Therapeutic Gloves

Description

This application is based on and claims priority to provisional patent application No. 61/978,344 filed on Apr. 11, 2014.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to occupational therapy devices for assistance with the development of motor skills, particularly the dexterity of hands.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Every parent who brings a baby home from the hospital carries with them the hopes and dreams of their child doing wonderful things. They watch their child with anticipation and monitor every milestone. Now imagine the stress and attention a parent places on a developmental problem in the early stages. By age 3 or 4, most children are able to complete fine motor tasks like eating with utensils, brushing their teeth and dressing themselves; but what if dressing themselves, drawing shapes, and playing catch are too challenging to be fun?

Although at first glance it may seem minor, these issues lead to serious detrimental problems as the toddlers make their way through childhood and adolescence. Children are cognizant of their inability to keep pace with their peers, which leads to a skewed self-perception, little social interaction, and academic difficulty.

Current solutions incorporate sensors, require power sources, and other technologies that greatly increase cost. For example, the H200 available from Bioness, Inc. is an electro stimulation device that activates the muscles in the forearm to contract the fingers toward the palm. The Finger Extension Exerciser by XTENSOR uses small retractable bands on the fingertips to increase hand strength as the fingers are extended away from the palm.

The therapeutic gloves of the present disclosure provide a simple and inexpensive solution for children, or adults, living with fine motor limitations, so that they may increase the dexterity in their hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Parents need a tool that quickly, simply and cost-effectively addresses developmental issues in the early stages of the issue. The invention is directed to a therapeutic device including a pair of gloves with selectively oriented magnets associated with each finger and thumb. The gloves stay with the user, particularly a child, not as a distracting object, but as a fidget toy. The gloves enable children to build strength and dexterity without supervision. To a child, magnet force creates an enticing new way to explore their world, when they might otherwise usually sit on the sidelines. The brain is pliable, so when children see the motion of the fingers connecting in the ways they should, their brain is able to learn more rapidly how to properly use their hands, and file that motion into their muscle memory bank. The repetitive processes reinforce the correct motor movements.

The therapeutic gloves of the present disclosure provide a simple and inexpensive solution for children, or adults, living with fine motor limitations, so that they may increase the dexterity in their hands.

The gloves of the present invention are a non-contraindicated product, which means the gloves will not create new problems that did not previously exist.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description refers to the accompanying schematic drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic palm-side view of a pair of gloves of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a palm-side view of a pair of gloves according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a glove according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows the interaction between the thumb and a finger of the same hand; and

FIG. 5 shows the interaction between fingers and thumbs from opposite hands.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One or more exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are described below and illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. The embodiments described provide examples and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention. Other embodiments, modifications and improvements of the described embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and all such other embodiments, modifications and improvements are within the scope of the present invention.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a graphic representation of a pair of therapeutic gloves 1 according to the present disclosure. The pair of gloves 1 includes a left hand glove 2 and the right hand glove 3. While embodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed with respect to the pair of gloves 1, it should be understood that some users may benefit from use of only one of the gloves 2, 3 if the user struggles with the use of only one of their hands.

Each glove 2, 3 includes a thumb portion 5 for receiving the user's thumb and one or more finger portions 10 for receiving the user's fingers. Each glove preferably includes four finger portions 10, but a mitten embodiment with one finger portion 10 for all of a user's fingers may be possible. The total number and location of the finger portions 10 can also vary if the glove 2, 3, is custom designed for a patient with specific dexterity improvement needs. For example, an injury to a single finger may result in the need for only a single finger to be treated with therapy, in which case customized gloves may be warranted.

Each glove 2, 3 includes a plurality of magnets 15 attached to the gloves 2, 3 near the tip 12 of the thumb portion 5 and near the tip 12 of the finger portions 10. The magnets 15 are attached on the palm side of each glove 2, 3. Preferably, a magnet 15 is provided at the tip 12 of each of the finger portions 10 and the thumb portion 5, but where the user's needs warrant, less than all of the finger portions 10 may have a magnet 15. A fastening strap 17 adjacent to the opening of each of the pair of gloves 1 may be provided for securing the gloves 2, 3 to the respective hand of the user. The strap 17 may be made from an elastorneric material and/or include hook and loop fasteners or other fastening devices

As is well known, magnets 15 have polarity, often designated north/south or plus/minus (as displayed in FIGS. 1-5). Two magnets will attract to one another when their opposite poles face one another, and two magnets will repel each other when their same poles face one another.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred arrangement of the poles of each magnet 15. In one embodiment, the magnets 15 may be in the shape of disks with each flat face of the disk having an opposite polarity. FIG. 1 illustrates the relative poles of each magnet 15 that face outward away from the user's palm when the gloves 2, 3 are worn.

As should now be understood from FIG. 1, the magnets 15 are arranged so that the four fingers of each hand will connect or attract to the respective thumb (see FIG. 4) on the same glove 2, 3. In other words, the outward facing polarity of the magnet 15 attached to the thumb portion 5 is opposite to the outward facing polarity of the magnet 15 attached to each finger portion 10 on the same glove 2, 3.

Therefore, when the pair of gloves 1 is put on, the natural tendency is to connect the index, middle, ring and pinky fingers to the thumb of the same hand and glove 2, 3 (see FIG. 4 showing an attractive force between a finger portion 10 and thumb portion 5 on the left hand glove 2). The pull-weight of the magnets 15 used in the tips 12 creates resistance, which helps to increase motor skills and muscle memory.

In addition, the pair of gloves 1 is designed so that the magnets 15 in the left hand glove 2 are oriented differently, i.e. oppositely, from the magnets 15 in the right hand glove 3. As a result, each finger portion 10 on the left hand glove 2 will be attracted to and connect to the finger portions 10 on the right hand glove 3 (see FIG. 5 showing an attractive force between the fingers). Similarly, the thumb portion 5 on the left hand glove 2 will attract to the thumb portion 5 on the right hand glove 3. Such bilateral integration permits finger dexterity exercises between opposing hands.

The magnets 15 used in the pair of gloves 1 can be a variety of ferromagnetic materials and shapes. It is known that different materials produce different strength magnetic fields, thereby increasing or decreasing the attraction and relation forces between the magnets. It should be recognized that a pair of gloves 1 intended for small children may have different strength magnets than a pair of gloves 1 intended for adults. The preferred strength of the magnets may depend on the intended problem the gloves are looking to address for a particular user. For example, strong magnets would provide lots of assistance to a user needing to learn pincher grip positions and lots of resistance for someone trying to strengthen their fingers by pulling their fingers away from their thumb. Further, gloves with different strength magnets may also be provided to progressively increase or decrease resistance as dexterity improves. For example, improvement with the pincher issue may prompt use of weaker magnets, while improvement with the strength issue may prompt use of even stronger magnets.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a palm side view of the gloves 2, 3 and a rear side view of a left hand glove 2, respectively. As seen in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the gloves 2, 3 include a base material forming the body 20, and an outer material 22 used to form pockets for the magnets, holding the magnets in place near the tips 12. The outer material 22 is shown sewn to the body 20. In some embodiments, the magnets 15 will be permanently attached to the pair of gloves 1. In other embodiments, the magnets 15 may be removable, for example to use different strength magnets for different users, or as dexterity increases. Other fasteners for selectively securing magnets 5 to a glove 2, 3 may be used as well, such as hook and loop fasteners.

While the present invention has been shown and described in accordance with several preferred and practical embodiments, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention which are not limited except as defined in the following claims as interpreted by the Doctrine of Equivalents.