Abstract:
A process for producing a safety glove to be worn on a conventional human hand and where the glove is of a conventional material. A glove is obtained as a unitary construct having glove finger sections to each respectively cover one finger of the hand, a glove palm section to cover the palm, and a glove back section to cover at least part of the backhand. In each glove finger section a separation zone is formed by controllably weakening the material of the glove such that all or part of the respective glove finger section is separable from the rest of the glove, wherein the separation zone retains a discernible thickness throughout.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0004]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    1. Technical Field 
         [0006]    The present invention relates generally to apparel, and more particularly to a work glove type hand covering specially configured to protect the hand of a worker in an occupational environment. 
         [0007]    2. Background Art 
         [0008]    Work gloves are a hand covering that are desirable or necessary in many endeavors today. For instance, they are widely used to prevent skin abrasion, exposure to sharp edges, splinters, and contact with caustic and unhygienic materials. For straightforward reasons, work gloves are often outright necessary in fields using chemicals, electricity, and extremes of heat and cold. 
         [0009]    Of particular present interest, work gloves are worn when working around many types of moving machinery, such as lathes, mills, drills, presses, conveyor belts, etc. Here wearing work gloves may be desirable because of concerns related to the work materials, such as those noted in the last paragraph, as well as for protection from the moving machinery. 
         [0010]    Unfortunately, accidents involving work gloves are common. Let us consider one example. An operator of a drill press may wear work gloves to reduce abrasion and splinters from material shavings, burns from material or tooling headed by the drilling process, cuts from the flutes of sharp drill bits, etc. Work gloves in this scenario, however, can themselves become snagged on the work material, on a rotating drill bit, or elsewhere on the drill press. The result then can be a fright, injury, or even death as the snagged work glove immobilizes the worker&#39;s hand or contributes to pulling their hand or even their whole body into danger. The phrase “glove-caused accident” has been used to describe such accidents as a class. 
         [0011]    To discuss work gloves an understanding of the basic anatomy of the hand is useful.  FIG. 1  (prior art; based on “Essentials of Hand Surgery,” American Society for Surgery of the Hand, 2009) shows a typical human right hand with many of the accepted labels for the various parts of the hand. As can be seen, “proximal” and “distal” are defined by being nearer or further away from the wrist, and thus the rest of the body. The hand has four fingers and a thumb, but for present purposes the thumb can effectively be treated as a fifth finger (albeit, one lacking a middle phalanx).  FIG. 1  shows the palm of the hand (also known as the volar), including the heal of the hand (also known as and here labeled the thenar).  FIG. 1  does not show the corresponding posterior part of the hand, called the opisthenar area (or dorsal), that is, the back or the top of the hand. 
         [0012]    There have been many attempts to solve work glove problems. One such approach has been to armor the glove. U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,316 to Linn, U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,946 to Nielson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,695 to Burtoff, U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,756 to DeLuca, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,104 to Casey, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,575 to Pakulak are all examples of this. Unfortunately, this approach has clear limits. While it may work well to prevent injuries when a worker stacks lumber, for example, the use of an armored glove would not help the drill press operator in the above example. Indeed, the added material, the reduced mobility, etc. might significantly increase the likelihood of a glove-caused accident. The added awkwardness of such gloves might also motivate the worker to not bother wearing them. 
         [0013]    Another set of solutions to work glove problems has been an “anti-armor” approach, to intentionally make work gloves fragile so they easily separate into pieces, wherein such a piece of the glove may be immobilized or pulled into danger but the rest of the glove and the worker&#39;s hand can be pulled to safety. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,952 by Brenning, Jr. provides a detailed discussion of a piece-wise glove assembly approach. Here a safety glove for a work person is taught that has fingerless body sections for covering the palm and top of the hand, and finger and thumb sections are attached but remain easily separable. In the event a section is snagged or caught in a machine the work person, with a reflex action, can pull their hand in an opposite direction. Brenning, Jr. terms the mechanism used to connect its sections “rupturable joints” and provides examples including a ring or bead that is pressed into a cooperating channel or groove, an O-ring or beaded joint variation of this, or sections attached using a low tensile strength band or low strength connecting thread or a network of woven threads to provide a weakened tear line at the junction. Disadvantages here are that the joints are awkward, making some embodiments of the gloves hard to wear, and generally making the gloves complex and expensive to manufacture. 
         [0015]    German Pat. No. DE 10 2007 015 961 by Kipp teaches a perforation zone approach. The work glove here is perforated at crucial points to provide predetermined breaking zones. The crucial points for perforation are at the knuckles of each finger as well as across major portions of the palm of the hand. 
         [0016]    The use of perforations beneficially permits easy and economical manufacture of a single piece glove, but also results in a glove that may be less durable and that is unsuitable for some uses. Perforations are small holes, and therein lie some problems. If work glove material between two perforations wears away or is broken, a bigger hole results. As this process progresses, small holes become much bigger holes, with large edge regions. In theory, as partial separation along perforations occurs a worker should discard such a glove for a new one. In practice, however, this may not occur promptly or at all. Workshop owners frown on frequent replacement and workers, mindful of shop owner concerns or due simply to their own unwillingness to take time, may delay putting on a replacement glove. A worn glove with one or more holes with large edge regions can then itself undermine safety by providing an increased likelihood of snagging. Alternately, perforations as holes provide openings for ingress into a glove of undesirable materials. Work material shavings that are too large to penetrate a normal woven fabric can easily work into perforation holes to irritate or penetrate underlying skin. 
         [0017]    In passing, it can be appreciated that the approaches exemplified by Brenning, Jr. and Kipp can be used with a variety of glove materials. For example, rubber, plastic, leather, and woven fabrics can all be used (although applying perforations to woven fabric can reduce durability). The following examples employ woven fabrics, albeit ones that can be coated. These thread-based approaches generally include weaving a small denier thread into the area where the glove finger attaches to the glove palm. 
         [0018]    European Patent Office application EP 2 572 598 by Kim teaches a weakened material approach. Similar to Brenning, Jr.; Kipp; and presently discussed Becker et al., Kim&#39;s is a separable sections approach. The English language disclosure in Kim confusing uses the phrase “cut-off section” where the phrase “separable section” is more descriptive, since the sections of Kim&#39;s glove would typically be torn off rather than cut off. Rather than use perforations to define where the cut-off or separable sections of its glove are, Kim teaches zones where the material of its glove is “woven thin.” Kim also teaches that its glove can be coated over the fabric, including over the woven thin portion. This approach avoids the problems noted above with respect to perforations. Kim&#39;s woven thin portions are shown as being quite localized, to precisely define its cut-off or separable sections. This tends to complicate manufacturing and increase end product cost. 
         [0019]    U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0139295 by Becker, et al. teaches an alternate weakened threads approach. Here, rather use a thin weave, a predetermined tearing zone is provided close to the proximal end of the fingers, that is, close to the transitions to the palm of the protective glove. In this tearing zone a first yarn component is provided continuously and a second yarn component is left out. Becker, et al. teaches that this glove is coated over substantially all of its fabric, and that its separable sections are quite localized and precisely defined. This as well tends to complicate manufacturing and increase end product cost. 
         [0020]    Summarizing, the prior art approaches have not completely solved the problems with work gloves. Armor style safety gloves are often impractical, or can increase the chances of injury, and/or simply may not be worn. Other styles of safety gloves have employed separable sections. Multi-piece safety gloves tend to also be awkward to wear, as well as complicated to manufacture and therefore high in cost. Single-piece safety gloves use precise localized failure zones. Perforations are one approach to defining the separable sections, but have glove durability issues and permit the entry of material through the perforations. The other approach to defining separable sections has been to alter the weave at failure zones, which is accordingly limited to use with woven fabrics. Single-piece safety gloves tend to be easier to manufacture but particular attention must be directed to defining the failure zones and providing glove durability. Moreover, it has been the present inventors&#39; experience that section-wise separation in existing safety gloves is not always reliable. Accordingly, there remains a need for improved designs and manufacturing processes for safety gloves. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved safety glove. 
         [0022]    Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is a process for producing a safety glove of a conventional material that can be worn on a conventional human hand having fingers, a palm, and a backhand. The glove first is obtained as a unitary construct having glove finger sections to each respectively cover one finger of the hand, a glove palm section to cover the palm, and a glove back section to cover at least part of the backhand. For each glove finger section a separation zone is formed in the glove by controllably weakening the material of the glove such that all or part of the respective glove finger section is separable from the rest of the glove. The separation zone, however, retains a discernible thickness throughout. 
         [0023]    Briefly, another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a safety glove of a conventional material to wear on a human hand, wherein the hand has a palm, a backhand, and a plurality of fingers comprising at least two phalanxes. The glove is obtained as a unitary construct wherein glove finger sections each connect to a glove palm section and to a glove back section at a palmar digital crease. A separation zone is formed in each glove finger section by controllably weakening the material of the glove such that all or part of the respective glove finger section is separable from the rest of the glove, yet where the separation zone retains a discernible thickness throughout. 
         [0024]    And briefly, another preferred embodiment of the present invention is an improved safety glove to be worn on a conventional human hand having fingers, a palm, and a backhand. The glove of the type fabricated as a unitary construct of a conventional glove material that is a member of a set of consisting fabrics, synthetics, hides, and composites of these. The glove is also of the type that includes glove finger sections to each respectively cover one finger of the hand, a glove palm section to cover the palm, and a glove back section to cover at least part of the backhand. The improvement comprises each glove finger section further having a separation zone made by controllably weakening the material of the glove such that all or part of the respective glove finger section is separable from the rest of the glove, yet where the separation zone retains a discernible thickness throughout. 
         [0025]    These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the industrial applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the figures of the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0026]    The purposes and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended figures of drawings in which: 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  (prior art) shows a typical human right hand with many of the accepted labels for the parts of the hand; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  shows a human right hand wearing a glove in accord with the present invention, wherein the glove fingers have an axial and a radial separation zone; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  shows a human hand wearing an embodiment of a glove in accord with the present invention, wherein the glove fingers have multiple radial separation zones; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  shows a human hand wearing an embodiment of a glove in accord with the present invention, wherein the glove fingers have multiple radial and non-radial (diagonal) separation zones; 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  shows a human hand wearing an embodiment of a glove in accord with the present invention, wherein the glove palm has multiple axial separation zones; 
           [0032]      FIG. 6  shows a human hand wearing an embodiment of a glove in accord with the present invention, wherein the glove fingers have multiple axial separation zones; 
           [0033]      FIG. 7  shows a hand wearing the glove of  FIG. 2 , to facilitate a discussion of applicable safety principles; 
           [0034]      FIGS. 8   a - b  show alternate versions of detail along the section A-A of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 9  shows detail of the cross regions and tip regions in  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0036]      FIGS. 10   a - b  show other alternate versions of detail along the section A-A of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 11  shows a human hand wearing an embodiment of a glove in accord with the present invention, wherein separation zones are on the glove interior; 
           [0038]      FIG. 12  shows detail along the section B-B of  FIG. 11 ; and 
           [0039]      FIG. 13  is a flowchart showing a method suitable for manufacturing gloves in accord with the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0040]    In the various figures of the drawings, like references are used to denote like or similar elements or steps. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0041]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention is a safety glove. As illustrated in the various drawings herein, and particularly in the views of  FIGS. 2-6  and  11 , wherein embodiments of the invention are depicted by the general reference character  10 . [The references in the figures generally are numeric only for generic reference and numeric-alpha for specific reference. For example, “glove  10 ” refers to a generic instance of a glove and “glove  10   a ” refers to a specific embodiment of a glove. Similarly, “glove phalanx sections  12 ” refer to generic instances, e.g., of the fourteen possible for a glove used on a human hand, and “glove phalanx sections  12   a - c ” refer to three specific such sections.] 
         [0042]    Briefly, the present inventors have observed that glove separation is needed in the event of a snag or catch but that reliance only on separable sections or zones made with present methods is misguided. Additionally, the present inventors have observed that reliance only on radial separation is not always adequate. For example, when pulling on a finger of the glove, zones or the threads that run the length of the finger often are what need to break for the finger portion of the glove to best detach from the palm section of the glove. 
         [0043]      FIG. 2  shows a human right hand wearing a glove  10 ,  10   a  in accord with the present invention. The glove  10   a  here has separable sections made using one or more of novel methods, described in detail presently, and the glove  10   a  here has non-radial separation features. The glove  10   a  includes glove phalanx sections  12  that form glove finger sections  14  to accept the fingers and thumb of the hand. The glove phalanx sections  12  of each glove finger section  14  here are integral, as contrasted with other embodiments of the inventive glove  10  discussed presently. For example, glove finger section  14   a  comprises glove phalanx sections  12   a - c , where the glove phalanx sections  12  are demarcated by the underlying interphalangeal creases of the hand (see  FIG. 1  (Prior Art)). The glove  10   a  in  FIG. 2  further includes a glove palm section  16  and a glove back section  18 . 
         [0044]    The glove finger sections  14  here are each particularly distinguished by having an axial separation zone  20  that runs lengthwise, that is, proximal to distal along the length of the finger. As can be seen, the axial separation zones  20  each inherently also run lengthwise along the glove phalanx sections  12  of each respective glove finger section  14 . 
         [0045]    The glove  10   a  in  FIG. 2  also has circumference-like or radial separation zones  22  corresponding with the palmar digitals of the fingers. Finally, the glove  10   a  has other separation zones  24 . Note, the axial separation zones  20  common to a glove finger section  14  align across the respective glove phalanx sections  12 . This is not a requirement and another alignment may be used. In general, however, alignment tends to facilitate separation of a glove  10  in a more severe accident. 
         [0046]    The use of radial separation features that circle a finger is known, as already discussed in the Background Art section herein. The prior art methods of making those features have disadvantages, however, and again, improved methods are discussed in detail below. In contrast, the use of non-radial separation features is novel. The axial separation zones  20  in  FIG. 2  are an example of a non-radial separation feature taken to a logical extreme. 
         [0047]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , it shows a hand wearing an alternate glove  10 ,  10   b  embodiment. Here the glove phalanx sections  12  are each respectively defined by additional radial separation zones  22  that correspond with the underlying interphalangeal creases of the hand. 
         [0048]      FIG. 4  shows a hand wearing another alternate glove  10 ,  10   c  embodiment. Here an alternate type of non-radial separation feature is used, diagonal separation zones  23 . These may be preferable over axial separation zones  20  in some applications. 
         [0049]      FIG. 5  shows a hand wearing yet another alternate glove  10 ,  10   d  embodiment. The glove palm section  16  here includes multiple palm axial separation zones  26 . These palm axial separation zones  26  each align with a respective axial separation zone  20  of a glove finger section  14 . This is not a requirement and another alignment may also be used, of fewer or more palm axial separation zones  26  may also be used. In general, however, alignment here as well tends to facilitate separation of a glove  10  in a more severe accident. 
         [0050]      FIG. 6  shows a hand wearing still another alternate glove  10 ,  10   e  embodiment. Here each glove finger section  14  and each glove phalanx section  12  has multiple axial separation zones  20  that run lengthwise. 
         [0051]    Collectively,  FIGS. 2-6  show various embodiments of gloves  10  in accord with the present invention. We turn now to a discussion of how the gloves  10  operate to promote safety. 
         [0052]      FIG. 7  shows the hand wearing the glove  10 ,  10   a  of  FIG. 2 . In the event the glove  10   a  becomes snagged or caught on the glove finger section  14   a  (the small finger) it is desirable that this glove finger section  14   a  of this glove  10   a  detach at the radial separation zone  22   a , as shown. That is, close to the palmar digital of the small finger. It has been the present inventors&#39; observation that this occurs more safely if the glove  10   a  can separate at both the axial separation zone  20   a  and the radial separation zone  22   a.    
         [0053]    To appreciate why the present approach is often safer, consider the alternate and the prior art approach wherein a safety glove has an equivalent to a radial separation zone but no equivalent to an axial or other non-radial separation zone. When a finger section of a glove with only a radial separation zone is snagged or caught, an effect similar to that in the children&#39;s toy known as a Chinese finger trap can occur, trapping the finger in the glove finger section even despite the glove having separated at the radial separation zone for that glove finger section. Injury to the wearer of such a glove is therefore much more likely, and such an injury effectively becomes a “glove-caused accident” regardless of how the accident initially began. 
         [0054]    Continuing with  FIG. 7 , the axial separation zone  20   a  there is a finger axial separation zone. This figure also shows two palm axial separation zones  26   a - b  and wrist radial separation zone  28  that provide similar safety benefits. 
         [0055]      FIG. 7  also shows optional cross regions  30  which can be a feature of all the types of separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . Such cross regions  30  may be desirable to better control the separation action along a separation zone  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . 
         [0056]    Returning briefly to  FIG. 6 , here the benefits of multiple finger/phalanx axial separation zones  20  and multiple palm axial separation zones  26  can now be appreciated. The glove finger sections  14  each have three axial separation zones  20  (or two for the thumb). Moreover, these are for each phalanx and thus define smaller sections. This additionally reduces the possibility of any compressive trapping (i.e., the Chinese finger trap effect). Nonetheless, this does not appreciably weaken the glove  10  or reduce its durability. 
         [0057]    Summarizing, the structure of gloves  10  having separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  has been covered above, including the points of novelty of finger/phalanx diagonal separation zones  23  (non-radial separation zones) and axial separation zones  20 . With respect to the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 , they typically correspond with features of the hand. For example, axial separation zones  20  will usually run all or substantially the entire axial length of a hand feature like a finger or the palm. Radial separation zones  22  will usually run the circumference of a feature like a finger or the wrist and they will correspond with an interphalangeal crease, a palmar digital crease or the wrist crease. Key points about the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  is that their quantity, placement, and dimensions should correspond with where sections of the glove  10  should desirably separate. The separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  are weakened areas in the glove  10 , so that separation can occur. 
         [0058]    What remains to be covered is the present inventors&#39; method to manufacture the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  in gloves  10  and the additional points of novelty here. As discussed in the Background Art section herein, the prior art like U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,952 by Brenning, Jr.; EPO application EP 2 572 598 by Kim; and U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0139295 by Becker, et al. principally teach manufacturing separable features concurrent with the manufacture of a glove as a whole. This approach is unduly complex and uneconomical. A noted exception to is German Pat. No. DE 10 2007 015 961 by Kipp, which teaches adding perforations to form perforation zones as a separable feature. This approach is less complex and more economical, but produces a glove that has disadvantages and that may be unsuitable in some work environments or for use with some work materials. 
         [0059]    The inventors urge that principal manufacture of a glove should be performed first, with a controlled weakening of the material of the glove then performed later to create the desired separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  and thus to form the complete glove  10 . 
         [0060]    Mindful of the above considerations and that it is desirable to extend the safety principle of the present invention to gloves of knit and woven fabrics, synthetics (e.g., rubbers, plastics, etc., hides (e.g., leathers and other animal skins), and composites of these, the inventors have developed multiple approaches for manufacturing the gloves  10 . 
         [0061]      FIGS. 8   a - b  show alternate versions of detail along the section A-A of  FIG. 7  that are in accord with the present inventors&#39; method of manufacturing the glove  10 . Here controlled weakening is performed by removing material of the glove  10  at the desired separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . Usable approaches here are to use a chemical or abrasive processes for material removal. The inventors&#39; preferred approach, however, is to optically apply light energy to create the pattern of separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . This approach, especially using a modern light source such as a laser with computerized numerical control (CNC), can be used to very precisely, rapidly, and consistently remove material and has the added benefit of being very flexible to change between glove  10  types, sizes, and materials. For instance, laser energy can partially melt, re-plasticize, or vaporize the material. 
         [0062]    In  FIG. 8   a  the glove  10  generally has material of a general thickness  34 , and material is controllably removed at the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  to a zone thickness  36 . The general thickness  34  typically is uniform throughout the glove  10 , but this is not a requirement. The zone thickness  36  may be uniform throughout the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  but this may intentionally be varied to control the force needed for separation along the various separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . It should be noted that the zone thickness  36  throughout the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  has a discernible thickness. That is, there are no holes completely through the material of the gloves  10  that are added in the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  (of course, if the glove is made of woven or knitted fabric and is not coated, there will still be natural openings between threads). 
         [0063]    In  FIG. 8   b  the glove  10  again has the general thickness  34  and the zone thickness  36  but the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  have a top bevel  38  and a bottom bevel  40 . The top bevel  38  and the bottom bevel  40  are optional, but may be desirable since they can make the glove  10  more durable. In particular, using laser removal of material permits including the top bevel  38  and the bottom bevel  40 , and making them dimensionally different as shown here. 
         [0064]      FIG. 9  shows optional detail at the cross regions  30  and tip regions  32  in  FIG. 7 . The separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  can simply end abruptly at an end point, but by transitioning from the zone thickness  36  to the general thickness  34  the glove  10  can again be more durable. 
         [0065]      FIGS. 8   a - b ,  9  show material having been removed to achieve controlled weakening. It should be noted that a separation zone  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  as a whole is weakened, and that the zone thickness  36  throughout the separation zone  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  retains a discernible thickness. This is distinguishable from perforating a glove, which is not encompassed by the inventors&#39; approach. 
         [0066]      FIGS. 10   a - b  show other alternate versions of detail along the section A-A of  FIG. 7  that are also in accord with the present inventors&#39; method of manufacturing the glove  10 . Here controlled weakening is performed by altering the material of the glove  10  at the desired separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . Chemical, thermal, and optical approaches can be used to altering the material in a manner that weakens it. In some cases this can be by altering the chemical composition in the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 , say, for instance, by breaking down long molecules in a plastic or rubber type material. In other cases this can be by altering fabric or thread fiber structure, say, for instance, to make it brittle or more easily separable. 
         [0067]    In  FIG. 10   a  the glove  10  has the general thickness  34  and the zone thickness  36  but they are essentially equal. This has the pragmatic advantage that there is now dimensional transition across the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  so they do not separate easily in the course of normal wear. To appreciate this, compare  FIG. 8   a  with  FIG. 10   a  and note that with all else being equal the accumulated wear from friction across the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  in  FIG. 8   a  will make the glove  10  there less durable. 
         [0068]    In  FIG. 10   b  the glove  10  has the general thickness  34  and the zone thickness  36  are not quite equal, which represents the typical case when material alteration is employed. In addition to the material being weakened in the separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  there typically is also some nominal dimensional change. Of course, an approach where material removal and material weakening both occur may also be suitable. Say, where a laser beam is used to remove exposed material and heat as a result of this alters and thus weakens underlying material. 
         [0069]    Digressing, it has been noted that the inventors prefer optical and particularly laser based approaches to forming separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . Lasers are widely used in the textile and garment industries, but not in the manner the inventors use here. Lasers have been employed to cut clear through fabric, and frequently to cut clear through multiple stacked pieces at once. In contrast, the present inventors propose using a laser to controllably and very precisely surface treat materials, including knit and woven fabrics. The inventors&#39; approach can use less powerful, thus less expensive and safer lasers than are commonly used for textile and garment material cutting. A tradeoff in this, however, is that the inventors&#39; approach processes one glove  10  at a time, which is opposite general textile and garment industry practice. 
         [0070]    By using laser material removal and/or alteration the force required for failure can be controllably varied between different separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . Indeed, it can even be controllably varied within a single separation zone  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 . The present inventors have found that the force required to cause separation at a separation zone  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  can be reduced by 10% to 80% or more than what would cause separation in a comparable glove with no separation zones. Additionally, repeatability in actual manufacturing can probably be maintained in the range of +/−10% or better. 
         [0071]    Digressing further, it has been noted that the inventive gloves  10  may be of knit and woven fabrics. The inventors have devoted particular attention to working with such fabrics. For instance, one approach here has been to work with radial separation zones  22  to “thin” threads in both directions, 1 to 5 threads in the circumference or radial direction, and at least 85% of the threads in the length or axial direction. By thinning the threads that run in the length or axial direction where the threads fail can be controlled, and thus what amount of force applied at a glove finger section  14  will “rip” it from the glove palm section  16  of the glove  10 . This can be contrasted with prior art approaches, wherein regions are woven thin or a second yarn component is left out but this only effects one dimension. The present inventors&#39; approach performs “thinning” in both directions. Because these the threads in separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  are not necessarily straight line features, the number of threads that will be “thinned” will vary somewhat but both directions will be thinned even for extremely small features like fine threads. 
         [0072]    For example, each glove finger section  14  may have a different number of lengthwise threads, which is a controlling feature of the force required for failure. By varying the depth of thinning, each glove finger section  14  can be rip at roughly the same force. To the same point, by keeping the same depth of thinning, different failure forces for individual glove finger sections  14  can be provided. For instance, simplified here to convey the principle, picture a middle glove finger section  14  that may have 100 lengthwise threads and require 50 lbs of force to fail, and a little glove finger section  14  that may have only 80 lengthwise threads and require only 40 lbs of force to fail (force required for failure is proportional to the number of lengthwise threads). If all threads are thinned by the same amount, the force reduction required for failure would still remain proportional, and the force required for failure would still vary by finger. If the middle finger threads were thinned half way through, and the little finger threads were thinned in the range of 30 to 40 percent of the way through, an approximate equivalent failure force for both glove finger sections  14  can be attained. 
         [0073]    As another example, for non-radial features that run down the length of each finger, such as the axial separation zones  20  and the diagonal separation zones  23 , it may be desirable that ripping require a lower force closer to the finger tip. For instance, picture a glove finger section  14  snagged near the finger tip, with the direction of force being across the glove finger section  14 . This would be a worst case scenario for this type of snag, as it exerts proportionally more force on the joint or phalange the further down the finger the force is applied. By progressively increasing the depth of thinning further away from the palm, the force required for failure along the entire feature can be varied, from highest force near the knuckle, and progressively decreasing to the lowest force near the finger tip. 
         [0074]      FIG. 11  shows a hand wearing another alternate glove  10 ,  10   f , and  FIG. 12  shows detail along the section B-B of  FIG. 11 . The separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  24  in  FIG. 11  are shown in ghost outline to represent that they are formed on the interior of the glove  10   f .  FIG. 11  shows how the glove  10   f  has an exterior surface  42 , an interior surface  44 , and coating  46  on the exterior surface  42 . Here material is weakened from the inside of the glove  10   f . This will prevent creating edges on the outside of a glove  10 , such as can be seen in  FIGS. 8   a - b  and to lesser extent in  FIG. 10   b , that can shorten the life of a glove  10 .  FIG. 12  shows the general thickness  34  and the zone thickness  36  being appreciably different, suggesting that material removal is used for weakening. This is not necessarily the case, however, and even material alteration in the manner shown in  FIG. 10   a  (general thickness  34  and zone thickness  36  are equal) may benefit from the weakening being applied from the inside of the glove  10   f . If the process were performed on the outside of a glove  10  with a coating  46 , the weakening would affect the coating  46 , by thinning it rather than the main glove material, or by cutting through the coating  46  to reach the main glove material. 
         [0075]      FIG. 13  is a flowchart showing a method  100  suitable for manufacturing gloves  10  in accord with the present invention. The method  100  starts in a step  102 , where any desired initialization can be performed. Next, in a step  104  a basic glove is fabricated. Optionally (as reflected by the use in this figure of ghost outline), in a step  106  the glove can be coated. If weakening for separation zones is to be formed on the interior surface of the glove, in a step  108  the glove is turned inside out. In a step  110  the glove is prepared for separation zone creation. In general, this will entail positioning and holding the glove in manners suitable for it to receive the controlled material weakening of the particular type being employed. In a step  112  the desired separation zones  20 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28  are created. At this point the glove  10  in accord with the present invention is essentially finished. If the glove  10  was turned inside out in step  108 , in a step  114  it is turned outside out. And the method  100  ends in a step  116 , where any desired wrap-up can be performed. 
         [0076]    In  FIG. 13  a line separates step  106  and step  108 . This is to emphasize a potential demarcation between parties and times in performing the steps. Under one manufacturing scenario, one party performs all of the steps in a relatively brief period and then typically sells or uses the gloves  10 . Under another manufacturing scenario, one party performs all of the steps but they pause after step  106 . This party may then sell or use some of the gloves, which will not be gloves in accord with the present invention because they will not have any separation zones. The gloves that this party does not sell or use are stocked, and when this party has a need (for sale or use), it resumes the method  100  at step  108  or step  110  and finishes manufacturing gloves  10  in accord with its need. Note, in this particular manner, for example, this party can flexibly use stock to manufacture type gloves  10   a  today and to manufacture type gloves  10   f  tomorrow. Under yet another manufacturing scenario, a first party performs steps  102 - 106  and provides the result (e.g., sell the basic gloves) to a second party that then performs the rest of the method  100  and completes manufacture of the gloves  10  in accord with the present invention. Note, in similar manner, the second party can procure and stock basic gloves to flexibly manufacture different types of the gloves  10 ,  10   a - f  as desired. 
         [0077]    While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and that the breadth and scope of the invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should instead be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.