Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02714313 2010-09-08
TITLE
PROTECTIVE ATHLETIC GLOVE
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION:
[00011 This document claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Number
61/272,435, entitled "Protective Athletic Glove," filed September 24, 2009,
the entire
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A protective athletic glove and method for manufacturing the same are
provided.
More particularly, a protective athletic glove that includes overlapping
protective elements
that increase flexibility and movement for the wearer is provided.
[0003] Protective athletic gloves are known for use in contact sports such as
lacrosse, and
hockey. The gloves are designed to protect a wearer of the gloves from injury
due to
equipment impact (e.g., lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, balls, pucks, skates,
etc.), impacts
between participants (e.g., stick checks, body checks, etc.), impacts with the
playing surface
(falls, dives, knock-downs, etc.), or impacts from objects on and around the
playing surface
(e.g., lacrosse goals, hockey goals, boards, etc.). Also, the gloves can offer
protection against
blistering and abrasions to a wearer's hands.
[0004] However, conventional protective athletic gloves are fairly rigid in
design sacrificing
flexibility for protective function. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate problems
associated with
protection elements used in conventional protective athletic gloves.
Typically, to create a
glove with padding sewn to it for either lacrosse or hockey, a manufacturing
process starts
within an internal fabric pattern that looks like a giant hand. Protective
elements are then
sewn to the internal lining. As illustrated in Figure 3a, conventional
protective elements such
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as protective element 20 illustrated in Figure 3a include a stitch line 21
that extends all the
way around the protective element and secures the protective element to an
inner layer
material. In order to promote flexibility, multiple protective elements 20 are
secured to a
lining 30, as illustrated in Figure 3b. However, as illustrated in Figure 3c,
when such a
protective athletic glove undergoes deformation due to normal use by a wearer,
adjacent
blocks 20 tend to come into contact and arrest further motion as illustrated
at element 60 in
Figure 3c.
[0005] In conventional gloves, the wrist area is one major flex point on the
hand that is
restricted by such a construction. As illustrated in Figure 4, conventional
glove construction
includes attaching a cuff piece 50, designed to protect the lower arm, to the
body of a glove
that includes padded fingers, a padded metacarpal portion (back of the hand),
a padded wrist
portion and a palmar portion. Due to the need for flexion at the wrist,
conventional gloves
tend to leave a larger gap between the cuff piece 50 and the adjacent
protective element 20 on
the wrist portion of the glove body. This space is then covered with a wrist
guard 40.
[0006] However, the wrist guard 40 hinders the flexion and extension of
conventional gloves
as well as the radial and ulnar deviation. Along with the wrist guard 40,
conventional glove
construction of the body of the glove creates non-moving flat spots because
the protective
elements 20 are sewn down on all sides of an individual block to an internal
lining material,
as illustrated in Figure 3a. As noted above, Figure 3c illustrates that this
sewing and
construction create pinch and stopping points 60 in the protective elements
20. As illustrated
in Figure 4, known designs create multiple stop locations 60 that prevent
further dorsiflexion.
[0007] Conventionally, the only way to alleviate these stopping points was to
create further
gaps in the protective elements or use multiple protective elements. Although
using more
protective elements can make a glove more flexible, such a construction
increases the cost of
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the glove due to the increased amount of stitching and construction that is
required.
Moreover, even with additional protective elements and gaps between them to
allow for
flexibility, there is a limitation to how far adjacent protective elements can
move relative to
each other and still maintain adequate protection of a player.
[0008] As such, there is a need in the art for a protective function while
improving the ability
of the wearer to flex the hands and wrists in a natural manner.
SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY ASPECTS OF THE ADVANCEMENTS
[0009] In one aspect, a protective glove includes a hand receiving portion
that includes a
metacarpal portion and a wrist portion. The hand receiving portion includes a
dorsal side and
a palm side. The glove further includes a plurality of protective elements
attached to the
dorsal side of the hand receiving portion. The plurality of protective
elements include a first
protective element that overlaps a second protective element. The first
protective element
includes a distal end that is attached to the dorsal side of the hand
receiving portion and a
proximal end that extends freely over the second protective element.
[0010] Ina further aspect, a protective glove includes a hand receiving
portion that includes
a plurality of finger portions, a thumb portion, a metacarpal portion and a
wrist portion. The
hand receiving portion includes a dorsal side and a palm side. The dorsal side
of the hand
receiving portion includes an inner liner that partially defines an interior
space of the hand
receiving portion. The glove further includes a plurality of protective
elements attached to an
exterior surface of the inner liner. The plurality of protective elements
include a first
protective element that is positioned distally with respect to a second
protective element of
the plurality of protective elements. The first protective element extends
from a distal end on
a distal side of the first protective element to a free end on a proximal side
of the first
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protective element. The distal end is secured to the inner liner, the free end
is not secured to
the inner liner and the first and second protective elements are positioned
such that the free
end of the first protective element is proximal of a distal end of the second
protective element
and the first protective element extends over a portion of the second
protective element. The
glove further includes a lower forearm portion attached to the hand receiving
portion.
[0011] In still a further aspect, a method for manufacturing a protective
glove includes
providing a hand receiving portion including a plurality of finger portions, a
thumb portion, a
metacarpal portion and a wrist portion. The hand receiving portion includes a
dorsal side and
a palm side. The dorsal side of the hand receiving portion includes a liner. A
lower forearm
portion is attached to a proximal end of the wrist portion of the hand
receiving portion. A
plurality of protective elements are attached to an exterior surface of the
liner after attaching
the lower forearm portion to the proximal end of the wrist portion.
[00121 It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description of
the invention and
the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive, of
the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant
advantages
thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by
reference to the
following detailed description when considered in connection with the
accompanying
drawings, wherein:
[0014] Figure 1 a illustrates a range of flexion and extension of a human
hand;
[00151 Figure lb illustrates a human hand in dorsiflexion;
[0016] Figure I c illustrates a human hand in palmar flexion;
[00171 Figure 2a illustrates a range of deviation of a human hand;
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[0018] Figure 2b illustrates a human hand with a thumb in a neutral position;
[0019] Figure 2c illustrates a human hand with a thumb in an abduction
position;
[0020] Figure 2d illustrates a human hand with a thumb in an opposition
position;
[0021] Figure 2e illustrates a range of motion of a human finger;
[0022] Figure 3a illustrates a conventional padding element;
[0023] Figure 3b illustrates two conventional padding elements;
[0024] Figure 3c illustrates the conventional padding elements of Figure 3b
undergoing
flexion;
[0025] Figure 4 illustrates conventional padding configurations;
[0026] Figure 5a illustrate an exemplary protective padding element according
to the present
invention;
[0027] Figure 5b illustrates two exemplary protective padding element
according to the
present invention;
[0028] Figure 5c illustrates the exemplary protective padding elements of
Figure 5b
undergoing flexion;
[0029] Figure 6 illustrates protective padding according to one exemplary
aspect of the
present invention;
[0030] Figure 7a illustrates a protective athletic glove in accordance with
one exemplary
aspect of the present invention;
[0031] Figure 7b illustrates a cross-sectional view along line A-A from Figure
7a;
[0032] Figure 8a illustrates a protective glove in accordance with an
exemplary aspect of the
present invention;
[0033] Figure 8b illustrates a cross-sectional view from along line B-B in
Figure 8a;
[0034] Figure 8c illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in
Figure 8a;
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[0035] Figure 8d illustrates a cross-sectional view of a finger portion of a
protective glove in
accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;
[0036] Figure 9a illustrates a protective glove in accordance with an
exemplary aspect of the
present invention;
[0037] Figure 9b illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of
Figure 9a;
[0038] Figure 9c illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in
Figure 9a;
[0039] Figure 9d illustrates an exemplary cross-section of an impact gel
piece;
[0040] Figure I Oa is a first perspective view of a protective athletic glove
in accordance with
an exemplary aspect of the present invention;
[0041] Figure 10b is a second perspective view of a protective athletic glove
in accordance
with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;
[0042] Figure I Oc is a third perspective view of a protective athletic glove
in accordance
with an exemplary aspect of the present invention;
[0043] Figure 11 a illustrates a partial cut-away view of a protective
element;
[0044] Figure 1 lb illustrates a partial cut-away view of another protective
element;
[0045] Figure 12 illustrates a back view of an exemplary protective athletic
glove;
[0046] Figure 13 illustrates a front view of an exemplary protective athletic
glove;
[0047] Figure 14 illustrates a top right elevation view of an exemplary of a
protective athletic
glove;
[0048] Figure 15 illustrates a top view of an exemplary protective athletic
glove;
[0049] Figure 16 illustrates a bottom view of an exemplary protective athletic
glove;
[0050] Figure 17 illustrates a side view of an exemplary protective athletic
glove;
[0051] Figure 18 illustrates a top left elevation view of an exemplary
protective athletic
glove;
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[0052] Figure 19 illustrates a bottom left elevation view of an exemplary
protective athletic
glove;
[0053] Figure 20a illustrates a first stage of a method for manufacturing a
protective athletic
glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention;
[0054] Figure 20b illustrates a second stage of a method for manufacturing a
protective
athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present
invention;
[0055] Figure 20c illustrates a third stage of a method for manufacturing a
protective athletic
glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention; and
[0056] Figure 20d illustrates a fourth stage of a method for manufacturing a
protective
athletic glove in accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0057] Certain terminology used in the following description is for
convenience only and is
not limiting. The phrase "most proximal end" is generally used to describe
where an
appendage (such as the hand) joins the body, and the phrase "most distal end"
is used for the
point furthest from the point of attachment to the body. Connecting the most
proximal end
and the most distal end define a proximo-distal axis. The terms "proximal" and
"distal" are
also used herein as relative terms to indicate where structures lie along the
proximo-distal
axis for a given structure.
[0058] Gloves are designed to provide substantial protection to the
participant's fingers,
hands, wrists, and lower forearms while maintaining as much flexibility within
the glove 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 a
sport while
protection is required to reduce injury to the same.
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[0059] For example, as best illustrated in Figures la to lc, under ideal
conditions, a
participant's hand 10 will be able to undergo at least 65 degrees of
dorsiflexion and at least
70 degrees of palmar flexion. Likewise, as illustrated in Figure 2a, a user's
hand would
ideally be able to travel through at least 15 degrees of radial deviation and
at least 30 degrees
of ulnar deviation. As illustrated in Figures 2b to 2d, a participant's thumb
will be able to
travel through at least 40 degrees from an abduction position to an opposition
position.
Likewise, Figure 2e illustrates an ideal range of motion for a participant's
finger 12.
[0060] Thus, lacrosse players and hockey players typically need to be able to
flex in all
directions freely in order to grip equipment 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 dorsiflexion that is available to a player
when they are
manipulating a stick in either lacrosse or hockey. Notably, conventional
hockey gloves have
limited flexion and extension as well as difficult radial and ulnar deviation,
and typical
lacrosse gloves include significant limitations on dorsiflexion.
[0061] The solutions presented herein can be incorporated into a protective
athletic glove for
use while playing hockey, for use while playing lacrosse, or for use while
engaging in any
other sport that requires the player to be able to flex in all directions
freely in order to grip
equipment and engage in necessary wrist action.
[0062] Figures 5a to 5c illustrate exemplary protective elements in accordance
with one
exemplary aspect of the present invention. In particular, the protective
element 120 is
fastened to an inner liner, but is not secured on all sides to allow for
movement and
flexibility. As best illustrated in Figure 5b, multiple protection elements
120 are fastened to a
liner 30 along a single edge 121. Adjacent elements 120 are then positioned so
as to overlap
such that a free edge of a first element 120 extends over a second element
120. As can be
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seen in Figure 5b, this construction provides excellent protection to a player
as there is no
exposed gap between adjacent elements. In addition, as illustrated in Figure
5c, during
movement of the protective glove, adjacent protective elements can slide over
each other
allowing more flexion and extension.
[0063] For example, as illustrated in Figure 6, a conventional design
incorporating a wrist
guard is replaced with a new design that incorporates protective elements 20,
protective
elements 120, and a floating cuff 150. As can be seen in Figure 6, the
elements 120 are able
to slide over each other at points 160, allowing for a greater degree of
dorsiflexion when
compared with the conventional case illustrated in Figure 4.
1. Glove Construction
[0064] The construction of an exemplary protective athletic glove in
accordance with the
above-noted features will now be described with reference to Figures 7-10 and
12-19.
[0065] Turning first to Figure 7a, a protective athletic glove 200 includes a
hand receiving
portion 202 and a lower forearm portion 204. The lower forearm portion 204
includes a cuff
250 constructed of three separate elements 251, 252, and 253. The hand
receiving portion
202 includes a finger receiving portion 210, a thumb portion 215, a wrist
portion 240, and a
metacarpal portion that is illustrated in the sections identified as 220, 225
and 230 in Figure
7a.
[0066] The finger portion includes protective padding elements 211, 212, 213,
214 and 219
(illustrated in Figure lOc). Metacarpal portion 220 includes protective
elements 221, 222,
and 223. Metacarpal portion 230 includes elements 231 (illustrated in Figure
10c), 232, 233,
234 and 235. The design of the metacarpal portion 230 aids in the flexibility
of the glove.
As shown in Figure 7a, a proximal end of the metacarpal portion 230 forms an
arc with
respect to the proximo-distal axis. The concave side of the are faces the
proximal end of the
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glove and the convex side of the arc faces the distal end of the glove. The
shape of the
proximal end of the metacarpal portion 230 aids in the telescoping effect of
the protective
layers by accommodating the forearm during dorsiflexion.
[0067] Figure 7b illustrates a cross-sectional view of the protective athletic
glove 200 taken
along line A-A in Figure 7a. As can be seen in this cross-section view,
protective element
213 in finger portion 210 is constructed of multiple elements that will be
discussed in greater
detail below. Protective element 222 from metacarpal portion 220 is a layered
structure that
includes a foam layer 222a, a foam layer 222b and a polyethylene board 222c.
Protective
element 222 is secured around an entire periphery thereof to a liner 270 of
the glove. As can
be seen in section A-A, the liner 270 is arranged opposite to a palmar side
260 of the glove
200. Protective element 233 includes foam element 233a and 233b. Unlike
protective
element 222, protective element 233 is not secured on all of its sides, but
instead is only
secured on a distal end thereof and at least partially extends over a portion
of the wrist portion
240.
[0068] Wrist portion 240 includes foam portions 240a, 240b and 240c. As with
protective
element 233, the protective element 240 is only attached on a distal end
thereof, and a
proximal end of the protective element 240 overlaps the lower forearm portion
252. The
lower forearm portion 252 includes foam elements 252a, 252b and 252c. The
lower forearm
portion is attached to the liner 270 via a piece of material 272, which may
be, for example,
stretch gore material. Although the elements described above are described as
foam pieces,
other materials are possible, as will be readily understood by one of skill in
the art. In
addition, although several of the protective elements illustrated in the
figures and described
above are described as layered structures, it is also possible to form padding
from single
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blocks of foam, gels, air, honeycomb structure and other materials that will
be recognized by
one of skill in the art.
[0069] Figures 8a to 8d illustrate several aspects of the finger portion 210
of the protective
athletic glove 200 in greater detail. In particular, Figure 8b illustrates a
cross-sectional view
of protective element 213 taken along line B-B in Figure 8a. As can be seen in
Figure 8b,
protective element 213 includes three individual blocks 213b that are covered
by a harder
durometer foam 213a. Three pieces of nylon board 213c are then layered on top
of the foam
portion 213a to match the length of the portions 213b. As can be seen in
Figure 8a,
protective element 214 includes side elements 214a and 214b. As illustrated in
Figure 8c, a
cross-sectional view taken along lines C-C of Figure 8a, the element 214a is a
harder
durometer foam layer that extends over a softer durometer foam layer 214d. A
nylon board
214c is then positioned over the layer 214a. Figure 8d illustrates a cross-
sectional view of the
other finger portions, in this case finger portion 212. The finger portion 212
includes soft
durometer foam portion 212b, a hard durometer foam layer 212a and a nylon
board piece
212c.
[0070] Figure 9a illustrates portions of the wrist portion 240 and the
metacarpal portion 225
in greater detail. In particular, Figure 9b illustrates a cross-sectional view
taken along line D-
D of the wrist portion 240c. The wrist protection element 240 includes as
layer of medium
durometer foam 240a, and layer of soft durometer foam 240b, and a layer of
harder
durometer foam 240c. As can be seen in Figure 9b, a center portion of the
wrist portion does
not include the harder durometer foam 240c.
[0071] As best illustrated in Figure 10b, metacarpal portion 225 includes
protective elements
226, 227, 228 and 229. Figure 9c illustrates a cross-sectional view of a
portion of the
metacarpal portion 225 taken along line E-E in Figure 9a. In particular, as
can be seen in
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Figures 9c and 9d, protective element 228 is a molded piece of impact gel that
is surrounded
by protection element 226b. In particular, protection element 226 includes a
softer durometer
foam 226b and a harder durometer foam 226a. Both the protective elements 226
and 228 are
secured around their entire periphery to the liner 270.
[0072] Figures 1 Oa to l Oc provide further views of the protective athletic
glove 200. As
discussed above, each of the protective elements described herein can be made
of a variety of
structures. For example, each of the portions of the lower forearm portion and
the wrist
portion can be made up of a foam structure that includes a 3.00 mm T5 foam top
layer and
two layers of 3.0 mm T20 foam. In another aspect, for example, the metacarpal
protection
piece 219b illustrated in Figure IOc can include a single layer of 10 mm of
T20 foam.
Protective elements 226 and 227 can be made up of 3 mm T5 foam as a top layer,
a 7 mm
T20 foam bottom layer and include a gel impact portion inlaid therein. As an
example, the
remaining pads can be made up of 3 mm T5 foam for a top layer and 7 mm T20
foam for a
bottom layer.
[0073] The protective elements can be made up of various materials, including
foams, gels,
airbags or plastics. For example, turning to Figure 11 a, a protective element
20 may include
a foam core 22 encased in a covering material 24. Other designs are also
possible, as
illustrated in Figure l lb. In Figure l lb, the protective element 20 includes
three different
layers of padding, in which two of the layers 22a are made of a first material
and a third layer
22b is made of a second material. The covering material can be but is not
limited to
polyurethane (PU), leather, synthetic woven and knit materials, nylon, lycra,
mesh, twills, or
other materials that would be recognized by one of skill in the art.
[00741 Turning now to Figures 12 to 19, a second exemplary aspect of the
present invention
will be described. The protective glove illustrated in Figures 12 to 20
includes a finger
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portion 310 in which each respective finger includes multiple protective
elements. For
example, as illustrated in Figure 12, a first finger includes protective
elements 311 a and 311 b,
a second finger includes protective elements 312a, 312b and 312c, a third
finger includes
protective elements 313a, 313b and 313c, and a fourth finger includes
protective elements
314a, 314b and 314c. In addition, as illustrated in Figure 13, the finger
portion 310 also
includes a protective element 319a. A thumb portion 315 includes, as
illustrated in Figure 17,
protective elements 318a, 318b, 317a, 317b, 316a, and 316b. The metacarpal
portion 320
includes protective elements 319b, 321, 322 and 323. As illustrated in Figure
17, the
metacarpal portion includes protective elements 326, 327 and 328.
[0075] In the present example, each of the protective elements in the finger
portion 310, the
thumb portion 315, the metacarpal portion 320 and the metacarpal portion 325
are secured to
a lining of the protective glove 300 around an entire periphery of each
respective element.
By contrast, each of the elements in the metacarpal portion 330, the wrist
portion 340 and the
lower forearm protection portion 350 are only secured to an underlying layer
of the protective
glove 300 at a distal end of each respective element, and are free of
attachment to a dorsal
side of the protective glove on a proximal end of each protective element. In
this
configuration, each of the protective elements 331, 332, 333, 334, and 335 of
the metacarpal
portion 330 overlaps the wrist portion 340. Likewise, the wrist portion 340
overlaps the
lower forearm protection portions 351, 352 and 353. In operation, this allows
greater
dorsiflexion and results in a configuration in which the wrist portion 340 is
able to telescope
into the metacarpal portion 330, and the cuff portion 350 is able to telescope
into the wrist
portion 340.
[0076] In addition, for greater flexibility, the wrist protection element 340
includes cut
portions 340a and 340b that extend in a proximo-distal direction from a
proximal end of the
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wrist protection element 340. Likewise, as illustrated in Figure 17,
metacarpal protective
element 335 also includes a cut portion 335a. These cut portions enable
greater flexibility
without sacrificing protection due to the overlapping nature of the present
design.
[0077] The design of the metacarpal portion 330 also aids in the flexibility
of the glove.
Specifically, as shown in Figures 12 and 17, a proximal end of each of the
protective
elements 331, 332, 334 and 335 is inclined relative to the proximo-distal axis
of the glove
such that the overall shape of the proximal end of the metacarpal portion 330
forms an arc.
The concave side of the arc faces the proximal end of the glove and the convex
side of the arc
faces the distal end of the glove. The shape of the proximal end of the
metacarpal portion
330 aids in the telescoping effect of the protective layers by accommodating
the forearm
during dorsiflexion.
II. Method of Manufacture
[0078] Figures 20a to 20c illustrate a method of manufacturing a protective
glove 200 in
accordance with one exemplary aspect of the present invention. In conventional
glove
design, padding is overlain on a glove body and a cuff is later attached to
the glove body.
Due to the overlapping nature of the present construction, a new method was
devised. In
particular, a glove body is provided that already includes protection elements
affixed to a
finger portion 210, thumb portion 215 and a metacarpal portion 225. A cuff 250
is attached
to this glove body. As illustrated in Figure 20b, the wrist protection element
is next attached
to the glove body such that a distal edge of the wrist protection element 240
is attached to the
glove body and a proximal end of the wrist protection element 240 extends
freely over the
cuff 250 so as to overlap the cuff 250.
[0079] Next, as illustrated in Figure 20c, the metacarpal portion 230 is
secured to the glove
body such that a distal end of the metacarpal portion 230 is secured to the
glove body and the
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proximal end of the metacarpal portion 230 extends freely over the wrist
portion 240.
Thereafter, Figure 20d illustrates that the protective elements that comprise
the metacarpal
portion 220 are affixed to the glove body.
[0080] Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present
invention are
possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood
that within the scope
of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically
described herein.
