Reinforced protective glove

Abstract

A protective glove is disclosed having a flexible liner conforming to the shape of a hand and wrist and having a plurality of rigid guards secured thereto over the distal, middle, and proximal phalanx bones, the metacarpals, and wrist bones of the wearer. A distal guard is shaped as a cup placed over the posterior side of the distal phalanx bone. Middle and proximal guards protect the middle and proximal phalanx bones of the hand and may be embodied as rings positioned slightly distal of the finger joints and having extensions extending distally therefrom. A metacarpal guard secures to the posterior of the glove over the metacarpals and extends toward the anterior of the hand, providing a cutout to receive the thumb. A wrist guard encircles the liner over the wrist bones and is spaced apart from the metacarpal guard to permit wrist articulation.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 526,416 filed Dec. 1, 2003 and entitled PROTECTIVE GLOVE, which application is incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to gloves and, more specifically, to protective gloves used in material handling industries. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Many industries require workers to manually handle heavy rigid objects. Consequently, workers are subject to the constant risk of blunt trauma injuries to the hand. It is far too common that a worker has a hand crushed, struck, or pinched by such objects as crates, boxes, bins, or large pieces of raw materials. This type of hand injury is costly both in terms of medical costs and lost productivity. Injured workers typically endure considerable pain and a long recuperation. In many cases, part of the hand is permanently disabled or severed. [0004] In such industries, it is common for wo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] As will be readily appreciated from the foregoing summary, the invention provides a glove having a plurality of reinforcing members permitting articulation of the wrist and phalangeal joints. It will also be readily appreciated that the invention provides a glove having portions of the anterior side of the liner exposed to facilitate gripping and tactile perception.

Problems solved by technology

Consequently, workers are subject to the constant risk of blunt trauma injuries to the hand.

It is far too common that a worker has a hand crushed, struck, or pinched by such objects as crates, boxes, bins, or large pieces of raw materials.

This type of hand injury is costly both in terms of medical costs and lost productivity.

Injured workers typically endure considerable pain and a long recuperation.

In many cases, part of the hand is permanently disabled or severed.

However, prior gloves typically protect only against abrasion and provide no significant protection against blunt force trauma to the hands from manual cargo and material handling activities.

Some gloves do provide padding; however such padding has limited ability to absorb the impact of heavy objects and provides little protection against soft tissue injuries and bone fracture.

Accordingly, tactile perception is reduced and gripping of objects is made more difficult.

Furthermore, the stiffness of the gloves inhibits free movement of the fingers and wrist.

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