger cot being positioned between the user's gloved finger and a high heat area or surface.

2. The welding finger cot according to claim 1, wherein said finger receiving portion and said tail portion are formed from a single sleeve structure folded into itself to form said portions.

3. The welding finger cot according to claim 1, wherein said tail portion is positioned between the user's hand and a hot surface such that the user can place their gloved hand with the tail portion on the hot surface during a welding operation.

4. The welding finger cot according to claim 2, wherein the single sleeve structure has an overall length, prior to assembly, in a range of 10 cm-94 cm and an inner circumference in a range of 6 cm-25 cm.

5. The welding finger cot according to claim 1, wherein the high heat area can be generated by an arc weld in an arc welding operation, and the finger portion of said finger cot operates to protect the users hand from the high heat generated by such arc welding operation.

6. The welding finger cot according to claim 1, wherein the finger receiving portion and the tail portion are formed a sleeve having a first end, a second end and a central portion; wherein the second end is folded into itself one or more times to create a first rounded end;the first end is folded over onto itself one or more times to create a second rounded end; andthe folded over first end is again folded over onto itself into the central region to form said finger receiving portion with a remaining portion of said sleeve and said second end forming said tail portion

7. A welding finger cot comprising: a sleeve having a first end, a second end and a central portion;wherein the second end is folded into itself one or more times to create a first rounded end;the first end is folded over onto itself one or more times to create a second rounded end; andthe folded over first end is again folded over onto itself into the central region to form a finger receiving portion with a remaining portion of said sleeve and said second end forming an adjustable tail portion.

8. The welding finger cot according to claim 7, wherein once the finger receiving portion is placed on a user's gloved finger, said adjustable tail portion is pulled to a desired length.

9. A method for creating a welding finger cot comprising: providing a sleeve having a first end, a second end and a central portion; folding the second end into itself one or more times to create a first rounded end;folding the first end over onto itself one or more times to create a second rounded end; andfolding the folded over first end onto itself into the central region to form a finger receiving portion with a remaining portion of said sleeve and said second end forming an adjustable tail portion.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising inserting a gloved finger of a user into the finger receiving portion; andpulling on the adjustable tail portion to adjust a length of the same to a desired length.