Abstract:
A glove structure that incorporates a palm piece having a portion that rolls over the fingertips and is sewn to the top portion of the back piece thus eliminating the conventional thick seam lines on the fingertips and resulting in a smooth seam of material over the entire fingertip and a substantial increase in finger tactility. The palm material narrows as it rolls over the fingertip and preferably has the shape of an hourglass.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention provides an improved glove construction wherein the palm material has a portion which rolls over the fingertips.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    Gloves specifically designed for use in the construction industry have been available in the prior art. For example, Ironclad Performance Wear Corp., Los Angeles, Calif., sells a variety of gloves having a palm piece attached to a back piece through the use of fourchettes. The glove fingers are attached to the palm and back pieces across the tips of the fingers, down the side of each finger and down through the crotch between each finger. The Ironclad gloves typically have a pattern on the palm piece to protect the user hand from strain, vibration or abrasion.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,290 to Gold discloses a glove structure wherein the palm piece is attached to the back piece through the use of connector strips made from stretchable elastic fabric, such as spandex.  
           [0006]    The problems with the conventional glove design is that sensitivity is reduced as the typical glove has materials ( 4 ) coming together at one point; wearer fingernails tend to hang up on seams reducing the utility and mobility when the gloves are worn; seams in the central wear area cause the glove material wearing out; the presence of multiple materials and seams reduces wear comfort; the plural seams and materials increases the likelihood that the glove will snag on outside items such as nails and screws; and the fingernails are susceptible to damage because of the thin and lighter palm material used in conventional gloves.  
           [0007]    Ski gloves have been available which include an inner glove portion and an outer shell glove portion which includes a palm design that wraps up and over the fingertips. This ski glove construction is not a single, fitted glove, is primarily limited to skiing and other winter sport activities and is not designed to be long lived.  
           [0008]    The glove construction disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 10/215,946, filed on Aug. 10, 2002 and assigned to the assignee of the instant application overcomes the above noted disadvantages by providing a fitted glove structure that incorporates a palm piece having a molded rubber palm pattern, the palm pattern including a portion which rolls over to the back piece in a manner that increases fingertip sensitivity, increases the mobility and efficiency of the wearer, increases glove lifetime, increases wearer comfort and increases fingernail protection. The palm piece and back piece on the second, third and fourth finger are joined by fourchettes and the palm pattern is made of heat pressable rubber. A portion of the molded rubber palm pattern extends over the fingertips (except the thumb) and is sewn to the stretch nylon on the top portion of the back piece.  
           [0009]    The glove described in the aforementioned &#39;946 application provides a significant advance in the construction of gloves. Although the inventive concept disclosed therein is directed to fingertip roll over of the molded rubber palm pattern, it has now been recognized that the same glove construction advantage could also be adapted to the palm material itself, without the inclusion of the molded rubber palm pattern.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention provides a glove structure that incorporates a palm piece having a portion that rolls over the fingertips and is sewn to the top portion of the back piece.  
           [0011]    The palm pattern with the roll over fingertip portion is unique in work gloves and sport gloves by eliminating the thick seam lines on the fingertips and resulting in a smooth seam of material over the entire fingertip and a substantial increase in finger tactility. This increase in tactility provides a glove that is more comfortable and more functional than available in the prior art. A user can pick up small objects such as coins, nails, screws, buttons, etc, and will also have a heightened awareness of the contact environment—smooth vs. rough, for example  
           [0012]    Since the palm material rolls over the distal end of the finger (i.e. the fingertip), there is no horizontal seam at the fingertip, the palm material being secured to the glove back and not at the fingertip. The palm material narrows as it rolls over the fingertip and preferably, has the shape is that of an hourglass. This narrowed shape enables the fourchettes at the finger sides to be more rounded in shape, the glove fingers in turn tapering at the tip, thus providing a shape that fits the user&#39;s hands in a more natural manner.  
           [0013]    The present invention thus provides a fitted glove configuration that increases wearer comfort and enables various types of objects to be grasped by the user while increasing glove lifetime.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    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:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a view of the palm portion of a glove configuration of the prior art;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a view of the glove configuration shown in FIG. 1 turned inside out;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line  4 - 4  of FIG. 3;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a view of the palm portion of a glove configuration of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a view of the back piece portion of the glove configuration shown in FIG. 5;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 is a sectional view along line  7 - 7  of FIG. 5;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7A is a top view of a glove fingertip;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a view of the glove configuration of FIG. 5 turned inside out; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 illustrates a further glove configuration wherein the roll over fingertip is reinforced. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a view of a typical prior art palm piece glove construction  10  is illustrated. Palm piece  10  has a thumb portion  12  and finger portions  14   a ,  14   b ,  14   c  and  14   d  and a corresponding back piece  22 . Since the concept of the present invention is related to the specific construction of the glove fingertips, the discussion that follows will be directed to that portion of the glove construction. As illustrated, fourchettes  16  are typically provided on the sides of the index finger  14   a , index finger  14   b , ring finger  14   c , and the little finger or pinkie,  14   d ; the palm material  20  and the back piece spandex type material  22  are sewn together by stitching  24  as shown in FIG. 2, forming a horizontal seam at the top of the fingertip that will cause discomfort to the glove wearer.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the glove construction of FIG. 1 turned inside-out and shows palm material  20 , back spandex type material  22 , and fourchettes  16  sewn together by stitching  24 .  
         [0027]    Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6 and  7 , the palm piece  30  and back piece  38  of a first embodiment of the glove construction of the present invention is illustrated. Palm piece  30  comprises material  32 , preferably made of a synthetic suede material such as Amara, an opening  40  in the base of glove  28  to allow a wearer to insert his/her hand therein and index finger  36   a , middle finger  36   b , ring finger  36   c  and a pinkie finger  36   d . The palm material  32  varies in width as it rolls over the distal end of each finger (fingertip) onto the back of the finger and is secured to the back piece  38  of glove  28  at a position spaced from the distal end of the finger by stitches  42  and  46 . In particular, the shape of material  32  narrows as it goes over the fingertip and preferably has the shape of an hourglass with the narrowest part being at the top of the fingertip (FIG. 7A). The narrowing shape provided by the fourchettes  39  forces the glove fingers to be rounded on the sides which in turn causes the glove fingers to have a shape in the form of a wearer&#39;s finger/fingertip.  
         [0028]    It should be noted that although only the stitching for the index finger  36   a  has been illustrated, the same stitching pattern is also utilized for the other fingers.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8 shows the glove of FIG. 5 inside out and FIG. 9 illustrates how the palm piece  32  is sewn (stitched) to the back piece  38 . Back piece  38  is preferably made of a flexible, stretchable material such as ribbed spandex.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 9 is illustrative of a technique for reinforcing the roll over fingertips. In particular, a reinforcement material  42 , such as synthetic suede or Duraclad, a registered mark of Ironclad Performance Wear Corp., Los Angeles, Calif. for a PVC fabric and rubber coated fabric used in the manufacture of gloves, rolls over the fingertip, crossing the back piece on the top of the finger. Reinforcement material  42  is sewn to the palm material  32  at stitches  47  and  48 . Thereafter, reinforcement material  42  and palm material  32  are stitched to back piece  38  at stitches  44  and  50 .  
         [0031]    To place the invention in perspective, description of the assembly of a typical prior art glove and the roll over glove as set forth herein follows.  
         [0032]    In a conventional glove assembly, the stitching is on the inside of the glove, assembly thus being initiated inside out.  
         [0033]    1. A glove palm is first cut from a roll of material (additional material pieces may be added);  
         [0034]    2. A glove back is cut/assembled from materials;  
         [0035]    3. Fourcettes (sides of fingers) are stitched to the glove back (at this point, each fourcette is stitched to the glove back along one side of the fourcette, leaving the other side free);  
         [0036]    4. The glove palm is then stitched to the fourchettes, along their free sides, bringing the two halves together. A continuous stitch line may be employed to join all of the fingers of the palm to all of the fourcettes. As this stitch line passes around the end of each finger, it joins the glove palm material and back material together with a seam at the fingertip (these stitches occur in a flat plane, none of the turns in the stitch line making a tight 180° turn);  
         [0037]    5. The remainder of the glove palm and back (areas other than the fingers) are stitched together.  
         [0038]    6. The glove is turned right-side out. The seams at the fingertips are thus pointed inward.  
         [0039]    The roll-over finger tip assembly of the present invention is as follows (since all stitching is on the inside of the glove, assembly occurs with the glove inside out):  
         [0040]    1. A glove palm is cut from a roll of material (additional material pieces may be added); the design of the palm material being such that the lengths of the finger portions are significantly longer than the finger portions of the glove back material;  
         [0041]    2. A glove back is cut/assembled from materials;  
         [0042]    3. The glove palm and back materials are stitched together at the end of their respective finger portions. The materials join with an overlapping seam that does not point inward when the glove is turned right-side out. Because the glove palm finger lengths are longer than the glove back finger lengths, the eventual location of the fingertip will contain palm material only. The overlapping seam will be located on or behind the fingernail, laying flat against the skin.  
         [0043]    4. A single fourcette is stitched to the palm material along one side of a finger portion. The stitch begins at the crotch of the finger. When the stitch reaches the fingertip, a sharp  1800  turn is made and proceeds along the other side of the fourcette, and continues on to stitch together the same fourcette to a finger portion of the glove back material, towards the crotch of the finger. In this fashion, the stitch has gone from the plane of the glove palm to the plane of the glove back, and has reversed directions;  
         [0044]    5. The remaining fourcettes are stitched to the palm and back materials in the same fashion, one at a time.  
         [0045]    6. The remainder of the glove palm and back (areas other than the fingers) are stitched together;  
         [0046]    7. The glove is turned right-side out.  
         [0047]    As a result of this fabrication technique, there are no horizontal seams at the fingertips, avoiding the disadvantages of the conventional glove fabrication as noted hereinabove.  
         [0048]    The main differences that result in the two procedures are summarized as follows:  
         [0049]    In the conventional glove fabrication (1), all fourcettes are stitched to the finger portions of the glove back in one step, along one side of each fourcette; (2) all fourcettes are stitched to the glove palm in one step, typically with a single stitch line; (3) the glove palm and back materials meet at the fingertips; (4) an inward-pointing seam is formed at the fingertips; and all stitching remains in the same plane.  
         [0050]    In the rollover design the of present invention, (1) fourcettes are attached to the glove one at a time, first to the palm material along one side and then to the back material along the other side of the same fourcette; (2) glove palm and back materials meet on the top of the finger, at or behind the fingernail, there being no seam at the fingertip; (3) the seam at the fingernail is an overlapping seam, in which the materials lay flat against each other and do not point inward; (4) when transitioning from one side of a fourcette to the other, the stitching makes a tight 180° turn into a different plane, a novel assembly step; and (5) an optional hourglass-shaped fingertip enhances the three dimensional shape of the fingertip.  
         [0051]    The present invention thus provides an improved glove construction wherein the glove fingertips are designed to have a shape that conforms to the shape of the wearer&#39;s fingertips and wherein the conventional seam at the end of the fingertips is eliminated.  
         [0052]    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.