Glove for Sports People and Tradesmen

Abstract

A glove (10) for use by sports people and tradesmen includes a partial hand covering portion (12) having openings through which fingers and thumb can protrude. There is also a wrist covering portion (14) connected to the hand covering portion. The hand and wrist covering portions are adapted to absorb sweat. The glove also includes gripping means (18) formed on the palm side of the hand covering portion, and means for retaining the position of the glove during hand movement at locations where the hand covering portion meets the fingers and thumb and where the wrist covering portion meets the arm.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements in gloves and, in particular, to gloves for use by any person that is involved in activities requiring stable and effective gripping by, and manipulation of, the hand, such as sports people and tradesmen.

The invention has particular application to reducing or mopping up sweat build up in the palm, wrist and fingers of the hand, to improving hand grip and control of hand held sports equipment and mechanical tools, and to preventing, or assisting in the recovery of, hand and wrist injuries.

The invention also has application to absorbing or dampening the vibration or shock experienced by the hand when a person is engaged in sports or trade activities.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

People undergoing an activity involving extreme physical exertion often experience profuse sweating in the palm, wrist and fingers of their hands which may hamper them in efficiently continuing, or maintaining the standard of, that activity. This is especially a problem for players of racquet sports, but equally affects other sports people and tradesmen, such as operators of high powered, manually supported, drills and jack hammers.

For such people, the problem may eventually lead to a lack of effective grip and, in some cases, to injuries to wrist and fingers.

Sweat bands, in most cases made of terry towelling and located around the wrist, have been used to absorb some of the sweat that travels down the forearm towards the hand. However, sweat bands only absorb a portion of the sweat and do not prevent sweat from below the wrist adversely affecting the grip and control exerted by the hand.

Wrist supports, relying on compression of the anatomical structure around the wrist, have been used to prevent wrist injury and improve hand grip strength.

These and other devices have been used separately or in a stand alone manner by people involved in activities requiring stable and effective gripping by, and manipulation of, the hand, such as sports people and tradesmen, all without much success.

The prior art is littered with many gloves that have sought to address these and other problems in the field, but nearly all have involved bulky, uncomfortable to wear, and unreliable shapes and forms that do not allow the user the freedom of hand and wrist movement that they may require for their activity.

For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,877 discloses a sports glove for use in racquet sports which has a leather front portion and rear and wrist portions made of absorbent terry toweling or cloth. However, the glove fully covers the fingers, and has reinforcing pads overlaying the high wear parts of the finger portions. The users fingers are therefore not exposed, and may have their movement impeded by the layered material that covers them.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,521 discloses a full hand covering sports and work glove assembly having a pair of first pads attached to a back portion of a glove piece, and a pair of second pads which detachably engage to the first pads, the second pads including absorbent cloth material so that, upon engagement of the pads to the glove piece, the cloth material can be used to wipe sweat from the user. However, the glove assembly is complex and time consuming to assemble, and may be prone to loss of its parts.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,651 discloses a non-finger tip covering, wrist support glove made of material which, although identified as being breathable and stretchable, is very bulky and may be uncomfortable to wear. The glove includes a hand covering section made of panels of material and a wrist wrap section made of two or more wraps around the wrist of the user and which is fastened by hook and loop means.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,660 discloses a full hand covering glove having a back portion to which is attached a protective package made from one or more layers of abrasion and impact resistant material, such as overlaid layers of foam and cowhide, and so is poorly suited to activities requiring supple hand, wrist and finger movement.

US Patent Application No. 2003/0000005 discloses a barbell gripping glove with a plurality of grip pads on the palm side. Although assisting with grip, the grip pads limit the flexibility of the glove, and so the glove is ill suited to sports activities.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,276 discloses a partial hand covering glove having an inelastic palm and wrist overlying anel, a wrist anchor strap, and elastic restraining loops for the fingers, the arrangement seeking to restrain bunching of the panel in the user's palm. However, the glove does not cover the joint between the thumb and the palm, and so sweat may build up in that area and inhibit the user.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,277 discloses a therapeutic support glove having pockets formed on both sides of a wrist or cuff portion for inserting a heat pack, a cold pack, or a magnetic pack for a desired therapeutic purpose. Although the fingers are not covered by the glove, the purpose of the glove is not that it be used during sports or other activities that may lead to a build up of sweat in the hands, but that it be used for recovering from wrist injuries.

it will be apparent from the above summary of the prior art that there is a need for a glove for use by sports people and tradesmen that is light weight and not bulky, simple in structure, flexible, easily washable, provides wrist protection and sweat absorption properties, and has improved grip strength.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a glove that will satisfy the above requirements and so overcome or substantially ameliorate the shortcomings and disadvantages of the aforementioned prior art, or to at least provide a useful and cost effective alternative.

According to the invention there is provided a glove for use by sports people and tradesmen, comprising a partial hand covering portion having openings through which fingers and thumb can protrude, a wrist covering portion connected to the hand covering portion, the hand and wrist covering portions being adapted to absorb sweat, gripping means formed on the palm side of the hand covering portion, and means for retaining the position of the glove during hand movement at locations where the hand covering portion meets the fingers and thumb and where the wrist covering portion meets the arm.

Preferably, the wrist covering portion includes a plurality of magnetic means for assisting in recovery from wrist injuries.

It is preferred that the gripping means comprises a plurality of latex rubber grip projections.

In a preferred form, the glove is woven or knitted into one piece.

SUMMARY OF DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: —

FIG. 1 is a palm side view of a first preferred glove of the present invention worn on a user's left hand,

FIG. 2 is a back of the hand view of a slightly modified glove of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a back of the hand view of a second preferred glove of the present invention worn on a user's left hand,

FIG. 4 is a palm side view of the glove of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a palm side view of a third preferred glove of the present invention worn on a users left hand, and

FIG. 6 is a back of the hand view of the glove of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The glove 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a partial hand covering portion 12 with openings for the fingers and thumb to protrude, and a wrist covering portion 14. The hand and wrist covering portions 12, 14 are interconnected, say, by weaving or knitting. Both the hand and wrist covering portions 12, 14 are able to absorb sweat, with the wrist covering portion being particularly absorbent as it is, in this instance, made of terry toweling or a like material. The palm side of the glove has gripping means formed thereon which, in this instance, are a plurality of latex and/or neoprene rubber grip projections. The ends of the glove nearest the fingers and thumb will not roll up or down due to a tight, elastic fit, and nor will this happen to the free end of the wrist covering portion of the glove.

The glove 10b of FIG. 2 only differs from the glove 10a of FIG. 1 in that, in FIG. 2, the ends of the glove nearest the fingers and thumb are joined between the fingers, so that each finger has its own finger projecting opening, whereas, in FIG. 1, no such joins exist but the fingers end of the glove 10a has a single opening through which all the fingers protrude.

Specifically, The glove of FIGS. 1 and 2 has a palm covering, non-slip grip portion 18 that also extends partially around the back of the hand for extra grip capability. There is also a mesh region 20 covering the thumb between the first and second knuckles, and a sweat absorbent region 22 with a stiffened but still flexible support material to cover the wrist. An additional sweat band may be located over the absorbent region 22 if desired.

Ideally, the glove provides the features of (a) a sweat band on the outer back of the hand and down to half way or three quarters down the forearm and around to the wrist area, (b) a grip in the palm of the hand to assist in the control of sports equipment and tools, and (c) an internal compressive support for the wrist and hand in the prevention of wrist and thumb injuries or for assisting in the recovery from such injuries. These three features are woven or knitted seamlessly into a one piece glove.

The glove 26 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is similar to that of FIG. 2, and so like numbers will be used to identify like features in the drawings. The top of the glove 26 covers the knuckles of the fingers and thumb, and stretches with movement of the hand but does not roll over upon itself. Latex rubber grip projections cover the palm region and parts of the back of the hand region, there being a greater thumb gripping capability in the glove 26 by virtue of the grip projections extending further up the thumb than in the glove 10. The back of the glove may serve as a platform for displaying logos of sponsors and the like. A sweat band is knitted to conform to the shape of the hand around the wrist and palm regions, and also to provide support and warmth. Between the sweat band and the skin may be inserted a therapeutic wrist support, which is made of neoprene and/or medical compression garment type materials. It is not visible from the outside of the glove, and it is inner joined or woven to the sweat band. The wrist support is seamless and provides extra support in the form of a more tightly woven or stretched material, as may be required during highly physical activities. The length of both sweat band and wrist support is approximately 20 to 22 cm from the knuckles to the lower arm adjacent the wrist. Depending on the size of the person, it can be made for small, medium and large hands.

Magnetic means, in the form of a plurality of small disc magnets 40, are inserted within the sweat band (preferably adjacent therapeutic pressure points) for assisting in recovery from wrist injuries. Such magnets can be inserted between the wrist support and the sweat band area of the wrist where blood circulation is plentiful.

The glove 32 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 has a fingers end in which there is no join between the two fingers furthest from the thumb, but otherwise the glove 32 is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 4 and has been numbered accordingly in the drawings.

A winter sports version of the glove of the present invention includes a thin velvet layer in contact with the skin, a thermoneoprene layer supporting the velvet layer, and a sweat band material such as terry towelling over the outside of the glove but not covering the palm area. The palm area may be covered by latex grip material.

A summer sports version of the glove of the present invention includes a compression garment material in contact with the skin, and a sweat band material over the outside of the glove but not covering the palm area. The palm area may be covered by latex grip material.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and construction of the glove and in the steps of manufacturing the glove without departing from the scope or ambit of the present invention.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not, be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior art publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates before the priority data of this patent application.

Claims

1. A glove for use by sports people and tradesmen, comprising

a partial hand covering portion having openings through which fingers and thumb can protrude,

a wrist covering portion connected to the hand covering portion,

the hand and wrist covering portions being adapted to absorb sweat,

gripping means formed on the palm side of the hand covering portion, and

means for retaining the position of the glove during hand movement at locations where the hand covering portion meets the fingers and thumb and where the wrist covering portion meets the arm.

2. The glove of claim 1 wherein the wrist covering portion includes a plurality of magnetic means for assisting in recovery from wrist injuries.

3. The glove of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the gripping means comprises a plurality of latex rubber grip projections.

4. The glove of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the glove is woven or knitted into one piece.

5. (canceled)