Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of thermal insulation, more specifically to the field of thermal insulation in gloves.

Background

Gloves currently known typically either prioritise warmth or flexibility for the hand of the user. For example, where the glove is required to provide great thermal insulation to the hand of a user, these gloves typically include layers of thermally insulating orthermally resistant material in insulating layers to protect the hand and to retain as much warmth as possible. However, where a high level of warmth or thermal insulation is required the multiple layers of insulation or increased thickness of the layer or layers of insulation increasing the volume of the glove and as a result make the resulting glove bulky and therefore reduces the flexibility of the glove, thereby making it more difficult for the user to perform tasks with the gloved hand.

Alternatively, if great flexibility for the glove is required the volume of the glove should be minimised and therefore, the number of thermally insulating layers is typically reduced, thereby sacrificing thermal insulation of the glove to ensure that the user may perform intricate tasks whilst wearing the glove, for example.

Accordingly, there is a need for a glove that provides both a high level of thermal insulation whilst at the same time providing improved flexibility of the glove.

Summary

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a glove comprising a palm portion and a finger portion; the finger portion comprising finger sheaths; the glove further comprising a plurality of insulating layers, and the plurality of insulating layers comprising a first insulating layer, a second insulating layer and a third insulating layer, wherein the first insulating layer substantially extends across the palm portion and the finger portion, the second insulating layer extends across at least a part of the finger portion, and the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

For the avoidance of doubt, during use a user’s fingers are located within the finger portion and the palm of a user’s hand is located within the palm portion of the glove. Furthermore, the term“insulating layer” is intended to refer to a thermally insulating layer that comprises a thermally insulating or thermally resistant material. Accordingly, an insulating layer prevents or impairs transmission of at least a proportion of heat through the material of the insulating layer.

The term“extends across at least a part” is intended to refer to an insulating layer covering at least a part of a finger portion or palm portion. The insulating layer that is referred to may cover a part of the side of a finger sleeve of a finger portion or the palm portion. The insulating layer referred to may cover a part of the top or bottom of a finger sleeve of the finger portion or the palm portion. Accordingly, the term“extends across” refers to both an insulating layer covering at least a part of the side and/or the top and/or the bottom of the finger portion or palm portion.

The term“substantially extends across the palm portion and the finger portion” refers to the insulating layer extending across at least the majority, across the most of, or across all of the palm portion and finger portion. For example, the insulating layer may extend across at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 99% or all of the palm portion. The insulating layer may extend across at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 99% or all of the finger portion. Typically, the insulating layer extends across at least 90% of the palm portion and/or finger portion.

It has been found that the provision of a glove that comprises a first insulating layer that extends across the palm portion and finger portion, a second insulating layer that extends across the finger portion and a third insulating layer that extends across at least a portion of at least one finger sleeve results in a glove that provides a more uniform warmth for the user, than gloves having uniform distribution of insulation.

The third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of a sub-set of finger sheaths of the finger portion. Accordingly, the third insulating layer does not extend across at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

In addition, the provision of second and third insulating layers that are selectively positioned on the glove provides greater warmth to the hand and specifically fingers of the user, whilst maintaining the maximum freedom of operation for the user. Without being bound by theory, the strategic placement of additional insulation ensures that the hand of a user is warm whilst minimising the bulk of the glove to maintain the freedom of movement of the fingers of the hand as much as possible. The first insulating layer may extend across substantially all of the palm portion and the finger portion. Accordingly, the first insulating layer may cover or encapsulate the entirety, or substantially the entirety, of a user’s hand during use.

The second insulating layer may extend across at least half of the finger portion. Accordingly, the second insulating layer may extend across at least half of each finger sheath of the finger portion. The second insulating layer may extend along a given finger sheath from the fingertip of the finger sheath to at least half way along the finger sheath from the fingertip.

The second insulating layer may extend from the fingertip to at least two thirds along the finger sheath from the fingertip.

Typically, the finger portion comprises a finger sheath for each finger of the hand. Accordingly, the finger portion may comprise a thumb finger sheath, an index finger sheath, a middle finger sheath, a ring finger sheath and a pinky finger sheath.

In some embodiments the second insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the thumb finger sheath. The second insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the thumb finger sheath and the pinky finger sheath. The second insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the thumb finger sheath, the pinky finger sheath and the index finger sheath.

For each of the four fingers of the hand, excluding the thumb, (index or fore finger, middle finger, ring finger and pinky or little finger) there are two joints, the major knuckle (proximal interphalangeal joint, PIP) and the minor knuckle (distal interphalangeal joint, DIP). Each finger is joined to the palm portion of the hand by the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCP).

Accordingly, the second insulating layer may extend from the fingertip to approximately the location of the major knuckle of the finger within the finger sheath during use.

The third insulating layer may extend across at least a third of at least one finger sheath. The third insulating layer may extend from the fingertip to approximately one third along the finger sheath from the fingertip. The third insulating layer may extend from the fingertip to the location of the minor knuckle of the finger within the at least one finger sheath during use. The third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of at least two finger sheaths of the finger portion. The third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of at least three finger sheaths of the finger portion.

In some embodiments, the third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the pinky finger sheath.

In some embodiments, the third insulating layer may extend substantially across at least a part of the index finger sheath.

In some embodiments, the third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the pinky finger sheath and the index finger sheath.

It has been found that the provision of a third insulating layer that extends across at least a part of the pinky finger sheath and/or at least a part of the index finger sheath provides further improved thermal insulation to the hand without requiring the third insulating layer to extend across the entire finger portion or across the entire pinky and/or index finger sheath. Accordingly, the glove of at least some embodiments provide further improved thermal insulation whilst retaining a greater flexibility of the glove.

In some embodiments the third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the thumb finger sheath. The third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the thumb finger sheath and the pinky finger sheath. The third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of the thumb finger sheath, the pinky finger sheath and the index finger sheath.

In at least some embodiments, the third insulating layer does not extend across at least one finger sheath. Accordingly, at least one finger sheath does not comprise a third insulating layer.

Typically, the plurality of insulating layers comprise a thermally resistant material. The thermally resistant material of the plurality of insulating layers may be the same for each of the plurality of insulating layers. The thermally resistant material of the plurality of insulating layers may be different for at least one layer within the plurality of insulating layers. The thermally resistant material of the plurality of insulating layers may be different for two layers within the plurality of insulating layers. The thermally resistant material may be different for each layer within the plurality of layers. The thermally resistant material of the plurality of insulating layers may be different for a given insulating layer between different finger sheaths. For example, the thermally resistive material of the second insulating later on the index finger sheath may be different to the thermally resistive material of the second insulating layer on the middle finger sheath. Accordingly, the thermally resistive material of a given insulating layer may be adapted to ensure that the freedom of movement and/or dexterity requirement for a specific use or user may be taken into account such that more flexible materials may be used for finger sheaths which cover the fingers of a user’s hand that are required to be more dexterous than the other fingers. For example, the thumb finger sheath and index finger sheath may be required to be more flexible than the other finger sheaths, and therefore the thermally resistive material of a given insulating layer may be chosen to be more flexible in the thumb finger sheath and index finger sheath than the thermally resistive material of the middle finger sheath, the ring finger sheath and the pinky finger sheath.

The thermally resistant material may be lofted insulation or a composite of a polymer and thermally insulative particles.

The term“lofted insulation” as used herein refers to fibre-based insulation, such as natural fibre insulation and synthetic fibre insulation.

Examples of natural fibre insulation includes wool, or down. Examples of suitable synthetic fibre insulation include polyester. Examples of bio polymer derived insulation includes PLA (PolyLactic Acid).

The polymer of the composite may be selected from the group consisting of: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyurethane (PU), polyester (PES), polypropylene (PP), polyether, or high molecular weight polyethylenes, polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF); perfluoroalkoxy (PFA); fluorinated ethylene-propylene (FEP); polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE); ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE); polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF); ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) or copolymer or mixtures thereof.

At least one of the plurality of insulating layers may comprise a functional layer. The functional layer may include or may be a breathable membrane. The functional layer may be or may include a waterproof membrane. The functional layer may be or include a breathable and waterproof membrane. The membrane may be selected from polyurethane, polyester, polyether, polyamide, polyacrylate, copolyether ester and copolyether amides, as well as other suitable thermoplastic and elastomeric films. In a particular embodiment, the waterproof, breathable membrane may be made of a fluoropolymer, particularly made of microporous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). The microporous polytetrafluoroethylene membrane may be a membrane of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,953,566 and 4,187,390, to W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.. Such membranes of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene are present in commercially available laminates from W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Elkton, Md., under the tradename GORE-TEX® fabric. The breathable and waterproof functional layer may be composed of a polyurethane coated microporous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membrane made substantially according to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,041 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,214, assigned to W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc, in Elkton, Md.

The functional layer may increase the durability of the thermally resistant material. The functional layer may be a durable membrane. The functional layer may comprise a durable textile.

The functional layer may be a laminate.

In some embodiments, the polymer may be a fluoropolymer selected from the group consisting of: PTFE, PVF, PVDF, PFA, FEP, PCTFE, ETFE, PVDF, ECTFE or copolymer or mixtures thereof.

In some embodiments, the fluoropolymer may be an expanded fluoropolymer.

In a preferred embodiment, the fluoropolymer is expanded polytetrafluoroethylene.

The thermally insulative particles may be expandable microspheres or aerogel particles.

The expandable microspheres may be thermoplastic microspheres encapsulating a gas that expand once heated. The expandable microspheres may be thermoplastic microspheres encapsulating a volatile liquid that expands once heated.

The thermoplastic may be acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile. The gas may be a short chain alkane such as pentane, isopentane, butane, or hexane. The gas may be isopentane. For example, the expandable microspheres may be Expancel® available from Nobel Industries, Sundsvail, Sweden. The expanded microspheres may have an average initial diameter of from 9 microns to 17 microns. The expanded microspheres may have an average expanded diameter of from 40 to 60 microns. The expanded microspheres may have an unexpanded true density of 1250- 1300 kg/m ³ and an expanded density below 20 kg/m ³ .

An example of a suitable composite material is an expanded PTFE comprising Expancel® particles as described in US 5,750,931 and US 5,468,314, which are incorporated herein by reference.

Typically, in embodiments where at least one insulating layer within the plurality of insulating layers comprises a composite material of a polymer and expandable microspheres, the expandable microspheres are in the expanded state.

Aerogel particles are solid, rigid, and dry materials, and may be commercially obtained in a powdered form. Suitable thermally resistant materials comprising a fluoropolymer incorporating aerogel materials are described in US patent application no. US 2015/0176749 and US 2017/0203552, which are incorporated herein by reference. The aerogel particles may be selected from group consisting of: those formed from an inorganic oxide of silicon such as silica or fumed silica, aluminium, titanium, zirconium, hafnium, yttrium, and vanadium; those prepared from carbon, polyacrylates, polystyrene, polyacrylonitriles, polyurethanes, polyimides, polyfurfural alcohol, phenol furfuryl alcohol, melamine formaldehydes, recorcinal formaldehydes, cresol, formaldehyde, polycyanurates, polyacrylamides, epoxides, agar, and agarose.

In some embodiments, the aerogel particles are formed from silica. The aerogel particles may be formed from fumed silica.

The density of the aerogel particles may be less than 100 kg/m ³ , less than 75 kg/m ³ , less than 50 kg/m ³ , less than 25 kg/m ³ , or less than 10 kg/m ³ . In at least one embodiment the aerogel particles have a bulk density from about 30 kg/m ³ to about 50 kg/m ³ .

The thermally resistant material of at least one insulating layer of the plurality of layers may have a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 50 mW/m K. The thermally resistant material of at least one insulating layer of the plurality of layers may have a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 30 mW/m K. The thermally resistant material of at least one insulating layer of the plurality of layers may have a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 25 mW/m K. The thermally resistant material of at least one insulating layer of the plurality of layers may have a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 20 mW/m K. The thermally resistant material of at least one insulating layer of the plurality of layers may have a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 15 mW/m K.

The thermally resistant material of the first insulating layer may be different to the thermally resistant material of the second insulating layer. The thermally resistant material of the first insulating layer may be different to the thermally resistant material of the third insulating layer.

The thermally resistant material of the second insulating layer may be different to the thermally resistant material of the third insulating layer.

The first insulating layer and/or the second insulating layer and/or the third insulating layer may include an active heating element. The active heating element may comprise a conductive thread or strand that is operable to generate heat when conducting electrical power. Accordingly, the first insulating layer and/or the second insulating layer and/or the third insulating layer may be configured to actively heat the finger sheath within which it is incorporated. The amount of heat generated by the active heating element may be configurable by adjusting the power supplied to the active heating element.

The first insulating layer may comprise a thermally resistant material and an active heating element. The second insulating layer may comprise a thermally resistant material and an active heating element. The third insulating element may comprise a thermally resistant material and an active heating element.

At least the first insulating layer may be lofted insulation. In some embodiments, the second layer may comprise lofted insulation. In some embodiments the third layer may comprise lofted insulation.

At least the second insulating layer may comprise ePTFE and expanded thermoplastic microspheres. At least the second insulation layer may comprise ePTFE and Expancel®.

At least the third insulating layer may comprise a composite of ePTFE and aerogel particles. In some embodiments the second layer may comprise a composite of ePTFE and aerogel particles. In some embodiments, the first layer may comprise a composite of ePTFE and aerogel particles. For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of layers may comprise the same insulating material. In alternative embodiments, two or more of the plurality of layers may comprise the same thermally insulating material. In further alternative embodiments three layers of the plurality of layers may comprise different thermally insulating materials.

The plurality of layers may comprise a fourth insulating layer that extends across a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion. The fourth insulating layer may comprise the same or similar material as the third insulating layer. The fourth insulating layer may comprise a different material to the third insulating layer. The fourth insulating layer may comprise the same or similar material as the second insulating layer. The fourth insulating layer may comprise the same or similar material as the first insulating layer.

Where an insulating layer is described as extending across substantially the palm portion or the finger portion, the insulating layer may extend over the front of the palm portion or finger portion during use. The insulating layer may extend over the back of the palm portion or finger portion during use. The insulating layer may extend overthe back and front of the palm portion or finger portion during use.

Where an insulating layer is described as extending across at least a portion of the finger portion the insulating layer may extend across the front of the at least portion of the finger portion during use. The insulating layer may extend across the back of the at least a portion of the finger portion during use. The insulating layer may extend across both the back and front of the at least a portion of the finger portion during use.

Where an insulating layer is described as extending across at least a part of at least one finger sheath, the insulating layer may extend across the front of the at least a part of at least one finger sheath during use. The insulating layer may extend across the back of the at least a part of at last one finger sheath during use. The insulating layer may extend across the front and the back of the at least a part of at least one finger sheath during use.

In embodiments where an insulating layer within the plurality of insulating layers covers the front and back sides of the finger portion, a finger sheath or the palm portion, that insulating layer may envelope or surround the said finger portion, finger sheath or palm portion.

Typically, the glove comprises a support layer upon which one or more of the plurality of insulating layers are secured. The support layer may comprise insulation, textile, leather, a polymer or webbing, for example. The plurality of insulating layers may be stitched together and/or onto the support layer when present using a pattern that may be selected from the group consisting of using a gun cut, a modified gun cut, fourchette or continuous fourchette.

In some embodiments, the plurality of insulating layers may be stitched together and/or onto the support layer where present using a fourchette or continuous fourchette.

The plurality of insulating layers may be adhered together and/or onto the support layer where present. The plurality of insulating layers may be adhered together using a suitable glue or adhesive, or using stitching or stich bonding. The plurality of layers may be adhered onto the support layer where present using a suitable glue or adhesive.

The plurality of insulating layers may be adhered together using heat sealing. For example, in embodiments where at least one insulating layer comprises a fluoropolymer, such as ePTFE, may be bonded to themselves under heat and pressure. The at least one insulating layer may be bonded to itself by being heated to a temperature in the range of about 60 to about 180°C, about 70 to 160°C, or about 80 to about 130°C, for example. The at least one insulating layer may be bonded to itself by being pressed at a pressure of about 10000 kPa to about 17300 kPa, about 1 1000 kPa to about 16000 kPa, to about 1 1000 kPa to about 14000 kPa, for example. The at least one insulating layer may be pressed for a period of 1 to 10 seconds, 1 to 8 seconds or 2 to 6 seconds, for example.

One or more insulating layer of the plurality of insulating layers may be formed by spraying the material of the insulating layer onto the preceding insulating layers or onto a backer. One or more insulating layer of the plurality of insulating layers may be formed by dipping into the material. Suitable methods are described in Rouanet et al. (US2006/0125158) and are incorporated herein by reference. One or more insulating layer of the plurality of insulating layers comprising an aerogel may be applied by spraying the aerogel or by dipping into liquid aerogel. This method of applying the aerogel to a glove or liner may be cheaper and easier with no seams in the layer.

It is to be understood that whilst in at least some embodiments the plurality of insulating layers are provided with the first insulating layer being the closest to the hand of a user during use, the third insulating layer being furthest from the hand of the user during use and the second insulating layer being between the first insulating layer and the third insulating layer, generally the plurality of insulating layers may in some embodiments be provided in the glove in alternative orders. For example, the third insulating layer may be provided between the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer, or the third insulating layer may be provided closest to the hand of a user during use.

In some embodiments, the glove comprises a sleeve portion that extends from the palm portion and covers at least a portion of the wrist of a user during use.

The first insulating layer may extend across substantially all of the sleeve portion.

In some embodiments, one or more insulating layers may be processed to modify the insulation of the one or more insulating layers to improve the flexibility of the one or more insulating layers. For example, the one or more insulating layers may be embossed, punctured, expanded, scored or notched. Accordingly, a glove comprising the processed one or more insulating layers may be more flexible than a corresponding glove having insulating layers without a one or more processed insulating layer. In addition, the glove comprising the processed one or more insulating layers may be more flexible whilst substantially maintaining the thermal insulation of the glove. By the term“scored” we refer to creating a flat line in a material through applied pressure parallel to the direction in which you want to bend/improve the flex in a material.

In some embodiments, the thermally resistant material of one or more of the plurality of insulating layers may be formed by folding a sheet of thermally resistant material around the specific finger sheath of portion of finger sheath. The sheet of thermally resistant material may be cut into a specific shape prior to being folded around a finger sheath or a portion of a finger sheath. The specific shape may comprise a top portion, a first side portion and a second side portion. During assembly, the sheet of thermally resistant material may be placed beneath the finger sheath or portion of finger sheath. The top portion of the sheet of thermally resistant material may be folded down over the finger sheath or portion of finger sheath. The first side portion may be folded over the top portion, and the second side portion may be folded over the first side portion. Accordingly, the first side portion may overlap the top portion. The second side portion may overlap the first side portion and/or the top portion.

An insulating layer formed by folding a shaped sheet of thermally resistive material as described above may be more resistant to heat transfer through the insulating layer due to an increase of the path heat must travel to escape the insulating layer due to the overlapping portions, for example. The top portion may be adhered to the finger sheath or preceding insulating layer. The first side portion may be adhered to the top portion. The second side portion may be adhered to the first side portion.

According to a second aspect there is provided a glove liner comprising a palm portion and a finger portion; the finger portion comprising finger sheaths; the glove liner further comprising a plurality of insulating layers, and the plurality of insulating layers comprising a first insulating layer, a second insulating layer and a third insulating layer, wherein the first insulating layer extends substantially across the palm portion and the finger portion, the second insulating layer extends across at least a part of the finger portion, and the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

The glove liner may comprise a support layer. One or more of the insulating layer may be secured to the support layer.

The invention extends in a third aspect to a glove comprising the glove liner of the second aspect.

The glove liner may be stitched, adhered or otherwise attached or secured to the glove shell.

The glove liner may be taped or glued to the inside of an insert. The insert may comprise a waterproof material. Accordingly, the insert may be a waterproof insert.

The glove shell may comprise a natural material, such as a leather, a wool based material or a cotton-based material, for example. The glove shell may comprise a synthetic material such as a polymer such as nylon, polyester and polyurethane or combinations thereof, for example. The glove shell may comprise a waterproof material and the glove shell may therefore be a waterproof glove shell.

The invention extends to a fourth aspect to a method of manufacture of a glove having a palm portion and a finger portion comprising finger sheaths, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a support layer, a first insulating layer, a second insulating layer, a third insulating layer, and a glove shell;

(b) securing the first insulating layer, the second insulating layer and the third insulating layer to the support layer to form a glove liner; and

(c) securing the support layer and first, second and third insulating layers to the glove shell to form the glove, wherein the first insulating layer extends substantially across the palm portion and the finger portion, the second insulating layer extends across at least a part of the finger portion, and the third insulating layer extends across at least a part of at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

The first insulating layer may be secured to the support layer. The second insulating layer may secured to the first insulating layer. The third insulating layer may be secured to the second insulating layer.

The third insulating layer may be secured to the support layer. The second insulating layer may be secured to the support layer.

The third insulating layer may extend across at least a part of a sub-set of finger sheaths of the finger portion. Accordingly, the third insulating layer does not extend across at least one finger sheath of the finger portion.

Preferred and optional features of the first aspect are preferred and optional features of the second to fourth aspects.

Brief Description of the Figures

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 : A cross section of a glove according to an embodiment;

Figure 2: A cross section of a glove liner according to an embodiment;

Figure 3: A perspective view of a glove according to an embodiment showing a cut away section on the index finger to allow the insulating layers to be seen;

Figure 4: A cross section of a glove liner according to an embodiment;

Figure 5: A) A thermal resistance map of a glove with uniform insulation distribution on the pinky finger B) A thermal resistance map of a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation on the pinky finger;

Figure 6: A skin temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger and B) a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger. The 20°C isotherm is shown with the broken white line; Figure 7: A temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution, B) a glove according to an embodiment with an additional layer of insulation on a portion of the pinky finger, and C) a glove with two additional layers of insulation on portions of the pinky finger. The 20°C isotherm is shown with the broken white line;

Figure 8: A sheet pattern for an insulating layer prior to the formation of an insulating layer according to an embodiment; and

Figure 9: A) An example glove lining with a first insulating layer prior to the application of a second insulating layer, B) A thumb finger sleeve comprising a first insulating layer placed over the sheet pattern of Figure 8, C) Folding the top portion of the sheet pattern over the first insulating layer of the thumb finger sleeve, and D) the glove with the complete second insulating layer assembled over the thumb finger sleeve.

Detailed Description

While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention.

To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as "a", "an" and "the" are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.

The glove and glove liner of the various aspects of the invention are exemplified in the following examples without limiting the scope of the invention, the scope of which should be defined by the subsequent claims.

With reference to Figures 1-3, an insulated glove 1 comprises a glove shell 2, and a glove liner 4, the glove liner 4 comprising a first layer of insulation 6 (acting as a first insulating layer), a second layer of insulation 8 (acting as a second insulating layer) and a third layer of insulation 10 (acting as a third insulating layer).

The glove liner 4 comprises a palm portion 1 1 a and a finger portion 1 1 b. The finger portion 1 1 b comprises five finger sheaths consisting of a pinky finger sheath, a ring finger sheath, a middle finger sheath, an index finger sheath and a thumb sheath. Each finger sheath of the finger portion 1 1 b is connected to the palm portion 1 1 a.

The first layer of insulation 6 covers the front 12 and back 14 sides of palm portion 1 1 a and finger portion 1 1 b of the glove liner 4 and comprises lofted insulation.

The second layer of insulation 8 covers the finger sheaths of the finger portion 1 1 b. The second layer of insulation 8 envelopes each finger sheath. The second layer of insulation 8 comprises ePTFE comprising Expancel® expanded microspheres prepared according to the method as taught by US 5,750,931 and US 5,468,314, for example, (a solids content of 45% PTFE to 50% Expancel® expanded microspheres, 5% ketchen black carbon).

The third layer of insulation 10 covers the pinky finger sheath from the fingertip to the major knuckle (PIP) and covers the index finger sheath from the fingertip to the major knuckle (PIP). The third layer of insulation 10 comprises ePTFE comprising aerogel particles prepared according to the method as taught by US 2015/0176749 and US 2017/0203552, for example, comprising 70% silica aerogel obtained from Enova Aerogel MT 1200, Cabot, Boston, Mass to 30% PTFE by weight.

The glove shell 2 comprises leather on the front of the palm portion 1 1 a and a nylon, polyester and polyurethane blend textile for the back of the palm portion 1 1 a and the finger portion 1 1 b.

The location of the third layer of insulation 10 was validated using thermal mapping to show the effect of the additional layers of insulation on the thermal gradient of the hand for the glove (for example, see Figure 9B). An analysis system (ANSYS) physical hand model with physiological, environment and activity level input was used to generate the thermal map.

The glove liner 4 is inserted into the glove shell 2 to form the glove 1.

The glove 1 so produced provides good thermal insulation to the hand of a user during use whilst minimizing the bulk of the glove 1 by providing second and third insulation layers only on specific discrete parts of the finger portion.

With reference to Figure 4, an insulated glove comprises a glove shell and a glove liner 404. The glove liner 404 comprises a palm portion 406 and a finger portion 408. The glove liner 404 also comprises a first insulating layer 410, a second insulating layer 412, a third insulating layer 414 and a fourth insulating layer 416.

The first insulating layer 410 comprises 200g of lofted insulation that is equally distributed throughout the palm portion 406 and the finger portion 408 of the glove liner 404.

The second insulating layer 412 comprises a 2mm thick layer of Expancel® filled ePTFE. The second insulating layer 412 envelopes each finger sheath.

The third insulating layer 414 and fourth insulating layer 416 comprise a 1 mm layer of aerogel filled ePTFE. The third insulating layer 414 extends from the fingertip to the first major knuckle (PIP) of the index finger sheath and pinky finger sheath. The fourth insulating layer 416 extends from the fingertip to the minor knuckle (DIP) of the pinky finger sheath.

The glove shell comprises leather on the front of the palm portion and a nylon, polyester and polyurethane blend textile for the back of the palm portion and the finger portion.

The glove liner is secured into the glove shell with a using 3M Model # 77-CC spray adhesive.

The thermal performance of the glove was validated using thermal heat map modelling, as shown in Figures 5-7. Figure 5 shows A) A thermal resistance map of a glove with uniform insulation distribution on the pinky finger B) A thermal resistance map of a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation on the pinky finger, the total thermal resistance for the insulating layers for each image is the same.

Figure 6 shows a skin temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger and B) a glove according to an embodiment with layered thermal insulation distribution on the pinky finger. As for Figure 5, the total thermal resistance is the same for each image, the only difference being the distribution of the thermal resistance. The 20°C isotherm is shown with the broken white line.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the redistribution of the thermally insulating material from uniform coverage to specific layered coverage results in an increase in average finger temperature. Figure 7 shows a temperature map for A) a glove with uniform thermal insulation distribution, B) a glove according to an embodiment with an additional layer of insulation on a portion of the pinky finger, and C) a glove with two additional layers of insulation on portions of the pinky finger. The 20°C isotherm is shown with the broken white line.

According to an alternative embodiment, a second insulating layer 808 is formed over the thumb finger sleeve 810 as shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9. An example glove lining 800 with a first insulating layer on the thumb finger sleeve 810 is shown in Figure 9A prior to the application of a second insulating layer. The thumb finger sleeve 810 comprising a first insulating layer 812 is placed over a sheet pattern 800 of Figure 8 (Figure 9B). The sheet pattern 800 comprises a top portion 802, a first side portion 804 and a second side portion 806. The top portion 802 of the sheet pattern 800 is then folded over the first insulating layer of the thumb finger sleeve 810 and this is shown in Figure 9C. The first side portion 804 and the second side portion 806 are then folded over sequentially and an insulating adhesive tape is applied to fasten the second side portion 806 to thereby form the second insulating layer. The resulting second insulating layer is shown in Figure 9D. It has been found that the formation of an insulating layer in this way reduces the number of seams in the insulating layer and thereby improves the heat retention within the insulating layer.

As can be seen, the provision of additional layers of insulation in specific points on the pinky finger provides improved thermal performance of the glove.

While there has been hereinbefore described approved embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily apparent that many and various changes and modifications in form, design, structure and arrangement of parts may be made for other embodiments without departing from the invention and it will be understood that all such changes and modifications are contemplated as embodiments as a part of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.