Device for the practical use of working gloves of quick fitting and removal type

Abstract: The device facilitates the practical use of working gloves which need to be of easy fitting and removal, and comprises at least one glove. This latter is provided with means for facilitating the insertion and withdrawal of the hand.

Description: This invention relates to working gloves used for example for handling food or for simply keeping the hands clean, and in particular to gloves fairly loose-fitting to enable the hand to be inserted and withdrawn easily. In retail businesses (for example bakers, delicatessens and confectioners) in which food is sold, the sold products very often pass through the hands of the seller without respecting even minimum hygiene regulations. In this respect, the seller also handles money, touches other unclean objects or various parts of the body, or can suffer from hyperperspiration of the hands. It should be noted in this regard that Article 42 of Italian Law 283 dated 30 April 1962 (R.P.D. 26 March 1980, 327) states that "...relevant personnel are responsible for personal cleanliness and in particular of the hands, and their work must be performed in a hygienically correct manner". Common expedience teaches that this requirement is widely ignored. The problem of handling food in a hygienically correct manner is therefore widespread. In some countries (for example the United States) the seller wears gloves of surgical type, which however are very difficult to put on and take off, resulting in much time wastage. WO 9817133 discloses a glove fitting apparatus comprising a rigid annular element enabling the mouth of the glove to be maintained open, and means cooperating with the annular element to maintain the glove substantially at rest during its fitting and removal. In particular, the annular element is a circular ring assembly including an inner ring and an outer ring, with the material of the glove interposed and clamped between the two rings, and the means cooperating with the ring assembly is a bracket including a vertical recess which is open upwards to receive the ring assembly so that the latter is maintained also substantially vertical. This solution is suitable for gloves used in the medical industry and surgery (as mentioned in the description), but is cumbersome and expensive, this type of gloves being very adherent to the hand so that, also with the aid of said apparatus, fitting and removal of a glove is rather cumbersome and time consuming. Moreover, the bracket cannot assume any orientation. In particular, if the bracket is overturned, so that its recess is open downwards, it cannot perform its function (the ring assembly, previously applied to the glove, could not be retained in the recess and would fall down). An object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device for easily and quickly fitting and removing working gloves of the type fairly lose-fitting to enable the hand to be inserted and withdrawn easily. This object is achieved by a device according to claim 1. If the glove is to be used to handle food, it is constructed of a material suitable for food use (for example polyethylene or latex). The glove can be structured simply in the manner of a mitten, in the sense of having one terminal part arranged to receive a single finger, namely the thumb, the other fingers all being received together in the remaining terminal part. However, depending on requirements, the glove can be formed with two individual fingers (usually the thumb and index finger) or more (to a maximum of five). The device of the invention is also particularly useful in sectors other than retail food shops, and more generally in all those cases in which the glove has to be repeatedly fitted and removed. In this respect, a device of this type can also be used in a domestic environment, when it is required to handle foods hygienically in successive stages without being compelled to wash the hands each time (as is well known, repeated washing ruins the skin), or to simply avoid soiling the hands but without using normal surgical gloves or those of the type used for washing dishes or for domestic cleaning, such gloves being not easy to fit or remove. The device of the invention can be of use in various industrial activities, in which case it can be advisable to make the glove of a material which is still substantially flexible but more robust. The invention will be more apparent from the ensuing description of some embodiments thereof. In this description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, on which: Figure 1 is a plan view from above showing an embodiment of the device of the invention, comprising a single glove with the relative means enabling the hand to be easily inserted and withdrawn; Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof in the direction of the arrow 2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation in the direction of the arrow 3 of Figure 1, showing only the annular element at the mouth of the glove; and Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing a variation of the annular mouth element. As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the device of the invention comprises a glove 210 (assumed to be used for handling food, and hence constructed for example of polyethylene or latex). The glove 210 possesses a substantially rigid annular element 212 to which the actual glove 211 is applied. The purpose of the annular element 212 (Figure 3) is to maintain the mouth of the glove 210 properly open, and can be formed from a substantially rigid plastic (in this specific case suitable for food use) or from a suitable metal (for example, in this specific case a stainless steel). The glove can be washed or treated with suitable detergents to provide the required level of hygiene if it is to be reused, or alternatively it can-be disposed of after use. In this specific case the support plate 220 is positioned horizontally. As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the glove 210 comprises two individual fingers 214 and 215 (to receive the thumb and index finger respectively), this glove being particularly suitable for use by confectioners. The annular element 212 is positioned on the inside of the actual glove 211, so that it is protected. In this respect, by suitably choosing the dimensions of the annular element 212 and the mouth of the actual glove 211, the annular element 212 can be forcibly inserted into the mouth of the actual glove 211 so that this in practice remains fixed to the annular element 212, without moving even when the hand is inserted or withdrawn. Conveniently, plate 220 is of an easily washable material suitable for food use (for example stainless steel or a suitable plastic). If the glove 210 is to be of disposable type, it can be made of the least costly materials, the actual glove 11 being made for example from a flexible polyethylene sheet, and the annular ring 212 for example from rigid polyethylene. From Figures 1 and 2 it is apparent how the hand is inserted into and removed from the glove 210. If both hands of the operator need to be protected by gloves of the invention, a second plate 220 is provided, or alternatively a single plate can be provided to receive both a right glove and a left glove. The plate can also be of such dimensions as to receive a number of gloves or more than one pair of gloves, for different operators. As stated, a glove of the aforedescribed type can also be used simply for the purpose of not soiling the hands (for example in a mechanical workshop), in which case it could be advisable to make it of a sufficiently strong material such as cloth or a non-woven fabric (possibly of washable type), if necessary reinforced at particular points (for example at the fingertips) or made non-slippable at certain points. If the operator suffers from hyperperspiration of the hands, the glove can contain a second glove of a flexible material able to absorb perspiration (for example a suitable paper). It should be noted that the support plate for the glove or gloves (as already stated it could carry a pair of gloves or even more than one pair) can be applied also to a vertical wall or have any inclination between 0 and 90 degrees, the orientation of this plate not interfering with the use of the glove. In certain cases it could be convenient to choose a determined inclination for the support plate. Suitable support means for the plate will then be provided. The annular element can also be made in open form (212A in Figure 4) and of an elastically flexible material, so that its size can be reduced by action of the hands during its insertion into the mouth of the actual glove (211), to then reassume its original dimensions and remain locked in position within the glove. Returning to Figures 6 and 7, the glove 210 is laid on a plate 220 which rests on a horizontal surface (for example the counter of a confectionary shop) and has a weight such that it does not move when the glove 210 is fitted or removed. Alternatively the plate 220 can be fixed to the surface 222, in which case its weight is no longer of influence. In the illustrated example the plate 220 (which can be for example of teflon suitable for food use) has a rectangular recess (Figure 1 and 2) containing a permanent magnet 219. Consequently if the whole of the ring element 212 or 212A, or at least that part thereof facing the magnet 219, is formed of a ferromagnetic material, the glove 210 when in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 is retained by the magnet 219 with a force sufficient to enable it to be fitted and removed, without obstructing its removal from the plate 220. The permanent magnet 219 can be replaced by an electromagnet, in both cases the magnet being embedded in the plate so that it is invisible. In the case of an electromagnet, thus can be constructed to exert on the ring element 212 a force sufficiently high to fix the glove so firmly to the plate 220 that it can be removed only with difficulty, there being however provided a switch (operable by the other hand or by other parts of the body if two gloves are used, or operable by a vocal command), to enable the glove to be removed without any force once the hand has been inserted. According to a further variant, not shown on the drawings, the support plate can itself be a large permanent magnet (for example a stainless steel plate of a type which can be permanently magnetized or which forms part of an electromagnet, or a plastic plate in which permanent magnet particles are embedded, so that the glove 210 can be positioned in any region of its upper surface.

Claims: A device for practical use of working gloves (210) of the type fairly lose-fitting to enable the hand to be inserted and withdrawn easily, comprising at least one glove (210), each glove (210) comprising a rigid annular element (212; 212A) enabling the mouth of the glove (210) to be maintained open, and means (219, 220) to retain firmly the glove (210) to a plate (220) with a force to enable insertion and withdrawn of the glove (210) from a hand, characterized in that : by suitably choosing the dimensions of the annular element (212; 212A) and the mouth of the glove (210), the annular element (212; 212A) is forcibly insertable into the mouth of the glove (210) so that the latter remains fixed to the annular element (212; 212A), without moving even when the hand is inserted or withdrawn, the annular element (212) being formed at least partly of ferromagnetic material; the means (219, 220) for retaining the glove (210) during its fitting and removal comprises at least one magnet (219). A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular element (212A) is open and has sufficient flexibility to enable its size to be reduced by action of the hands, to enable it to be more easily inserted into the mouth of the glove (210). A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the magnet (219)is a permanent magnet. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the magnet (219)is an electromagnet. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means (212, 219, 220, 22) for maintaining the glove (210) at rest comprises a support plate (220) to which the magnet is fixed or into which the magnet(219) is incorporated. A device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the support plate (220) is of a suitable plastic material. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove has a single individual finger, namely the thumb. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove (210) has two individual fingers, namely the thumb (214) and the index finger (215). A device as claimed in claim 1, the glove (210) being intended for handling food, wherein the glove (210) is of a material compatible with food use. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove (210) is of washable material. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove contains a second glove of a flexible material able to absorb perspiration.

Inventors: BUSCAINO ROSA FRANCESCA, BUSCAINO, ROSA FRANCESCA
Applicants: DIRODAL S R L, DIRODAL S.R.L
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A41D19
IPC codes: A41D19, A47G25