Impact gloves with grip features

Abstract

A glove comprising: at least one shell formed of fabric in the shape of a hand, the shell having a body portion and five pockets configured to receive a thumb and four phalanges of a user, and wherein the shell has a palm side and a dorsal side opposite the palm side; a plurality of protective structures on the dorsal side of the shell; a coating on at least a portion of the palm side of the shell; and a thumb crotch reinforcement configured to safeguard a region between the thumb and index finger.

Description

IMPACT GLOVES WITH GRIP FEATURES

[0000] This application claims priority to and the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 623,535 filed on 22 January 2024 and entitled “Impact Gloves with Grip Features” and Chinese Utility Model Application No. 202422650608.0 filed 31 October 2024, each of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference.FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a protective glove, and more particularly to a protective glove with protective features and grip features.BACKGROUND

[0002] Protective gloves may have one or more features, such as to protect hands of a user and / or to enhance user grip. Use of protective gloves may result in wear to the glove or impact with objects, which may shorten the lifespan of the gloves or result in injury to the user.

[0003] Protective gloves are accessible for diverse applications, and the wear rates in different regions of the glove may vary in response to these applications. Due to high wear rate in some portions of the glove, the glove may be useless because of reduced protection on the specific worn areas of the glove used for particular applications. One identified area that may wear at high rate is the fingertips, which may be used for gripping. Therefore, a user may replace the glove due to high wear in certain areas of the glove even though other areas may exhibit satisfactory condition, resulting in material waste.

[0004] Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a protective glove with improved wear and protective features.SUMMARY

[0005] In at least some embodiments, a glove may integrate features that may enhance durability and protection. Specifically, in some embodiments, the durability of the fingertip of a glove may be augmented through the incorporation of dot-shaped grip features at the fingertips of the glove. In some embodiments, protection may be enhanced by reinforcement at the thumb crotch of the glove, which may safeguard a region between the thumb and index finger. In some embodiments, impact protection may be enhanced by including bumpers situated at the back of the palm of the glove. Despite the use of dots at the fingertips of the glove, variousreinforcement designs at the fingertips and the palm, with and without thumb crotch reinforcement, are described herein and are within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0006] A glove comprising: at least one shell formed of fabric in the shape of a hand, the shell having a body portion and five pockets configured to receive a thumb and four phalanges of a user, and wherein the shell has a palm side and a dorsal side opposite the palm side; a plurality of protective structures on the dorsal side of the shell; a coating on at least a portion of the palm side of the shell; and a thumb crotch reinforcement configured to safeguard a region between the thumb and index finger.DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] So that the manner in which the above recited features of embodiments of the instant disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the embodiments, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only illustrative embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention disclosed herein may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 1 is an isometric view from a front and right side of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure

[0009] FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 1

[0010] FIG. 3 is an isometric view from a back and right side of the glove shown in FIG.1, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 4 is a back elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 3.

[0012] FIG. 5 is a right-elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 3.

[0013] FIG. 6 is a left elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 3.

[0014] FIG. 7 is a top-plan view of the glove shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 8 is an isometric view from back and right side of the glove shown in FIG.1, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 9 is a back elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 8.

[0017] FIG. 10 shows a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 11 is an isometric view from a front and right side of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 12 is a back elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 11.

[0020] FIG. 13 is an isometric view from a back and right side of the glove shown in FIG. 12.

[0021] FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 11.

[0022] FIG. 15 is an isometric view from a front and left of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 16 is a front elevation view of the glove shown in FIG. 15.

[0024] FIG. 17 is another isometric view of the glove shown in FIG. 15 from a front and left side of the glove.

[0025] FIG. 18 is an elevation view of the left side of the glove shown in FIG. 15.

[0026] FIG. 19 is an isometric view from a back and left side of the glove shown in FIG.15.

[0027] FIG. 20 is an elevation view of the back of the glove shown in FIG. 15.

[0028] FIGs. 21-23 are isometric views from a back and right side of the glove shown in FIG. 15.

[0029] FIG. 24 is an isometric view from a front and right side of the glove shown inFIG. 15.

[0030] FIG. 25 is an enlarged view of the portion A shown in FIG. 24.

[0031] FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of the portion B shown in FIG. 16.

[0032] FIG. 27 is an enlarged view of the portion C shown in FIG. 24.

[0033] FIG. 28 is an enlarged view of the portion D shown in FIG. 16.

[0034] FIG. 29 is a top plan view of the glove shown in FIG. 15.

[0035] FIG. 30 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 31 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 32 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 33 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG. 34 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] FIG. 35 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0041] FIG. 36 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 37 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] FIG. 38 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 39 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 40 is a front elevation viewa gloveaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 41 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 42 is a front elevation viewa gloveaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIG. 43 is a front elevation view of a glove in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 1, a protective glove 100 may include at least one fabric forming a shell 102 in the shape of a hand. As used herein, “fabric” may refer to any sheet of material composed of natural or synthetic fibers such as elastomers, or a combination of natural and synthetic fibers. In some embodiments, the fabric may be formed from at least one of nylon 6, nylon 6 / 6, spandex, natural rubber, high performance polyethylene(HPPE), reinforced HPPE, polyester, steel, tungsten, or basalt.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 2, the shell 102 may have a body portion 104 and five finger pockets 106 configured to receive a thumb and four phalanges of a user. In some embodiments, the body portion 104 may be configured to cover the metacarpal and carpal bones of the user's hand and the surrounding soft tissue, and the finger pockets 106 may be configured to cover the proximal, intermediate, and distal phalanx bones of the user and the surrounding soft tissue. The shell 102 has a palm side 108 (otherwise referred to herein as a front side of the glove), shown, for example, in FIGs. 1 and 2 and a dorsal side 110 (otherwise referred to herein as a back side of the glove) opposite the palm side 108, and shown, for example, in FIGs. 3 and 4. The palm side 108 of the body portion 104 covers the palm of the hand. The palm of the hand, also known as the metacarpus or broad palm, is the underside of the hand that is located between the wristjoint and the finger bones. It's made up of five metacarpal bones in each palm. As described in greater detail herein, the configuration of features on the palm side 108 and dorsal side 110 may vary between embodiments of the protective glove 100.

[0051] Although the gloves depicted in the figures may depict a right or left handed glove, it may be understood that the present disclosure is directed to gloves configured to protect both a right hand and a left hand, and that reference to any glove depicted in the figures are intended to interchangeably apply to an opposite-handed glove.

[0052] In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 1, the protective glove 100 may include a coating 112 over at least a portion of the palm side 108 of the shell 102. In some embodiments, the coating may be a single or multi-layer. In some embodiments, the coating 112 may cover knuckles. In some embodiments, the coating 112 may cover the entire shell 102. In some embodiments, the coating 112 may be comprised of polyurethane (PU) (which may be water-based or solvent-based). In some embodiments, other coating materials may be used, such as nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chloroprene (CR), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), Natural Rubber (NRL) and the like latex and blends thereof. The coating 112 may be formed in one or more layers. The coating may be foamed or non-foamed and at least a portion of an external surface of the coated glove has a textured or wrinkled surface.

[0053] In some embodiments, and as shown in FIGs. 3 and 4, the protective glove 100 may include a plurality of protective structures 302 on the dorsal side 110 of the shell 102. In some embodiments, the protective structures 302 may be secured to at least one of the coating 112, to the shell 102, or to a material layer 304 using techniques recognized by those skilled in the art, such as threading, gluing and stitching, sonic welding, molding and so forth. The stitching / threading may be comprised of any conventional material, including natural or synthetic materials, and may include, for example, and without limitation, aramid fibers. The protective structures 302 may be formed from thermoplastic rubber (“TPR”), PVC, or silicone. The protective structures 302 may be configured to protect the knuckles and the proximal, intermediate, and distal phalanges of the user, and the metacarpal bones of the user. The protective structures 302, with other constructions, materials, heights, and durability, may be implemented in various embodiments of the present disclosure. The protective structures 302 may extend on the dorsal side 110 in areas to protect the phalangeal bones and / or metacarpal bones of a user.

[0054] In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 1, the protective glove 100 may include a thumb crotch reinforcement (TCR) 114 at the thumb crotch of the protective glove100, which may safeguard a region between the thumb and index finger. Reinforcements can also be added to other regions of the palm side 108 of the glove to safeguard a portion of the fingers, crotches of the fingers or the palm. The TCR 114 may be formed of various materials that provide reinforcement and flexibility to permit the user movement of the thumb and index finger. In some embodiments, the TCR 114 reinforcement may include one or more layers of material deposited or otherwise attached to shell 102 in the region between the thumb and index finger. In other embodiments, the reinforcement may include one or more layers of material deposited or otherwise attached to a portion of the fingers, crotches of the fingers or the palm. Such attachment may be made, for example, by dipping, printing, sewing, gluing, screen printing heat transfer or other methods recognized by those skilled in the art. The material of the TCR 114 may include, without limitation, PU, thermoplastic rubber (TPR), NBR, natural rubber, polyimide (PI) silicone, natural or synthetic fabric / leather parts or other natural or synthetic elastomers. In some embodiments, the thumb crotch reinforcement may be secured to at least one of the shell 102 and the coating 112. In some embodiments, a second coating (which may be the same as coating 112 or a clear PVC dip) may be included over a portion of at least one of the TCR 114, the shell 102, or the coating 112 as an additional protective layer on the glove. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIGs. 11-14, the protective glove 100 does not include the TCR 114.

[0055] In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 1, the protective glove may include one or more grip features 116 on the palm side 108 of the protective glove 100. The grip features 116 may be attached to at least one of the coating 112 or the shell 102. The grip features 116 may be attached by any methods recognized by those skilled in the art. The grip features 116 may be formed from PU, silicone, PVC, NBR, or natural rubber latex (NRL) or other elastomers.

[0056] The durability and / or grip of the fingertip of a glove may be augmented through the incorporation of the grip features at various locations on the protective glove 100.

[0057] In some embodiments, the grip features 116 may cover at least a portion of the palm side 108 of the protective glove 100. In some embodiments, and a shown in FIG. 30, a glove 3000 may include grip features 116 that cover fingertips and an upper portion of the palm of the glove 3000. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 31, a glove 3100 may include grip features 116 that cover fingertips and substantially the entire palm of the glove 3100. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 32, a glove 3200 may include grip features 116 that cover substantially the entire finger and substantially the entire palm of the glove 3200. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 33, a glove 3300 may include grip features 116 that cover fingertips and a lower portion of the palm of the glove 3300. In some embodiments, and asshown in FIG. 34, a glove 3400 may include grip features 116 that cover substantially entire fingers. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 35, a glove 3500 may include grip features that cover substantially the entire palm of the glove 3500.

[0058] The grip features 116 may take various forms. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIGs. 1, 2, 5-7, 10, 11, 14-17, 24-35, and 39-41 the grip features may be circles or dots. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIGs. 39 and 40, the dots may vary in size along a gradient to form a shading pattern or design. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 41, the dots may have substantially equal size and shape. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 36, the grip features 116 may be formed as D-shapes. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 37, the grip features 116 may be formed as hexagons. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 38, the grip features 116 may be formed as overlapping circles or swirls. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 42, the grip features 116 may be formed as one or more spaced lines or bars in either vertical or horizontal direction. In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 43, the grip features 116 may be formed as one or more triangles, which may be arranged in one or more designs as shown in FIG. 43.

[0059] While the embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to various implementations and exploitations and examples of grip features 116, it will be understood that these embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the inventions is not limited to them. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements to the grip features 116, including different shapes, designs, and sizes of grip features 116 are possible. The above description should therefore not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments.

[0060] In some embodiments, and as shown in FIG. 1, the shell 102 of protective glove 100 may include a wrist portion 150 configured to cover, at least partially, the wrist and a portion of forearm of the user. In some embodiments, the wrist portion may be substantially cylindrical in form (e.g., a cuff) and configured to surround the wrist of the user. In certain embodiments, the wrist portion 150 may be sized to extend up to a portion of the forearm of the user. For example, and without limitation, wrist portion 150 may be composed of the same materials used for other portions of the glove or same material combined with other elastomers or elastic materials or separate materials different than that used for other portions of the glove. In some embodiments, the wrist portion 150 may be provided with bands, stitched areas or Velcro tapes on a dorsal side 110 to protect certain areas of the wrist of the user or for comfort.

[0061] While the embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to various implementations and exploitations, it will be understood that these embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the inventions is not limited to them. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible. The above description should therefore not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A glove comprising: at least one shell formed of fabric in the shape of a hand, the shell having a body portion and five pockets configured to receive a thumb and four phalanges of a user, and wherein the shell has a palm side and a dorsal side opposite the palm side; a plurality of protective structures on the dorsal side of the shell; a coating on at least a portion of the palm side of the shell; and a thumb crotch reinforcement configured to safeguard a region between the thumb and index finger.

2. The glove of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of grip features on the palm side of the shell.

3. The glove of claim 2, wherein the grip features are located on at least a portion of the palm side of the shell.

4. The glove of claim 2, wherein the grip features are located on at least a portion of the pockets.

5. The glove of claim 4, wherein the grip features are located on tips of at least one of the five pockets.

6. The glove of claim 2, wherein the grip features are located on at least a portion of the body.

7. The glove of claim 6, wherein the grip features are located on at least one of an upper, middle, or lower portion of the body.

8. The glove of claim 2, wherein the grip features are located on at least a portion of the pockets and a portion of the body.

9. The glove of claim 8, wherein the grip features are located on tips of at least one of the five pockets.

10. The glove of claim 9, wherein the grip features are located on at least one of an upper, middle, or lower portion of the body.

11. The glove of claim 2, wherein the grip features are formed of polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), silicone, natural rubber and the like latex (NRL) and blends thereof, or other elastomers.

12. The glove of claim 2, wherein the plurality of grip features vary in size.

13. The glove of claim 2, wherein the plurality of grip features vary in size along a gradient.

14. The glove of claim 2, wherein the plurality of grip features have the same size.

15. The glove of claim 2, wherein the plurality of grip features are formed as at least one of circles or dots, D-shapes, hexagons, overlapping circles or swirls, triangles, or spaced lines or bars.

16. The glove of claim 1, wherein the thumb crotch reinforcement includes at least one of polyurethane (PU), TPR, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), natural rubber and the like latex and blends thereof (NRL), polyimide (PI), silicone, fabric, or leather.

17. The glove of claim 1, wherein the thumb crotch reinforcement includes one or more layers of material deposited or attached to the shell.

18. The glove of claim 1, further comprising reinforcement for protecting finger crotch or portions of a palm of the shell.

19. The glove of claim 1, wherein the glove includes one or more layers of the coating on the palm side of the shell.

20. The glove of claim 1, wherein the coating is formed of polyurethane (PU), nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chloroprene(CR), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), or natural rubber and the like latex (NRL) and blends thereof.

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