Karate glove

A unitary flexible protective glove molded of a resilient material and adapted to be easily worn on the hand for use in the art of karate and the like is disclosed. The glove, when worn, covers a portion of the lower forearm, the wrist, and the hand. The portion of the glove covering the wrist and hand is substantially tubular in shape and designed to wrap around the wrist and forearm without the need of any securing means. There is a thumb pocket having on the inside a restraining strap. There is also a grip loop for the index, middle, ring and little fingers which is in close proximity to a finger padding section. The finger padding section and grip loop are held in close proximity by a bridging strap. The glove is designed to facilitate easy insertion of the hand without the need of securing straps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a protective glove adapted to be worn on the hand 
in the art of karate, kung fu, etc. The art of karate, in particular, is a 
method developed in Japan, among other places, for defending oneself 
without the use of weapons by striking sensitive areas of an attacker's 
body with the hands, elbows, knees or feet. During training in the art and 
in organized competition, the hands can become badly bruised from 
extensive use of the fingers, palm, back and sides of the hands, as well 
as the wrist. The present invention provides a novel covering adapted to 
protect and prevent injury to the various parts of the hand and wrist as 
well as prevent injury to the sensitive areas of the body of other persons 
engaging in the art during training or competition. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention is a device which enables competitions in martial arts to be 
full contact. That is, the invention enables experts in various modes of 
hand-to-hand combat to engage in such combat without causing the 
destruction that unpadded hand-to-hand combat can cause. 
Essentially, the device is a wrap-around gripping structure which provides 
a covering for the lower forearm, wrist, thumb and fingers while allowing 
the hand to grip substantially in the configuration of a fist. Since the 
glove does not need any kind of conventional tying or strapping onto the 
arm, the device has been provided with means for maintaining the covering 
upon the hand. These means are essentially the thumb pocket and the 
gripping loop. The thumb pocket is essentially a part of the glove which 
is deformed and held in the configuration of a pocket by a restraining 
strap permanently affixed to sides of the material forming the pocket. The 
thumb is inserted into this pocket and protected by the covering of the 
glove on the back and sides of the thumb and held in the pocket by means 
of the restraining strap covering portions of the front side of the thumb 
or palm side of the thumb. 
The grip loop is attached to a forward section of the glove beyond the 
thumb pocket and on the front or inner side of the glove. The fingers fit 
between the loop and the back padding section designed to pad the knuckles 
on the back of the hand. A thickened portion of the covering at the area 
in contact with the back of the hand is provided for additional shock 
absorption. The very top of the glove or the forwardmost portion of the 
glove is bent downward and held in close proximity to the top of the grip 
loop by means of a bridging strap. The forwardmost portion of the glove is 
separated from the grip loop by a distance sufficient to allow for the 
fingers to be inserted therebetween. The bridging strap is an I-shaped 
structure essentially composed of two flat parallel pieces mutually spaced 
and connected by a flat vertical piece with the horizontal pieces being 
permanently affixed to the inner top portion of the glove and top of the 
grip loop. 
To insert one's hand in the glove or covering, one merely needs to pry 
apart the bottom tubular section of the glove which is slit longitudinally 
on the front, place one's lower arm in that area, slip one's thumb in the 
thumb pocket and one's fingers in the area between the grip loop and the 
topmost portion of the glove, and one may form a fist thereby securing the 
covering to one's arm. 
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel protective glove for 
use in karate sports and the like which is designed to protect various 
parts of the hand and wrist of the wearer and which can be easily slipped 
on or off the wearer's hand. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel protective glove of 
simplified construction, relatively inexpensive, and which will obviate 
injuries to the hand of the wearer and to the body of other persons while 
engaging in the art of karate, etc. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a novel protective glove 
which is capable of being slipped on and off the hand without the need of 
lacing or any other securing means. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an improvement for a 
flexible, unitary molded, protective glove for wearing and use in the art 
of Karate and the like, and adapted to cover the back and sides of the 
hand including the fingers and thumb and also the entire wrist, comprising 
a rear portion having a wrist portion, a side portion, a thumb portion 
partially encircling the thumb, a front portion having a thickened 
portion, a looped portion, and a finger portion, the improvement for 
securing various portions of the glove to the fingers and thumbs 
comprising a restraining strap secured to opposite sides of the thumb 
portion and having a medial portion spanning the opposite sides of the 
thumb portion, and opposite end portions, each opposite end portion 
comprising two wings extending outwardly from ends of the medial portion, 
one wing being secured to an inner surface of the thumb portion and one to 
an outer surface of the thumb portion. 
In another embodiment, the improvement further comprises a bridging strap 
secured between the looped portion and the finger portion and having two 
parallel pieces integrally formed with a medial transverse piece, wherein 
one parallel piece is secured to the finger portion and the other piece is 
secured to the looped portion and the medial transverse piece extends 
between the finger and looped portions defining a passageway for extending 
the fingers therethrough. 
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from 
the following description of a specific embodiment of the protective glove 
taken in connection with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show the front and sides of the invention. Looking at FIG. 
1, the invention is generally designated by the numeral 1. The lower 
portion of the glove 2 is designated the trunk section. It is tubular in 
shape, having a slit forming edges 4 and 5 on the front side and thus 
dividing the glove into sides 18 and 19. The bottom portion of the 
invention is generally designated 3. 
Located on the top of the tubular section 2 along side 18 is thumb pocket 
6. The thumb pocket is essentially a portion of the material comprising 
the tubular section which has side tabs 7 and 8 held together in 
essentially parallel alignment by restraining strap 9. 
Looking at FIG. 4, the restraining strap 9 is disclosed. Essentially, the 
restraining strap 9 has two forked ends having wings 22, 23 and 20, 21. 
Looking at FIG. 2, the position of attaching restraining strap 9 to pocket 
6 is disclosed. The restraining strap has a section 9A which spans the 
distance between side tabs 7 and 8 of the thumb pocket 6. Wings 20 and 22 
are attached to the outer sides of the pocket 6. Wings 23 and 21 (not 
shown) are attached to inner surface 10 of the thumb pocket 6. The methods 
of attaching restraining strap to the glove may be many but preferably the 
attachment is permanent. Such methods of attachment as are contemplated by 
the invention include adhesive bonding, heat bonding and molding with the 
glove. The restraining strap may be comprised of any resilient plastic 
material, such as a polyolefin, polyvinyl chloride, rubber, cloth or 
fabric. The only requirement for the material constituting the restraining 
strap is that it be tough enough to form the inner side of the thumb 
pocket and be capable of holding the thumb within the pocket. 
Looking at FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is a curved indentation on edge 5 at 
point 11 and edge 4 opposite point 11 which refers to an area of the glove 
which will be bent forward when the hand is inserted therein and a fist 
clenched. There is extra padding 13 permanently attached and affixed to 
the inner portion of the glove. This is to provide extra shock absorption 
for the hand knuckle area. 
Rising from the tubular section of the glove at point 11 and its 
corresponding point on the opposite side 4 is the topmost or forwardmost 
section of the glove. Grip loop 12 spans the distance between both sides 
of this top portion and also causes this top portion to be concave on its 
inner face. This concavity forms a space for the hand to curve therein. 
The fingers are inserted into the area between grip loop 12 and foam pad 13 
and are maintained in the space between the top inner portion 16 and the 
grip loop 12. The top portion 15 is maintained in close proximity to grip 
loop 12 by means of bridging strap 17. 
Looking at FIG. 5, the structure of the bridging strap is disclosed. There 
are two parallel flat pieces 25 and 24 integrally formed with a medial 
transverse piece 17 parallel piece 24 is permanentaly affixed to the top 
inner portion 16 and parallel piece 25 is permanently affixed to the top 
of the grip loop 12. This bridging strap pulls the top or forwardmost 
portion downward and maintains it in close proximity to the grip loop. 
FIG. 3 discloses the invention with the hand inserted prior to clenching. 
The thumb is shown in thumb pocket 6 being restrained by strap 9. The back 
knuckles of the hand are padded by pad 13 and the fingertip and joints of 
the fingers are protected by forward portion 15. 
The glove or covering is constructed of a resilient foam material which has 
preferably a tough outer coating. This resilient material is from 
one-quarter inch to two inches in thickness and is capable of sustaining 
substantial shock with minimal permanent compacting. When one clenches 
one's fist after it has been inserted within the invention, the thumb 
pocket is pulled towards the inner face 14 (FIG. 1) and the fingers grip 
the loop 12 pulling the top or forwardmost section 15 downward. 
The invention is made of taking a flat thick piece of resilient foam 
material, preferably polyurethane, polystyrene, rubber, or any resilient 
material, and shaping the pattern for the glove or covering. The 
restraining strap of the thumb pocket holds material together for the 
thumb. The grip loop being initially two wing-like structures emanating 
from the sides of the pattern, is then brought together and adjoined, 
which has the effect of pulling the sides of the cut out pattern together, 
giving the tubular shape to the glove. An extra padding is added on the 
inner face behind the grip loop to protect the knuckles. The forwardmost 
section of the glove is attached to the top of the grip loop by the 
bridging strap. 
All bondings pertinent to this invention may be performed in any suitable 
fashion and by any suitable means. It is preferred that various adhesives 
be used, but it is recognized that many other methods for adhering the 
foam to itself as well as the plastic restraining strap and bridging strap 
to the foam may be used. Such bondings may be by heat welding, chemical 
welding, stapling, buttoning, sewing, clamping, etc. 
It is preferred that once the glove has been initially formed it be coated 
with a tough resilient outer coating. The marketplace provides numerous 
products suitable for this purpose. The preferred products are plastic and 
vinyl in nature. The tough outer coating may be painted, sprayed or dipped 
on the invention. 
While my invention has been described with particularity as to a preferred 
embodiment, it is to be understood that deviation from the description of 
the preferred embodiment may occur which will be within the ambit of my 
invention. The spirit and scope of my invention are set out in the 
following claims.