Mitten for assisting work

Abstract

To provide an assisting tool which enables a person who has difficulty in working using fingers because of a narrow range of motion of finger joints due to aging, disease, or the like to perform a continuous motion or work in order to live a daily life by himself / herself without receiving support or assistance.SOLUTION: There is provided a mitten (1) made of a soft and elastic material and having such a size as to be housed inside the palm. The mitten can grip an object instead of fingers and can perform a continuous motion while shifting usual tools from one tool to another tool. When handling a bottle, for example, a cap (23) is held / fixed with the center of a grip face (3) of the mitten, then a bottle (24) is turned to tighten or loosen, and then the cap (23) is held with the grip face (3) to be attached / detached.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mitten as an auxiliary tool for people whose finger joints have become limited in range of motion due to aging or illness, making it difficult to perform movements or tasks using their fingers, enabling them to perform continuous tasks and live their lives without assistance or support. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, there have been dedicated assistive devices for each task, but the assistive devices need to be changed every time the task changes within a series of tasks, and they are changed with assistance or support.

[0003] In the prior art, there are special assistive devices equipped with a mechanism for transmitting gripping force, special mittens that are worn over the hand, and other tools intended to compensate for insufficient functions.

[0004] In other words, it is possible to prepare special assistive devices for each task and change into them while working, but changing into them takes time, and for assistive devices that are difficult to change into by oneself, assistance or support will be required. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-085487 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-280885 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2012-180107 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention provides a mitten that allows a user to perform successive tasks using everyday tools while switching between them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The mitten of the present invention is small enough to fit inside the palm of the hand, allowing users to perform pinching actions in place of fingers and grasping actions in place of the hand, and allows users to perform successive tasks using common everyday tools and implements while switching between them. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The mitten of the present invention is an auxiliary tool made of a soft, elastic material and has a two-pronged gripping portion for grasping objects. After pressing and fixing a cap or lid in place in the center of the gripping portion, the bottle or jar can be turned to tighten or loosen it, and the two-pronged gripping portion can then be used to grasp the cap or lid and lift it up, allowing the user to continuously attach and remove it. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] A front view of the mitten worn on the hand with the gripping surface closed [Diagram 2] A side view of the mitten worn on the hand with the gripping surface closed [Diagram 3] A front view of the mitten worn on the hand with the gripping surface open [Figure 4] A side view of the mitten worn on the hand with the gripping surface open [Diagram 5] Mitten front view [Figure 6] Side view of the mitten, seen from the side that is worn on the hand [Figure 7] Side view of a mitten, seen from the side where it is used to grasp an object [Figure 8] Diagram of postures when holding eating utensils using mittens [Figure 9] Diagram of postures when holding a writing utensil using mittens [Figure 10] Diagram of posture when tightening and loosening a cap using mittens [Figure 11] A diagram of the posture of using mittens to grasp and remove the cap DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a front view of the mitten (1) worn on the hand with the gripping surface (3) closed, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 seen from the gripping surface side, FIG. 3 is a front view of the mitten (1) worn on the hand with the gripping surface (3) open, and FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3 seen from the gripping surface side.

[0012] FIG. 5 is a front view of the mitten (1), FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5 seen from the wearing surface side, and FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 5 seen from the gripping surface side.

[0013] The mitten (1) of the present invention is an assistive device that is small enough to fit inside the palm and is made of soft and elastic resin-based materials such as rubber such as fluororesin or foamed materials such as urethane resin, and is an assistive device that raises the inside of the palm and folds in half from the center, allowing the user to pinch and grasp objects with minimal finger movement.

[0014] Furthermore, the grasping action of the mitten (1) is performed by bending the metacarpophalangeal joints of the hand wearing it, and the mitten is equipped with a gripping part having symmetrically facing inclined surfaces with two peaks, the thickness of which is thinnest at the center and increases toward both ends.

[0015] Furthermore, the attachment surface (2) of the mitten (1) that comes into contact with the palm side is an auxiliary device having a three-dimensional shape in which the ball of the thumb relief surface (7) and the ball of the little finger relief surface (8) are cut obliquely so that they can be positioned with the base of the hand relief surface (6).

[0016] Furthermore, the attachment surface (2) of the mitten (1) that comes into contact with the finger side is an auxiliary device having a three-dimensional shape in which the index finger side relief surface (10) and the ring finger side relief surface (11) are cut diagonally so that the tip of the middle finger can be hooked on the fingertip hook surface (9) and the tips of the index finger and ring finger can be pressed down to position and fix the mitten in place.

[0017] Furthermore, the shapes of the wrist relief surface (6) and the fingertip hook surface (9) are made symmetrical with respect to the folding position, and the shapes of the palm side attachment (4) and the finger side attachment (4) are also made symmetrical with respect to the folding position, eliminating the need for directionality in insertion when attaching the device, making the device suitable for both left and right hands.

[0018] Furthermore, the auxiliary device is provided with a gripping portion relief groove (5) in the center of the gripping surface (3) as a space to allow the portion that bulges and deforms due to the bending operation to escape so that the gripping surfaces (3) come into close contact with each other when the mitten (1) is bent.

[0019] Furthermore, in order to securely fix and grasp an object, the inside of the gripping surface (3) is provided with a number of small cavities, and when an object is grasped and placed against the gripping surface (3), the cavities deform and the gripping surface (3) takes on a two-ridged shape that follows the shape of the object.

[0020] Furthermore, for storage when the mitten (1) is removed, a stand is prepared in which a triangular prism with a mountain-like shape that matches the shape of the grip is laid horizontally, and when the grip of the mitten (1) is placed on it, the attachment surface (2) is positioned in a horizontal position, making it easy to insert and remove the mitten from the ring-shaped attachment (4). EXAMPLES

[0021] The usage and function of the mitten (1) in one embodiment will be described.

[0022] Figure 8 shows a posture in which eating utensils are held inward toward the thumb using mittens (1). When eating, the posture is mainly toward oneself, and the functional parts of the spoon (21), fork, knife, etc. are held in a posture facing the thumb, allowing one to enjoy eating by switching utensils to suit the food.

[0023] Figure 9 shows a posture in which a writing utensil is held outward toward the little finger using the mitten (1). When working, this posture is mainly directed toward office supplies, and the ballpoint pen (22), correction fluid, pencil, eraser, and other functional parts are held toward the little finger, allowing the user to continue working with less strain while switching to the necessary tool.

[0024] FIG. 10 shows the state in which the mitten (1) is used to tighten or loosen the cap (23), and FIG. 11 shows the state in which the cap (23) is grasped and lifted up for removal or attachment. After the cap (23) is pressed down and fixed from above with the center of the two-peaked gripping part of the mitten (1), the bottle (24) can be rotated to tighten or loosen, and then the cap (23) can be pinched and grasped with the gripping surface (3) of the mitten (1) and lifted up for removal or attachment.

[0025] Human actions can be divided into postures in which a tool is held toward oneself and postures in which a tool is held toward an object. If there is flexibility in the posture in which the tool is held, a variety of actions can be accommodated. Furthermore, it is possible to use common tools and equipment found in everyday life and combine actions while switching between them to perform continuous tasks. [Industrial Applicability]

[0026] By using the mittens of the present invention, people who have left their jobs due to difficulty using their fingertips can perform clerical work and light tasks, increasing employment opportunities for work that places less strain on the body and contributing to alleviating the labor shortage that is a social issue. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1. Mittens 2 Mounting surface 3 Gripping surface 4. Wearing equipment 5 Grip relief groove 6 Carpal relief surface 7 Ball of the foot relief surface 8 Little finger ball relief surface 9 Fingertip hook surface 10 Index finger side relief surface 11 Ring finger side relief surface 21 Spoon 22 pen 23 Cap 24 Bottles

Claims

1. Made of a soft, elastic material, the mitten has a gripping surface that is symmetrically opposed and inclined, with a thin center and increasing thickness toward both ends; it is an aid that is used to grasp objects by bending it from the center; it is worn raised on the inside of the palm and is characterized by being folded from the center using the metacarpophalangeal joints of the hand to grasp objects.

2. The mitten as described in claim 1, wherein the shape of the attachment surface that comes into contact with the palm is characterized by having an opening at the ball of the thumb and the ball of the little finger so that the position is determined by the base of the hand, and the shape of the attachment surface that comes into contact with the fingers is characterized by having an opening at the fingertips on the index finger side and the ring finger side so that the tip of the middle finger can be caught and supported and fixed by the index finger and ring finger.

3. The mitten described in claim 1 has a groove in the middle of the opposing inclined surfaces to allow the expanding portion to escape when the gripping portions are folded so that the gripping portions are in close contact with each other, and further has a plurality of cavities inside the inclined surfaces to secure the object to be gripped, and when an object is pressed against the cavities, the cavities deform and the inclined surfaces follow the deformation.

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