Patent Application
20180255849
The present invention relates to protective equipment, and more particularly to a protective glove having a wrist guard having an integral rearward extending cuff that cooperates with spaced apart cuff panels to provide enhanced flexibility and protection, and to promote ergonomic movement.
In many contact sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, sticks are elements of the game. A player's hands, wrists, and lower arms are vulnerable to minor and sometimes significant injury when being checked by another player's stick. For this reason, players typically wear padded gloves to protect their hands, wrists and lower arms during play of the sport.
An issue with most padded sports gloves, however, is that they can impede natural movement of the hand and wrist, thereby making stick control difficult, and in some cases not as fine-tuned. This movement impairment is particularly prevalent in some gloves having wrist “tri-cuffs.” Tri-cuffs usually include three pads, with two pads overlapping and covering a third pad. These three pads collectively overlay the upper part of a user's wrist, and that are attached directly to the back hand of the glove. These tri-cuffs provide decent mobility during wrist flexion and extension; however, because the tri-cuff moves with the back of the glove, it might not provide maximum protection to a wearer's wrist when the wrist is flexed forward. In such a case, the exposed wrist can be struck by a stick.
The tri-cuff and its movement also can be complicated by a wrist guard associated with the glove, located where the tri-cuff and hand portion of the glove meet over the wrist. This wrist guard usually is of a uniform thickness or width from end to end. In some cases, when the tri-cuff is extended or bent forward during flexion, the wrist guard binds against it, making the glove feel rigid so movement of the wrist and hand is impaired. Thus, while conventional tri-cuffs and wrist guards provide enhanced protection, they also can reduce wrist mobility and can impair efficient stick handling in some cases.
The present invention provides a glove including a hybrid wrist guard having an integral rearward extending wrist guard cuff that cooperates with adjacent, spaced apart cuff panels to provide enhanced flexibility and protection, and to promote ergonomic movement.
In one embodiment, the glove can include a hand portion joined with a cuff portion. The cuff portion can define a cuff opening between spaced apart cuff panels. The wrist guard can be joined with the hand portion, and can include an elongated band and a secondary wrist guard cuff extending rearward from the elongated band and covering at least a portion of the cuff opening.
In another embodiment, the wrist guard can include a tertiary pad extending forward from the elongated band. The tertiary pad can cover a dorsal opening defined by the backhand of the hand portion. With this construction, a part of the wrist guard can cover the backhand, negating additional material and padding in the hand portion backhand.
In another embodiment, the glove, and in particular, the cuff portion can include a first cuff panel and a second cuff panel, distal from one another, and extending rearward from a rearward edge of the hand portion. The first and second cuff panels can be disposed opposite one another, across a longitudinal axis of the glove, on respective lateral and medial sides of the glove, and across the cuff opening from one another. These cuff panels can cooperate with the secondary wrist guard cuff to form a complete cuff pad covering the rear of a wearer's wrist.
The glove of the current embodiments, with its hybrid wrist guard having an integral secondary wrist guard cuff, provides enhanced flexibility to a wearer of the glove, particularly during wrist extension, and can be configured to ride up a wearer's forearm during such wrist extension to provide increased coverage of the forearm. In addition, the hybrid wrist guard can provide a minimal amount of padding about wrist, yet still provide enhanced protection, flexibility and mobility to the wrist.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the description of the current embodiment and the drawings.
Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention may be implemented in various other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the description of various embodiments. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the invention to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the invention any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.
A protective glove in accordance with a current embodiment is illustrated in
The description of the glove 10 can be aided by brief discussion of anatomy and movement of a hand, wrist and forearm. Generally, as used herein, the wrist can refer to the wrist and/or the lower forearm. The wrist can include a posterior side, a lateral side, a medial side and an anterior side, as defined by conventional anatomy. The hand itself of a wearer can generally include fingers and a thumb. The hand can be delineated into a dorsal side, that is, the back of the hand, a palmar side, that is, the front or palm of the hand, an ulnar side, which corresponds to the side of the hand near which the ulna bone in the forearm is disposed, and a radial side, which corresponds to the side of the hand near which the radius bone in the forearm is disposed. Generally, the wearer's wrist can flex and extend to and from a neutral position. An example of a wrist in a neutral mode with the glove on a wearer is shown in
As shown in
The hand dorsal portion 12 optionally can include multiple protective elements 17, which can be in the form of padded portions secured thereto that provide padding and protection to a wearer's hand. The protective portions can be constructed of one or more layers of foam, polyurethane, polymers or other suitable materials. These individual protective portions can further be covered with a covering such as leather, plastic or other material to protect any internal foam or other padding therein. The multiple protective portions 17 can be sewn to a protective outer material such as a cloth, spandex or the like. Each of the protective portions 17 can define one or more flex lines there between, which allow the glove, and in particular, the hand dorsal portion, to move as the wearer's hand moves to provide a better fit and comfort during play. Flex lines could take on a variety of different configurations and placements as desired.
The hand dorsal portion can include upper dorsal pads 17U that are located at an upper end of the dorsal portion of the glove, optionally adjacent and transitioning to the finger portions 13. These upper dorsal pads can be located immediately below the finger joint 13J, which is where the fingers can flex relative to the hand portion 11. The upper dorsal pads can extend downward from adjacent the finger joint toward the cuff 40. Optionally, the upper dorsal pads can terminate at about ¼, ⅓ or ½ the length L of the hand portion down from the finger joint.
The hand dorsal portion 12 also can include lateral dorsal pads 17L and medial dorsal pads 17M, which cooperate with the upper dorsal pads 17U to cover a portion of the hand dorsal portion of the glove. The dorsal hand portion 12 and these components in general can cooperatively define a dorsal opening DO in the backhand. This dorsal opening can be a complete through hole in the backhand of the glove such that no part of the dorsal portion, for example, its pads, covers the dorsal portion of a hand of a wearer donning the glove. As explained below, a portion of the wrist guard can cover all or part of the dorsal opening DO to cover and protect the underlying dorsal side of the wearer's hand. Optionally, where that portion of the wrist guard is not present, or there are openings or apertures between that portion of the wrist guard and other parts of the dorsal hand portion, the dorsal side of a wearer's hand is exposed, unconcealed and in plain view when the glove is on the wearer's hand.
The dorsal opening can include one or more widths W1, W2. Width W1 can be a width closer to the wrist guard 50 than width W2, which can be closer to the upper dorsal pads. Width W1 can be less than, the same as or greater than width W2, depending on the application and the desired shape of the dorsal opening. As shown, width W1 is less than width W2.
Openings or apertures in the backhand can form one or more vents, for example, V1, V2 and V3. These vents or openings can enable air to circulate freely into and out from the wearer's hand thereby providing a cooling effect to improve comfort during extended periods of play. The shape and number of vents of course can vary, and can be formed between and/or within different components. For example, vent V1 can be formed in the tertiary cuff portion 53 of the wrist guard 50; vent V2 can be formed between the tertiary cuff portion 53 and the lateral dorsal pad 17L; and the vent V3 can be formed between the tertiary cuff portion 53 and the medial dorsal pad 17M.
Optionally, the backhand of the dorsal portion 12 of the hand portion 11 can be outfitted with a particular type of padding that can reduce hyperextension of the wrist. Such a construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,769,720 to Aoki, entitle “Lacrosse Glove,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The hand portion 12 can include optional finger portions 13 as mentioned above, which can correspond to the number of fingers on a user's hand. The number of finger portions can vary depending on the particular sport and/or activity. In addition, although shown with a thumb portion 15, which generally encloses or houses a thumb, the glove can be void of this thumb portion in certain applications.
The glove 10 can define a longitudinal axis LA which is best shown in
Referring to
As shown in
Optionally, the binding also can serve as an anchor point on the dorsal hand portion for the wrist guard 50. For example, the wrist guard 50 can be tethered to the binding 12B via an elastic anchor strap 12AS. This strap can be elastic, and can extend from the portion of the binding located between the lateral and medial backhand pads, to the underside or interior facing surface of the wrist guard 50 as shown in
As mentioned above, the hand portion is joined with the cuff portion 40. With reference to
Optionally, the second cuff panel 42 can be dimensioned slightly larger than the first cuff panel due to the placement of the second cuff panel on the medial side M of the wrist. This location on the medial side M of the wrist, under the thumb, can generally be subject to increased number of slashes and/or hits by an opponent's stick, as that thumb side or medial side 12M of a glove more frequently faces upward than the lower side 12L of the glove during maneuvering of a game stick. In some cases, the second cuff panel optionally can be 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% or greater in size than the first cuff panel. In some cases, the first cuff panel can be eliminated altogether. If desired, both cuff panels can be absent from the glove.
Generally, the components of the first cuff panel 41 and second cuff panel 42 can be similar and/or identical, and therefore only the first cuff panel will be described in further detail here. To begin, the first cuff panel again generally is disposed on the lateral side of the wrist L when the glove is donned by a wearer, while the second cuff panel is disposed on the medial side of the wrist M when the glove is donned by the wearer. As shown in
Returning to
In some embodiments, the glove can include a floating cuff 30. The floating cuff 30 can be disposed immediately under the first and second cuff panels. Optionally, the floating cuff can be similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,636,951 to Morrow et al, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The floating cuff can be interposed on a wrist of the wearer, located generally between the cuff portion 40 and the wearer's wrist W. Optionally, the floating cuff can extend under the cuff opening CO, as well as the cuff panels and secondary wrist guard cuff.
Referring to
As shown in
As mentioned above, the glove 10 also includes a hybrid wrist guard 50. The wrist guard can be disposed adjacent the hand portion 11 and adjacent the cuff portion 40, optionally straddling both of those portions. The wrist guard 50 can further be positioned so that it covers the rearward edge 12R and binding 12B of the glove. The wrist guard can include an elongated band 55. This band can include a forward edge 55F and a rearward edge 55R. The band 55 can be configured to include a first elongated band 51 extending toward the lateral side L and optionally covering the first joint 41LJ, and a second elongated band 52 extending toward the medial side M and optionally covering the second joint 42MJ. In some applications, the first and second elongated bands can be formed from separately and independently constructed pads that are disposed in a common cover disposed over the bands.
Optionally, the band 55 can circumferentiate optionally at least 40%, further optionally at least 50%, and even further optionally at least 60% or more of a wearer's wrist. The ends of the first and second band portions can be secured to the hand portion 11 with a fastening element 55F. This fastening element can be in the form of an elastic strap, a fabric web, a hook-and-loop fastener, such as Velcro™, buttons, latches, strings or the like. Where the fastening element is an elastic strap, it can be elastic or stretchable enough to enable the wrist guard to float over the backhand yet stay generally centered over the user's wrist.
The band 55 or the wrist guard 50 can also include a central portion 53. This central portion can be disposed between the ends of the first and second elongated bands 51, 52, and/or can be incorporated into the respective first and second elongated bands. The central portion 53 can include a rearward part 53R, which can coincide or be aligned with a portion of the rearward edge 55R of the band. The wrist guard 50 can include a secondary wrist guard cuff 54 extending rearward from the rearward part of the central portion 53. The secondary wrist guard cuff 54 can be joined with the rearward part 55R of the central portion of the wrist guard at an articulating joint configured to enable the secondary wrist guard cuff 54 to articulate downward upon extension and flexion of a wrist of a wearer of the glove 10. This joint can be the result of the pads of the elongated band being separately and independently constructed from a pad that is included in the secondary wrist guard cuff. Further, the cover over the elongated band pads and the secondary wrist guard cuff pads can be flexible or thinned where the secondary wrist guard cuff is joined to the band at the joint, so as to promote the flexibility of the cuff relative to the band.
The secondary wrist guard cuff 54 can extend a first distance D1 out and over or into the cuff opening CO so that the secondary wrist guard cuff substantially fills or covers that cuff opening. Generally, the cuff opening can be of a length L2, and the distance D1 can be greater than the length L2. In turn, this secondary wrist guard cuff can protect a wrist when the wrist is under the cuff opening CO.
The secondary wrist guard cuff 54 can include a medial side edge 54M and a lateral side edge 54L, on the respective lateral L and medial M sides of the axis LA. These side edges can be closer to the longitudinal axis than the first and second cuff panels in some cases. In others, these elements can be the same distance from the longitudinal axis. Optionally, these side edges can be substantially parallel to the outermost lateral and medial boundaries of the cuff opening so as to adequately and cleanly cover the same. Further, the width of the secondary wrist guard cuff can be greater than the respective widths of the cuff opening in corresponding locations. For example, near the rear edge of the wrist guard cuff 54, the width of that cuff 54 can be greater than the width W4 of cuff opening CO when the glove is in a neutral mode. Near the forward edge of the wrist guard cuff, the width of the cuff can be greater than the width W3 of cuff opening CO of the opening when the glove is in a neutral mode.
The secondary wrist guard cuff 54 medial side edge 54M and a lateral side edge 54L can be tethered or anchored to the first and second cuff panels in some applications. For example, as shown in
The secondary wrist guard cuff 54 can be disposed and movable within the cuff opening CO. Optionally, the secondary wrist guard cuff 54 substantially fills the cuff opening, spanning from the first cuff panel interior edge 43 to the second cuff panel interior edge 44. As shown in
With reference to
The respective edges of the secondary wrist guard cuff 54 and the first and second cuff panels 41, 42 can be oriented so that they abut or are adjacent one another, with the secondary wrist guard cuff slightly covering or disposed over the interior edges of the cuff panels when the glove is in the neutral mode as shown in
Referring to
Generally, the tertiary backhand panel 56 extends over and at least partially covers the dorsal opening DO. In the glove 10, there optionally are no pads of the hand portion or the associated dorsal portion that extend over the dorsal opening between the lateral backhand portion 17L and the medial backhand portion 17M. Put another way, the tertiary backhand panel 56 of the wrist cuff optionally can be the only element covering all or a substantial portion of the dorsal opening.
The wrist guard tertiary backhand panel 56 can include a first end 56A joined with the front edge 55F, and a second end 55B joined with or adjacent the upper dorsal pads 17U. The tertiary backhand panel 56 thus is generally disposed between the elongated band 55 and the upper dorsal pads 17U. The tertiary backhand panel can extend at least half a distance D3 between the elongated band and the upper dorsal pad as shown. In other applications, the tertiary backhand panel can extend optionally at least ¾, further optionally at least %, even further optionally ⅓, yet further optionally ¼ or other proportions of the distance D3.
As mentioned above, the tertiary backhand panel can define one or more vent openings, for example, vent opening V1, which extends completely through that panel. Of course, in some cases, the vent openings can be covered with a breathable material such as mesh or a fabric. The lateral 56L and medial 56M edges of the tertiary backhand panel can be separated from the lateral and medial backhand pads 17L and 17M respectively. In turn, this can form additional vent openings V2 and V3 in the dorsal portion of the hand. Generally, these openings can be contiguous with and/or overlap the dorsal opening DO.
As shown, the tertiary backhand panel can include one or more pads therein, that are covered by a cover of material. The pads in this panel can be separately constructed from and independent from the pads of the band and/or the secondary wrist guard cuff. Of course, in some cases, all of the pads can be contiguous and integral, formed as a single pad.
As mentioned above, the hybrid wrist guard 50 and the glove 10 in general are operable in a neutral mode, an extended mode and a flexed mode. These modes correspond to the neutral position of the wrist, the extended position of the wrist and the flexed position of the wrist. In the neutral mode, shown in
The lateral and medial cuff panels 41 and 42 flank the secondary wrist guard cuff 54, and are disposed on the respective lateral 203 and medial 204 sides of the wrist W. In this neutral mode, the lateral 54L and medial 54M side edges of the secondary wrist guard cuff 54 can be disposed adjacent the interior edges 43, 44 of the respective lateral and medial cuff panels 41 and 42. Indeed, these edges can slightly overlap the exterior surfaces of these panels in this configuration. Further, in this configuration, the lateral edge 54L can form an acute angle A with the rear edge 55R of the band 55, and the medial edge 54M can form another acute angle B with the rear edge 55R of the band 55. These acute angles optionally can be less than 90°, further optionally less than 85°, even further optionally less than 80°, and yet further optionally less than 75°. Of course, in some cases the angles can be obtuse or right angles, depending on the configuration of the band and/or the secondary wrist guard cuff.
The glove 10 can transition from a neutral mode shown in
The glove 10 also can transition from the neutral mode to the flexed mode shown in
In the flexed mode, the wrist guard can also move in other ways. For example, as mentioned above the wrist guard includes the tertiary panel 56 extending over the dorsal opening DO. In the flexed mode, shown in
Directional terms, such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “inwardly,” “outer” and “outwardly,” are used to assist in describing the invention based on the orientation of the embodiments shown in the illustrations. The use of directional terms should not be interpreted to limit the invention to any specific orientation(s).
The above description is that of current embodiments of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments of the invention or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described invention may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Further, the disclosed embodiments include a plurality of features that are described in concert and that might cooperatively provide a collection of benefits. The present invention is not limited to only those embodiments that include all of these features or that provide all of the stated benefits, except to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the issued claims. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular. Any reference to claim elements as “at least one of X, Y and Z” is meant to include any one of X, Y or Z individually, and any combination of any number of X, Y and Z, for example, X, Y, Z; X, Y; X, Z; and Y, Z.
