Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the comfort of workers wearing thick protective gloves. The invention has been developed for use in conjunction with rubber barrier gloves used when working with electrical lines, but is considered capable of broader application in other fields where protective gloves are worn. Background to the Invention

Australian Standard AS 5804-2 details the requirements for Australian workers undertaking 'glove and barrier work'; that is, undertaking work with live electrical lines (particularly high-voltage transmission lines) whilst wearing protective clothing and equipment. Similar standards apply in many countries in order to achieve appropriate safety standards.

The equipment worn by workers in this field is heavy and cumbersome. It includes, in particular, non-conductive rubber gloves and sleeves. These items are made from thick, non-porous rubber to ensure electrical insulation. Figure 1 shows a worker wearing such gloves and sleeves.

When working in warm or hot ambient conditions, the wearing of such equipment can be extremely uncomfortable for a worker. There is no circulation of air within the gloves or the sleeves, meaning that there is no evaporation of sweat from a worker's arms or hands. This can result in swelling of the hands and fingers; and a raising of body core temperature, leading in turn to heat exhaustion and fatigue.

The industry has put in place several practices in an attempt to ameliorate these problems. These include the wearing of cotton inner gloves to absorb sweat, strict time limits on working before breaks must be taken, and the use of cold packs on shoulders to reduce body core temperature.

These practices are clearly limited in their effectiveness. It is considered highly desirable to provide a means of cooling a worker wearing such protective equipment in a way which does not significantly impede their work or present a significant safety risk. The present invention seeks to provide such a means.

Additionally, similar work can be undertaken in lower voltage applications, where the safety requirements are lessened. In these environments, it is sometimes necessary to operate with non-conductive rubber gloves, with the use of corresponding rubber sleeves not always necessary. It is considered desirable to provide a means of cooling a worker's hands within such gloves, even in the absence of sleeves. The present invention seeks also to provide a means by which this can be achieved.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a means for cooling a person wearing at least one protective glove over a hand, the means including at least one conduit within which a gas can be transported, the conduit being arranged to travel along a person's arm, the conduit having a gas supplying end oriented towards the person's hand, and a gas receiving end located at an end remote from the person's hand, such that gas supplied to the conduit through the gas receiving end is caused to flow from the gas supplying end about or along the person's hand within the protective glove. In its preferred embodiment the invention uses compressed air as the gas, however it will be understood that other gases may be employed for particular applications.

It will be understood that the protective glove has an open end which locates about the person's arm. The gas supplied to the glove is preferably able to exit, typically to the atmosphere, via the open end.

The cooling means may be arranged for transport of gas within a protective sleeve. The conduit may be provided by at least one flexible tube fixed to the inside of the sleeve, or alternatively to the person's arm. The gas supplying end may be located near a cuff of the sleeve.

The conduit may include a plurality of gas supplying outlets located along its length, in order to cause cooling of the arm in addition to the hand by similar mechanisms. In an alternative embodiment the conduit may be integrally formed within the protective equipment.

According a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a personal cooling apparatus comprising a means for cooling a person as described above; a gas source connected to the gas receiving end of the conduit and a control means arranged to regulate the flow of gas from the fluid source to the conduit. The control means may be a valve. The gas source may be a compressed air source, such as an air compressor connected to an air flow regulator.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of cooling a person wearing at least one protective glove over a hand, the method comprising the steps of obtaining a gas from a gas source, causing gas to flow through a conduit to a location near the person's hand, discharging the gas from a gas supplying end of the conduit, and allowing the gas to flow about or along the person's skin within the protective glove.

It may be noted that the use of compressed air within protective clothing has been previously known in relation to pressurised safety suits, such as chemical protection suits. Typically in these suits the supplied compressed air provides both a source of air for breathing and also provides a degree of insulation within the suit. The present invention relies on the flow of gas or air to cool the worker's hands via the evaporation of sweat.

For this reason, the present invention may be described as an Open loop' gas flow system, where the gas in question is caused to flow along the person's skin and is not recirculated; in contrast to a closed loop system where the gas may be recirculated via a heat exchanger.

Brief Description of the Drawings

It will be convenient to further describe the invention with reference to preferred embodiments of the cooling means of the present invention. Other embodiments are possible, and consequently the particularity of the following discussion is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective of a worker wearing rubber sleeves and gloves for whom the present invention may be suitable; and

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-section view of a rubber protective sleeve including a cooling means in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Referring to the Figures, Figure 1 shows a worker 10 wearing protective rubber gloves 12 and protective rubber sleeves 14. These are indicative of the gloves and sleeves for which this embodiment of the invention is suitable. Figure 2 shows a schematic arrangement of a glove 12 and sleeve 14. A conduit in the form of a flexible tube 16 is fixed to the inside of the sleeve 14, and runs from a first end 18 to a second end 20.

Although the first end 18 of the tube 16 is shown in the drawing near a shoulder-end of the sleeve 14, in practice the tube 16 may extend well beyond this location. It is preferred that the tube 16 extends at least to a position where the first end 18 can be fixed to the worker's safety harness.

The second end 20 of the tube 16 is located near a cuff 22 of the sleeve 14, and is oriented to point towards a tip of the glove 12.

This embodiment of the invention is arranged to be used near a source of compressed air, which acts as a cooling fluid. The compressed air source may be an air compressor, which supplies compressed air to an air flow regulator, which could be located on an elevated work platform commonly used when working on live electrical lines. The first end 18 of the tube 16 can be connected to the air flow regulator, preferably via a control means such as a valve. The first end 18 of the tube 16 thus acts as a fluid receiving end, receiving compressed air from the air flow regulator and causing it to flow through the tube 16 to the second end 20.

The second end 20 acts as a fluid supplying end. The compressed air exits the tube 16 at the second end 20, and is directed within the glove 12. This causes air to flow around the interior of the glove 12, acting to cool the skin of the worker through evaporation. A proportion of the air also flows around the interior of the sleeve 14, again acting to cool the worker. It will be appreciated that two air tubes 16 will usually be connected to the air flow regulator, with one tube being associated with each sleeve 14.

Although the cooling means shown in Figure 2 has proven efficacious in testing, other embodiments are also considered possible. For instance, the tube 16 may have air outlets spaced along its length, thus altering the air flow within the sleeve and glove. Similarly, more than one tube 16 may be employed within a single sleeve 14, with the respective second ends 20 being located in positions to achieve a desired air flow.

It is also considered possible to form sleeves 14 with integral conduits within, to allow the flow of a cooling fluid.

It is also apparent that the tube 16 may be located along the worker's arm, and directed into the glove 12, even in the absence of a sleeve 14.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. In particular, it will be appreciated that the arrangement can be modified for use within other protective gloves, such as those worn by welders.