Wrist protection element for hockey glove

Abstract

An improved hockey glove has a body portion and a cuff portion attached to and extending outwardly from the body portion. The hockey glove has a standard interior for receiving a hand by means of insertion into the glove. The improvement to the glove comprises an additional wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape, and thickness attached within the interior of the glove along a portion of the perimeter of the wrist protection element for the purpose of protecting the upper part of the wrist when the hand is inserted into the glove. The wrist protection element may be attached to the body portion or the cuff portion of the glove. In a preferred embodiment of a hockey glove having two side slits, the wrist protection element is attached to the interior of the lower cuff portion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This patent application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/275,635 filed on Mar. 15, 2001.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to improvements in a hockey glove and, in particular, relates to providing a separate wrist protection element within the interior of the glove for additional protection of the hockey player's wrist and forearm.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] In the game of hockey, hockey players use hockey sticks to direct a hockey puck across the playing surface of the ice. A hockey player risks injury by being struck with a puck or the hockey stick of an opposing player. To mitigate the potential for injury to hockey players, protective equipment is worn while playing the game of hockey.

[0006] One such piece of protective equipment is a hockey glove. The glove is typically padded to prevent injury to a player's forearm, wrist and hand. The glove has an opening for receiving a hockey player's hand. The perimeter of the opening is typically defined by the glove cuff, which is attached to and extends outwardly from the glove body. The purpose of the glove cuff is to protect the player's wrist and forearm.

[0007] Protection takes the usual form of a reinforced or padded cuff and glove. Typically, the cuff extends upwardly to surround the forearm from about the wrist area of the arm. The padded cuff is typically panelled and is relatively inflexible, which can impede the bending movement of the wrist, thereby detrimentally affecting the ability of the player to handle the stick. There is a recent tendency of hockey players to prefer gloves with shorter cuffs and wider openings to improve the performance and comfort of the glove. This in turn exposes the hockey player to a greater risk of injury, since protection of the wrist and lower forearm from contact with the puck or an opponent's hockey stick is reduced. This is especially true when the wrist is in the bent position, which enlarges the glove opening and exposes to a greater degree the wrist and forearm.

[0008] The present invention seeks to overcome the above described problem of the increased likelihood of injury to the wrist and forearm of hockey players.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] According to this invention, there is provided a hockey glove that has a body portion and cuff portion attached thereto and extending outwardly therefrom. The hockey glove has an opening for insertion of a hand and an interior for receiving a hand. The improvement to the glove comprises a wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape, and thickness attached to the interior of the cuff portion of the glove. The wrist protection element may be attached to the cuff portion of the glove at two spaced apart locations along its perimeter and the cuff portion of the glove may be hingedly attached to the body portion of the glove.

[0010] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a hockey glove that has a body portion and cuff portion attached thereto and extending outwardly therefrom. The hockey glove has an opening for insertion of a hand and an interior for receiving a hand. The improvement to the glove comprises a wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape, and thickness attached within the interior of the glove by attachment means between a portion of the interior of the glove and a portion of the perimeter of the wrist protection element.

[0011] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a portion of the shape of the wrist protection element may extend into the interior of the glove. The wrist protection element may be attached to the cuff portion of the glove and the attachment may be at two spaced apart locations along the perimeter of the wrist protection element. The cuff portion may be hingedly attached to the body portion of the glove. The attachment means may include a length of elastic material having opposite ends that are each respectively attached to the interior of the glove and the perimeter of the wrist protection element. The attachment may be made by means of stitching or an adhesive.

[0012] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a hockey glove that has a body portion and cuff portion hingedly attached thereto and extending outwardly therefrom. The hockey glove has an opening for insertion of a hand and an interior for receiving a hand. The improvement to the glove comprises a wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape, and thickness attached to the interior of the cuff portion of the glove at two spaced apart locations along the perimeter of the wrist protection element.

[0013] Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective illustration of a conventional hockey glove.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective illustration of a hockey glove including a wrist protection element.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective illustration of a hockey glove having two cuff slits and a wrist protection element

[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective illustration of the wrist protection element attached to the lower cuff portion of a glove.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective top view illustration of the wrist protection element attached to the interior of the lower cuff portion of a glove having two side slits.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the main features of a hockey glove to which reference will be made hereinafter. The glove has a body (1) including fingers (2) and a wrap-around cuff (3) with a side slit opening (abc). Typically, laces (not shown) are provided along with eyelets to loosely close the side slit opening (abc). A glove opening (4) is typically shown, which is defined by the perimeter of the cuff (3).

[0021] The cuff (3) has an upper portion (5) and a lower portion (6) which protect, respectively, the top and bottom of the hand and forearm when inserted into the glove. Referring again to FIG. 1, a hockey player's hand is inserted into the glove through the glove opening (4) and received within the glove body (1). In this position, the upper portion of the cuff (5) overlaps and covers the top of the hand and forearm.

[0022] The glove is typically padded with a shock absorbing material to protect the hockey player's forearm, wrist, and hand. The glove may be made from a fabric material and different types of fabrics may be chosen for different parts of the glove to achieve desirable properties, such as, for example, water resistance or tear resistance. The cuff (3) may be attached to the glove body (1), for example by sewing, or integrally formed from the same fabric as used to construct a portion of the glove body. The attachment between the cuff (3) and the glove body (1) is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 with reference to the oval dotted line 7, which both defines the point at which the hand enters the glove body (1) and where the cuff (3) is attached to the glove body (1).

[0023] The cuff (3) typically extends upwardly along the player's forearm to provide protection to the lower forearm and wrist to a greater or lesser degree. The cuff (3) may be long or short, offering greater or lesser protection. To facilitate bending of the wrist within the glove, side slits (abc) and (def) may be provided in the cuff as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The incorporation of the side slit permits those portions of the cuff (3) immediately adjacent the slit to more easily bend or rotate with reference to the body of the glove. In particular, this facilitates the bending of the lower portion (6) of the cuff with reference to the glove body (1). Thus, providing two side slits, as shown in FIG. 3, in effect permits the entire lower portion of the cuff (6), schematically shown as a flap (bcde), to bend or rotate with reference to the glove body (1).

[0024] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the wrist protection element (8) is attached within the glove body (1) in order to protect the top part of the wrist and forearm from injury, especially in cases of hockey gloves with short cuffs and when the wrist is in the bent position. It is to be noted that the action of bending the wrist causes the bottom of the hand to engage the lower portion of the cuff (6), which has the effect of exposing the top of the hand and forearm.

[0025] Although the wrist protection element (8) is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as being rectangular-like in shape, this is only for the purpose of illustration. The wrist protection element (8) may be of any desirable perimeter shape and thickness by virtue of the protective padding provided to the wrist protection element. As schematically shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a portion of the wrist protection element (8) extends inwardly into the glove and under cover of the upper portion of the cuff (5), while the remaining portion may extend outwardly, beyond the upper portion of the cuff (5).

[0026] Preferably, the wrist protection element (8) is attached at either side to the interior of the lower portion of the cuff (6). Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the wrist protection element (8) is schematically shown as attached to the lower portion of the cuff (6) along edges g-h and i-j to thereby form a sleeve. In other words, the other edges, g-j and h-i of the wrist protection element (8) are not attached, which permits the passage of a hand through the sleeve, between the wrist protection element (8) and the lower portion of the cuff (6).

[0027] The method of attachment of the wrist protection element (8) to the glove is typically by means of stitching. The object is to secure the wrist protection element (8) within the interior of the glove in such a position that it will overlap the top portion of the wrist and forearm when the hand is inserted into the glove through the sleeve. Additionally, it is preferable for the wrist protection element (8) to follow the wrist when it bends within the glove. Accordingly, the attachment locations g-h and i-j can essentially be point attachments.

[0028] FIG. 4 shows the wrist protection element (8) attached to the lower cuff portion (6) of a glove having two side slits (not shown). The wrist protection element (8) may be in the general overall shape shown in FIG. 4 with attachments along g-h and i-j. As well, the shape of the wrist protection element (8) need not be flat and may be suitably contoured to approximate the curvature of the top portion of a bent wrist.

[0029] In another embodiment, with reference to FIG. 3, the attachment of the wrist protection element (8) may be along the perimeter h-i, and the interior of the upper portion of the glove cuff (5), in which case the wrist protection element (8) essentially becomes a flap extending outwardly from within the interior of the glove. The free ends g and j of the flap may be secured to the lower portion of the cuff (6) by any suitable means, such as by providing strips of an elastic fabric material so as to bias the flap against the top portion of the wrist.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 5, the wrist protection element (8) is shown attached to the lower cuff portion (6) of a glove having two side slits. The wrist protection element (8) is in close contact with the top part of the wrist at all times, notwithstanding any bending movement of the wrist. This “following” movement of the element (8) ensures wrist protection at all times, even when the cuff opening (4) is enlarged due to wrist bending as previously described. Preferable attachment of the wrist protection element (8) to the interior of the lower cuff portion (6) will thus ensure that the wrist protection element follows the movement of the wrist.

[0031] From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

[0032] It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

[0033] Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

1. In a hockey glove having a body portion and cuff portion attached thereto and extending outwardly therefrom, said hockey glove having an opening for insertion of a hand and an interior for receiving said hand, the improvement comprising a wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape and thickness attached within the interior of said glove by attachment means between a portion of said interior and a portion of said perimeter.

2. The glove of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said shape of said wrist protection element extends into the interior of said glove.

3. The glove of claim 2, wherein said attachment is at two spaced apart locations along said perimeter.

4. The glove of claim 3, wherein said wrist protection element is attached to said cuff portion of said glove.

5. The glove of claim 4, wherein said cuff portion is hingedly attached to said body portion of said glove

6. The glove of claim 5, wherein said attachment means includes a length of elastic material having opposite ends, each said opposite end respectively attached to said interior of said glove and said perimeter of said wrist protection element.

7. The glove of claim 6, wherein said attachment means consists of stitching.

8. The glove of claim 6, wherein said attachment means consists of an adhesive.

9. In a hockey glove having a body portion and cuff portion attached thereto and extending outwardly therefrom, said hockey glove having an opening for insertion of a hand and an interior for receiving said hand, the improvement comprising a wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape and thickness attached to the interior of said cuff portion of said glove.

10. The glove of claim 9, wherein said wrist protection element is attached at two spaced apart locations along said perimeter.

11. The glove of claim 10, wherein said cuff portion is hingedly attached to said body portion of said glove

12. In a hockey glove having a body portion and a cuff portion hingedly attached thereto and extending outwardly therefrom, said hockey glove having an opening for insertion of a hand and an interior for receiving said hand, the improvement comprising a wrist protection element having a perimeter, shape and thickness attached to the interior of said cuff portion at two spaced apart locations along said perimeter.