WO2008050364A2

WO2008050364A2 - Thick glove, equipped with means for facilitating the hand articulation

Info

Publication number: WO2008050364A2
Application number: PCT/IT2007/000686
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giorgio Tosini
Original assignee: Giorgio Tosini
Priority date: 2006-10-26
Filing date: 2007-10-02
Publication date: 2008-05-02
Also published as: EP1915915B1; ATE484204T1; DE602007009775D1; EP1915915A3; EP1915915A2; WO2008050364A3; ITTO20060772A1

Abstract

An elastic or semi-elastic glove (1) is described, comprising an extrados surface on a hand back side, and an intrados surface on a hand palm side, of a type particularly adapted in a foodstuff field, comprising means (5, 6) for facilitating a hand articulation.

Description

THICK GLOVE, EQUIPPED WITH MEANS FOR FACILITATING THE HAND ARTICULATION

The present invention relates to a very thick glove, equipped with mechanical features that facilitate its use. In particular, the invention is adapted to be used in the foodstuff field and for handling hot objects such as vessels for cooking foodstuff.

The prior art deals with: A41D19/00: Gloves; A61B19/00: Instruments, implements or accessories for surgery or diagnosis; B29C41/14: Shaping by coating a mould, core or other substrate; A63B71: Games or sports accessories.

The ambidextrous glove falls within the above mentioned categories; it is used in the kitchen for handling objects when cooking, freezing and storing foodstuff, it is made of homogeneous, very thick (approximately 5 mm) material, and it is partially or fully elastic.

The prior art, for example document US-A- 3148235, anticipates both the glove shape with three fingers and the use of elastomers such as Adiprene (manufactured by Du Pont) , Teflon, or silicone .

From the mechanics point of view, a glove made of a very thick elastic homogeneous material is subjected to difficulties in articulating the fingers of a hand, due to its high thickness and stiffness .

The solution to this problem is a new glove, in particular a kitchen glove, that provides for cuts or ribs arranged as bellows, said cuts or ribs being adapted to concentrate, along their geometry, the elastic hinge necessary to rotate the glove portions, limiting or removing its uncontrolled distortion.

According to document US-A-6223551, a vessel of a thermal substance capable of modifying its own state from liquid to solid by decreasing the temperature, is formed of a series of regularly- shaped cells 3, 8, shown in the drawing in Fig. 1, whose junction edges 5, 6, 10, 11 are kept flexible when the temperature changes, favouring the mutual rotation of said stiffened cells 3, 8.

Starting from the above described prior art, the flexibility function of the elastic hinge is transferred to a glove, as claimed in claim 1, made of elastic and homogeneous, very thick material, therefore free from additional elements, in particular of the type used in a kitchen, equipped with tubular recesses for containing the fingers of a hand, at least one surface edge of the glove being equipped with a cut or a groove that is able to perform the function of elastic articulation or elastic hinge as regards the surface edge or length of the glove during the hand movement, in particular when articulating the fingers and palm of a hand.

The subject matter of the invention is described in detail with reference to the enclosed figures :

- figure 3 and figure 6: axonometric views of a glove comprising means 5 and 6 adapted to facilitate the articulation of the fingers and palm of a hand;

- figure 4 and figure 7: sectional views of the glove equipped with means 5 and 6 for facilitating the articulation;

- figure 5 and figure 8 : plan views of the glove in the two provided configurations. A glove 1 is delimited by an external surface, that is smooth or equipped with protuberances or micro-projections adapted to ensure gripping the objects, and with an internal surface, that is smooth or coated with a layer of material for protecting the hand skin. The glove 1 is made of an almost elastic, almost homogeneous, very thick (approximately 3 - 5 mm) material and is formed of: a tubular portion 103 in which the hand palm and back are housed; different tubular recesses closed at the end 2, projecting from the tubular portion 103, whose number is equal to or lower than the number of fingers. A glove of the present invention provides for classical shapes with two, three or five tubular recesses 2.

The intrados glove surface is equipped with one or more cuts 5 next to the hand articulation along palm and fingers. A variation of the invention provides, in place of the cut 5, a bellows-type elastic articulation or elastic hinge 6 composed of different, parallel cuts 5 that are mutually in contact .

Both the cut 5, and the bellows-type hinge 6 can affect the external surface or the internal surface or both surfaces of the glove. In order to allow the ambidextrous use of the glove, also the extrados surface is equipped with a cut 5 or bellows-type hinge 6 in the same way as seen for the intrados surface.

A further variation of the invention provides for the realisation of means 5, 6 for facilitating the hand articulation, inside the glove, obtaining the advantage of keeping an external surface free from irregularities.

The glove 1, equipped with means 5, 6 for facilitating the hand articulation, is preferably- made of an elastic deformable material, of the type known in the foodstuff field according to directives in force. In particular, reference is made to a thermoplastic material, silicone, elastomer; namely: platinum silicone, particularly- adapted for freezing at -50⁰C and cooking at 300⁰C; peroxide silicone; elastomer suitable for cooking at 300⁰C and freezing at -50⁰C.

Thermoplastic material, or elastomers, containing thermo-coloured pigments, allow realising a glove 1 with elastic hinges 5, 6 that is able to point out the temperature of the environment in which the glove is immersed or of the object with which it is in contact. Thermoplastic material or elastomers, suitably treated in the vulcanising (dynamic vulcanising) step, capable of trapping and keeping air with the result of obtaining a light-weight and insulating structure, allow realising a glove 1 with elastic hinges 5, 6 with better insulation and lightness characteristics .

Thermoplastic material or elastomers, worked in a plate and suitably preformed and assembled with glass cloth, allow realising a glove 1 with elastic hinges 5, 6 with great mechanical characteristics of resistance to engraving with cutting objects.

Claims

1. Elastic or semi-elastic glove (1) comprising an extrados surface on a hand back side, and an intrados surface on a hand palm side, of a type particularly adapted in a foodstuff field, characterised in that it has means (5, 6) for facilitating a hand articulation.

2. Glove (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the intrados surface is equipped with at least one cut (5) next to the hand articulation.

3. Glove (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the cut (5) operates as elastic hinge with respect to the articulation of the two sections of intrados surface of the glove joined to said cut (5) .

4. Glove (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the intrados surface is equipped with at least one bellows-type hinge (6) next to the hand articulation.

5. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that said means

(5, 6) for facilitating the hand articulation involve the extrados glove surface, in addition to the intrados surface.

6. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that said means (5, 6) for facilitating the hand articulation are made inside the glove (1), keeping the external glove surface free from irregularities.

7. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that it is made of thermoplastic material.

8. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims 1 to 6, characterised in that it is made of silicone or platinum silicone or peroxide silicone .

9. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims 1 to 6, characterised in that it is made of elastomer material.

10. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that it is made of elastic material adapted for cooking at 300⁰C and freezing at -50⁰C.

11. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that thermo- colouring pigments, adapted for pointing out a temperature of an environment in which they are immersed or for pointing out a temperature of a material with which they are in contact, are the basic material.

12. Glove (1) according to claim 7 or 11, characterised in that it is adapted to be subjected to a dynamic vulcanising treatment of a type capable of trapping and keeping air obtaining a lightweight and insulating structure.

13. Glove (1) according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that it is adapted to be made through joining with glass cloth, obtaining a material with great mechanical characteristics of resistance to engraving with cutting objects.