Patent Application
20220212087
The present invention relates generally to padding for lacrosse gloves and other athletic apparel and accessories, and more particularly, to a protective sports glove and stitchless dorsal padding for the same that provides improved flexibility, increased protection, finer tactile feel and economy of manufacture.
Protective sports gloves are commonly used and, indeed, are required to be used in many organized sports such as lacrosse, hockey, and other contact sports. Such gloves protect the wearer from impact of lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, balls, pucks, skates, and other players.
Protective sports gloves include padding to protect the player's fingers, hands, wrists and lower forearms. Despite their protective function, such gloves must balance other design factors such as weight, feel and flexibility. For example, the handling of a lacrosse stick requires a player to hold and control a lacrosse stick handle in specific ways, with many different combinations of hand placement over the length of the handle. A lacrosse player constantly moves his hands along the handle in multiple positions.
In executing game skills, lacrosse players must be able to grip and control the lacrosse stick handle, i.e., “stick handling.” Effective stick handling requires a player to constantly reposition his hands along the handle to control the head of the lacrosse stick. For effective stick handling, a lacrosse player needs to maintain utmost flexibility of the hand, a sure grip, and a precise tactile feel for the stick. However, the hand also needs protection and so players typically wear padded gloves to protect their hands and wrists. These gloves usually include foam padding or other protective padding covering the back of a wearer's hand, fingers, and thumb (collectively, “dorsal padding”).
Some conventional sports gloves have pad segments (e.g., made of foam) that are covered with leather or synthetic leather and, in the breaks between the segments, are stitched to one another and to a liner material (also known as the scrim). The scrim may be any woven or knit fabric. In these conventional gloves individual foam pads are typically sandwiched between two fabric layers, and the layers are sewn together and to the scrim, between breaks in adjacent pads. However, this conventional construct is relatively thick and fairly rigid in design and compromises flexibility and tactile feel for protection. When such a protective athletic glove undergoes deformation due to normal use by a wearer, adjacent pads come into contact with each other and this arrests/resists further motion. In addition, the inflexibility of the fabric layers and liner resist stretching and further arrests/resists motion. In straining against these forces to maintain a grip on the lacrosse stick, a player tends to lose their tactile feel for the stick, and consequently their stick handling capability. Flexibility can be increased by larger spacing between adjacent pads, but larger spacing compromises protection of the player.
Moreover, conventional stitched dorsal padding unduly complicates the overall glove construction. The individual pads for the dorsal panel are typically sewn together, and the overlapping sewn-layers restrict flexibility. This lack of flexibility makes it very difficult to invert the glove when stitching on the palmar section (the glove is inverted when stitched interior seams are desired). The additional stitching and difficulty in manipulating the glove during manufacturing adds significant time and expense.
What is needed is a protective sports glove and “unitary” dorsal panel for the same that allow for a tightly-packed pad array, yet still provides improved flexibility, increased protection, finer tactile feel, and greater economy of manufacture.
The present invention is a protective sports glove that includes a unitary dorsal panel that includes a main section configured to correspond to the back of a wearer's hand, and five finger sections each protruding from said main section, plus a substantially contiguous border flange surrounding the entire unitary dorsal panel including main section and finger sections. Each of the main section and all five finger sections bear a waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads formed as individual islands raised from a substantially zero-elevation surface. The foam protective pads are separated from each other by interstitial channels having a minimum width within a range of 1-4 mm. The substantially contiguous border flange surrounds the entire unitary dorsal panel and protrudes there from at a bevel angle. The glove includes a palmar section fused, welded, stitched, molded or otherwise connected to the border of the dorsal panel.
The present invention is described in greater detail in the detailed description of the invention, and the appended drawings. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:
The unitary padding array of embodiments of the present invention can provide advantages to address the deficiencies discussed in the background section above and may also be used for helmet liners, head gear (e.g., wrestling), other specialty gloves (e.g., baseball, boxing, biking, golf, lacrosse, equestrian, hockey, etc.), shoulder pads, knee pads, elbow pads, bicycle seats, joint supports (e.g., elbow, wrist, knee, hip, neck, shoulder and ankle), padded garments (e.g., biker shorts, etc.), joint braces (e.g., elbow, wrist, knee, hip, neck, shoulder and ankle), and other general padding and supports.
The unitary padding array is best suited for a protective glove that includes a dorsal side and a palmar side. The dorsal side includes a unitary dorsal panel formed from a molded elastomeric panel, or alternatively an inner scrim material with a plurality of protective elements molded directly to an exterior surface of the inner scrim. For purposes of this disclosure “unitary” is specifically defined to mean formed as a one-shot molded synthetic panel, or formed by a plurality of such panels integrally joined together by fusion of their synthetic material or by fusion of the protective pads to an underlying scrim material (e.g., RF welding, heat welding, etc.).
The plurality of protective elements can be formed in an array of discrete islands all raised from a zero-elevation surface, and each separated by interstitial spaces at substantially zero-elevation. The array of protective elements can be formed in a variety of patterns including a waffle-pattern on the main dorsal area of the hand, and a particular finger pattern as will be described that can provide increased protection to the user's fingers, hands, wrists, and lower forearms while maintaining utmost flexibility and tactile feel on both palmar and dorsal sides of the glove, increasing flexibility where needed without compromising protection. Flexibility is desired by the wearer so as to impart freedom of movement to the fingers, hand, wrists and lower forearms, which is needed to maintain an accurate tactile feel for the hand-carried lacrosse, hockey or other sports stick during a match, while protection is required to reduce injury.
The unitary dorsal panel can be fused, welded, stitched, molded or otherwise connected to the palmer sections of the glove. For example, the unitary dorsal panel can be sewn circumferentially to the palmer panel of the glove, with or without gussets and/or gusset stitching (for example, gussets are typically sewn between the dorsal and palmar sides of gloves running alongside the fingers). While the cut pattern for the palmar section may vary, an exemplary suitable cut pattern is described herein that includes three discrete panels: a finger-receiving panel; a palm panel, and a thumb panel, all sewn together to form the palmer section.
In accordance with an embodiment this disclosure, when manufacturing the glove, the palmar section can be inverted and sewn end-to-end across an inverted dorsal panel, with or without gussets. The finger-receiving section and thumb section can then be sewn on and the glove turned outside-in yielding internal seams (“inside stitching”). For this inside stitching the embodiments of this disclosure provide an additional advantage. The typical reversing out of gloves dictates a minimum gusset width, which results in a looser fit. Embodiments of this disclosure can facilitate a tighter standard for gusset width, which translates into a tighter fit. Of course, the finger-receiving section and thumb section may alternatively be sewn together exteriorly without inversion (“outside stitching”).
Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Lacrosse, hockey and other stick-wielding sports gloves need to be able to flex in multiple directions freely in order for players to grip their stick and engage in necessary wrist action while still maintaining an acceptable level of protection. However, as discussed above, conventional glove design limits the amount of flex that is available to a player when they are manipulating a lacrosse or hockey stick. Specifically, conventional protective sports gloves have limited flexion and extension as well as difficult radial and ulnar deviation, and poor dorsiflexion as well. Described herein is a protective sports glove and padding for the same that can maximize flexibility without compromising protection, thereby affording more accurate tactile feel for better stick-handling.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a protective sports with a unitary dorsal panel that includes a molded pattern-array of foam protective pads closely fitted to the hand, and a palmar section stitched to the dorsal section directly or via gussets and/or gusset stitching.
With reference to
The entire back of the hand receiving portion 22 inclusive of finger and thumb receiving portions 27-31, as well as the entire dorsal side down to the lower wrist/forearm portion 24 comprises a unitary dorsal panel 40 having an array of protective pads 54 formed as individual islands raised from a substantially zero-elevation surface 52. Protective pads 54 can be integrally-molded or fused to the substantially zero-elevation surface 52 such that interstitial channels of minimal substrate thickness are formed between the discrete pads 54. Unitary dorsal panel 40 includes a main section 23 that extends from finger receiving portions 27-31 downward and generally corresponds to the back of the hand, and five finger sections corresponding to finger receiving portions 27-31.
In the embodiment of
The scrim material may or may not have a limited stretch characteristic to it. Toward this end scrim material may be cut from a knitted/woven stretchable fabric blank comprising a material formed from a combination of first yarn strand(s) made of synthetic fibers, and a second elastomeric stretchable yarn strand. The first yarn strands can be knitted/woven together with the elastomeric second strand to create a single blank of woven/knitted fabric. The knitted/woven blank can have a specific fiber content vis-à-vis the combination of the two strands of yarn used. The first yarn strands may be 100% polyester, which is the dominate fiber of the fabric blank. As an alternative to polyester, the first yarn strands may comprise nylon. The second elastomeric yarn strand may be comprised of any elastic textile fiber, however, it is preferred that this material be made of the elastomeric textile fiber known as spandex. Specifically, the knitted/scrim material may comprise a blend of polyester or poly-cotton yarn and spandex, wherein the spandex fiber content is constrained to within an acceptable range of from 3 to 15%, and most preferably is 6%. This may be achieved with a knit/weave ratio of synthetic yarn/spandex yarn of from 33:1 to 20:1, and identical deniers. One skilled in the art will understand that the variation between fabric blends may also be made possible by varying the ratio of yarns and the structure of the knit or weave pattern.
The array of integral pads 54 can be formed on the unitary dorsal panel 40 by molding/fusing/adhering them into the scrim fabric. The array of integral pads 54 formed on the unitary dorsal panel 40 can formed integrally on zero-elevation surface 52 by a process of sonic Radio Frequency (“RF”) welding as described below in Example 1. Alternatively, the array of integral pads 54 may be formed on the unitary dorsal panel by a process of compression molding as described below in Example 2 or may be individually attached to the scrim material by adhesive. In either case the protective pads 54 comprise rubber and/or foam, most preferably open-cell or closed-cell foam rubber blocks fused or integrally-molded to the scrim material by molding, casting or other suitable fusion method. The pads 54 are raised as discrete islands separated from each other by interstitial channels 58 flush with zero-elevation surface 52.
The particular pattern of shock absorbing pads 54 can be designed to provide increased protection to the dorsal side of the user's fingers and hands while maintaining as much flexibility within the glove and tactile feel as possible. Flexibility is desired by the wearer so as to impart freedom of movement to the fingers, hand, wrists and lower forearms needed to properly participate in lacrosse, hockey or other sports matches while protection is required to reduce injury. A variety of pads 54 occupy the dorsal panel 40 in the main section 23 beneath the finger receiving portions 28-31 and these can also be welded or otherwise attached to the liner scrim beneath. Any suitable geometry of shock absorbing pads 54 may be provided to optimize both protection and flexibility. For example, shock absorbing pads 54 on the main section 23 of dorsal panel 40 can be arranged in a waffle-pattern array, with various shapes including crescents, triangles, etc. In the illustrated embodiment the shock absorbing protective pads 54 are generally shaped as blocks and most preferably a trapezoidal prism, while some proximate the wrist crease are shaped as crescents. The particular shapes of the pads 54 may be altered to promote specific performance improvements.
On the other hand, each of the finger receiving portions 27-31 bears a particular pattern of shock absorbing pads 62 designed to optimize flexibility as will be described. The geometry of shock absorbing pads 62 is more specific to optimize protection and flexibility as described below.
Comfort is also important and toward this end venting may be provided through the scrim material between the discrete pads 54. Specifically, said the scrim material may include one or more pass-through vents between the discrete pads 54 for improved air circulation.
As seen in
All shock absorbing pads 54, 62 are generally made of a discrete block of any suitable protective material such as micro-cellular foam, preferably open cell, urethane foam (e.g., Poron™, PVC nitrile foam, or another suitable impact-absorbing closed cell foam material). The interstitial channels 58, 68 can be of substantially minimal substrate thickness and substantially minimal spacing between the discrete pads 54, 62. The interstitial channels 58, 68 effectively form flexible hinges between the discrete pads 54. This is best seen in the inset of
i. Layer 1—optional thin layer of EVA adhered to scrim material 52 (1 mm preferred)
ii. Layer 2—scrim material 52 (0.1-4.0 mm thickness, 0.4 mm preferred);
iii. Layer 3—Discrete EVA pads 54 ranging from 9 mm to 13 mm thickness.
In main section 23 the interstitial channel spacing s between the discrete pads 54 is preferably on the order of 0.5-5.0 mm, more preferably 1.0-4.0 mm, and is most preferably approximately 2 mm. If desired, optional hard shell tiles 66 formed of polyethylene, Nylon or other suitable impact-resistant material may be inset/adhered or otherwise formed in the top surface of each discrete pad 54 to add impact resistance.
Referring back to
The pad 54, 62 array can be molded onto a square blank of scrim material 52 and the blank may be cut (die, laser, rotary-blade, water-jet, etc.) using an outline cut that results in a substantially contiguous border flange 166 framing the entire dorsal panel 40, resulting in the dorsal panel as shown in
Importantly, the border flange 166 surrounding the five finger-receiving sections 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 is formed with a bevel, e.g., the flange 166 is angled rearward (away from the picture in
This bevel between adjacent finger sections minimizes resistance as described below in regard to
As seen in
As detailed below in Example 1 sonic welding can cause the rubber/foam to fuse to the scrim material, and where the scrim material is perforated or woven it can flow into the mesh openings of the textile scrim fabric 52, 152 and mechanically interlocks with the fabric. The fabric can reinforce the rubber/foam, strengthen the rubber/foam especially in the interstitial areas, and reduce the possibility that the dorsal shell will tear.
In yet another embodiment, a unitary dorsal section 40 of glove 2 for the embodiment of
Moreover, the heat and pressure of molding displaces the rubber/foam into the mold cavities and can define the substantially zero-elevation interstitial surfaces 52 surrounding the array of raised pads 54, 62, each pad forming a raised island on the substantially zero-elevation surface 52. The scrim material 52 strengthens and reinforces the rubber/foam 66. If desired, the foam rubber 54, 62/scrim 52 combination can be molded into a particular shape. For example, the dorsal panel 40 can be provided with a preformed arch to conform to the back of the hand.
The textile reinforced zero-elevation interstitial hinges 58, 68 can increase flexibility without compromising protection, thereby affording more accurate tactile feel for better stick handling. The unitary (stitchless) dorsal panels 40 can also substantially reduce manufacturing time and expense. Either embodiment of the unitary dorsal panel 40 may be sewn or otherwise attached circumferentially to the palmer sections of the glove.
For assembly, the finger-receiving section 190 can be frequently inverted and stitched to the inverted dorsal panel 40, 140 by seams, for example, through facing margins 193A, 193B and the margins surrounding dorsal panel 40, 140. The X/Y interface shown in
Since the dorsal panel 40 has highly-flexible interstitial hinges (rather than overlying layers where pads are sewn together, where overlapping sewn-layers restrict flexibility), the combined finger-receiving section 190 and dorsal section 40 are much easier to invert manually. The additional flexibility makes it possible to quickly invert the glove 2 when stitching on the palmar section and saves significant time and expense.
It should now be apparent that the above-described protective sports glove 2 with unitary stitchless dorsal panel 40 allows a user to flex the hand in all directions freely, to grip a lacrosse, hockey or other type of sports stick, and to maintain accurate tactile feel at every necessary wrist inclination, all while maintaining a suitable level of protection. The glove 2 allows freer flexion and extension, as well as radial and ulnar deviation, and dorsiflexion.
Variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, the unitary dorsal padding array of the present invention may be inserted in compressed or uncompressed form within a pocket formed in the scrim material on the dorsal side of the glove 2. Such pocket would allow for easier construction, reducing labor costs, and may be better suited for an intermediate level of play. The pocket circumferential edges may be sewn to the palm and fingers with one side of the pocket left open to insert and receive the compressed dorsal panel.
The unitary dorsal padding array of the present invention provides these advantages and may also be used for helmet liners, head gear (e.g., wrestling), other specialty gloves (e.g., baseball, boxing, biking, golf, lacrosse, equestrian, hockey, etc.), shoulder pads, knee pads, elbow pads, bicycle seats, joint supports (e.g., elbow, wrist, knee, hip, neck, shoulder and ankle), padded garments (e.g., biker shorts, etc.), joint braces (e.g., elbow, wrist, knee, hip, neck, shoulder and ankle), and other general padding and supports.
For the purposes of this disclosure, unless expressly stated otherwise: (a) the use of singular forms of terms include plural forms; (b) the use of the terms “including,” “having,” and similar terms are deemed to have the same meaning as “comprising” and thus should not be understood as limiting; (c) the term “set” or “subset” means a collection of one or more than one elements; (d) the term “plurality” means a collection of two or more elements; (e) the term “such as” means for example; (f) the term “and/or” means any combination or sub-combination of a set of stated possibilities, for example, “A, B, and/or C,” means any of: “A,” “B,” “C,” “AB,” “AC,” or “ABC;” and (g) headings, numbering, bullets, or other structuring of the text of this disclosure is not to be understood to limit or otherwise affect the meaning of the contents of this disclosure.
The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims, and by their equivalents.
The present application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 16/241,454 filed 7 Jan. 2019, which is in turn a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/602,915 filed Jan. 22, 2015, which in turn derives priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/930,311 filed Jan. 22, 2014.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61930311 | Jan 2014 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16241454 | Jan 2019 | US |
| Child | 17681152 | US | |
| Parent | 14602915 | Jan 2015 | US |
| Child | 16241454 | US |
