EP1557102A1

EP1557102A1 - Silicone glove

Info

Publication number: EP1557102A1
Application number: EP05001921A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dario Martellato
Original assignee: SILIKOMART Srl
Current assignee: SILIKOMART Srl
Priority date: 2004-02-12
Filing date: 2005-01-31
Publication date: 2005-07-27
Also published as: EP1557102A8; ITMI20040049U1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a silicone glove or mitten for use as a work or kitchen glove.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a work or kitchen glove (1) made of silicone, comprising a main portion (2), having an aperture (3) for inserting the hand, a first pocket (4) for housing the middle finger, ring-finger and little finger of the hand, a second pocket (4') for housing the forefinger, and a third pocket (4") for housing the thumb of said hand.

Description

The present invention relates to a silicone glove or mitten for use as a work or kitchen glove.
Silicone gloves, particularly of the work or kitchen types, are already well known. The silicone rubbers are, in fact, provided with advantageous mechanical and heat resistance characteristics - both at high and low temperatures - which make them suitable for those uses involving contact with objects or introduction in high-temperature (200°C or higher) or low-temperature (-20/-25°C) environments. Furthermore, items made of silicone rubbers can be easily cleaned, for example by means of a dishwasher. Due to the fact of being non-toxic, the silicone rubbers, mainly those obtained by means of polyaddition with platinum catalysis, are suitable for contact with food, drugs or direct contact with human body, and they are accordingly employed for kitchen (moulds, gloves) or medical items.
Kitchen mittens, which are generally employed for gripping very hot objects, such as oven moulds or metal casseroles, are formed with one or two pockets. In the latter case, a pocket is used for introducing the thumb, whereas the other pocket houses the remaining four fingers of the hand. The use of such mittens or muffles is dictated by the need of employing materials having a considerable thickness (padded fabric or synthetic material such as silicone rubbers) to ensure good heat insulation. With this material, a five-finger glove would be difficult to use. Furthermore, heat insulation is facilitated by reducing the heat-exchange surface, and accordingly, a glove with only one pocket ensures the best heat insulation.
On the other hand, the gloves described above suffer from the drawback of being little handy, therefore the user is forced to take off the glove whenever he wishes to manipulate small-sized objects. For instance, a typical case is the normal operation of testing the cake or similar oven product to see if it is cooked: the user has to remove the mould from the oven using the mittens, then he is forced to take off the mittens in order to handle a suitable probe (a toothpick is normally used) that gives indications about the cooking progress of the cake, and finally, if cooking is not completed, he has to put on the mittens once again in order to put the mould back into the oven.
The problem at the heart of the present invention is therefore to provide work or kitchen gloves overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art gloves.
This problem is solved by a work or kitchen glove made of silicone, such as described in the annexed claims.
Further characteristics and the advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the description hereinbelow of two exemplary embodiments that is given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the following figures:
Figure 1 is a plan view of the glove according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a view of a detail of the surface of the glove from Figure 1, according to a preferred embodiment.
With reference to the figures, the work or kitchen glove designated with number 1 comprises a main portion 2 having an aperture 3 for inserting the hand, which is destined to house, when the glove has been put on, the palm and the back of the hand. The length extension of said main portion 2 of the glove having a strongly flattened substantially tubular shape varies according to the requirements and applications intended for the glove, though it generally extends at least until covering the palm and back of the hand and wrist or part of the forearm.
At the end opposite the aperture 3, said main portion 2 comprises three pockets 4, 4' and 4". The first pocket 4 is shaped and sized such as to house three fingers of the hand, specifically little finger, ring-finger, and middle finger. On the other hand, the second pocket 3' is intended to house the forefinger, whereas the third pocket 4" is such arranged and sized to house the thumb. Consequently, whereas the first 4, and second 4' pockets develop along substantially parallel directions, the third pocket 4" stretches out sideways relative to the other two, and is substantially shorter.
The first 4, and second 4' pockets are shaped such as to substantially follow the shape of the fingers, i.e. they are rounded at their ends. The third pocket 4" has its end rounded, too.
Both the main portion 2 of the glove 1 and the three pockets 4, 4', 4" preferably lay on a plane.
The main portion 2 of the glove 1 can comprise a tab 5 having a hole 6 for hanging the glove 1 to a hook. This tab 5 will be preferably arranged along an edge of the main portion 2 of the glove 1, near the aperture 3.
The main portion 2 may have, either on one or both sides thereof, an area 7 intended to house labels or writings. The writings, such as a trade mark or other trade name, can be manufactured by printing with suitable inks or laser printing or still by embossing the material.
The glove is completely made of silicone. Preferably, the silicone may be a silicone elastomer obtained by polyaddition with platinum catalysis. In fact, this material is non-toxic and does not leave bad odour or taste in case of contact with food. Preferably, HTV silicone (High Temperature Vulcanization) may be used, particularly of the LSR (Liquid Silicone Rubber) type. However, any type of silicone may be used, such as that obtained by means of epoxy process.
The glove 1 can be manufactured either by hot- or cold-moulding in suitable moulds. Cold-moulding may be obtained from two-component curable silicones at room temperature.
According to a preferred embodiment, such as shown in Figure 2, the outer surface of glove 1 may be either partially or entirely covered by corrugations or knurlings 8 of varying shapes. In the case where the glove 1 comprises the area 7 intended for writings, then at least this area 7 will be smooth. In the example from Figure 2, the assembly of said knurlings is substantially honeycombed, with irregular cells covering the entire surface of the glove 1, save for area 7. Of course, other types of corrugations or knurlings 8 may be provided.
Preferably, these corrugations or knurlings 8 may cover both sides of glove 1.
The advantages of the glove 1 according to the present invention will be understood from the description above.
Firstly, providing separate pockets 4', 4" for the forefinger and thumb imparts a greater comfort of use to the glove, because one can also manipulate those small-sized objects that are typically handled with these two fingers.
Secondly, using silicone for the glove 1 of the invention enables to make use of the inherent advantages of this material, i.e. high thermal resistance and insulation, both to hot and cold temperatures, easy machine washing, as well as non-toxicity.
Furthermore, the embodiment providing to cover the outer surface of the glove with corrugations or knurlings 8 enables to obtain greater heat insulation and improved grip, mainly with that tableware having a particularly smooth surface. In this way, one also obtains the advantage of being able to reduce the thickness of the walls of the glove 1, with consequent saving of material and greater flexibility of the glove itself. The latter characteristic is particularly useful in order to improve the handiness of the glove.
The shape of the corrugations or knurlings 8 can be varied and can be adapted to aesthetic purposes, besides functional purposes. The type of corrugations 8 such as shown in Figure 8, for example, gives an attractive and distinctive appearance to the glove 1 as a whole.
Accordingly, the silicone glove 1 being the object of the invention can be used for all those applications requiring high performance both in terms of mechanical and thermal features, and is therefore an ideal kitchen or work glove in general.
It should be understood that only a number of particular embodiments of the work or kitchen glove being the object of the present invention have been described, to which those skilled in the art will be able to carry out all those modifications required for adapting the same to particular applications, without however departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, such as stated in the above description and the claims below.

Claims

A kitchen or work glove (1) made of silicone, comprising a main portion (2), having an aperture (3) for inserting the hand, a first pocket (4) for housing the middle finger, ring-finger and little finger of the hand, a second pocket (4') for housing the forefinger, and a third pocket (4") for housing the thumb of said hand.
The glove (1) according to claim 1, wherein said silicone is a silicone elastomer obtained by means of polyaddition with platinum catalysis.
The glove (1) according to claim 2, wherein said silicone elastomer is HTV silicone, preferably of the LSR type.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 3, wherein said main portion (2) of the glove extends until covering the palm, back and wrist of the hand.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 4, wherein said first, second and third pockets (4, 4', 4") have a rounded shape at the closed end thereof.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 5, wherein said main portion (2) of the glove comprises a tab (5) having a hole (6) for hanging the glove (1) to a hook.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 6, wherein said main portion (2) of the glove has an area (7) intended to house labels or writings, either printed or embossed.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 7, wherein both said main portion (2) and said pockets (4, 4', 4") of the glove lay on the same plane.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 8, wherein the outer surface of said glove is either entirely or partially covered with corrugations or knurlings (8).
The glove (1) according to claim 9, wherein said corrugations or knurlings (8) are substantially irregularly honeycombed.
The glove (1) according to any claim 1 to 10, said glove being manufactured by means of hot- or cold-moulding.