Disposable glove or mitt for self-service gasoline and frozen food handler

A glove made of a sheet of foamed plastic bubbles of random sizes filled with air with the largest bubbles being of diameter much less than finger width which provides a cushioned gripping and thermal insulation useful im pumping self-service gasoline and handling frozen foods.

This application is an improvement on applicant's Pat. No. 4,745,635, dated 
May 24, 1988. 
This invention is a glove or mitt to be worn while pumping self-service 
gasoline which provides good gripping surface for the cold metal parts, 
insulates the hands from the metal parts and prevents contact with 
gasoline which has an objectionable odor. 
The glove is also useful for handling frozen foods. 
In the prior art, gloves or mitts have been made in which two identical 
sheets of plastic film placed one on top of the other and heat sealed 
together at peripheral edges. If the plastic sheets have surfaces which 
are perfectly smooth and flat, difficulty has been experienced in putting 
the gloves on because the adjacent surfaces tend to cling together. 
In accordance with the present invention, at least one of the palm or back 
sides of the glove or mitt is a commercially available closed cell foam 
plastic sold under the trademark "Jiffy Pak" consisting essentially of a 
sheet of random sized load carrying plastic bubbles of trapped air.

FIG. 1 shows the invention applied to a common glove shape for self-service 
gasoline but obviously any other shape could be used. Both the front and 
back sides of the glove (palm and back) are made from a sheet of closed 
cell foamed bubbles of polyethylene or other tough flexible plastic heat 
sealed together at peripheral edges. The bubbles are filled with air. The 
bubbles are of random sizes, the largest being of diameter much smaller 
than the width of a finger and typically about the thickness of the sheet 
which range in size from about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. The larger bubbles 
are flattened at the top and/or bottom to conform with the sheet forming 
apparatus. The medium sized and smaller bubbles are nestled together to 
fill the spaces between the larger bubbles and the spaces between the top 
and bottom surfaces of the sheet. 
The resultant surfaces, while soft and smooth feeling, are not planar or 
flat. 
The bubbles of the sheet do not interfere with heat sealing. The heat 
sealing is between two sheets of plastic, at least one of which is closed 
cell foamed bubbles. Some of the bubbles which fall along the line of the 
seal may be broken but the cushioning or heat insulation properties are 
not materially affected. 
Since the glvoe may be worn on either hand, it is not necessary to buy a 
pair of gloves (right and left). 
A tougher version of the glove may be made using a laminate sheet of 
polyethylene foam and thin film of tough plastic. The polyethylene foam 
would be on the inside of the glove and the film of plastic woulde be on 
the outside of the glove. 
The glove would provide cold weather protection for emergency medical 
personnel from Aids victims. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,265 is directed to the problem of preventing sticking 
together films of plastic and does not contemplate a sheet of plastic 
consisting of distributed bubbles of randome sizes and filled with trapped 
air and nestled together between the inner and outer surfaces and the 
upper and lower surfaces of the sheet. 
The glove may be made from polyethylene or other tough flexible plastic. 
All forms of the glove are inexpensive to manufacture. The gloves are made 
from low cost sheets which may be assembled by heat sealing at the 
peripheral edges.