Glove Guide Structure for Fast Inversion of Thick Linings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Substantially thick material gloves, such as industrial heavy duty lined rubber gloves, ski gloves, and multi-layered gloves, are difficult and time-consuming to invert and reform properly by hand, leading to issues like fungal infections and discomfort due to unsanitary and ill-fitting conditions.
Innovation Solution
A manual, non-mechanized glove inverter/reformer device with a base and guide that allows for easy and quick inversion and reformation of gloves, using a guidance principle to prevent slippage and disengagement, featuring a tapered upper section and a depression-shaped tip for stable contact, eliminating the need for threaded attachments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If gloves are inverted by hand, then the lining can be cleaned and dried, but the process is extremely difficult and time-consuming for substantially thick material gloves
Solution Approach 1:
A guide device acts as an intermediary tool between the user and the glove appendage. The guide provides a structured pathway with a tapered configuration that facilitates the inversion process, making it easier and faster to invert substantially thick material gloves compared to manual inversion without assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide features a tapered configuration where the diameter changes along its length. This parameter change in the guide's geometry allows it to progressively engage and guide the glove material during inversion, reducing the difficulty and time required for the process.
2Loss of time
If a traditional pushrod method is used for inversion, then the appendage can be inverted, but it requires twice as many steps and twice as much time
Solution Approach 1:
The guide combines multiple functions into a single integrated component. It provides both the structural framework and the guiding mechanism in one piece, eliminating the need for separate pushrod and tube components that would require multiple assembly steps and increase device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a structural support, a guiding pathway, and a mechanism for facilitating inversion. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and streamlines the inversion process to require fewer steps.
3Reliability
If the guide tip slips or disengages during inversion, then the inversion process becomes incomplete, but preventing slippage requires precise geometric configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The guide features a tapered configuration where the diameter changes progressively along its length. This parameter change creates increasing engagement surface area as the inversion progresses, naturally preventing slippage and disengagement without requiring complex geometric features or high-precision manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a device that provides an expeditious method to invert or turn inside-out and to reform or turn back to the proper side glove appendages, which consists of a base that has numerous openings, one of which accepts a guide. The guide is defined as an asymmetrical cylinder having two (2) opposing ends. One end has a concave configuration and above and adjacent to the other end are a couple of grooves that circumscribe the guide with a couple of flexible elements fitted therein. The latter end is fitted into one of the openings in the base, to be securely mounted therein without using threaded means.