EP2974607B1

EP2974607B1 - Glove

Info

Publication number: EP2974607B1
Application number: EP15176580.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: David Sheridan
Original assignee: Dainese SpA
Current assignee: Dainese SpA
Priority date: 2014-07-18
Filing date: 2015-07-14
Publication date: 2017-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 2035-07-14
Also published as: EP2974607A1

Description

The present disclosure relates in general to the sector of protective clothing. More specifically, it relates to a glove, in particular a motorcyclist's glove.
Gloves intended for motorcyclists have the function of protecting the hands of the motorcyclist from impacts and abrasion in the event of a fall. In order to be able to provide suitable protection, the glove structure is formed by several layers of different materials and has a considerable thickness. Consequently, the movement of the motorcyclist's hand is awkward and made more difficult by the volume and the limited flexibility of the glove.
In order to limit this drawback, some models of motorcyclist's gloves have pre-curved fingers, i.e. during the production stage the housings for the fingers (these housings being the "fingers" of the glove) are hot-shaped with a curved form which imitates a partially curved or partially flexed position of the fingers of the hand. This pre-curvature of the finger housings is maintained when the glove is not worn, basically forming a kind of "rest position" of the glove, to which the housings spontaneously return.
This helps the motorcyclist to grip more easily the handlebars of the motorcycle, resulting also in a more ergonomic gripping position. In fact, in the pre-curved condition, the user's fingers do not exert any deformation force on the glove; the deformation and the force required to grip the handlebars from the initial pre-curved condition is less than that which would be required starting from an initial extended or straight condition as in the case of non pre-curved gloves. AT 332 824 discloses a pair of sports gloves with pre-curved fingers.
US 2005/0274750 discloses a glove shaping device.
The inventor of the subject of the present disclosure has realized, however, that the pre-curvature of the gloves according to the prior art gives rise to a number of drawbacks and is awkward for the user/motorcyclist in certain respects.
The inventor has noted that the gloves according to the prior art have housings for the fingers which all have the same pre-curvature: the housings for the fingers (except for the thumb) are curved in the same manner and are arranged substantially alongside each other, as though they were gripping a cylindrical body. In fact, the pre-curvature of the gloves according to the prior art is aimed at facilitating the action of gripping the handlebars, which are substantially cylindrical. Therefore, the fingers of a glove according to the prior art all have the same pre-curvature and there are no differences in pre-curvature between a right-hand glove and a left-hand glove.
The inventor has seen that, in reality, the fingers of the motorcyclist's hand work in different ways from each other and that there also differences between the right hand and the left hand. For example, the left hand manages the clutch and other controls of the motorcycle, while the right hand manages the brake and the accelerator.
Basically, in addition to simply gripping the handlebars, during riding of the motorcycle each hand performs further functions which require a different use of the single fingers, as well as a different use of the right hand and the left hand.
The inventor has understood that the pre-curvature of the gloves according to the prior art, since it does not take into account the different needs of the single fingers, obliges the motorcyclist's hand to work against the glove itself during riding such that it must overcome a considerable resistance offered by the unflexible structure of the glove. This increases the fatigue of the hand and reduces the safety during riding.
The present disclosure is based on the above observations of the inventor and proposes providing a protective glove which is able to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above with reference to the prior art and/or achieve further advantages. This is obtained by providing a glove according to the independent claim 1 and/or a pair of gloves according to claim 5. The technical problem is also solved by a method for manufacturing a glove or a pair of gloves according to claim 7 or claim 8. The present disclosure also relates to equipment for manufacturing a glove according to claim 9.
Particular embodiments forming the subject of the present disclosure are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.
One aspect of the solution proposed by the present disclosure consists in providing a glove in which the tubular housings for the fingers do not all have the same pre-curvature, but on the contrary at least two of them have pre-curvatures different from each other. Basically, in the case of a motorcyclist's glove, instead of adopting a pre-curvature which is the same for all the fingers and which is adapted to the handlebars of the motorcycle, for each finger a specific pre-curvature is adopted and developed on the basis of the configuration of the motorcycle controls (for example: clutch, brake, accelerator), therefore taking into account the different use of the fingers of the hand during riding.
In other words, the glove has an "intelligent" form which has been designed specifically taking into account the actual use of the glove with much greater attention to detail compared to the gloves of the prior art.
This is useful for providing a glove which is more ergonomic and more comfortable and which reduces the fatigue affecting the hand whilst riding the motorcycle.
More specifically, the tubular housings for which the present disclosure proposes a differentiation of the pre-curvature are those for the fingers comprised between the index and little fingers, which housings are pre-curved by the same amount in the gloves of the prior art.
In particular, in one embodiment of the subject of the present disclosure, the housings for the fingers comprised between the index and little fingers have pre-curvatures which are all different from each other and, even more particularly, the degree of pre-curvature increases from the index finger to the little finger.
The identification of this configuration and the determination of ranges of pre-curvature for each finger, which intervals have been identified as being the most suitable for use in a motorcycling context, form part of the research and the inventive contribution of the present inventor and therefore are also worthy of protection.
The housing for the thumb may also be pre-curved, but its role is less relevant for the purposes of the present disclosure.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is that the housings for corresponding fingers of the left hand and the right hand (i.e. the index fingers, the middle fingers, the ring fingers or the little fingers) may have pre-curvatures which differ between a left-hand glove and a right-hand glove. For example, the housing for the right-hand ring finger has a pre-curvature which is different from (for example more accentuated than) the pre-curvature of the housing of the left-hand ring finger, because the right hand interacts with a different set of controls of the motorcycle and performs different functions compared to the left hand while riding.
Therefore, the right glove is different from the left glove in order to take account of the different functions of the two hands while riding. This is useful for providing even greater comfort for the user and a further reduction in the fatigue.
As well as in the motorcycling sector, the subject of the present disclosure may also find an application in other sectors where protective gloves are used and where it is convenient to define a pre-curvature of each tubular housing according to the requirements of the respective finger of the user's hand. For example, the subject of the present disclosure could be applied to the motor-vehicle sector or, if necessary, to a working sector where tools or machines operated or controlled by the hands are used.
Further advantages, characteristic features and modes of use forming the subject of the present disclosure will become clear from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof, provided by way of a non-limiting example.
It is evident, however, that each embodiment forming the subject of the present disclosure may have one or more of the advantages listed above; in any case it is not required that each embodiment should have simultaneously all the advantages listed.
Reference will be made to the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective side view of an embodiment of a glove for the left hand according to the present disclosure;
Figure 2 shows a perspective side view of an embodiment of a glove for the right hand according to the present disclosure;
Figure 3 shows a pre-curvature range for an index finger of the left-hand glove according to Figure 1;
Figure 4 shows a pre-curvature range for a middle finger of the left-hand glove according to Figure 1;
Figure 5 shows a pre-curvature range for a ring finger of the left-hand glove according to Figure 1;
Figure 6 shows a pre-curvature range for a little finger of the left-hand glove according to Figure 1;
Figure 7 shows a pre-curvature range for an index finger of the right-hand glove according to Figure 2;
Figure 8 shows a pre-curvature range for a middle finger of the right-hand glove according to Figure 2;
Figure 9 shows a pre-curvature range for a ring finger of the right-hand glove according to Figure 2;
Figure 10 shows a pre-curvature range for a little finger of the right-hand glove according to Figure 2;
Figure 11 shows a perspective side view of a heating mould for producing a glove according to the present disclosure;
Figure 12 shows a front view of a pair of heated moulds for producing a right-hand glove and a left-hand glove according to the present disclosure.

With reference initially to Figures 1 to 10, the present detailed description relates to gloves intended for use in the motorcycling sector, i.e. gloves used by a motorcyclist while riding a motorcycle. The gloves therefore consist of protective gloves which have the function of protecting the hands of the motorcyclist user from impacts and abrasion.
It is pointed out that the gloves according to the present disclosure may also find an application in other sectors, for example for a racing car driver.
A glove according to the present disclosure and intended for a left hand is shown in Figure 1, where it is indicated by the reference number 1. A glove according to the present disclosure and intended for a right hand is shown in Figure 2, where it is indicated by the reference number 2.
In order to simplify the present description, below reference will be made generically to a glove 1, it being understood that the comments made are also valid for a right-hand glove 2, unless otherwise indicated.
The glove 1 is made of imitation leather, fabric, plastic and/or a combination of these materials, in a similar manner to the gloves of the prior art.
The glove 1 comprises a main body 10 which is intended to receive the wrist and a the metacarpus region of a user's hand, and tubular housings which extend from the main body 10 and are each intended to receive a respective finger of the hand. These tubular housings, which are also called glove "fingers", are connected to the main body 10 and obviously communicate with an internal cavity of the main body 10.
In particular the glove 1 comprises a group of tubular housings which extend from a same part of the main body 10. This group of tubular housings is composed of: a first housing 11 for an index finger, a second housing 12 for a middle finger, a third housing 13 for a ring finger, and a fourth housing 14 for a little finger.
Each of these tubular housings 11, 12, 13, 14 is connected to the main body 10 substantially in a respective articulation region 18 which corresponds to an articulation of the respective finger with the metacarpus of the hand, when the glove 1 is worn by the user. Each tubular housing 11, 12, 13, 14 also has a respective tip region 19 which corresponds to a tip of the respective finger, when the glove 1 is worn.
In addition to this tubular housing group, the glove 1 comprises a fifth tubular housing 15 for a thumb.
The housings 11, 12, 13, 14 of said group are pre-curved, i.e. they are made with a pre-curvature so as to assume a curved form in the rest condition.
The curved form defines a curved or partially flexed position for the respective finger, i.e. a position in which the finger is not completely extended and aligned with the metatarsus of the hand, but forms instead an angle with the metatarsus.
The expression "rest condition" refers to a condition in which the glove is not worn and is not subject to deformation forces, in other words the rest condition is a condition which the glove spontaneously assumes when the glove is undisturbed, for example when the glove 1 rests on a surface with its rear side 100.
The degree of pre-curvature of a tubular housing is quantifiable for example in terms of angle of pre-curvature which the tip region 19 of the tubular housing forms with the main body 10 of the glove 1; this angle of pre-curvature has its vertex in the respective articulation region 18 of the said tubular housing and is measured with respect to a condition of alignment of the tubular housing with the main body 10. With reference to Figures 3 to 10, an angle of pre-curvature of 0 degrees corresponds substantially to a tubular housing which is straight and aligned with the main body 10 and with the rear side 100, i.e. to a condition where there is no pre-curvature. An angle of pre-curvature greater than 0 degrees corresponds to a tubular housing which is curved towards the palm 110 of the glove 1, the tubular housing being all the more closed towards the palm 110 the greater the angle of pre-curvature. Figures 3 to 10 show for each finger a pre-curvature range defined by two limit values; the finger is shown with a pre-curvature having a value in between between the two limit values.
Unlike the gloves according to the prior art, the housings 11, 12, 13, 14 of said group do not all have the same pre-curvature: at least one tubular housing of the group has a pre-curvature which is different from the pre-curvature of at least one other tubular housing of the same group. In other words, in the group of tubular housings 11, 12, 13, 14 there are at least two housings which have pre-curvatures which are different from each other and where, therefore, the respective fingers are differently flexed in the rest condition.
More specifically, the housings 11, 12, 13, 14 have pre-curvatures which are all different from each other, i.e. each tubular housing of said group has a pre-curvature which is different from the pre-curvatures of the other tubular housings.
Even more specifically, the housings 11, 12, 13, 14 have a pre-curvature which increases from the first housing 11 to the fourth housing 14: the first housing 11 is that with the smallest pre-curvature (i.e. that which is closest to a condition aligned with the rear side 100), the second housing 12 has a pre-curvature which is greater than that of the first housing 11 and smaller than that of the third housing 13, the third housing 13 has a pre-curvature which is greater than that of the second housing 12 and smaller than that of the fourth housing 14, and the fourth housing 14 is the housing which has the largest pre-curvature (i.e. the housing which is bent most towards the palm 110 of the glove 1).
The above comments are also applicable to a right-hand glove 2, having a main body 20 with a rear side 200 and a palm 210, a first housing 21 for an index finger, a second housing 22 for a middle finger, a third housing 23 for a ring finger, and a fourth housing 24 for a little finger and a further tubular housing 25 for a thumb.
In one embodiment, irrespective as to whether a right-hand glove or a left-hand glove is involved, the tubular housings for the fingers are pre-curved as follows:

the first housing 11, 21 has a pre-curvature angle α₁ which is between 6 degrees and 26 degrees;
the second housing 12, 22 has a pre-curvature angle α₂ which is between 22 degrees and 47 degrees;

the third housing 13, 23 has a pre-curvature angle α₃ which is between 35 degrees and 68 degrees;
the fourth housing 14, 24 has a pre-curvature angle α₄ which is between 48 degrees and 85 degrees;

When riding a motorcycle, some functions performed by the left hand are different from the functions performed by the right hand. In fact, the two hands operate different controls which are differently positioned. For example, the left hand operates the clutch lever, while the right hand operates the brake lever and the accelerator.
In order to take into account also these differences, a further optimization of the gloves involves the formation of tubular housings which, for a corresponding finger, have different pre-curvatures for the right-hand glove and the left-hand glove. In this case, the left-hand glove 1 is not an identical mirror-image of the right-hand glove 2. Basically, considering a pair of gloves comprising a first glove 1 for a left hand and a second glove 2 for a right hand, at least one of the tubular housings 11, 12, 13, 14 of the left-hand glove 1 has a pre-curvature which is different from a pre-curvature of a corresponding tubular housing 21, 22, 23, 24 of the right-hand glove 2.
For example, as can be seen from a comparison of Figures 1 and 2, the second housing 22 of the right-hand glove 2 has a pre-curvature greater than that of the second housing 12 of the left-hand glove 1; the third housing 23 of the right-hand glove 2 has a pre-curvature greater than that of the third housing 13 of the left-hand glove 1; the fourth housing 24 of the right-hand glove 2 has a pre-curvature greater than that of the fourth housing 14 of the left-hand glove 1.
More specifically, taking into account the arrangement of the controls on the existing motorcycles, the tubular housings of the right-hand glove 2 have respective pre-curvatures which are greater than the pre-curvatures of the corresponding tubular housings of the left-hand glove 1. The difference in pre-curvature between right-hand glove 2 and left-hand glove 1 increases from the first housing to the fourth housing. The greatest differences in pre-curvature are present in the third housing (for the ring finger) and in the fourth housing (for the little finger).
Considering an embodiment of a glove 1 for a motorcyclist and intended for a left hand, the tubular housings for the fingers are pre-curved as follows:

the first housing 11 has a pre-curvature angle α₁ which is between 6 degrees and 26 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₁ of 16 degrees (Figure 3);
the second housing 12 has a pre-curvature angle α₂ which is between 22 degrees and 42 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₂ of 32 degrees (Figure 4);

the third housing 13 has a pre-curvature angle α₃ which is between 35 degrees and 55 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₃ of 45 degrees (Figure 5);
the fourth housing 14 has a pre-curvature angle α₄ which is between 48 degrees and 68 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₄ of 58 degrees (Figure 6).

Considering an embodiment of a glove 2 for a motorcyclist and intended for a right hand, the tubular housings for the fingers are pre-curved as follows:

the first housing 21 has a pre-curvature angle α₁ which is between 6 degrees and 26 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₁ of 16 degrees (Figure 7);
the second housing 22 has a pre-curvature angle α₂ which is between 27 degrees and 47 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₂ of 37 degrees (Figure 8);
the third housing 23 has a pre-curvature angle α₃ which is between 48 degrees and 68 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₃ of 58 degrees (Figure 9);
the fourth housing 24 has a pre-curvature angle α₄ which is between 65 degrees and 85 degrees; in particular it has a pre-curvature angle α₄ of 75 degrees (Figure 10).

Obviously, if the controls on the right and on the left of the motorcycle were to be inverted, the aforementioned pre-curvatures of the right-hand and left-hand gloves would similarly be inverted.
The manufacture of a glove according to the present disclosure starts with a step of forming the structure of the glove by fixing a plurality of tubular housings for the fingers onto a main body 10 for the wrist and the metatarsus.
This step may be regarded as being substantially the same as the prior art, except for the fact that the parts which form the glove are designed with suitable dimensions which take into account the pre-curved forms which must be assumed by the glove fingers.
In particular, the template for the glove is also curved, i.e. the template has a curved shape which imitates the pre-curved shape of the glove fingers. For example a housing 14, 24 for the little finger, which is very curved, requires substantial modification of the respective template compared to a template for a glove according to the prior art.
Thereafter, the tubular housings for the fingers comprised between the index and little fingers are processed so as to produce in them the required pre-curvatures, giving to each tubular housing a curved shape which is maintained in the rest condition and which defines a curved position for the respective finger. The pre-curvatures are not all the same and are formed with different pre-curvature angles: the pre-curvature produced in at least one of the tubular housings is different from a pre-curvature produced in at least another one of the tubular housings.
The pre-curvature is produced using equipment which comprises a heating mould 7 substantially in the form of a hand, as shown in Figure 11. The heating mould 7 comprises a plurality of fingers 71 which have curved shapes corresponding to the pre-curvatures to be given to the respective tubular housings of the glove. The heating mould 7 is made of a metallic material and can be heated (for example to temperatures in the range of 150-200° C) using a suitable heating system. Basically, the heating mould 7 is an iron in the form of a hand.
The heating mould 7 is inserted inside the glove so that each finger 71 of the heating mould 7 is inserted inside a respective tubular housing of the glove; the tubular housing thus assumes the same curved shape as the finger 71 of the heating mould 7.
Heating of the heating mould 7 and the fingers 71 heats the material of the tubular housings and makes their curved shape permanent, in a similar manner to the operating principle of an iron.
Therefore, the tubular housings of the glove maintain their pre-curved shape also after the heating mould 7 has been removed from the glove.
In order to obtain different pre-curvatures, at least two fingers 71 of the heating mould 7 have curvatures which are different from each other. In particular, the fingers 71 all have different curvatures.
In order to obtain a pair of gloves in which the left-hand glove 1 has tubular housings with a pre-curvature different from the corresponding tubular housings of the right-hand glove 2, heating moulds 7 may be used where the fingers 71 have curvatures which vary between different heating moulds 7. In particular, as shown in Figure 12, a left-hand heating mould 7a and a right-hand heating mould 7b are used where at least one finger 71 of the left-hand mould 7a has a curvature which is different from that of the corresponding finger 71 of the right-hand mould 7b.
The subject-matter of the present disclosure has been described hitherto with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It is to be understood that other embodiments relating to the same inventive idea may exist, all of these falling within the scope of protection of the claims which are illustrated hereinbelow.

Claims

Glove (1) for a user's hand, the glove (1) comprising a group of tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) for fingers of the hand, said group of tubular housings being composed of a first housing (11) for an index finger, a second housing (12) for a middle finger, a third housing (13) for a ring finger, and a fourth housing (14) for a little finger,
each of said tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) in a rest condition having a pre-curvature which defines a curved position for the respective finger,
wherein at least one tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) of said group has a pre-curvature which is different from a pre-curvature of at least another tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) of said group,
the glove (1) having a main body (10) which is intended to receive a metacarpal region of the hand, said tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) being connected to the main body (10),
each tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) having an articulation region (18), which during use corresponds to an articulation of the respective finger with the metacarpus, and a tip region (19), which during use corresponds to a tip of the respective finger,
the tip region (19) of each tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) forming a respective pre-curvature angle with the main body (10), said pre-curvature angle having a vertex in the respective articulation region (18) and being measured with respect to an alignment condition of the tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) with the main body (10), characterised in that: the glove (1) is a glove for a left hand,
- the first housing (11) having a pre-curvature angle (α₁) which is between 6 degrees and 26 degrees;

- the second housing (12) having a pre-curvature angle (α₂) which is between 22 degrees and 42 degrees;

- the third housing (13) having a pre-curvature angle (α₃) which is between 35 degrees and 55 degrees;

- the fourth housing (14) having a pre-curvature angle (α₄) which is between 48 degrees and 68 degrees, and/or
the glove (2) is a glove for a right hand,
- the first housing (21) having a pre-curvature angle (α₁) which is between 6 degrees and 26 degrees;

- the second housing (22) having a pre-curvature angle (α₂) which is between 27 degrees and 47 degrees;

- the third housing (23) having a pre-curvature angle (α₃) which is between 48 degrees and 68 degrees;

- the fourth housing (24) having a pre-curvature angle (α₄) which is between 65 degrees and 85 degrees.
Glove (1) for a user's hand according to claim 1, wherein each tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) of said group has a pre-curvature which is different from the pre-curvatures of the other tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) of said group.
Glove (1) for a user's hand according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) of said group have a pre-curvature which increases from the first housing (11) to the fourth housing (14), the first housing (11) having the smallest pre-curvature, the fourth housing (14) having the greatest pre-curvature, and the second housing (12) having a pre-curvature which is less than the pre-curvature of the third housing (13).
Glove (1) for a user's hand according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the glove is a motorcyclist's glove.
Pair of gloves (1, 2) comprising a first glove (1) and a second glove (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, the first glove (1) being intended for a left hand and the second glove (2) being intended for a right hand,wherein at least one of said tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) of the first glove (1) has a pre-curvature which is different from a pre-curvature of a corresponding tubular housing (21, 22, 23, 24) of the second glove (2).
Pair of gloves (1, 2) according to claim 5, wherein the tubular housings (21, 22, 23, 24) of one glove (2) of the pair of gloves (1, 2) have respective pre-curvatures which are greater than the pre-curvatures of the corresponding tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) of the other glove (1) of the pair of gloves (1, 2).
Method for manufacturing a glove (1) for a user's hand, as defined in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the steps of:
- providing a glove (1) comprising a group of tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) for fingers of the hand, said group of tubular housings being composed of a first housing (11) for an index finger, a second housing (12) for a middle finger, a third housing (13) for a ring finger, and a fourth housing (14) for a little finger;

- processing each tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) of said group to produce a pre-curvature, in such a way that the tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) in the rest condition has a curved shape which defines a curved position for the respective finger,
the pre-curvature produced in at least one of said tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) being different from a pre-curvature produced in at least another one of said tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14).
Method for manufacturing a pair of gloves (1, 2) according to claim 5 or 6, comprising the steps of:
- manufacturing a first glove (1) according to the method of claim 7, said first glove (1) being intended for a left hand;

- manufacturing a second glove (2) according to the method of claim 7, said second glove (2) being intended for a right hand,
wherein the pre-curvature produced in at least one of said tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) of the first glove (1) is different from a pre-curvature produced in a corresponding tubular housing (21, 22, 23, 24) of the second glove (2).
Equipment for manufacturing a glove (1) for a user's hand according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a heating mould (7, 7a, 7b) which comprises a plurality of fingers (71), the heating mould (7, 7a, 7b) being intended to be inserted into a glove (1) to give a pre-curved shape to tubular housings (11, 12, 13, 14) of the glove (1), each finger (71) of the heating mould (7, 7a, 7b) being intended to be inserted into a respective tubular housing (11, 12, 13, 14) of the glove (1), wherein the fingers (71) of said plurality have a curved shape and at least two of said fingers (71) have curvatures which are different from each other.