Ambidextrous Fish Scale-Textured Glove A Single-Mould Working Glove With Grip-Optimised Textured Surfaces

This patent describes an ambidextrous working glove with fish scale-style texture on both the inner and outer surfaces, and the manufacturing methods used to produce it. The texture is engineered to improve grip on slippery objects while keeping the glove thin enough to preserve tactile feedback for tasks such as food handling, chemical work and agricultural spraying.

The Problem

Working gloves used in food processing, chemical handling, pesticide application and similar work need to be thin enough to preserve tactile sensation, strong enough to resist tearing, and grippy enough to handle wet or slippery items. A perfectly smooth glove is hard to grip with and uncomfortable against the wearer’s skin, and standard textured gloves often improve only one of those surfaces at a time, leaving either the outside hard to grip or the inside hot and unpleasant. Separately, gloves manufactured for left and right hand each require their own moulds and inventory, which adds cost and complicates supply. A single-mould ambidextrous glove that gets the inner and outer texture right would simplify production and improve user experience at the same time.

What This Invention Does

The patent describes a working glove that is ambidextrous, meaning the same article fits either hand, and which carries a fish scale-textured pattern on both the inner and outer surfaces. The outer texture improves grip on items that are wet, oily or otherwise slippery, while the inner texture sits against the wearer’s skin, reducing sweat buildup and discomfort compared with a smooth liner. The disclosure also covers the methods used to make the glove, including the moulding process that produces both surfaces.

The ambidextrous geometry means the same SKU can be issued to any worker, simplifying inventory for distributors and large institutional buyers.

Key Features

• Fish scale texture on the outer surface. Engineered ridges and scales improve grip on slippery items typical of food, chemical and spray-application work.
• Fish scale texture on the inner surface. The interior is also textured, which reduces the moisture buildup and clinging feel of a smooth liner.
• Ambidextrous fit. A single glove geometry suits either hand, halving the SKU count for buyers and simplifying production tooling.
• Thin enough for tactile sensation. The glove is designed to keep wall thickness within the range needed for fine manipulation, not just bulk protection.
• Manufacturable at scale. The patent also covers the methods of manufacture, supporting integration into existing dip-moulding or related glove production lines.

Who Is Behind It

The applicant is Covco (H.K.) Limited, a Hong Kong-based glove manufacturer that supplies disposable and reusable gloves into industrial, medical and consumer channels. The named inventor is John Joseph Furlong. The Australian application is the most recent of a long chain of divisionals dating back to AU 2013375908, originally the national phase entry of PCT/US2013/074919, indicating long-running effort to preserve claim coverage in the Australian market. The Australian patent attorney of record is listed on the title page.

Why It Matters

Australia is a meaningful end market for industrial and food-grade gloves across meat processing, horticulture, viticulture and healthcare. Reusable and disposable glove supply has been a focus of supply-chain and procurement attention since the disruptions of recent years, and any design that reduces SKU counts while delivering better grip has direct procurement appeal. Continuing the divisional chain in Australia keeps Covco’s claim coverage live in the local market and supports enforcement against direct copying.

Related Concepts

• Personal protective equipment – the regulatory category the glove sits in.
• Nitrile rubber – a common material for chemical-resistant working gloves.
• Dip moulding – the manufacturing process typically used to produce gloves of this type.
• Food contact materials – the regulatory framework food-handling gloves must comply with.
• Grip strength – the human-performance measure the textured surfaces are optimising.

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AU 2026201882 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 2 April 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.