Gloves and related heat-resistant accessory holder and strap for gloves and related systems

Abstract

The present disclosure provides embodiments of a wearable retainer that are provided for holding a fire resistant glove in place on a wrist of a user. Some implementations of the retainer include a flame retardant main loop formed from flame retardant material configured to be worn about a wrist of a user, as well as a flame retardant strap coupled to the flame retardant loop. The flame retardant strap includes a coupling to be attached to a portion of a fire resistant glove. Also described are various aspects of an accountability system for emergency workers, such as firefighters.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wearable retainer for holding a fire resistant glove in place on a wrist of a user, comprising:
 a flame retardant main loop formed from flame retardant material configured to be worn about a wrist of a user, wherein the main loop is flexible and includes elastic material; wherein the elastic material includes neoprene material and further wherein the neoprene material is surrounded with meta-aramid fibers; and   a flame retardant strap coupled to the flame retardant loop, the flame retardant strap including a coupling to be attached to a portion of a fire resistant glove.   
     
     
         2 . The wearable retainer of  claim 1 , wherein the coupling includes a male or female half of a snap. 
     
     
         3 . The wearable retainer of  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The wearable retainer of  claim 3 , wherein the sensor includes a biometric configured to measure at least one vital metric of a firefighter. 
     
     
         5 . The wearable retainer of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one vital metric includes one or more of blood pressure, temperature, skin conductivity, moisture, blood oxygen level, and heart rate. 
     
     
         6 . The wearable retainer of  claim 3 , wherein the sensor includes a chemical detector. 
     
     
         7 . The wearable retainer of  claim 1 , further comprising a sleeve coupled to the main loop to surround and shield a wrist of a user. 
     
     
         8 . A wearable retainer for holding a fire resistant glove in place on a wrist of a user, comprising:
 a flame retardant main loop formed from flame retardant material configured to be worn about a wrist of a user;   a flame retardant strap coupled to the flame retardant loop, the flame retardant strap including a coupling to be attached to a portion of a fire resistant glove; and   a length of hook and loop fastener in the form of a strap attached to the main loop, wherein when the gloves are in use, the hook and loop fastener is configured to be wrapped around the main loop, and further wherein when the gloves are not in use the strap including the hook and loop fastener is configured to be wrapped around the gloves to secure the gloves together.   
     
     
         9 . A system including a pair of wearable retainers as recited in  claim 1 , wherein each retainer includes unique indicia to help a user distinguish the retainers from each other. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the indicia includes a first visual indicia on a first of the retainers, and a second, different visual indicia on a second of the retainers. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the indicia includes a first color on a first of the retainers, and a second, different color on a second of the retainers. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the indicia includes a first alphanumeric character on a first of the retainers, and a second, different alphanumeric character on a second of the retainers suggestive of which hand to put each glove on. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the indicia includes a first tactile indicia on a first of the retainers, and a second, different tactile indicia on a second of the retainers. 
     
     
         14 . A fire resistant jacket including a fire resistant glove coupled thereto by way of at least one wearable retainer in accordance with  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . A pair of fire-resistant gloves, each glove including a wearable retainer coupled thereto according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         16 . A system for tracking firefighters at a work location, comprising
 at least one retainer to hold a fire resistant glove in place on a wrist of a user, including flame retardant main loop formed from flame retardant material configured to be worn about a wrist of a user, a flame retardant strap coupled to the flame retardant loop, the flame retardant strap including a coupling to be attached to a portion of a fire resistant glove, and an electronic identification tag;   a central monitor including scanning and tracking circuitry configured and arranged to read information contained on the electronic identification tag of each wearable retainer and machine readable instructions on a non-transient medium to control the circuitry in the central monitor, the machine readable instructions including (i) instructions to read data obtained from the electronic identification tag of each user, (ii) instructions to account for which firefighters have scanned into the system, and (iii) instructions to account for how long each firefighter has been scanned into the system, and to execute a further action in response to a predetermined time has elapsed for at least one firefighter.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the machine readable instructions further include instructions to monitor at least one health related parameter of at least one firefighter. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the machine readable instructions further include instructions to monitor at least one health related parameter of at least one firefighter to determine if the firefighter is exhibiting symptoms consistent with cardiac arrest.