GLOVE WITH CONDUCTIVE FINGERTIPS
A glove operably configured for use with a capacitive touchscreen comprises a plurality of fingertips, an outer surface, and an inner surface, wherein at least one of the fingertips comprises conductive thread or yarn extending from the outer surface of the glove to the inner surface of the glove to create a conductive pathway from the inner surface of the glove to the outer surface of the glove.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/237,524, filed Aug. 27, 2009, entitled “GLOVE WITH CONDUCTIVE FINGERTIPS,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUNDThis disclosure relates to a glove for operating an electronic device, particularly a device with a touchscreen. To operate capacitive touchscreens requires electric conductivity between the screen and a user's fingers. Thus, users of such electronic devices can find it difficult to operate the device while wearing gloves. The exemplary gloves described herein overcome this difficulty by providing gloves with conductive fingertips.
While a variety of gloves have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used an invention as described herein.
SUMMARYA glove comprises a plurality of fingertips, an outer surface, and an inner surface, wherein at least one of the fingertips comprises conductive thread or yarn extending from the outer surface of the glove to the inner surface of the glove.
While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings, incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
In this application, the word “finger” and “fingertip” apply equally to fingers/fingertips and thumbs/thumbtips. Similarly, the word “thumb” and “thumbtips” apply equally to thumbs/thumbtips and fingers/fingertips. “Glove” can also mean mitten. The words “yarn” and “thread” can be used interchangeably.
Glove (10) is knit substantially from non-conductive yarn (26) and also includes conductive yarn (28) knit into fingertips (12) at index finger position (14) and thumb position (16). Of course, conductive yarn (28) can be knit into fingertips (12) at only a single finger position, at all finger positions, or even throughout all of glove (10) in some versions. In the present example, glove (10) is first knit of yarn (26), then conductive yarn (28) is knit into glove (10) at index finger position (14) and thumb position (16) as best shown in
The shape of the knit area and the length of fingertips (12) that include conductive yarn (28) can take into consideration the portion of the finger and/or thumb that is used to operate a touchscreen. In the present example, about one and one-half inches at the end of fingertips (12) at index finger position (14) and thumb position (16) include conductive yarn (28); of course greater or lesser lengths may be used. Also, conductive yarn (28) can be knit into all areas of fingertips (12). For instance, in the illustrated version, at index finger position (14) and thumb position (16), conductive yarn (28) is located on the pad (34), the back (36), the sides (38), and the distal-most tip (40) of those fingertips (12). In some other versions, conductive yarn (28) is located in select areas of fingertips (12) instead of all areas. In the illustrated version, the user can operate the touchscreen by contacting the touchscreen with any part of fingertip (12) containing conductive yarn (28) (e.g., pad (34), sides (38), tip (40), etc.) in an amount and arrangement sufficient to create the electrical pathway between the user's finger and the touchscreen.
The non-conductive portions of glove (10) can be knit using processes known in the art, using materials known in the art, including but not limited to acrylic yarn, Lycra, or feather yarn (100% nylon). The conductive portions of glove (10) can also be knit using processes known in the art, using any conductive yarn. In some versions conductive yarn (28) is comprised of two ends of conductive thread mixed with non-conductive thread. In some versions, conductive yarn (28) can conduct 82 ohms/foot to 14 ohms/foot. Glove (10) can be machine-knit hand-knit.
In view of the teachings herein, various other configurations and modifications to glove (10) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. By way of example only, and not limitation, conductive yarn (28) may be knit into any decorative pattern so long as there is sufficient conductive thread to conduct an electrical impulse from the user's finger to the touchscreen. In some versions, all or some of fingertips (12) of one glove (10) from a pair of gloves are conductive, while in other versions all or some of fingertips (12) of both gloves (10) from the pair are conductive.
Glove (110) is constructed by assembling cut fabrics together using processes known in the art (e.g., sewing together cut fabrics forming seams). In the present example, glove (110) comprises a palm fabric (144), a backhand fabric (146), a seaming fabric (148), an index finger fabric (150), and a thumb fabric (152). These fabrics are generally non-conductive fabrics (126) sewn together as shown to form glove (110). Conductive thread (128) is embroidered or stitched into or onto the fabrics that make-up fingertips (112) at index finger position (114) and thumb position (116) to provide conductive pathways between the user's fingertip and a touchscreen. Any well-known embroidery technique may be used to apply conductive thread (128) to fingertips (112) of glove (110). This embroidery or stitching with conductive thread (128) can be done before the fabrics (144, 146, 148, 150, 152) are assembled to form glove (110) or after the fabrics (144, 146, 148, 150, 152) have been assembled to form glove (110). In either approach conductive thread (128) passes from the inner surface (132) of glove (110) to the outer surface (130) of glove (110) to provide conductive pathways between the user's fingertip inside glove (110) and the conductive embroidery or stitching on the outside of glove (110), which in turn would contact the capacitive touchscreen.
In the present example, the embroidery or stitching with conductive thread (128) is directly onto index finger fabric (150) and thumb fabric (152) such that the embroidery or stitching itself extends from outer surface (130) of glove (110) to inner surface (132) of glove (110) as best seen in
While the illustrated version in
The shape and length of the embroidered or stitched area (154) at fingertips (112) that include conductive thread (128) can take into consideration the portion of the finger and/or thumb that is used to operate a touchscreen. In the present example, conductive embroidery or stitching (154) located at index finger position (114) and thumb position (116) comprises an hour glass shape having a top portion (156), a bottom portion (158), and a neck portion (160) having a narrower width compared to top and bottom portions (156, 158). Neck portion (160) of the hour glass shape wraps the distal-most tip (140) of fingertips (112), thus top portion (156) extends to the back (136) of fingertip (112) on backhand side (118) of glove (110) while bottom portion (158) extends to the pad (134) of fingertip (112) on palm side (120) of glove (110). This configuration for conductive embroidery or stitching (154) provides a continuous area of conductive thread (128) from pad (134) to back (136) of fingertips (112) at index finger position (114) and thumb position (116). In this arrangement, the user could operate the touchscreen by contacting the touchscreen with any part of fingertip (112) containing conductive thread (128) (e.g., pad (134), back (136), tip (140)) in an amount and arrangement sufficient to create the electrical pathway between the user's finger and the touchscreen.
As shown in
The non-conductive portions of glove (110) can be assembled using materials known in the art of glove/mitten making. For example, in some versions spandex (77% nylon, 23% Spandex) is laminated to 100% polyester fleece to form glove (110). In some versions glove (110) is made of stretch fleece (94% polyester, 6% Spandex), or glove (110) is made of stretch fleece and jersey sides with gripper silicone printing (142) on palm side (120). In other versions, glove (110) includes textured stretch material (60% Tactel, 30% Coolmax, 10% Lycra Spandex) laminated to 100% polyester fleece for use in backhand side (118). Another version includes stretch ottoman (96% polyester, 4% spandex) in the backhand side (118). In other versions, textured water resistant or water repellant microfiber fabric is laminated to 100% polyester fleece. Still in other versions, gloves (110) are made of textured knit (100% polyester) laminated to 100% polyester fleece. Leather, either hairsheep or goatskin, can be used in the backhand side (118) of glove (110) in some versions. The cuffs, palm, and fourchettes of gloves (110) can be made of a blend of 80% nylon and 20% Lycra Spandex, or a blend of 79% nylon and 21% Lycra Spandex, or a stretch fleece material (94% polyester, 6% Lycra Spandex) that can also be used for seaming fabric (148). Synthetic suede (60% polyurethane, 40% nylon) can be used as appliqués or tabs. Gloves (110), in some versions, include palm patches made of pigsplit or embossed polyurethane. In view of the teachings herein, other materials of construction for gloves (110) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Any conductive thread can be used in making glove (110) so long as there is sufficient conductivity to conduct an electrical impulse from the user's finger to the touchscreen. In the present example, conductive thread (128) can conduct 82 ohms/foot to 14 ohms/foot. As mentioned previously, glove (110) is machine-sewn in some versions, with machine embroidery or stitching. In the present example, when embroidering or stitching conductive thread (128) into glove (110), conductive thread (128) is used in both the top and bottom bobbins. In some other versions, when embroidering or stitching conductive thread (128) into glove (110), conductive thread (128) is used in the top bobbin only. Still in some other versions, when embroidering or stitching conductive thread (128) into glove (110), conductive thread (128) is used in the bottom bobbin thread only. In other versions, conductive thread (128) is hand-sewn into glove (110). Conductive thread (128) for stitching or embroidery can be comprised of a finer thread with four ends that conducts 90 ohms/foot to 95 ohms/foot. Such conductive thread (128) can be a 100% nylon thread with silver coating, with a thickness before coating of 280D and 340D after coating. In view of the teachings herein, other types of conductive thread (128) for use in making gloves (110) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In view of the teachings herein, various other configurations and modifications to glove (110) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. By way of example only, and not limitation, conductive thread (128) may be embroidered or stitched into any decorative pattern so long as there is sufficient conductive thread to conduct an electrical impulse from the user's finger to the touchscreen. In some versions, all or some of fingertips (112) of one glove (110) from a pair of gloves are conductive, while in other versions all or some of fingertips (112) of both gloves (110) from the pair are conductive. In some versions the thumb and index finger of glove (110) can be the only fingertips (112) that are conductive. In some versions conductive portions of fingertips (112) can be placed on the side portions of the index fingertip and thumbtip, especially for users who often press touchscreens with the side of their thumb, rather than directly on the area covering pad (134) of the thumb.
Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, embodiments, geometries, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.
Claims
1. A glove comprising a plurality of fingertips, an outer surface, and an inner surface, wherein the fingertips comprise a pad, a back, sides, and a tip, wherein at least one of the fingertips comprises conductive yarn positioned at the pad of the at least one of the fingertips and extending from the outer surface of the glove to the inner surface of the glove.
2. The glove of claim 1, wherein the conductive yarn establishes a conductive pathway from the inner surface of the glove to the outer surface of the glove.
3. The glove of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the fingertips comprises conductive yarn and non-conductive yarn.
4. The glove of claim 3, wherein the distribution of the conductive yarn and the non-conductive yarn is generally uniform.
5. The glove of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the fingertips is comprised of all conductive yarn.
6. The glove of claim 1, wherein the conductive yarn is further positioned at the sides of the at least one of the fingertips.
7. The glove of claim 1, wherein the conductive yarn is further positioned at the tip of the at least one of the fingertips.
8. The glove of claim 7, wherein the conductive yarn is further positioned at the back of the at least one of the fingertips.
9. The glove of claim 8, wherein the conductive yarn is further positioned at the sides of the at least one of the fingertips.
10. The glove of claim 1, comprising an index finger position and a thumb position, wherein the fingertips at the index finger position and the thumb position are comprised of conductive yarn.
11. The glove of claim 1, wherein the conductive yarn conducts about 82 ohms/foot to about 14 ohms/foot.
12. The glove of claim 1 further comprising a palm side, wherein the palm side comprises a palm patch.
13. The glove of claim 1, wherein the glove is knit.
14. The glove of claim 1, wherein the glove is one of a pair of gloves, wherein each of the gloves of the pair of gloves comprise the at least one of the fingertips comprising the conductive yarn.
15. A glove comprising a plurality of fingertips, an outer surface, and an inner surface, wherein the fingertips comprise a pad, a back, sides, and a tip, wherein at least one of the fingertips comprises an embroidered area covering at least a portion of the pad of the at least one of the fingertips, wherein the embroidered area comprises conductive thread extending from the outer surface of the glove to the inner surface of the glove.
16. The glove of claim 15, wherein the conductive thread establishes a conductive pathway from the inner surface of the glove to the outer surface of the glove.
17. The glove of claim 15, wherein the embroidered area further covers the tip of the at least one of the fingertips.
18. The glove of claim 17, wherein the embroidered area further covers the back of the at least one of the fingertips.
19. The glove of claim 15, wherein the embroidered area provides a continuous area of conductive thread from the pad to the back of the at least one of the fingertips.
20. The glove of claim 15, wherein the embroidered area comprises a top portion connected with a bottom portion, which connects with a neck portion, wherein the top portion covers the at least a portion of the pad, wherein the bottom portion covers at least a portion of the back of the at least one of the fingertips, wherein the neck portion covers at least a portion of the tip of the at least one of the fingertips, wherein the neck portion has a narrower width than adjacent top and bottom portions.
21. The glove of claim 15, comprising an index finger position and a thumb position, wherein the fingertips at the index finger position and the thumb position comprise the embroidered area having the conductive thread extending from the outer surface of the glove to the inner surface of the glove.
22. The glove of claim 15, wherein the conductive thread conducts about 82 ohms/foot to about 14 ohms/foot.
23. The glove of claim 15, wherein the conductive thread conducts about 90 ohms/foot to about 95 ohms/foot.
24. The glove of claim 15 further comprising a palm side, wherein the palm side comprises silicone printing.
25. The glove of claim 15, wherein the glove is sewn together from two or more fabrics.
26. The glove of claim 15, wherein the glove is one of a pair of gloves, wherein each of the gloves of the pair of gloves comprise the at least one the fingertips comprising the embroidered area having the conductive thread.
27. A glove comprising a plurality of fingertips, an outer surface, and an inner surface, wherein the glove further comprises a palm fabric, a backhand fabric, and a seaming fabric, wherein the seaming fabric extends along at least a portion of the plurality of fingertips and connects the palm fabric and the backhand fabric, wherein at least a portion of the seaming fabric comprises conductive thread that extends from the outer surface of the glove to the inner surface of the glove creating a conductive pathway from the inner surface of the glove to the outer surface of the glove.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 27, 2010
Publication Date: Mar 3, 2011
Inventor: Michelle Renee Hatfield (Fort Wright, KY)
Application Number: 12/869,827
International Classification: A41D 19/00 (20060101);