Individual protective gear to guard an upper limb against mechanical risks

A knitted individual protective gear such as, a glove, muff or mitt for example, to guard an upper limb against mechanical risks, particularly cutting and/or abrasion, is characterized in that, PA1 the yarn (2) of high physical resistance with which the individual protective gear is knitted is a fiber core (3) surrounded by an outer fiber covering (4); PA1 fibers of the core (3) have a selected color; PA1 fibers of the covering (4) have a color chosen to be distinct from that of the core (3); PA1 cuts and/or abrasion alter the covering (4) on a permanent basis, allowing the core (3) to be seen, so that the larger the alteration, the closer the shade of the altered parts will be to the color of the core (3), in order for the gear to have an indicator of the protection performance in the gear's current state.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention concerns an individual protective gear such as a glove, 
mitten, mitt or muff, to guard an upper limb against mechanical risks, 
particularly cutting and abrasion; a device as well as a method for 
determining the protection performance ensured by this gear. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Individual protective gear used for safety-related purposes are classified 
according to the protection which they provide for the limbs (arms, legs, 
head) or body of their user, and based upon their intended use. 
The technical field of the invention is that of protective gear to guard an 
upper limb against mechanical risks. In particular, gloves, mittens, mitts 
or muffs intended for operations involving risks of cutting and/or 
abrasion. 
These gear are particularly intended for the use or handling of sharp-edged 
objects (machined parts, plate, glass, cutting tools, etc.). 
Individual protective gear intended for such tasks are typically obtained 
by knitting a yarn with a high physical resistance. 
Yarns comprising a fiber core surrounded by an outer fiber covering are 
widely used for these gear. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,898 can be referred to. 
The protection, softness and comfort qualities of knitted safety gear 
account for their success during the last decades. 
One disadvantage of these gear is that it is currently not possible to 
easily and instantly determine whether the gear has undergone alterations 
during prior uses, particularly due to cutting or abrasion. 
Indeed, the protection performance of these knitted safety gear is only 
efficient if the alterations undergone during prior uses have not affected 
their integrity. 
The problem is therefore to be able to easily and instantly determine if 
such a safety gear still has an adequate protection performance, or if it 
no longer meets this performance due its alteration. 
Patent FR-1 370 184 describes an improved electrician's glove comprising a 
fiber core on which is applied a layer of insulating material, the latter 
being provided with an outer protective covering, and this covering having 
significantly different colors so as to make the wear of the glove visible 
by contrast. 
But, contrarily to gloves knitted with high-resistance yarns, such a glove 
does not make it possible, on the one hand, to guarantee a sufficiently 
high mechanical protection performance for a large number of tasks when it 
is in good condition. 
And, on the other hand, it does not allow for the determination of this 
mechanical protection performance at each desired instant. 
Yet it is essential for not only the user, but also for another person, 
particularly a representative of the employer who is liable in case of 
non-conformity with legal safety requirements, to be able to make this 
determination. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
One of the aims of the invention is to solve the problems mentioned above, 
while maintaining the advantages of high mechanical protection knitted 
gear. 
For this purpose, a first object of the invention concerns a knitted 
individual protective gear, a glove, mitten, mitt or muff for example, to 
guard an upper limb against mechanical risks, particularly cutting and/or 
abrasion; characterized in that, on a combined basis: 
the yarn with which the individual protective gear is at least partially 
knitted comprises a fiber core surrounded by an outer fiber covering; 
fibers of the core and covering have a high resistance to cutting and/or 
abrasion; 
fibers of the core have a color chosen so that the core will have 
substantially the same color; 
fibers of the covering have a color chosen to be distinct from that of the 
core and cover the latter, so that the yarn and, in general, the 
individual protective gear as knitted will have substantially the same 
color as the fibers of the covering; 
the individual protective gear is conformed so that cuts and/or abrasion 
will alter the fiber covering on a permanent basis, allowing the core to 
be seen; 
the altered parts of the protective gear have a color distinct from that of 
the protective gear as knitted, the lesser the alteration, the closer the 
shade of these parts will be to the color of the covering, and the larger 
the alteration, the closer it will be to the color of the core; and 
since the alteration is inversely proportional to the mechanical protection 
performance of the gear, the shade makes up an indicator of this 
performance in the gear's current state. 
In this gear, the core and the covering both contribute to the protection 
against mechanical risks, and simultaneously serve as an indicator of the 
performance of this protection. 
According to one characteristic, the high-resistance fibers are chosen from 
amongst aramids, polyethylenes, carbons, glasses, metal fibers and/or 
technical fibers with a high resistance to cutting, or similar. 
In one example, the yarn is of the type whose core and/or covering fibers 
have been subjected to twisting, obtained by spinning the fibers on a ring 
spinning frame for example. 
According to one characteristic, the gear comprises, at least in certain 
parts such as the cuff, a weft insertion of elastic yarns, made of latex 
or synthetic for example, so as to make this part stretchable. 
According to one characteristic, fibers of the core and/or covering of the 
yarn are dyed with the color chosen, by full bath dyeing for example. 
According to another characteristic, the color of the core and/or covering 
fibers resists without substantial alteration in case the gear is washed. 
The gear is knitted without seams. 
But, alternatively, it comprises several pieces, possibly knitted or woven 
and cut, assembled by seaming for example. 
According to one embodiment, the gear is ambidextrous. 
In the case where the gear is a glove, a mitten or a mitt, according to one 
characteristic it comprises, on the palm and/or the fingers for example, 
at least one added-on outer material with a high coefficient of friction, 
particularly synthetic such as PVC, rubber or similar, so as to improve 
grasping when using this gear. 
According to one embodiment, the gear comprises at least one outer 
reinforcement such as a piece of leather, a hardened coating area or 
similar, contributing to the protection of the gear against chemical 
and/or mechanical risks such as pinholes. 
According to one characteristic, the gear comprises at least one partial or 
total added-on inner thickness, such as an underglove, inferlining, to 
provide thermal insulation and/or to increase comfort for example. 
In one example, the gear comprises, near the cuff or on the latter for 
example, information such as instructions for use and/or a device for 
determining its mechanical protection performance. 
A second object of the invention is a device for determining the mechanical 
protection performance of a gear according to the above-mentioned first 
object in its current state, this device comprising at least one colored 
area whose color corresponds to a predefined gear alteration shade 
indicating that the gear no longer ensures the mechanical protection 
performance initially required for its intended use, this device 
comprising at least two areas of different colours for example. 
A third object of the invention concerns a method for determining the 
mechanical protection performance of a gear according to the 
above-mentioned first object in its current state, this method consisting 
of comparing the colour of at least one part of the protective gear with a 
reference color, on a slightly altered or unaltered part of the gear such 
as its back for example, or on a device comprising a colored reference 
area.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In the description, the term "individual protective gear" designates a 
portable safety accessory intended to protect an upper limb of its user. 
It can consist of a glove such as that indicated by reference numeral 1 in 
FIG. 1, or a mitten, mitt, muff, etc. 
The main purpose of gear such as the glove 1 is to provide protection 
against mechanical risks, particularly risks of cutting and/or abrasion. 
The protective gear concerned are of "knitted" type. 
This means that the gear 1 is at least partially obtained by knitting a 
yarn with a high physical resistance. 
An example of a yarn 2 used to knit the glove 1 is shown in FIG. 2. 
Such a yarn comprises a fiber core 3, surrounded by an outer fiber covering 
4. 
Here the term "fiber" applies to any yarn 2 comprising short, long or 
continuous fibers or a mixture of these fibers. 
To obtain the desired, mechanical protection performance the core 3 of the 
yarn 2, as well as its outer covering 4, comprise fibers with a high 
resistance to cutting and/or abrasion. 
The composition of the high-resistance fibers of the yarn 2 is chosen from 
amongst aramids, polyethylenes, carbons, glass and/or metal fibers such as 
stainless steel fibers. 
In the glove of FIG. 1, fibers of the core 3 and outer covering 4 of the 
knitted yarn 2 are high-tenacity technical fibers, respectively subject to 
prior twisting. Such a yarn 2 is said to be "core-spun". 
Once the mechanical protection performance has been achieved, the yarn 2 
may comprise, if this is desirable, fibers making it possible to achieve 
other specific requirements, such as natural fibers (cotton, etc.) to 
improve the ease of use of the gear. 
The glove 1 illustrated comprises, near the part indicated by reference 
numeral 5 which makes up its cuff, a weft of elastic yarns so as to make 
this part stretchable. Here the elastic yarns of the weft are yarns made 
of latex or covered with a synthetic elastic material. 
Such a weft of elastic yarns makes it possible to maintain the glove 1 on 
the hand of its user in a firm but removable manner. 
Other parts of the glove 1 can be provided with such a weft if necessary. 
The glove 1 illustrated is a glove knitted with a single piece without 
seams, and ambidextrous. 
Alternatively, it is possible to obtain a protective gear according to the 
invention which comprises several additional pieces, at least one of which 
is knitted using a yarn 2 with a high physical resistance. 
One or several of the additional pieces can be woven or cut pieces; for 
example, a stretchable muff can be obtained by seaming when assembling the 
various pieces of such a gear. 
In the yarn 2 with which the individual protective gear is at least 
partially knitted, with fibers of the core 3 having a color chosen so that 
this core will have substantially the same color. For example, the fibers 
of the core 3 give the latter a dark color, such as black. 
Whereas fibers of the covering 4 have a color chosen to be distinct from 
that of the core 3. These fibers of the covering 4 mask the core 3 so that 
the yarn 2, and the protective gear in general, as knitted, will have 
substantially the same color as the fibers of the covering 4. 
To contrast with dark colored fibers of the core 3, the fibers of the 
covering 4 are, for example, light colored, particularly yellow. 
Here the term "as knitted" refers to a state of the safety gear in which it 
ensures a required performance in terms of protection against mechanical 
risks. 
This is the new state of the gear, or a state in which its structure has 
not been subject to an alteration such that the gear no longer ensures the 
performance required for its intended use. 
By providing a yarn 2 in which the fibers of the core 3 and of the covering 
4 have distinct colors, and by arranging the fibers of the covering 4 such 
that they substantially cover the core 3, a yarn is obtained whose color 
is substantially the same as that of the fibers of the covering 4. The 
same applies to the gear knitted using this yarn 2. 
Furthermore, the protective gear is conformed so that the cuts and/or 
abrasion will alter the fiber covering 4 on a permanent basis, allowing 
the core 3 to be seen. 
As a result, when the glove 1 is used, the lesser the alteration, the 
closer the shade of its altered parts will be to the color of the covering 
4, and the larger the alteration, the closer it will be to the color of 
the core 3. Thus, the shade of the altered parts of the glove 1 changes 
according to its degree of alteration. 
And since the alteration of the glove 1 is inversely proportional to the 
mechanical protection performance which it ensures, this shade is an 
indicator of the mechanical protection performance of the glove 1, in its 
current state. 
This measurement is highly reliable, as it depends directly on the 
integrity of the structure of the yarn 2 and, subsequently, of the parts 
of a gear such as the glove 1 knitted using this yarn. 
With such a gear, the mechanical protection performance of the gear in its 
current state is determined by comparing the color of at least one part of 
the latter with a reference color. 
A reference color is visible on the parts of the glove 1 displaying little 
or no wear, which must be compared with the worn parts for this 
determination. 
Referring to the examples illustrated, it can be seen that the glove 1 has, 
on the inner face of a finger 7, in this case the thumb, a worn part 10. 
Since, as knitted, the yarn 2 has a generally light appearance, whereas the 
core 3, initially masked, has a dark colour, the worn part 10 stands out 
in contrast on the glove 1, in the form of a perfectly visible dark part. 
Similarly, if a sharp-edged object affects the integrity of the yarn 2, as 
indicated by reference numeral 11 on the index finger of the glove, the 
altered part 11 is clearly visible, in the form of a "scar" in contrast 
with respect to the color of the neighbouring unaltered parts of the glove 
1. 
In this example, the altered part 10 stands out following an abrasion of 
the glove 1. Whereas the altered part 11 is due to a cut. 
Although the glove of FIG. 1 provides for a gear, as knitted, with a light 
color, on which the alterations stand out with a dark color, other 
combinations of distinct colors can be provided. 
Thus, when the protective gear is used in a soiling environment tending to 
darken its color, in the absence of an alteration, particularly due to its 
contact with dusty or greasy pieces, the fibers of the core 3 are light, 
whereas those of the covering 4 are dark, for example. 
In this case, the altered parts will stand out distinctly in contrast to 
the protective gear even if it is dirty, in the form of light lines or 
areas consisting of fibers of the core 3 protruding from their initial 
covering 4. 
In either case, various techniques can be used to obtain the distinction of 
color between the fibers of the core 3 and those of the covering 4. 
For the glove of FIG. 1, the fibers of the core 3 are dyed with the color 
chosen, by dyeing in full bath. These fibers are aramid fibers. 
In the case where the protective gear, here the glove 1, must be able to 
withstand washing, precautions are taken so that the color of the fibers 
of the core 3 and/or of the covering 4 will resist washing without 
substantial alterations. 
This resistance of the colors keeps the colour of the core 3 and/or of the 
covering 4 of the yarn 2 from running on the covering 4 and/or the core 3, 
and vice versa. This could result in the colors no longer being distinct 
from one another. 
After washing, the protective gear 1 on which altered parts of a color 
distinct from the general color of the gear as knitted stand out are 
discarded. Whereas the gear which are not marked by altered parts and 
therefore ensure the mechanical protection performance required are reused 
after washing. 
With the example of the glove 1, good results have been obtained by giving 
the yarn 2 with which it is knitted a structure such that it comprises 70% 
covering fibers 4 of one color and 30% core fibers 3 of a colour distinct 
from the fibers of the covering 4. 
FIG. 3 shows an example of a device 12 for determining the protection 
performance, in its current state, of a safety gear such as the glove 1. 
The determining device 12 comprises a base 13, here substantially 
rectangular, made of cardboard of plastic material. 
The base 13 comprises an area 14 of a predefined color. This area 14 is 
obtained by printing, or by glueing a patch or a cut out knitted using the 
same yarn as the gear to be checked. 
The color of the area 14 is determined, based upon laboratory tests of a 
predefined protective gear such as the glove 1 for example, so as to 
correspond to a shade of alteration of this gear such that it no longer 
ensures the protection performance required for its intended use. 
Opposite to the area 14, the determining device 12 comprises indications 
15. These indications mention that if at least part of this gear is of the 
same shade as the area 14, this gear must be discarded. 
The comparison between a gear such as the glove 1 and the reference color 
area 14 can be made in two manners. 
The first manner consists in positioning the determining device 12 so as to 
place an orifice 16 formed in the colored area 14 on top of an altered 
part. 
The second manner consists in positioning a margin 17 of the device 12 
consecutive to each colored area opposite to the glove 1 so as to compare 
the shades. 
Needless to say, the check will be performed so as to account for the most 
altered--darkest--parts of the gear to be checked. 
The device 12 of FIG. 3 comprises several coloured areas 18, 19 and 20. 
Each color area 18, 19 and 20 has a shade of color which corresponds to a 
predefined mechanical protection performance of the gear to be checked. 
We have seen that the color of the area 14 corresponds to a performance 
such that the gear checked must be discarded. 
Colored area 18 lies opposite to indications 21 which specify that if at 
least part of the gear checked has the same shade as this area 18, the 
mechanical protection performance of the gear in question limits its use 
to tasks for which this performance is sufficient. 
The performance level is mentioned in the indications 21, in coded form for 
example. 
Similarly, for colored area 19, the shade corresponds to a protection 
performance level superior to that which is indicated by areas 14 and 18. 
And, in this case, colored area 20 has a shade corresponding to the as 
knitted state of the gear to be checked, which makes it possible to make 
sure that it is in good state, when it is new for example. 
The glove 1 of FIG. 1 comprises added-on outer pieces 6 at the ends of its 
fingers 7. 
Here, the added-on outer pieces 6 are made of synthetic PVC material. They 
make it possible to improve grasping when using this glove 1. These 
added-on pieces are obtained by coating in a place suited for 
solidification. 
Other added-on outer pieces of materials with a high coefficient of 
friction, rubber or similar for example, can be provided on the glove 1, 
on the inside 9 of its palm for example. The same applies to any 
protective gear such as a mitten or mitt whose grasping performance needs 
to be improved. 
Reference numeral 8 indicates an outer reinforcement. Here the outer 
reinforcement 8 is a piece of leather cut and stitched on the back 9 of 
the glove 1. The purpose of the outer reinforcement piece 9 is to increase 
the mechanical performance of the glove 1 against particular risks such as 
pin holes. 
Other types of outer reinforcements can be provided on a protective gear. 
In particular, hardened coating areas or the like can contribute to the 
protection of the gear against chemical and/or mechanical risks. Thus, the 
added-on outer pieces 6 can have more than just a grasp improving purpose; 
they can also contribute to the protection performance of the glove 1. 
Although this is not illustrated, the glove 1 comprises an inserted inner 
thickness possibly but not necessarily made of woven fabric. Here, the 
inserted inner thickness is total and serves the purpose of an underglove 
or an interlining. 
Such an inserted inner thickness is, depending on requirements, partial or 
total, and its purpose is to increase the thermal insulation and/or the 
comfort of the glove 1. 
As mentioned earlier on, the glove 1 is conformed so that the cuts and/or 
the abrasion alter the fiber covering 4 on a permanent basis, allowing the 
core 3 to be seen. 
This means that the added-on outer pieces 6 as well as the outer 
reinforcements 8 must not be arranged in such a way that they interfere 
with the display of the protection performance of the glove 1, by allowing 
the color of the core 3 to be seen. 
This makes it necessary to choose the locations of such added-on outer 
pieces 6 or reinforcements 8, for example in the form of lines or pins 
glued on the glove 1 and arranged so as to not artificially interfere with 
the visibility of the core 3 when the protective gear has undergone an 
alteration. 
Furthermore, it can be seen that the glove 1 comprises information 22. This 
information 22 is attached to the glove 1 on its cuff 5. It can be 
arranged in another location, possibly but not necessarily near the cuff 
5. 
Here the information 22 includes instructions for use of the glove 1. It 
indicates its size, its initial performance level, the various types of 
protection (mechanical, chemical, etc.) which it is capable of providing, 
but also its compliance with a safety rule or similar. 
The information 22 is printed directly on the glove 1. Alternatively, it is 
provided on a fabric label, stitched or glued on the glove 1. 
In an example not shown, the information 22 includes a device 12 for 
determining the mechanical protection performance of the glove 1, and for 
example a stamp provided with colored areas. 
The performance of the glove in its current state can then be determined, 
for example by folding it and comparing the worn parts such as part 10 
with the colored areas of the device included with the information 22. 
The invention is not limited to the examples described.