GLOVE REINFORCEMENT

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to gloves of the type used to grasp objects such as sports equipment.

BACKGROUND

Gloves for grasping sports equipment such as golf clubs, tennis racquests, and the like must protect the hand of the user while avoiding interference with a sportsman's grasp of the sports equipment. Additionally, it is desirable that gloves have durability and comfort. There exists a need for an improved glove that improves glove performance in the above described areas.

SUMMARY

The disclosed concepts address the above stated situation by providing a glove having a four sided reinforcement patch overlying the palm cover panel. The patch may include a convex top edge, a concave thumb edge, a convex bottom edge, and a lateral edge opposite the concave thumb edge. The patch may be secured to the palm cover by perimetric stitching and several additional lines of stitching between the convex top edge and the convex bottom edge of the palm reinforcement patch. The additional lines of stitching are parallel, spaced apart from one another, and arranged to track natural creases of the palm. The glove and patch may be of leather, and may include ventilation holes in the patch and fingers of the glove. The palm sheath may have a slit to facilitate size adjustment, and a closure tab for securing the palm sheath at a selected adjustment by hook and loop fastener.

The invention may be regarded as a reinforcement patch for a glove, or alternatively, as a glove improved by incorporation of the novel reinforcement patch.

It is an object to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof by apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable, and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

This and other objects will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the disclosed concepts will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of a reinforced glove spread flat, according to at least one aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a reference bottom plan view of a hand, to clarify physiological terms used herein; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the reinforced glove of FIG. 1, according to at least one aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring first to FIG. 1, according to at least one aspect of the disclosure, there is shown a reinforced glove 100 comprising an envelope 102 dimensioned and configured to enclose a hand 10 of a wearer (not shown). Envelope 102 may include a palm sheath 104 including a palm cover panel 106, an opposed cover panel 108 (see also FIG. 3), an opening 110 for insertion of hand 10 and an enclosed space 112 within palm sheath 104, a plurality of finger sheaths 114 each projecting from palm sheath 104 and in internal communication with enclosed space 112 of palm sheath 104, and a thumb sheath 116 projecting from palm sheath 104 and in internal communication with palm sheath 104.

Reinforced glove 100 may also comprise a reinforcement patch 118 overlying and coupled to palm cover panel 106. Reinforcement patch 118 may comprise a substrate 122 of a flexible material configured to overlie a central portion of a palm 14 of hand 10 of the user. Reinforcement patch 118 may have, when overlying hand 10 of the user, a convex top edge 120 extending laterally from a thenar crease 12 of overlain hand 10 to a lateral surface 16 of palm 14, and a concave thumb edge 124 extending from a first end 126 of convex top edge 120 at thenar crease 12 to about a midpoint 128 of an abductor pollicis brevis muscle 18. Reinforcement patch 118 may also have a convex bottom edge 130 extending from a first end (at midpoint 128) of concave thumb edge 124 to a side (seen as lateral surface 16) of palm 14 opposite a thumb 20, and a lateral edge 132 opposite concave thumb edge 124. Lateral edge 132 may extend from a second end 134 of convex top edge 120 to a second end 136 of convex bottom edge 130.

Reinforced glove 100 provides an extended service life over otherwise similar gloves (not shown) lacking reinforcement patch 118, and also attenuates impacts and other disruptive forces imposed on palm 14 of the user.

It should be noted at this point that orientational terms such as top and bottom refer to the subject drawing as viewed by an observer. The drawing figures depict their subject matter in orientations of normal use, which could obviously change with changes in body posture and position. Therefore, orientational terms must be understood to provide semantic basis for purposes of description only, and do not imply that their subject matter can be used only in one position.

Also, unless otherwise indicated, the terms “first”, “second”, etc., are used herein merely as labels, and are not intended to impose ordinal, positional, or hierarchical requirements on the times to which these terms refer. Moreover, reference to, e.g., a “second” item does not either require or preclude the existence of, e.g., a “first” or lower-numbered item, and/or, e.g., a “third” or higher-numbered item.

Palm sheath 104, palm cover panel 106, opposed cover panel 108, opening 110, enclosed space 112, finger sheaths 114, and thumb sheath 116 may be conventional. Description of substrate 122 overlying the central portion of palm 14 will be understood to apply as illustrated in FIG. 1. That is, with reinforced glove 100 laid flat, reinforcement patch 118 is laid flat thereover.

Description of thumb edge 124 extending from a first end 126 of the convex top edge 120 of reinforcement patch 118 to about the midpoint 128 of an abductor pollicis brevis muscle 18 must take into account variations in human physiology and cut and fit of individual reinforced gloves 100. In the example of FIG. 1, midpoint 128 may vary in location from that called out by reference numeral to the point at which a leader line for reference numeral 124 contacts reinforced patch 118.

Convex top edge 120 may be longer than convex bottom edge 130 of reinforcement patch 118. This arrangement contributes to a configuration of reinforcement patch 118, and hence of reinforced glove 100, that will not hinder a grip by the user of an object such as a golf club (not shown), even as the golf club swings or otherwise moves. Lateral edge 132 opposite concave thumb edge 124 is longer than concave thumb edge 124. This characteristic helps to minimize pulling forces that might otherwise act on a thumb panel 138 of reinforced glove 100 while swinging the golf club or other objects.

Substrate 122 of the flexible material may comprise leather or alternatively, a natural or synthetic material providing characteristics of leather. Leather is strong, durable, and yields to motion in ways that enable hand 10 of the user to move naturally and without undue discomfort.

Reinforced glove 100 may further comprise a plurality of ventilation holes 140 extending entirely through substrate 122 of reinforcement patch 118. Reinforced glove 100 may further comprise a plurality of ventilation holes 142 in each of finger sheaths 114 on a palm side of palm sheath 104. The palm side of palm sheath 104 is that covering palm 14 of hand 10. Referring also to FIG. 3, reinforced glove 100 may further comprising a plurality of ventilation holes 144 in each of finger sheaths 114 on a side of palm sheath 104 opposite the palm side shown in FIG. 1. Ventilation holes 140, 142, 144 help maintain comfort of reinforced glove 100 by enabling loss of perspiration. Ventilation holes 140 improve breathing and ejection of perspiration through the extra layer of leather or other material provided by reinforcement patch 118. Ventilation holes 142 improve breathing of individual finger sheaths 114. Ventilation holes 144 improve breathing at the back of hand 10.

Reinforced glove 100 may further comprise stitched seams coupling palm reinforcement patch 118 to palm cover panel 106 of palm sheath 104. Stitched seams may include perimetric stitching 146 along convex top edge 120, concave thumb edge 124, convex bottom edge 130, and lateral edge 132 opposite concave thumb edge 124, and additional stitching 148 within perimetric stitching 146. The additional stitching 148 may comprise at least one line of stitching extending between convex top edge 120 of palm reinforcement patch 118 and convex bottom edge 130 of palm reinforcement patch 118. This arrangement increases security of retention of reinforcement patch 118 to palm sheath 104 and also assists in preventing reinforcement patch 118 from sliding along palm sheath 104. The additional stitching 148 may comprise at least two lines of stitching extending between convex top edge 120 of palm reinforcement patch 118 and convex bottom edge 130 of palm reinforcement patch 118. Additional lines 148 of stitching further adhere reinforcement patch 118 to palm sheath 104. At least two of at least two lines 146 or 148 of stitching extending between convex top edge 120 of palm reinforcement patch 118 and convex bottom edge 130 of palm reinforcement patch 118 are generally parallel to convex bottom edge 130 of palm reinforcement patch 118. Having lines of stitching 146 track convex top and bottom edges 120 and 130, and having additional lines of stitching 148 be parallel to lines 146 of stitching improve esthetic appearance of reinforced glove 100.

No inference should be made from the drawings that lines 146, 148, or other stitching is internal to reinforced glove 100.

Perimetric stitching (i.e., lines of stitching 146) along convex top edge 120, perimetric stitching (i.e., lines of stitching 146) along convex bottom edge 130, and at least two lines of additional stitching 148 may be generally evenly spaced apart from one another. This further enhances esthetics over irregularly spaced lines of stitching.

Reinforced glove 100 may further comprise a slit 150 in palm sheath 104 on a side of palm sheath 104 opposite the palm side, and a closure configured to secure palm sheath 104 at a selected degree of spreading of slit 150. Adjustment of slit 150 accommodates the width of the hand 10 of the user, which may vary. This limits the number of sizes or models of reinforced glove 100 a manufacturer may have to put on the market to accommodate physiological variations among the general public. The closure may comprises a closure tab 152 extending from a lateral side 154 (FIG. 2) of palm sheath 104.

Closure tap 152 may utilize a hook and loop manual fastener to engage palm sheath 104. A hook and loop manual fastener material is flexible, and cooperates with contours of reinforced glove 100 when worn. More specifically, palm sheath 104 may comprise a patch 156 of a hook and loop manual fastener, and closure tab 152 may comprise a complementary patch 158 of a hook and loop manual fastener overlying patch 156 of hook and loop manual fastener of palm sheath 104 when closure tab 152 secures palm sheath 104 at the selected degree of spreading of slit 150. This arrangement is readily fabricated and does not interfere with the esthetics of reinforced glove 100.

Best seen in FIG. 1, closure tab 152 may have an attachment side 160 coextensive with lateral edge 132 of reinforcement patch 118 opposite concave thumb edge 124. Attachment side 160 is coextensive with lateral edge 132 in that these items are of the same length and are aligned to create a visual impression that one is an extension of the other.

The invention may also be thought of as palm reinforcement patch 118, where palm reinforcement patch 118 comprises substrate 122 of a flexible material configured to overlie a central portion of palm 14 of hand 10 of a user and to have, when overlying hand 10 of the user, convex top edge 120 extending laterally from thenar crease 12 of the overlain hand 10 to lateral surface 16 of palm 14, concave thumb edge 124 extending from first end 126 of convex top edge 120 at thenar crease 12 to about midpoint 128 of abductor pollicis brevis muscle 18, convex bottom edge 130 extending from the first end of concave thumb edge 124 to a side (i.e., lateral surface 16) of palm 14 opposite thumb 20, and lateral edge 132 opposite concave thumb edge 124. Lateral edge 132 may extend from second end 134 of convex top edge 120 to second end 136 of convex bottom edge 130. Palm reinforcement patch 118 provides an ergonomic reinforcement element easily incorporated into a glove, which reinforcement element will conform to body motions without causing discomfort, disorienting pulling forces, and other disruptions to the user.

In palm reinforcement patch 118, convex top edge 120 may be longer than convex bottom edge 130. Once palm reinforcement patch 118 is incorporated into a glove, this configuration assures that reinforcement patch 118, and hence its associated glove will not hinder a grip by the user of an object such as a golf club (not shown), even as the golf club swings or otherwise moves.

In palm reinforcement patch 118, lateral edge 132 opposite concave thumb edge 124 is longer than concave thumb edge 124. This arrangement helps to minimize pulling forces that might otherwise act on a glove associated with palm reinforcement patch 118, while swinging the golf club or other objects.

Palm reinforcement patch 118 may further comprise a plurality of ventilation holes 140 extending entirely through substrate 120 of reinforcement patch 118. This assists cooling and rejection of perspiration despite additional thickness added by palm reinforcement patch 118 to an associated glove.

In palm reinforcement patch 118, substrate 122 of constituent flexible material may comprise leather. Leather is strong, flexible, responds predictably to pulling and other distorting forces, and enhances an esthetic appearance of an associated glove.

It should be understood that the various examples of the apparatus(es) disclosed herein may include any of the components, features, and functionalities of any of the other examples of the apparatus(es) disclosed herein in any feasible combination, and all of such possibilities are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Additional modifications of examples set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the specific examples presented and that modifications and other examples are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and the associated drawings describe examples of the present disclosure in the context of certain illustrative combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative implementations without departing from the scope of the appended claims.