Abstract:
A glove comprising a hand portion and a sleeve portion has a thumb cavity and at least one finger cavity, and is made of flexible material that is generally impermeable to fluids. The hand portion terminates at a junction with said sleeve portion which extends from the junction to a point at least midway between the wrist and elbow of a wearer of the glove. The sleeve portion terminates at an open end. The sleeve and the hand portions are invertible and removable from a wearer&#39;s hand such that any aseptic matter being held in the hand portion during removal can be secured within the inverted sleeve and hand portions following removal.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a reversible glove that is worn on the hand and used to pick up and securely dispose of material while avoiding physical contact between the hand and the material. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Many types of disposable gloves have been developed, and constitute a primary means for protecting the hand from coming into contact with material that may be contagious, or otherwise dangerous or offensive to direct contact with the wearer&#39;s skin. Examples of such gloves include a clean up glove, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,697 to Hayes; a glove-like waste disposal system, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,241 to Jacobs; a glove having improved cuff securing features, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,780 to Reimers et al.; a sleeved invertible glove for collection and disposal of materials, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,971 to Ward Gilley; and a disposable tissue trap with aseptic barrier, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,244 to Beck. These inventions all employ the basic concept of using a disposable glove to grasp aseptic or other material that is to be disposed of, and to reverse the glove while removing it from the hand so as to retain the disposable material within the glove. 
         [0005]    While these inventions have given a great deal of attention to the purpose of insulating the hand from the offensive material, they have also been directed primarily to the clean up and disposal of relatively small quantities of offensive matter. As such, they are inefficient or largely ineffective when used to clean up and dispose of larger items containing aseptic matter, such as, for example, an infant&#39;s disposable diaper. This deficiency in the prior art is related to an insufficiency of material needed to enclose the aseptic matter for disposal, and to a lack of adequate closing and securing means to retain the aseptic material within the enclosure formed by the inverted glove. Accordingly, what is needed is an invertible, disposable glove of sufficient size to enclose and secure aseptic matter for disposal. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]    This invention is invertible disposable glove having elongated sleeves of sufficient circumference to provide an enclosed space large enough to enclose and retain aseptic material of at least the size of an infant&#39;s disposable diaper. If necessary, the elongated sleeve may be secured about the forearm through an elastic cord or a mechanical fixture such as, for example, Velcro,® a snap, a small belt, a nylon or plastic tie, or a non-metalic zipper. In addition, the elongated sleeve may be manufactured to have pleats, or small folds, which retain their shape after manufacturing to provide a sleeve having a relatively small circumference that will readily expand upon being pulled apart and that can then retract to a smaller circumference upon removal of the expanding force. 
         [0007]    It is an object of this invention to provide a disposable glove that may be worn while the wearer is cleaning up spills, messes, or other matter having aesthetic or physical characteristics do not readily lend themselves to manipulation by unprotected hands. It is a further object of this invention to provide a glove that will protect the hands during use, and that may be removed and reversed to form a container for enclosing and securing a substance that had previously been external to the glove. It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable glove having an elongated sleeve that protects the forearms during use and that, when reversed, provides an elongated enclosure for retaining substances. It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a disposable glove having an elongated sleeve that may be expanded in circumference as may be necessary to extend fully around a substance to be secured and disposed of. These and further objects of the invention will be further disclosed in the following descriptions. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of the glove of this invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the glove of this invention showing a retainer cord. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a view of an embodiment of the elongated sleeve without a retaining device. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a detailed view of an embodiment of the elongated sleeve showing a velcro®-style attachment mechanism for retaining the sleeve about the forearm;  FIG. 4   a  shows details in a section of the view in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a detailed view of an embodiment of the elongated sleeve showing a buckle-style attachment mechanism for retaining the sleeve about the forearm;  FIG. 5   a  shows details in a section of the view in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a depiction of an embodiment of the elongated sleeve showing a pleated material that can be expanded or contracted to conform to the size of the material being enclosed and having a string-tie closing mechanism. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 7 ,  7   a  and  7   b  show an embodiment of the elongated sleeve in which the fastening mechanism is a non-metallic zipper. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 8 ,  8   a  and  8   b  show an embodiment of the elongated sleeve in which the fastening mechanism is a locking seal. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 9 and 9   a  show an embodiment in which a plastic or nylon tie-wrap is sued to secure the sleeve and its contents. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a view of an embodiment of the elongated sleeve showing an inverted glove with disposable matter enclosed within it prior to disposal. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]      FIG. 1  shows the glove  10  of this invention. A flexible hand portion  20  comprises a substantially impermeable covering for the wearer&#39;s hand, while elongated sleeve portion  40  covers the wearer&#39;s wrist and forearm with a similarly impermeable covering. The substantially impermeable material may be expandable or not, and can be made from any of a variety of materials that have heretofore been used in the manufacture of gloves. The degree of impermeability will be an engineering choice that depends upon the particular uses to which the glove of this invention will be intended. Elongated sleeve  40  is gathered at both ends  30 ,  50 , and will have a minimum circumference that is sufficient to allow for insertion of the wearer&#39;s hand and arm within the glove. Elongated sleeve end  40  is connected to flexible hand  20  at end  30 , which is a junction between the hand portion and the sleeved portion, and optionally may include a tightening mechanism, such as an elastic cord, to secure end  30  about a wearer&#39;s wrist. End  50  may also, optionally, include an elastic cord to assist in securing end  50  about a wearer&#39;s forearm. These elastic cords may be beneficial in holding excess material out of the way where either the flexible hand  20  or elongated sleeve  40  are larger than the wearer&#39;s hand. Such elastic cords or other devices to hold the sleeve snugly about the forearm or upper arm will be particularly useful for applications in which a sink drain or other vessel outlet has become clogged, and the glove will be used to reach into standing water or other aseptic fluid to remove the matter that is clogging the outlet. 
         [0019]    Elongated sleeve  40  may have excess material formed into pleats or folds  60 , and will generally have a circumference about the mid-section that is larger than the circumference at end  30 . The material used for elongated sleeve  40  will expand to fully encompass any disposable matter that is held in the palm of flexible hand  20  when the glove is removed and inverted. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is an embodiment in which the elongated sleeve is shown with an elastic cord  70  extending through a channel around the circumference at end  50 , and having ends that may be grasped and secured to limit the size of the opening at end  50 . The cord may be tightened or loosened as necessary by tying the cord or, optionally, by sliding a clip retainer  80  along the cord to achieve the desired tightness. 
         [0021]    In  FIG. 3 , the elongated sleeve is shown as having a fully expanded circumference at end  50 . In this embodiment, end  50  is not secured about a wearer&#39;s arm. This embodiment requires fewer manufacturing steps, and will be easier for a wearer to don and to remove. This feature may also be of significance where a large amount of disposable matter is being held in the palm, and the glove is being inverted while being removed, so as to enclose the disposable material within the inverted hand and elongated sleeve. 
         [0022]      FIGS. 4 and 4   a  depict an embodiment in which end  50  is securable using a Velcro®-like fastener at opposite ends of a retaining strip  100 . In this embodiment, end  110  of strip  100  may have a multiple hook-like fastener while end  120  may have multiple loops to be grasped by the hook-like fasteners, thereby enabling a wearer to easily adjust the length of strip  100 , hence the circumference at end  50 , to any desired position. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 5 and 5   a  show an embodiment in which end  50  is secured by a belt-like tongue  140  and buckle  150  at either end of strip  100 . As with the embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 4   a,  the length of strip  100 , hence the circumference at end  50 , may be adjusted using such mechanical fasteners. 
         [0024]      FIG. 6  depicts an embodiment of the glove of this invention in which elongated sleeve  40  is comprised of a pleated material  90  which can be gathered at ends  30  and  50 . During the fabrication process, memory-retaining folds can be manufactured permanently into the material  90 , thereby avoiding or alleviating the need for a separate mechanism to retain elongated sleeve  40  about the forearm. In  FIG. 6 , a string or cord  130  is used to secure and close the end of the elongated sleeve. 
         [0025]    In  FIG. 7 , the glove of this invention is shown having a zipper arrangement  160  to secure the contents after the glove is removed from the hand and inverted. Although any water tight zipper may be used, a preferred embodiment uses a non-metallic zipper  170  that operates along a flexible track  180  to open or to close and seal the elongated sleeve. A zipper of this kind may be inexpensively manufactured and disposed of, along with the elongated glove, after use.  FIG. 7   a  shows a side view of the zipper  160 , which forms a long, narrow configuration when the zipper is closed.  FIG. 7   b  is a magnified view of the zipper  170  and track  180  of this embodiment. 
         [0026]      FIGS. 8 ,  8   a,    8   b,  and  8   c  depict an embodiment of the invention in which the elongated sleeve ends in partially flexible interlocking strips  165  that may be pressed together to form a seal. In this embodiment, no zipper mechanism is required to force the interlocking strips together as the interlocking sealing mechanisms  175  are sufficiently flexible to permit the strips  165  to be pressed together by pinching them between the thumb and a finger. The sealing mechanisms  175  are sufficiently rigid to remain locked against moderate spreading forces while being releasable when strongly pulled apart by the hands. The precise amount of closing and spreading forces necessary to seal or unlock the interlocking strips is adjustable during design and manufacture, and is an engineering choice that will be determined by the specific uses for which the glove and elongated sleeve are intended. 
         [0027]      FIGS. 9 and 9   a  are similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5 and 5   a,  but with the fastening mechanism at end  50  being a strip  100  of nylon tie-wrap having a tongue end  190  and a retaining end  200 . A plastic or nylon tie-wrap has the advantage of being able to be tightened to any desired length, either while the glove is being worn, or following its removal and inversion, making it highly suitable for retaining a disposable substance within the invented glove of this invention. 
         [0028]      FIG. 10  shows the glove and elongated sleeve in the inverted position, after a disposable substance has been picked up, and the glove removed and turned inside out. Upon the inversion of the glove and elongated sleeve, as depicted in  FIG. 10 , one of the fastening mechanisms explained heretofore (in this figure, a string tie  130 ) will be used to secure the closure of end  50  and prevent the spillage or leakage of disposable matter (shown in phantom at  210 ). 
         [0029]    All embodiments of the glove of this invention may be tailored to adjust the glove to be tightly fitting or loosely fitting. A tight fit may be desirable in situations in which delicate or fine movements of the hand and glove must be made without the wearer&#39;s being able to view the working area, or where a wearer&#39;s tactile sense is required to accomplish the desired function. Alternatively, a loose fit may be used where the glove is to be removed easily, without frictional hindrance or binding. 
         [0030]    The glove of this invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made herefrom while remaining within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. Accordingly, the embodiments and descriptions shown and provided herein are illustrative of the concepts for a glove for disposal of aseptic material, and should not be taken as limiting the scope and spirit of the invention which is limited only by the claims appended hereto.