1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to protective sporting equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a baseball or softball glove that includes features to facilitate the closing of the glove around a ball.
2. Description of Related Art
Gloves are traditionally worn to protect the hands and to improve gripping ability. Depending on the application, gloves may insulate the hands from temperature extremes, they may protect against harsh or hazardous environments, and they may protect the hands mechanically by diffusing or absorbing applied forces that would otherwise cause damage.
Protective gloves are particularly common in athletics. Most athletic gloves seek to increase gripping ability and to diffuse or absorb applied forces without interfering with the hand range of motion that is necessary for athletic tasks. Some athletic gloves seek to provide adequate hand range of motion while preventing potentially damaging movements of the hand.
The use of protective gloves is especially common in baseball or softball, where the hard ball must be caught at relatively high speeds. To catch a baseball or softball using a glove, the ball impacts the palm side of the glove, and then the hand wearing the glove closes around the ball. This closing of the glove is sometimes referred to as “snapping” the glove. Baseball gloves or mitts are typically made from leather or similarly stiff materials, making snapping the glove relatively difficult until the glove is broken in by repeatedly creasing the palm portion of the glove. This problem is especially pronounced in young or inexperienced players who lack sufficient hand strength to open and close the glove. Such players may need assistance in using the glove even once the glove has been broken in.
Breaking in a glove so that it snaps easily occurs over time with regular use of the glove. However, in order to be able to more effectively use a glove sooner, players often artificially break in a glove. Artificially breaking in a glove typically includes the application of oils or other leather-softening materials, then mechanically deforming the leather of the glove. One such method involves saturating the glove with leather oil, tying the glove closed around a baseball, then placing the glove and ball underneath the mattress of the player's bed to deform the glove around the ball. Such breaking in activities can take considerable time and effort and may ultimately reduce the usable life of the glove if care is not taken when deforming the leather.
Some gloves have been developed to increase the flexibility of the glove, even when new. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,775 describes a glove having a palm notch and slits to increase the flexibility of the glove. The '775 patent removes a portion of material from the heel area of the palm of the glove to decrease the overall stiffness of the palm of the glove. Additionally, slits are formed in the upper part of the pocket material. These slits decrease the stiffness of the pocket to allow the user to more easily bend the glove with one hand. The gloves in the prior art rely upon such scoring or removal of material to decrease the overall stiffness of the glove in order to facilitate the opening and closing of the glove. No known gloves mechanically or orthotically assist the hand in performing the opening and closing motions to catch a ball.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a glove enhances the ability of the hand to manipulate the glove.
In a first aspect, the invention provides a baseball or softball glove comprising a palm portion, a thumb stall extending from the palm portion, a first finger stall extending from the palm portion and spaced apart from the thumb stall, and a compression strap removably attachable to an outer surface of a rear face of the palm portion to provide a compressive force to at least one finger of a hand inserted into the glove.
In another aspect, a second finger stall extends from the palm portion; and the second finger stall is sized and dimensioned to receive at least two fingers.
In another aspect, the second finger stall has an outward appearance of two separate finger stalls.
In another aspect. the second finger stall has a guide wall formed near an entrance to the finger stall, the guide wall positioned to direct the two fingers into a portion of the second finger stall.
In another aspect, the portion of the second finger stall is at or near the edge of the glove.
In another aspect, a third finger stall extends away from the palm portion between the first finger stall and the second finger stall.
In another aspect, a portion of material is attached to the thumb stall and the first finger stall to form a pocket between the thumb stall and the first finger stall.
In another aspect, the pocket includes a woven portion.
In another aspect, a first end of the compression strap is fixedly attached to the glove and a second end of the compression strap is removably attached to the outer surface of the rear face of the palm portion.
In another aspect, the first end of the compression strap is sewn to the glove.
In another aspect, a portion of material is attached to the thumb stall and the first finger stall to form a pocket between the thumb stall and the first finger stall, and the first end of the compression strap is fixedly attached to the glove near the pocket.
In another aspect, the first end of the compression strap is fixedly attached to an inner surface of the glove and the second end of the compression strap is threaded through an aperture formed in the rear face of the glove so that the second end of the compression strap may be attached to an outer surface of the rear face of the glove.
In another aspect, a ring is attached to the glove, the ring positioned within the aperture and the compression strap being threaded through the ring.
In another aspect, the ring is made of a rigid material.
In another aspect, a first portion of a securing mechanism is fixedly attached to the second end of the compression strap and a second portion of the securing mechanism is fixedly attached to an outer surface of the rear face of the glove.
In another aspect, the securing mechanism comprising a hook-and-loop system.
In another aspect, the invention provides a baseball or softball glove comprising a palm portion, a first finger stall extending from the palm portion, the first finger stall sized and dimensioned to receive at least two fingers, and a compression strap removably attachable to an outer surface of a rear face of the palm portion to provide a compressive force to a hand inserted into the glove.
In another aspect, the compressive force is applied to the main knuckles of the hand.
In another aspect, a thumb stall extends from the palm portion, a second finger stall extends from the palm portion and spaced apart from the thumb stall, and a portion of material is attached to the thumb stall and the first finger stall to form a pocket between the thumb stall and the first finger stall.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for catching a ball comprising the steps of:
In another aspect, the compressive force inhibits movement of the hand and the at least one finger within and with respect to the glove.
In another aspect, the glove is configured so that at least two fingers are positioned within a single finger stall.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description and this summary, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.
The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
As with conventional gloves, glove 100 includes padding to absorb and dissipate the impact of the ball when caught. As shown in
As shown in
To close glove 100 around a ball, all of the fingers and finger stalls are folded toward thumb stall 103. Fourth finger stall 114 forms the edge of glove 100, so fourth finger stall 114 is moved the furthest while closing glove 100. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, third finger stall 112 and fourth finger stall 114 are connected to allow ring finger 107 and pinky 109 to occupy the same finger stall. As is known, ring finger 107 is the weakest of the fingers because it shares a flexor muscle with both middle finger 105 and pinky finger 109. By placing ring finger 107 and pinky finger 109 in the same finger stall, ring finger 107 and pinky finger 109 may move in unison to both compensate for the weakness of ring finger 107 in moving on its own and to provide additional power in moving fourth finger stall 114.
Preferably, third finger stall 112 and fourth finger stall 114 are configured to appear as conventional, separate finger stalls from the exterior. However, guide wall 116 is placed at or near the entrance to third finger stall 112. Guide wall 116 is preferably fixedly attached to both rear-side inner panel 127 and palm-side inner panel 129 in order to close off third finger stall 112. Additionally, guide wall 116 is preferably positioned at an angle so that when ring finger 107 is being inserted into glove 100 and encounters guide wall 116, ring finger 107 is pushed along guide wall 116 and directed into the correct position within fourth finger stall 114. Guide wall 116 is preferably made from leather or the same or similar material as that of rear-side inner panel 127.
In another embodiment, ring finger 107 may be inserted into the same finger stall as middle finger 105. In another embodiment, middle finger 105, ring finger 107, and pinky finger 109 may all be inserted into a single stall which is sized and dimensioned to accommodate all three fingers. In yet another embodiment, all four fingers may be inserted into a single stall.
A pocket 117 is preferably disposed between thumb stall 106 and first finger stall 108. Pocket 117 is a flap of material forming a web-like structure to prevent a ball being caught from readily slipping through the gap between thumb stall 106 and first finger stall 108. Pocket 117 is formed of material which is the same or similar to the material of rear face 104 and/or front face 102, such as leather. Pocket 117 is attached to thumb stall 106 and to first finger stall 108 using conventional methods, such as stitching or with an adhesive. Preferably, neither padding layer 127, 129 extends to pocket 117.
Pocket 117 may include an optional woven panel 118, although in other embodiments, pocket 117 may be solid or include slots. Woven panel 118 is preferably made by weaving strips of the material of pocket 117 to form the desired shape, then fixedly attaching woven panel 118 to a central portion of pocket 117, such as by stitching. Woven panel 118 increases the flexibility of pocket 117 by reducing the stiffness of the material of pocket 117. This allows hand 101 to open and close glove 100 more readily.
Strapping system 120 also enhances the natural ability of the hand to close or snap glove 100 around a ball. Strapping system 120 includes a compression strap 122. Compression strap 122 is preferably positioned over the main knuckles 113 of hand 101, the knuckles forming the joint between the fingers and the hand, to provide a compressive force onto knuckles 113. The force on knuckles 113 may be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the tension of compression strap 122. In other embodiments, compression strap 122 may be positioned over different part of hand 101 or the fingers. For example, in another embodiment, compression strap 122 may be positioned over the first finger joints of hand 101, the second finger joints of hand 101, or at any point along the fingers.
In one embodiment, as shown in
Inner portion 124 is fixedly connected to an inner portion of glove 100, preferably between outer padded layer 127 and rear face 104. Alternatively, inner portion 124 may be connected to glove 100 between outer padded layer 127 and inner padded layer 129, although care would need to be taken to ensure that hand 101 is inserted correctly into glove so hand 101 is inserted between inner portion 124 and inner padded layer 129.
Inner portion 124 is preferably fixedly attached to glove 100 only at its end or edge, as shown in
Compression strap 122 is then threaded between outer pad layer 127 and rear face 104 to an aperture 134 formed in rear face 104. Aperture 134 is preferably an elongated hole extending through rear face 104. In other embodiments, such as where inner portion 124 of compression strap 122 is positioned between padded layers 127, 129, aperture 134 may extend through both rear face 104 and outer padded layer 127.
A ring 136 is optionally provided within aperture 134. Ring 136 is preferably rigid with a substantially similar shape as aperture 134, for example, an elongated oval or rectangle. Ring 136 is preferably made of a rigid material such as metal, plastic, or the like. Ring 136 is preferably fixedly attached to either or both of outer padded layer 127 and inner padded layer 129. Ring 136 may be attached by any conventional method, such as by stitching or with an adhesive. Compression strap 122 is preferably threaded through ring 136 and aperture 134 to stabilize and strengthen aperture 134. As compression strap 122 is pulled through aperture 134 to be attached to or detached from rear face 104 or is pulled tightly through aperture 134 and held in position, compression strap 122 pulls on and wears at aperture 134. Over time, aperture 134 may be deformed from its original size and shape or may even tear, thereby decreasing the ability of compression strap 122 to provide a sufficient level of force to knuckles 113. Ring 136 prevents this wear and tear, as ring 136 is less prone to being readily deformed.
Compression strap 122 passes through aperture 134 to expose external portion 126 of compression strap 122. As shown in
The side of external portion 126 of compression strap 122 opposite rear face 104 of glove 100 includes at least a portion of a securing mechanism. The securing mechanism may be any reusable conventional securing mechanism, such as snaps, button and buttonhole, buckle, or similar devices. However, the securing mechanism is preferably a hook and loop mechanism, such as Velcro®. A hook and loop mechanism makes securing external portion 126 to rear face 104 using only one hand simpler than trying to perfectly align and manipulate a snap, button, slide, or similar mechanism.
A first portion 130 of the securing mechanism is fixedly attached to external portion 126. Though shown in
Second portion 132 is positioned on rear face 104 so that first portion 130 is able to come into contact with and engage second portion 132 when external portion 126 has been folded across glove 100, as shown in
First portion 130 and second portion 132 are preferably similar in length to allow for a very secure connection of the two portions. However, in other embodiments, second portion 132 may be smaller than first portion 130 or larger than first portion 130. Also, second portion 132 is preferably co-extensive with first portion 130 when external portion 126 is attached to rear face 104, as shown in
As shown in
While various embodiments of the invention have been described, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. Also, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the attached claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090031465 A1 | Feb 2009 | US |