Abstract:
A work glove having a unique design on the palm piece that is particularly adaptable for use in the construction industry. The palm design incorporates a plurality of spaced tetrahedral (four-sided) pyramid shaped protrusions in a predetermined pattern, or cell, on a molded rubber piece secured to the glove palm. The pyramids are preferably arranged so that each pyramid cell is orientated along a line that is substantially perpendicular to axis of the user&#39;s glove hand.  
     The glove is longer lived since the pyramidal shape, in which the base of the pyramid is larger than the top, ensures that the exposed surface area becomes larger as the pyramid wears down.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention provides a glove having a palm piece with a plurality of tetrahedral elements extending from the surface of the palm piece.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Gloves have been developed in many styles for use in a variety of applications, while being manufactured using an assortment of construction techniques. Gloves have been used to protect the hands of the wearer and have been designed for protection from the elements. A whole class of specialized gloves have also been developed for use in work environments, such as in construction jobs. Other gloves have been developed for use in various sporting activities, such as bicycling, auto racing, etc.  
           [0005]    In general, a glove usually consists of a number of parts, including; a palm piece, a back piece and a thumb piece. In practice it is necessary to join, or otherwise seal, the parts around their circumference, including the parts which made up the sides of the hand as well as each of the fingers, in order to complete construction of the glove. A number of techniques have been designed and implemented to accomplish this as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,290 to Gold. The most widely used technique is the Fourchette Pattern Techmique. In this case, the back and palm parts of the glove are coupled with three fourchetts, or ‘forks’, provided between and fingers to form the sides of fingers two and three, three and four and four and five.  
           [0006]    A work glove now being marketed by the assignee of the present invention has a palm piece comprising a synthetic suede material having predetermined patterns of rubber material sewed thereon.  
           [0007]    Although the gloves currently being marketed by the assignee of the present invention have been commercially successful, a need has arisen to provide a glove that is particularly adaptable for use in certain construction related industries, such as in the demolition and masonry trades, which are rugged and long lived.  
         SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides a work glove having a unique design on the palm piece that is particularly adaptable for use in the construction industry. The palm design incorporates a plurality of spaced tetrahedral (four-sided) pyramid shaped protrusions in a predetermined pattern, or cell, on a molded rubber piece secured to the glove palm. The non-parallel design of the pyramid walls prevent particulate from becoming trapped between adjacent pyramids. Cleaning of the glove is also simplified because of the non-parallel pyramid wall design. The pyramids are preferably arranged so that each pyramid cell is orientated along a line that is substantially perpendicular to axis of the user&#39;s glove hand.  
           [0009]    The glove is longer lived since the pyramidal shape, in which the base of the pyramid is larger than the top, ensures that the exposed surface area becomes larger as the pyramid wears down.  
           [0010]    As the glove flexes during use, the distance between adjacent pyramids decreases in certain areas, allowing for maximum grasping along the edge of objects that have different dimensions. The pyramids also protect the sewing thread used to sew the rubber mold onto the synthetic suede from failure caused by abrasion. Finally, the palm pattern of the present invention allows for maximum grip in both the vertical and horizontal plane at all points of the pattern. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0011]    For a better understanding of the present invention as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the following description which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing therein:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a front view of the glove construction of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a simplified view of the pyramid shapes on the finger areas of the glove;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a simplified view of the pyramid shape on the thumb and palm areas of the glove;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the dimensions of the pyramid cell design;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 6 is a detail of the molded rubber member sewn to the palm piece;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 7 is a detail of the back piece of the glove construction of the present invention; and  
         [0018]    FIGS.  8 - 10  are side views illustrating the distal phalynx protection features on the glove back piece. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a front view of glove  10  of the present invention illustrating in detail the palm piece  12  portion of the glove. Palm piece  12  comprises palm material  14 , preferably made from synthetic leather, double stitched elastic cinch  16 , and molded rubber piece  18  comprising a plurality of defined pattern portions. In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a plurality of protrusions  29 , preferably of a pyramid shape, are formed on the surface of molded rubber piece  18 . Molded rubber piece  18  is preferably glued, heat pressed and sewn onto synthetic leather portion  14 . Although molded rubber piece  18  preferably comprises a single, integral piece as illustrated, multiple pieces can be utilized. FIG. 1 illustrates the rollover fingertip portions  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  which extend along the glove backpiece past the first finger joint as shown in FIG. 7. A glove using a molded rubber piece with a portion of the rubber piece rolling over the fingertips is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. ______, filed Aug. ______, 2002 and entitled “Glove Having Molded Rubber Palm Pattern With a Portion that Rolls Over the Fingertips” by Eduard A. Jaeger, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the teachings of which necessary for an understanding of the present invention being incorporated herein by reference. The pattern of the rubber mold is such that rubber is omitted from the joint or flex areas  27  of the palm and fingers as illustrated.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 illustrates the design of the pyramids  29  on the fingers of the molded rubber piece  18  and the dimensions thereof; FIG. 3 illustrates the design of the pyramids  29  on the thumb and palm pieces of the molded rubber piece  18  and the dimensions thereof. In FIG. 2, the height of each pyramid  29  is approximately 3 mm, the base approximately 3 mm wide and the separation between pyramids  29  approximately 3 mm. In FIG. 3, the height of each pyramid  29  is approximately 4.5 mm; the base is approximately 4.5 mm; and the separation between pyramids is also 4.5 mm.  
         [0021]    As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, pyramids  29  each have five different dimensions, A, B, C, D and E. Dimensions A, B, C and D are the sides of the pyramids, while dimension E is the height. In the preferred embodiment, dimensions A, B, C, and D are equal for a given pyramid  29  as set forth hereinabove with regards to FIGS. 2 and 3. Dimensions F and G represent the spacing between pyramids  29 . In the preferred embodiment, these dimensions are equal to dimensions A, B, C, and D (in a given section of the glove). Dimensions A, B, C, D, E, F and G range from 0.5 to 10 mm, with either pointed tops (as shown in the preferred embodiment) or flat tops. FIG. 4 illustrates another arrangement of the pyramids  29 . It should be noted that other arrangements of the pyramids  29  can be used; similarly, dimensions other than those set forth hereinabove can be implemented to provide the features of the present invention.  
         [0022]    In the preferred embodiment, the entire rubber piece is made of the same rubber. However, variations can include different durometer values and color rubbers in different portions of the mold. Examples include the following: lower durometer rubber in the finger sections, higher durometer rubber in the palm and thumb areas; lower durometer rubber in the backing sheet of the mold, higher durometer and different color rubber in the pyramids  29 ; low durometer rubber in the backing sheet of the mold, rubber blended with Kevlar or carbon fiber (for increased strength or heat resistance) in the pyramids  29 .  
         [0023]    The pyramids, or protrusions,  29  are spaced apart such that the distance between adjacent pyramids in the vertical plane will decrease as the hand is flexed inwards. In effect, two pyramids come closer together as the glove user&#39;s hand is closed in a grip. In the preferred embodiment, the pyramids  29  are arranged such that the surface, or faces of the pyramids  29  are aligned parallel and perpendicular to the axis of the user&#39;s wrist.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 illustrates the rubber piece  18  preferably formed as a single piece to increase production efficiency; a single recessed sewing channel  40  is preferably utilized around the palm piece edges as illustrated (the recessed channel minimizes abrasions to the thread). The pyramids  29  are smaller on the finger portion and larger sized pyramids  29  are formed on the thumb, heal and lower finger portions.  
         [0025]    The molded rubber piece  18  has oval portions  27  at the joint locations. Alternately, thinner rubber portions at the joint locations can be used.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 illustrates the back glove portion  50  and includes portions from the rollover molded rubber piece  18 . The molded rubber palm piece  18  has portions  42 ,  44 ,  46  and  48  extending onto the top of the glove fingers, providing protection to the distal phalanx and past the joint between the distal and middle phalanxes. This protection arrangement is preferable although shorter or longer molded rubber extensions can be used. Additional protection is provided by distal protection portions  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60  having low profile, flat-top soft rubber protrusions  52  (shown in more detail in the FIGS.  8 - 10  side views). Protrusions  52  are similar in overall design to protrusions  29  described with reference to rubber molded piece  18 . Each of the distal protection portions  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60  have a deep sewing channel  62  to enable these portions to be secured to the underlying glove material and provide the anti-abrasion features noted hereinabove.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIGS. 8, 9 and  10  are side views showing the variations of the distal protection portions shown in FIG. 7 (since distal protection portions  56  and  58  are identical, only portion  56  has been illustrated). In particular, FIG. 8 shows the index finger distal protection portion  54  has two pyramids (only a single pyramid is illustrated) in a single row formed thereon. FIG. 9 shows the middle fingers protection portion  56  and has eight pyramids (only four are illustrated), two in each of four rows, and FIG. 10 shows the pinky finger protection portion  60  and has four pyramids (only two are illustrated) in each of two rows.  
         [0028]    The four faces of each pyramid provide for gripping in all directions (left, right, up and down) at all points of the glove palm piece. This provides for a superior grip when a user is lifting an object vertically, or holding an object in the horizontal position.  
         [0029]    Although the pyramid shape described hereinabove is preferred, after protrusion shapes can be used. For example, alternate shapes include cones, cylinders, partial spheres, rectangles, polyhedrals, etc. They can be flat, or pointed or rounded on the top (the rounded top can have a concave or convex surface).  
         [0030]    The present invention thus provides a glove construction which is designed to be used in construction trades which require a strong, protective, long lived glove.  
         [0031]    While the invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its essential teachings.