Patent Application
20250018272
Priority is claimed to European Patent Application No. 23 185 131.2, filed on Jul. 12, 2023, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a glove, in particular a goalkeeper glove, having a motion portion and a rolled finger portion on at least one finger.
Gloves, and in particular goalkeeper gloves, have been known for a long time in different configurations and based on different cutting patterns. One known configuration comprises a front side portion covering the inside of a wearer's hand, an opposite back side portion and gussets connecting the front side and the back side particularly in the area of the fingers. An alternative configuration comprises so-called rolled fingers where in the area of the fingers the front side extends into the side faces of the fingers and also around the fingertip into the front face and is directly connected to the back portion, which means the front side portion is rolled around the finger laterally and distally. The advantage of such a configuration is that there are no seams in the gripping area of the fingers, which provides better grip and control of the football.
Due to the fact that the front side member of the glove is made from a two-dimensional pattern, the amount of material of a planar sheet available in the pattern for the rolled finger portion is limited. As a result, not all fingers can have a rolled finger portion or only in the area of the fingertip. The model “Kraken NRG PRO” from Rinat offers a rolled finger portion on the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger. To achieve this, the lower end of the rolled finger section defined by a straight line bended along the surface of the glove is connected to an intermediate section arranged between the rolled finger portion and the palm portion. The intermediate section comprises a front side fabric extending from the palm area into each of the four fingers and additionally, the intermediate section comprises gussets on the side faces between the four fingers. The intermediate section reduces the palm portion of the glove which is essential as a gripping area. Further, the gussets in the intermediate section make the glove very complex to manufacture, particularly in terms of stitching.
The present invention is therefore based on the problem of providing a glove with an improved rolled finger configuration.
A glove, in particular a goalkeeper glove, in accordance with the present invention, comprises a palm portion, a motion portion and a rolled finger portion on at least one of an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger of the glove. A lower end of the at least one of the rolled finger portions is connected only with a member of a motion portion being disposed between the palm portion and the rolled finger portion. This provides a football glove with improved degrees of freedom as regard to the design of the rolled finger portion.
The rolled finger portion of a finger may be a single member rolled around the finger of a wearer and extending into the front face and the side faces of the finger of the glove. The rolled finger portion may be attached directly to the back portion of the glove in an U-shaped connection on the lateral and distal side of the back portion of the finger. The rolled finger portion extends from the tip of the finger to the bottom of the finger. The degree of freedom where the rolled fingers end is higher than in configurations with a single material for the palm portion and the rolled finger portion. This is to the limitations indicated above as regards to the two-dimensional pattern. In addition, the position of the transitions between the different portions can be defined freely in order to enhance the functionalities of the glove, such as the bendability of the fingers. In one configuration, each of the four fingers, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger, is formed with a rolled finger portion. In other configurations, less than four fingers are equipped with a rolled finger portion.
In one embodiment, two adjacent fingers of the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger have a rolled finger portion and the lower ends of the rolled finger portions of said two adjacent fingers are connected to a single member of the motion portion. Accordingly, the single member of the motion portion may be disposed between the palm portion and the rolled finger portion of two adjacent fingers.
According to one embodiment, the motion portion may consist of or comprise two single members, a first and a second member, which are connected to each other between two adjacent fingers of the glove. The connection of the two members may be at the bottom of the interspace between the two fingers. It may be a straight sewed or glued seam from the back portion of the glove to the palm portion of the glove.
The first and the second member of the motion portion may be connected to each other between the middle finger and the ring finger. In alternative configurations, the middle finger and the ring finger may be connected to a single member and the index finger and the little finger each may have a corresponding single member of the motion portion. In a further configuration, each finger may have an own corresponding member of the motion portion. In all configurations, the connection of two adjacent single members to each other may be located between the two corresponding fingers, particularly at the bottom between the two adjacent fingers.
In one embodiment, the motion portion may comprise or consist of the two members and the lower ends of the rolled finger portions of the index finger and the middle finger are connected to a first member while the lower ends of the rolled finger portions of the ring finger and little finger are connected to a second member. The first member may be disposed between the palm portion and the rolled finger portion of the middle finger and the ring finger, respectively. The second member may be disposed between the palm portion and the rolled finger portion of the ring finger and the little finger, respectively.
In an alternative embodiment, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger have a rolled finger portion and the lower ends of the rolled finger portions of said four fingers are connected to a single member of the motion portion. The motion portion of the glove may consist of a single member. This further reduces the connections between materials such as stitchings or adhesions which lead to local thickening of the material and lumps. The connection between the palm portion and the rolled finger portions may consist only of a single member of the motion portion.
The motion portion and particularly the one or more members of the motion portion may be arranged on a front side of the glove and on the side face of the fingers of the glove between the palm portion and the rolled finger portion particularly between the palm portion, the rolled finger portion and a back portion of the glove covering basically the back side of the glove.
The configuration with the single member being connected to the lower end of the rolled finger portion does not require gussets. The rolled finger portion may only be connected to the back portion of the glove and the single member of the motion portion. For connecting the rolled finger portion with the motion portion, the lower end of the rolled finger portion may be a straight cutting edge in the pattern.
In an embodiment, the palm portion has at least one protrusion extending into a finger of the glove, particularly into the inside of the finger. A protrusion may be arranged on each of the four fingers, the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger. It is particularly arranged at the inside which means the inner side of the glove. However, the protrusion may also extend into the side faces of the finger. This may preferably be the case on the side face of the index finger facing towards the thumb and also on the side face of the little finger facing away from the other fingers. The protrusion may then be connected directly with the back portion of the glove.
The motion portion may basically be a stripe of material between an upper end of a protrusion and the lower end of the rolled finger portion on the front side of the glove and on the side faces of the fingers it may have a stripe shape between the protrusions and the back portion. The stripe may have along its length one or more bends, preferably bendy of around 90 degrees, preferably in the range of 75 to 90 degrees. In one embodiment, the stripe-shaped motion portion may comprise triangles extending along the lateral edges of the stripe.
The protrusions may have a length projecting into the finger of about ¼ to ⅓ of the total finger length. This results in the motion portion being in the area of the proximal interphalangeal joint. The distance between the protrusions and the lower end of the rolled finger portions, which means the width of the stripe-shaped motion portion, may be smaller than the length of the protrusions. The width of the stripe-shaped motion portion may be ¼ to ⅓ of the length of the protrusions. The width of the motion portion may be, depending on the sides of the glove, less than 1 cm, preferably, less than 0.5 cm on an average glove size of 8. The width of the motion portion between the protrusion and the rolled finger portion on the front side may be smaller than the width between the protrusion and the back portion of the glove on the side face. The stripe between the protrusion and the rolled finger portion and the stripe shaped motion portion between the protrusion and the back side may be a single member of the motion portion for at least each finger.
In one embodiment, the glove may comprise a further motion portion disposed between the palm portion and the thumb of the glove. The further motion portion may be a curved stripe being curved away from the thumb. The material of the further motion portion may be the same as or differ from the material of the motion portion.
At least one member of the motion portion may, according to one embodiment, be made of a textile. A textile provides a good bendability providing the wearer a freedom of movement of the fingers and particularly of the joints in the area of the motion portion. By implication, the motion portion may be arranged in the area of a finger joint of the wearer in order to provide an enhanced freedom of movement of the fingers. The motion portion made of textile is preferably arranged in the area of the proximal interphalangeal joint of the four fingers and the further motion portion in the area of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb.
The motion portion has in one embodiment a lower thickness than the palm portion and the rolled finger portion. The lower thickness of the motion portion and particularly of the textile of the motion portion enhances the freedom of movement.
The palm portion and/or the rolled finger portions are in one embodiment made of latex. The palm portion and the rolled finger portion are considered as being gripping zone of the glove. Latex provides a good grip when gripping the football and has also damping properties against the impact of the football. In order to provide good damping properties, the thickness of the latex is higher than the thickness of the textile/the motion portion providing a better bendability of the fingers. The palm portion and a single rolled finger portion may each be made of a single piece, which may be considered as a palm portion member and rolled finger portion member, respectively.
In one embodiment, the palm portion and the rolled finger portion are made of the same material, particularly latex. Since both portions of the glove are a part of the gripping zone, similar properties are required. A difference between the latex of the palm portion and the rolled finger portion may be the color of the material, which can provide a better visibility of the fingers, or the thickness of the material.
The front side of the thumb, which is also part of the gripping zone, may be made of the same material as the palm portion and the rolled finger portion regardless of regardless of whether or not it is separated from the palm portion by the further motion portion.
In another embodiment, the palm portion and the rolled finger portion are made of different materials. This may include different material compositions, for example for providing higher damping or better gripping properties, which means higher friction on the surface of the material, or a different bending stiffness. Additionally, the rolled finger portion of different fingers may also have different materials providing different functionalities for the corresponding finger.
The different portions or members of the portions, which may consist of the same or different material, may be connected to each other by sewing or gluing. Therefor, the portions or members may overlap or folded down to provide a stitching or gluing area.
In one embodiment, the at least one rolled finger portion is connected to only a single member of the motion portion and the back side portion of the glove. Consequently, a finger of the glove is constituted by only the rolled finger portion, the motion portion, and the back side portion and optionally the palm portion, particularly the protrusion of the palm portion. In one embodiment, all four fingers are constructed only from said parts. This does not preclude further applications on the surface of the finger, such as silicon punching elements or gripping elements.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of example only, wherein
The glove 1 comprises at the front side 2 a palm portion 20, a motion portion 40, and rolled finger portions 60. The motion portion 40 is arranged between the rolled finger portions 60 of the four fingers and connects the rolled finger portions 60 with the palm portion 20. The palm portion 20 covers at least the area of the wearer's palm and may be designed as a single piece. The palm portion 20 extends into the forearm area of a wearer and covers the wrist on the front side 2. At the lower end of the glove 1, a back portion 90 extends from the back side 3 to the front side 2 and incircles the forearm of the wearer at the lower end of the glove 1. At the lower end of the glove 1, a strap (not shown) may be arranged to encircle the forearm of the wearer and to provide a tight fit.
In the embodiment shown, the palm portion 20 comprises four protrusions each of which extends into one of an index finger 5, a middle finger 6, a ring finger 7, and a little finger 8. The protrusions are therefore considered to be a protrusion on the index finger 21, protrusion on the middle finger 22, a protrusion on the ring finger 23, and a protrusion on the little finger 24. The protrusions are generally arranged in the area of the front side 2 of the glove 1 and do not extend into the area between two adjacent fingers, in particular into the side faces of the finger where usually gussets are arranged.
The index finger 5, the middle finger 6, the ring finger 7, and the little finger 8, which means all the fingers except the thumb 4, hereinafter referred to as the four fingers, each comprise a rolled finger portion. The rolled finger portions 60 extend from a tip of the finger towards the palm portion 20 and the protrusions 21-24 of the corresponding fingers. The rolled finger portions 60 consist of a rolled material which is connected on both sides and at the tip to the back portion 90 of the goalkeeper glove 1. The rolled finger portions 60 cover in the present embodiment the distal and the intermediate phalanges of a wearer's hand.
The rolled finger portions 60 comprise a rolled index finger portion 61, a rolled middle finger portion 62, a rolled ring finger portion 63, and a rolled little finger portion 64. Each of the rolled index finger portion 61, the rolled middle finger portion 62, the rolled ring finger portion 63, and the rolled little finger portion 64 is designed as a single piece of material. The rolled index finger portion 61 has a lower end 65, which lower end 65 is only connected with the motion portion 40. The lower end 65 is not connected to the back portion 90 of the goalkeeper glove 1. All other edges of the rolled index finger portion 61 are connected to the back portion 90. Correspondingly, the rolled middle finger portion 62 has a lower end 66, the rolled ring finger portion 63 has a lower end 67 and the rolled little finger portion 64 has a lower end 68. Said lower ends 66, 67, 68 are only connected to the motion portion 40.
In the present embodiment, the motion portion 40 consists of two members, a first member 41 and a second member 42. The lower ends of the index finger 65 and the middle finger 66 are only connected to first member 41 of the motion portion 40 and the lower ends of the ring finger 67 and the little finger 67 only to the second member 42. The first member 41 connects the index ring finger portion 61 and the middle little finger portion 24 to the palm portion 20 and the second member 42 connects the rolled ring finger portion 63 and the rolled little finger portion 64 to the palm portion 20. In an alternative embodiment, the motion portion 20 may consist of four members wherein each member is connected to a corresponding lower end of one of the rolled finger portions of one of the four fingers.
On the front side 2, the motion portion 40 is arranged between the lower end of one of the rolled finger portions 60 and the corresponding protrusion of the palm portion 20. For example, the motion portion 40, particularly the first member 41, is arranged between the lower end of the index finger 65 and the protrusion on the index finger 21. The first member 41 and the protrusion on the index finger 21 extend into the side face of the index finger facing towards the thumb 4. On the opposite side of the index finger 5 facing towards the middle finger 7, the first member 41 is arranged between the protrusion on the index finger 21 and the back portion 90 (shown in
As indicated above, the motion portion 40 consists in the present embodiment of a first member 41 and a second member 42. The first member 41 and the second member 42 are connected to each other between the middle finger 6 and the ring finger 7, in particular as a straight line between the palm portion 20 and the back portion 90 in the area of the bottom between the middle finger 6 and the ring finger 7. The arrangement of the second member 42 between the rolled ring finger portion 63, the rolled little finger portion 64, the palm portion 20 and the back portion 90 is mirrored with regard to the arrangement on the index finger 5 and middle finger 6.
The motion portion 20 is only connected with the lower end of the four fingers 65, 66, 67, and 68, the palm portion 20 and protrusions on the index finger 21, the middle finger 22, the ring finger 23, and the little finger 24 thereof and the back portion 90. The motion portion 40 may be surrounded by only then palm portion 20, the lower ends of the rolled finger portions 60 and the back portion 90. Additionally, the first and the second member 41, 42 may be connected to each other.
The thumb 4 is separated from the palm portion 20 by a further motion portion 43. The further motion portion 43 may be of the same textile as the motion portion 40. The palm portion 20, the rolled finger portions 60, and the front side 2 of the thumb 4 are made of the same material, which is in the present embodiment latex. Said areas of the goalkeeper glove 1 serve as gripping zones providing good gripping properties and particularly rubbing characteristic for gripping a football. Additionally, the material may have damping properties for protecting the wearer's hand such as from the impact of a football. A difference between the latex of the rolled finger portions 60 and the latex of the palm portion 20 is the color thereof.
The motion portion 40, which means the first member 41 and the second member 42, is made of a textile. The motion portion 40 between the protrusions in the palm portion 20 and the lower ends of the rolled finger portions 60 is placed in the area of the proximal interphalangeal joint of a wearer's hand. The textile facilitates a bending of the proximal interphalangeal joint and therefore a movement of the finger when gripping the football. The various portions of the goalkeeper glove 1 may be connected to each other via sewing. Alternatively, two portions may be connected by gluing.
A pattern 49 of the first member 41 of the motion portion 40 is shown in
Similar to the first embodiment, the palm portion 20 has four protrusions, namely a protrusion on the index finger 21, protrusion on the middle finger 22, protrusion on the ring finger 23, and a protrusion on the little finger 24. The single member 41 of the motion portion is arranged between the lower ends of the rolled finger portions 65, 66, 67, and 68 and the protrusions on the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger 21, 22, 23, 24 as well as on the side faces of the fingers 5, 6, 7, 8.
The motion portion 40, which is a textile, is basically designed as a stripe, as can be seen in the second cutting pattern 70 of the palm portion 20, the motion portion 40 and the rolled finger portions 60 shown in
The triangular protrusions 71, 72, and 73 are folded and connected with the back portion 90 of the glove 1. As shown in
The lower fifth edge 80 of the motion portion 40 extending from edge 81 to edge 82 with the fourth triangular protrusion 74 and the fifth triangular protrusion 75 is connected with the palm portion 20 of the glove 1, wherein the fourth triangular protrusion 74 is connected with the palm portion 20 between protrusions on the middle finger and the ring finger 22, 23, and the fifth triangular protrusion is connected with the palm portion 20 between the protrusion on the ring finger and of the little finger 23, 24. The sixth edge 81 is connected with the back portion 90 on the index finger 5 and the seventh edge 82 is connected with the back portion 90 on the little finger 8.
The width of the stripe-shaped single first member 41 of the motion portion 40 may vary over its length, in particular in the sections between the multiple triangular protrusions. Further, the number of triangular protrusions may vary and preferably is equal to or greater than three for a single member of the motion portion 40 for four fingers.
The pattern 70 comprises rolled finger portions 60 of the four fingers, which means the rolled index finger portion 61, the rolled middle finger portion 62, the rolled ring finger portion 63, and the rolled little finger portion 64. The rolled finger portions are shown in a two-dimensional state in which they are not yet rolled. The lower ends of the rolled finger portions 65, 66, 67, 68 are straight edges in the present embodiment. In alternative embodiments, depending on the design of the motion portion 40, the lower ends 65, 66, 67, 68 may be designed differently. In an alternative embodiment, the lower end may have straight middle sections and end sections which are retracted towards the tip. The lower ends 65, 66, 67, 68 may be connected to the motion portion 40 of the glove 1. The further edge of the rolled finger portions 60 may be U-shaped and connected to the back portion 90 of the glove 1.
A further difference between the first and second embodiment is that the second embodiment does not comprise a further motion portion 43 separating the thumb 4 completely from the palm portion 20. The pattern 70 of the palm portion 20 therefore comprises a thumb protrusion 25. The thumb protrusion 25 extends into the thumb 4 and is wrapped around the wearers thumb in the glove 1. Additionally, the shape of the lower end of the palm portion 20 has a different shape which are interchangeable.
The glove 1 according to the second embodiment further comprises, as can be seen in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 185 131.2 | Jul 2023 | EP | regional |
