The present invention relates generally to the field of athletic apparel and, more particularly, to sports gloves with support elements and systems integrated therein.
Gloves are utilized in a number of sports to both provide protection for the hands of the wearer and to improve the performance of the athlete. Such gloves are extensively used in sports such as soccer, field and ice hockey, baseball, lacrosse, etc. and are used, for example, by soccer goalkeepers to provide padding and protection for the goalkeepers' hands and to improve the goalkeepers' grip of the soccer ball. However, due to limitations on the fit of the glove as a result of the need to incorporate significant padding and other protective elements, and the requirement that the glove fit a variety of hand sizes, these sports gloves can often feel loose on the hand, and especially the fingers, and as a result can fail to perform to the requirements of the wearer.
The present invention includes an improved sports glove having one of more finger engagement elements (or finger slings) that are adapted to beneficially bias the finger of the wearer against the front of the glove to improve the fit and feel of the glove (and thereby improve the wearer's ability to grip and control the ball, stick, or other object being gripped) without negatively impacting the flexibility and comfort of the glove.
A first aspect of the invention includes a glove and, for example, a sports glove for use in sports such as soccer, lacrosse, field and ice hockey, or baseball. The glove includes a base portion and a plurality of finger portions, with each of the finger portions including a first material region adapted to cover a front of a wearer's finger when the glove is being worn, a second material region adapted to cover a back of the wearer's finger when the glove is being worn, a first seam connecting the first material region to the second material region on a first side of the finger portion, and a second seam connecting the first material region to the second material region on a second side of the finger portion. At least one finger portion further includes a finger engagement element, or finger sling, located between the first material region and the second material region and extending from the first seam to the second seam or extending from one or more locations on the first material region and/or the second material region, the finger engagement element adapted to extend over a back portion of the wearer's finger when the glove is being worn and to resiliently bias the front of the wearer's finger against the first material region.
In one embodiment, the finger engagement element includes a resilient material and, for example, includes, or consists essentially of, an elongate elastic textile material. The elastic textile material may be formed from a material such as, but not limited to, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, polyester-polyurethane copolymer, polychloroprene, elastene, spandex, EVA, polyester, latex, and/or a polyester/latex composite. The finger engagement element can extend over any appropriate portion of the finger(s) of a wearer and, for example, may be formed as an elongate strip of resilient material extending over at least a portion of at least one of the distal phalange region, the intermediate phalange region, the proximal phalange region, and/or the joints therebetween of the finger and glove. The elongate strip of elongate resilient material can, for example, have a width of between about 10% to about 50% of a length of the finger portion, or between about 20% to about 40% percent of a length of the finger portion, or between about 30% to about 40% of the length of the finger portion. In one embodiment, the finger engagement element includes a plurality of strips of resilient material, each strip of material extending over at least a portion of at least one of the distal phalange region, the intermediate phalange region, the proximal phalange region, and/or the joints therebetween of the fingers of the wearer of the glove.
The second material region can include a first gusset portion extending from the first seam proximate a first side of the wearer's finger and a second gusset portion extending from the second seam proximate a second side of the wearer's finger with a backhand portion extending over a back of the glove and connecting to the first gusset portion and the second gusset portion. The first gusset portion and second gusset portion can be formed from a different material from that of the first material region and backhand portion. The finger engagement element may, in certain embodiments, be attached to at least one of the first and second gusset portions.
In one embodiment, the first seam is integrally connected to the second seam proximate a distal tip of the finger portion. The first material region and second material region may be stitched together at the first seam and second seam by at least one thread. Alternatively, or in addition, the first material region and second material region may be bonded together at the first seam and second seam by one or more bonding agent and, for example, an adhesive bonding agent. In one embodiment, the finger engagement element is connected to the first seam and second seam by the at least one thread used to connect the first material region to the second material region. Alternatively, or in addition, the finger engagement element may be stitched or bonded to at least a portion of the first material region and/or second material region.
The finger engagement element may, in one embodiment, further include a connection element connecting the finger engagement element to at least a portion of the second material region. The connection element may be adapted to hold the finger engagement element open, away from the first material region. In one embodiment, at least one of the first material region and the second material region of the glove can include at least one flex element and/or at least one padding element.
Another aspect of the invention includes a glove having a base portion, a thumb portion, and a plurality of finger portions, each finger portion including a first material region adapted to cover a front of a wearer's finger when the glove is being worn, a second material region adapted to cover a back of the wearer's finger when the glove is being worn, a first seam connecting the first material region to the second material region on a first side of the finger portion and a second seam connecting the first material region to the second material region on a second side of the finger portion. A plurality of the finger portions and, for example, the finger portions cover the first, second, third, and fourth fingers of a wearer, further include a finger engagement element formed, at least in part, from a strip of resilient material located between the first material region and the second material region and extending from the first seam to the second seam within the finger portion, the finger engagement element adapted to extend over at least one of the distal phalange region and the intermediate phalange region of the glove and extend over a back portion of the wearer's fingers when the glove is being worn to resiliently bias the front of the wearer's fingers against the first material region.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described.
These and other objects, along with advantages and features of the present invention herein disclosed, will become more apparent through reference to the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in various combinations and permutations.
The invention described herein is directed towards an athletic glove having an improved internal securing mechanism that optimizes the interaction between the fingers of the wearer and the front surface of the glove and therefore provides improved gripping performance and touch between the hand of the wearer and the object being caught, held, and/or thrown. The invention can be used as athletic gloves for a variety of sports and activities, such as for soccer goalkeeper gloves, baseball gloves, or gloves for ice hockey, field hockey, or lacrosse.
Given that the relative dimensions (e.g., overall size, finger length, joint length, finger size, palm size, etc.) of athletes' hands vary greatly, traditionally, athletic gloves and, for example, goalkeeper gloves for soccer, must be sized and configured to comfortably fit a wide range of hand and finger sizes and shapes. As a result, regions of the glove, and especially the finger portions of the glove, are often oversized for the fingers of the average wearer and, therefore, are loosely fitted over the fingers of the athlete. This loose fit of the fingers within the glove can have a significantly detrimental effect on the performance of the gloves with, for example, the fingers moving about within the glove and potentially the wearer losing her grip on an object being held and reducing the touch sensation (“feel”) between the hand and the object being held. For example, a soccer goalkeeper trying to catch, hold, and/or throw a ball may find the front surface of the glove moving with respect to the fingers (e.g., sliding over the finger or even separating away from the finger), thereby weakening the gripping force between the hand and the ball and reducing the ability to securely catch and hold the ball and to accurately direct the ball when pushing the ball (during a defensive motion) or throwing the ball.
The invention disclosed herein solves this problem by providing one or more finger engagement element (or internal finger sling) that holds the front of the finger, or fingers, against the front wall of the finger portions of the gloves without reducing the flexibility of the glove or negatively impacting the full, unencumbered motion of the hand of the athlete. As a result, the front of the gloves will not separate from the fingers or slide across the fingers, thereby ensuring that the glove retains a consistent and optimized position over the hand and fingers and provides the hand with optimized feel and control over any object being handled. This is achieved without the need for the insertion of stiff and cumbersome stability and protection elements in the fingers of the glove that can significantly reduce the flexibility of the glove and thereby reduce the ability of the glove to perform in an optimized manner.
Example gloves 100 for use by a soccer goalkeeper are shown in
In one embodiment, webbing elements and, for example, stretchable webbing elements may extend between at least two finger portions 125 and, for example between the first finger portion 140 and thumb portion 130. In one embodiment, the finger portions 125 may be formed with at least one finger portion adapted to encompass more than one finger. For example, one embodiment of the invention may include separate finger portions for each of the thumb, first finger, and second finger, with a further single finger portion adapted to encompass both the third and fourth fingers of the wearer.
In one embodiment, the glove 100 can include one or more padding elements adapted to provide padding and protection for a portion of the hand. These padding elements can be positioned over any appropriate portion of the glove 100 and can, for example, include one or more padding portions spanning different regions of the back portion 110 of the glove 100. For example, the glove 100 of
In another embodiment the glove 100 can include padding elements having surface texturing thereon, with the surface texturing providing performance benefits such as increased flexibility and increased grip between the padding elements and an object with which it is interacting (e.g., a soccer ball being punched by a goalkeeper). For example, the glove 100 shown in
The front portion 105 of the glove 100 can also incorporate a padded material. For example, the front portion 105 shown in
In one embodiment, one or more portions of the padded front portion 105 can extend around the sides of the glove 100 in one or more regions and can, in one embodiment, extend onto the rear portion 110 of the glove 100. For example, the unitary padded element 187 of
In alternative embodiments, any appropriate distribution of padding elements may be utilized, depending upon the specific performance, protection, and comfort requirements of the glove 100. These padding elements can be made from any appropriate material and can, for example, include or consist essentially of, a natural or synthetic latex and, more particularly, a latex foam, or a rubber (e.g., styrene butadiene rubber (SBR)). The base material for the glove 100, onto which the padded elements are attached (for example through stitching and/or bonding) can include one or more knit, woven, non-woven natural or synthetic material, and can, for example, include, or consist essentially of, a synthetic rubber such as polychloroprene (and, for example, Neoprene®, as manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del., U.S.A.), latex, polyester, polyester mesh, and/or EVA.
An example finger engagement element 200 for placement within finger portions 125 of the glove 100 is shown in
The finger engagement element 200 is formed from a resilient material (for example, a strip, a thread, yarn, cord, or string) of elongate elastic textile material that is connected to the front portion 205 and configured to stretch over the back of the finger 210 and resiliently bias/hold the finger 210 against the front portion 205. The material of the finger engagement element 200 can include, or consist essentially of, a natural rubber, synthetic rubber, polyester-polyurethane copolymer, polychloroprene (e.g., Neoprene®), elastene, spandex, Lycra® (as manufactured by Invista S.a.r.l. of Witchita, Kans.), EVA, polyester, latex, and/or a polyester/latex composite. The material properties of the finger engagement element 200 are selected to provide sufficient strength and resilience to hold the front portion 205 to the front of the finger 210, but be soft and flexible enough to do so without reducing the flexibility of the fingers 210 during flexing or bending. This can be achieved by using a flexible elastic textile that is sized to ensure an elastic force is applied to the finger 210 when worn but soft and supple enough to easily bend, with minimal resistance, along with a bending motion of the fingers 210.
The finger engagement element 200 shown in
The distal ends 235 of the finger engagement element 200 may be fixedly connected to or proximate the front portion 205. Moreover, the finger engagement element 200 is long enough to allow the finger 210 of the wearer to slide between the central portion 230 of the finger engagement element 200 and the front portion 205. The distal ends 235 of the finger engagement elements 200 are attached at seams 260, 265 connecting the front portion 205 to the side gussets 220. The length of the finger engagement element 200 (i.e., the elongate span of the finger engagement element 200 between the first seam 260 and second seam 265) can be selected such that it must be stretched in order to extend over the finger 210, thereby ensuring that it will apply an elastic force to hold the finger 210 against the front portion 205. More particularly, the length of the elastic finger engagement element 200 can be selected to provide any appropriate degree of biasing/force to hold the front of the finger 210 against the front portion 205, with shorter finger engagement elements 200 having to be stretched more to extend over the finger 210 and therefore providing a greater elastic biasing force. The degree of biasing can be selected to provide optimized fit and comfort for the wearer. In an alternative embodiment, the finger engagement element 200 can be formed from a substantially non-elastic material, with the length and size of the finger engagement element 200 selected to provide a close-fitting engagement with the finger 210 to bias and hold it against the front portion 205.
In one embodiment, a plurality of finger engagement elements 200 can be positioned within a single finger portion 125 to bias multiple portions of the finger 210 against the front portion 205 thereof. For example, the embodiment shown in
In one embodiment, one or more connection elements 262 (
In one embodiment, as shown in
The embodiment of
In an alternative embodiment, the distal ends 235 of the finger engagement elements 200 can be fixedly attached to or proximate the seams 260, 265 by bonding and, for example, through use of an adhesive bonding agent. In one embodiment, the first seam 260 and second seam 265 are formed as a unitary stitch line that extends around the distal tip 280 of the finger portion 125. The various material portions can be stitched together by at least one thread. Alternatively, or in addition, the material portions can be bonded together by one or more bonding agents and, for example, an adhesive bonding agent.
As shown in
In one embodiment, as shown in
As shown in
In various alternative embodiments, the glove 100 can be constructed from any number and configuration of materials and can, for example, be formed from a unitary material package that is cut and shaped to create the entire glove 100. For example, one embodiment of the invention can include a glove 100 having finger portions 125 that are formed from a single unitary expanse of material, with the finger engagement element 200 attached to or proximate a front portion 205 of the material in any of the manners described herein.
In one embodiment, finger engagement elements 200 can be installed into a glove 100 after construction by, for example, providing loops of material that can be placed on the fingers 210 and treated with a bonding mechanism (e.g., an adhesive), after which the fingers 210 are slipped into the glove 100 and held in place while the bonding mechanism sets. After the bonding mechanism has set the fingers 210 can be removed, with the finger engagement element 200 remaining in place within the finger portions 125 at the locations specifically selected by the wearer. This allows the finger engagement elements 200 to be provided as a separate item that can be applied to any previously manufactured athletic glove.
An example glove 100 incorporating finger engagement elements 200 in the first, second, third, and fourth finger portions 125, but not in a thumb portion 130, is shown in
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The foregoing embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects illustrative rather than limiting the invention described herein. Scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.