Oil resistant work glove

Abstract

A work glove is provided having some liquid resistance. The work glove consists of an outer fabric shell which has a plastisol coating on the fabric on an interior surface of the glove to cover a palm portion and inner surfaces of the glove. An inner comfort liner covers the plastisol coating to cushion the palm and absorb some perspiration. Preferably, the outer fabric shell is a circular knitted cotton fabric which provides good grip on oily metal surfaces. A method of fabrication is also provided.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to work gloves which are used for handling metal which is often coated with oil, and in particular relates to gloves having an oil or solvent resistant barrier.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Liquid impervious gloves consisting of a synthetic plastic shell formed to cover a hand are not suitable for applications where the glove is used over a prolonged period of time since they do not breathe or transmit air and they are therefore uncomfortable and hot.

While gloves made of fabric and having a protective covering such as a plastisol fused to the palm and fingers will be more comfortable and will provide some resistance to liquid penetration, the plastisol covering can become slippery particularly when exposed to oil and other lubricants. It is therefore common practice to simply use knitted cotton fabric gloves and to discard them when saturated. Some additional protection may be obtained by wearing an inner fabric glove and an outer fabric glove and discarding the outer glove on a periodic basis.

An object of this invention is to provide a glove which will have an outer surface with good grip properties while providing some liquid resistance and comfort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a glove having an outer shell made of fabric, a plastisol coating on the fabric disposed on an interior surface of the glove to cover a palm portion and front portions of the glove, and an inner comfort liner covering the plastisol coating.

The invention also provides a method of fabricating such a glove in which an outer shell made of fabric is slipped over a hand former, the hand former is brought into contact with a bath of plastisol to coat the fabric shell on a palm portion and front portions of the glove with a plastisol coating, the hand former and the bath are separated, the plastisol coating is allowed to dry until it is still tacky, an inner comfort liner is applied to the tacky plastisol coating to produce a glove assembly, the glove assembly is heated to cure the plastisol coating and the glove assembly is removed from the hand former to bring the inner comfort liner into an interior of the glove while exposing the fabric outer shell adjacent the palm portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention can be more clearly understood, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention, as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first step in a method of fabricating a glove in accordance with the invention in which an outer fabric shell is slipped over a first hand former;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the fabric shell positioned on the hand former;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevation showing the hand former of FIG. 2 being lowered into a plastisol bath;

FIG. 4 illustrates the hand former partially immersed in the plastisol bath;

FIG. 5 illustrates the hand former separated from the bath of plastisol and showing the plastisol coating on the fabric shell;

FIG. 6 illustrates the hand former being rotated to bring the plastisol coated palm portion of the glove in an upward orientation;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the application of a comfort liner to the plastisol coating on the glove;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the glove assembly consisting of the fabric outer shell and a comfort liner applied to the plastisol coating; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a second hand former disposed opposite to the first hand former with the fingers placed end to end for inverting the glove assembly over the second hand former.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT WITH REFERENCE TO DRAWINGS

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fabrication of a glove 20 will be described which has five pocket portions for receiving respective digits of a hand. It will be understood that the glove 20 may have other configurations and could for example have two such pocket portions to form a mitten or other configurations, as desired. The glove indicated by reference numeral 20 in FIG. 9 is an assembly which is fabricated using an outer shell 22 made of fabric (FIG. 1). The fabric outer shell 22 is preferably a circular knitted cotton fabric glove which is seamless and is commonly used as a glove in itself. However, for purposes of this application, the fabric shell is treated to enhance its liquid resistance properties. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the fabric shell 22 is first inverted and then slipped over a first hand former 24 which is a hollow aluminum casting having the shape of a hand and which is mounted at a flanged end 26 to a conveyor (not shown). Arrow 28 indicates the relative movement of the outer shell 22 onto the hand former 24. Such hand formers 24 are well known in the art and will be available in a number of different hand sizes for right and left hand configurations. As can be seen more clearly from the side elevational view of FIG. 3, the hand former 24 has an arm portion which is somewhat inclined relative to the palm portion so that the glove outer shell 22 is only partially immersed when brought into contact with a bath of plastisol 30 as indicated by arrow 32. The plastisol bath 30 consists of a liquid which when dry forms a liquid impervious coating on the fabric shell 22. While thermoplastic materials such as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (also known as nitrile) are preferred, the plastisol coating may also consist of polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, or latex.

While it is preferred to coat only the palm portion and front portions of the outer shell 22, in order to maximize the comfort and breathability of the glove, other orientations of the hand former 24 may be used if it is desirable to immerse the entire outer shell 22 into the plastisol bath 30. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 5, only a front portion of the outer shell 22 has a plastisol coating 34 when the hand former 24 is removed from the plastisol bath 30 as indicated by arrow 36. The plastisol coating 34 will adhere to the fabric outer shell 22 and form a unitary layer which joins the individual fibers of the knitted cotton fabric comprising the outer shell 22 while still leaving the cotton fabric bare on the opposing side of the outer shell 22.

After removal of the hand former 24 from the plastisol bath 30, the plastisol is allowed to run off the outer shell so that any excess material will be captured by the underlying bath of plastisol 30. The hand former is then rotated as indicated by arrow 38 in order to orient the hand former with the palm facing upwards so as to provide ready access to the plastisol coating 34. While the plastisol coating 34 is still tacky and is not yet fully cured, usually within two minutes after separating the hand former from the bath of plastisol, a felt comfort liner 40 (FIG. 7) is applied to the tacky plastisol coating 34 as indicated by arrow 42. The felt comfort liner 40 is previously trimmed from a sheet of suitable material which preferably consists of a polyester non-woven felt but which could equally comprise any other fabric such as cotton or polyester blends that will absorb perspiration during use of the glove 20. It will be understood that the comfort liner 40 will in use be adjacent to the user's palm and the front surface of the user's fingers and will desirably also provide a cushioning layer to protect the hand.

The resulting glove assembly 20 is carried by the hand former 24 into an oven where the glove assembly is heated at a temperature suitable for curing the plastisol. In the case where the plastisol consists of nitrile, the heating takes place at a nominal temperature of approximately 300° F. for a period of about one half hour. This curing will polymerize the nitrile so that it remains solid at room temperature and also secure the bond between the comfort liner 40 and the underlying plastisol coating 34.

After the glove assembly 20 has been heated, it is removed from the hand former to bring the comfort liner 40 into an interior of the glove assembly while exposing the outer fabric shell adjacent the palm portion. Conveniently, this inversion of the glove assembly 20 is performed by bringing a second hand former 44 adjacent to the first hand former 24 so that the finger portions are disposed end to end and by inverting the glove assembly by removing it from the first hand former 24 and sliding it over the second hand former 44. Once inverted, the glove assembly 20 is removed and can be matched to an opposing hand glove for further shipping and handling.

In use, the resulting glove assembly 20 will have a fabric shell exterior which on the back side will provide comfort and breathability while on the front or palm side, the glove assembly 20 will have some resistance to liquid penetration provided by the inner plastisol coating. The inner comfort lining 40 will cushion the hand and wick away any perspiration from the palm.

It will of course be understood that several variations may be made to the above-described embodiment of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. As indicated above, the plastisol coating 34 may cover additional portions of the outer shell 22 if additional resistance to liquid penetration is desired. The nature of the materials used may be varied such that the outer fabric shell could alternatively be fabricated from woven-fabric pieces sewn together. In addition, the comfort liner could be made from other materials and could include a sub-assembly of suitable padding material encased in a shell made of fabric. Other such variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A glove having an outer shell made of fabric, a plastisol coating on the fabric shell disposed on an interior portions of the glove to cover a palm portion and front portions of the glove, and an inner comfort liner covering the plastisol coating.

2. A glove according to claim 1 in which the outer shell is made of a circular knitted cotton fabric.

3. A glove according to claim 1 in which the plastisol coating is selected from the group comprising: polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, latex.

4. A glove according to claim 1 in which the comfort liner is a non-woven felt made of polyester.

5. A glove according to claim 1 defining a plurality of pockets each adapted to receive a digit.

6. A glove according to claim 1 defining five pockets each adapted to receive a respective digit.

7. A glove having an outer shell made of a circular knitted cotton fabric, a plastisol coating on the fabric disposed on an interior surface of the glove to cover a palm portion and front portions of the glove, and an inner comfort liner covering the plastisol coating on the palm portion and front portions of the glove.

8. A method of fabricating a glove having a palm portion, front portions, and a back portion, the method having the following steps:

slipping an outer fabric shell over a first hand former,

bringing the hand former into contact with a bath of plastisol to coat the fabric shell on the palm portion and front portions of the glove with a plastisol coating,

separating the hand former from the bath of plastisol,

allowing the plastisol coating to dry until it is still tacky,

applying an inner comfort liner to the tacky plastisol coating to produce a glove assembly,

heating the glove assembly to cure the plastisol coating, and

removing the glove assembly from the hand former to bring the inner comfort liner into an interior of the glove while exposing the outer shell adjacent the palm portion.

9. A method according to claim 8 in which the hand former is made of aluminum.

10. A method according to claim 8 in which the inner comfort liner is applied to the plastisol coating within two minutes after separating the hand former and the bath of plastisol.

11. A method according to claim 8 in which the glove assembly is heated at 300° F. for one half hour to cure a plastisol coating made of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber.

12. A method according to claim 8 in which the glove assembly is removed from the first hand former by inverting the glove assembly over a second hand former disposed end to end with the first hand former.