Protective glove with a removable liner

Abstract

A heat resistant and liquid impermeable glove for the food service industry that has an outer shell and an inner liner that are detachably securable to one another. The liner is insertable into the shell and is detachably secured thereto by one or more securements. Each of the shell and the liner have a front and a back that are joined together and form a hollow interior therebetween. Each of the shell and liner has a peripheral edge which surrounds an opening to the hollow interior and has digit shaped extension that receive the fingers and thumb of a worker. A first securement is applied to an exterior surface of the liner proximate its peripheral edge and to an interior surface of the shell proximate its peripheral edge. A second securement is applied to the exterior surface of the digit-shaped extensions of the liner and to the interior surface of the digit-shaped extensions of the shell. The first and second securements comprise first and second layers of complementary mating fastener material. This fastener material may be of the hook and loop type or of the self-mating reclosable type.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to gloves. More particularly, the invention relates to a protective glove used in the fast food industry. Specifically, the invention relates to a glove for use by workers operating equipment containing heated liquids and the glove includes a heat resistant and liquid impermeable outer shell having a removably secured liner therein.

2. Background Information

In the food services industry workers are frequently exposed to heated surfaces and liquids that may cause severe injury and burns. It has therefore become common for workers dealing with hot liquids, such as oil used in fryers, to wear protective clothing including heat resistant gloves. The gloves in question need to prevent radiant heat from the hot liquid from burning the skin of the worker. The gloves also need to be liquid impermeable to prevent hot liquid that splashes onto the gloves from soaking into the glove and causing a contact type burn.

The gloves that are currently used in the food service industry function quite well at achieving the above goals. They are, however, extremely expensive and as a result of this, the same gloves are shared by all of the workers that operate the fryers. This causes a variety of problems. Firstly, the gloves may become dirty in a first shift and then have to be worn by workers in subsequent shifts. Secondly, if one of the workers that shares the gloves develops some sort of transmittable skin disorder, such as eczema or dermatitis, the remaining workers that share those gloves may catch the disorder.

There is therefore a need in the art for a glove for the food service industry that is both heat resistant and liquid impermeable, but is also hygenic and cleanable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device of the present invention comprises a heat resistant and liquid impermeable glove for the food service industry that has an outer shell and an inner liner that are detachably securable to one another. The liner is insertable into the shell and is detachably secured thereto by one or more securements. Each of the shell and the liner have a front and a back that are joined together and form a hollow interior therebetween. Each of the shell and liner has a peripheral edge which surrounds an opening to the hollow interior and has digit shaped extension that receive the fingers and thumb of a worker. A first securement is applied to an exterior surface of the liner proximate its peripheral edge and to an interior surface of the shell proximate its peripheral edge. A second securement is applied to the exterior surface of the digit-shaped extensions of the liner and to the interior surface of the digit-shaped extensions of the shell. The first and second securements comprise first and second layers of complementary mating fastener material. This fastener material may be of the hook and loop type or of the self-mating reclosable type.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, are set forth in the following description and are shown in the drawings and are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the heat resistant glove in accordance with the present invention shown with the worker retrieving an object from within a tub of heated liquid;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the heat resistant glove in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded front view of the heat resistant glove showing both the outer shell and the inner liner;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a heat resistant glove in accordance with the present invention and generally indicated at 10. Glove 10 is useful in the food service industry for protecting the hands and lower portion of the arms of a worker who deals with heating liquids, such as is found in fryers.

FIG. 1 shows a partial view of a worker's arm 12 with glove 10 worn thereon and the worker reaching their hand into a vat 14 of heated liquid 16 to retrieve an object 18.

FIGS. 2-5 show glove 10 comprising an outer shell 20 and an inner liner 22 that is insertable into shell 20. Outer shell 20 has a front 24 and a back 26 that are joined together. Front 24 and back 26 may be joined along a seam or may be formed in a substantially seamless manner. Shell 20 also has a peripheral edge 28 that circumscribes an opening 30 (FIG. 4) to a hollow interior 32. Opening 30 is sized to receive liner 22 and the hand of the worker. Shell 20 further includes a plurality of digit-shaped extensions 34, 36, 38 and 40 for receiving the fingers of the worker and a digit-shaped extension 42 for receiving the thumb of the worker. Shell 20 is manufactured from any suitable materials that are both heat resistant and liquid impermeable. Suitable materials for shell 20 include natural rubber, neoprene, silicone, nitrile and butyl or any combination of the same. As illustrated in FIG. 3, an upper portion 20a of shell 20 may be joined to a lower portion 20b thereof, with upper portion 20a being manufactured from a first material and lower portion 20b being manufactured from a second material.

Liner 22 has a front 44 and a back (not shown) that are joined together. Front 44 and the back of liner 22 may be joined along a seam or may be formed in a substantially seamless manner. Liner 22 also has a peripheral edge 46 that circumscribes an opening 48 (FIG. 4) to a hollow interior 50. Opening 48 is sized to the hand of the worker therethrough. Liner 22 further includes a plurality of digit-shaped extensions 52, 54, 56 and 58 for receiving the fingers of the worker and a digit-shaped extension (not shown) for receiving the thumb of the worker. Liner 22 is sized and shaped to be received within the hollow interior of shell 20, with extensions 52, 54, 56 and 58 being received in extensions 34, 36, 38 and 40 respectively. The thumb receiving extension of liner 22 is sized and shaped to be received within the extension 42 of shell 20. Liner 22 is manufactured from any suitable material such as cotton, cotton and polyester blends, all aramid fibers including KEVLAR® and TWARON®, and polyethelene fabrics such as DYNEEMA®. Kevlar is a registered trademark of E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company of Wilmington Del. Twaron is a registered trademark of Teijin Twaron B.V Ltd. of the Netherlands and Dyneema is a registered trademark of DSM IP ASSETS B.V., a Netherlands corporation. Liner 22 may be manufactured from any one of these materials or from a combination of the same. Preferably, liner 22 is manufactured from a material that can be washed or otherwise cleaned in some manner.

In accordance with a specific feature of the present invention, liner 22 is detachably securable within shell 20. Liner 22 and shell 20 are secured together to prevent shell 20 from accidentally sliding off liner 22 and leaving the worker's hand exposed to both the radiant and contact heat of the liquid 16. Liner 22 and shell 20 are detachably secured together by one or both of a first securement 60 (FIG. 4) and a second securement 62 (FIG. 5).

First securement 60 comprises a first layer 64 and a second layer 66 of a recloseable fastener material. First layer 64 is secured in a suitable manner to an exterior surface 68 of liner 22 proximate peripheral edge 48. So, first layer 64 may be adhesively attached to exterior surface 68 or may be sewn thereon. Second layer 66 is secured in a suitable manner to an interior surface 70 of shell 20 proximate peripheral edge 28. Second layer 66 may also be adhesive attached to interior surface 70 or sewn thereon. First and second layers 64, 66 preferably are manufactured from matingly reclosable materials such as hook and loop type fasteners such as those sold under the trademark VELCRO® or self-mating fastener materials such those sold under the trademark DUAL-LOCK®. Velcro is a registered trademark of Velcro Industries B.V, a Netherlands company and Dual-Lock is a registered trademark of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, also known as 3M.

Second securement 62 comprises a first layer 72 and a second layer 74 of a recloseable fastener material. First layer 72 is secured in a suitable manner to an exterior surface 76 of liner 22 proximate an upper end of one or more of extensions 52, 54, 56, 58 and the extension for the thumb (not shown). So, first layer 72 may be adhesively attached to exterior surface 76 or may be sewn thereon. Second layer 74 is secured in a suitable manner to an interior surface 78 of shell 20 proximate an upper end of one or more of extensions 34, 36, 38, 40 and 42. Second layer 74 may also be adhesive attached to interior surface 70 or sewn thereon, but considering the location involved, the former is more likely. First and second layers 72, 74 preferably are also manufactured from matingly reclosable materials such as hook and loop type fasteners and self-mating fastener materials.

The glove 10 of the present invention is used in the following manner. When a food industry worker is going to be working with hot liquids, they insert a first hand into liner 22, pushing their fingers and thumbs into the extensions 52, 54, 56, 58 and the extension for the thumb. Once their hand is positioned inside liner 22, they carefully insert liner 22 through opening 30 in shell 20 and push their hand upwardly until their liner-covered fingers enter extensions 34, 36, 38, 40 and 42 respectively. At this point the first and second layers 72, 74 of second securements 62 become matingly engaged with one another. The worker then withdraws their hand and manipulates the peripheral edges 28, 48 of shell 20 and liner 22 so that first and second layers 64, 66 of first securement 60 matingly engage each other. The worker repeats these steps with the glove for the other hand. Gloves 10 are now ready for use. When the worker is finished working, they slide gloves 10 off both hands and then separate first and second layers 64, 66 of first securement 60 to separate the peripheral edges 28 and 48 of shell 20 and liner. Then, grasping the lowermost portion of liner 22 proximate peripheral edge 48, they pull on insert 22 until the first and second layers 72, 74 of second securement 62 become disengaged. Liner 22 may then be pulled completely out of the interior 32 of shell 20. When the next worker is to use the gloves 10, they take a second different liner (not shown) and repeating the steps above, install that liner into the interior 32 of shell 20. The first liner 22 may be washed or cleaned for subsequent use.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Claims

1. A protective glove comprising:

an outer shell that is heat resistant and liquid impermeable; said shell having a front and a back that are joined together and have a hollow interior formed therebetween; said hollow interior being adapted to receive a human hand therein; and wherein said shell has a peripheral edge surrounding an opening to said interior and through which said hand is receivable;

an inner liner having a front and a back that are joined together and having a hollow interior formed therebetween and which is adapted to receive a human hand therein; said inner liner having a peripheral edge surrounding an opening to said interior of the liner and through which said hand is receivable; and wherein said liner is insertable into and detachably secured to said outer shell.

2. The protective glove as defined in claim 1, further comprising a first securement that is engaged to connect the liner to the shell and is disengaged to release the liner from the shell.

3. The protective glove as defined in claim 2, wherein the first securement comprises a first layer of a recloseable fastener applied to an exterior surface of the liner and a mating second layer of a recloseable fastener that is applied to an interior surface of the shell.

4. The protective glove as defined in claim 3, wherein the first layer is applied proximate the peripheral edge of the liner and the second layer is applied proximate the peripheral edge of the shell.

5. The protective glove as defined in claim 4, wherein one of the first and second layers is made from a hook-type fastener material and the other of the first and second layers is made from a loop-type fastener material.

6. The protective glove as defined in claim 4, wherein each of the first and second layers is made from a layer of self-mating recloseable fastener material.

7. The protective glove as defined in claim 3, wherein the shell includes a plurality of digit-shaped extensions that are adapted to receive the fingers and thumb of the hand; and the liner includes a complementary plurality of digit-shaped extensions that are adapted to receive the fingers and thumb of the hand; and wherein the first layer of the first securement is applied to an exterior surface of one or more of the extensions of the liner; and the mating second layer is applied to an interior surface of one or more of the extensions of the shell.

8. The protective glove as defined in claim 7, wherein one of the first and second layers is made from a hook-type fastener material and the other of the first and second layers is made from a loop-type fastener material.

9. The protective glove as defined in claim 7, wherein each of the first and second layers is made from a layer of self-mating recloseable fastener material.

10. The protective glove as defined in claim 2, further comprising a second securement that is engaged to connect the liner to the shell and is disengaged to release the liner from the shell.

11. The protective glove as defined in claim 2, wherein the shell includes a plurality of digit-shaped extensions adapted to receive the fingers and thumb of the hand; and the liner includes a complementary plurality of digit-shaped extensions adapted to receive the fingers and thumb of the hand; and

a first layer of the first securement is applied to an exterior surface of the liner proximate the peripheral edge thereof; and a mating second layer of the first securement is applied to an interior surface of the shell proximate the peripheral edge thereof; and

a first layer of the second securement is applied to an interior surface of one or more of the extensions of the liner; and a mating second layer of the second securement is applied to an interior surface of one or more of the extensions of the shell.

12. The protective glove as defined in claim 11, wherein each of the extensions of the liner and the shell has a tip that receives an uppermost portion of the fingers and thumb of the hand; and wherein the first and second layers of the second securement are applied to the tips of the extensions of the liner and the shell.

13. The protective glove as defined in claim 12, wherein one of the first and second layers of each of the first and second securements is made from a hook-type fastener material and the other of the first and second layers of the first ad second securements is made from a loop-type fastener material.

14. The protective glove as defined in claim 12, wherein each of the first and second layers of the first and second securement is made from a layer of self-mating recloseable fastener material.

15. The protective glove as defined in claim 1, wherein the shell is manufactured from one or more of the group consisting of rubber, neoprene, silicone, nitrile and butyl.

16. The protective glove as defined in claim 1, wherein the liner is manufactured from one or more of the group consisting of cotton, cotton polyester blends, aramid fibers including Kevlar and Twaron, and polyethylene fabrics including Dyneema.

17. The protective glove as defined in claim 1, wherein the liner is manufactured from a washable or otherwise cleanable material.