WO2020094966A1

WO2020094966A1 - Vibration protection glove

Info

Publication number: WO2020094966A1
Application number: PCT/FR2019/052613
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gerhard Karall; Joël Blomet; Romain Bernard
Original assignee: Prevor International
Priority date: 2018-11-05
Filing date: 2019-11-05
Publication date: 2020-05-14
Also published as: FR3088000A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vibration protection glove, wherein the portion (1) thereof intended to face the palm of the hand and the inner face of the phalanges comprises an inner face and an outer face, said outer face being provided with pads (2, 3, 4, 5) made from an anti-vibration material; the invention also relates to a method for preparing said gloves and to the use thereof.

Description

Title: Glove for protection against vibrations

Technical area

The invention belongs to the field of protection of people who have to repeatedly use vibrating tools. It relates more particularly to gloves for protection against vibration.

Prior art

The various pathologies linked to the prolonged use of vibrating manual tools such as such as drills, screwdrivers, rotary saws, jigsaws, sanders, jackhammers, etc. are very common. In France, nearly two million people are said to be affected by these various pathologies linked to the use of vibrating machines and the transmission of said vibrations to the upper limbs, mainly in the fields of building, mechanical engineering, metallurgy and maintenance of green spaces.

Exposure to vibrations transmitted to the upper limbs can cause blood circulation problems in the hands. These disorders are initially reflected by a whitening of the fingers, which can be complicated by pain, or sensitivity disorders. Different terms are used to describe these conditions: dead fingers, white fingers, Raynaud's syndrome of professional origin.

The disorders manifest themselves more frequently during exposure to cold. They usually start at the end of one or more fingers. If exposure to vibrations continues, they may extend to the base of the fingers. When blood circulation returns to normal (favored by heat or a local massage), the fingers turn red and are often painful. These disorders progress by crises which can last from a few minutes to more than an hour. The frequency, intensity and duration of symptoms vary depending on the characteristics of the vibrations received and the cold. They are reversible when exposure to vibration stops. [0005] During a crisis, the operator concerned may suffer from sensitivity disorders of the fingers accompanied by a loss of tactile sensation and a decrease in manual dexterity. This can interfere with the work at hand and increase the risk of an accident: dropping an object, injury with a tool, falling, etc.

In order to reduce these pathologies and their impact, different prevention solutions can be used so as not to exceed the exposure threshold authorized by the legislation in force. Among these prevention solutions is the use of better work equipment, which includes both the machines used and gloves to protect the operator's hands.

To combat these diseases and disorders, recommendations have been made and protective gloves have been offered to users of vibrating tools, such as drills, screwdrivers, electric saws, electric sanders, jackhammers, etc. .

Technical problem

Anti-vibration gloves are available on the market but do not allow total and lasting relief to the people concerned. Indeed, they have significant drawbacks which lead to very limited use of them.

The protective gloves currently sold include gels, foams, gas cells in the form of a supplement inserted inside the glove or rubber applied directly to the surface of the glove by dipping. Such gloves, meeting the standard EN10819 are for example marketed under the brands Impacto®, Ansell®, Rostaing®, Ergodyne®.

These protective gloves, even if they meet the requirements of standard NF EN ISO 10819, are however not satisfactory. In fact, the standard NF EN ISO 10819, which sets out to describe the taking of measurements as well as the consecutive calculation of the transmission factors, and which also gives the limit values accepted for these transmission values, is not strict enough especially at low frequencies. Consequently, the gloves currently on the market which comply with this standard have cut-off frequencies of the order of 100Hz while vibrations of frequencies between 40 and 100Hz are just as (or more) dangerous than those at higher frequencies.

Another major drawback of the gloves currently on the market concerns their ergonomics. They do not allow for great dexterity or sufficient working comfort. So even when workers have anti-vibration gloves at their disposal, they do not use them for work or very little.

Another difficulty encountered with the wearing of anti-vibration gloves currently on the market is that the glove made of vibration-absorbing material is very resilient and requires an effort from the user to combat this resilience and properly maintain his tool, which causes significant muscle fatigue and therefore further limits the duration of wearing the glove.

Summary of the invention

The present inventors have developed a new glove which allows quite satisfactory protection against vibrations, including vibrations from 40 to less than 100 Hz, the wearing of which does not continuously impair dexterity and does not cause muscle fatigue.

It is thus proposed a vibration protection glove, the part intended to come opposite the palm of the hand and the internal face of the knuckles comprises an internal face and an external face, said external face being provided with studs in anti-vibration material.

In another aspect, a method of preparing the glove according to the invention is proposed.

In another aspect, the use of a glove according to the invention is proposed.

Statement of the invention

The characteristics set out in the following paragraphs can, optionally, be implemented. They can be implemented independently of each other or in combination with each other: According to a first object, the invention relates to a glove for protection against vibrations, the outer surface of the part intended to come opposite the palm of the hand and the inside of the fingers comprises pads of material anti-vibration.

The glove according to the invention has studs or protuberances made of anti-vibration material only on the outer face of the glove which is in contact with the vibrating tool.

Only the pads are made of anti-vibration material, the rest of the glove is made of a conventional material for gloves, that is to say of a material which conforms to the shape of the hand and does not hinder its movements. In particular, the glove according to the invention can be made of mesh or any flexible material, such as latex, and the studs are fixed on the outer surface of the glove, only on the part of the glove facing the palm of the hand and inside of the knuckles.

The mesh allows the glove to perfectly fit the shapes and movements of the hand while allowing good ventilation of the hand.

According to another embodiment, the glove according to the invention comprises from two types to ten different types of studs, preferably three, four, five, six, seven or eight different types of studs. The studs can differ in their shape, their dimensions and / or the nature of the anti-vibration material which constitutes them.

The studs of one type may not be linked to the studs of another type. In other words, the studs of different types are independent of each other and may not be arranged on a single base of anti-vibration material.

According to another embodiment, the different pads are separate and independent from each other.

According to a particular embodiment, on the glove according to the invention, the studs are arranged on the outer face of the internal part of the glove facing each phalanx and other studs facing the palm of the hand when the glove is in use. Thus, when the glove is put on, the studs are positioned opposite the non-folding parts of the hand, that is to say that they are absent from all the joints of the hand, thus leaving great freedom of movement. In particular, the distance between the neighboring pads of a hand bending zone is such that when the hand is folded these pads do not touch.

The distance between two nearest pads located on either side of a hand bend area is equal to or greater than the smallest of the heights of these two pads, preferably is equal to or greater than the greater of the heights of these two studs.

One can have studs of a first type arranged facing the phalanges and studs of a second type arranged facing the palm of the hand.

The arrangement of the studs and their type will be adapted on the one hand to the size of the user's hand and therefore to the size of the glove and on the other hand to the tool for which it will be used. Indeed, depending on the tool's gripping mode, the reinforced protection zones may be in different contact zones with the user's hand. Thus, for a glove intended to be used with an apparatus used by pushing, the studs arranged opposite the palm of the hand may have a greater height for example. In the case of a glove intended for use by grasping with the hand closed around the tool, the studs facing the knuckles may be reinforced.

In order to limit the weight of the glove according to the invention, the studs are of hollow cylindrical or frustoconical shape.

More particularly, the studs are cylindrical or frustoconical in shape with a polygonal base, preferably with a square or rectangle base. For example, for the studs arranged opposite the phalanxes of the index, middle and ring fingers, studs with a rectangular base may be preferred which will be placed so that the length of the rectangle is along the length of the finger.

In particular, the ratio between the height of the studs and the largest dimension of their base varies according to the type of stud. Generally, the ratio is 2 to 3, in particular 2.2 to 2.8, especially 2.5.

Similarly, depending on the type of stud, the ratio between the largest internal dimension of a hollow stud and the largest external dimension of a stud hollow varies according to the type of stud. In general, the ratio is from 2.00 to 2.60, in particular from 2.15 to 2.50, in particular from 2.25 to 2.47.

The pads are fixed to the glove by any means, in particular, they can be fixed by gluing or sewing. They are fixed one by one or they are present on a fine base, the latter being fixed by gluing or sewing. For example, if 3 identical studs are used opposite the index, they can be placed on a common base and this base is glued or sewn on the outer surface of the glove facing the index.

The fine base can be made of anti-vibration material. It has a thickness of less than 2 mm, preferably less than 1 mm. Its thickness is always less than 14%, preferably 8% and more preferably still 5% of the maximum height of the stud.

According to a particular embodiment, the studs of the glove according to the invention are made of an anti-vibration material which has a three-dimensional elastomer matrix, preferably based on trans-polynorbornene, in which are absorbent plasticizers vibrations.

The anti-vibration material used makes it possible to obtain studs having a hardness of 18 Shore A, preferably of 15 Shore A, and more preferably still of 8 Shore A and a rebound elasticity of 10% maximum, preferably of 4 to 8%.

According to another aspect the invention relates to a method of manufacturing the glove described above.

The method of preparing the glove according to the invention comprises the following steps:

- choose a glove made of flexible material, especially mesh;

-choose at least one type of studs made of anti-vibration material

- arrange and fix the studs on the outer surface of the glove with regard to the knuckles and the palm of the hand.

The studs are fixed by sewing on the glove or by chemical bonding or heat bonding. It can of course also be done at the same time by bonding or thermo bonding and sewing. According to another object, the invention relates to the use of the glove as described above to reduce the transmission of the vibration frequencies of a vibrating tool to the lower limb of the person wearing the glove.

It is also possible to use the glove according to the invention alone or in combination with an "overcoat" to be put on over the protective glove according to the invention in order to obtain additional properties of protection against the , abrasion, tear, etc.

A protective film can be arranged and fixed above the area where the studs are located.

The invention and variants thereof can, in general, to provide a protective glove suitable for the use that will be made, which leaves great dexterity to the wearer and allows to stop vibrations even at low frequencies. The comfort of the glove according to the invention promotes its wearing and thus makes it possible to effectively limit and prevent disorders linked to the vibrations of the tools.

Brief description of the drawings

Other characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description below, and on analysis of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1

[Fig. 1] schematically shows the arrangement of studs on a protective glove according to an embodiment of the invention intended for the right hand;

Fig. 2

[Fig. 2] shows a perspective diagram of the arrangement of the pads of Figure 1;

Fig. 3

[Fig. 3] shows a diagram of a second type of studs arranged on the outer surface of a glove according to an embodiment of the invention, in particular with regard to the phalanges of the index, middle finger and / or ring finger ; Fig. 4

[Fig. 4] shows a diagram of a second type of studs arranged on the outer surface of a glove according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 [Fig. 5] shows a graph comparing the recommended times of use with a drill, screwdriver and angle sander, without glove, with the glove according to the invention and with three gloves currently on the market.

A glove according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2. On the outer surface of a mesh glove, not shown, on the side facing the palm of hand 1, are arranged sets of studs 2, 3, 4, and 5 as shown in FIG. 1.

The pads 2, 4, and 5 are of hollow frustoconical shape with a square base. The hollow part being cylindrical. The pads 3 are of hollow frustoconical shape with a rectangular base. The hollow part being cylindrical. The length of the base of the pad 3 is arranged in the direction of the length of the finger.

A zone d represented by a double arrow is left devoid of any stud at each fold of the hand, to allow free movement of fold of the phalanges. This zone d is dimensioned so that the 2 studs closest to this zone do not touch when the hand is folded.

In Figure 3 are shown in detail the pads 2,4 and 5. The dimensions are those of the pads 2 intended to come opposite especially the distal phalanx of each finger. Depending on the size of the glove, the maximum dimension D _M of the stud will be between 5 and 8 mm. The thickness e of the support film 6 is 0.5 mm. For the pads 2, the ratio between the thickness e of the support film 6 and the total height F1 is 9.6%. The ratio between the largest internal dimension Di and the largest external dimension D _M is 2.5. The ratio between the largest external dimension D _M and the smallest external dimension D _m is 1.2

In Figure 3 are shown in detail the studs 3, intended to come opposite including the intermediate and proximal phalanges of the index, middle and ring fingers. Depending on the size of the glove, the maximum dimension DM of the stud will be between 8 and 12 mm. The thickness e of the support film 6 is 0.5 mm. The ratio between the thickness e of the support film 6 and the total height H is 12%. The ratio between the largest internal dimension and the largest external dimension is 0.3. The ratio between the largest external dimension D _M and the smallest external dimension D _m is 1.65.

For the left hand, the pads are arranged symmetrically.

The pads are arranged and dimensioned differently not only according to the size of the glove, but also according to the type of tool for which they are intended. For example ; for a tool that requires a pushing effort (vibrating plates for example.) the protection of the palm of the hand will be reinforced. The height of the studs arranged facing the palm of the hand can therefore be increased. For a glove intended to be used with a tool which must be held by shaking hands, the studs facing the phalanges of the thumb and those coming opposite the phalanges of the index, middle and ring fingers will be reinforced , that is to say will be made with a larger amount of anti-vibration material.

[0058]

Examples The examples below are given by way of illustration only and are not limiting.

A glove (glove D) in mesh and having a set of studs such as that illustrated in Figure 1 was produced and its performance was tested as described below. Comparatively, 3 other gloves were tested under the same conditions:

glove A: Atom® marketed in particular by the company Rostaing; glove B: Ansell® marketed by Ansell.

glove C: marketed by Prevor in accordance with patent EP0981972.

The same tests were also carried out without gloves. The recommended use time for a polisher, an angle grinder and a drill was determined without gloves, and with gloves A, B, C, D and according to the invention, depending on the acceleration mean experienced at vibration frequencies ranging from 5 to 2000Hz.

The results are shown in FIG. 5.

The recommended use time with the gloves according to the invention is significantly improved compared to the absence of gloves or the use of gloves A or B. The recommended use time with gloves of the invention is of the same order of magnitude as for gloves C. However, given the significant improvement in the comfort of use of the gloves according to the invention and the significant gain in dexterity, the real time of use of the gloves The invention is significantly improved.

[0064]

Claims

[Claim 1] Glove for protection against vibrations, the part intended to come opposite the palm of the hand and the internal face of the phalanges comprises an internal face and an external face, said external face being provided with pads made of anti material -vibratile.

[Claim 2] Glove according to claim 1, characterized in that the glove is made of flexible material, in particular mesh.

[Claim 3] Glove according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the studs are from two to ten types, preferably from three to 8 types, more preferably from 4 to 7 types.

[Claim 4] Glove according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the studs are of cylindrical or frustoconical hollow shape.

[Claim 5] Glove according to claim 4, characterized in that the studs are of cylindrical or frustoconical shape with a polygonal base, preferably square or rectangle.

[Claim 6] Glove according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the ratio between the height of the studs and the largest dimension of their base is 2 to 3, in particular 2.2 to 2 , 8 and especially 2.5.

[Claim 7] Glove according to any one of claims 4 to 5, characterized in that the ratio between the largest internal dimension of a hollow stud and the largest external dimension of a hollow stud is 2.00 to 2.60, preferably from 2.15 to 2.50 and in particular 2.25 to 2.47.

[Claim 8] Glove according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the studs are fixed by gluing, heat bonding and / or sewing on the glove.

[Claim 9] Glove according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the anti-vibration material has a three-dimensional elastomer matrix, preferably based on trans-polynorbornene, in which are absorbing softening plasticizers vibrations.

[Claim 10] Glove according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the studs have a hardness 18 Shore A, preferably 15 Shore A, and more preferably still 8 Shore A and a rebound elasticity 10%.

[Claim 11] A method of preparing a glove as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10, which comprises the following steps:

- choose a glove made of flexible material, in particular mesh;

- choose at least one type of studs made of anti-vibration material

[Claim 12] Use of a glove as defined in any one of claims 1 to 11, to reduce the transmission of the frequencies of vibration of a vibrating tool to the lower limb of the person wearing the glove.