A hand protector

Abstract: A hand protector (1) for hockey players has a scalloped or shell shaped body (2) of flexible padding material which closely covers the back of a players hand when gripping a hockey stick. The body (2) is held in place on the players hand by elasticated finger loops on an underside of the body (2) adjacent a front end of the body (2).

Description: This invention relates to a hand protector, in particular for use when playing a game of hockey. When playing a game of hockey a players' hands can become injured, particularly in the region of the knuckle joints due to scraping the knuckles on the ground or due to a clash of hockey sticks where one stick rides up over the stick and knuckles of an opposing player. A protective glove is available comprising a number of truncated finger stalls with padding on the back to cover the knuckles of a person's hand and a padded flap extending outwardly at an inner end of the finger stalls to cover a back of a person's hand. Unfortunately in use the glove finger stalls tend to peel back from the knuckles in use exposing the knuckles to damage. It is known to provide hand protectors in the form of protective gloves of resilient or padded material such as disclosed in German Patent Specification No. DE A 2352148 (Rhee) which generally extend over all the hand and beyond the tips of a wearer's fingers. Another such glove is disclosed in German Patent Specification No. DE 4406066 (Linner) which comprises a hard protective covering incorporating what are in effect hinges to provide flexibility. Similarly British Patent Specification No. GB A 17164 (North) discloses a somewhat similar padded protector with the user's palm and backs of the fingers free to grip a glove. The present invention is directed towards providing an improved hand protector which overcomes this problem. According to the invention there is provided a hand protector for a hockey player of the type comprising body of a shock absorbing padding material with mounting means in the form of loops for some or all of the fingers, the body is a scalloped body having a central portion for mounting across an innermost section of each of the four fingers of the hand, a front portion curving inwardly of the central portion for mounting across an intermediate section of each finger and a rear portion curving inwardly of the central portion for mounting across the back of the hand and in that there is provided a pair of spaced-apart finger loops for each of the four fingersnamely front finger loops underneath and adjacent a front edge of the front portion for engagement with the intermediate section of each finger and rear finger loops underneath the intermediate section for engagement with the innermost section of each finger. The term scalloped body as used in this specification refers to the shape of the body which is similar to a carapace or shell on the back of a turtle or the like. Thus advantageously the hand protector closely follows the contours of a person's hand when it is gripping a hockey stick or the like. The body is flexible enough not to unduly inhibit or restrict movement of a person's hand while at the same time providing good protection particularly for the knuckle joints of the fingers. Since a row of finger loops is mounted adjacent a front edge of the body on an underside of the body this ensures that the front edge of the body is retained securely on the fingers resisting peeling back of the front edge which would expose knuckles in use. Preferably stitched seams are provided to divide the padding material of the front portion into separate juxtaposed panels extending along the intermediate section of each finger. This provides greater flexibility for the player with separation of fingers. Ideally the finger loops are of elasticated material are formed from a multi-filament lycra yarn covered in a combination material of polyester and nylon. In a particularly preferred embodiment the finger loops are arranged in pairs, each pair of finger loops for engagement with a finger of a hand. Ideally a rubbing strip is provided on an outer face of the body adjacent the front end of the body. Conveniently, the rubbing strip may be formed from a polyamide substrate with a fluorocarbon finish. In a preferred embodiment the body is formed from neoprene material sheathed in stretch nylon material. The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hand protector according to the invention, shown in use mounted on a person's hand; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a hand protector shown mounted on a hand; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the hand in a stick-gripping position; Fig. 4 is a perspective underneath view showing the hand protector mounted on a hand; and Fig. 5 is another view similar to Fig. 4. Referring to the drawings there is illustrated a hand protector according to the invention indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The hand protector 1 has a scalloped body 2 of flexible shock absorbing padding material with a number of finger loops 3 on an underside of the body 2 for releasably securing the body 2 on the back of a person's hand 5 as shown in Fig. 1 extending partially over fingers 6 of the hand 5. The body 2 is of neoprene material sheathed in stretch nylon material. An edging tape 10 extends around a periphery of the body 2 and a seam tape 11 extends between opposite sides of the body 2 intermediate the ends of the body 2. The tapes 10,11 are of stretch polyester and nylon with multi-filament lycra. The body 2 has a central portion 14 for mounting across an innermost section of each finger 6 on the hand 5, a front portion 15 for mounting across an intermediate section of each finger 6, and a rear portion 16 for extension rearwards of the central portion 14 across the back of the hand 5. It will be noted that both the front portion 15 and rear portion 16 curve inwardly of the central portion 14 to closely follow the contour of the person's hand 5 when in a stick-gripping position. Stitched seams 17 divide the padding of the front portion 15 into separate juxtaposed panels each of which extends along one of the fingers in use. A rubbing strip 18 is provided on an outer surface of the front portion 15 and extends back partially over the central portion 14. Conveniently the rubbing strip 18 is formed from a polyamide substrate with a fluorocarbon finish. Thus advantageously this area of the protector 1 which is most exposed to abrasion is given improved durability while at the same time reducing friction in use with contact between the rubbing strip 18 and a playing surface or opponents hockey stick. The finger loops 3 are arranged in pairs of finger loops associated with each finger 6. It will be noted that a front finger loop 3 in each pair of finger loops 3 forms a row of finger loops 3 mounted adjacent a front edge 20 of the body 2 on an underside of the body 2. Thus advantageously the front edge 20 of the body 2 is securely retained against the fingers 6 of the hand 5 when in use. Each of the front finger loops 3 engages with an intermediate section of each finger 6 and each of the rear finger loops 3 engages an innermost section of each finger 6. Each of the finger loops 3 is of elasticated material which can conveniently be formed from a multi-filament lycra yarn covered in a combination polyester/nylon for improved abrasion resistance and appearance. It will be appreciated that in use when a person's hand grips a hockey stick the scalloped shape of the body 2 is such that it closely follows the contours of the back of the hand for optimum protection. The palm of the hand is left free for good grip of a hockey stick. Further, the continuous front edge and associated finger loops adjacent the front edge ensure the front portion is securely retained over the knuckles between the inner and intermediate sections of each finger resisting any peeling back of the front edge which would expose the knuckles. It will be appreciated that in some cases the finger loops may be adjustable to accommodate different sized fingers. For example, each row of finger loops could be provided by a band fixed at one edge of the body and looped through spaced-apart rings or slots on an inner face of the body with a buckle or the like for length adjustment at the opposite edge of the body. The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims: A hand protector for a hockey player of the type comprising body of a shock absorbing padding material with mounting means in the form of loops for some or all of the fingers, the body (2) is a scalloped body having a central portion (14) for mounting across an innermost section of each of the four fingers (6) of the hand (5), a front portion (15) curving inwardly of the central portion (14) for mounting across an intermediate section of each finger (6) and a rear portion (16) curving inwardly of the central portion (4) for mounting across the back of the hand (5) characterised in that there is provided a pair of spaced-apart finger loops (3) for each of the four fingers (6) namely front finger loops (3) underneath and adjacent a front edge (2) of the front portion (15) for engagement with the intermediate section of each finger (6) and rear finger loops (3) underneath the intermediate section (14) for engagement with the innermost section of each finger (6). A hand protector as claimed in claim 1 in which stitched seams (17) are provided to divide the padding material of the front portion (15) into separate juxtaposed panels extending along the intermediate section of each finger (6). A hand protector as claimed in claim 2 wherein the finger loops (3) are of elasticated material. A hand protector as claimed in claim 3 in which the finger loops (3) are formed from a multi-filament lycra yarn covered in a combination material of polyester and nylon. A hand protector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a rubbing strip (18) is provided on an outer face of the front portion (15) and extends back partially over the central portion (14). A hand protector as claimed in claim 5 wherein the rubbing strip is formed from a polyamide substrate with a fluorocarbon finish. A hand protector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the body is formed from neoprene material sheathed in stretch nylon material.

Inventors: KELLY AIDAN, KELLY, AIDAN
Applicants: DARE INTERNAT LTD O, O'DARE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A63B71
IPC codes: A63B71, A41D13