GAMBLING GLOVE

Abstract

A glove for facilitating the use of scratch-off tickets having a thumb sheath for covering a wearer's thumb; at least one finger sheath for covering at least one of a wearer's fingers; and a scratcher secured to at least one finger sheath, the scratcher having a raised sharp edge perpendicular to the finger sheath for scratching scratch-off tickets.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is related to articles of clothing that facilitate operation of gambling devices, particularly scratch-off tickets.

2. Description of the Related Art

Casino gambling is a popular activity that involves action and risk. Players require accessories that provide convenience, protect from them from injuries, and look great.

One example of an accessory that has been provided in the past is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,899, that issued in 1997 to Soter et al, and which is not admitted to being prior art by its mention in this Background section. Soter discloses a slot machine glove with five fingers and a pocket and cord for a bonus card. The Soter patent is not for other gambling activities like scratch off cards, however.

Another example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,438, that issued in 2000 to Kirkwood, and which is not admitted to being prior art by its mention in this Background section. The Kirkwood patent discloses a slot machine glove that has fingertip, interdigital, and palm reinforcements. Like the Soter patent, it is not adapted for other gambling activities like scratch off cards.

Yet another example is a card scratcher disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2002/0152572 A1 by Steinmetz et al, and which is not admitted to being prior art by its mention in this Background section. Steinmetz discloses a scratch off ticket scratcher that the player must hold between a finger and thumb. It is not adapted for other gambling activities like slot machines.

What is needed, therefore, is a casino glove that is adapted for more than one type of gambling that includes scratch off tickets.

SUMMARY

The invention is a casino glove that satisfies the need for use with more than one type of gambling that includes scratch off tickets. The invention is a glove having a thumb sheath for covering a wearer's thumb; at least one finger sheath for covering at least one of a wearer's fingers; and a scratcher secured to at least one finger sheath, the scratcher having a raised sharp edge perpendicular to the finger sheath for scratching scratch-off tickets. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, claims, and accompanying drawings.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a detail view of a scratcher secured to the glove of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a detail view of a scratcher secured to the glove of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to a different embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is an orthogonal view of a casino glove on a wearer's hand according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a plan view of the glove of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a side elevation of the glove of FIG. 24.

DESCRIPTION

There are several embodiments of a casino glove invention that is adapted for more than gambling activity that includes scratch off tickets. The first embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4. The glove comprises a thumb sheath 108 and at least one finger sheath 102 for covering at least one of a wearer's fingers. Either one, two, three, or four finger sheaths 102 could be provided and positioned on any of the fingers, but the preferred arrangement uses the index finger. In this embodiment, a scratcher 104a is secured at the fingertip to at least one finger sheath 102. The scratcher 104a includes at least one raised sharp edge 106a perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the finger sheath 102 suitably adapted for scratching scratch off tickets. In operation, the wearer can merely rub the end of his or her finger across a ticket and the scratcher will remove the cover material. Only one finger is required, compared to a finger and thumb required from other products.

A thumb scratcher 104b could also be provided as an option. It may or may not have the same configuration of raised sharp edge 106b as the finger scratcher.

The raised sharp edges 106a, 106b can have any of several configurations, but an aesthetically advantageous configuration is a structure forming the symbol of a unit of currency. Dollar signs are shown particularly in FIG. 4. Other symbols could be used including, but not limited to, yen and euro. The sharp raised edge structure can be made of metal, plastic, or other rigid material. It need not be perfectly rigid, but must be sufficiently rigid to scratch a scratch off ticket.

FIGS. 5 through 8 show another embodiment of the present invention. It is still a glove, but the scratcher 104a in FIG. 8 is at least one crescent shape 110.

FIGS. 9 through 11 show yet another embodiment of the present invention. Structure off the back of the wrist is referred to as a gauntlet 114 in this specification and claims. The gauntlet 114 can have a pocket 116 adapted to hold a card 120, sometimes referred to as a gambling card or bonus card. The gauntlet also has a lanyard 118 for securing the card 120 to the glove. In some gambling devices, a card may be inserted while playing, and the glove and lanyard assures that the card leaves with the player when the player leaves the device. FIG. 9 also shows a strap 112 that can be secured with hook and loop fasteners to secure the glove to the wearer's wrist.

FIGS. 12 through 14 show an embodiment similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 9 through 11, but without the lanyard and card. This embodiment is another aesthetically pleasing casino glove that meets the needs of players. The pocket in these two embodiment opens in a directly parallel to a wearer's arm.

FIGS. 15 through 17 show an embodiment similar to FIGS. 9 through 11. The difference is that the pocket 118 opens in a direction perpendicular to a wearer's arm.

FIGS. 18 through 20 show a different kind of glove comprising at least one finger sheath 102, a scratcher 104a secured to at least one finger sheath 102, and a wrist loop 122 secured to each finger sheath 102 to hold the glove onto a wearer's hand. The glove does not completely cover the hand but at least has a connecting piece 124 to couple the wrist loop 122 and finger sheath 102. In FIGS. 18 and 20, note that the raised sharp edge 104a can form a plurality of concentric ovals, in addition to crescents or currency symbols.

FIGS. 21 through 23 and FIGS. 24 through 26 show another two embodiments similar to that shown in FIGS. 18 through 20. The functional structure is the same, but the connecting piece 124 is varied to meet the aesthetic needs of casino players.

One option of all the embodiments is to supply a cushion disposed between a finger sheath 102 and scratcher 104a to protect the wearer's finger from injury from repeated use. The cushion is not shown in the drawings because it is between the finger sheath and scratcher. The cushion can be made of any type of glove cushion material known to those who are skilled in the art including, but not limited to, leather, felt, neoprene, and foam rubber.

The casino glove described and claim is suitable not only for playing scratch off tickets, but other gambling devices as well. For example, any device that requires pushing buttons would be suitable, including slots and video poker machines.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, the above description is merely illustrative. Further modification of the invention herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the respective arts and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A glove for facilitating the use of scratch-off tickets comprising:

a thumb sheath for covering a wearer's thumb;

at least one finger sheath for covering at least one of a wearer's fingers; and

a scratcher secured to at least one finger sheath, the scratcher comprising a raised sharp edge perpendicular to the finger sheath suitably adapted for scratching scratch-off tickets.

2. The glove of claim 1 comprising a single finger sheath.

3. The glove of claim 2, wherein the finger sheath is an index finger sheath.

4. The glove of claim 1, the scratcher structure forming a symbol of a unit of currency.

5. The glove of claim 4, wherein the unit of currency symbol is one taken from the group consisting of a dollar, a yen, and a euro.

6. The glove of claim 1, the scratcher forming at least one crescent shape.

7. The glove of claim 1, the scratcher forming a plurality of concentric ovals.

8. The glove of claim 1 further comprising a scratcher secured to the thumb sheath.

9. The glove of claim 1 further comprising a gauntlet, the gauntlet comprising:

a pocket adapted to hold a gambling card; and

a lanyard for securing a gambling card to the glove.

10. The glove of claim 1 further comprising a strap having both hook parts and loop parts of a set of hook and loop fasteners so that a wearer can secure the glove to the wearer at the wearer's wrist.

11. The glove of claim 1 comprising two finger sheaths.

12. The glove of claim 1 comprising three finger sheaths.

13. The glove of claim 1 further comprising a cushion disposed between a finger sheath and a scratcher.

14. A glove for facilitating the use of scratch-off tickets comprising:

at least one finger sheath for covering at least one of a wearer's fingers;

a scratcher secured to at least one finger sheath, the scratcher comprising a raised sharp edge perpendicular to the finger sheath suitably adapted for scratching scratch-off tickets; and

a wrist loop secured to each finger sheath to hold the glove onto a wearer's hand.

15. The glove of claim 14, wherein the finger sheath is an index finger sheath.

16. The glove of claim 14, the scratcher structure forming a symbol of a unit of currency.

17. The glove of claim 16, wherein the unit of currency symbol is one taken from the group consisting of a dollar, a yen, and a euro.

18. The glove of claim 14, the scratcher forming at least one crescent shape.

19. The glove of claim 14, the scratcher forming a plurality of concentric ovals.

20. The glove of claim 14 further comprising a cushion disposed between a finger sheath and a scratcher.