Abstract:
A glove bearing either hook or loop material supports a unit having a visually perceivable display by detachably attaching the hook or loop material on the glove with mating hook or loop material on the backside of the unit.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application includes subject matter disclosed in and claims priority to a provisional application entitled “GRIP FREE PRESENTATION DEVICE SUPPORTER GLOVE” filed Mar. 18, 2013 and assigned Ser. No. 61/852,565 describing an invention made by the present inventor. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to hand-held supports and, more particularly, to a gloved support for a visually perceivable display. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Prior Art 
         [0005]    Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are often used to provide visually perceivable written matter. When these items rest upon a desk, lectern or other supporting surface, viewing same and scrolling the display is relatively easy and convenient. 
         [0006]    When written material displayed on a laptop, tablet or smartphone is referred to or read by a lecturer or speaker when no lectern is available, the unit must be held by one hand. Usually, the unit is supported on the palm and fingers of the speaker and the thumb rests on the unit and presses it against the palm and fingers to hold it steady and prevent slipping. Depending upon the weight of the unit and the manual strength of a user, the user&#39;s thumb may become fatigued and continued use will become difficult. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention is directed to a glove having elements for detachably attaching a laptop, tablet, smartphone or similar unit. Depending upon the location of the elements, the unit may be supported upon the forefinger and thumb, the palm of the glove or variations thereof. One part of a hook and loop fastener is secured to one or more locations on the glove and the other part of the hook and loop fastener is secured to the unit to be supported. Thereby, attachment and detachment of the unit with the glove is facile. 
         [0008]    It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a gloved support for a visually perceivable display. 
         [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a gloved support for detachably attaching a visually perceivable display to the glove. 
         [0010]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gloved support for a visually perceivable display that may be useable with either hand of a speaker. 
         [0011]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an easily transportable gloved support for a visually perceivable display. 
         [0012]    A further object of the present invention is to provide a gloved support for a visually perceivable display useable by a speaker at any location. 
         [0013]    A still further object of the present invention is to provide a gloved support detachably attachable to an item to be supported without the need to grip the item. 
         [0014]    A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a method for mounting a visually perceivable display on the hand of a speaker. 
         [0015]    These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    The present invention will be described with greater specificity and clarity with reference to the following drawings, in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  illustrates a gloved support mounted on a hand for supporting a tablet; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of an embodiment of the gloved support; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates the hook or loop material of a hook and loop fastener attached to the rear of the tablet shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3A  is a side view of the tablet showing the hook or loop material mounted at the rear thereof; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates a variant of the configuration of the hook or loop material attached to a glove; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  illustrates a further variant of the hook or loop material mounted on a glove; 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  illustrates a yet further variant of the hook or loop material mounted on a glove; 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  illustrates a tablet detachably attachable to the palm of a user&#39;s hand; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  illustrates the hook or loop material attached to the glove for supporting the tablet shown in  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0026]    Many speakers and lecturers use laptops, tablets or even smartphones for displaying their talk or notes/cues for their talk. When a lectern or table is available to support one of these units, the lecturer or speaker has limited mobility during the talk. To provide mobility, the lecturer or speaker has to grip the unit to move it as he/she moves. Such gripping becomes tiring as a function of both the weight and configuration of the unit. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a conventional tablet  10  having a viewable screen or display  12 . As is well known, a writing having letters of essentially any reasonable size may be viewed on the display. This writing may be a speech, notes or cues for use by a lecturer or other speaker. Various other images can also be displayed for purposes useful to the lecturer or speaker. 
         [0028]    To use a laptop, tablet or smartphone, it has to be gripped by at least one hand. Usually, the fingers of one hand are placed behind the unit and the thumb is located along a front edge. Depending upon the weight of the unit along with the strength and stamina of the user&#39;s thumb, such support could be tiring and difficult to a greater or lesser degree. 
         [0029]    Still referring to  FIG. 1 , support for tablet  10  is provided by a gloved hand  14 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , glove  16  includes a wrist section  18  that extends about wrist  20  of the user. Snaps  22 ,  24  may be used to secure the wrist section about the wrist of the user. A strip  26  of hook material or loop material of a hook and loop fastener of the type sold under the trademark Velcro®, is attached to thumb  28  of glove  16 . A similar strip  30  of hook or loop material (the same as strip  26 ), is attached to finger  32 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 3A , a section  34  of hook or loop material is adhered to rear surface  36  of tablet  10 . It is to be understood that if strips  26 ,  30  are of loop material, section  34  is of hook material or the reverse. Thereby, tablet  10  can be detachably attached to the gloved hand by engaging section  34  with strips  26 ,  30 . 
         [0031]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , by placing tablet  10  adjacent gloved hand  14  to locate section  34  in contact with strips  26 ,  30 , the tablet will become detachably attached to the gloved hand. Moreover, the tablet can be easily oriented for the best viewing angle by the user. It is to be noted that no gripping of the tablet is necessary. The tablet can be re-oriented relative to the gloved hand as best befits the lecturer or speaker while he/she may move his/her arm while standing or walking in order to best view the material on display  12 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , glove  16  only includes a thumb and two fingers. This permits ventilation of the uncovered parts of the hand for the comfort of the lecturer or speaker. It is to be understood that for the configuration shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , even the second finger  38  may be omitted from the glove. 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a right hand glove  40  having only a thumb  42  and a forefinger  44 . The glove may include a wrist section  46  to provide additional support for the glove. A plurality of strips of hook or loop material may be attached to the glove. For example, a strip  48  extends along thumb  42 . Another strip  50  extends along forefinger  44 . These strips may be joined by a further strip  52 . Another strip  54  may extend about wrist section  46 . It may be joined with strip  48  via further strips  56  and  58 . Thereby, the significant part of glove  40  includes either hook or loop material for detachably engaging with section  34  of the other of hook or loop material disposed on the rear of tablet  10 . By inspection, the plurality of strips secured to glove  40  permits a wide degree of variation in the manner in which tablet  10  may be detachably attached to the glove to provide the requisite support and stability preferred by a user. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown another variant of the glove. Glove  62  includes a forefinger  64  and a thumb  66 . A strip  68  of hook or loop material is disposed on the inside surface of thumb  66 . A further strip  70  of hook or loop material is attached to palm section  72  of glove  62 . A yet further strip  74  of hook or loop material is attached to wrist section  76  of glove  62 . With this arrangement, the rear of tablet  10  is securely attached to strips  68 ,  70  and  74  to permit a user to have his/her hand extended behind tablet  10 . 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , there is shown a conventional glove  80  having snaps  82 ,  84  for securing wrist section  86  about the user&#39;s wrist. In this variant, hook or loop material extends along a significant part of the backside of the glove and along thumb  90  and forefinger  92 . Such extended section of hook or loop material provides a user with various options in orienting the attachment of tablet  10  to glove  80 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 7  illustrates a tablet  10  detachably attached along the palm and thumb of a glove  100  worn by a user. More particularly,  FIG. 8  illustrates the location of a strip  102  of hook or loop material attached along the top and inside surface of thumb  104 . A strip  106  is attached to palm  108  of glove  100 . As depicted by dashed lines  110 , tablet  10  is detachably attached to strips  102  and  106  to provide the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 7 . It may be noted that for stability purposes, a partial forefinger  112  of the glove may exist to stabilize the glove on the user&#39;s hand. 
         [0037]    In each of the above described gloves, less than all fingers of a glove are used. Such omissions have the benefit of cooling the hand to prevent sweating and other discomfort that may arise from using a glove. However, it is to be understood that a conventional glove configuration can be used for attaching the various hook or loop strips thereto. Additionally, each of the glove variants illustrated and described may be right-handed or left-handed. Such essentially duplicative configurations have been omitted for purposes of clarity and brevity.