Abstract:
An embodiment of the present invention provides a protective sports glove having a novel combination of liner sections, breathable mesh sections, stretch joints, and shock absorbing cushions to provide maximum protection to the user&#39;s fingers, hands, wrists, and lower forearms while r maintaining as much flexibility within the glove and tactile feel on both palmar and dorsal sides of the glove as possible. A novel 2-panel palmar section construction eliminates the presence of seams, stitching or excess material in a critical area on the palmar side of a wearer&#39;s hand to further improve tactile feel and grip.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    The present application derives priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/359,789, filed 8 Jul. 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/080,097, filed 14 Nov. 2013 which in tum derives priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/730,256 filed 27 Nov. 2012. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to lacrosse gloves and, more particularly, to a protective sports glove and padding for the same that provides improved flexibility, increased protection, and finer tactile feel. 
       2. Description of the Background 
       [0003]    Protective sports gloves are commonly used and, indeed, required to be used in many organized sports such as lacrosse, hockey, and other contact sports. Such gloves protect the wearer from the impact of lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, balls, pucks, skates, and other players. 
         [0004]    Protective sports gloves include padding to protect the player&#39;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 during game play. 
         [0005]    In executing game skills, players of games such as lacrosse and ice hockey must be able to grip and control the stick handle, e.g., “stick handling.” Effective stick handling requires a lacrosse player to constantly reposition his hands along the handle to control the head of the lacrosse stick that features a web pocket essential for ball retention, passing and shooting. For effective stick/ball 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 from checking by an opponent&#39;s stick so players typically wear padded gloves to protect the back of their hands and wrists. These gloves usually include foam padding or other protective padding covering the back of a wearer&#39;s hand, fingers, and thumb. However, the thickness, placement, and other qualities of such padding and glove material in general should ideally cause the least amount of interference with the wearer&#39;s natural grip and hand movement during play. An additional requirement of such gloves is that they be comfortable enough to wear for several hours (an entire game and/or practice session) and that the ability of the glove to cause blisters or rash by rubbing against the wearer&#39;s hands and/or between the wearer&#39;s hands and his or her stick is minimized. 
         [0006]    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 affixed to one another and to a liner material (also known as the scrim), such as a woven fabric. In these conventional gloves individual foam pads are typically sandwiched between two fabric layers and the layers are sewn together, and to the liner, between breaks in adjacent pads. However, this conventional construct is 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. 
         [0007]    Another common feature of conventional sports gloves is the way in which the palmar face of the glove is formed. Because the palmar side of the wearer&#39;s hand is usually wrapped around a stick during sports such as lacrosse or hockey, it is less likely to be impacted by other sticks, players, equipment, etc., and therefore the palmar side of gloves for such sports typically have no padding, or at most a thin layer of padding. Instead, the palmar side of the glove is often constructed from multiple panels of a leather or synthetic leather material sewn or otherwise joined together in a single-layer palmar section as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . Optionally, but not necessarily, the palmar side may also have an inner liner formed of the same scrim fabric used on the dorsal side. 
         [0008]      FIG. 1B  is an exploded view of the three separate palmar panels  11 ,  12 ,  13  typically used for construction of the conventional sports glove, while  FIG. 1A  illustrates the palmar side of a prior art protective sports glove  1  assembled from component panels  11 ,  12 ,  13  of  FIG. 1B . As can be seen, finger panel  13  forms a shape sufficient to cover the palmar side of the fingers (index, middle, ring, and pinky) of the wearer, and at least a portion of the metacarpal area of the wearer&#39;s ring and pinky fingers. Thumb tower section  11  forms a shape sufficient to cover the palmar side of the wearer&#39;s thumb. Cross-palm section  12  overlays both sections  13  and  11  in the cross-hatched areas of those sections as shown in  FIG. 1B , and as shown in  FIG. 1A , as assembled, extends from a carpal area of the user&#39;s pinky, ring and middle fingers to an area adjacent a proximal phalange of the wearer&#39;s index finger, or an area overlapping the crease between the wearer&#39;s index finger and thumb. 
         [0009]    The joinder of distinct panels making up a protective sports glove such as the one illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B  require seams, which at a minimum will be as thick as two layers of palmar material (leather or synthetic), and possibly thicker depending on the method of attachment, and the presence of scrim and/or any other layers of padding affixed to the panels on the palmar side of the glove. The stitching, discontinuity and added thickness obfuscates the player&#39;s tactile feel. Moreover, the most common hand-hold positions for a player in lacrosse, ice hockey, or like sports involve contacting their stick with the middle of their palm or gripping it between their thumb and index finger. Applicant has discovered that the majority of tactile sensation is derived from a crescent-shaped area running beneath the proximal phalanges of the hand, circling below the index finger proximate the thumb joint and arching around to the center of the base of the palm. This “crescent” traverses most all the flex lines of the hand (below the heart line to the thumb joint between the phalanx and metacarpal junction). Seams, stitching and/or undue thickness in this crescent area of prior art glove  1  detracts from the wearer&#39;s feel for the stick, and impedes stick handling. 
         [0010]    What is needed is a protective sports glove and particularly an improved palmar section for the same that employs a novel palmar section to avoid seams, stitching or overlayed layers along a crescent-shaped area running beneath the proximal phalanges of the hand, circling below the index finger proximate the thumb joint and arching inward toward the center of the base of the palm. This would provide improved flexibility, increased protection, and finer tactile feel. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    In one aspect, a protective glove uses a hand receiving portion with a dorsal side and a palmar side. The palmar side of the hand receiving portion includes a palmar section comprising two distinct panels of material both formed of leather or synthetic leather including meshes. The palm material may optionally include an innermost fabric scrim or liner for comfort. The two distinct palm panels are cut in complementary shapes and sewn together to form the palmar section. The inventive pattern ensures an unbroken, single-layer, seamless, stitchless crescent-shaped area that runs beneath all the proximal phalanges of the hand, circling below the index finger proximate the thumb joint and arching inward to the center of the base of the palm. The absence of seams, stitching and/or undue thickness in this crescent area optimizes the wearer&#39;s feel for the stick, and improves stick handling. 
         [0012]    The palmar side may also include discrete peripheral areas of additional padding to protect the bones or fleshy portions of the wearer&#39;s hand. 
         [0013]    The present invention is described in greater detail in the detailed description of the invention and its embodiments, 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. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    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: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective illustration of the palmar side of a prior art protective sports glove. 
           [0016]      FIG. 1B  is an exploded view of the fabric patterns making up the palmar side of the prior art protective sports glove of  FIG. 1A . 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the fabric patterns making up the palmar side of the protective sports glove according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a perspective illustration of the palmar side of the protective sports glove according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the fabric patterns making up the palmar side of the protective sports glove according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective illustration of the palmar side of the protective sports glove according to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the fabric patterns making up the palmar side of the protective sports glove according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a perspective illustration of the palmar side of the protective sports glove according to the embodiment of  FIG. 6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0023]    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. 
         [0024]    Described herein is a protective sports glove that provides an unbroken, single-layer, seamless, stitchless crescent-shaped palmar area that runs beneath all the proximal phalanges of the hand, circling below the index finger proximate the thumb joint and arching inward to the center of the base of the palm. For purposes of the instant description, the term “palmar crescent” is herein defined as that crescent-shaped portion of the user&#39;s hand running from beneath the little finger across all the proximal phalanges of the fingers (pinky, ring, middle and index) of the hand, circling below the index finger and around by the thumb joint, and arching inward to the center of the base of the palm. The absence of seams, stitching and/or undue thickness in this crescent area optimizes the wearer&#39;s feel for the stick, and improves stick handling. 
         [0025]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a first embodiment of the “seamless” palmar construction for the palmar section  2  of a protective sports glove according to the present embodiment is shown. The palmar section  2  of the glove is constructed essentially from two panels of particular shape: 1) a digit panel  101 ; and 2) a palm panel  102 . 
         [0026]    Digit panel  101  includes an upper portion  101 B designed to simultaneously cover the palmar side of four of the wearer&#39;s digits, including pinky, ring, middle and index fingers. Digit panel  101  also includes a lower portion  101 A designed to cover the base of the hand including, as will be described, a portion of the palmar side of the thumb. The entire digit panel  101  inclusive of the upper portion  101 B bridged to lower portion  101 A consists of a unitary unbroken seamless layer of leather or synthetic leather or mesh, preferably cut from a singular fabric blank. The upper portion  101 E of digit panel  101  is separated from the lower portion  101 A by a bulbous notch  105  with ingress beginning at the base of the little finger and projecting laterally across the digit panel  101  to approximately midway, leaving an unbroken bridge of material under the purlicue (the space between the thumb and index finger on the wearer&#39;s hand) and joining the upper and lower portions  101 B,  101 A. 
         [0027]    Palm panel  102  likewise consists of a unitary unbroken seamless layer of leather or synthetic leather or mesh, preferably cut from a singular fabric blank in an irregular but generally four-sided shape. Palm panel  102  is designed to cover the base of the hand inclusive of the hypothenar muscles and common flexor sheath (ulnar bursa). 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  shows the palmar section  2  of the glove assembled from the two panels  101  and  102  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . As indicated by the location of reference points A, B and C on the assembled palmar section shown in  FIG. 3 , during assembly of pads  101  and  102 , a distal portion of the lower portion  101 A of the digit panel  101 , indicated by reference point C, is rotated from its unassembled position as shown in  FIG. 2 , clockwise down towards the user&#39;s wrist to cover an area roughly corresponding to the hypothenar group of muscles at the base of the user&#39;s thumb, and to open notch  105 , thereby creating a fold in digit panel  101  in the area indicated by reference character  103 , which corresponds to the purlicue (the space between the thumb and index finger) on the wearer&#39;s hand. The notched “thumb tower” of lower portion  101 A indicated by reference character thereby also rotates clockwise “upwards” towards the index finger-covering portion of upper portion  101 B as shown in  FIG. 3 , such that its outer edge can meet an outer edge of a dorsal portion of the glove upon final assembly (not shown). Rotation of lower portion  101 A opens notch  105  to allow the three points of palm panel  102  (indicated by reference points A, B and C) to meet the corresponding A, B and C points on digit panel  101  for assembly. 
         [0029]    To assemble the palmar section  2 , digit panel  101  may (optionally) be sewn to an underlying liner or scrim along the seamlines shown in dotted lines in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Palm panel  102  is then attached to the digit panel  101  along its seamlines (likewise shown dotted), with reference points A, B and C aligned and connecting as shown in  FIG. 3 . The joinder of palm panel  102  to digit panel  101  keeps digit panel  101  in the “open” position, i.e., with notch  105  opened and thumb tower T rotated “upwards” towards an outer edge of the index finger-covering portion of upper portion  101 B, which then holds the thumb tower T up and creates a fold between the thumb and forefinger at area  103 . The unique and specifically designed “teardrop” shape of notch  105  in digit panel  101  allows for the above-described fold and rotation movement of digit panel  101  for assembly of palmar section  2  by joinder of digit panel  101  and palm panel  102 , and for the desired area of palm coverage (along the palmar crescent as herein defined) without interference by stitching or overlapping pads or sheets of material. The unique shape of notch  105  also allows for the use of palm panel  102  to hold thumb tower T of digit panel  101  in the desired position to join with an exterior edge of a dorsal portion of the fully assembled glove. 
         [0030]    Thus, as described, the notch  105  of digit panel  101  overlies the palm panel  102  leaving the entire palmar crescent of the user&#39;s hand covered by a seamless unbroken single layer from beneath the little finger and all the proximal phalanges of the hand, circling below the index finger and around by the thumb joint, and arching inward to the center of the base of the palm. This optimizes the wearer&#39;s feel for the stick, and improves stick handling. 
         [0031]    The only overlap of panels  101  and  102  occurs under and/or over (depending on order of layering during assembly, as may be varied) palm panel  102  outside of notch  105  along the base of the hand inclusive of the hypothenar muscles and common flexor sheath (ulnar bursa), where more padding and protection is advantageous. This particular pattern including shape and complementary attachment of digit panel  101  and palm panel  102  provides maximum tactile feel and the minimum amount of interference between the hand of a player and the stick, so that he or she can obtain the greatest tactile feel and muscle control over the stick, while still providing protection for the wearer&#39;s hands. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  further shows that the central portion of the palmar side of glove  102  is covered by palm panel  102  and only a single continuous seam  104  runs along this surface. Unlike seams present on the palmar side of prior an sports gloves, however, seam  104  does not appear in a critical area of the wearer&#39;s hand (e.g., the palmar crescent) such that his or her ability to properly grip and control the stick could be compromised by excess material and/or thick or rough seams. Instead, the wearer of the present inventive glove comprising palmar section  2  is able to, with greater precision, feel the position of the stick with his or her thumb and index finger and flex the muscles at the base of his or her thumb and index finger to maneuver the stick within his or her purlicue. As can be seen by comparing  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 1B , the novel two-panel construction of the palmar portion  2  as compared with that in the prior art also prevents redundant patterns and saves material in the construction of the actual glove. 
         [0033]    An additional embodiment of the inventive palmar construction herein described is illustrated with respect to  FIGS. 4-5 .  FIGS. 4 and 5  show, respectively, the exploded view and the complete construction of a two-panel palmar section  21  of the glove further comprising a finger roll gusset  106  on digit panel  101  that provides an additional layer of padding and reinforcement at the inner edge of the wearer&#39;s hand along the second and third metacarpals of the index finger where the stick (lacrosse, hockey, etc.) is typically held. Finger roll gusset  106  protects against abrasion in this critical area of the palmar side of glove. Allowing at least a portion of the outer edge of the index finger-covering portion of digit panel  101  to wrap around the outer edge of the glove between the palmar side and the dorsal side also provides a smooth, seamless contact surface against the stick that the wearer can use to obtain better control of and grip on the stick. 
         [0034]    Additional embodiments of a palmar section  22  are possible, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , which show digit panel  101  having the shape designed to individually cover the wearer&#39;s thumb and ring and pinky fingers, and to cover with one continuous stretch of material the wearer&#39;s index and middle fingers. The upper section  101 A of digit panel  101  may resemble a four-finger cutout, three-finger cutout, or two-finger cutout. 
         [0035]    One skilled in the art will appreciate that the palmar section  2  of the glove may be attached along its edges to a dorsal section with dorsal padding to protect the wearer&#39;s hand when worn. One such dorsal portion is shown and described in applicant&#39;s co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/080,097, filed 14 Nov. 2013, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
         [0036]    It should now be apparent that the above-described protective sports glove having a palmar section comprising any of the embodiments  2 ,  21  or  22  allows a user to flex the hark all directions freely, to grip a lacrosse, hockey or other type of sports stick, and to maintain accurate tactile feel in the palmar side of the glove and at every necessary wrist inclination, all while maintaining a suitable level of protection. The palmar section  2 ,  21 ,  22  allows freer flexion and extension, as well as radial and ulnar deviation, and dorsiflexion. 
         [0037]    The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the 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 or its embodiments 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 embodiments described here is to be defined only by the claims, and by their equivalents.