A detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is provided herein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the drawings, the embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of examples. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.
To facilitate the description, any reference numerals designating an element in one figure will designate the same element if used in any other figures. In describing the embodiments, specific terminology is resorted to for the sake of clarity but the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is understood that each specific term comprises all equivalents.
As shown in
The hockey glove 10 has a hand receiving portion covering the palm P and dorsal side DS of the hand and extending generally to the end of the fingers F and a thumb sheath covering the thumb T. The hand receiving portion comprises a palm sheet 12 for facing the palm P and the palm surfaces PS of the respective fingers F and the palm surface PS of the thumb T and a dorsal sheet for covering the dorsal surface DS of the respective fingers F. The hand receiving portion also comprises a side finger web 14 for facing the lateral surface LS and medial surface MS of each finger F, this side finger web 14 being connected to the palm and dorsal sheets for defining finger gussets 16 for enclosing the fingers F. As it is well known in the art, pads 26, for protecting the dorsal surface DS of each finger F, cover the finger gussets 16.
As shown in
Hence, in the prior art glove 10, there is no space between the pad 26 and the finger gusset 16 and the movement of the finger F may be imparted by the pad 26 due to the common layer (side 24) that serves both as a base layer for the pad pocket 29 and as an upper layer for the finger gusset 16.
The hockey glove 100 has a hand receiving portion 102 covering the palm P and dorsal side DS of the hand and extending generally to the end of the fingers F and a thumb sheath covering the thumb T. The glove 100 further comprises a cuff portion 103, which extends from the wrist up towards the lower forearm of the player, the cuff portion 103 being secured to the hand receiving portion 102 of the glove 100.
The hand receiving portion 102 comprises four finger sheaths 104 adapted to enclose the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player. The hand receiving portion 102 also comprises a palm sheet 106 for facing the palm P and the palm surfaces PS of the respective fingers F and the palm surface PS of the thumb T. The palm sheet 106 is made of a suitable flexible material such as soft leather, leather-like materials, synthetic suede, or Nash fabric. An example of a suitable material is commercialized under the name CLARINO (trade-mark of Kuraray Co. Ltd.). The palm sheet 106 may also be treated with silicone to improve stick control and may further be reinforced with a protective layer. The hand receiving portion 102 also comprises a dorsal sheet 108 for covering the dorsal surface DS of the respective fingers F. The hand receiving portion 102 further comprises a side finger web 110 for facing the lateral surface LS and medial surface MS of each finger F. The side finger web 110 is connected to the palm sheet 106 and dorsal sheet 108 for defining finger gussets 112 for enclosing the fingers F.
The hand receiving portion 102 also comprises dorsal pads 114 for protecting the dorsal side DS of the hand H of the player and finger pads 116 for protecting the dorsal surface DS of each finger F. While the glove 100 is shown as having, on each finger, first and second protective pads 116 and one flexion zone between these two pads 116, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the art that a variety of other patterns of protective pads/flexion zones may be used. For example, on each finger, the glove may comprise three finger pads with two flexion zones. A spacer 115 made of flexible material fills the gap between the first and second finger pads 116 of a given finger sheath 104 for covering the player's knuckles when the finger sheath 104 is fully bent inwardly (see
The finger pad 116 has a padding element 118 enclosed in a pocket 120 made of a base layer 122 and an overlapping layer 124 surrounding the sides and top of the padding element 118. Examples of materials for the padding element 118 comprise polyethylene and may include various composite materials designed to absorb the energy of an impact. The padding element 118 may comprise a layer of low density padding and a layer of high density padding which overlies the low density padding. The high density padding is generally of greater density, stiffer, and less compressible that the corresponding layer of low density padding. The relative thicknesses of the layers of low and high density paddings may vary. The layers 122, 124 of the pad pocket 120 can be made of leather, knit polyester and PVC or other materials.
The finger gusset 112 is made of portions of the side finger web 110 (see medial side 110A that faces the medial surface MS of the index finger F and lateral side 110B that faces the lateral surface LS of the index finger F), a portion of the palm sheet 106 (see bottom side 106A that faces the palm surface PS of the index finger F) and a portion of the dorsal sheet 108 (see upper side 108A that faces the dorsal surface DS of the index finger F). The lower end of the medial side 110A is connected to the medial end of the bottom side 106A along the length of the finger gusset 112 (see stitches 128), and the lower end of the lateral side 110B is connected to the lateral end of the bottom side 106A along the length of the finger gusset 112 (see stitches 128).
As best seen in
The respective ends of the base layer 122 and the respective ends of the overlapping layer 124 are stitched together to form the pad pocket 120 (see stitches 125 in
The upper end of the medial side 110A is connected to the medial end of the upper side 108A along the length of the finger gusset 112 and the upper end of the lateral side 110B is connected to the lateral end of the upper side 108A along the length of the finger gusset 112 (see stitches 126 in
The ends of the medial flaps 122A, 124A are stitched to the respective portions of the medial side 110A and upper side 108A and the ends of the lateral flaps 122B, 124B are stitched to the respective portions of the lateral side 110B and upper side 108A (see stitches 130 in
The flaps 122A, 124A, 122B, 124B therefore connects the finger pad 116 to the finger gusset 112 such that there is a void area 132 between the finger pad 116 (the base layer 122 of the pad pocket 120 more precisely) and the finger gusset 112 (the upper side 108A of the finger gusset 112 more precisely). Hence, the base layer 122 of the pad pocket 120 is spaced from the upper side 108A of the finger gusset 112 such that there is the void area 132 between said the base layer 122 and the upper side 108A. As best seen in
As best seen in
The lower web periphery 110LP of the side finger web 110 is finally connected to the palm periphery 106P of the palm sheet 106 via stitches 128 for forming the bottom portion of the four finger gussets 112 and thereby completing the construction of these finger gussets 112.
The above description of embodiments should not be interpreted in a limiting manner since other variations, modifications and refinements are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.