Patent Publication Number: US-2003229931-A1

Title: Multi-purpose glove

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     [0001] This non-provisional application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/389,749, filed Jun. 18, 2002, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] The present invention relates to gloves, and more specifically to a disposable glove that bears indicia on the glove.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] The present invention is a multiple purpose glove for wearing on an individual&#39;s hand. The glove may be used in a variety of tasks where it is desirable to cover the skin from direct contact with materials being handled. For example, the glove may be used to dispose of garbage, trash and other waste. A collar may be attached around an opening on the glove to assist in everting the glove to an inside-out condition as the glove is removed from an individual&#39;s hand. The collar may also have one or more fasteners that permit the everted glove to be closed around objects, waste or other materials that are grabbed with the glove. In one embodiment of the invention, the collar has a pair of straps that may be tied together to close the opening of the everted glove and form an enclosure around materials in the glove. In a second embodiment of the invention, the collar is provided with one or more resealable fasteners, such as hook and loop fastener strips, that can be fastened to enclose material in the everted glove. In a third embodiment, the collar has bilateral extensions that can be tied together to enclose material in the everted glove.  
       [0004] The glove has an enlarged body that may be used to display a variety of indicia. For example, the body of the glove may contain a large volume of text that may be read by the individual wearing the glove. The text may be presented in a variety of font styles and relate to different subjects. For example, the glove may contain newspaper style print and pertain to current events. Political campaign ads, commercial advertising or web site information may be printed on the glove. Alternatively, the glove may contain instructional material, such as a recipe for cooking. Symbols or text may also be printed on the glove to attract the user&#39;s attention or remind the user of important task-related information. For example, the body of the glove may contain safety warnings for employees who use the gloves near dangerous equipment. Hand written messages, such as reminder notes, may also be inscribed on the glove for the benefit of the individual wearing the glove. In another application, the indicia may convey text relating to entertainment, philosophy, history, dogs, gardening, wine chemistry, astronomy, or other subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0005] The foregoing summary as well as the following description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the drawing figures in which:  
     [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a glove in accordance with the present invention having indicia and a pair of straps for use in disposing of the glove.  
     [0007]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a glove in accordance with the present invention having indicia and a pair of hook and loop fastener strips for use in disposing of the glove.  
     [0008]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a glove in accordance with the present invention having indicia and a pair of bilateral extensions for use in disposing of the glove.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0009] Referring now to FIG. 1, a glove in accordance with the present invention is shown and designated generally as  10 . The glove  10  has a body section  20  and five protruding sections  30  that extend from the body. The body  20  and protruding sections  30  are configured to conform to a human hand. The glove  10  may be formed of any material with or without permeability, depending on the intended use of the glove. For example, the glove  10  may be formed out of latex rubber or nitrile if chemicals are handled. Alternatively, the glove  10  may be formed of polyethylene, nylon, neoprene or a number of other synthetic materials, including materials used to form conventional garbage bags and kitchen trash bags. The glove may be used for any task where it is desired to protect or cover one&#39;s hands. For example, the glove may be used in pet waste disposal, gardening, cooking, food preparation, finger painting, pottery molding, dish washing, pot scrubbing, trash removal, medical or veterinary work, forensics, laboratory procedures and general housekeeping.  
     [0010] The glove  10  generally forms a bag or sack-like enclosure that fits around a hand. The body section  20  has a proximal end into which an individuals&#39;s hand may be inserted. The body section  20  also has a distal end from which the protruding sections  30  extend. The proximal end of the body  20  has an enlarged peripheral collar  40  that extends outwardly from the body as shown in FIG. 1. The enlarged collar  40  surrounds an opening  50  adapted to receive an individual&#39;s hand. The body  20  is configured to receive a palm portion of a hand, and the five protruding sections  30  are configured to receive the digits on a hand.  
     [0011] The flexible material of the glove  10  permits the glove to be everted to enclose the material being handled in the glove. The glove may be everted as the glove is removed from a hand. This may be desired where the exterior of the glove  10  contains residues, and the person wearing the glove wishes to avoid transferring the residue onto their skin or other objects. The collar  40  is configured to assist eversion and removal of the glove  10 . Preferably, the collar  40  extends or flares outwardly from the body  20  of the glove  10 . In this way, the individual wearing the glove  10  may grasp the outward peripheral edge of the collar  40  with the opposite hand and easily fold back the body  20  of the glove to the everted position. The body  20  and projecting sections  30  may be oversized such that the glove  10  is loosely fitted over a hand. In this way, the glove  10  may be everted and have an everted capacity sufficient to contain a large amount of material.  
     [0012] The glove  10  may be used to display a variety of indicia for the benefit of the person wearing the glove, or individuals who observe the glove in use. As stated above, the body  20  of the glove may be oversized. The large size of the glove  10  provides a large surface area for displaying indicia. The back of the body section  20  and collar  40  covering the hand may contain indicia to be viewed by the person wearing the glove. For example, the back of the glove  10  may contain interesting text, such as poetry, trivia, thoughts, ideas, public service information, current events, general or basic knowledge, or web site information. The back of the glove  10  may also contain artwork or entertaining subject matter, such as riddles, jokes, crossword puzzles, cryptograms or comic strips. The indicia may be handwritten or printed in various fonts, such as newspaper style print.  
     [0013] The indicia may be printed on one or more sides of the body  20  of the glove  10 , or on one or more sections of the collar  40 , so that the indicia can be seen from different angles. FIG. 1 shows a glove  10  bearing a printed literary quotation  12  on the peripheral collar  40  of the glove. The quotation  12  is printed at two locations on opposite sides of the collar  40 . Indicia may also be printed on opposite sides of the body section  20 . In this way, indicia is visible across the back of a person&#39;s hand when the glove is placed on either hand.  
     [0014] The glove may contain instructional materials or information pertinent to a task being performed while the glove is donned. Referring now to FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the invention is shown and designated generally as  110 . The glove  110  has a body section  120  containing a written recipe  112  to be followed while an individual wears the glove to bake the recipe. The recipe  112  is printed indicia on the back of the body section  120  and extends across the back of the hand when the glove is in use. The recipe  112  may be repeated on the opposite side of the body section  120  so that it is visible across the back of the glove when the glove is placed on either hand. Since the recipe  112  appears on the glove, the user can easily refer to the recipe as they move about a kitchen without having to carry or repeatedly refer to a recipe book. The glove  110  may be sold with baking products, such as cake mixes, or sold individually. The present invention is intended to convey virtually any kind of visual subject matter, and is not limited to the specific examples cited herein.  
     [0015] As stated earlier, the glove may become soiled or covered with garbage, chemicals or other residues during use. In such cases, it may be desirable for the user to remove the glove without transferring any of the residue onto the user&#39;s skin or other objects. It may be further desirable to fully enclose the residue once the glove is discarded. This may be desirable in cases where an individual could come in contact with the residue on the discarded glove, such as when a waste receptacle is emptied. It may also be desirable to enclose the residue if the residue contains chemical pollutants that could leach from trash and contaminate the environment.  
     [0016] Referring again to FIG. 1, the glove  10  may include a fastener  60  for securing the glove  10  in a closed and everted position to enclose and contain residues in the everted glove. The fastener  60  may comprise one of a variety of components, such as snaps, drawstrings, zippers, resealable closures, bilateral extensions, or hook and loop strips (such as VELCRO® brand fastener strips). Referring to FIG. 1, a glove  10  is shown with a fastener  60  that includes a pair of elongate straps  62  connected to the proximal end of the glove  10 . The straps  62  are disposed on opposite sides of the opening and may be pulled together and tied so that the edge of the opening converges to a generally closed position. The straps  62  may be formed from the same material used to form the body  20  of the glove  10 , or may be formed separately from an alternate material and subsequently attached to the body  20  of the glove using an adhesive or other connecting means.  
     [0017] Referring to FIG. 2, the glove  110  is shown with cooperating hook and loop strips  164  and  166  that extend along the exterior periphery of a collar  140 . When the glove  110  is everted and removed from the user&#39;s hand, the hook and loop strips  164  and  166  are disposed along the interior of the collar  140  in substantial alignment so that the strips face one another. In the everted position, the strips  164  and  166  may be pressed together so that the strips adhere with each other and hold the opening of the glove in a substantially closed position to enclose and contain materials remaining on the glove.  
     [0018] Referring now to FIG. 3, a third embodiment of the invention is shown and designated generally as  210 . Glove  210  has an elongated body section  220  with a quotation  212  from a well known philosopher. A collar  240  extends from the body  220  and features a pair of bilateral extensions  260  that extend outwardly from the body. When the glove  210  is everted and removed from the user&#39;s hand, the bilateral extensions  260  may be tied together to enclose and contain materials remaining in the glove.  
     [0019] The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation. There is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof. It is recognized, therefore, that various modifications are possible within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention incorporates variations that fall within the scope of the following claims.