U.S. patent application number 12/209902 was filed with the patent office on 2009-03-19 for personal protective garment.
Invention is credited to Mikhail Kassam.
Application Number | 20090070916 12/209902 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40452915 |
Filed Date | 2009-03-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090070916 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kassam; Mikhail |
March 19, 2009 |
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE GARMENT
Abstract
A personal protective garment, preferably a glove, for
protecting at least a portion of the body of a wearer is disclosed.
The garment comprises a liner, an overlayer and at least one
covering layer. The liner comprises a flexible material and is
adapted to be worn on at least a portion of the body of the wearer.
The overlayer comprises a milled polymer and is adapted to cover at
least a portion of the liner and is secured to the liner. The
covering layer comprises a polymer and is adhering to and covering
at least a portion of the overlayer. The milled polymer is
preferably milled rubber. Also disclosed is a method of making a
personal protective garment, preferably a glove.
Inventors: |
Kassam; Mikhail; (Toronto,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FITCH EVEN TABIN AND FLANNERY
120 SOUTH LA SALLE STREET, SUITE 1600
CHICAGO
IL
60603-3406
US
|
Family ID: |
40452915 |
Appl. No.: |
12/209902 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60972050 |
Sep 13, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/158 ; 2/161.6;
2/164; 2/168; 2/169 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 19/01505
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/158 ; 2/161.6;
2/164; 2/168; 2/169 |
International
Class: |
A41D 19/01 20060101
A41D019/01; A41D 19/00 20060101 A41D019/00; A41D 19/02 20060101
A41D019/02 |
Claims
1. A personal protective garment for protecting at least a portion
of a wearer's body, the garment comprising a liner, an overlayer
and at least one covering layer, wherein the liner comprises a
flexible material and is adapted to be worn on at least a portion
of the body of the wearer, the overlayer comprises a milled polymer
and is adapted to cover at least a portion of the liner and is
secured to the liner, and the covering layer comprises a polymer
and adhering to and covering at least a portion of the
overlayer.
2. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the garment is for protecting a hand of the wearer.
3. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 2, wherein
the garment is selected from the group consisting of a glove, a
mitten and a gauntlet.
4. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the liner comprises a thumb stall for holding a thumb of the
wearer.
5. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the liner comprises at least one finger stall for holding at least
one finger of the wearer.
6. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the overlayer covers only a portion of the liner and the covering
layer covers substantially the whole of the overlayer and at least
a portion of that part of the liner which is not covered by the
overlayer.
7. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the liner has a palm side and a backhand side and the overlayer
covers substantially the whole of the palm side of the liner.
8. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 7, wherein
the liner comprises at least one finger stall having a proximal end
and a distal end and wherein the overlayer is adapted to extend
over the distal end of the finger stall thereby covering tip of the
finger stall.
9. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the liner is a knitted liner.
10. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the liner is a cut and sewn liner.
11. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the flexible material is selected from the group consisting of
cotton, polycotton, steel, polyaramid, wool, polyamide, polyester,
polyethylene and combinations thereof.
12. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the milled polymer comprises milled rubber.
13. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 12, wherein
the milled rubber is selected from the group consisting of natural
rubber, nitrile rubber, neoprene, silicone rubber, butyl rubber and
combinations thereof.
14. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the polymer is selected from the group consisting of rubber,
polyurethane and combinations thereof.
15. The personal protective garment as claimed in claim 14, wherein
the rubber is selected from the group consisting of nitrile rubber,
natural rubber, foam nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, neoprene and
combinations thereof.
16. A glove for protecting at least a portion of a hand of a
wearer, the glove comprising a liner, an overlayer and at least one
covering layer, wherein the liner comprises a flexible material and
is adapted to be worn on at least a portion of the hand of the
wearer, the overlayer comprises a milled polymer, and the overlayer
is adapted to cover at least a portion of the liner and is secured
to the liner, and the covering layer comprises a polymer and is
adhering to and covering at least a portion of the overlayer.
17. A method of making a personal protective garment for protecting
at least a portion of a body of a wearer, the method comprising:
adapting a liner comprising a flexible material to make a cover for
at least a portion of the body of the wearer, adapting an overlayer
comprising a milled polymer to cover at least a portion of the
liner and securing the overlayer to the liner, and providing a
covering layer comprising a polymer to obtain a polymer coating on
at least a portion of the overlayer.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the polymer coating
is selected from the group consisting of dip coating, spray
coating, curtain coating, and screen printing.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/972,050, filed Sep. 13, 2007, the contents of
which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to personal protective
garments, in particular protective gloves, mittens or gauntlets for
protecting the hand of the wearer against abrasion, penetration and
cuts.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Personal protective garments find use in many areas of
activity and, in particular, in industry or agriculture. Personal
protective garments for protection of the hand or arm include
gloves, mittens or gauntlets. Gloves, typically, have four finger
stalls to hold each of the four fingers of the wearer and a thumb
stall to hold the thumb. Mittens, typically, have a thumb stall and
fewer than four finger stalls, usually a single stall for holding
all the fingers of the wearer. Gauntlets may be either gloves or
mittens with the wrist portion of the glove or mitten extending up
the arm of the wearer to provide enhanced protection.
[0006] Protective gloves are essential items in hazardous handling
environments where an important property of the glove is resistance
to abrasion, cutting or puncturing. Protective gloves must also be
comfortable to wear to maximize the willingness of handlers to wear
the gloves during potentially dangerous handling procedures.
Additionally, protective gloves should give good grip to maximize
safe handling procedures and provide at least some protection
against grease, liquid or powder ingress into the glove.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,014 (Schroeder) discloses a workman's
glove comprising a sheath, preferably porous, with a
knuckle-protecting surface, a palm protecting surface and non-slip
finger gripping surfaces facing each other. The added surfaces are
preferably of corrugated rubber.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,700 (Cutshall) discloses a penetration
resistant hand protector for medical applications comprising a
glove with puncture resistant coverings, preferably of leather, on
the finger stalls.
[0009] WO 91/10409 (Allied Signal, Inc.) discloses a flexible,
uncoated glove for medical applications comprised of Kevlar (.TM.)
fibers to provide enhanced cut protection.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,493 (Post) discloses a stretchable
protective garment material for gloves especially suitable for law
enforcement uses. The material is composed of a stretchable knitted
blend of Kevlar (.TM.) and spandex fibers. In one embodiment, the
palm surfaces of the glove are provided with an elastomeric
coating.
[0011] A popular protective glove, especially in the metal and
glass handling industries, comprises a liner of a flexible fabric
material and a polymer covering layer over the liner. This glove
provides good cut and abrasion resistance and good liquid
protection to the wearer whilst also providing excellent grip.
There is, nevertheless, is a need for enhanced abrasion resistance
and hence durability whilst maintaining the advantages of the known
protective garments. It is an aim of this invention to address that
need.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention accordingly provides, in a first
aspect, a personal protective garment for protecting at least a
portion of the body of a wearer, said garment comprising a liner,
an overlayer and at least one covering layer, said liner comprising
a flexible material and being adapted to be worn on at least a
portion of the body of the wearer, said overlayer comprising a
milled polymer and being adapted to cover at least a portion of
said liner and being secured to the liner, and said covering layer
comprising a polymer and adhering to and covering at least a
portion of said overlayer.
[0013] The personal protective garment is preferably for protecting
the hand of the wearer.
[0014] The personal protective garment may also be adapted so that
it also protects at least a part of the forearm of the wearer.
[0015] Thus, preferably, the garment is selected from the group
consisting of glove, mitten and gauntlet.
[0016] Usually, the protective garment will have an overlayer and
one covering layer. In some applications, however, more than one
covering layer (e.g., 2, 3 or 4 covering layers) may be
advantageous.
[0017] As discussed above in relation to the prior art, gloves
typically comprise four finger stalls to hold each of the four
fingers of the wearer and a thumb stall to hold the thumb. Mittens
typically comprise a thumb stall and fewer than four finger stalls,
usually a single finger stall for holding all the fingers of the
wearer. Gauntlets may be either gloves or mittens where the wrist
portion of the glove or mitten extends up the forearm of the wearer
to provide enhanced protection. In this specification, references
to glove or gloves include within their meaning gloves, mittens or
gauntlets unless the context otherwise dictates.
[0018] The liner of the personal protective garment usually
comprises a thumb stall for holding a thumb of the wearer. The
liner also usually comprises at least one finger stall for holding
at least one finger of the wearer. There may be up to four finger
stalls depending on whether the personal protective garment is a
glove or a mitten.
[0019] The overlayer may cover substantially all of the liner or
may cover only a portion of the liner.
[0020] The covering layer, preferably, covers the whole of the
overlayer, in particular the palm and finger and thumb stall
portions of the overlayer. This is beneficial because the covering
layer then provides enhanced grip which is of considerable
importance in industrial handling environment and promotes comfort
and safety.
[0021] The covering layer may cover at least a portion of any part
of the liner which is not covered by the overlayer. The covering
layer may cover substantially the whole of the overlayer and the
whole of the liner (i.e., the whole of the glove, mitten or
gauntlet). This is particularly advantageous in e.g., gloves for
outdoor use because it provides added moisture protection.
Alternatively, the covering layer may cover the garment only
partially. For example, in the case of a glove, the covering layer
may cover the palm side of the glove but cover the backhand side
only partially from the distal end to just over the knuckles
(knuckle-covering).
[0022] The liner usually has a palm (palmar) side and a back hand
(dorsal) side and the overlayer, preferably, covers substantially
the whole of the palm side of the liner. This is advantageous
because the overlayer provides cut, abrasion and puncture
protection and the palm side of the liner is the most vulnerable to
abrasion, cutting or puncturing during industrial handling.
[0023] The liner usually comprises at least one finger stall having
a proximal end and a distal end and the overlayer is usually
adapted to extend over the distal end of the or each finger stall
thereby covering the tip of the or each finger stall. This is
advantageous because it provides enhanced cut, abrasion or puncture
protection to the tips of the user's fingers when the glove is in
use. Preferably, the liner comprises a thumb stall which also has a
proximal end and a distal end and the overlayer is adapted to
extend from the proximal to the distal end and over the distal end
of the thumb stall thereby covering the tip of the thumb stall.
This is important because handling requires opposition between the
fingers and the thumb of the wearer and so the thumb usually also
requires enhanced protection from abrasion, cutting, or
puncturing.
[0024] The liner, typically, comprises a flexible, fabric material
which may be made by generally any method known by the person
skilled in the art. The liner may be formed by a cut and sewn
process (for example from two pieces of knitted or woven fabric
sewn together). Alternatively, the liner may be made by a knitting
process. Knitted liners are advantageous because they may be made
in a seamless manner using, for example, glove knitting machines.
In this case a liner, which is suitable for covering the hand of
the wearer, comprises a knitted liner. Knitted liners for use in
gloves are often made at 10 gauge (i.e., about 10 stitches per
inch) but any other gauge may be used if desired (the machines are
usually gauged at 7, 10, 15 and/or 18 gauge; 7 gauge being the
heaviest and bulkiest and 18 gauge being the finest).
[0025] The flexible material of the liner may be selected from the
group consisting of cotton, polycotton, steel, glass, polyaramid
(for example Kevlar (.TM.)), wool, polyamide (for example nylon
66), polyester, polyethylene (for example ultrahigh molecular
weight polyethylene, UHMWPE including those fibers sold under the
name Dyneema (.TM.)) and combinations thereof. Yarns of these
materials may be formed into fabrics for use in the liner using any
process known in the textile art (including weaving and/or
knitting). The choice of the flexible material will depend to a
certain extent on the needs of the wearer as regards comfort and
also on the degree of cut, puncturing and abrasion resistance
required of the gloves.
[0026] Advantageously, the fabric of the liner may be a Jersey
knitted fabric. Jersey knitted fabric is, typically, made from two
counts of yarn: a coarse yarn that forms the inner knitted surface
of the liner and at least one fine yarn that ultimately forms the
smoother outer surface of the liner. The inner coarse yarn is
heavily brushed to raise the cotton staples giving a soft, fluffy,
comfortable feel to the glove. Jersey fabric is often used in heavy
work gloves as the fabric is comfortable and the bulk of the raised
staples act as a shock absorber during heavy work.
[0027] The milled polymer of the overlayer may comprise generally
any polymer that is suitable for the milling process. The most
preferred milled polymer is milled rubber. This is advantageous
because rubber, as a resilient and resistant material, is
particularly suitable for use in protective garments especially
gloves. The milled rubber may be selected from the group consisting
from natural rubber, nitrile rubber, neoprene, silicone rubber,
butyl rubber and combinations thereof. The preferred milled rubber
is milled natural rubber or milled synthetic rubber.
[0028] The milling process will usually involve the thorough
mixing, at less than 100.degree. C., preferably less than
95.degree. C., of raw rubber with at least one processing aid
(e.g., mineral oils, diethylene glycol), at least one cure
initiator/activator (e.g., zinc oxide, stearic acid, lauric acid)
and/or at least one accelerator (e.g., MBTS, TMTD). The milling
process will also usually involve, in a subsequent step, the
thorough mixing of the rubber mixture with a cross-linking agent
(e.g., sulfur) at less than 70.degree. C., preferably less than
60.degree. C. After mixing, the rubber will typically be calendared
to form a sheet of milled rubber (preferably uncured). It is this
sheet of milled rubber than may be cut to shape and used to provide
the overlayer.
[0029] The overlayer may be secured to the liner by generally any
suitable method (e.g., mechanical fixings) but is preferably
adhesively secured to the liner. In the case of a milled rubber
overlayer, the adhesive is preferable a mastic comprising rubber
mixed with a solvent.
[0030] The polymer used to form the covering layer is a polymer
which can be used to film-form from a precursor. The precursor may
be a liquid solution, a sol or other forms of polymer dispersions
in a liquid. Examples of such polymer dispersions are natural or
synthetic latex. The polymer is preferably selected from the group
consisting of rubber, polyurethane (PU) and combinations thereof.
The preferred polymer is rubber. This is advantageous because
rubber provides good grip and also provides good puncture, cutting
and abrasion resistance. Preferably, the rubber is selected from
the group consisting of nitrile rubber, natural rubber, foam
nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, neoprene and combinations
thereof.
[0031] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method
of making a personal protective garment for protecting at least a
portion of the body of a wearer, the method comprising, providing a
liner comprising a flexible material and being adapted to be worn
on at least a portion of the body of the wearer, providing an
overlayer comprising a milled polymer and being adapted to cover at
least a portion of said liner, securing the overlayer to the liner,
providing a polymer, and polymer coating at least a portion of said
overlayer with the polymer thereby providing a covering layer
comprising the polymer on at least a portion of the overlayer.
[0032] Polymer coating is usually selected from the group
consisting of dip coating, spray coating, curtain coating
(sometimes referred to as shower coating), and screen printing. The
preferred method is dip coating because of its simplicity and
because it is particularly apt for efficiently coating the required
portions of a glove, mitten or gauntlet.
[0033] The gloves, mittens or gauntlets of the present invention
provide significantly enhanced abrasion resistance and hence
durability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] These and other aspects, features and advantages of the
invention will more fully appear in the following description made
in connection with the accompanying drawings in which the same
reference numbers refer to the same or similar parts throughout the
several views and in which:
[0035] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a glove embodiment of
the protective garment of the present invention,
[0036] FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of
FIG. 1 and
[0037] FIG. 3 is a back hand side view of the glove illustrated in
FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0038] The following description is not to be taken in a limiting
sense, but is made for describing the general principles of the
invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with
reference to the claims.
[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary glove embodiment of a
personal protective garment according to the present invention.
Glove 20 comprises a liner 22, an overlayer 24 and a covering layer
26. The liner is a knitted fabric which may be, for example,
polycotton, polyester, nylon, polyaramid or steel fibre or a
combination of two or more of these materials. The liner 22 forms
the inner layer of the glove 20 according to the invention and so
is in contact with the wearer's hand in use. The covering layer 26
forms the outermost layer of the glove 20 which is in contact with
the environment. The covering layer 26 is formed by liquid coating
the glove using a polymer. The preferred polymer is a synthetic or
natural rubber and the preferred method of liquid coating the glove
20 is by dip coating the glove into natural or synthetic latex.
Typically, the covering layer 26 will cover substantially all of
the surface of the glove.
[0040] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the overlayer 24 is situated
between the covering layer 26 and the liner 22 and will usually be
confined to particular regions of the liner. The liner 22 includes
a palm side (palmar side) 28, a back hand side (dorsal side) 30, a
number of finger stalls 32, 34, 36 and 38 and a thumb stall 40. In
use, each of the finger stalls 32, 34, 36 and 38 of the glove
receives a finger of the wearer's hand, the thumb stall 40
receiving the wearer's thumb.
[0041] In the particular embodiment illustrated in the drawings,
the overlayer 24 is shaped to correspond to portions of the palm
and palm side of fingers and thumbs of the wearer's hand and is
adhesively secured to the corresponding portions of the liner 22.
The overlayer 24 is formed of milled polymer. The preferred milled
polymer is milled natural or synthetic rubber. Although, in the
embodiment illustrated, the overlayer 24 is adhesively fixed using
as adhesive a mastic of uncured rubber in solvent, to the liner 22,
other suitable fixing or securing means (for example, stitching,
riveting or other mechanical, chemical or physical fastening means)
can be used depending on the intended use of the glove.
[0042] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the overlayer 24 extends,
on the palm side 28 of the glove 20, from the proximal to the
distal end of each of the finger stalls 32, 34, 36 and 38 and the
thumb stall 40. The overlayer 24 also extends over the tips of the
finger stalls 32, 34, 36 and 38 and thumb stall 40 and extends, for
some distance, on the back hand side 30 of each of the finger and
thumb stalls. These extending portions of the overlayer 24 serve to
protect the user's fingertips and thumb tip in use.
[0043] The glove 20 includes the covering layer 26 which, as
discussed above, is preferably prepared by dip coating the glove,
after the overlayer 24 has been secured to the liner 22, in a
polymer. The preferred polymer of synthetic or natural rubber
provides some abrasion resistance and, importantly, relatively good
grip. An advantage of the covering layer 26 is that it provides
protection against liquid or powder ingress into the glove with
potentially dangerous consequences for the wearer's hand. It is,
thus, preferred if the covering layer covers substantially the
whole of the palm side 28 of the glove. The glove may cover the
back hand side 30 partially (e.g., from the distal ends of the
finger stalls to the knuckle) or wholly.
[0044] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the glove
also comprises a wrist band 42. In a gauntlet the wrist band would,
in practice, be extended up the forearm of the wearer to provide
enhanced protection to the wearer's forearm. This can be of
particular importance in industrial handling in the sheet and glass
metal industries where wrist and forearm protection is of great
importance. If the cut and abrasion resistance of the glove
according to the invention is sufficient, such extension of the
wrist area of the glove 42 up the forearm may obviate the need for
users to wear protective cuffs.
[0045] A glove 20 according to the present invention, and as
illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, is typically prepared by knitting the
liner 22, for example, of polycotton using a glove knitting
machine.
[0046] The second stage in the manufacture of such a glove is the
preparation of the milled rubber to be used for the overlayer
24.
[0047] The rubber milling process usually involves two mixing
stages followed by extrusion. In the first mixing stage, raw, dry
rubber is loaded in to cooled roll milling machine where it is
masticated for a predetermined period with the addition of
processing aids (e.g., mineral oils, diethylene glycol etc), at
least one initiator for the cure reaction (e.g., zinc oxide) and
one or more accelerators (e.g., MBTS dibenzothiazole disulfide,
TMTD/stearic acid, etc.). In the second stage of mixing, the
mixture is further cooled to about 60.degree. C. and the
cross-linking agent (e.g., sulfur) is added with mixing. After
mixing is complete, the mixture is calendared between the rollers
to form sheets of the milled, uncured rubber. The sheets may be
dusted with an anti-sticking agent (e.g., zinc stearate powder) to
reduce sticking during further processing.
[0048] The third stage is the cutting of the milled rubber sheet to
shape followed by securing, using an adhesive mastic of rubber in
solvent, the milled rubber overlayer 24 to the palm side 28 of the
glove, covering each of the finger stalls 32, 34, 36 and 38 and the
thumb stall 40.
[0049] The fourth stage is dip coating the glove in a nitrile
rubber latex (containing surfactant stabilizers, zinc oxide as
initiator, sulfur as cross-linking agent, together with pigment if
necessary) to provide the covering layer 26. The thickness of the
covering layer may be controlled by modifying the viscosity of the
latex and/or the temperature of the dipping process.
[0050] The final stage of the procedure is drying and curing at
about 125 to 130.degree. C. to cure and bond the overlayer 24, the
mastic and covering layer 26.
[0051] The invention is further illustrated by the following
Example.
EXAMPLE
[0052] The following Example is not to be taken in a limiting
sense, but is intended to illustrate aspects of the invention.
[0053] The Example is a glove having a liner of polycotton Jersey,
an overlayer of milled natural rubber and a covering layer of
nitrile rubber formed by dip coating. The milled rubber was
prepared by milling, in a two roll mill, a mixture of raw dry
natural rubber (100 parts), white oil, DEG and AO SP oil (7.2 parts
together), zinc oxide (5 parts), MBTS, TMTD and stearic acid (2.2
parts together) for 45 minutes at 90-100.degree. C. After cooling
the mixture to 60-70.degree. C., sulfur (2 parts) was added,
temperature was maintained and the mixture milled for a further 15
minutes. The milled rubber was calendared through the two rolls at
a set gap of 1 mm. The milled rubber sheet was dusted with zinc
stearate powder.
[0054] The (uncured) milled rubber sheet was cut to the shape of
the palm of the glove to form the overlay patch and adhered to the
liner using an adhesive of natural rubber mixture in toluene by
applying the adhesive to the liner using a brush on the palmar side
and up over the finger and thumb tips of the liner. The uncured
rubber overlay patch was then placed on to and stuck to the liner
using a wall paper roller and heated gently to evaporate the excess
solvent from the adhesive.
[0055] The covering layer was produced by dip coating using a
nitrile rubber latex at around 45% rubber particles to 65% water
containing rubber, accelerators, surfactants, zinc oxide and
sulfur. The overlayered liner was loaded on a warm hand-shaped
former and left for a short time for the uncured rubber to conform
to the shape and also allow the former to cool before dipping. The
former was dipped and then positioned in the fingers down position
and allowed to drain for about 6 minutes. After draining the former
was inverted to the fingers up position and then ramp heated from
80 to 100.degree. C. over 60 minutes before the temperature was
gradually increased to 125-130.degree. C. to cure the glove.
Comparative Example
[0056] The Comparative Example is a glove having the same liner and
covering layer as the Example but without the milled rubber
overlayer.
Abrasion and Cut Resistance
[0057] The abrasion resistance of the Example and Comparative
Example were tested according to EN 388:2003 using a Martindale
2000 Abrasion Tester and Oakey Grade F2, Grit 100 abradant. EN
388:2003 specifies 4 levels (the highest being 8000 cycles).
[0058] This abrasion test is standard in the industry but different
testing bodies may produce results that are significantly different
from one another for the same gloves. Consequently, the abrasion
resistance of the Comparative Example was also tested is under the
same conditions to give a useful comparison.
[0059] Both the Example and Comparative Example passed the highest,
4.sup.th level, Consequently, the standard method of EN388:2003 was
modified by replacing the glass paper abradant every 4000 cycles
(the same abradant is used throughout in the standard method of
EN388) and testing to destruction.
[0060] The Example survived 66,300 cycles of the modified test in
total before breakdown, with the outer covering layer showing
breakthrough after 10,000 cycles. In comparison, the Comparative
Example survived 9,600 cycles before breakthrough. Consequently,
gloves according to the invention have a very much higher abrasion
resistance than required by the standard abrasion testing method
and than the comparison.
[0061] The cut resistance of the Example and Comparative Example
were tested according to ASTM 1790-04. The results are presented in
the Table.
[0062] As can be seen from the Table, the overlayer results in a
significant improvement in the protection to cutting of the glove,
of at least 10%, usually of 15% 30 or 20%.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE Cut Protection (g) Example 630 Comparative
Example 520
[0063] While the invention has been described in detail and with
reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one
skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be
made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope
thereof.
* * * * *