GLOVE AND ACCESSORY FOR USE WITH A GLOVE
There is provided a glove for protecting fingers of a wearer against impact from an object. The glove includes a plurality of finger portions for receiving the fingers of the wearer. Each finger portion defines a palm side and a dorsal side. At least one substantially rigid force transferring element is attached to at least one of the finger portions and extends at least partially between the palm side and dorsal side of such finger portion. The force transferring element is configured, upon receiving a compressive impact force from the object on the dorsal side of the finger portion, to at least partially transfer the compressive force past the wearer's fingers. A palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from the palm side of the finger portion when the glove is worn by the wearer.
This application claims priority from South African patent application number 2019/01014 filed on 18 Feb. 2019, which is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to protective gloves and accessories used with protective gloves.
More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention relates to a glove for protecting fingers or hand of a wearer against impact from an object during ball sports, goal sports or the like.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTIONProtective gloves are used in a variety of sports to protect the hands and fingers of a wearer. This is particularly important in ball or puck sports played with bats or sticks. Well known examples of sports where protective gloves are required include cricket, hockey, ice hockey, baseball and lacrosse. These sports involve fast moving objects such as solid core balls, pucks, bats and sticks which pose a risk of injury to the hands and fingers of players. As a result, protective gloves have been developed over the years. These known protective gloves generally include padding on a dorsal side of the glove to protect against the objects. Padding is typically not provided on a palm side of these gloves, because that would interfere with the player's feel and interaction with whatever sporting equipment is being used.
The known gloves are designed so that the pads absorb some of the energy of the striking ball or object. This padding comes in many shapes and sizes and is sometimes in the form of elongated sausage-like pads provided along the dorsal side of finger portions of the gloves. These are appropriately termed sausage-fingered gloves. Other types of protective gloves have a series of protective pads along the dorsal side of the glove and finger portions. Batting gloves, such as cricket batsman's or batswoman's gloves, sometimes include soft padding along the length of the index finger on a side adjacent the thumb, to reduce the impact of a ball striking the index finger from that side.
Notwithstanding these developments, injuries to players' fingers and hands are still very common even when these known gloves are worn. A problem with known gloves is that when the pads are compressed by the ball, a significant portion of the ball's energy is still transferred through the player's finger which is then compressed against the bat or handle, often causing injury or even fractured bones. During their careers, most professional batsmen in the game of cricket would have suffered broken bones in their fingers or hands as result of this type of compression injury at some point.
Other attempts at reducing these injuries have been made such as those disclosed in PCT application no. PCT/AU2013/001017, where a protective shield is provided directly on a handle of a cricket bat. However, this protective shield is bulky and prevents certain movements of the hands and bat that is natural to the game.
Accordingly, there is scope to address the aforementioned problems and limitations, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the known devices.
The preceding discussion of the background to the invention is intended only to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was part of the common general knowledge in the art as at the priority date of the application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a glove for protecting fingers of a wearer against impact from an object, the glove comprising:
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- a plurality of finger portions for receiving the fingers of the wearer, each finger portion defining a palm side and a dorsal side; and
at least one substantially rigid, planar force transferring element which is attached to at least one of the finger portions and extends at least partially between the palm side and dorsal side of such finger portion, the force transferring element being configured, upon receiving a compressive impact force from the object on the dorsal side of the finger portion, to at least partially transfer the compressive force past the wearer's fingers, - wherein a palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from the palm side of the finger portion when the glove is worn by the wearer.
- a plurality of finger portions for receiving the fingers of the wearer, each finger portion defining a palm side and a dorsal side; and
Further features provide for the palm side edge to be configured to move towards the palm side of the finger portion upon receiving the compressive impact force from the object; for the force transferring element to be suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element may be operatively spaced away from a handle of sporting equipment held by the wearer in use; and for the flexible member to be compressed under the force of the object bringing the force transferring element into abutment with the sporting equipment, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or a hand of the wearer.
Still further features provide for the force transferring element to include a substantially rigid member extending at least partially between the palm side and dorsal side; and for the palm side edge of the force transferring element to be arranged to abut a handle of sporting equipment when held by the wearer upon receiving the compressive impact force.
Yet further features provide for the force transferring element to further include a dorsal surface; and for the dorsal surface to include a transversely extending wing or shield which extends at least partially across an adjacent finger portion; and for the dorsal surface itself to extend across one or more of the finger portions.
Further features provide for the force transferring element to be in the form of a u-shaped structure including two substantially rigid members extending at least partially between the palm side and the dorsal side; and for the u-shaped structure to include a dorsal surface facing away from the palm side, the dorsal surface extending across one, two, three or more than three of the finger portions.
Still further features provide for the force transferring element to be suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively suspended away from the handle of the sporting equipment and is configured to move into abutment with the sporting equipment upon receiving the compressive impact force from the object, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or other parts of the hand of the wearer; for the flexible member to be impact absorbing; and for the palm side edge to be suspended away from the sporting equipment in use, so that it enables the wearer to use the sporting equipment freely without the force transferring element or palm side edge coming into contact with the sporting equipment unless a significant impact is received on the dorsal side.
Yet further features provide for the force transferring element to have a radial length which is greater than a diameter of the wearer's fingers, or an estimated diameter of the wearer's fingers expected to use the glove; and for at least two force transferring elements to be provided between two or more of the finger portions.
Further features provide for the glove to include padding adjacent to, or forming part of the finger portions, or adjacent to a body of the glove; for the padding to include an inner pad which is on the dorsal side of the glove near the wearer's fingers, and an outer pad which is on the dorsal side of the glove and outside the inner pad; for the inner pad to be provided, between the wearer's finger and the outer pad, and for example, in the case of a u-shaped or winged force transferring element, for the dorsal surface of the element to extend between the inner and outer pads; or for the dorsal surface to extend across one or more of the finger portions between the inner and outer pads; for the inner pad to be arranged to space the u-shaped force transferring element away from the wearer's hand or fingers, and away from the palm side of the finger portions, or away from the palm side of the glove; for the inner pad to be soft, so that the force transferring element is not perceived by the wearer; and for the inner pad or the finger portion to be configured such that when an impact is received on the dorsal side, one of the outer pad and the inner pad is compressed, until the palm side edge of the force transferring element comes into abutment with the sporting equipment, or with the handle thereof, thereby transferring at least part of the compressive force past the wearer's fingers or past the wearer's hand onto the handle or onto the sporting equipment; and for the force transferring element to form a protective chamber wherein the hand or fingers of the wearer are located in use, to inhibit injury from the compressive force of the object. The flexible member may be provided by the inner pad, or by a part of the glove.
Still further features provide for a distal end of the dorsal surface of the u-shaped force transferring element to extend past a tip of one of the wearer's fingers in use; and for the distal end to be an open end; alternatively, for the distal end to include a substantially rigid closure or face that at least partially covers the tip of one or more of the wearer's fingers in use.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a glove for protecting hands of a wearer against impact from an object, the glove comprising:
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- a glove body having a plurality of finger portions for receiving the fingers of the wearer, the glove body defining a palm side and a dorsal side; and
- at least one substantially rigid force transferring element which is attached to the glove body and extends at least partially between the palm side and dorsal side of the glove, the force transferring element being configured, upon receiving a compressive impact force from the object on the dorsal side of the glove, to at least partially transfer the compressive force past the wearer's hands,
- wherein a palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from the palm side of the glove when the glove is worn by the wearer.
Further features provide for the palm side edge to be configured to move towards the palm side of the glove upon receiving the compressive impact force from the object; for the force transferring element to be suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element may be operatively spaced away from a handle of sporting equipment held by the wearer; and for the flexible member to be operatively compressed under the force of the object bringing the force transferring element into abutment with the sporting equipment, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or a hand of the wearer in use.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention there is provided an accessory for use with a glove to protect hands of a wearer against impact from an object, the accessory comprising:
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- a substantially rigid force transferring element having a palm side edge and a dorsal surface; and
- an attachment formation which is configured to be attached to a glove body such that the force transferring element extends at least partially between a palm side and a dorsal side of the glove in use, with the palm side edge operatively spaced away from the palm side of the glove.
A further feature provides for the attachment formation to be arranged to enable movement of the force transferring element to at least partially transfer a compressive impact force from the object past the wearer's hands in use.
Still further features provide for the attachment formation to be arranged to be suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element may be operatively spaced away from a handle of sporting equipment held by the wearer; and for the flexible member to be arranged to compress under the force of the object bringing the force transferring element into abutment with the sporting equipment, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or a hand of the wearer in use.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
There is provided a protective glove for guarding the hand or fingers of a user of the glove, for example while the user is holding equipment such as sporting equipment. The glove includes a plurality of shielding members or accessories provided to inhibit damage to the user's fingers or hand. The shielding members may be made of a substantially rigid material such as, but not limited to, metal, carbon fibre, plastics, polymers (for example polycarbonate), composites or the like. The shielding members or accessories may be suspended by cushions which elevate or suspend the shielding members away from a gripping side of the glove while holding the equipment. When the glove receives a hit or strike from a ball, puck, bat, stick or any other object, a contact surface of one or more of the shielding members or accessories may be arranged to move and to make contact with the equipment, thereby directing at least part of the energy from the hit onto the equipment and beyond the user's fingers or hand. This may protect the user's hand or fingers from damage such as compression fractures and other injuries. An accessory or force transferring element for use with a glove may be provided and it may be retro-fitted to an existing glove.
An example embodiment of a glove is shown in
Referring to
In the example embodiment shown in
In
Referring again to
Still referring to
The inner pad (54), or the finger portions (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) may be configured such that when an impact is received on the dorsal side (36), one or both of the relevant inner and outer pads (56, 54) are at least partially compressed until the palm side edge (44) of the force transferring element (38, 40, 42, 48, 50) comes into abutment with the sporting equipment (46), or with the handle thereof, thereby transferring at least part of the compressive force (F) past the wearer's fingers (12, 14, 16, 18, 20) and hand directly onto the handle. The force transferring element may form a protective chamber wherein the hand or fingers of the wearer are located in use. A distal end (51) (shown in
Referring again to
It should be appreciated that the finger portions (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) of the glove (10) may also include finger receiving parts (25) which may be made of suitable material such as, but not limited to, cloth, leather, nylon etc. The finger receiving parts (25) of the finger portions (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) may be attached to the padding (54, 56) for example by adhering, gluing or stitching or other attachment methods may be used. The force transferring elements (38, 40, 42, 48, 50) may for example be stitched, adhered or otherwise attached to the padding (54, 56) and/or to the finger portions (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) and/or to the finger receiving parts (25). It is further envisaged that the force transferring elements may include an attachment formation or attachment means for attaching each of the force transferring elements to the glove (in other words, retro-fitting it to an existing glove). Adhesives, gluing, stitching or other attachment or fastening methods or apparatuses may be used. The force transferring elements may have a radial length (L) which may be equal to or greater than a diameter of the wearer's fingers, or an estimated diameter of a wearer's fingers who is expected to use the glove.
Turning now to
It may be advantageous to use the embodiment of the glove (100) with the broader force transferring element (158) of
Referring to
The present disclosure may provide advantages over known devices, because the force transferring elements may provide at least two contact points arranged to abut with the sporting equipment upon receiving an impact from an object, irrespective of the orientation of the wearer's hand relative to the sporting equipment. For example, with the embodiment shown in
For the example embodiment of
Having at least two contact points or palm side edges between the force transferring element and the sporting equipment upon impact from the object may be important, because if only one contact point is provided the object may still cause damage to the wearer's fingers or hand as a result of the force transferring element pivoting or rotating upon receiving the impact. Having at least two contact points may thus provide a secure or stable structure which may be more effective at transferring force to the sporting equipment, because the force transferring element may be less likely to rotate or pivot when it contacts the sporting equipment at two or more separate locations. This advantage may be provided even if the wearer does not use all his or her fingers to hold the sporting equipment. There are known gloves have reinforcing parts provided in an upper layer of padding. However, these reinforcing parts are fixed into these gloves, and they are thus unable to move past the wearer's finger(s) to come into contact with the sporting equipment without causing significant compression to the wearer's finger or hand. This is because a dorsal layer of these gloves prevents this movement, and/or because these reinforcing parts are usually too short to prevent injury.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that there are many variations to the invention as herein defined and/or described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For example, the inner and outer pads may be provided by a single pad. The force transferring element(s) may be provided only on one, or on more than one of the finger portions as required by the particular application. U-shaped force transferring elements, or generally flat, or generally curved, or generally elongated force transferring elements may be used or a combination of these as required. The force transferring elements may have any shape that includes projections that are longer than the thickness or diameter of the wearer's fingers, or an estimated diameter of a wearer's fingers who is expected to use the glove. The force transferring elements may be arranged to inhibit possible damage to the ball or object, for example by adding outer pads of a particular foam or other cushioning or shock absorbing materials. The palm side surface or edge of the force transferring elements may be a straight surface, or it may be a curved surface that is arranged to abut a round or oval handle. There may also be parts of the force transferring elements that are cut away to accommodate the wearer's fingers, particularly to accommodate the thumb as it wraps around the handle while the wearer is holding a bat. The force transferring elements may also be padded or lined (for example with leather or synthetic material), to limit wear on the glove and/or to improve the feel of the glove for the wearer and/or to alleviate damage to the ball. The force transferring elements, and particularly the outer pads may be arranged so that they have a shape that resembles a sporting glove of the particular sport, for example a Cricket glove. The padding or cushioning materials may be chosen so that it deflects the ball in a way that is familiar or known to players so that wearing the glove does not increase chances of being caught off the glove.
The force transferring elements may have holes in them so that the other components of the glove may be stitched or otherwise attached to the force transferring elements. An example of these holes is shown in
It will further be appreciated that the various force transferring elements described herein (and/or the separate rigid structure in
There is thus provided an accessory (38, 40, 42, 48, 50, 158, 238, 312, 320) for use with a glove to protect hands of a wearer against impact from an object. The accessory may include a substantially rigid force transferring element having a palm side edge and a dorsal surface. An attachment formation may be configured to be attached to a glove body such that the force transferring element extends at least partially between a palm side and a dorsal side of the glove in use, with the palm side edge being operatively spaced away from the palm side of the glove (and spaced away from sporting equipment when held by the wearer while wearing the glove). The attachment formation may be arranged to enable movement of the force transferring element to at least partially transfer a compressive impact force from the object past the wearer's hands in use.
The force transferring element may provide protection against injuries where the wearer's finger is compressed between the object and the sporting equipment, by transferring the force from the object to the sporting equipment. It should be appreciated that a substantial amount of the force or energy of the object is transferred or conveyed past the wearer's hand or fingers. The force transferring element may thus form a protective chamber or cage wherein the wearer's hand or finger(s) are located in use. The protective chamber may have a plurality of sides, for example three, or four sides: the dorsal side, a distal side (facing away from the distal tip of the relevant finger), a thumb side (facing towards the wearer's thumb when the hand is outstretched) and a little finger side (facing away from the thumb when the hand is outstretched). This protective chamber may house any number of fingers or even parts of the hand of the wearer.
It should further be appreciated that the padding, including the inner and outer padding may be optional. In other words, the glove may include the force transferring element, whether u-shaped, straight, curved, angled, or winged, and this may protect the hands or fingers of the wearer without necessarily requiring padding. The inner pads may be provided merely for comfort (or “feel”), or merely to suspend the dorsal surface above the wearer's fingers. The dorsal surface is typically substantially flat, but as shown in
The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
Finally, throughout the specification and accompanying claims, unless the context requires otherwise, the word ‘comprise’ or variations such as ‘comprises’ or ‘comprising’ will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.
Claims
1. A glove for protecting fingers of a wearer against impact from an object, the glove comprising:
- a plurality of finger portions for receiving the fingers of the wearer, each finger portion defining a palm side and a dorsal side; and
- at least one substantially rigid, planar force transferring element which is attached to at least one of the finger portions and extends at least partially between the palm side and dorsal side of such finger portion, the force transferring element being configured, upon receiving a compressive impact force from the object on the dorsal side of the finger portion, to at least partially transfer the compressive force past the wearer's fingers,
- wherein a palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from the palm side of the finger portion when the glove is worn by the wearer.
2. The glove as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force transferring element is suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from a handle of sporting equipment held by the wearer, and wherein the flexible member compresses under the force of the object bringing the force transferring element into abutment with the sporting equipment, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or a hand of the wearer in use.
3. The glove as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force transferring element further includes a dorsal surface.
4. The glove as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force transferring element is in the form of a u-shaped structure including two substantially rigid members extending at least partially between the palm side and the dorsal side.
5. The glove as claimed in claim 4, wherein the dorsal surface faces away from the palm side and extends across one, two, three or more than three of the finger portions.
6. The glove as claimed in claim 2, further including padding adjacent to, or forming part of the finger portions, wherein the padding includes an inner pad which is on the dorsal side of the glove near the wearer's fingers, and an outer pad which is on the dorsal side of the glove and outside the inner pad.
7. The glove as claimed in claim 6, wherein the dorsal surface of the force transferring element extends across one or more of the finger portions and between the inner and outer pads.
8. The glove as claimed in claim 7, wherein the inner pad provides the flexible member that is arranged to space the force transferring element away from the palm side of the finger portions.
9. The glove as claimed in claim 6, wherein the inner pad of the finger portion is configured such that when an impact is received on the dorsal side, one of the outer pad and the inner pad is compressed, until the palm side edge of the force transferring element comes into abutment with the sporting equipment, or with the handle thereof, thereby transferring at least part of the compressive force past the wearer's fingers or past the wearer's hand onto the sporting equipment.
10. The glove as claimed in claim 3, wherein the dorsal surface includes a transversely extending wing which extends at least partially across an adjacent finger portion.
11. The glove as claimed in claim 1, wherein the force transferring element has a radial length which is greater than an estimated diameter of the wearer's fingers.
12. The glove as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two force transferring elements are provided between two or more of the finger portions.
13. The glove as claimed in claim 4, wherein the force transferring element is in the form of a u-shaped structure and wherein a distal end of the dorsal surface of the u-shaped force transferring element extends past a tip of one of the wearer's fingers in use.
14. The glove as claimed in claim 13, wherein the distal end is an open end.
15. The glove as claimed in claim 13, wherein the distal end includes a substantially rigid closure that at least partially covers the tip of one or more of the wearer's fingers in use.
16. A glove for protecting hands of a wearer against impact from an object, the glove comprising:
- a glove body having a plurality of finger portions for receiving the fingers of the wearer, the glove body defining a palm side and a dorsal side; and
- at least one substantially rigid force transferring element which is attached to the glove body and extends at least partially between the palm side and dorsal side of the glove, the force transferring element being configured, upon receiving a compressive impact force from the object on the dorsal side of the glove, to at least partially transfer the compressive force past the wearer's hands,
- wherein a palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from the palm side of the glove when the glove is worn by the wearer.
17. The glove as claimed in claim 16, wherein the force transferring element is suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from a handle of sporting equipment held by the wearer, and wherein the flexible member compresses under the force of the object bringing the force transferring element into abutment with the sporting equipment, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or a hand of the wearer in use.
18. An accessory for use with a glove to protect hands of a wearer against impact from an object, the accessory comprising:
- a substantially rigid force transferring element having a palm side edge and a dorsal surface; and
- an attachment formation which is configured to be attached to a glove body such that the force transferring element extends at least partially between a palm side and a dorsal side of the glove in use, with the palm side edge operatively spaced away from the palm side of the glove.
19. The accessory as claimed in claim 18, wherein the attachment formation is arranged to be suspended by a flexible member so that the palm side edge of the force transferring element is operatively spaced away from a handle of sporting equipment held by the wearer, and wherein the flexible member compresses under the force of the object bringing the force transferring element into abutment with the sporting equipment, thereby at least partially transferring the impact force from the object to the sporting equipment to protect one or more fingers or a hand of the wearer in use.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 18, 2020
Publication Date: May 12, 2022
Applicant: GLOVE IP (PTY) LTD (Century City)
Inventor: Stephen John Quinlan (Claremont)
Application Number: 17/430,920