Glove with Palm Pocket

A glove with a palm pocket includes a body member having a palm-side portion and a dorsal side portion connected to the palm side portion that, together, define an interior area. The body member includes a thumb portion and four finger portions adjacent one another and extending outwardly, the thumb portion and the four finger portions having tubular configurations in communication with the interior area and defining terminal ends that are open, respectively. The glove includes a palm pocket member coupled to an exterior surface of the palm-side portion, the palm pocket member including a front panel having a first side edge and a second side edge opposite the first side edge. The palm pocket member includes a proximal end edge adjacent the thumb portion that is open such that the palm pocket member defines an interior pocket configured to receive an article.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to utility gloves and, more particularly, to a glove having a palm pocket for securing the handle of an article. Of course, a glove according to the present invention may be worn on each hand of a person.

A worker often comes home after a hard day at work with sore hands because he worked in a construction or industrial environment without wearing gloves or because the gloves he wore were not reinforced or suitable to ease the burden on the worker's hands. Further, a carpenter may find that swinging a hammer all day causes palm discomfort or even blisters. Similarly, a person who fishes frequently may find holding the handle of a fishing rod eventually chafes the palm of his hand. Still further, a user finds it tedious and tiring simply to securely hold a tool or fishing rod in the palm of his hand for long periods of time. In addition, a worker often finds it difficult to carry small items that are needed to do a job, such as nuts, bolts, screws, finishing nails, and the like.

Various gloves have been proposed in the art that provide reinforced layers of material intended to prevent physical harm to the fingertips, knuckles, pads of the palms of a hand, or other parts of a hand, Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices still lack the relief and convenience of a glove having a palm pocket capable of securing the handle of a tool or fishing rod and to provide a means for securing small items like screws and the like.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a glove with a palm pocket configured to hold the handle of a tool or fishing rod and that prevents damage to the wearer's skin. Further, it would be desirable to have a glove with a palm pocket that also includes a knuckle portion having a plurality of LEDs for illuminating a work area or merely for making a wearer of the glove more visible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A glove with a palm pocket according to the present invention includes a body member having a palm-side portion and a dorsal side portion connected to the palm side portion that, together, define an interior area. The body member includes a thumb portion and four finger portions adjacent one another and extending outwardly, the thumb portion and the four finger portions having tubular configurations in communication with the interior area and defining terminal ends that are open, respectively. The glove includes a palm pocket member coupled to an exterior surface of the palm-side portion, the palm pocket member including a front panel having a first side edge and a second side edge opposite the first side edge. The palm pocket member includes a proximal end edge adjacent the thumb portion that is open such that the palm pocket member defines an interior pocket configured to receive an article. In another aspect, the body member includes a knuckle portion coupled to the dorsal side portion of the body member, the knuckle portion having a plurality of lights spaced apart from one another and positioned corresponding to the four finger portions.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a glove with a palm pocket capable of holding a handle of a tool, fishing rod, or the like and, as a result, relieving physical stress on the wearer's hand.

Another object of this invention is to provide a glove with a palm pocket, as aforesaid, that includes a plurality of LED lights for illuminating a work area or making a worker more visible to others.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a glove with a palm pocket that includes a reinforced construction that is durable.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a glove with a palm pocket having a wrist strap that secures the body of the glove securely about the wrist of a wearer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A glove with a palm pocket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 1 to 9of the present invention. The glove10includes a body member11and a palm pocket member40.

The glove10includes a body member11that includes several portions that may be integrally constructed together, i.e. seamlessly. For instance, the body member11may include a palm-side portion12(also referred as a palmar portion) and a dorsal side portion14(i.e. the back or knuckle side) that may be integrally constructed or coupled together to define an interior area (such as to receive a user's hand therein). Further, the glove10may include a thumb portion16and four finger portions18arranged to be complementary to and configured to receive a human hand. It is understood that the thumb portion16and finger portions18may have generally tubular configurations having terminal ends that are open and inner ends in communication with the interior area of the body member11. In an embodiment, the palm-side portion12and dorsal side portion14may include a reinforced layer of construction so as to have an enhanced durability. In addition, the finger portions18and thumb portion16may include reinforced sections. In addition, the finger portions18and thumb portion16may have truncated configurations (i.e. shortened configurations) so that a user's fingers or thumb are partially exposed when the glove10is worn.

In addition, the body member11may define a lower opening through which a user may insert his hand into the glove10. Preferably, the glove10includes a wrist strap20having structures that may tighten the body member10around a person's wrist. The wrist strap20may include what will be referred to as a neck section22and a connection strap24attached to the neck section22that has a flexible construction so as to between released and connected configurations. More particularly, an inner surface of the connection strap24and an outer surface of the neck section22may include complementary hook and loop fasteners26,27, respectively, that selectively engage one another at the connected configuration (FIG. 8) but may be separated at the released configuration (FIG. 1). Alternatively, snap fasteners28may be incorporated for closing the wrist strap20. The wrist strap20is secured when the neck section22and connection strap24are tightened and hooked at the connected configuration. As shown in the drawings, the complementary hook and loop fasteners26,27may cover the entire respective surfaces or may simply include strips of corresponding hook and loop material.

In a critical aspect, the palm pocket member40is coupled to an exterior surface of the palm-side portion12of the body member11of the glove10. As will be explained below, the palm pocket member40enables an article to be inserted and secured in the palm of a user's hand. Articles most likely to be secured in the palm pocket member40may include, but are not limited to, the handle of a hammer used in construction, the handle of a fishing rod8, small items such as nuts, bolts, or screws, or the like. Specifically, the palm pocket member40may include a front panel having a first side edge41and a second side edge42opposite and parallel to the first side edge41. The first and second side edges may be coupled to the palm-side portion12of the body member11.

Further, the front panel of the palm pocket member40includes a proximal end edge43extending between proximal ends of the first and second side edges and is adjacent the thumb portion16of the body member11. By contrast to the first and second side edges, the proximal end edge43is not coupled to the palm-side portion12but rather is open. As a result, the front panel forms an interior space that may be referred to as a pocket. The articles referred to previously may be inserted into the pocket via the proximal end edge43that is open and in communication with the interior space or pocket. The front panel of the palm pocket member40may be constructed, in whole or in part (such as alternating strips), of an elastic material47(FIG. 9) that is capable of stretching to receive the article such as a handle of a tool or a fishing rod8into the pocket (FIG. 7). Still further, the front panel of the palm pocket member40includes a distal end edge44extending between distal ends of the first and second side edges and is opposite and parallel to the proximal end edge43. The distal end edge44may be closed so as to stop the article from being over-inserted straight through the pocket. In an embodiment shown inFIG. 7, the distal end edge44described above is not coupled to the palm-side portion12but rather is open. As a result, the front panel forms an interior space that may be referred to as a sleeve. One of the articles mentioned above—a fishing rod8—is most likely the article to be held in the sleeve (FIG. 7). As shown and as would be understood by one or ordinary skill in the art, a handle of the fishing rod8may slidably extend through the proximal and distal end edges of the sleeve and away from each end edge thereof.

In one embodiment, the side edges may be permanently attached such as with stitching. Preferably, however, the front panel of the palm pocket member40may be removably or releasably coupled to the palm-side portion12so that it may be selectively removed when not in use. For instance, a user may desire to do work while wearing the glove10without the palm pocket member40installed or vice versa. More particularly, the first side edge41and the second side edge42may be coupled to the palm-side portion12using complementary snaps45, i.e. snaps and snap receiver combinations. Alternatively, the side edges may be releasably coupled using complementary hook and loop fasteners46.

In another aspect, the glove10may include a knuckle portion18coupled to the dorsal side portion14of the body member. The knuckle portion18is preferably situated over an area corresponding to where a wearer's main knuckles would be situated inside the glove10. The knuckle portion18may include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) spaced apart from one another along an imaginary linear axis corresponding to a person's knuckles. The LEDs32may be electrically connected to a battery34, such as with a wire or wirelessly. It is understood that the knuckle portion18may also include an on/off switch26electrically connected to the LEDs or battery34for selectively actuating the LEDs32.