GLOVES AND THEIR MANUFACTURE

Abstract: A former (1) used for manufacturing gloves of elastomeric material is provided with corrugations (6) on its cuff portion (3). The former is dipped in a fluid bath of elastomeric material to produce a glove (4) having corresponding corrugations (7) on its cuff portion. This portion is easily extended so that the sleeve of the glove (4) is of substantially greater length than the cuff of the former.

Description: GLOVES AND THEIR MANUFACTURE This invention relates to the manufacture of gloves of elastomeric material, e.g. synthetic or natural rubber, such as surgeons gloves and the like. It is well known in the art to manufacture rubber gloves by dip moulding onto a former. The former, made with the desired size and shape of a hand, is dipped into a fluid bath containing elastomeric material. The surface of the former is thus coated with an even thickness layer of the material when the former is removed from the bath, and when the material has cured on the former the completed glove is stripped from the former. The bath must be deep enough to accommodate the length of the former corresponding to the length of the finished glove. If a manufacturer wishes to produce gloves of greater length, in particular to increase the length of the sleeve portion of the glove, than the plant was constructed for the depth of the bath must be correspondingly increased to accommodate the longer formers. This is inconvenient and costly. The present invention addresses the problem and as a solution it proposes a former for use in the manufacture of gloves comprising integral hand and cuff portions, the cuff portion having a plurality of annular corrugations whereby the length of the cuff portion measured along the surface thereof is substantially greater than the axial length of the cuff portion. By means of a former embodying the invention it is possible to produce gloves with sleeves of much greater length than would be possible with a conventional former with the same overall cuff length, and only relatively shallow baths are demanded for the dip moulding process. The number and radial depth of the corrugations is not critical, but in order not to impede unduly the stripping of the gloves from the former the depth of the corrugations is preferably not greater than about 2.5 cms. A corrugation depth of 1 to 2 cms has been found to produce very acceptable results. In order to achieve a significant increase in the length of the sleeve relative to the axial length of the former it is preferable that the corrugations are inclined at an angle of at least 45°, and possibly up to 90°, to the former axis. The invention also resides in a method of manufacturing gloves by dip moulding on a former in accordance with the invention, and a glove of elastomeric material produced by moulding on such a former. To assist a clear understanding of the invention a more detailed description is given below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the former according to the invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a glove made on the former; and Figure 3 shows schematically a detail of the corrugations. Shown in Figure 1 is an integral former 1 comprising a hand 2 and cuff 3. The hand 2 is of conventional shape including a palm, thumb and four fingers. The cuff 3 has a corrugated surface section 6 extending over a major part of its length from a wrist area adjoining the hand 2. The corrugations are of substantially V-shape. The number of corrugations, their depth and the angled they make with the axis of the former determines the length of the sleeve of the gloves to be produced on the former. The preferred angle (X is between 45° and 90°. The depth of the corrugation is not greater than 2.5 cm, and is conve¬ niently 1-2 cms. In use, the former, in inverted orientation to that in which it is illustrated in Figure 1, iε dipped into a fluid bath containing elastomeric mate¬ rial. The elastomeric coating thereby applied is cured to form the glove 4 (Fig. 2) which is removed from the former 1 in the conventional manner. The thickness of the glove material is such that the bellows-like portion of the glove sleeve formed by the corrugated former section is easily extended so that the sleeve is of substantially greater length than the cuff of the former, as shown in Figure 2. The elastomeric material is so thin that the sleeve does not have any strong tendency to return to the concertina form in which it was made when in use. In the above description specific details of an embodiment of the invention have been provided for a thorough understanding of the inventive concept. It will be understood by those in the art that many of these details may be varied without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the exact configuration of the corrugations is not crucial, the essential point being that they should define a surface of substantially greater length than the axial length over which they extend.

Claims: CLAIMS ; - 1. A former for use in the manufacture of gloves comprising integral hand and cuff portions characterised in that, the cuff portion (3) has a plurality of annular corrugations (6) whereby the length of the cuff portion measured along the surface thereof is substantially greater than the axial length of the cuff portion. 2. A former as claimed in claim 1 wherein the corrugations (6) extend over at least a major part of the axial length of the cuff portion (3). 3. A former as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the corrugations (6) have side faces inclined to the former axis at an angle of in the range of 45° to 90°. 4. A former as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the corrugations (6) have a depth of not greater than 2.5 cm. 5. A former as claimed in claim 4 wherein the depth of the corrugations (6) is from 1cm to 2cm. 6. A former as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the corrugations (6) are substantially V shaped in cross-section. 7. A method of manufacturing gloves (4) wherein a former (1), comprising integral hand and cuff portions (2, 3) is immersed in a fluid bath containing elastomeric material, the former being as defined in any one of the preceding claims. 8. A glove (4) of elastomeric material manufactured by the method of claim 1.

Inventors: WHITE NICHOLAS DAVID, WHITE, NICHOLAS, DAVID
Applicants: LRC PRODUCTS, LRC PRODUCTS LIMITED
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A61B19
IPC codes: A41D19, A61B19, B29D31