CAPACITIVE SHEATHS FOR HAND COVERINGS
The present invention is directed to a capacitive sheath fitted for a finger tip that includes conducting material, which may be placed over gloved hands. The capacitive sheath permits the user to operate a touch screen device without removal of any digit or hand covering apparatus, such as gloves.
This disclosure relates generally to coverings for fingertips that allow the user to operate capacitive touch screens on devices such as cell phones and media players without requiring removal of a hand covering.
BACKGROUNDNew generation consumer devices increasingly rely on touch screen inputs such as virtual buttons and sliders displayed on the screen as an alternative to physical inputs and keyboards. For example the Apple iPhone® and Samsung Galaxy® are operated almost exclusively by manipulating virtual buttons, sliders, scrollers, and the like on a screen with the user's fingertips. Capacitive touch screen technology is largely displacing resistive touch screens due to industrial design, durability, and performance considerations. Generally, capacitive touch screens require “bare-handed” contact to sense a touch because the touch pad senses the fleshy fingertip, which, due to the conductivity of the flesh, perturbs the field of the screen. This gives rise to a problem when a user wears cold weather or protective gloves. Most devices using capacitive touch screens cannot be used while wearing gloves because the material of the glove is an electrical insulator that insulates the fingers and prevents the capacitive screen from detecting the conductivity of the fingertips through the gloves. The thickness of the glove material also limits the closeness of the finger to the screen and prevents the user from actually touching the screen.
One solution has been to provide a glove with the tip of the index finger sheath cut out so that a wearer's bare fingertip protrudes slightly from the end of the sheath. While this does allow the bare fingertip to be used with a capacitive touch screen, it is far from ideal because the fingertip is exposed to the elements and is not protected or kept warm. The opening in the glove also allows air circulation and moisture penetration, which often defeats the very purpose of wearing gloves. For protective gloves, such as electrician's gloves, breaches of the glove are simply unacceptable.
Another solution has been to provide gloves that include various electro-conductive features, such as finger tips that include metallic components (i.e. conductive caps) to allow the user to utilize electronic devices. These “touchscreen” gloves are typically expensive and limited in variety. Therefore, a user has to sacrifice style for functionality in order to use their electronic devices. Furthermore, gloves that include metallic components in the fingertips typically are limited in terms of surface area for the electro-conductive component. Accordingly, gloves of this type do not account for various finger sizes and shapes. These gloves are typically composed of relatively thin materials and not suitable for extreme outdoor conditions, such as skiing, snowboarding, or even motorcycle riding. In addition, this limited surface area of the conductive component fails to account for the dexterity of the user.
Another issue that exists in this area is the size of a user's fingers. Users with very large fingers find typing and using the touch screen input of these devices to be very challenging. Bulky gloves exacerbate this issue. Gloves with metallic components, such as those mentioned above, fail to appreciate this issue and make touch screen operation even more difficult for those users. Accordingly, a need exists for a component that allows users with larger fingers to easily utilize any touch screen device.
A need exists for a solution that allows the user to utilize any store bought glove, retain all of its insulating and protective attributes, but allows the wearer to operate the capacitive touch screen of an electronic device. The present invention provides an independent, fully-transferrable sheath that works in conjunction with a glove and/or hand to interact with a touchscreen or touch pad device. Furthermore, a need exists for an independent, fully-transferrable sheath that includes a disc with a nub that allows users with larger fingers to operate a touchscreen or touch pad device.
SUMMARYBriefly described, the present invention, in an embodiment thereof, comprises a sheath that allows a user to interact with the capacitive touch screen of a device without removing a hand covering or glove and exposing the user's hands and fingertips to the elements. The sheath comprises at least a piece of fabric configured to cover the user's fingertips and finger receptacle of the user's hand covering. At least a portion of the sheath includes conductive material. When a capacitive touch screen is touched with the sheath, the conductive material perturbs the field of the screen similar to the conductive skin of a bare finger and thus emulates a touch with a bare finger. As a result, the virtual buttons and other elements of the screen can be activated while wearing or utilizing the sheath of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, a capacitive sheath is provided that includes a first portion having a first edge, where the first portion includes a conducting material, and a second portion having a second edge, where the second portion includes a flexible material, where the first edge of the first portion is coupled with the second edge of the second portion and the capacitive sheath is adapted to fit over a hand covering of a user.
In other embodiments, a capacitive sheath is provided that includes a conductive material, where the capacitive sheath is adapted to be insertable over a portion of a hand covering of a user of a capacitive touch screen.
In other embodiments, a method for operating a touch screen electronic device with a gloved hand is provided that includes the steps of: applying a capacitive sheath to a finger receptacle of the hand covering of a user, where the capacitive sheath includes a conducting material.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the sheath of this disclosure will be better understood upon review of the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows.
The present invention is directed to a capacitive sheath to be worn over a hand covering so that the user may operate an electronic device.
The term “user” and “wearer” may be used interchangeably to refer to a person or individual who may use or wear the capacitive sheath of the present invention.
The term “hand covering” may be used to include any type of covering that can be worn on a person's hand, such as a glove or mitten or any variation thereof. In some embodiments, the hand covering is a glove suitable for skiing or snowboarding. In some embodiments, the hand covering is a glove used by a user operating a motorcycle. In some embodiments, the hand covering is a construction glove. In some embodiments, the hand covering is a military style glove.
The term “finger receptacle” may be used to include a portion of any hand covering that may be used to receive a finger or thumb of a user.
The term “layer” may be used to refer to a piece of material used in construction of the capacitive sheath.
Referring now in more detail to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals identify like parts throughout the several views,
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The capacitive sheath 300 may be manufactured using a spandex, flexible fabric. It may be assembled utilizing two even parts. When assembled the shape of the sheath resembles a standard thumb contour, curved at the top portion and straight along the sides. The bottom is finished with a straight cut and stitched together utilizing an elastic thread. In addition, an additional fabric tag can be associated with the bottom portion of the sheath, which may serve as a brand identifier and/or a means for pulling the sheath on to the user's glove or hand.
The capacitive sheath may be the entire length of the finger receptacle of a hand covering. In some embodiments, the capacitive sheath may only cover the tip of the finger receptacle of a hand covering. In some embodiments, the capacitive sheath is approximately 2 inches wide and approximately 2 inches long. In some embodiments, one edge of the capacitive sheath is rounded and the edge is straight.
In some embodiments, the outer surface of the capacitive sheath may serve as an optional canvas for including indicia, such as corporate logos or other decorative choices. In some embodiments, the outer surface of the top layer may be left blank.
In some embodiments, the capacitive sheath includes flexible fabric that may conform to virtually any size finger, whether gloved or bare. In other embodiments, the sheath may be suitable for fitting around any desired object and held into place as the fabric contracts.
In some embodiments, the capacitive sheath is designed for use with manual touch keyboards and/or keypads. In a preferred embodiment, the sheath is specifically designed for “thumb” style typing. In other embodiments, the sheath is designed for use with touch-sensitive screens that enable the device operations, such as texting.
In one embodiment, the capacitive sheath includes a 3-dimensional disc that includes a silicone material. The silicone material may provide the user to depress or tap the digital device keys or movement of a tracking system.
In some embodiments, the sheath includes operational characteristics. For example, the sheaths may include any color fabric and can be customized with a variety of logos, messages and other promotional references. In some embodiments, the indicia associated with the sheaths may be licensed to act as an advertising medium.
The construction of the sheaths of the present invention may include stitching between the flexible materials and conductive materials. The surface of the contact region between the flexible and conductive materials may include a protrusion.
With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensions for the parts of the invention, including variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, manner of operation, assembly, use, can be determined by one of skill in the art. Accordingly, all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the instant specification are intended to encompass the present invention.
EXAMPLES Example 1VT/Shieldex EL100 fabric, 2 inches long and 2 inches wide was used to create a capacitive sheath. The edges of the piece of VT/Shieldex fabric were sewn to a piece of spandex fabric, also 2 inches long and 2 inches wide. The outer edges of the fabric pieces were sewn together with a standard stitch to form the sheath, open-ended and adapted to be placed over the finger receptacle of a gloved hand.
Example 2A second capacitive sheath was prepared according to Example 1. In addition, a third piece of fabric was sewn to the inside portion and associated with the first piece of fabric, particularly at the tip of the sheath. A disc having a nub portion was embedded between the first piece of fabric and the third piece of fabric. The disc was held in place via stitches of thread.
Example 3A third capacitive sheath was prepared as generally described in Example 1. In this example, the edge of a third piece of fabric was sewn to the underside tip of a first piece of fabric having capacitive material to form a first side. A disc having a nub was embedded between the first and third pieces of fabric was. Then the edges of a second piece of fabric having elastic material and a fourth piece of fabric were sewn together to form a second side. Then the edges of the first side and second were sewn together to form a sheath having an opening capable of receiving a finger receptacle of a glove, i.e. one end remained unsewn together and thus open.
Example 4Each of the sheaths mentioned in Examples 1-3 were placed over the finger receptacle of a motorcycle glove. The user was able to operate the touch screen of an iPhone® using each of the sheaths when VTT/Shieldex EL1000 material came in contact with the device.
The invention has been described herein in terms of preferred embodiments. However, various modifications and variations of the illustrated embodiments might be made by skilled artisans with such representing equivalent substitutes. These and other additions, deletions, and modifications might well be made by those of skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined not by the illustrated embodiments but by the claims hereof.
Claims
1. A capacitive sheath comprising: wherein the first edge of the first portion is coupled with the second edge of the second portion and the capacitive sheath is adapted to fit over a hand covering of a user.
- a first portion having a first edge, wherein said first portion comprises conducting material, and
- a second portion having a second edge, wherein said second portion comprises a flexible material,
2. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, wherein the conducting material is selected from the group consisting of: fabrics containing polyurethane-polyurea copolymers, spandex, elastane, silver-plated fabric, woven conductive fibers, metal sheet material, semiconductor material, graphite, antimicrobial fabric, and combinations thereof.
3. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, wherein the flexible material is selected from the group consisting of: fabrics containing polyurethane-polyurea copolymers, spandex, elastane, and combinations thereof.
4. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, further comprising a non-slip material.
5. The capacitive sheath of claim 4, wherein the non-slip material is selected from the group consisting of: rubber, polymers, neoprene, latex, and combinations thereof.
6. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, wherein the first edge of the first portion to the second edge of the second portion is coupled by an association selected from the group consisting of: thread, nylon, adhesion, and combinations thereof.
7. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, wherein the hand covering is selected from the group consisting of: light fabric gloves, driving gloves, cloth gloves, fireman gloves, fashion gloves, garden gloves, heavy winter gloves, skiing gloves, snowboarding gloves, motorcycle gloves, fishing gloves, sporting gloves, golf gloves, ice hockey gloves, goalkeeper gloves, football gloves, horseback riding gloves, fly fishing gloves, work gloves, leather gloves, surgical gloves, latex gloves, electrician's gloves, military gloves, construction gloves, tactical gloves, police gloves, flame-resistant gloves, and specialty gloves.
8. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, wherein the hand covering is a motorcycle glove.
9. The capacitive sheath of claim 1, further comprising a disc having a nub, wherein the disc is associated with the first portion of the capacitive sheath.
10. A capacitive sheath comprising a conductive material, the capacitive sheath adapted to be insertable over a portion of a hand covering of a user of a capacitive touch screen.
11. The capacitive sheath of claim 10, wherein the conducting material comprises silver-plated spandex fabric.
12. The capacitive sheath of claim 10, wherein the flexible material comprises spandex.
13. The capacitive sheath of claim 10, further comprising a non-slip material.
14. The capacitive sheath of claim 13, wherein the non-slip material is a synthetic rubber.
15. A method for operating a touch screen electronic device with a gloved hand, comprising the steps of:
- applying a capacitive sheath to a finger receptacle of the hand covering of a user, wherein said capacitive sheath comprises a conducting material.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the conducting material comprises a silver-plated spandex fabric.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the hand covering is a motorcycle glove.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the capacitive sheath covers a top portion of the finger receptacle of a motorcycle glove.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the capacitive sheath further comprises flexible material.
20. The method of claim 15, wherein the capacitive sheath further comprises flexible material, non-slip material and a disc having a nub.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 18, 2012
Publication Date: Jun 19, 2014
Applicant: ThumbDogs LLC (Millburn, NJ)
Inventors: Michael Klausner (Short Hills, NJ), Mark Nelson (Short Hills, NJ), Paul Shepard (Millburn, NJ)
Application Number: 13/718,500
International Classification: A41D 19/00 (20060101);