GLOVE

Abstract

A glove (1) and glove liner (4) is provided, the glove liner (4) comprising a palm portion (11a) and a finger portion (11b); the finger portion (11b) comprising finger sheaths; the liner (4) further comprising a plurality of insulating layers (6,8,10), and the plurality of insulating layers comprising a first insulating layer (6), a second insulating layer (8) and a third insulating layer (10), wherein the first insulating layer (6) extends substantially across the palm portion (11a) and the finger portion (11b), the second insulating layer (8) extends across at least a part of the finger portion (11b), and the third insulating layer (10) extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion (11b).

Claims

1. A glove comprising: a palm portion; and a finger portion; wherein the finger portion comprises finger sheaths; a plurality of insulating layers, wherein the plurality of insulating layers comprise: a first insulating layer; a second insulating layer; and a third insulating layer; wherein the first insulating layer extends substantially across the palm portion and the finger portion, wherein the second insulating layer extends across at least a part of the finger portion, and wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

2. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the first insulating layer extends across substantially all of the palm portion and the finger portion.

3. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the second insulating layer extends across at least half of the finger portion, optionally wherein the second insulating layer extends from the fingertip to at least two thirds along the finger sheath from the fingertip, optionally wherein the second insulating layer extends from the fingertip to approximately the location of the major knuckle of the finger within the finger sheath during use.

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a third of at least one finger sheath.

7. The glove according to claim 6, wherein the third insulating layer extends from the fingertip to approximately one third along the finger sheath from the fingertip.

8. The glove according to claim 7, wherein the third insulating layer extends from the fingertip to the location of the minor knuckle of the finger within the at least one finger sheath during use.

9. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of the pinky finger sheath.

10. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least two finger sheaths of the finger portion.

11. The glove according to claim 10, wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of the pinky finger sheath and the index finger sheath.

12. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of insulating layers comprises a thermally resistant material selected from lofted insulation or a composite material, wherein the composite material comprises a polymer and thermally insulative particles.

13. The glove according to claim 12, wherein the polymer is expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE).

14. The glove according to claim 12, wherein the thermally insulative particles are expandable microspheres or aerogel particles.

15. The glove according to claim 12, wherein at least the first insulating layer is lofted insulation.

16. The glove according to claim 12, wherein at least the second insulating layer comprises a composite of ePTFE and expanded thermoplastic microspheres.

17. The glove according to claim 12, wherein at least the third insulating layer comprises a composite of ePTFE and aerogel particles.

18. The glove according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers comprises a fourth insulating layer that extends across a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

19. A glove liner comprising: a palm portion; and a finger portion; wherein the finger portion comprises finger sheaths; a plurality of insulating layers, wherein the plurality of insulating layers comprises: a first insulating layer; a second insulating layer; and a third insulating layer; wherein the first insulating layer extends substantially across the palm portion and the finger portion, wherein the second insulating layer extends across at least a part of the finger portion, and wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

20. A glove comprising the glove liner of claim 19.

21. A method of manufacture of a glove having a palm portion and a finger portion comprising finger sheaths, the method comprising: (a) providing a support layer, a first insulating layer, a second insulating layer, a third insulating layer, and a glove shell; (b) securing the first insulating layer, the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer to the support layer to form a glove liner; and (c) securing the support layer and first, second and third insulating layers to the glove shell to form the glove, wherein the first insulating layer extends substantially across the palm portion and the finger portion, wherein the second insulating layer extends across at least a part of the finger portion, and wherein the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

22. A glove according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first insulating layer, the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer includes an active heating element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0091] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0092] FIG. 1: A cross section of a glove according to an embodiment;

[0093] FIG. 2: A cross section of a glove liner according to an embodiment;

[0094] FIG. 3: A perspective view of a glove according to an embodiment showing a cut away section on the index finger to allow the insulating layers to be seen;

[0095] FIG. 4: A cross section of a glove liner according to an embodiment;

[0096] FIG. 5: A) A thermal resistance map of a glove with uniform insulation distribution on the pinky finger B) A thermal resistance map of a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation on the pinky finger;

[0097] FIG. 6: A skin temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger and B) a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger. The 20° C. isotherm is shown with the broken white line;

[0098] FIG. 7: A temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution, B) a glove according to an embodiment with an additional layer of insulation on a portion of the pinky finger, and C) a glove with two additional layers of insulation on portions of the pinky finger. The 20° C. isotherm is shown with the broken white line;

[0099] FIG. 8: A sheet pattern for an insulating layer prior to the formation of an insulating layer according to an embodiment; and

[0100] FIG. 9: A) An example glove lining with a first insulating layer prior to the application of a second insulating layer, B) A thumb finger sleeve comprising a first insulating layer placed over the sheet pattern of FIG. 8, C) Folding the top portion of the sheet pattern over the first insulating layer of the thumb finger sleeve, and D) the glove with the complete second insulating layer assembled over the thumb finger sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0101] While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention.

[0102] To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and “the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.

[0103] The glove and glove liner of the various aspects of the invention are exemplified in the following examples without limiting the scope of the invention, the scope of which should be defined by the subsequent claims.

Example 1

[0104] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, an insulated glove 1 comprises a glove shell 2, and a glove liner 4, the glove liner 4 comprising a first layer of insulation 6 (acting as a first insulating layer), a second layer of insulation 8 (acting as a second insulating layer) and a third layer of insulation 10 (acting as a third insulating layer).

[0105] The glove liner 4 comprises a palm portion 11a and a finger portion 11b. The finger portion 11b comprises five finger sheaths consisting of a pinky finger sheath, a ring finger sheath, a middle finger sheath, an index finger sheath and a thumb sheath. Each finger sheath of the finger portion 11b is connected to the palm portion 11a.

[0106] The first layer of insulation 6 covers the front 12 and back 14 sides of palm portion 11a and finger portion 11b of the glove liner 4 and comprises lofted insulation.

[0107] The second layer of insulation 8 covers the finger sheaths of the finger portion 11b. The second layer of insulation 8 envelopes each finger sheath. The second layer of insulation 8 comprises ePTFE comprising Expancel® expanded microspheres prepared according to the method as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,750,931 and 5,468,314, for example, (a solids content of 45% PTFE to 50% Expancel® expanded microspheres, 5% ketchen black carbon).

[0108] The third layer of insulation 10 covers the pinky finger sheath from the fingertip to the major knuckle (PIP) and covers the index finger sheath from the fingertip to the major knuckle (PIP). The third layer of insulation 10 comprises ePTFE comprising aerogel particles prepared according to the method as taught by US 2015/0176749 and US 2017/0203552, for example, comprising 70% silica aerogel obtained from Enova Aerogel MT 1200, Cabot, Boston, Mass. to 30% PTFE by weight.

[0109] The glove shell 2 comprises leather on the front of the palm portion 11a and a nylon, polyester and polyurethane blend textile for the back of the palm portion 11a and the finger portion 11b.

[0110] The location of the third layer of insulation 10 was validated using thermal mapping to show the effect of the additional layers of insulation on the thermal gradient of the hand for the glove (for example, see FIG. 9B). An analysis system (ANSYS) physical hand model with physiological, environment and activity level input was used to generate the thermal map.

[0111] The glove liner 4 is inserted into the glove shell 2 to form the glove 1.

[0112] The glove 1 so produced provides good thermal insulation to the hand of a user during use whilst minimizing the bulk of the glove 1 by providing second and third insulation layers only on specific discrete parts of the finger portion.

Example 2

[0113] With reference to FIG. 4, an insulated glove comprises a glove shell and a glove liner 404. The glove liner 404 comprises a palm portion 406 and a finger portion 408. The glove liner 404 also comprises a first insulating layer 410, a second insulating layer 412, a third insulating layer 414 and a fourth insulating layer 416.

[0114] The first insulating layer 410 comprises 200 g of lofted insulation that is equally distributed throughout the palm portion 406 and the finger portion 408 of the glove liner 404.

[0115] The second insulating layer 412 comprises a 2 mm thick layer of Expancel® filled ePTFE. The second insulating layer 412 envelopes each finger sheath.

[0116] The third insulating layer 414 and fourth insulating layer 416 comprise a 1 mm layer of aerogel filled ePTFE. The third insulating layer 414 extends from the fingertip to the first major knuckle (PIP) of the index finger sheath and pinky finger sheath. The fourth insulating layer 416 extends from the fingertip to the minor knuckle (DIP) of the pinky finger sheath.

[0117] The glove shell comprises leather on the front of the palm portion and a nylon, polyester and polyurethane blend textile for the back of the palm portion and the finger portion.

[0118] The glove liner is secured into the glove shell with a using 3M Model #77-CC spray adhesive.

[0119] The thermal performance of the glove was validated using thermal heat map modelling, as shown in FIGS. 5-7. FIG. 5 shows A) A thermal resistance map of a glove with uniform insulation distribution on the pinky finger B) A thermal resistance map of a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation on the pinky finger, the total thermal resistance for the insulating layers for each image is the same.

[0120] FIG. 6 shows a skin temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger and B) a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger. As for FIG. 5, the total thermal resistance is the same for each image, the only difference being the distribution of the thermal resistance. The 20° C. isotherm is shown with the broken white line.

[0121] Accordingly, it can be seen that the redistribution of the thermally insulating material from uniform coverage to specific layered coverage results in an increase in average finger temperature.

[0122] FIG. 7 shows a temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution, B) a glove according to an embodiment with an additional layer of insulation on a portion of the pinky finger, and C) a glove with two additional layers of insulation on portions of the pinky finger. The 20° C. isotherm is shown with the broken white line.

[0123] According to an alternative embodiment, a second insulating layer 808 is formed over the thumb finger sleeve 810 as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. An example glove lining 800 with a first insulating layer on the thumb finger sleeve 810 is shown in FIG. 9A prior to the application of a second insulating layer. The thumb finger sleeve 810 comprising a first insulating layer 812 is placed over a sheet pattern 800 of FIG. 8 (FIG. 9B). The sheet pattern 800 comprises a top portion 802, a first side portion 804 and a second side portion 806. The top portion 802 of the sheet pattern 800 is then folded over the first insulating layer of the thumb finger sleeve 810 and this is shown in FIG. 9C. The first side portion 804 and the second side portion 806 are then folded over sequentially and an insulating adhesive tape is applied to fasten the second side portion 806 to thereby form the second insulating layer. The resulting second insulating layer is shown in FIG. 9D. It has been found that the formation of an insulating layer in this way reduces the number of seams in the insulating layer and thereby improves the heat retention within the insulating layer.

[0124] As can be seen, the provision of additional layers of insulation in specific points on the pinky finger provides improved thermal performance of the glove.

[0125] While there has been hereinbefore described approved embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily apparent that many and various changes and modifications in form, design, structure and arrangement of parts may be made for other embodiments without departing from the invention and it will be understood that all such changes and modifications are contemplated as embodiments as a part of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.