CURLING GARMENT BRUSH RETAINER

DISPOSITIF DE RETENUE POUR LE CLUB PREVU SUR UN VETEMENT DE CURLING

English Abstract

A retainer for a curling brush handle, adapted for use when suspended from a
curling garment worn on the upper body, comprising a strip of flexible
material
adapted to be formed into an open loop configuration when suspended on a side
of the garment, to engage with the distal end of the handle of a curling brush
in
order to provide on-ice support for the curler's body during delivery of a
curling
rock.

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne un dispositif de retenue (14, 16) destiné au manche d'un club de curling. Ce dispositif de retenue est prévu pour être utilisé alors qu'il pend d'un vêtement de curling porté sur la partie supérieure du corps. Ce dispositif comprend une bande de matériau souple pouvant adopter une configuration de boucle ouverte lorsqu'il pend sur le côté de bras d'appui du vêtement, pour bloquer l'extrémité distale du manche d'un club (10) de curling afin d'assurer au corps du joueur un support sur la glace lorsque ce dernier lance une pierre (12) de curling.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF AN INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A retainer for a curling brush handle for use with an upper body garment
comprising a strip of
flexible material adapted to be formed into an open loop configuration when
secured to the garment on
the offarm side thereof, further adapted to engage the handle of a curling
brush when introduced herein.
2. The retainer for a curling brush handle of Claim 1 in which the open loop
of the strip defines an
opening positioned to underlay the armpit of the curling garment.
3. The retainer for a curling brush handle of Claim 1 in which the open loop
of the strip defines an
opening secured to a side of the garment below and behind the shoulder
thereof.
4. The retainer for a curling brush handle of Claims 2 or 3 in which the open
loop of the strip is
between one and two centimeters in width.
5. A curling garment including a retaining loop for a curling brush comprising
a strip of flexible
material adapted to be formed into an open loop configuration when secured to
the garment on a side
thereof, further adapted to engage the distal end of the handle of a curling
brush when introduced
therein.
6. The curling garment of Claim 5 in which the open loop of the strip defines
a loop opening
underlying the armpit of the curling garment.
7. The curling garment of Claim 5 in which the open loop of the strip defines
an opening on a side
of the garment below and behind the shoulder thereof.
8. A curling garment including a pair of retaining loops for the handle of a
curling brush, the first of
such loops comprising a strip of flexible material adapted to be formed into
an open loop configuration
when secured to the garment on a side thereof underlying the armpit of the
curling garment, and the
second of such loops comprising a strip of flexible material adapted to be
formed into an open loop

configuration on a side of the garment below and behind the shoulder thereof.

Description

CA 02390535 2007-06-11
CURLING GARMENT BRUSH RETAINER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the sport of curling and more particularly to curling
garments worn on the
upper body, such as jackets, and more specifically, to a retaining loop
suspended from the garment and
engaging the handle of a curling brush or broom.
In the game of curling, the curler intending to deliver a curling rock on a
sheet of curling ice, holds
the rock in his address hand, and a curling brush or broom in his offliand,
engaged by its handle. This
rock is released by the curler onto the surface of the ice in a sliding motion
of the curler's body, while
partially supporting himself on his offside with hand pressure on the brush
engaging the ice surface.
Heretofore and since its origin, a curling broom was the standard device used
in curling, for support of
the curler and for brushing or brooming the ice ahead of the sliding rock.
Today, brooms have largely
been replaced by brushes as more convenient and effective devices.
Since its inception in the early 1940s, a sliding delivery has become a
dynamic component in the
sport, with the curler's balance on the ice sheet becoming one of the
principal components of success.
For delivery of the rock, the curler positions himself in the hack, with the
rock secured in his curling
hand and the curling brush secured in the ofthand. The curler crouches closely
to the surface of the ice
sheet, addressing the target area at the opposite end of the ice while holding
the brush with the brush
head engaging the ice, in order to provide a measure of support to the curler
during delivery of the rock.
The curler moves forwardly in the crouching posture at delivery to make a slow
and controlled release
of the rock by supporting himself with much of his body weight distributed on
the brush head.
Heretofore, curlers have encountered varying degrees of difficulty in the
process of releasing the
rock, because of the infirm support provided to the curler by the brush held
in the offhand. The weak
handgrip provides inadequate support to the curler to provide the necessary
stabilizing body-balance
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CA 02390535 2007-06-11
necessary for the smooth release and delivery of the rock as the curler slides
forwardly from the hack,
with the supporting brush sliding with him freely on the ice. This inadequate
support provided by the
brush leads to the negative result of the curler attempting to obtain extra
support from the rock, which
results in the rock being pushed or pulled off-line.
One recent attempt at addressing the problem is the provision of a hand-held
"crutch", held in the
curler's offhand. This device comprises a support having a small crossbar
positioned at a right-angle to
an engaging longitudinal bar, surmounted by a handle. While this device does
provide balancing
support, it must be carried to the rink, and then carried end-to-end on the
ice sheet for availability; and
in use, it is generally limited to a "no-swing" delivery of the rock, in which
both the rock and the crutch
remain in continuing contact with the ice during address. Curlers who lift the
rock in the backswing
must simultaneously lift the crutch, which then must be returned to the ice,
with attendant difficulties in
stability.
It is the object of the present invention to address and overcome the problem
of instability at address
encountered by curlers in attempting to obtain support from the offarm from
the handle of the brush
bearing on the surface of the ice.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention comprises a retaining loop for engaging and
retaining the brush
handle, thereby to secure the brush to the curler's body garment on the offarm
side. The loop is
positioned and adapted to conveniently admit the distal end of the brush
handle when the handle is held
in the offarm during the rock release period, during which the curler is in
the crouch position.
The invention is formed by a strip of flexible cloth material secured at each
end to the curler's
garment, thereby to form the retaining loop with the adjacent part of the
garment.
In its first preferred embodiment, the invention partially encircles the
curler's upper arm, under the
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armpit, adjacent the shoulder of the garment. The length of the retaining loop
is such as to provide a
convenient loop opening adjacent the armpit for convenient entry and support
of the distal end of the
curler's brush handle so engaged, the brush head then being extended
sidewardly on the ice surface to
form a three-point support system for the weight of the curler's body, the
weight thus being distributed
among the curler's feet, the brush head in its sidewardly extended position,
and in light support
engagement with the rock. This three-point support allows the curler's arm and
hand on the offside to
rest comfortably on the top surface of the brush handle in a natural
configuration, for maximum
leverage and safety, the brush being free for orientation relative to the
curler's body. With the curling
brush freely sliding on the ice surface, unrestricted movement of the curler's
body is permitted as the
curler slides forwardly on the ice during address, without being required to
drop into a hand-on-ice
position as is now sometimes favored by curlers finding the brush to be a weak
and insecure balancing
aid. The retaining loop of this invention provides the curler with improved
ice support while
accommodating the high delivery body position, as well as a lower delivery at
address.
In a second embodiment, the retaining loop is located on the body of the
curler's garment on the
offarm side, below and behind the shoulder. It has been found that some
curlers prefer greater freedom
of the offarm, with the brush handle secured at its distal end by the
retaining loop secured to the
garment body. This location provides all of the advantages described above for
the armpit-positioned
loop.
BRIEF DESCRPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set
forth with particularity in the
appended claims. The invention itself, both as to its organization and use
will be understood by
reference to the following description taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 1 and lA are frontal views of a curler set up in the hack and after the
rock is released,
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respectively, in traditional delivery, depicting the weak relationship of hand-
to-brush in providing
balance to the curler;
FIG. 2 is a frontal view of a curler using the "crutch", heretofore described,
to provide balancing
support;
FIGS. 3 and 3A depict a curler using the first preferred embodiment of the
invention, in which the
retaining loop is secured to the garment under the armpit adjacent the
curler's shoulder with the loop
extending under the annpit, and the handle of the curler's brush engaged by
the loop;
FIG. 4 depicts a curler using the second preferred embodiment, with the brush
handle engaged by a
retaining loop secured to the garment on the offarm side, below and behind the
shoulder;
FIG. 5 depicts, in broken enlarged outline, the preferred embodiments of the
invention in situ on a
typical curler's garment, with the brush handle in broken outline.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As depicted in FIGS. 1 and lA in traditional delivery, heretofore in popular
use, the curler positioned
in the hack holds a brush 10 on the offarm side in the offarm hand 11, while
holding a rock 12 for
delivery in his curling hand 13. At this point virtually all of the curler's
weight is supported by his feet
and little, if any, of his weight is supported by the brush.
As delivery progresses, the curler's active arm, engaging the rock, is
extended rearwardly behind the
curler in a backswing, followed by the foreswing release during which the
curler's body moves down
ice towards the target. During the foreswing the curler imparts any necessary
rotary motion to the rock
and regulates the forward velocity of the rock on the ice, all directed to
achieve the planned result at the
target end of the ice sheet.
FIGS. 1 and IA illustrate the delicate balance which is necessary in the
traditional delivery, with the
weak hand-to-brush relationship depicted in the curler's offarm side, both at
the instant of delivery and
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CA 02390535 2007-06-11
release, and immediately following release when much of the curler's attention
and effort are
necessarily directed to self-support on the ice sheet, as distinct from
control of the rock.
FIG. 2 illustrates the use of the crutch, recently introduced into the sport
of curling, with indifferent
success, as a means of maintaining balance on delivery. While this device does
provide adequate
balancing support, its use is attendant with distinct disadvantages. It is
required to be stored when not in
use, it must be carried to and from the rink, and carried end-to-end on the
ice as the game proceeds.
While effective in a"no-swing" delivery when both rock and crutch remain in
ice contact, it has a
distinct disadvantage with curlers who lift the rock in the backswing, since
the crutch must also be lifted
in the backswing and then returned to the ice at delivery.
FIGS. 3 and 3A depict the first preferred embodiment in use, in which a
retaining loop 14 is formed
under the" shoulder of the curler's body garment, with the loop in suspended
relationship under the
armpit, as at 15, having an adequate clearance from the underside of the
garment at the armpit to readily
admit the distal end of the handle of the curling brush.
When the curler drops into the crouch position, the distal end of the brush
handle is introduced into
the retaining loop without any directed effort from the curler. The curler in
the delivery position with
the curling arm extended forwardly, as in FIGS. 3 and 3A, and with the brush
extending sidewardly as
depicted, the curler will transfer much of his body weight to the brush, which
is firmly suspended by
the retaining loop 14 and the curler's hand grip.
FIG. 4 depicts the second preferred embodiment described of the invention,
wherein the retaining
loop 16 is secured to the garment on the off-arm side, below and behind the
shoulder. In this
embodiment, the anchor loop may be formed in several configurations, for
individual preference, and
this embodiment conveniently adapts to the high delivery favored by many
curlers, as depicted in FIG.
4.
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CA 02390535 2007-06-11
A significant feature of the invention in use, is its adaptation to the
sliding engagement of the brush
handle within the loop, which permits the curler to vary the bridging effect
of the brush handle in
transferring the load on the brush head to the curler's body through the
retaining loop, as particularly
illustrated in FIG. 4.
In the embodiment described in FIG. 4, the load applied by the curler on the
brush handle is
distributed to the brush head, and with the engagement of the retaining loop,
to the curler's back.
The retaining loop may be formed from any suitable material, such as woven
fabric, and may match
the garment for off-ice wear.
The extension of the loop from the garment has been found in practice to
function best when the loop
extension is between one and two diameters of the normal brush handle, in
order to admit ready entry of
the handle. Length of the strip will normally depend on the body size of the
garment, and will be a
matter of choice to the designer.
The retaining loop may be permanently secured to the garment, as by stitching,
or may be
removeably secured as with pressure-activated fasteners.
A single garment may, of course, include the retaining loops of each of the
embodiments described,
since each will function independently of the other.
While the invention has been described with respect to certain specific
embodiments it will be
appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled
in the art, without
departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the
appended claims, to cover
such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the
invention.
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Representative Drawing