Patent Grant
7117540
The present invention relates generally to a protective sports glove. More specifically, the present invention relates to a protective sports glove for use in the game of lacrosse that provides improved protection to a user's hand, while providing improved flexibility, durability, fit and breathability.
In contact sports, such as lacrosse or hockey, where sticks are essential elements of the game, a player's hands and wrists are especially vulnerable to injury when being checked by another player's stick. For this reason, players typically utilize padded gloves to protect their hands, wrists and lower forearms during play. The areas of a player's hand that are particularly susceptible to injury are those where the glove flexes, because at those locations, the protective padding is typically constructed such that it can bend or flex with a player's joint. However, such bending or flexing, such as at the wrist or knuckle area, can leave the player's joint exposed due to the bending away of the protective padding and, therefore, susceptible to injury.
Accordingly, wrist guards are known in the art for protective sports gloves to provide protection for a player's wrist between the cuff and hand portion. While most prior wrist guards provide adequate protection, they provide limited flexibility and adjustability and are therefore uncomfortable and are often removed by user. It is also a problem to provide a protective guard for a player's wrist between the glove and cuff portion that both protects the user's wrist, also provides flexibility and is not overly bulky.
Additionally, most prior gloves disclose cuffs that are secured directly to the glove portion by stitching. The stitching limits the flexibility of a player's wrist and also cannot be adjusted. U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,396, discloses a configuration where the cuff and glove portion are attached to one another by lacing which allows for improved flexibility and also adjustability. However, the lacing typically must be done by hand and therefore requires significant labor time in order to manufacture the glove, thereby increasing its cost.
Further, many prior gloves attempt to provide limited breathability and flexibility. Therefore, certain gloves have been introduced that utilize mesh material on portions of a player's palm and fingers. However, the mesh material is located in primary areas that contact a stick and because of the amount of movement of the stick in a player's hand, such as through cradling or the like, the mesh material tends to wear quickly and ultimately tear, therefore making the glove illegal. Moreover, some prior gloves have utilized vent holes in the glove to provide ventilation. The vent holes in these prior gloves, however, are relatively small and therefore offer little ventilation. Further, prior gloves that have tried to provide improved breathability through the inclusion of vent holes have done so at the expense of exposing a user's hand to injury at that location.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for utilization in contact stick sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, having a wrist guard that is coupled to the glove so as to provide maximum protection and flexibility.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for utilization in contact stick sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, that is more flexible and therefore more comfortable for a player.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for utilization in contact stick sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, that provides more breathability and ventilation than prior gloves without sacrificing durability or protection.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for use in lacrosse that is smaller than prior gloves.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for use in lacrosse that provides a better fit for a user's hand.
In accordance with the above and other objects of the present invention, an improved protective sports glove is provided. The sports glove has a cuff portion for engaging a user's wrist and forearm and a hand portion elastically coupled to the cuff portion. The hand portion has a palm portion on the inner side of the glove and an opposing portion. The glove has a plurality of finger portions extending from the hand portion for receipt of a user's fingers therein and a thumb portion. A wrist guard is secured to the cuff portion and elastically coupled to the hand portion. The back portion of the hand portion has a plurality of protective padded portions. The protective padded portions are cut horizontally to allow a user's hand to flex and also vertically to conform to a user's hand as it holds the stick. At least one vent opening is formed between two protective padded portions disposed on either side of the vertical cut in the back portion. The palm portion of the glove is similarly comprised of a non-mesh material with a plurality of mesh portions, whereby the mesh material is located in the palm portions in areas that are not intended to have primary contact with the handle of a stick and thus will not wear.
These and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, when viewed in accordance with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.
Referring now to the Figures, which illustrate a lacrosse glove 10 in accordance with the present invention. The disclosed glove 10 is preferably for use in lacrosse, however, it should be understood that the disclosed glove 10 may be used in any other contact stick sport, including hockey. The glove 10 has a top portion 12 and a bottom portion 14 which therebetween define an interior space for receipt of a lacrosse player's hand. The glove 10 has a cuff portion 16, a hand portion 18 coupled to the cuff portion 16, a plurality of finger portions 20 extending from the hand portion 18 and a thumb portion 22 also extending from the hand portion 18.
Referring now to the
The first edge portion edge 28 of the first cuff portion 24 preferably has a first set of eyelets 36 formed therein. Similarly, the second edge portion 34 of the second cuff portion 26 has a second set of eyelets 38 formed therein. A lace 40 or other securing device is preferably passed through the first and second set of eyelets 36, 38 to connect the first cuff portion 24 to the second cuff portion 26 and surround a user's forearm when a user's hand is located in the interior space. As shown, the lace 40 is intended to pass around the underside of a user's forearm such that the tightness of the cuff portions 24, 26 with respect to a user's forearm may be adjusted. The lace 40 may be maintained in its desired position at a desired tightness through the use of the cord lock 42 or other similar locking device.
As best shown in
Additionally, the wrist guard 48 is preferably coupled to the hand portion 18 by an elastic member 54. The elastic member 54 allows the wrist guard 48 to flex or move as needed during movement by a user's hand during play and still remain over the seam 46. As shown, the wrist guard 48 is preferably located so that it lies over the seam 46 and above the top portion 12 of the glove 10. Alternatively, the wrist guard 48 may be disposed within the interior space of the glove 10 to cover the seam 46 from below the top portion 12.
The hand portion 18 extends between the seam 46 in the finger portions 20 and has a rear portion 60 and a palm portion 62. The rear portion 60 preferably has an inner fabric 64 having a plurality of protected padded portions 66 secured thereto. As shown, the rear portion 60 is preferably subdivided into individual protective padded portions 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76. The rear portion 60 of the glove 10 has a first lengthwise cut 78, i.e., from one side 80 of the hand portion 18 to the other side 82 of the hand portion 18, which allows the glove to flex along the lengthwise cut 78 as a user's hand moves. Specifically, the lengthwise cut 78 is cut so that the protective padded portions 74 and 76 are moveable with respect to the adjacent protective padded portions 68 and 72.
The protective padded portions 74, 76 terminate at a junction 84 between the hand portion 18 and the finger portions 20. The junction 84 allows the finger portions 20 to move with respect to the padded portions 74 and 76 as the junction 84 is generally disposed over a user's knuckle area, allowing the finger portions 20 to move as a user's fingers flex. Additionally, the rear portion 60 has a vertical cut 86 that extends generally from the cuff portion 16 to the junction 84. The vertical cut 86 allows the protective padded portions 68 and 76 to move with respect to the protective padded portions 72 and 74, allowing the glove to bend around an axis defined by the vertical cut 86. The vertical cut 86 allows the glove to fit more comfortably as it allows the glove to better conform to a user's hand as he closes his hand around a stick and, therefore, providing a tighter shape. This is necessary as the back of a typical user's hand is not flat, and the padded protected portions are not flexible enough to bend without the vertical cut portion 86. Thus, prior gloves tend to flatten out as a user flexes his hand which causes additional tension to be applied to the palm portions 62.
The rear portion 60 of the hand portion 18 preferably has a pair of opposing angled cuts 88 and 90 which begin generally at the base of the hand portion 18 adjacent the seam 46 and extend generally outward to the respective side 80, 82 of the hand portion 18. The angled cuts 88, 90 similarly assist the glove 10 in conforming to the user's hand as the protective padded portions 66, 70 can each independently move with respect to the other padded portions as a user's hand flexes during play, thus providing a better fitting glove. The cuts 78, 84, 86, 88, and 90, are preferably formed in the glove through die cutting or other known cutting or forming means, which are sufficient to configure the rear portion 60 of the glove to conform to the configuration described above. The rear portion 60 may have a variety of additional or different cuts as desired.
The rear portion 60 of the hand portion 18 has a plurality of vent openings formed therein to provide ventilation to a user's hand. A first vent opening 92 is preferably disposed along the vertical cut 86 between the protective padded portion 68 and the protective padded portion 72. A vent opening 94 is preferably disposed along the first angled cut 88 between the protective padded portion 70 and the protective padded portion 72. Another vent opening 96 is preferably disposed along the second angled cut 90 between protective padded portions 66 and 68. The vent openings 92, 94, 96 are located along die cuts 86, 88 and 90, which do not correspond to joints of a user's hand and, therefore while there is some relative movement of the protective pads in which the vent openings are formed, the movement is not sufficient to cause a portion of a user's hand to be exposed. Further, unlike prior vent openings which were typically formed along horizontal cuts, which result in the back of a user's hand being exposed to contact as the glove flexed, the disclosed vent openings 92, 94, 96 are located along non-horizontal cuts and thus can be made larger as the potential for exposure is minimal. It should be understood that while three vent openings are disclosed on the rear portion 60 of the glove 10, any number of vent openings may be utilized. Additionally, the vent openings may be disposed in a variety of other locations along the rear portion 60 in accordance with the preferred embodiment, including within the respective individual padded portions themselves, instead of along the die cuts.
The finger portions 20 each have a respective padded portion 98 that extends from the second lengthwise cut 84 to the respective tip of each finger portion 100. As with the hand portion 18, each of the padded portions is disposed on an inner fabric layer 64 that overlies each of the finger portions 20. The hand portion 18 of the glove 10 has a first side portion 102 connecting the side 80 of the hand portion 18 to the palm portion 62. The other side 82 of the hand portion 18 has a side portion 104 which extends between the hand portion 18 and a thumb portion 22. The thumb portion 22 is in turn connected to the palm portion 62 on its other side.
The first side 102 of the glove preferably has a mesh layer 106 extending between one side 80 of the hand portion 18 and the palm portion 62 with a protective padded portion 108 secured thereon. The second side 104 of the glove also has a protected padded portion that is sub-divided into a first padded portion 110 and a second padded portion 112 by a vertical die cut 114 formed therein. A side vent opening 116 is preferably formed along the vertical cut 14 between the first padded portion 110 and the second padded portion 112 of the second side 104 of the glove 10. The thumb portion 22 has a plurality of protected padded portions formed thereon. The thumb portion 22 has a first padded portion 120 disposed adjacent a second padded portion 122 and separated by a horizontal cut 124. The second padded portion 122 is disposed adjacent a third padded portion, which is sub-divided into a first part 126 and a second part 128 by a vertical cut 130. A second horizontal cut 132 is disposed between the second padded portion 122 and the first and second parts of the third padded portion 126, 128.
Referring now to
The first mesh portion 140 is preferably located at the junction between the palm portion 62 and the thumb portion 20. The first mesh portion 140 allows the thumb portion 20 to move with respect to the palm portion 62 without causing the palm material to bunch or bulge as typically occurs if the entire palm portion is formed of a wear-resistant material. Additionally, the second mesh portion 142 is disposed on the palm portion 62 at the junction between the hand portion 18 and the finger portions 20 to allow relative movement therebetween and to prevent bunching up of material at that joint as would typically occur if that portion were comprised of a wear-resistant material. Each of the finger portions 20 has a plurality of finger vent holes 148 formed in the durable wear-resistant material to provide ventilation to the user's fingers. The finger vent holes 148 are preferably formed by punching and must be formed far enough apart to prevent the durable material from ripping or tearing. The third mesh portion 144 and the fourth mesh portion 146 are also disposed in areas that are not likely to wear due to contact with a stick. The mesh portions 144, 146 are also disposed in locations that allow the glove to flex and therefore prevent bunching. Further, all of the mesh portions 140, 142, 144, 146, provide ventilation to the user's palm. It should be understood that more or less mesh portions may be included in the finger palm portion 62a, the thumb palm portion 62b, and the hand palm portion 62c and the locations shown are merely exemplary and may obviously vary.
As shown in
Having now fully described the invention, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein.
This is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/341,222, filed on Jan. 13, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,780, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/569,778 filed on May 12, 2000, which has now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,069.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5787506 | Wilder et al. | Aug 1998 | A |
| 6122769 | Wilder et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
| 6550069 | Morrow | Apr 2003 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050066412 A1 | Mar 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10341222 | Jan 2003 | US |
| Child | 10953725 | US | |
| Parent | 09569778 | May 2000 | US |
| Child | 10341222 | US |
