ErgoAir®, Inc. is a company that develops industrial and commercial protective products that use air bladder technology. ErgoAir® collaborates with other companies to manufacture and market products that use its technology through licensing the technology that it has developed and owns.
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The ErgoAir® AntiVib® air bladder technology is protected by patent nos. 5,144,708; 5,372,487; 5,537,688; 5,771,490; and 5,987,705. Others are pending. The AntiVib® air bladder technology is an entirely new precision-engineered concept in hand-arm vibration protection that uses a thin layer of air between the hand and a vibrating handle, hand tool, or work piece. |
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The AntiVib® air bladder is thin, pliable and flexible. It is made from two layers of pliable thin-film urethane thermoplastic material that are bonded together with a quilted pattern of weld points and with weld lines that correspond to the natural flex lines of the hand. This allows the AntiVib® air bladder to easily conform to the palm and fingers when clasping a tool, work piece, or any other object. |
| The air bladder for each hand has a an inflation mechanism that consists of an inflator bulb or pump and an air release valve. The inflation mechanism is connected to the air bladder by means of a flexible tube that allows it to be placed on the back side of the glove. |
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The AntiVib® air bladder is placed in a pocket between the palm of the hand, fingers and thumb and the outside shell of an antivibration glove. A thin cotton or Lycra material is placed between the air bladder and the hand to prevent the hand from sweating. The outside shell of the glove can be durable material. |  |
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A worker who wears a glove with the AntiVib® bladder can easily maintain control of his tool or work piece. Tactile feedback is received through the air bladder while it provides good vibration protection. A worker who wears a glove with the AntiVib® bladder can always feel what he is doing. The AntiVib® air bladder is made with an opposed thumb. This allows the thumb portion of the bladder to remain between the thumb and tool handle when the handle is clasped by the hand. |
A thin layer of air between a vibrating tool, work piece, or other object clasped by the hand and the hand is the most efficient means of attenuating energy into the hand from vibration, bumps, and jolts. A glove with a thin AntiVib® air bladder that is fully inflated easily meets the requirements of ISO Standard 10819/ANSI S3.40 for classification as an antivibration glove. The AntiVib® air bladder is the only vibration damping material in the world that has been tested in a comfortable-fitting glove at three independent laboratories in the US and Europe and found to meet the requirements of ISO 10819/ANSI S3.40 to be classified as an antivibration glove. |
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| Compared to other glove vibration-damping materials, air is essentially massless. Thus, a glove with the AntiVib® air bladder is light and comfortable to wear. To provide the same vibration protection as the AntiVib® air bladder, every other glove vibration-damping material will require a material thickness that will make the glove uncomfortable to wear and use. Also, gloves with a thicker layer of vibration damping material will increase the potential for developing carpal tunnel syndrome with prolong use. |
| The AntiVib® air bladder is tough and durable. It will outlast all viscoelastic, polymer foam, and gel vibration damping materials. These materials all tend to fail and turn to powder after very little use in most industrial and commercial applications. AntiVib® air bladders will normally outlast the lives of the outer shells of the gloves in which they are used. |
For inquiries about the ErgoAir® AntiVib® air bladders and gloves, please send email to: ergoinfo@ergoair-inc.com |
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