Welded Thermoplastic Elastomer Gloves for Tactile Sensitivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing form-fitting gloves with tactile sensitivity are labor-intensive and costly, and heat-sealed gloves often lack elastic properties and fit due to material limitations.
Innovation Solution
The production of gloves through welding thermoplastic polymer films, specifically using thermoplastic elastomers like polyurethane, polyolefin, and styrenic block copolymers, which provide tensile strength and modulus within defined ranges, allowing for form-fitting and tactile-sensitive properties comparable to or exceeding conventional dipped gloves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If heat sealing process is used to produce gloves, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but elastic properties and tactile sensitivity are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by carefully controlling welding temperature, pressure, and time parameters to achieve optimal weld strength while preserving the elastic properties of thermoplastic elastomer materials. This resolves the contradiction by finding the right parameter window that satisfies both cost-effective manufacturing and elastic performance requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structures combining thermoplastic elastomers with specific polymer blends that provide both weldability and elastic recovery. The composite approach allows the material to exhibit both form-fitting elastic properties and responsiveness to welding parameters, addressing the contradiction between manufacturability and elastic performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If heat sealing process is used to produce gloves, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but form-fitting properties deteriorate due to thicker film requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the film thickness parameter from traditional thick heat-sealed films to thinner welded films (0.05-0.20 mm), combined with optimized welding parameters to achieve strong bonds. This parameter optimization enables form-fitting properties comparable to dipped gloves while maintaining cost-effective welded manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical stretching and forming processes required for thick heat-sealed gloves with a welding-based assembly approach using thinner films. This substitution allows the final glove structure to achieve form-fitting properties through the welding process itself rather than through thick material mechanics.
3Strength
If multi-step dipping process is used to produce gloves, then elastic properties and tactile sensitivity are achieved, but labor and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the multi-step mechanical dipping process with a welding-based manufacturing process using thermoplastic elastomers. This replacement eliminates the energy-intensive drying and curing steps associated with dipping while maintaining elastic properties through the inherent viscoelasticity of the welded thermoplastic material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transition principles by heating thermoplastic elastomer materials above their glass transition temperature during welding, then cooling to achieve bonding. This phase-based approach consolidates multiple dipping steps into a single welding operation, significantly reducing energy consumption while preserving elastic recovery properties.
4Strength
If multi-step dipping process is used to produce gloves, then elastic properties and tactile sensitivity are achieved, but production time and labor intensity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple dipping steps into a single welding operation by using thermoplastic elastomers that can be bonded through heat and pressure. This consolidation eliminates intermediate drying and curing steps, dramatically reducing production time while maintaining the elastic properties that would otherwise require multiple processing stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the time-consuming multi-step mechanical dipping process with a faster welding-based assembly process. The welding method achieves bond formation in a single continuous operation rather than through sequential dipping, drying, and curing steps, thereby reducing overall production time while preserving elastic performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables the creation of gloves with improved tensile strength, modulus, and hysteresis characteristics, resulting in form-fitting, tactile-sensitive, and stronger products that are more cost-effective than traditional dipping processes.
Implementation Method 1
The films can be welded together without the use of an adhesive, through, for instance, thermal bonding or ultrasonic bonding.
Implementation Method 2
The films can be welded together without the use of an adhesive, through, for instance, thermal bonding or ultrasonic bonding.
Implementation Method 3
Elastomeric materials have been useful in the production of such articles because of their physical properties. For example, the materials not only can be stretched, but are also capable of substantially returning to their original shape when released.
Data Source
AI summary
Elastomeric gloves (10) are described that are made by welding two polymer films (30, 32) together. Polymer films are selected that have excellent elastic properties in combination with tensile strength properties. The polymer films are made from a thermoplastic elastomer that has a tensile strength of greater than 40 MPa and has a modulus of from about 2 MPA to about 20 MPa.