Patent Publication Number: US-2016227851-A1

Title: Sterile tab for glove removal

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation in part of non-provisional patent application U.S. Ser. No. 14/644,708 filed on Mar. 11, 2015, which, in turn, claims priority to provisional patent application U.S. Ser. No. 61/953,492 filed on Mar. 14, 2014, the entire contents both applications is herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The embodiments herein relate generally to sterile environments, and more particularly, to a glove, such as a medical glove, with a removal tab. 
     Many occupations, particularly in the medical field, require the use of gloves to reduce or prevent contamination of any sort. Gloves aid in preventing cross-contamination of disease, bodily fluids, and blood pathogens. However, removing a medical glove without touching any part of the body, such as the user&#39;s wrist, or an accessory, such as a wrist watch, is very difficult. 
     In triage, medical personnel may quickly move from patient to patient. Oftentimes, the medical personnel will layer gloves so that only removing the top layer is required between patients. However, when gloves are layered, it is very difficult to remove the top glove without touching the glove layered below the top glove. Specifically, when removing a blood covered in fluid, such as blood, it is almost impossible to remove the glove without getting a finger under the top edge of the glove, which can compromise the safety of the medical personnel. 
     Therefore, what is needed is a mechanism to aid a user in removing a glove, while also helping the user prevent touching the glove being removed to any adjacent surface. 
     SUMMARY 
     A glove can be used for preventing contamination when removed. The glove is configured to accommodate a user&#39;s hand and includes a tab extending from an edge of the glove proximate to an opening in the glove. The tab includes an outer border smoothly joined to an inner tab; wherein the outer border is thicker than the inner tab. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The detailed description of some embodiments of the invention is made below with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals represent corresponding parts of the figures. 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention, demonstrating an initial stage of glove removal. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention, demonstrating complete removal of the glove. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a detail view of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention can be adapted for any of several applications. 
     The device of the present disclosure may be used to remove a glove and may comprise the following elements. This list of possible constituent elements is intended to be exemplary only, and it is not intended that this list be used to limit the device of the present application to just these elements. Persons having ordinary skill in the art relevant to the present disclosure may understand there to be equivalent elements that may be substituted within the present disclosure without changing the essential function or operation of the device.
     1. Glove   2. Tab   

     The various elements of the glove with a removal tab for protecting a user from contaminants existing on the outer surface of the glove of the present disclosure may be related in the following exemplary fashion. It is not intended to limit the scope or nature of the relationships between the various elements and the following examples are presented as illustrative examples only. 
     By way of example, and referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , some embodiments of the glove of the present disclosure comprise a glove  12  configured to accommodate a human hand  14  and a removal tab  10  extending from an edge of the glove  12  proximate to the opening of the glove  12 . For example, as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the removal tab  10  may be positioned proximate to the user&#39;s thumb. 
     To make the glove of the present disclosure, a glove  12  may be made as conventional with a tab  10  added to the glove  12 . For example, a material used to make the glove  12  may be sprayed onto a mold, including the addition of a tab  10  proximate to the opening of the glove  12 . The glove  12  may then be removed from the mold with a burst of air. In other embodiments, the tab  10  may be added to the glove  12  using any suitable method. 
     To use the glove of the present disclosure, a user  14  would wear the glove  12  as normal. To remove the glove  12 , the user  14  may pull on the removal tab  10 , which may result in the glove  12  rolling up and enveloping the outer surface into an interior of the glove. Additionally, using the removal tab  10  to remove the glove  12  may prevent the user&#39;s skin, uniform, watch, layered gloves, and the like from being contaminated by the outer surface of the glove  12 . 
     The glove  12  of the present disclosure may be made of any desired material, such as latex, nitrile, or any other desired material. The tab  10  may be made of the same material as the glove  12  and may be an extension of the glove  12 . In other embodiments, the tab  10  may comprise an alternate material and may be added to the glove  12  after the manufacture of the glove  12 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 5 , the tab  10  can further comprise outer border  20  smoothly joined to inner tab  22 . In this configuration, outer border is thicker than inner tab  22 . Outer border  20  further comprises first edge  24  which is joined to first narrowing edge  26 . First narrowing edge  26  is joined to first inner support edge  28 . First inner support edge  28  is joined to second inner support edge  30 . Second inner support edge  30  is joined to third inner support edge  32 . 
     The portion of tab  10  bound by first inner support edge  28 , second inner support edge  30 , and third inner support edge  32  is fused to internal adhesion strip  16 . Internal adhesion strip  16  is configured to bind tab  10  to glove  12 . 
     Third inner support edge  32  is joined to second narrowing edge  34 . Second narrowing edge  34  is joined to second edge  36 . Second edge  36  and first edge  24  are joined to front edge  38 . 
     Front edge  38  is parallel to and collinear with front edge axis  40 . First edge  20  is parallel to and collinear with first edge axis  42 . First narrowing edge  26  is parallel to and collinear with first narrowing edge axis  44 . First inner support edge  28  is parallel to and collinear with first inner support edge axis  46 . Second inner support edge  30  is parallel to and collinear with second inner support edge axis  48 . Third inner support edge  32  is parallel to and collinear with third inner support edge axis  50 . Second narrowing edge  34  is parallel to and collinear with second narrowing edge axis  52 . Second edge  36  is parallel to and collinear with second edge axis  54 . 
     One design goal of embodiments of the present invention is to be able to remove the glove  12  from the user  14  without tearing tab  10 . One way to do this is to configure, first inner support edge  28  and third inner support edge  32  to align with the Abductor pollicis brevis on user  14 . 
     Another way to do this is with coordinated angles of the various axis listed above. For instance first edge axis  42 , first inner support edge axis  46 , third inner support edge axis  50  and second edge axis  54  are all parallel to one another. Similarly, front edge axis  40  and second inner support edge axis  48  are parallel to one another. Front edge axis  40  and second inner support edge axis  48  are both perpendicular to first edge axis  42 , first inner support edge axis  46 , third inner support edge axis  50  and second edge axis  54 . 
     First intersection angle θ 1  is measured from front edge axis  40  counterclockwise to first narrowing edge axis  44 . Second intersection angle θ 2  is measured from front edge axis  40  clockwise to second narrowing edge axis  52 . Third intersection angle θ 3  is measured from second inner support edge axis  48  counterclockwise to first narrowing edge axis  44 . Fourth intersection angle θ 4  is measured from second inner support edge axis  48  clockwise to second narrowing edge axis  52 . 
     In preferred embodiments, first intersection angle θ 1 , second intersection angle θ 2 , third intersection angle θ 3 , and fourth intersection angle θ 4  are approximately equal and approximately 45 degrees. This would mean that first narrowing edge axis  44  and second inner support edge axis  48  are perpendicular to one another. 
     As used in this application, the term “a” or “an” means “at least one” or “one or more.” 
     As used in this application, the term “about” or “approximately” refers to a range of values within plus or minus 10% of the specified number. 
     As used in this application, the term “substantially” means that the actual value is within about 10% of the actual desired value, particularly within about 5% of the actual desired value and especially within about 1% of the actual desired value of any variable, element or limit set forth herein. 
     All references throughout this application, for example patent documents including issued or granted patents or equivalents, patent application publications, and non-patent literature documents or other source material, are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, as though individually incorporated by reference, to the extent each reference is at least partially not inconsistent with the disclosure in the present application (for example, a reference that is partially inconsistent is incorporated by reference except for the partially inconsistent portion of the reference). 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specified function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6. In particular, any use of “step of” in the claims is not intended to invoke the provision of 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6. 
     Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above.