Glove having heat resistant silicone molded palm piece with protrusions extending therefrom

Abstract

A safety glove having a unique design on the palm portion of the glove, the palm portion comprising a plurality of pyramid shaped protrusions formed in a predeteremined pattern extending from the surface of a molded silicone palm piece.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention provides a glove having a palm piece with a plurality of protrusions extending from the surface of the palm piece, the palm piece and protrusions comprised of silicone.[0003]2. Description of the Prior Art[0004]A number of heat protected gloves have been available in the prior art. For example, the leather gloves having synthetic and natural insulation, knit cotton gloves, oven mitts using cotton or other fiber fabrics with insulation, silicon molded grips and mitts, aluminized coating on cotton, wool, aramid fibers (such as Kelvar® or Nomex® and racing gloves (combination of cut and sewn aramid fabrics and leather) all have some heat protection features.[0005]U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,092 to Carey et al discloses a glove having a heat insulating barrier which is removably inserted into a pocket or pouch positioned adjacent the back of a user's hand. The insulating barrier reduces heat conduction from th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Since the glove has the shape of a hand and provides a substantially snug fit on the hand with reduced bulk, dexterity is maintained allowing hot or cold items to be manipulated with greater ease.

[0012]The use of pyramid shaped protrusions, and the particular spacing and arrangement of the protrusions provide additional benefits. In particular, due to the inherent shape of the pyramids, adjacent pyramid walls are not parallel to each other as they protrude from the surface of the glove. This reduces the frequency of particulate matter becoming trapped between adjacent pyramids and also facilitates easier cleaning of the glove.

[0013]The glove is longer lived since the pyramid shape, in which the base of the pyramid is larger than the top, ensures that the exposed surface area becomes larger as the pyramid wears down.

[0014]As the glove flexes during use, the distance between adjacent pyramids decreases in certain areas, allowing for maximum grasping along the edge of objects that have different dimensions.

[0015]The pyramids are preferably arranged so that each pyramid cell is oriented along a line that is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the user's glove hand. This allows for maximum grip in both the vertical and horizontal plane at all points of the pattern.

[0016]The pyramids also protect the seams of the glove as well as exposed sewing thread (if present) from failure caused by abrasion. In the preferred embodiment, the silicone palm and protrusions consist of a single molded piece, thermally and chemically adhered to a base material. The silicone molded piece completely covers the base material such that there is no need to sew these two items together. The lack of exposed sewing decreases potential failure locations on the glove, further increasing durability and glove life.

Problems solved by technology

The thin layer of silicone and the raised pattern of silicone, in addition to the other components of the glove, make the glove relatively expensive to fabricate.

Although the prior art glove constructions noted above provided heat protection, when the glove is intended for work applications certain disadvantages arise.

In addition the palm portion of the glove incorporates sewing channels with stitches therein which reduces the wear capability of the glove.

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