Patent Application
20220304403
What is disclosed and claimed herein is a hand warming device for outdoor sports, especially golf.
Various hand warming devices make up the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,566, that issued Sep. 6, 1994 to Solheim, et. al. deals with a protective mitten for golfers that has a finger receiving portion, a thumb receiving portion and a wrist receiving portion comprised of two mittens attached back to back on the outside edges. This device does not allow the coming together of the golfer's hands without the interference of the mittens or gloves in between the hands and the golf grip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,268 that issued to Pociask on Mar. 22, 1994 deals with a thermally insulated hand sock for a golfer's hand. The device is useful for only one hand or the other and not for two hands simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,820,516 that issued to Ferrer on Nov. 21, 2017 deals with an open palm sun protective glove that covers the back of the hand protecting the hand from solar ultraviolet radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,006,738 that issued Jun. 26, 2018 to Stoppenhagen deals with an archery hand warming device that functions to keep a user's bow hand warm when grasping an archery bow. This device is configured to cover only one hand.
None of these references teach or suggest the device of the instant invention.
What is disclosed and claimed herein is a golf grip shroud that is useful for gripping a golf club grip while keeping the golfer's hands warm during golfing.
The invention consists of a golf grip shroud. The golf grip shroud comprises a shroud having three openings wherein the first opening is in a front end of the shroud. The size of the opening allows the insertion of a handle (grip) portion of a golf club into it.
A second opening is at an opposite end of the shroud from the first opening wherein the second opening is large enough to insert a human hand.
A third opening is adjacent to the second opening and the third opening is large enough to insert a human hand.
It should be understood that there are right handed and left handed golfers, and therefore, the shroud of this invention may be configured to be right handed or left handed. It is also contemplated within the scope of this invention that the same shroud can be used by either a right handed golfer or a left handed golfer, i.e., a generic shroud.
Shown is the shroud 1, the grip opening 2 (see also
The upper portion 7 along with the first opening 2 is a grip opening to allow the insertion of a handle portion of a golf club (the grip 10). The second opening 4 is at the opposite end of the shroud 1 from the first opening 2 and the second opening 4 is large enough in volume to insert a human hand (hand not shown and is not part of the invention). The third opening 6 is adjacent to the second opening 4 and the third opening 6 is also large enough to insert a human hand. Although the inventors do not want to be held to a strict volume, it is believed that for convenience sake and to allow enough room for flexibility of the hands around the grip 10, the internal volume of the shroud 1 should be at least 250 cubic inches to about 450 cubic inches.
The shroud is configured to fit over both of the golfer's hands and still allow the hands to hold the grip of the golf club. Thus, no foreign material exists between the golfer's hands and the grip of the club whereby the golfer maintains the integrity of the grip on the club. Further, the shroud has enough inside volume to allow flexibility of the golfer's hands inside of the shroud. Having this capability, the shroud is valuable as a training tool that keeps hands and shoulders in correct position for a golf swing. The shroud 1 may have a top center line for use in training.
It is contemplated within the scope of this invention to line the interior of the shroud 1 with an insulative material such as that shown for the cuffs 3 and 5 such as that found in normal cold weather gloves. It is also contemplated within the scope of this invention to attach a lanyard 11 on the shroud 1 for carrying purposes as shown in
The overall size of the shroud 1 should be the distance from the opening 2 to the second opening 4 of about 8 to 18 inches, more or less, the actual distance not being critical as long as the golf grip 10 and the hands can operate within the shroud 1.
It is contemplated within the scope of this invention that the shroud 1 can be manufactured from any type of flexible material, including waterproof materials.
The shroud 1 can have writing or pictures on the exterior surface, for identification, or for advertising, or the like. The writing can be in the form of embroidery, printed, or painted, and the pictures can be embroidery, or photographs or the like.
The shroud is capable of being manufactured in variable sizes, such as children's, women's, men's large, X-large or XX-large.
