PROTECTIVE GLOVE

Abstract

Described is a protective glove such as a glove that can protect a wearer from cuts associated with hand knives and tools. The protective glove includes a glove made of a metal mesh, a flat spring attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region and an elastic element disposed in a channel of the metal mesh at the end of the glove where the wearer inserts or removes a hand. The elastic element can be an extension spring or a second flat spring. The flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm to secure the glove to the wearer. The elastic element contracts to gather the metal mesh so that the metal mesh does not slide or otherwise move to expose the flat spring. Advantageously, the flat spring remains covered by the metal mesh and is prevented from catching a tool or other external object.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/251,404, filed Oct. 14, 2009, titled “Protective Glove/Garment,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a protective garment and in particular to a metal mesh glove for protecting the hand against cuts.

BACKGROUND

Protective gloves and protective garments fabricated from metal mesh are often used by workers in the food processing and food service industries. These items protect the wearer from the risk of cuts associated with hand knives and tools. Protective gloves typically come in configurations that extend to the wrist, mid forearm, or full forearm.

Protective gloves are flexible and sufficiently heavy such that they may slide or fall off the hand or arm without some means of securing the glove to the wearer. Various types of straps and fasteners have been used to secure the glove at the wrist or forearm. In many applications it is preferable for the glove strap or fastener to possess elastic characteristics such that the glove strap is infinitely adjustable over a wide range of wrist sizes and such that the user can easily put the glove on or remove the glove from the hand.

U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0144700, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a protective glove that uses a coiled metal spring to secure the glove to the wearer's wrist. The coiled spring is substantially flat, that is, the spring is substantially wider than it is thick. A major disadvantage is that the coiled spring is exposed such that the spring can catch on or be snagged by external objects during use.

The present invention addresses the problem set forth above and provides additional advantages.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the invention features a protective glove that includes a glove made of a metal mesh, a flat spring and an elastic element. The glove has a wrist region and an end through which a wearer inserts or removes a hand. The flat spring has a width and a thickness that is less than the width. The flat spring is attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region. The elastic element is disposed in a channel of the metal mesh at the end of the glove. The flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm of the wearer to secure the glove to the wearer. The elastic element contracts to draw or gather the metal mesh toward the wrist or forearm to prevent exposure of the flat spring.

In another aspect, the invention features a protective glove that includes a glove made of a metal mesh, a flat spring and an extension spring. The glove has a wrist region and an end through which a wearer inserts or removes a hand. The flat spring has a width and a thickness that is less than the width. The flat spring is attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region. The extension spring is attached to the metal mesh at the end of the glove. The flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm of the wearer to secure the glove to the wearer and the extension spring contracts to draw or gather the metal mesh toward the wrist or forearm to prevent exposure of the flat spring.

In still another aspect, the invention features a protective glove that includes a glove made of a metal mesh, a first flat spring and a second flat spring. The glove has a wrist region and an end through which a wearer inserts or removes a hand. The first flat spring has a width and a thickness that is less than the width. The first flat spring is attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region. The second flat spring has a width and a thickness that is less than the width. The second flat spring is disposed in a channel of the metal mesh at the end of the glove. The first flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm of the wearer to secure the glove to the wearer. The second flat spring contracts to draw or gather the metal mesh toward the wrist or forearm to prevent exposure of the first flat spring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and further advantages of this invention may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like structural elements and features in the various figures. For clarity, not every element may be labeled in every figure. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an embodiment of a protective glove according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the protective glove of FIG. 1 showing an internal portion of the glove at the wrist region.

FIG. 3 shows a portion of a flat spring from the wrist region of the protective glove of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A shows a portion of an extension spring that is inside the mesh channel of the protective glove of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4B shows the ends of the extension spring of FIG. 4A joined together to configure the extension spring in a closed path according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of another embodiment of a protective glove according to the invention.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of another embodiment of a protective glove according to the invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of another embodiment of a protective glove according to the invention.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of another embodiment of a protective glove according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the teaching. References to a particular embodiment within the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

The present teaching will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings. While the present teaching is described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the present teaching be limited to such embodiments. On the contrary, the present teaching encompasses various alternatives, modifications and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. Those of ordinary skill having access to the teaching herein will recognize additional implementations, modifications and embodiments, as well as other fields of use, which are within the scope of the present disclosure as described herein.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a protective glove 10 according to the invention with the palm side visible. FIG. 2 shows another view of the protective glove 10 of FIG. 1 enabling a portion of the inside of the glove 10 to be seen. The glove 10 is fabricated from a metal mesh material such as a stainless steel mesh. The mesh is a lattice of interwoven metal rings where each ring is generally interlocked with adjacent mesh rings. The mesh over the wrist region 14 appears slightly wider than the neighboring mesh because of a substantially flat spring 18 attached to metal mesh on the inner surface. An extension spring extends around the end of the glove where the hand is inserted. The extension spring is contained within a channel 26 formed in the metal mesh at the end of the glove 10. The glove 10 is configured to be worn on either hand although in other embodiments the glove may be configured to be worn only on the right hand or only on the left hand.

FIG. 3 shows a view of a portion of the flat spring 18 in a relaxed state before its ends are joined together to form a closed path. In a preferred embodiment, the flat spring 18 is constructed of stainless steel. The flat spring 18 is not planar but has three-dimensional extent with long linear sections between short turns at the end of each spring loop. For example, the flat spring 18 can be what is frequently referred to as a “magazine spring” connected at the ends to form a closed path. The thickness of the spring 18, that is, the dimension perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3, is substantially less than the width W. In one embodiment, the width W is approximately four times the spring thickness. Before the ends of the flat spring 18 are joined together to form an approximately elliptical shape, the spring 18 is spiral wound through metal rings along the inner surface of the glove 10 at the wrist region 14. In various embodiments, the flat spring 18 is attached by looping the spring through mesh rings such that it pass through a limited number of rings around a path on the inner surface of the glove 10. For example, the flat spring 18 may be looped through every third mesh ring along one or more parallel paths to reduce slipping inside the glove 10.

FIG. 4A shows a view of the extension spring 22 in a relaxed state before its ends are joined together to form a closed path. In a preferred embodiment, the extension spring 22 is a tightly wound or “close wound” helical spring fabricated of stainless steel, although in other embodiments the extension spring 22 can have alternative characteristics. The ends of the extension spring 22 are joined together to form a closed path. In various embodiments, the ends are joined together by attaching each end to one or more metal rings 24 and attaching one or more of these metal rings to one or more of the rings in the metal mesh of the channel 26. FIG. 4B shows one example of how the ends of the extension spring 22 are joined. In one embodiment, the extension spring 22 is not attached to the channel 26 but is instead allowed to “float” within the channel 26.

Without the extension spring 22, if the hand of the wearer is extended toward the ground, or if the metal mesh at the wrist region 14 is pulled or otherwise moved toward the fingers, the flat spring 18 can become exposed. The extension spring 22 prevents this occurrence by restraining the metal mesh between the flat spring 18 and the end of the glove 10 from substantial motion without causing discomfort to the wearer. In a preferred embodiment, the length of the extension spring 22 in a contracted state is chosen to be slightly larger than the wrist and lower forearm size of the wearer. Thus little or no force is applied to the wearer; however, the extension spring 22 gathers the metal mesh to prevent substantial movement of the metal mesh between the springs 18, 22.

Advantages of the illustrated glove 10 are based in part on the functions of the two springs 18, 22. When the glove 10 is first put on, the wearer inserts the hand through the opening at the end of the glove 10 and through the openings defined by each spring 18, 22. The flat spring 18 and the extension spring 22 expand to allow the hand to pass. Typically, expansion includes increasing the width of the openings through each spring 18, 22 by approximately 2 inches or more to accommodate the increased width of the hand relative to the wrist. Once the hand is fully inserted, the flat spring 18 contracts to apply sufficient force to secure the glove 10 to the wrist of the wearer. The flat side on the inner portion of the flat spring 18 remains against the wrist or lower forearm of the wearer thus making the glove 10 more comfortable to wear in comparison to other types of springs that could be used to secure the glove 10. Advantageously, the flat spring 18 allows the protective glove 10 to be infinitely adjustable to wrist size. The extension spring 22 contracts once the hand is inserted into the glove 10 so that the metal mesh between the two springs 18, 22 is prevented from falling toward the fingers and exposing the flat spring 18.

Thus the two springs 18, 22 function in different manners. The size and configuration of the flat spring 18 enables the glove 10 to be secured to the wearer. In contrast, the extension spring 22 applies little or no force to the wearer while keeping the flat spring 18 covered by the metal mesh. Advantageously, the flat spring 18 is protected by the metal mesh from inadvertently catching or “snagging” a tool or other external object. Moreover, the extension spring 22 has a small loop diameter and is tightly wound, making it unlikely to catch and retain an object, food particles or other residue. The channel 26 of metal mesh provides additional protection to the extension spring 22.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a protective glove 30 according to the invention. A cuff 34 extends from the wrist region 14 to partially cover the forearm of the wearer. The channel 26 with the extension spring is located approximately midway between the wrist and the elbow of the wearer. The glove 30 also includes a number of stiffening elements 38 or “stiffeners” underneath the metal mesh on the inside of the glove 30. Only one stiffener 38 is shown although additional stiffeners are preferably distributed around the inside surface of the glove 30. The stiffeners 38 extend lengthwise at least over a portion of the length between the wrist region 14 and the channel 26. The stiffeners 38 take up slack in the metal mesh and keep the metal mesh from sliding along the forearm. In a preferred embodiment, the stiffeners 38 are fabricated from stainless steel.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of a protective glove 42 in which the extension spring is replaced by a second flat spring (not visible) that resides in a channel 46 of metal mesh at the opening to the glove 42. The channel 46 has an increased diameter or width relative to the channel 26 of the glove 30 of FIG. 5. The second flat spring can be similar to the flat spring at the wrist region 14 or may have alternative characteristics. For example, the second flat spring may have a different thickness, width and/or tension than the flat spring at the wrist region 14.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of a protective glove 50 according to the invention. The cuff 54 extends from the wrist region 14 to near the elbow of the wearer. The protective glove 50 is similar in construction to the glove 30 of FIG. 5; however, the stiffeners 58 are longer to accommodate the increased length of the cuff. FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of a protective glove 62 similarly configured to the glove 50 shown in FIG. 7; however, the channel 46 has a larger diameter or width and includes a flat spring in place of the extension spring.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as recited in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A protective glove comprising:

a glove made of a metal mesh and having a wrist region and an end through which a wearer inserts or removes a hand;

a flat spring having a width and a thickness that is less than the width, the flat spring attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region; and

an elastic element disposed in a channel of the metal mesh at the end of the glove,

wherein the flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm of the wearer to thereby secure the glove to the wearer and wherein the elastic element contracts to thereby draw the metal mesh toward the wrist or forearm to prevent exposure of the flat spring.

2. The protective glove of claim 1 wherein the elastic element comprises an extension spring.

3. The protective glove of claim 1 wherein the flat spring is spiral wound through a plurality of rings of the metal mesh.

4. The protective glove of claim 1 wherein the flat spring has a length along a closed path and wherein the closed path extends along a circumference on the inner surface of the glove.

5. The protective glove of claim 3 wherein the extension spring is attached to at least one ring in the channel of the metal mesh.

6. The protective glove of claim 3 wherein the extension spring is not attached to the channel of the metal mesh.

7. The protective glove of claim 1 further comprising at least one stiffening element extending along the metal mesh between the flat spring and the channel.

8. A protective glove comprising:

a glove made of a metal mesh and having a wrist region and an end through which a wearer inserts or removes a hand;

a flat spring having a width and a thickness that is less than the width, the flat spring attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region; and

an extension spring attached to the metal mesh at the end of the glove,

wherein the flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm of the wearer to thereby secure the glove to the wearer and wherein the extension spring contracts to thereby draw the metal mesh toward the wrist or forearm to prevent exposure of the flat spring.

9. The protective glove of claim 8 further comprising a plurality of rings extending from the metal mesh at the end of the glove and wherein the extension spring passes through each of the rings.

10. The protective glove of claim 8 wherein the flat spring is spiral wound through a plurality of rings of the metal mesh.

11. The protective glove of claim 8 wherein the flat spring has a length along a closed path and wherein the closed path extends along a circumference on the inner surface of the glove.

12. The protective glove of claim 8 further comprising at least one stiffening element extending along the metal mesh between the flat spring and the channel.

13. A protective glove comprising:

a glove made of a metal mesh and having a wrist region and an end through which a wearer inserts or removes a hand;

a first flat spring having a width and a thickness that is less than the width, the first flat spring attached to an inner surface of the glove in the wrist region; and

a second flat spring having a width and a thickness that is less than the width, the second flat spring disposed in a channel of the metal mesh at the end of the glove,

wherein the first flat spring contracts to a wrist or a forearm of the wearer to thereby secure the glove to the wearer and wherein the second flat spring contracts to thereby draw the metal mesh toward the wrist or forearm to prevent exposure of the first flat spring.

14. The protective glove of claim 13 wherein the first flat spring is spiral wound through a plurality of rings of the metal mesh.

15. The protective glove of claim 13 wherein the first flat spring has a length along a closed path and wherein the closed path extends along the inner surface of the glove.

16. The protective glove of claim 13 wherein the second flat spring has a length along a closed path and wherein the closed path is inside the channel of the metal mesh.

17. The protective glove of claim 13 wherein the second flat spring is attached to the channel of the metal mesh.

18. The protective glove of claim 13 wherein the second flat spring is not attached to the channel of the metal mesh.

19. The protective glove of claim 13 further comprising at least one stiffening element extending along the metal mesh between the first and second flat springs.