Ergonomic work gloves
Disclosed is a glove that alleviates the biasing force associated with opening or closing the hand and fingers. In some aspects the glove may be formed of a plurality of materials in which one material provides protection for the hand and another enables the hand to flex to the open and closed position.
1. A glove that includes a first material and a second material wherein the first material stretches at least twice as much when a stretching force is applied to it as the second material stretches when the same force is applied, and the second material is one or more of the group consisting of (a) a material with a different composition than the first material, and (b) a thickness less than the thickness of the first material.
2. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material stretches at least three times as much as the second material when the same stretching force is applied to each.
3. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material stretches at least four times as much as the second material when the same stretching force is applied to each.
4. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material stretches at least five times as much as the second material when the same stretching force is applied to each.
5. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material stretches at least ten times as much as the second material when the same stretching force is applied to each.
6. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned on the dorsum of the hand behind the finger MCP joints.
7. The glove of claim 1 wherein the second material is positioned between the thumb and the index finger.
8. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at the center of the palm portion.
9. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at the base of the area between at least two fingers.
10. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at the base of the area between each of the fingers.
11. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at least at one of the MCP joints.
12. The glove of claim 11 wherein the first material is positioned at a plurality of the MCP joints.
13. The glove of claim 11 wherein the first material is positioned at least at one of the PIP joints.
14. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at a plurality of the PIP joints.
15. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at least at one of the DIP joints.
16. The glove of claim 14 wherein the first material is positioned at a plurality of the DIP joints.
17. The glove of claim 1 wherein the first material is positioned at one or both of the thumb IP joint and DIP joint.
18. The glove of claim 1 that includes one or more tactile sensors along the palm and/or palm region of at least one digit.
19. The glove of claim 18 that includes one or more tactile sensors at one or more fingertip portions.
20. The glove of claim 1 that includes tactile sensors at each fingertip portion.
21. The glove of claim 20 that includes one or more tactile sensors at the palm side tip of the thumb portion.
22. The glove of claim 1 wherein the second material is more puncture resistant than the first material as determined according to ASTM F/342 by an amount selected from the group consisting of: 5%, 10%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 100%, 200%, or 300% or more.
23. The glove of claim 2 wherein the second material is more puncture resistant than the first material as determined according to ASTM F/342 by an amount selected from the group consisting of: 5%, 10%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 100%, 200%, or 300% or more.
24. The glove of claim 3 wherein the second material is more puncture resistant than the first material as determined according to ASTM F/342 by an amount selected from the group consisting of: 5%, 10%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 100%, 200%, or 300% or more.
25. The glove of claim 4 wherein the second material is more puncture resistant than the first material as determined according to ASTM F/342 by an amount selected from the group consisting of: 5%, 10%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 100%, 200%, or 300% or more.
26. The glove of claim 5 wherein the second material is more puncture resistant than the first material as determined according to ASTM F/342 by an amount selected from the group consisting of: 5%, 10%, 25%, 35%, 50%, 100%, 200%, or 300% or more.