Hand Supinating Device and Training Method

Abstract

A hand supinating device comprising a sheet of flexible material having a first broad surface on one side of the sheet of flexible material, and a second broad surface on the opposite side of the sheet of flexible material, and having a slit in the surface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material; at least one strap attached to the first broad surface of the sheet of flexible material, the at least one strap having a buckle attached at one end of the strap, and an area of hook-and-loop fabric disposed on the opposite end of the strap; a sheet of metal having three hooks formed in one end, the sheet of metal contained within the sheet of flexible material and attached to the sheet of flexible material, wherein the three hooks extend outside of the sheet of flexible material through the slit in the surface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material; and a sheet of hook-and-loop material attached to at least a part of the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TOA SEQUENCE LISTING

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to sports training equipment and methods. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and a training method adapted to assist a person to improve his or her basketball shooting skills and accuracy. The apparatus is a hand-supinating device that tends to draw the three middle fingers of a hand backwards.

2. Description of Related Art

Some prior art patents have been directed toward basketball shooting training. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0178554 to Heflin teaches a glove that can be worn on a basketball player's hand while the player shoots the basketball toward the goal. The glove is designed to allow the player to properly support the basketball with the three middle fingers and align the three middle fingers with the forearm of the shooting hand while the player is shooting the basketball, and thereafter throughout the follow-through following release of the basketball, while allowing the thumb and outer finger of the shooting hand to freely flex and spread out away from the three middle fingers. This is supposed to stabilize the basketball on the shooting hand prior to releasing the basketball during the shooting movement.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,153 to Adams teaches a glove for a hand that designed to increase the flexibility and strength of the distal interphalangeal joints of the index to little fingers. The disclosure shows in FIG. 1 a glove that comprises a wrist band that is connected to an intermediate body that partially covers the top of the hand, eight rigid bands—one disposed around the second phalanx of each finger between the first and second knuckles (counting from the fingertip) and one disposed around the third phalanx of each finger between the second and third knuckles of each of the four fingers from the index to the pinky finger, the two bands on each finger connected by an elastic band disposed on the top of that finger, and each of the four bands that are disposed on the third knuckle of the four fingers individually connected to the intermediate body by an elastic band, each such elastic band disposed on the top of the hand. Other embodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 2-9 of the Adams patent. The purpose of the Adams invention is to exercise the hand to better enable the athlete to grasp a ball, bat or an opponent. The device is designed to improve independent muscle control in the fingers with an emphasis on the distal-interphalangeal joints.

3. Definitions

The word “finger” normally includes the thumb as well as the other four fingers of a normal human hand. However, in this application, the word “finger is used only to indicate the four fingers from the index finger to the pinky finger, and it excludes the thumb. In places where we mean to refer to the thumb, we will specifically use the word “thumb” and not “finger”. Further, to define the terminology we will use in this application, each of the four fingers of a normal human hand has three phalanges. Starting at the fingertip of each finger, the first phalanx of a finger is connected to the second phalanx of that finger at the first knuckle of that finger. The second phalanx of each finger is connected to the third phalanx at the second knuckle. The third phalanx is connected to the bones of the hand at the third knuckle.

In this patent application, the hand of a person is in the supine position with respect to the person's forearm when the hand is rotated back toward the top of the forearm at or near the hand's maximum normal extent of rotation in this direction. This is true regardless of the actual position of the hand or forearm with respect to the ground or floor on which the person stands. The hand of a person supinates or is supinated when it rotates back toward the supine position. An example of a supinated hand is shown in FIG. 5 of this patent application. In this patent application, the hand of a person is in the prone position with respect to the person's forearm when the hand is rotated forward toward the bottom of the forearm at or near the hand's maximum extent of rotation in this direction. This is true regardless of the actual position of the hand or forearm with respect to the ground or floor on which the person stands. The hand of a person pronates or is pronated when it rotates forward toward the prone position. An example of a pronated hand is shown in FIG. 6 of this application.

In this patent application, rotating the hand backward with respect to the forearm means that the hand is rotated at the wrist in a direction that supinates the hand. In this patent application, rotating the hand forward with respect to the forearm means that the hand is rotated at the wrist in a direction that pronates the hand.

The words “shoot”, “shooting, and “shot” when used to describe an act of throwing a basketball in a basketball game or practice are commonly understood by persons who are familiar with the game of basketball. We use those words in that manner in this patent application.

Basketball training includes teaching players how to hold the basketball on or about their hand during the process of shooting the basketball toward the goal with that hand. The training sometimes utilizes devices worn or disposed on the finger(s), hand, wrist, and/or forearm of the shooting hand to support, or limit, or otherwise control the movement of these extremities when the player shoots the basketball with that hand. The concept is that by using the device during training, the player builds muscle memory that will be retained when the player is competing in a game and is not using the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have discovered that basketball players need to be trained in how to hold their hands and fingers while shooting the basketball toward the goal or in otherwise throwing the basketball. It is advantageous to a basketball player to learn to supinate their hand when holding the basketball in preparation to shooting the basketball toward the goal. With some basketball players, particularly younger persons, this is not a natural movement or instinct. However, players can be trained to do this. We have devised a novel device to teach people how to hold their hand and to aid them in doing it during basketball play and training. A preferred embodiment of my novel device will exert a continual backward force on at least one of the phalanges of each of the three longest fingers of the normal human hand (in other words, all of the fingers but the pinkie finger). This force will cause the hand and all the fingers to substantially supinate, which is the ideal position of the hand and fingers from which to launch a basketball shot in cooperation with the arm.

As a result of my discovery, we have created a hand-supinating device for a forearm and its attached hand of a person, comprising a forearm brace means for providing one or more anchor points steadily disposed at a particular place along the forearm of a person and a supinating means for applying a backward force to the hand attached to the forearm such that the hand is urged toward a supinated position even when the person urges the hand toward a pronated position.

We have also created a method of training a basketball player which comprises fitting one or both of their forearms and hands with a hand-supinating device and then having the player play the game of basketball or practice the game while wearing the hand-supinating device, so that their hands tend to be drawn back during play or practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of the preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 shows an end view of preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 shows a bottom perspective view of the preferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in actual use on a supinated hand.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in actual use on a pronated hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The hand supinating device 10 of this invention is shown generally in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The device 10 comprises a base element 15 which can be a rectangular piece of leather. Three hooks 20, 22, and 24 are secured to the base element 15. While there are several ways of securing the hooks 20, 22, and 24 to the base element, one way to do so is to form a single thin metal plate (not shown) that has the three hooks 20, 22, and 24 formed at one edge of the metal plate. The leather base element 15 can be sliced open on one face with a thin slit 25 as shown in FIG. 1. The thin metal plate comprising the three hooks can be slid into the slit in the leather base element 15 such that the metal plate is substantially disposed within the leather base element 15 with only the three hooks remaining exteriorly of the base element 15. The slit can be sealed or otherwise secured such that the metal plate will not be pulled out of the leather base element 15 by normal forces pulling on the hooks.

The particular base element 15 that we disclose in this preferred embodiment is only one of many different base elements that persons of ordinary skill in this art could create once they have read and understood this disclosure. My invention is not limited to this particular base element 15 but encompasses all base elements which act as does my base element 15 and which could be designed and built by a person of ordinary skill in this art once that person has read and understood this disclosure.

Three separate nylon straps are secured to the leather base element 15 on the broad side opposite the hooks as shown in FIG. 1. The straps should be arranged generally parallel to one another with a first strap 30 at along one end of the base element 15, the third strap 34 along an opposite end of the base element, and the second strap 32 disposed intermediate the first 30 and third 34 straps. The three straps 30, 32, and 34 are sized and arranged such that they will wrap around and be secured to the forearm of a person who will use the hand supinating device 10. The three straps 30, 32, and 34 can be secured to the leather base element 15 by adhering them together with a suitable adhesive disposed between each strap and the base element 15.

Each of the three straps 30, 32, and 34 has a buckle 40, 42, and 44, respectively, at one end of the strap, and a hook-and-loop connector 45, 47, and 49, respectively, at the opposite end of each strap. These three buckles 40, 42, and 44, and three hook-and-loop connectors 45, 47, and 49 are used to secure the hand supinating device around the forearm of a person using the device such that the device is securely attached to the person's forearm and will not slide significantly up and down the forearm during use.

The hand supinating device 10 comprises three elastic bands 50, 52, and 54. Each elastic band 50, 52, and 54 comprises a first loop 55, 57, and 59, respectively, at a first end. Each of the first loops 55, 57, and 59 can be removably placed over one of the hooks 20, 22, and 24 respectively. Each of the three elastic bands 50, 52, and 54 has a second loop 60, 62, and 64, respectively, attached to a second end of each elastic band. Each of the second loops 60, 62, and 64 will be sized such that the person using the hand supinating device 10 can removably slip one finger into each of the second loops.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the hand supinating device 10. FIG. 3 shows an end view. In both FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the elastic bands 50, 52, and 54 are not shown. The device 10 also comprises a foam pad 70 which can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The foam pad 70 is disposed on the beneath the three straps 30, 32, and 34, and the foam pad 70 is attached to the three straps with an adhesive. The purpose of the foam pad is to provide some cushioning between the straps 30, 32, and 34 and the upper side of the forearm of the person wearing the hand supinating device 10. The device 10 is meant to be worn fairly tightly on the forearm, and the foam pad 70 will minimize chafing of the upper side of the forearm by the device 10. The foam padding 70 can be sized in any manner that is comfortable to the user, but it should not be so large that it interferes with the tight fit of the device 10 around the forearm of the user. Specifically, the device 10 should not move significantly up and down the forearm of the user.

FIG. 4 shows the hand supinating device 10 upside down from its orientation in FIG. 1. In this figure, there is shown an optional second foam pad 75 that can be removably placed upon foam pad 70 to provide additional padding if it is needed. Foam pad 75 would not be attached to the device 10 in any way, but would simply be placed between the pad 70 and the person's forearm at the time the device is placed upon the forearm before the straps are wrapped around the forearm.

In use, a person can use the hand supinating device 10 by first choosing on which arm the device will be placed. The device 10 is laid upon the top of the forearm of the person. Optionally, the foam pad 75 can first be placed between the pad 70 and the forearm. Then the person (or someone helping the person) can thread each end of the each strap 30, 32, and 34 respectively through the eye of each buckle 40, 42, and 44, respectively. Each strap is then pulled tight and the hook-and-loop connector is placed on the strap to secure the strap tight around the forearm. When each strap has been suitably secured around the forearm, the person (or someone helping the person) can place one of the person's fingers through a second loop of one of the three elastic bands. This is done for each of the three fingers (not including the pinkie finger or the thumb) which will be supinated by the device 10. The opposite end of each elastic band can then be individually grasped and the first loop of each elastic band placed on the appropriate hook 20, 22, and 24. When properly mounted, as seen in FIG. 5, the person's right hand forefinger 84 will be in second loop 64 of elastic band 54 having its first loop 59 placed on hook 24. The person's middle finger 82 will be in second loop 62 of elastic band 52 having its first loop 57 placed on hook 22. The person's fourth finger 80 will be in second loop 60 of elastic band 50 having its first loop 55 placed on hook 20. Of course, these steps can be done in any order.

FIG. 5 shows the device 10 mounted on the right forearm of a person, but the device can be mounted on the left forearm in the same manner except that the forefinger will be placed in second loop 60, the middle finger in second loop 62, and the fourth finger in second loop 64. The three elastic bands should be aligned so that they are generally parallel and do not cross one another. Each of the three fingers has its respective loop placed around the bottom of the third phalanx at the inside of the third knuckle where the third phalanx connects to the bones of the hand.

As is apparent from FIG. 5, the hand supinating device 10 when properly mounted on the forearm and fingers will effectively supinate the three middle fingers of the hand. The tension exerted by the three elastic bands 50, 52, and 54 should be such that the hand and the three middle fingers of the hand are generally supinated when the person does not try to pronate the hand and fingers. But the person should be able to use the muscles of the forearm and hand to pronate the hand and fingers of that arm with only moderate effort. With the device in place, the person can play basketball and can shoot the basketball toward the goal or otherwise throw the basketball during game play. The supination device will tend to draw the hand and fingers back into the desired position from which a basketball shot should start, and will provide resistance to the movement of the hand and fingers during a shot, thereby providing exercise to strengthen the muscles of the forearm, hand, and fingers. When the shot is completed, the device 10 will tend to supinate the hand and fingers again.

FIG. 6 shows the hand supinating device 10 on the forearm and hand of a person at a point when the person has just released a basketball shot toward the goal. The person will be using the muscles of the arm, hand, and fingers to throw or shoot the basketball and will have placed their hand in the position shown. In such position, the three elastic bands 50, 52, and 54 will be stretched out by the position of the hand and fingers, and the three elastic bands will each be exerting a significant tension force on the bottom of the three middle fingers to draw them back to the position shown in FIG. 5.

To make the hand supinating device shown in FIGS. 1-6, one may obtain and lay flat a piece of leather of an appropriate size. We have used a leather piece sized 6.5 inches by 3 inches. A small slit, about 1.5 inches long, should be made into one side of the leather piece about one inch from a long edge thereof. A soft aluminum sheet metal plate, sized approximately 2 inches by 0.5 inches, can be made and three metal hooks riveted along one long edge of the metal plate such that the hooks are pointed in the same direction as shown in FIG. 1. The hooks are then inserted through the slit in the leather piece and the aluminum sheet metal plate is attached to the leather piece using super glue or hot glue or any other suitable means of attachment. Three pieces of nylon belting are cut to about 13.5 inches each. The three nylon belts each have one adjuster buckle attached by folding about one inch of belt over the bottom of the bottom of the buckle and secure the folded part to the belt with glue or sewn threading. Each of the three belt and buckle combinations is placed onto the leather piece as shown in FIGS. 1-4 and each belt is secured to the leather piece with glue. A thin sheet of foam padding is cut to size and placed on the back of the leather piece so that the foam padding covers the aluminum plate and the portion of the leather sheet across which extend the three belts. The foam padding is secured in place by glue. Three small pieces of hook-and-loop (for example, Velcro®) material is glued to the ends of the three belts opposite the buckles. These three pieces will preferably be the hook material, rather than the loop material of the hook-and-loop attachment device. Then, a sheet of the loop material is cut to size and glued to the top of the leather piece so that it covers the top of the leather piece except where the three hooks are present. The result will be the base element 15 shown in FIGS. 1-6.

Three pieces of button-hole elastic should be cut out and folded together to each form a circular shape. Each button-hole elastic piece should be sewn across at an appropriate place in the middle to provide a suitably-sized opening for a finger to be inserted through the resulting loop. One suitably-sized band should be secured at one end to each of the three button-hole elastic piece such that the result is that shown in FIG. 5.

To use the hand-supinating device 10, a person can wrap the leather base elements 15 around an appropriate part of the person's forearm, and secure it to the forearm by placing the free end of each strap through the opposing buckle of that strap and pulling the strap tight around the forearm, then securing the free end of the strap to the loop material on the back of the hand-supinating device 10. This is done for all three straps. The person places their middle three fingers of the appropriate hand through the loops 60, 62, and 64. Then each elastic band is hooked onto the respective hook on the base element 15. The person can then proceed to play basketball or another sport and the hand-supinating device 10 will provide the training and exercise it is meant to provide.

Optionally, a person may place an additional layer of padding between the base element 15 and the forearm if it provides desired comfort and does not allow the base element 15 to move significantly on the forearm.

It is noted that this preferred embodiment places the base element on the forearm at a location somewhat near the wrist. It may be possible to place the base element further along the forearm toward the elbow if the elastic bands were made longer. It could also be possible to place the base element on the upper arm. However, this is likely to be less desirable due to the length of the elastic bands necessary for this placement, and the fact that they would interfere with the use of the arm in play, tending to become tangled with other players' hands and arms.

It may also be desirable to place a piece of material over the three hooks so that the hooks do not scratch or otherwise injure the user or another player during play.

A method of training basketball players comprises placing a hand-supinating device on at least one of the forearms and hands of the player, and having the player play basketball or practice shooting or throwing a ball. More particularly, a method of training basketball players comprises attaching a base element to a first forearm of the player, placing each of plural fingers of the hand connected to the first forearm of the player into a loop, and connecting each loop individually to the base element with an elastic band that exerts tension between the finger and the base element, and then having the player exercise, throw a ball, or play a sport.

The embodiments described and illustrated in this disclosure can be modified and still be within the scope of this invention. For example, any device that tends to supinate the hand during game play would come within the scope of this invention. The invention is limited only by the following claims.

Claims

1. A bracing sleeve adapted to be fitted snugly on a person's forearm and having at least one anchor means for attaching a supinating means for pulling the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated position.

2. The bracing sleeve of claim 1 further comprising at least one supinating means for pulling the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated position, the at least one supinating means attached to the bracing sleeve at the at least one anchor means.

3. A hand supinating device for a person's forearm and its attached hand, comprising a forearm brace means for providing at least one anchor point at a predetermined location on the forearm, and a supinating means for forcing the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated position relative to the forearm, the supinating means attached to the at least one anchor point on the forearm brace and to at least one part of the hand attached to the forearm.

4. The hand supinating device of claim 3 wherein the forearm brace comprises a single anchor point disposed on the brace means, and the supinating means is attached between the single anchor point and one of the fingers of the hand attached to the forearm.

5. The hand supinating device of claim 3 wherein the forearm brace comprises two anchor points disposed on the brace means, and the supinating means comprises two separate supinating means, the first separate supinating means attached between a first anchor point and a first finger of the hand attached to the forearm and the second separate supinating means attached between a second anchor point and a second finger of the hand attached to the forearm.

6. The hand supinating device of claim 3 wherein the forearm brace means comprises at least three anchor points disposed on the brace means.

7. The hand supinating device of claim 6 wherein the supinating means has two ends, and wherein the first end of the supinating means is attached to the three anchor points.

8. The hand supinating device of claim 7 wherein the second end of the supinating means is removably attached to at least three fingers of the hand attached to the forearm.

9. The hand supinating device of claim 3 wherein the forearm brace means comprises at least three anchor points disposed on the outer surface of the brace means and wherein the supinating means comprises at least three separate supinating means for forcing the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated position relative to the forearm, each separate supinating means comprising a first end removably attached to one of the three anchor points and a second end removably attached to a finger of the hand attached to the forearm.

10. The hand supinating device of claim 9 wherein the first supinating means is attached between a first anchor point and the index finger of the hand attached to the forearm, the second supinating means is attached between a second anchor point and the middle finger of the hand attached to the forearm, and the third supinating means is attached between a third anchor point and the ring finger of the hand attached to the forearm.

11. A hand supinating device for a person's forearm and its attached hand, comprising a forearm brace means for providing at least one anchor point at a predetermined location on the forearm capable of attaching to a supinating means for urging a hand toward a supinated position relative to the forearm attached to the hand.

12. The hand supinating device of claim 11 further comprising at least one supinating means for urging a hand toward a supinated position relative to the forearm attached to the hand.

13. A hand supinating device comprising:

1) A removable bracing sleeve adapted to be fitted snugly on a person's forearm and having at least one anchor means disposed on the bracing sleeve; and

2) at least one supinating means for pulling the hand attached to the forearm toward a supinated position, the supinating means having two ends, the first end attached to the at least one anchor means disposed on the bracing sleeve and the second end attached to the hand to be supinated.

14. The hand supinating device of claim 13 wherein the bracing sleeve has at least three anchor means disposed on the bracing sleeve; the at least one supinating means comprises three separate supinating means each having two ends with the first end of each separate supinating means being attached to a different one of the three anchor means and the second end of each separate supinating means being attached to a different finger of the hand that is attached to the forearm on which the bracing sleeve is disposed.

15. A hand supinating device comprising:

1) a sheet of flexible material having a first broad surface on one side of the sheet of flexible material, and a second broad surface on the opposite side of the sheet of flexible material, and having a slit in the surface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material;

2) at least one strap attached to the first broad surface of the sheet of flexible material, the at least one strap having a buckle attached at one end of the strap, and an area of hook-and-loop fabric disposed on the opposite end of the strap;

3) a sheet of metal having three hooks formed in one end, the sheet of metal contained within the sheet of flexible material and attached to the sheet of flexible material, wherein the three hooks extend outside of the sheet of flexible material through the slit in the surface of the flexible material on the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material; and

4) a sheet of hook-and-loop material attached to at least a part of the second broad side of the sheet of flexible material.

16. The hand supinating device of claim 15 further comprising:

4) three elastic bands, each band attached to a finger loop at one end of the band, and each band having an attachment loop at the other end of the band, wherein each of the three elastic bands is capable of having a human finger removably inserted into the finger loop and the attachment loop is capable of being removably hooked onto one of the three hooks of the sheet of metal.

17. The device of claim 15 wherein the at least one strap comprises three straps, each strap having a buckle attached at one end of the strap and an area of hook-and-loop fabric disposed on the opposite end of each strap.

18. The device of claim 15 further comprising a first sheet of padding attached to the at least one strap and the first broad side of the sheet of flexible material.

19. The device of claim 18 further comprising a second sheet of padding attached to first sheet of padding on a side of the first sheet of padding opposite to the side attached to the sheet of flexible material.

20. The training method comprising the steps of:

1) placing a brace on a first forearm of a person;

2) supinating the hand of the first forearm of the person by removably attaching a first end of an elastic band to the at least one finger and removably attaching a second end of the elastic band to the brace; and

3) subsequently throwing or shooting a ball with the hand of the first forearm.