PAD AND ARTICLE RESISTANT TO IMPACT FORCES
An impact resistant article includes a base portion with an impact pad attached to the base portion. The impact pad includes a padding material and a fabric laminated to the padding material. The padding material features fold lines generally corresponding to a wearer's natural bending locations when the impact pad is secured to the base portion.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/727,430, filed Nov. 16, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to protective gloves, sleeves and clothing and, in particular, to a pad and an article resistant to impact forces.
BACKGROUNDIn a number of industries, such as the oil and mining industry, hands are subjected to heavy lifting and moving. As a result, hands are often in motion with heavy parts, tools and equipment, which causes mechanical impact hazards for workers' hands. Injuries in these types of environments may be due to such mechanical impact hazards.
The glove of choice by many workers in industries such as the oil and mining industry are ordinary “chore gloves,” an example of which is the Super Green King (SGK) glove sold by Jomac Canada of Quebec, Canada. The chore glove design provides warmth, mobility and grip in oily environments. Padding has not previously been provided, however, on such chore gloves to protect metacarpal bones from impact and pinch hazards. A need therefore exists for such padding that is effective on gloves, sleeves and other articles.
While the present invention will be described below in terms of impact pads for/and gloves, it is to be understood that the present invention may be employed in sleeves and other articles.
A back of hand impact pad in a first embodiment of the present invention is indicated in general at 10 in
The cross-linked polyethylene foam (layer 16 of
The fabric 14 (
Construction of the impact pads 10 and 12 of
The concave mold of each impact pad of
As illustrated at 29 in
Once molded, the impact pads 10 and 12 (or 17 and 19) are trimmed into the back of hand shaped (
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a glove or sleeve is fitted with an impact pad on the back of the hand and thumb. More specifically, as illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment, illustrated in
The base glove or sleeve 30 of
It is possible to add a layer of impact gel material between the flat molded surface of each impact pad and the fabric portion of the glove prior to being sewn or glued in place.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. An impact pad for securing to a glove comprising:
- a. a padding material featuring a back of hand shape;
- b. a fabric laminated to the padding material;
- c. said padding material featuring fold lines generally corresponding to natural bending locations in a wearer's hand when the impact pad is secured to the glove.
2. The pad of claim 1 wherein the padding material is cross-linked polyethylene foam.
3. The pad of claim 2 wherein the padding material is molded and is approximately 6 mm to 12 mm thick prior to molding.
4. The pad of claim 2 wherein the padding material has a weight of approximately 2 pcf to 4 pcf.
5. The pad of claim 2 wherein the cross-lined polyethylene foam is flame resistant.
6. The pad of claim 1 wherein the fabric is laminated to the padding material by heat.
7. The pad of claim 1 wherein the fabric is laminated to the padding material by adhesive.
8. An impact resistant article comprising:
- a. a base portion;
- b. a back of hand impact pad attached to the base portion;
- c. a back of thumb impact pad attached to the base portion;
- d. each of said impact pads including: i) a padding material; ii) a fabric laminated to the padding material; iii) said padding material featuring fold lines generally corresponding to natural bending locations in a wearer's hand when the impact pad is secured to the base portion.
9. The pad of claim 8 wherein the padding material is cross-linked polyethylene foam.
10. The pad of claim 9 wherein the padding material is molded and is approximately 6 mm to 12 mm thick prior to molding.
11. The pad of claim 9 wherein the padding material has a weight of approximately 2 pcf to 4 pcf.
12. The pad of claim 9 wherein the cross-lined polyethylene foam is flame resistant.
13. The pad of claim 8 wherein the fabric is laminated to the padding material by heat.
14. The pad of claim 8 wherein the fabric is laminated to the padding material by adhesive.
15. The pad of claim 8 wherein the article is a glove or sleeve.
16. An impact pad for securing to a glove comprising:
- a. a padding material featuring a back of thumb shape;
- b. a fabric laminated to the padding material;
- c. said padding material featuring fold lines generally corresponding to natural bending locations in a wearer's hand when the impact pad is secured to the glove.
17. The pad of claim 16 wherein the padding material is cross-linked polyethylene foam.
18. The pad of claim 17 wherein the padding material is molded and is approximately 6 mm to 12 mm thick prior to molding.
19. The pad of claim 17 wherein the padding material has a weight of approximately 2 pcf to 4 pcf.
20. The pad of claim 17 wherein the cross-lined polyethylene foam is flame resistant.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 18, 2013
Publication Date: May 22, 2014
Applicant: Wells Lamont Industry Group LLC (Niles, IL)
Inventor: Angela Fisher (Palatine, IL)
Application Number: 14/082,350