Sport Glove

Abstract

A sport glove is such that a notched portion that also serves as hand insertion portion is provided at a lower portion of the back portion in such fashion as to cover neither the radiocarpal joint nor the midcarpal joint of the wearer, a tip end portion of a tightenable strap being removably retained at the back portion, and a base end of the tightenable strap being secured to a side end of the pinky finger sheath portion at the palm portion, in such fashion that neither the radiocarpal joint nor the midcarpal joint is covered by the tightenable strap. Because neither the radiocarpal joint nor the midcarpal joint—these carrying out flexion and extension and lateral bending of the hand of the wearer—is covered, there is no occurrence of sensation of pressure from the back of the glove to these joints.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a glove for use in golf, baseball, or other such sport.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional sport glove is such that a slit is formed at the back of the glove, an opening being provided for insertion of the hand of the wearer of the glove, and such that a tightenable strap is provided for closing this opening. This tightenable strap is constituted such that one end thereof is secured to one of the two sides that straddle the aforementioned back slit, and such that the other end thereof is retained by the other of the two sides that straddle the aforementioned back slit. This tightenable strap is such as to permit the glove to be tightened about the wrist of the wearer of the glove (hereinafter “wearer”) and prevent the wrist from engaging in excessive movement.

However, because the conventional tightenable strap is divided in two by the aforementioned slit such that one of the two sides at the back is pulled toward and retained by the other of the two sides, the back of the wrist and hand of the wearer are pressed on thereby. For this reason, there is a deficiency in that there is occurrence of discomfort when the hand is flexed or extended, or when it is bent to the side, which makes it impossible for the wearer to skillfully carry out subtle wrist movements such as cocking of the wrist in the context of golf, for example.

At this point, a brief description of the joints which contribute to the movement that occurs during flexion and extension or during lateral bending of the hand will be given with reference to FIG. 5. The radiocarpal joint c which is formed between the distal end of the radius a and the proximal row b of the carpus, and the midcarpal joint e which is formed by the proximal row b of the carpus and the distal row d of the carpus, these being shown in FIG. 5, are the joints which contribute to the movement that occurs during flexion or extension, and to the movement that occurs during lateral bending, of the hand. In the drawing, f is the ulna. The movement that occurs during flexion and extension or during lateral bending of the hand is primarily made possible by the aforementioned radiocarpal joint c. The aforementioned midcarpal joint e cooperates with the aforementioned radiocarpal joint c to permit the movement that occurs during flexion and extension or during lateral bending of the hand.

While not shown in the drawings, the aforementioned carpus comprises eight bones—i.e., the scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, and hamate—these being located between the five metacarpals of the hand and the aforementioned radius a of the forearm and aforementioned ulna f. The aforementioned scaphoid, the aforementioned lunate, and the aforementioned triquetrum make up the proximal row b of the carpus; the aforementioned trapezium, the aforementioned trapezoid, the aforementioned capitate, and the aforementioned hamate make up the distal row d of the carpus. Accordingly, to smoothly carry out subtle wrist movements, it is important that no sensation of pressure be conveyed from the back of the hand to the aforementioned two joints, i.e., the radiocarpal joint c and the midcarpal joint e.

Conventionally proposed as a device to eliminate the aforementioned deficiencies is a constitution in which a ridge-shaped notched portion causing part of the wrist of the wearer to be exposed is formed at the lower end at the back side of a golf glove, a rubber strip joined along the lower edge at the palm side being joined in such fashion as to be directed diagonally upward along the aforementioned ridge-shaped notched portion, a slit being provided from the peak of the aforementioned ridge-shaped notched portion in such fashion as to be directed toward the fingers, one end of a tightenable strap being secured to the edge at one side of this slit, a surface fastener being used to cause the other end of the tightenable strap to be removably retained at a location toward the other end of the aforementioned slit (Japanese Utility Model Application Publication Kokoku No. S53[1978]-17892).

Because the aforementioned proposed golf glove is such that a slit is provided from the peak of a ridge-shaped notched portion in such fashion as to be directed toward the fingers, one end of a tightenable strap is secured to an edge at one side of this slit, and the other end of the tightenable strap is made to adhere in removably attachable fashion to a location toward the other end of the aforementioned slit, presence of the aforementioned slit makes it impossible to increase the area of the ridge-shaped notched portion. For this reason, while there is inadequate exposure of the wrist of the wearer and the radiocarpal joint is uncovered, although there is some degree of improvement with respect to the sensation of pressure on the back of the wrist because the midcarpal joint is in a covered state, there is a disadvantage in that discomfort still occurs when the hand is flexed or extended, or when it is bent to the side, and has yet to be eliminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sport glove that eliminates this disadvantage.

To achieve the foregoing object, a sport glove associated with the present invention is constituted such that it comprises a back portion; a palm portion; a thumb sheath portion; an index finger sheath portion; a middle finger sheath portion; a ring finger sheath portion; a pinky finger sheath portion; and a tightenable strap; wherein a notched portion that also serves as hand insertion portion is provided at a lower portion of the back portion in such fashion as to cover neither a radiocarpal joint nor a midcarpal joint of a wearer; and wherein a tip end portion of the tightenable strap is removably retained at the back portion, and a base end of the tightenable strap is secured to a side end of the pinky finger sheath portion at the palm portion, in such fashion that neither the radiocarpal joint nor the midcarpal joint is covered by the tightenable strap.

As a result of adoption of such constitution, because neither the radiocarpal joint nor the midcarpal joint—which cooperates with the radiocarpal joint to carry out flexion and extension and lateral bending of the hand—will be covered by either the back portion or the tightenable strap when the glove is worn, there will be no occurrence of sensation of pressure from the back of the glove to either of the aforementioned joints.

Furthermore, to achieve the foregoing object, a sport glove associated with the present invention is such that, in the context of the foregoing constitution, a location of a lower end of the palm portion is made to be more toward the midcarpal joint than the radiocarpal joint of the wearer of the glove.

As a result of adoption of this constitution, because the portion at the radiocarpal joint, i.e., the wrist, will be exposed at the palm and at the back of the hand when the glove is worn, there will be absolutely no sensation of pressure on the wrist.

Moreover, to achieve the foregoing object, a sport glove associated with the present invention is such that, in the context of the foregoing respective constitutions, the base end of the tightenable strap is secured in such fashion that a lower end thereof coincides with a bottom edge of the palm portion, and such that an upper end thereof is secured to a portion at which the palm portion and the back portion are secured.

As a result of adoption of this constitution, the tightening force from the tightenable strap will act efficiently on the palm portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the context of an embodiment in which the present invention has been applied to a golf glove, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the side thereof toward the back of the hand in a state that might exist when the glove is being worn.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of same showing the side thereof toward the palm.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of same showing the side thereof toward the back of the hand in a state that might exist when the tightenable strap is open.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of same showing the side of the glove toward the sheath for the pinky finger in a state that might exist when the glove is not being worn.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing in simplified fashion the midcarpal joint and the radiocarpal joint of the hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the attached drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, golf glove 1 is provided with back portion 2 corresponding to the back of the hand of the wearer, palm portion 3 corresponding to the palm of the hand of the wearer, thumb sheath portion 4 within which the thumb of the wearer is inserted, index finger sheath portion 5 within which the index finger of the wearer is inserted, middle finger sheath portion 6 within which the middle finger of the wearer is inserted, ring finger sheath portion 7 within which the ring finger of the wearer is inserted, and pinky finger sheath portion 8 within which the pinky finger of the wearer is inserted. It is preferred that the aforementioned respective portions 2 through 8 comprise stretchable material; e.g., natural leather, artificial leather, and/or synthetic leather.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, notched portion 9, which also serves as hand insertion portion, is provided at the lower portion of back portion 2 in such fashion as to cover neither the radiocarpal joint c, i.e., the joint formed between the radius a and the proximal row b of the carpus (see FIG. 5), nor the midcarpal joint e, i.e., the joint formed between the proximal row b of the carpus and the distal row d of same (see FIG. 5), of the wearer. This notched portion 9 is approximately triangular, the top edge thereof being formed so as to extend diagonally upward in approximately linear fashion so as to be directed toward the side end of the pinky finger sheath portion 8 from the side end of thumb sheath portion 4 at the aforementioned back portion 2 in such fashion that neither the aforementioned radiocarpal joint c nor the aforementioned midcarpal joint e of the wearer is covered by the aforementioned back portion 2. That is, the back of the hand is exposed at a region corresponding to the aforementioned radiocarpal joint c and the aforementioned midcarpal joint e of the wearer.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, at everywhere except the upper end portion thereof, the base end of tightenable strap 10 having a structure corresponding only to palm portion 3, the upper end portion thereof having a structure corresponding to palm portion 3 and back portion 2. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the base end of the aforementioned tightenable strap 10 is secured in such fashion that the lower end thereof is made to coincide with the lower end of the side end of pinky finger sheath portion 8 at palm portion 3, and is joined to the aforementioned palm portion 3 everywhere except at the upper end portion which has a structure corresponding to the aforementioned palm portion 3 and the aforementioned back portion 2. Furthermore, the upper end portion of the aforementioned base end is secured in such fashion as to be joined to the portion at which the aforementioned palm portion 3 and the aforementioned back portion 2 are joined.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, suitable surface fastener 11a is provided at the back face at the tip end portion of tightenable strap 10, and suitable surface fastener 11b which is of such gender as to mate with the aforementioned surface fastener 11a, is provided at back portion 2. As shown in FIG. 1, tightenable strap 10 is such that the aforementioned respective surface fasteners 11a, 11b permit the tip end portion thereof to be removably retained at the aforementioned back portion 2. In addition, the aforementioned tightenable strap 10 is formed in such fashion that neither the radiocarpal joint c nor the midcarpal joint e of the wearer is covered when it is in the retained state as shown in FIG. 1. That is, tightenable strap 10 is such that approximately half of the thumb sheath portion 4 side of notched portion 9 remains uncovered thereby.

Golf glove 1 constituted in this fashion is such that, when worn, tightenable strap 10 is made to assume its unretained state in which it is open such that the entirety of notched portion 9 which is the hand insertion portion is exposed as shown in FIG. 3; and such that, following insertion of the hand thereinto, the aforementioned tightenable strap 10 is such that surface fastener 11a at the back face at the tip end thereof is made to be retained by surface fastener 11b at back portion 2 in such fashion as to permit it to be worn as shown in FIG. 1.

While in this worn state, golf glove 1 is in a state such that, at the back thereof, neither the radiocarpal joint c nor the midcarpal joint e of the wearer is covered by any portion thereof including tightenable strap 10. Accordingly, with the aforementioned golf glove 1, because there is no occurrence of sensation of pressure from the back of the glove to the aforementioned respective joints c, e that carry out flexion and extension and lateral bending of the hand, there being no occurrence of discomfort when the hand is flexed or extended, or when it is bent to the side, it is possible to easily and definitively achieve execution of cocking of the wrist and other such movements.

Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiment; for example, stretchable material in the form of mesh material and/or knit material may be used for only a portion of respective finger sheaths 4 through 8 and back portion 2. Furthermore, the shape of notched portion 9 is not limited to being triangular, and may be formed such that the top edge thereof extends not in linear but in curved fashion. Moreover, tightenable strap 10 may be formed such that the lower edge thereof extends in curved fashion so as to be directed from the base end to the tip end. In other words, regardless of the shapes of notched portion 9 and tightenable strap 10, it is sufficient that they be formed in such fashion that neither the radiocarpal joint c nor the midcarpal joint e of the wearer is covered. Furthermore, it is not necessary that the lower end of the base end at the aforementioned tightenable strap 10 be secured in such fashion as to always coincide with the bottom edge of palm portion 3. And the present invention may be applied not only to golf gloves but also to gloves for baseball, motor sports, and the like for which the movement that occurs during flexion and extension or during lateral bending of the hand is perceived to be important.

Because it causes there to be no occurrence of sensation of pressure from the back of the glove to the radiocarpal joint, or to the midcarpal joint that cooperates with the radiocarpal joint to carry out flexion and extension or lateral bending of the hand, there being no occurrence of discomfort when the hand is flexed or extended, or when it is bent to the side, the sport glove associated with the present invention provides the benefit that it makes it possible to easily and definitively achieve execution of cocking of the wrist and other such movements.

Furthermore, if a constitution is adopted in which the location of the lower end of the palm portion is chosen so as to be more toward the midcarpal joint than the radiocarpal joint of the wearer, such that a portion corresponding to the radiocarpal joint is exposed at the palm and at the back of the hand when the glove is worn, because there will be absolutely no sensation of pressure on the wrist, the aforementioned benefit can be still further improved.

Moreover, if a constitution is adopted in which the base end of the tightenable strap is secured in such fashion that the lower end thereof coincides with the bottom edge of the palm portion, and such that the upper end thereof is secured to the portion at which the palm portion and the back portion are secured, it will be possible to provide the benefit that the aforementioned respective benefits will be capable of being provided while ensuring that there will be definitive tightening force at the tightenable strap.

Claims

1. A sport glove comprising:

a back portion;

a palm portion;

a thumb sheath portion;

an index finger sheath portion;

a middle finger sheath portion;

a ring finger sheath portion;

a pinky finger sheath portion; and

a tightenable strap;

wherein a notched portion that also serves as hand insertion portion is provided at a lower portion of the back portion in such fashion as to cover neither a radiocarpal joint nor a midcarpal joint of a wearer; and

wherein a tip end portion of the tightenable strap is removably retained at the back portion, and a base end of the tightenable strap is secured to a side end of the pinky finger sheath portion at the palm portion, in such fashion that neither the radiocarpal joint nor the midcarpal joint is covered by the tightenable strap.

2. The sport glove according to claim 1 wherein a location of a lower end of the palm portion is made to be more toward the midcarpal joint than the radiocarpal joint of the wearer.

3. The sport glove according to claim 1 wherein the base end of the tightenable strap is secured in such fashion that a lower end thereof coincides with a bottom edge of the palm portion, and such that an upper end thereof is secured to a portion at which the palm portion and the back portion are secured.

4. The sport glove according to claim 2 wherein the base end of the tightenable strap is secured in such fashion that the lower end thereof coincides with a bottom edge of the palm portion, and such that an upper end thereof is secured to a portion at which the palm portion and the back portion are secured.