Technical Field

The invention relates to a glove heater.

Background Art

Actively heated garments, to which heat is supplied in addition to the heat generated by the body, have gained increased popularity in recent years. Examples of such garments include gloves.

US2016/0249695 shows a heated glove in which air warmed by a heat pack insert is circulated to the glove finger and thumb pockets by a pumping arrangement to warm the wearer's fingers and thumb.

US4764655 discloses an electrically heated glove, which includes a heating element in the form of metal-coated, woven fabric. The heating element is in the shape of the front and back of a hand and is disposed between inner and outer insulating fabric layers.

US2007/0095808 shows another example of an electrically heated glove. In this glove, a heat conducting element passes along the perimeter of the glove. A power source is contained within an enclosure on the glove and heat controlling elements are sewn within the fabric of the glove.

US2009/0188905 discloses a waterproof, electrically heated glove having a heating harness that is encapsulated between a pair of waterproof bladders.

Common to these prior art heated gloves is that they are quite complicated to produce and thereby expensive. A user who needs several pairs of different gloves faces substantial costs. Also, the gloves are often clumsy and difficult to use when small precise movements are required.

Summary

It is an objective of the invention to at least partly overcome one or more limitations of the prior art.

One or more of these objectives, as well as further objectives that may appear from the description below, are at least partly achieved by a glove heater according to the independent claim, embodiments thereof being defined by the dependent claims.

An aspect of the invention is a glove heater, comprising a sleeve member having a first opening at a first end, at least one second opening at a second end, and a side opening close to the second end; the glove heater being intended to be worn by a user so that the first end of the glove heater is located between the wrist and the elbow of the user, so that the user's bare fingers protrude and are exposed through the at least one second opening and so that the thumb protrudes through the side opening; and the sleeve member having a heating element, which is located close to the second end in order to provide heat to the area of the user's hand close to the user's bare fingers that protrude and are exposed through the at least one second opening.

The glove heater can be used independently to warm the hand of a user or as a glove accessory together with any traditional glove. Thus, the user only needs one pair of glove heaters, which he or she can use together with optional pairs of gloves. Since the area close to the fingers is heated by the glove heater, the user's fingers are kept warm even though they are not covered by the glove heater.

Still other objectives, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description, from the attached claims as well as from the drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing of a first embodiment of a glove heater worn by a user.

Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing of a second embodiment of a glove heater.

Detailed Description of Example Embodiments

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a glove heater 1 worn by a user. The glove heater comprises a sleeve member 2, which has a first and a second end 3, 4. The sleeve member has a first opening 5 at its first end 3, a second opening 6 at its second end 4 and a side opening 7 close to its second end 4. When the glove heater is worn by a user, the first end is located between the wrist and the elbow of the user and the user's bare fingers protrude and are exposed through the second opening 6 and the user's bare thumb protrudes and is exposed through the side opening 7. In normal use, the second end of the sleeve member is thus located in the transition area between the finger knuckles and the fingers, and in the transition area between the palm and the fingers. Differently expressed, the glove heater is fingerless and thumb-less in this first embodiment. The glove heater is provided with an electrical heating element 8 that extends substantially around the circumference of the glove heater close to its second end 4 to provide heat in the finger knuckle area and the palm area corresponding thereto. The sleeve member 2, which may have a substantially tubular shape, is configured to fit to the shape of the user's arm and hand. On the upper side of the sleeve, i.e. the side of the sleeve that is on the upper side of the arm when the glove heater is worn by a user, there is a holder 9 for a power source 10 (schematically shown in broken lines) that is connectable, via conductors 11, to the heating element 8 to provide energy for the heating.

Since the glove heater is fingerless, the glove heater can be worn in combination with any kind of ordinary glove, obviating the need for different models of heated gloves. Since heat is provided in the area close to the fingers, the fingers will be kept warm, even though the glove heater does not cover the fingers. The combination of body heat generated inside the finger part(s) of ordinary gloves and the heat generated by the heating element of the glove heater will keep the user's hands warm. The glove heater can also be used for shorter or longer periods without a glove, giving the user full freedom to carry out tasks that require fine motor skills.

In order to fit to the user's arm and hand, the sleeve member may be shaped so that it is adapted to the shape of a user's arm and hand. As an alternative or supplement, it may be made from a material and/or with a manufacturing method that results in a sleeve member that adapts it's shape to that of the user's arm and hand. The sleeve member may for instance be elastic. It may be manufactured in different sizes or in one- size-fits-all.

The sleeve member 2 can be made from different materials, such as textile or leather. Commonly it would comprise woven, stitched or non-woven material of natural fibers, regenerated fibers or synthetic fibers. It may comprise a single layer of material.

The electrical heating element 8 may include a conductive yarn, that may be stitched into, woven into, sewn onto the sleeve member or otherwise integrated into the sleeve member 2. As one alternative, electrically conductive material can be applied on the sleeve member, for instance by screen printing or by laminated sheets of heating elements. Another alternative is to incorporate conductive heating cables or plates that are attached by various methods.

As mentioned, the sleeve member 2 may be provided with a holder 9 for a power source 10, such as one or more batteries, for the electrical heating element. The holder may be of different materials and/or design. One example of a useful holder is shown in WO2016/072925. As another example the holder may be designed as a pocket.

The holder 9 and the power source 10 may be placed in different locations on the glove heater, either on its upper side as in Fig.1 or on its underside.

In another embodiment there is no power source on the glove heater. Instead, the glove heater is connectable to an external power source, that could be worn on another part of the user's body and/or on another piece of garment. The power source could even be provided on a vehicle or any kind of appliance used by the user.

The power source 10 may be connected to the heating element 8 by loose wires or cables or, when provided on the glove heater, by conductors 11 stitched into, woven into, sewn onto or otherwise applied on the sleeve member, or by any combination thereof.

The glove heater can be provided with one or more electrical heating elements 8. The heating element may be so located on the sleeve member that heat is provided to the area of the hand between the fingers and the thumb. The heating element 8 may be placed at the underside of the sleeve member to provide heat to the palm area closest to the bare fingers. In another embodiment, the heating element is placed at the upper side of the sleeve member so that heat is provided to the finger knuckle area. In yet another embodiment, there is one heating element 8 at the lower side of the sleeve member and another heating element 8 at the upper side of the sleeve member 2. As mentioned, the heating element 8 can also be arranged to extend around the whole or major part of the circumference of the sleeve member 2 close to the second end 4 or the second opening 6.

The glove heater could also be provided with one or more further heating element(s) 8 providing heat in other areas, for instance at or around the wrist area.

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a glove heater 1 seen from the underside, i.e. the side that extends on the inside of the arm and the palm of the user. In this embodiment the side opening 7 of the sleeve member 2 leads to a pocket 12 for the thumb. This embodiment is thus fingerless, but not thumb-less. Otherwise the second embodiment corresponds to the first embodiment.

In yet another embodiment, there may be one second opening 6 for each finger at the second end of the sleeve member. These four second openings 6 may be provided by connecting the upper side and the underside of the sleeve member 2 in three locations at the second end.

Even if the glove heater has been described as a separate product, it could also be an integrated part of an article of clothing, such as a sweater, a jacket, a coat, a base- layer shirt or the like. In such case, the first end of the glove heater may be seamlessly or detachably connected to the sleeve of the article of clothing. It may also be designed as a muff of the article of clothing.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and the scope of the appended claims.