Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02537378 2006-02-22
ATHLETIC GLOVE WITH THUMB PROTECTOR
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to wearable
protective equipment, and more particularly to a protective
athletic glove.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Risk of injuries is always of concern for athletes,
particularly for athletes competing in contact and/or
physical sports in which protective clothing is worn to
limit injuries, such as for example sporting activities
including ice hockey, lacrosse, cricket, field hockey, motor
cycle riding, and the like. Particularly for stick based
sports such as ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse and
cricket, players wear protective gloves such as to limit
potential damage to their hands and wrists which may be
caused by impacts directed thereagainst by the puck, ball or
other players sticks, as the case may be.
Such protective athletic gloves must offer protection to the
wearer's hands and wrists, while nevertheless permitting the
wearer good flexibility and range of motion. The fingers
and thumbs are often vulnerable to impacts, and thus most
protective gloves are heavily padded on their exterior while
the interior surfaces (i.e. those surfaces on the palm side
of the hand which typically contact the stick) are unpadded
or have only limited padding. Further, as thumbs are
particularly vulnerable, especially to hyperextension, the
thumb portion of many protective athletic gloves include a
rigid outer shell which is engaged to the glove so as to
limit any undue rearward movement of the thumb which might
cause hyperextension thereof. However, such rigid outer
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shells tend to limit flexibility and restrict freedom of
movement of the thumb.
While articulated thumb portions in more recently developed
protective athletic gloves have attempted to address the
problem of providing good protection to impact and
hyperextension of the thumb, while nevertheless permitting
good flexibility and freedom of movement, improvement in
this regard is nonetheless sought.
Therefore, there remains a need for a protective athletic
glove capable of offering improved thumb protection.
StJbIlKARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an
improved protective athletic glove.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an
improved protective athletic glove having a articulated
reinforced thumb portion.
Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a protective athletic glove,
the glove having a thumb portion defining an inner palm side
and an opposed outer side, the thumb portion comprising: a
main thumb member including a sheath within which a wearer's
thumb is received and having an inner side which defines
said inner palm side of the thumb portion; a rigid outer
protector disposed on said outer side of said thumb portion
overtop a partial portion of said main thumb member, said
main thumb member being articulated relative to said rigid
outer protector such as to permit inward flexion of said
main thumb member while preventing significant outward
extension thereof relative to said rigid outer protector;
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and a rigid projection protruding from the outer side of
said main thumb member, said rigid projection being received
within a corresponding opening formed in said rigid outer
protector when the main thumb member is fully outwardly
extended relative to said rigid outer protector such that
they are abutted along their length; whereby said rigid
projection, when received within said opening, limits
proximal displacement of said main thumb member relative to
said rigid outer protector.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a protective glove for a hand, the glove
including a thumb receiving portion having a dorsal side and
an inner palm side, the thumb receiving portion comprising:
a rigid thumb shell covering a proximal end of the dorsal
side of the thumb receiving portion such that a distal
portion of the thumb receiving portion is exposed, the rigid
thumb shell having a notch formed therein at a distal end
thereof; and a rigid projection protruding from the dorsal
side of said thumb receiving portion distally of said rigid
thumb shell, said rigid projection being received within
said notch of said rigid thumb shell when said thumb
receiving portion is fully extended relative to said rigid
thumb shell such that proximal displacement of said thumb
receiving portion relative to said rigid thumb shell is
limited.
There is also provided, in accordance with another aspect of
the present invention, a hockey glove for protecting at
least a wearer's hand having a dorsal side, a palm side,
four fingers and one thumb having itself a dorsal side, an
inner palm side, a middle phalanx, a distal phalanx and an
articulation between said middle and distal phalanxes, the
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hockey glove comprising: a rigid thumb shell disposed
overtop of a dorsal side of a thumb receiving portion within
which the thumb of the wearer's hand is received, the rigid
thumb shell covering a proximal portion of said dorsal side
of the thumb receiving portion such that a distal end
thereof is dorsally exposed, the thumb receiving portion
being articulated with said rigid thumb shell such that
inward flexion of said thumb receiving portion away from
said rigid thumb shell is permitted while significant
outward extension of said thumb receiving portion relative
to said rigid thumb shell is prevented; and a rigid
projection protruding from the dorsal side of said thumb
receiving portion distally of said rigid thumb shell, said
rigid projection being received within a notch formed in a
distal end of said rigid thumb shell when said thumb
receiving portion is fully extended relative to said rigid
thumb shell, such that proximal displacement of said thumb
receiving portion relative to said rigid thumb shell is
limited by said rigid projection.
There is further provided, in accordance with another aspect
of the present invention, a hockey glove for protecting at
least a wearer's hand, the hockey glove including a thumb
portion having a dorsal side and an inner palm side and
within which a thumb of the wearer's hand is received, the
thumb portion comprising: first and second protective
portions disposed on said dorsal side of the thumb portion,
the second portion including a rigid shell and being
disposed overtop of at least a proximal end of said first
portion such that the second protective portion overlaps
said first protective portion, said first and second
protective portions being articulated relative to each other
such that inward flexion of said first protective portion
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away from said second protective portion is permitted; and a
rigid projection disposed on a dorsal side of said first
protective portion, said rigid projection being received
within an opening formed in said second protective portion
5 when said first protective portion is aligned with and fully
outwardly extended relative to said second protective
portion, such that proximal displacement of said first
protective portion relative to said second protective
portion is limited by said rigid projection.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent from the following detailed
description, taken in combination with the appended
drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective side view of the protective athletic
glove in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is top view of the thumb portion of the hockey glove
of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a side view of the thumb portion of the hockey
glove of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 4 is a perspective inner side view of the protective
athletic glove of Fig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Fig. 1 a protective athletic glove 10, such as
that which may be worn for contact stick sports such as
hockey and lacrosse or for operating motorized vehicles such
as motorcycles, snowmobiles and the like, generally
comprises four finger portions 14 and a thumb portion 12
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which extend from a main glove body 16 having a cuff 18
disposed proximate an open hand receiving end 19 of the
glove. The main glove body 16 includes an inner palm side
20 and a padded outer dorsal side 22 generally covering the
back side of the wearer's hand.
Although the protective athletic glove 10 as depicted and
and described in further detail below is particularly
intended for use as an ice hockey glove, it is to be
understood that the protective athletic glove 10 of the
present invention can be used for other types of athletic
activities during which protection of the hands, and
particularly the thumb, is desired.
As seen in Figs. 2 to 4, the thumb portion 12 of the
protective athletic glove 10 includes a main thumb member 30
having a sheath 32 (best seen in Fig. 2) within which the
wearer's thumb is received when wearing the glove. The
sheath 32 is located on the inner or palm side 34 of the
thumb portion 12 which is adapted to contact a stick or
handlebar which is gripped by the wearer of the protective
glove. A rigid outer protector or outer thumb shell 38 is
disposed dorsally or overtop of at least a proximal end of
the main thumb member 30. The main thumb member 30 is
articulated relative to the rigid outer protective thumb
shell 38 such that inward flexion of the main thumb member
30 is possible relative thereto. However the rigid thumb
shell 38, which is engaged to the main body 16 of the
protective glove 10, prevents any significant outward
extension of the main thumb member 30 relative to the rigid
thumb shell. Thus, the rigid thumb shell 38 protects at
least a part of the main thumb member 30 from external
impacts and also helps prevent hyperextension of the
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wearer's thumb by limiting outward extension of the main
thumb member, within which the thumb is received, relative
to the more rigid outer shell 38. In the embodiment
depicted, the main thumb member 30 includes padding on the
outer dorsal side 36 of the main thumb member 30 to protect
the distal end 37 of the thumb from impacts.
As described above, the rigid outer thumb shell 38 extends
only partially along the length of the main thumb member 30,
particularly covering only a proximal end 35 of the main
thumb member 30 such as to leave the distal end 37 thereof
protruding beyond the distal edge 41 of the protective shell
38, such that the dorsal or outer surface 36 of the main
thumb member's distal end 37 is exposed.
A rigid projection 42 protrudes from the outer dorsal side
36 of the main thumb member 30 and, in at least the
embodiment shown, is disposed on the distal end 37 thereof.
The rigid projection 42 may be an upstanding button, ridge
or other rigid element. The rigid projection 42 is received
within a correspondingly-shaped opening 40 defined in the
distal edge 41 of the rigid outer thumb shell 38. The rigid
projection 42 is received within the opening 40, which may
be a notch or other suitable opening shaped and configured
to at least partially correspond to the shape of the rigid
projection 42, when the main thumb member 30 is fully
extended relative to the rigid thumb shell 38 (i.e. such
that it is located in a position as depicted in Fig. 3).
When the main thumb member 30 is thus fully extended, the
mating of the rigid projection 42 and the opening 40 formed
in the rigid thumb shell 38 effectively retain the two
articulated portions (i.e. the main thumb member 30 and the
rigid shell 38) together to prevent or at least limit
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proximal displacement of the main thumb member 30 relative
to the rigid thumb shell 38. This helps prevent injury to
the wearer's thumb which might otherwise be caused by
impacts on the distal tip of the thumb which attempt to jam
the thumb inward toward the wearer's wrist. The engagement
between the rigid projection 42 on the main thumb member 30
and the rigid dorsal thumb shell 38 also help prevent or at
least limit significant outward extension of the main thumb
member 30, and therefore also the user's thumb, in order to
further reduce the likelihood of the wearer hyper extending
his or her thumb when wearing the protective athletic glove
10.
In the embodiment depicted in Figs. 1-4, the thumb portion
12 of the protective athletic glove 10 also includes an
additional outer padded portion 46 which overlaps at least a
portion of the rigid outer thumb shell 38, which itself in
turn overlaps a proximal portion of the main thumb member
30. The outer padding portion 46 extends from an innermost
cuff end of the thumb portion 12 distally outward to cover
and thus protect at least a proximal end of the rigid thumb
shell 38. In this embodiment, both the rigid thumb shell 38
and the outer padded portion 46 extend proximally to an
inner end 48 adjacent the main cuff 18 of the protective
glove. As best seen in Fig. 4, the outer padded portion 46
and the rigid thumb shell 38 remain substantially overlapped
and abutted together, even while the main thumb member 30 is
articulated inwardly relative thereto, such as for example
when the wearer grips the stick or handlebars during use of
the glove. While the outer padded portion 46 is provided in
the depicted embodiment, in an alternate embodiment of the
athletic glove of the present invention, the thumb portion
12 may include only a main thumb member 30 and a rigid outer
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thumb shell 38, thereby disposing of the necessity for the
outer padding portion. In this case, either padding may be
foregone on the outer surface of the rigid thumb shell or
alternatively the rigid thumb shell may include padding
directly in its outer surface.
In the embodiment as depicted, the rigid projection 42 is
located substantially centrally between lateral edges 39 of
the main thumb member 30, and near the tip 43 at the distal
end 37 of the main thumb member 30. However, it is to be
understood that the projection 42 may be alternately located
either near one of the lateral edges 39 or may be shaped
such as to extend a greater lateral distance across the
dorsal outer surface of the main thumb member. Regardless,
the opening 40 defined in the rigid thumb shell 38 is
configured to receive at least a portion of the rigid
projection 42 therein. Further, although the opening 40 is
shown as an open ended notch within which at least two edges
of the pentagonally-shaped rigid projection 42 are abutted,
this opening 40 may alternately be an enclosed opening
defined through the rigid thumb shell 38. For example, the
opening may comprise a circular or polygonal-shaped enclosed
hole defined through the rigid thumb shell and within which
a similarly-shaped rigid projection 42 located on the main
thumb member 30 in registration therewith, is received.
It is to be understood that the size and shape of both the
rigid projection 42 and the corresponding opening 40 within
which it is received may be modified by one skilled in the
art.
The embodiments of the invention described above are
intended to be exemplary. Those skilled in the art will
therefore appreciate that the forgoing description is
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illustrative only, and that various alternatives and
modifications can be devised without departing from the
spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the present
is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications
5 and variances which fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
