US-12616259-B2 - Glove with longitudinal finger stays and textured finger and thumb crotches

US12616259B2US 12616259 B2US12616259 B2US 12616259B2US-12616259-B2

Abstract

A glove including a wrist region; a palm region extending outwardly from the wrist region; a plurality of digit regions extending outwardly from the palm region, wherein each digit region of the plurality of digit regions has a longitudinal axis extending along the digit region from the tip of the digit region to the palm region; an interior cavity bounded and defined by the wrist region, the palm region, and the plurality of digit regions, wherein the interior cavity is accessible via an opening defined by the wrist region. A crotch area is provided between adjacent digit regions. At least one gripping zone is provided on at least one digit region. The gripping zone is oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the at least one digit region. An exterior surface of at least one crotch area and at least one gripping zone is textured, particularly by micro-etching.

Inventors

James L. Hull

Assignees

SUMMIT GLOVE INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230814

Claims (20)

1 . A glove comprising: a wrist region; a palm region extending outwardly from the wrist region; a plurality of digit regions extending outwardly from the palm region; and at least one crotch area defined between two adjacent digit regions of the plurality of digit regions; a texture provided on the at least one crotch area; at least one stay provided on a digit region of the plurality of digit regions of the glove; wherein the at least one stay comprises a concave indentation formed in the digit region which reduces a circumference of the digit region; and wherein an exterior surface of the at least one stay is textured.
2 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the texture of the at least one crotch area is provided on an exterior of an arcuate surface extending between opposed side surfaces of the two adjacent digit regions.
3 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the two adjacent digit regions includes a first digit region and a second digit region, wherein the texture of the at least one crotch area extends along part of an exterior of a side surface of the first digit region and part of an exterior of a side surface of the second digit region.
4 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the texture of the at least one crotch area extends at least partially onto an exterior of a front of the palm region.
5 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the texture of the at least one crotch area extends at least partially onto an exterior of a back of the palm region.
6 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the texture is provided on the at least one crotch area through a micro-etching process.
7 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of digit regions includes a thumb region, an index finger region, a middle finger region, a ring finger region, and a little finger region; and wherein the at least one crotch area comprises a first crotch area located between the thumb region and the index finger region.
8 . The glove according to claim 7 , wherein the at least one crotch area includes a second crotch area located between the index finger region and the middle finger region, and wherein each of the first crotch area and the second crotch area is textured.
9 . The glove according to claim 8 , wherein the at least one crotch area includes a third crotch area located between the middle finger region and the ring finger region, and wherein each of the first crotch area, the second crotch area, and the third crotch area is textured.
10 . The glove according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one crotch area includes a fourth crotch area located between the ring finger region and the little finger region, and wherein each of the first crotch area, the second crotch area, the third crotch area, and the fourth crotch area is textured.
11 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one stay is textured in a same manner as the at least one crotch area.
12 . The glove according to claim 11 , wherein the at least one stay and the at least one crotch area are textured through micro-etching.
13 . A method comprising: forming a glove having a wrist region, a palm region, and a plurality of digit regions, wherein adjacent digit regions of the plurality of digit regions include a crotch area; texturing the crotch area; forming an indentation in at least one digit region of the plurality of digit region; and reducing a circumference in the at least one digit regions, where the circumference intersects the indentation; and texturing an exterior surface of the glove along the indentation.
14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein texturing the crotch area comprises micro-etching an exterior surface of the glove in the crotch area.
15 . The method according to claim 13 , further comprising texturing the exterior surface of the glove along the indentation, and the texturing of the crotch area is accomplished through a same process.
16 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one stay comprises a first stay located on at least one a thumb region, an index finger region, a middle finger region, a ring finger region, and a little finger region.
17 . The glove according to claim 16 , wherein the at least one stay comprises a second stay located on at least one of a thumb region, an index finger region, a middle finger region, a ring finger region, and a little finger region.
18 . The glove according to claim 17 , wherein the first stay is located opposite to and laterally aligned with the second stay.
19 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one stay is textured in a different manner from the at least one crotch area.
20 . The glove according to claim 1 , wherein an interior surface of the glove is a first color and an exterior surface of the glove is a second color, wherein the first color and second color differ from one another.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/191,047, filed Mar. 28, 2023, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/540,368, filed Dec. 2, 2021, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/787,560 filed Feb. 11, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,197,509, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/209,066 filed Dec. 4, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,602,787, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/136,191 filed Apr. 22, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,575, which application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/152,302 filed Apr. 24, 2015. The entire disclosures of all of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure is directed to gloves. More particularly, the disclosure relates to gloves for use in tasks which require dexterity and tactile sensitivity. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a glove having at least one textured crotch area. Each textured crotch area is located between adjacent digit regions. The glove further includes at least one gripping zone in one or more digit regions of the glove. Each gripping zone locally reduces the circumference of the associated digit region such that there is direct contact between the gripping zone and the user's finger or thumb received in an interior of the digit region. During use of the glove, the frictional contact between the at least one gripping zone and the user's skin helps to prevent relative movement between the digit region and the user's finger or thumb. BACKGROUND ART Nitrile or nitrile rubber gloves are well known for use in the medical field. One of the problems with previously known medical gloves is that tactile sensitivity and dexterity may be reduced or lost because of the presence of glove material between the user's sensitive fingertips and the patient or equipment contacted with the user's gloved hand. If surgical gloves are worn for a long period of time there is a tendency for the glove to stretch. The stretching can result in the gloves losing their ability to cling to the user's hand and, more particularly, to the user's fingertips. When the glove material stretches and stops clinging tightly to the user thumb or fingers, the glove material can tend to slide along the length of the thumb or fingers. There is therefore a tendency for the user's tactile sensitivity and finger dexterity to deteriorate over the course of a few hours while wearing the gloves. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A glove is disclosed herein which includes a plurality of digit regions with adjacent digit regions connected to one another by arcuate crotch areas. The glove has one or more gripping zones formed in one or more of the digit regions. The gripping zones frictionally grip a user's thumb or finger when the glove is worn and as a result, the digit regions tend to remain in clinging-engagement with the user's hand during use of the glove. Tactile sensitivity and finger dexterity while wearing the glove is therefore maintained for a longer period of time relative to previously-known gloves. The glove also includes one or more crotch areas which are textured, particularly through a micro-etching process. The texturing helps to strengthen the crotch areas of the glove and thereby decreases the possibility of glove failure in the crotch regions. The glove according to the present disclosure includes a wrist region, a palm region extending outwardly from the wrist region, and a plurality of digit regions extending outwardly from the palm region. Each digit region has a longitudinal axis extending from a tip of the digit region to the palm region of the glove. An interior cavity is bounded and defined by the wrist region, the palm region, and the plurality of digit regions. The interior cavity is accessible via an opening defined by the wrist region. In one aspect, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a glove comprising a wrist region; a palm region extending outwardly from the wrist region; a plurality of digit regions extending outwardly from the palm region; at least one gripping zone provided on at least one digit region of the plurality of digit regions; and at least one crotch area defined between two adjacent digit regions of the plurality of digit regions, and wherein a texture is provided on the at least one crotch area. In one embodiment, the texture of the at least one crotch area may be provided on an exterior of an arcuate surface extending between opposed side surfaces of the two adjacent digit regions. In one embodiment, the two adjacent digit regions includes a first digit region and a second digit region, wherein the texture of the at least one crotch area may extend along part of an exterior of a side surface of the first digit region and part of an exterior of a side surface of the second digit region. In one