Work Glove with Pads and Method of Manufacturing Same

Applicant claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/637,011 filed Apr. 22, 2024 and entitled “Strengthened Rubber Sewing Channel And Method Of Manufacture”.

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The present invention relates to gloves. More particularly, the present invention relates to work gloves provided with pads for protecting a hand of a person wearing the glove against industrial loading and penetration during use of the work glove and a method of manufacturing such. More particularly, the present invention relates to protective pads attached to gloves with an improved strengthened perimeter attachment sewing channel while a central portion provides comfortable, flexible hand protection during use of the glove.

Work gloves with impact and vibration resistance exist in the market today. There are several typical methods for providing the impact resistance for work gloves, including application of adhesive or sewing of the rubber piece or Thermal Plastic Rubber (TPR) strips on the back or front of a textile based glove.

The attachment strength of the rubber piece to the underlying glove substrate is important with respect to the overall durability and strength of the finished product. Specifically, the strength of the attachment rubber piece depends on the strength of the sewing threads, the stitch density and the type and strength of the rubber and glove substrate. In many cases, the weakest component is the rubber piece and specifically the sewn or sewing area or channel about the periphery of the rubber piece.

The strength of the rubber material in the sewing channel is of the utmost importance to the overall strength of the attachment. In most rubber materials, the strength is proportional to the rubber piece's hardness or stiffness, also known as being “higher shore”. The “shore” or “shore hardness” of rubber is a well-known scale used to define the measure of a particular material's (rubber) resistance to penetration or indentation. Higher shore rubber typically has a higher strength; however, a higher shore is also considered to be stiffer and less comfortable for the wearer. When manufacturing gloves with higher shore rubber, the sewing channel is a continuous component of the overall base of the TPR piece or rubber piece, i.e., the shore of the sewing channel and the base part of the TPR rubber piece are the same. The requirement for higher shore TPR for the sewing channel strength conflicts with and limits the ability to produce a more comfortable glove with sewn rubber strips or TPR.

A problem has always been how to provide a rubber strip or TPR that is both comfortable and capable of having a higher shore to prevent ripping along the sewing. Typically, these rubber strips are formed in a mold wherein the rubber material is poured into the mold in an inverted position so that the top surface of the rubber material within the mold forms the bottom surface of the rubber piece or strip in contact with the underlying glove substrate or liner. Thus, the sewing channel is continuous with the rubber material that forms the padding portion, thus making it difficult to have one portion of a higher shore for sewing strength while having another portion soft or of a lower shore for comfort.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved work glove for protecting a person's hand from industrial loading during use of the work glove while providing comfort to the wearer. It is to such that the present invention is directed.

A work glove comprises a liner in the shape of a human hand; at least one pad having a central portion of a first shore hardness and a peripheral backing portion fused to and extending from said central portion, the backing portion having a second shore hardness greater than the first shore hardness of the central portion, and a sewing thread passing through and coupling the peripheral sewing channel of the at least one pad and the liner to couple the at least one pad to the liner.

A method of making a work glove, comprising the steps of (a) forming a liner having a palm portion, four finger tubes, and a thumb tube; (b) providing a mold having a central recess and a sewing channel recess, the central recess being separated from the sewing channel recess by a separation wall having a top edge; (c) placing a molten first, high shore polymer material having a cured first shore hardness into the sewing channel recess to a level at or below the top edge of the separation wall to prevent the first, high shore polymer material from entering the central recess; (d) placing a molten second, low shore polymer material having a cured second shore hardness less than the cured first shore hardness into the central channel recess and over at least a portion of the first, high shore polymer material so as to overlay and be fused to at least a portion of said first, high shore polymer material; (e) curing the first and second, low shore polymer materials to form a resilient pad; (f) removing the cured resilient pad from the mold, and (g) sewing the peripheral sewing channel to the liner.

With reference next to the drawings, there is shown a work glovein accordance with the present invention, referenced hereinafter simply as glove. The glovecomprises one or more polymer pads, rubber pieces, rubber strip, or TPR pieceattached to a glove-defining substrate or linerhaving the general shape of a human hand. The glovein variations protects the hand against industrial loading such as impacts, abrasion, vibration, slips, and other force risks. The padsare coupled on the glove textile linerin various patterns and heights on the back or palm of the liner in order to provide optimal protection for a particular purpose-driven industrial application for the gloves.

As shown in, the linerhas four finger tubes or fingers, a thumb tube or thumb, a palm portion, and a cuff or sleeve portion. The liner is configured to fit over the hand of a wearer in a conventional manner. The linersmay be a knitted glove formed on conventional seamless glove kitting machines or cut and sewn gloves assembled from panels cut from sheets of textile fabric. Liner preparation uses typical processes generally known in the market.

The padsshown in the drawings include a large three fingered pad, a single fingered pad, and a thumb pad; however, it should be understood that the configuration of these pads are for illustrative purposes only and the glove may include any number or variations of pad configurations. With reference to, each pad,, andhas a pliable, upper, padding, or central portionand a backing portion or basethat is fused to the central portion. The central portionincludes a peripheral portionthat overlays the backing portion. The backing portionincludes a peripheral sewing channel or sewing channel portionextending outwardly about or outboard of the central portion. The peripheral sewing channelhas an inboard sewing portion, an outboard peripheral edge or rim, and an inner grooveoppositely disposed from the rim. Each pad,, andis attached to the linerthrough a sewing threadthat passes through the peripheral sewing channeland liner. An optional, additional adhesive may also be used to further strengthen the bond between the pad and the liner.

The central portionis made of a lower or low shore PVC (polyvinyl chloride) material, although other polymer material, plastic or rubber type materials, such as silicon, may be used as an alternative. The lower shore PVC material has a low viscosity prior to curing. The lower shore PVC material has a mixture or composition of approximately 25 to 35 percent PVC and approximately 65 to 75 percent DOTP (dioctyl terephthalate). The central portionprovides for a more flexible and softer material (lower shore) than the backing portion(higher or high shore). The central portionhas a cured shore hardness of approximately 25-35 Shore A on the shore scale, the shore hardness being determined after the materials have been fully cured.

The backing portion, and specifically the sewing channel, is made of a higher shore PVC (polyvinyl chloride) material, although other plastic or rubber materials, such as silicon, may be used as an alternative. The higher shore PVC material has a high viscosity prior to curing. The high shore PVC material has a mixture or composition of approximately 40 to 50 percent PVC and approximately 60 to 50 percent DOTP (dioctyl terephthalate). The peripheral sewing channelhas a cured shore hardness of approximately 35 to 55 on the Shore A of the shore scale. Thus, the central portionhas a shore hardness that is less than the shore hardness of the backing portion, or stated differently, the backing portionhas a shore hardness greater than the shore hardness of the central portion. The backing portionprovides for a stiffer, stronger and more tear or shear resistant material than the central portion.

In use, the wearer dons the glovein conventional fashion. The backing portionprovides for a select amount of stiffness and high degree of tear or shear resistance to the peripheral sewing channelto restrict the tearing of the pads,, andfrom the underlying liner, especially the tearing of the pads along the sewing line or perforations created by the sewing process. The central portionprovides for a soft, resilient and flexible area to absorb impact from accidental encounters upon the hand of a wearer.

To manufacture the glove, the pads,, andare positioned upon the linerand then sewn onto the liner. In the sewing process, the sewing threadpasses through the peripheral sewing channeland the linerso as to couple the pads,, andto the liner, and specifically through the sewing portionsof the peripheral sewing channels.

The pads,, andare formed with the use of a mold or mouldthat is the inverse of the desired configuration of the desired pad, as illustrated in. The moldhas a cavitythat has a central mold depression or recessextending to a sewing channel depression or recessthat is generally separated from the central recessthrough a divider, partition, or separation wallhaving a top or top end. The central recessin the illustrated embodiment is concave in shape. The central recessforms the central portionof the pads,, and. The sewing channel recesshas a first portionadjacent to separation wallthat has a first select depth D. The first portionforms the sewing portionof the finished peripheral sewing channeland the peripheral portionof the overlying central portion. The sewing channel recessalso has a second portionoutboard of the first portionthat has a second select depth Dthat is deeper than the first select depth D. The second portionforms the peripheral rimof the finished peripheral sewing channeland the peripheral portionof the overlying central portion.

It should be understood that the separation wallmay be selected to have a height that allows for a large volume or thickness/depth of material for the central portionwhile providing for a small thickness/depth of material for the backing portionfused to the central portion.

To manufacture the pads,, and, a molten higher shore material HSM or first material is poured into the sewing channel recessto approximately the height of the top endof the separation wall. The separation wallforms the inner grooveof the backing portion. The higher shore material HSM is applied at a temperature of between 150 and 300 degrees Celsius and then allowed to cool or be gelled.

Next, a molten lower shore material LSM or second material is poured or placed into the central recessof the moldso that the lower shore material LSM flows over the top endof the separation walland flows onto the underlying higher shore material within the sewing channel recess. The second material is poured or otherwise deposited to the moldat a temperature of approximately 60 degrees Celsius. The low shore material LSM is then allowed to cool to a temperature wherein the pad may be removed from the mold without tearing. The cooling may be aided through a waterbed or air cooler.

Thus, the bottom surface of the low shore material LSM fuses to the top surface of the higher shore material HSM, i.e., the two materials fuse together along their mutual contacting surfacewith the higher shore material HSM forming the backing portion or base. As shown in, the peripheral portionof the central portionoverlays the backing portion.

Once the pads,, andare fully formed and allowed to cure, the pads,, andare removed from the moldand sewn to the liner. To do so, the sewing threadis passed through the peripheral sewing channel, the overlying peripheral portionof the central portion, and the liner, and preferably the sewing portionsof the peripheral sewing channel. The peripheral rimprovides for a thicker area adjacent the threadsto further enhance the tear resistance of the peripheral sewing channel.

It thus should be appreciated that the glove of the present invention provides for a sewing area that is comprised of a higher shore material and a comfortable middle pad area that is comprises of a lower shore material. This provides for a strong sewing area to avoid shearing or tearing while also providing a soft pad for comfort.

The inner grooveprovides for a clearly defined demarcation between the central portionand the backing portion, which is important when the first and second materials are of different colors as the groove masks any merging or mixing of the two materials. The inner groovealso provides for a flexing of the padduring use of the glovefor additional comfort.

It is thus seen that a glove that has pads that are both centrally soft for comfort and perimeterly hard for tear resistance. Although the invention has been shown and described in its preferred form, it should be understood that modifications and variations may be made thereto without departure from its spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims.