WO2007072509A2

WO2007072509A2 - Reversible glove for uncovering palm and fingers

Info

Publication number: WO2007072509A2
Application number: PCT/IS2006/000024
Authority: WO
Inventors: Julius Juliusson
Original assignee: Julius Juliusson
Priority date: 2005-12-22
Filing date: 2006-12-22
Publication date: 2007-06-28
Also published as: IS8198A; WO2007072509A3

Abstract

A mitten is provided which makes it easier to do sports, play and work in cold climate in situations where it is beneficial or essential to use the uncovered palm and fingers. The mitten can be arranged in two positions, a 'closed-mitten' position where the hand is fully covered and enclosed, and an 'open-mitten' position where the palm is uncovered. The mitten can be rapidly and easily rearranged from one position to the other. In the 'open-mitten' position, the back of the mitten stays in place and provides cover for the back of the hand, the front portion (6) of the mitten is flipped over and fastened to the back portion (1) . The thumb compartment (12) of the mitten is flipped off the thumb and folded back and can suitably be folded and tucked in a pocket which is created between the back portion and flipped-over front portion.

Description

REVERSIBLE GLOVE FOR UNCOVERING PALM AND FINGERS

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

Several outdoor activities require or benefit from the use of unobstructed hands, e.g. fishing, hunting, photography, and precision sports such as golf. This can be problematic in cold climate where bare hands quickly get cold and stiff, which is of course uncomfortable and a disadvantage with respect to the desired precision of the hands. Different solutions have been available, most commonly in the form of fingerless gloves, which have also been provided with a finger pouch flap which is like a top part of a conventional mitten, and is typically fastened to the back of the glove just beneath the openings for the fingers and can be folded over to cover the fingers. Variations of such gloves have been patented in the past, see for example GB 191422618, and GB 335,837. Both of these disclosures represent essentially variations and modifications of conventional fingerless gloves, with a removable cover for the fingers. The palm of the hand is, however, still covered by the mitten as are the joinings of the fingers to the palm. Alternative garments for keeping the hands warm but allowing essentially unobstructed use of the hand without having to take the garment fully off would be very much appreciated.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention concerns a specially constructed mitten which with a certain utilisation makes it easier to do sports, play and work in cold climate in situations where it is beneficial or essential to use the uncovered palm and fingers. The mitten can be arranged in two positions, a "closed-mitten" position where the hand is fully covered and enclosed by the mitten, and an "open-mitten" position where the palm is uncovered. The mitten can be rapidly and easily rearranged from one position to the other. In the "open-mitten" position, the back of the mitten stays in place and provides cover for the back of the hand, the front portion of the mitten is flipped over with a simple movement and fastened to the back portion. The thumb compartment of the mitten is flipped off the thumb and folded back and can suitably The mitten comprises a back portion (1) covering the back of the hand of a wearer. A wrist portion (2) extends between both proximal ends (3) of the periphery of the back portion, thus forming with the distal edge (4) of the back portion (1) a wrist opening (5) for inserting the hand into the mitten. A front portion (6) for covering the palm and inner side of the fingers is fastened to the back portion by the overlapping distal main periphery (9) of the front and back portions, thereby forming a main compartment (10),

The back portion (1) extends to form a thumb back side (7) which may suitably be a continuous extension of the same fabric piece as the back portion. A thumb front side (8) is fastened by the thumb periphery (11) to the thumb back side (7) forming a thumb compartment (12).

The thumb front side (8) has a thumb-distal edge (13) which extends between a lower point (14) in the vicinity of the joint of the thumb periphery (11) and the wrist portion (2), to an upper point (15) on the distal main periphery (9) above the thumb compartment, and the thumb front side is fastened to the back portion at these points. When the mitten is worn said thumb compartment (12) can be flipped off the wearer's thumb and folded towards the back portion.

The front portion (6) does not extend over the thumb, it has a thumb-side edge (16) extending from an upper point (17) on the distal main periphery (9) in the vicinity of the joint between the thumb portion and main portion, which upper point (17) coincides with or is below said upper point (15) of the thumb-distal edge (13), to a flap (18) which extends over at least the upper part of the wrist portion (2) and over the thumb-distal edge (13) such that when the flap is lying flat over the palm it covers the thumb-distal edge (13) such that there is no bare skin of the hand exposed between the front portion (6) and thumb front side (8).

The flap comprises first fastening means (19) such that it can be fastened to the wrist portion (2) or back portion (1), such that said front portion fully covers the palm of the wearer's hand. The first fastening means (19) comprise in one embodiment a pair (23, 24) of oppositely arranged "velcro"-type hook-and-loop fasteners. The interior side (29) of the back portion (1) has fastened to it one or more finger bands (20) for inserting one or more fingers through when the mitten is worn. The finger bands (20) can comprise four bands or loops for all four non-thumb digits such as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but may in other embodiments comprise one, two or three finger bands, where each band can be sized to fit one, two or three fingers, e.g. one band for inserting the middle finger and ring finger, or two bands, one for each of the two fingers middle and ring finger. The band or loops may be suitably made from elastic fabric band or any other suitable soft fabric, preferably elastic. A thumb finger band may also be placed in the thumb compartment (not shown), which will keep the thumb back side closer to the thumb, which will give better protection and warmth, and the thumb can still be removed from such band in case the wearer desires to use the thumb fully unobstructed.

The mitten is opened by loosening the flap (18) from the first fastening means and thus the front portion can be flipped over the back portion while the back portion stays in place by means of the finger bands. The flap (18) has second fastening means (21) such that it can be fastened to the back portion (1) or wrist portion (2) in the flipped position, preferably such as to create a kind of "pocket" (22) into which the thumb compartment can be folded.

The second fastening means (21) comprise in useful embodiments oppositely arranged "velcro"-type hook-and-loop fasteners (25, 26) where one "velcro" piece (25) is situated on the outside of the flap (18) (which is turned "inside" when the flap is flipped over) for fastening the flap in the flipped open-mitten position to an oppositely arranged "velcro" piece (26) on the wrist portion and/or back portion.

Other types of fastening means are also suitable, such as snap fasteners or buttons and button hole(s), e.g. where the flap (18) has a button hole and buttons on the wrist portion and/or back portion are placed to fit the button in the closed-mitten and open-mitten position respectively. For the sake of economy, the flap can be slightly shorter than shown in the Figures such that one button placed substantially on the edge between the wrist portion and the back portion will fit a button hole on the flap in both closed-mitten and open-mitten position. Similary, when using other types of fastening means, e.g. snap fasteners or hook- and-loop fasteners, the flap may be sized such that one fastener ("velcro" piece or snap fastener) placed on said edge between the wrist portion and the back portion will fit mating fasteners both on the front and back of the flap, in the respective position (open- or closed-mitten).

The four-finger band configuration has the advantage that any one or more fingers can be fully loosened (withdrawn from its finger band), e.g. only the index finger and/ or the middle finger, for precision activities with the free thumb in open-mitten position, as the mitten will stay on the hand by means of the wrist hole (5) and the finger(s) remaining inserted in finger bands.

In a useful embodiment the mitten has the added feature that the interior side (29) of said back portion (1) has a top insert piece (27) for inserting the top of one or more fingers such that the top of the back portion can be held in place by said one or more fingers when the flap and front portion is flipped over, and thus the main compartment does not get too much crumpled when the mitten is flipped open. The top insert piece may be in the form of a band (e.g. elastic), such as in Figure 4, or in the shape of a pocket-type structure such as is shown in Figure 5.

The embodiments shown in the accompanying Figures also depict a wrist cord (28) which runs through a hemline with the wrist portion and/or back portion, in order to tighten the wrist opening around the wrist, the cord preferably has a cord tightener (31).

Claims

1. A mitten comprising:

- a back portion (1) covering the back of the hand of a wearer, - a wrist portion (2) extending between both proximal ends (3) of the periphery of the back portion, thus forming with the distal edge (4) of said back portion a wrist opening (5),

- a thumb back side (7) which extends from said back portion, and a thumb front side (8); - a front portion (6) for covering the palm and inner side of the fingers,

- said back portion and front portion are fastened together by their distal main periphery (9) forming a main compartment (10), and

- said thumb back side (7) and thumb front side (8) are fastened together by the thumb periphery (11) forming a thumb compartment (12), - the thumb front side having a thumb-distal edge (13) extending from a lower point (14) in the vicinity of the joint of the thumb periphery (11) and the wrist portion (2) to an upper point (15) on the distal main periphery (9) above the thumb compartment, such that when the mitten is worn said thumb compartment (12) can be flipped off the wearer's thumb and folded towards the back portion,

- the front portion having a thumb-side edge (16) extending from an upper point (17) on the distal main periphery (9) in the vicinity of the joint between the thumb portion and main portion, which upper point (17) coincides with or is below said upper point (15) of the thumb-distal edge (13), to a flap (18) which extends over at least the upper part of the wrist portion (2) and over the thumb-distal edge (13), said flap having first fastening means (19) such that it can be fastened to the wrist portion (2) or back portion (1), such that said front portion fully covers the palm of the wearer's hand,

- the interior side of the back portion having one or more finger bands (20) for inserting one or more fingers through when the mitten is worn,

- such that when the flap (18) is loosened the front portion can be flipped over the back portion while the back portion stays in place by means of the finger bands, the flap (18) having second fastening means (21) such that it can be fastened to the back portion (1) or wrist portion (2) in the flipped position, creating a pocket (22) into which the thumb compartment can be folded. 7

2. The mitten of claim 1, wherein said one or more finger bands (20) comprise at least two loops for inserting one finger through each.

3. The mitten of claim 1, wherein said one or more finger bands (20) comprise at least four loops for inserting one finger through each.

4. The mitten of claim 1, wherein said one or more finger bands (20) comprise an elastic band.

5. The mitten of claim 1 wherein said first and second fastening means comprise velcro-type hook-and-loop fasteners, said flap having a first "velcro" piece (23) on its inside for fastening the flap in the closed-mitten position to an oppositely arranged "velcro" piece (24) on the wrist portion and/or back portion, and the flap having a second "velcro" piece (25) on its outside for fastening the flap in the flipped open-mitten position to an oppositely arranged "velcro" piece (26) on the wrist portion and/or back portion.

6. The mitten of claim 1, wherein said first and second fastening means comprise snap fasteners.

7. The mitten of claim 1, wherein said first and second fastening means comprise a button hole on the flap and one or more buttons on the wrist portion and/or back portion.

8. The mitten of claim 7, wherein the first and second fastening means are the same, comprising a button placed substantially on the edge between the wrist portion and the back portion and the flap being shaped such that the button hole will fit said button both when the flap is in closed-mitten position and a flipped open-mitten position.

9. The mitten of claim 1, wherein the interior side of said back portion has a top insert piece (27) for inserting the top of one or more fingers such that the top of the back portion can be held in place by said one or more fingers when the flap and front portion is flipped over.

10. The mitten of claim 9, wherein said top insert piece is in the shape of a band.

11. The mitten of claim 9, wherein said top insert piece is in the shape of a pocket-structure.

12. The mitten of claim 1 further comprising a wrist cord (28) for tightening the wrist opening (5).