PROTECTIVE GLOVE WITH ERGONOMICS FEATURES

Abstract: The invention relates to a protective glove (10) comprising ergonomic features. The finger receiving portions of the glove of the present invention have at least two flexion zones (42A, 44A, 46A, 48A) that preferably correspond to the joints (42B, 44B, 46B, 48B) of the fingers thereby increasing the flexibility of the glove at that area and improving stick control. In another aspect, the glove has four finger sheaths (42, 44, 46, 48) that are adapted to receive the fingers of the player and that are bent toward the palm side of the glove (10), the bending of these finger receiving portions increasing from the index finger to the little finger. The protective glove of the invention is particularly useful for hockey players.

Description: PROTECTIVE GLOVE WITH ERGONOMICS FEATURES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of protective equipment for use in sporting activities. More particularly, the invention relates to a glove, such as a hockey glove, with finger portions that adapt to the anatomy of the player's hand and the natural position taken by the hand during play. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During the past few years, protective equipment manufacturers have attempted designing ice hockey gloves that offer a reduced resistance to the natural movement to which the hand is subjected when handling various objects such as hockey sticks. US patent no. 4,815,147 issued on March 28, 1989 and naming Gazzano et al . as inventors, US patent no. 5,488,739 issued on February 6, 1996 and naming Cardinal as an inventor, and US patent no. 5,511,243 issued on April 30, 1996 and naming Hall et al . as inventors, offer examples of attempts to design ergonomic hockey gloves. The contents of those documents are incorporated herein by reference. These designs, however, require a modification of the dorsal portion of the glove, i.e. the portion of the glove, opposite the palm that extends from the base of the fingers to the wrist. To increase the flexibility of the glove, fold lines on ribs are formed into that particular region of the glove. The provision of such flexibility enhancing structures is accomplished by locally reducing the amount of padding. That, however, can significantly weaken the protective covering the glove provides over the dorsal portion of the hand. The lessened protective behaviour in that area is a serious disadvantage since the dorsal portion of the hand is exposed and is often subjected to impact during a hockey game . Another disadvantage of such prior art is that the sheaths of these gloves poorly fit the anatomy of the player. Indeed, the finger sheaths typically comprise a single joint near the articulation between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx. This reduces the amount of control the player can exercise over the hockey stick. Thus, there is a need for a protective hockey glove which allows for a better stick handling and is more comfortable without unduly restricting the protection over the dorsal area of the hand. There is also a need in the industry to provide a protective glove with anatomically correct finger sheaths. OBJECTS AND STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a protective glove with anatomically correct finger sheaths. It is a further object of the invention to provide a protective glove with finger sheaths capable of collectively adapting to the natural position of a hand that is holding a hockey stick. As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a protective glove comprising a hand receiving portion having a palm side and a back side, said hand receiving portion comprising a finger receiving portion for receiving and enclosing the fingers of a player, said finger receiving portion extending from an area proximate the base of the player' s fingers to the end of these fingers, said hand receiving portion also comprising a thumb receiving portion for receiving and enclosing the thumb of the player, said thumb receiving portion extending from an area proximate the base of the player's thumb to the end of the thumb, said finger receiving portion comprising on said back side a protective pad comprising at least two flexion zones that allow the player to bend his fingers at said zones. Advantageously, said hand receiving portion comprises four finger receiving portions adapted to respectively receive and enclose the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player and wherein each said finger receiving portion comprises a protective pad comprising a first flexion zone and a second flexion zone, said first and second flexion zones allowing the player to bend his fingers at said zones. Preferably, said first flexion zone corresponds generally to the joint area between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx and said second flexion zone corresponds generally to the joint area between the middle phalanx and the distal phalanx of each of the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player. Advantageously, said first and second flexion zones separate said protective pad into three distinct segments. A preferential bend toward the palm side is pre-built into said finger sheaths to better fit the normal posture of the finger. Preferably, the degree of pre-built bending of the finger sheath that receives the little finger of the player is greater than the degree of pre-built bending of the finger sheath holding the third finger of the player, which is itself greater than the bending of the finger sheath receiving the middle finger of the player, which is itself greater than the degree of pre-built bending of the finger sheath holding the index finger. Such consecutive increase in the degree of pre-built bending from the finger sheath holding the index toward the finger sheath holding the little finger creates a structure that closely follows the posture adopted normally by a human hand when loosely holding an elongated object, such as a hockey stick. To solidly grip the stick, it suffices to further bend the finger sheaths. In other words, the differential in pre- built bending between the finger sheaths creates a more natural pre-disposition to grip a stick. Thus, the degree of further bending required to achieve a condition of solid grip is less than in a structure where no differential in the degree of the pre-built bending exists between the finger sheaths . Advantageously, each finger sheath has a protective pad element in a condition of curl toward the palm side, said condition of curl being maintained in the absence of a finger in each said finger sheath, said pad element comprising a pair of segments and a flexion zone between said segments, said segments being capable of moving angularly apart from one another at said flexion zone under efforts tending to augment a degree of curl of said finger sheath, said finger sheaths manifesting a differential degree of curling one with relation to the other, said differential in the degree of curling being maintained in the absence of a hand in said glove. In a most preferred embodiment, the degree of curl progressively increases from the finger sheath holding the index finger toward the finger sheath holding the little finger. In other words, the little finger sheath is the most curled, while the index finger sheath manifests the least degree of curling of bending. For clarity, note that by "condition of curl" is meant curling or bending in the plane in which a finger normally curls when moving toward the palm of the hand. The thumb sheath of the glove preferably comprises a protective pad and a flexion zone that allows the player to bend his thumb at that area. Advantageously, said flexion zones are created by segmenting, at selected areas, the protective pads located on the dorsal side of said finger sheaths. The resulting glove thus comprises a plurality of finger sheaths, each having a protective pad separated into distinct segments angularly moveable relative one another in the plane in which the finger received in the sheath curls. In comparison with prior art devices, the resulting glove, according to the invention, offers increased flexibility and mobility which results in maximum stick control. The person skilled in the art will, however, realize that such flexibility increase at selected areas (corresponding generally to the joint area between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx and the distal phalanx of the player's hand) may be achieved otherwise. For example, there may be provided a glove in which the protective pads are made of a material that may stretch at localized areas thereby allowing the player to bend his fingers at sites corresponding generally to the finger joints. The finger sheaths may also be provided with any type of hinge or hinge-like device that will permit the protective pad to flex at the desired area. In summary, the expression "flexion zone" as it appears in the present specification should not be considered to necessarily imply a physical discontinuity, separation or lack of structural cohesion between the segments of the protective pad elements. Rather, this expression simply designates a zone in the protective pad element, that will locally bend on flex when the pad element is caused to assume a curved shape. Such zone can be a discontinuity in the protective pad element, a zone having a higher flexibility or extensibility than the adjacent parts of the pad element, a mechanical hinge device or any other structure that would behave in such manner. The longitudinal dimension of the dorsal sides of at least two adjacent segments preferably exceeds the longitudinal dimension of their respective inner sides. Preferably, the thumb sheaths of the glove of the invention comprise a protective pad and a flexion zone that allows the player to bend his thumb at that area. Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following is a description by way of a preferred embodiment, reference being made to the following drawings, in which: • Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of a protective glove for a right hand made in accordance with the invention; • Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the protective glove of figures 1 and 2 holding a ■ hockey stick; • Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the protective glove; • Figure 5 is a right side view illustrating the protective pad segments of the little finger sheath at rest ; • Figure 6 is a right side view illustrating the protective pad segments of the finger sheath of the protective glove when the little finger of the player is bent ; • Figure 7 is a top plan view of a protective glove made in accordance with the invention; • Figure 8 is a side elevational view of a protective glove made in accordance with the invention; and • Figure 9 is a side elevational view of a protective pad segment illustrating the angled end walls. In the drawings, the embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of examples only. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to figures 1 and 2, there is shown a protective glove 10 comprising a hand receiving portion having a palm side 12 and a dorsal side 14. The hand receiving portion comprises a finger receiving portion 16 which extends generally from the base of the fingers of a player to the end of these fingers, a thumb sheath 18 which extends generally from the base of the thumb of the player to the end of this thumb and also comprises a dorsal portion 20 which extends generally from the base of the fingers and thumb of the player to the wrist. The protective glove further comprises a cuff portion 22 which extends from the wrist up towards the lower forearm of the player, the cuff portion being secured to the hand receiving portion of the glove. On the palm side, the hand receiving portion is made of a suitable flexible material 24 such as soft leather or leather-like materials. An example of a suitable material is commercialized under the name CLARINO (trade-mark of Kuraray Co. Ltd.) . The palm may also be treated with silicone to improve stick control and may further be reinforced with a protective layer of aramid material such as KEVLAR (trade-mark of E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company) . The dorsal side of the hand receiving portion is made of a flexible web-like material to which is attached a plurality of protective pad segments. The dorsal side of the finger sheaths forming the fingers receiving portion, thumb sheath and dorsal portion and the cuff portion therefore comprise a plurality of protective pad elements which are made of materials conventionally found in the prior art . Examples of such materials include polyethylene inserts and may include various composite materials designed to absorb the energy of an impact . The protective pads include an outer abrasion resistant covering such as leather, knit polyester and PVC or other materials conventionally found in the prior art. The shape and location of the protective pad elements will be described in more details hereinafter. As shown more particularly in figure 7, the dorsal portion 20 of the glove may be provided with a plurality of protecting pad elements 26, 28 and 30 separated by flexion zones 32 and 34 that facilitate the natural flexion of the hand when the player is holding his hockey stick. While the preferred glove is described as having three protective pads 26, 28 and 30, and two flexion zones 32 and 34, it will become apparent to the person skilled in the art that a variety of other patterns of protective elements/flexion zones may be used. Examples of possible embodiments for the dorsal portion of the glove are found in US patent no. 4,815,147, US patent no. 5,488,739 and US patent no. 5,511,243 referred to above. The contents of those references are incorporated by reference. Referring back to figure 1, the cuff portion 22 of the glove comprises a cuff protector 36 that surrounds the wrist of the user. A padded area 38 extends beyond the cuff protector towards the lower forearm of the player to enhance the level of protection of forearm. To provide full protection while allowing for maximum flexibility of the wrist, the cuff portion has a padded attachment 40 that is moveable relative to the cuff protector 36. In order to ensure that the glove will not easily slide off the player's hand, there may also be provided a flexible attachment (not shown) made of a suitable high friction material such as neoprene . This attachment will enclose the hand within the glove while allowing a full range of motion at the wrist. As shown in more details in figures 1 and 2, the hand receiving portion comprises four finger sheaths 42, 44, 46 and 48 adapted to enclose the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player. Each finger sheath comprises a protective pad element including three distinct segments separated from one another by first flexion zones 42a, 44a, 46a and 48a and second flexion zones 42b, 44b, 46b and 48b that allow the player to curl his fingers. An elongated protective section 50 is located adjacent the index finger and extends generally from the base of the index finger to approximately the beginning of the distal phalanx of the index finger. The protective section 50 comprises protective padding and a flexion zone 52 that corresponds preferably to the joint between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx of the player's index finger thereby protecting the side portion of that finger while allowing the user to bend it. The thumb portion 18 also comprises protective pad segments 54' and 54", and a flexion zone 56 that allows the player to bend his thumb. As shown more particularly in figures 5 and 6, the glove of the present invention has the advantage of providing a finger receiving portion comprising at least two flexion zones that allow the player to bend his fingers at anatomically correct areas. The first flexion zones 42a, 44a, 46a and 48a (the latter one being shown in figures 5 and 6) preferably are near the articulation area between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx of the player, while the second flexion zones 42b, 44b, 46b and 48b (the latter one being shown in figures 5 and 6) preferably are near the articulation area between the middle phalanx and the distal phalanx of the player's hand, thereby separating the protective pad 48 into three distinct segments, such as segments 48', 48'' and 48'''. This particular configuration has the advantage of accommodating the natural position of the hand that is holding a hockey stick thereby allowing for better stick handling without unduly restricting the protection of the dorsal area of the hand. Since not all the fingers of the hand are of the same length, the invention also allows the provision of a protective glove which is designed in conformity with the anatomy of each of the player's fingers . As shown more particularly in figures 2 and 8, in the preferred embodiment, the finger sheaths are curled or bend toward the palm side. Most preferably, the bending of finger sheath 48 is greater than the bending of the finger sheath 46, which is itself greater than the bending of finger sheath 44, which is again greater than the bending of finger sheath 42. This allows the glove to accommodate the position naturally assumed by the hand of the player when holding his stick, as shown more particularly in figure 3. The provision of finger sheaths that are curled towards the palm side also has the advantage of better protecting the joints of the player's fingers. Figure 5 illustrates the little finger receiving portion and in an "at rest" position, i.e. while the hand is being removed rom the glove. As shown in that drawing, the adjacent end walls of segments 48', 48'' and 48''' are angled relative one another in such a way that the finger sheath 48 is bend toward the palm side of the glove. When the glove is in an "at rest" position (as shown in figure 5), the joints of the player's fingers are thus fully protected. When the player bends his fingers to grasp his hockey stick (as shown in figure 6), the joints become slightly exposed at the flexion zones 48a and 48B. In contrast with the glove of the prior art, where each segment of protective pad is of generally rectangular cross-section, the glove of the present invention has the advantage of reducing considerably the size of the opening at the joint area created by the bending of the fingers. As shown more particularly in figure 9, the condition of curl is obtained by providing segments in which the longitudinal dimension x of the dorsal side 60 exceeds the longitudinal dimension x' of the inner side thereof 62. This provides a segment wherein the end walls 64 and 66 are angled outwardly, i.e. the angle θ is less than 90 degrees. While it is in theory possible to completely eliminate the exposure of the joint area by always maintaining the glove in a closed position (i.e. by modifying the angles θ of the end walls of any of the segments, such as segments 48', 48'' and 48''', this would have the disadvantage of limiting the flexibility of the glove and prevent the player to open his hand to catch a puck of other object. Although not illustrated in the drawing, the interior of the protective glove may be provided with a lining to keep the hand cool and dry. A suitable lining may be made of a material commercialized under the trade-mark COOLMAX (trade-mark of E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company) . Throughout this specification, the preferred embodiment is described using a player of masculine gender in order to simplify the description. The masculine gender should, however, be interpreted as including both sexes. The above description of a preferred embodiment should not be interpreted in any limiting manner since variations and refinements are possible, which are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents .

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A protective glove comprising a hand receiving portion having a palm side and a back side, said hand receiving portion comprising a finger receiving portion for receiving and enclosing the fingers of a player, said finger receiving portion extending from an area proximate the base of the player's fingers to the end of these fingers, said hand receiving portion also comprising a thumb receiving portion for receiving and enclosing the thumb of the player, said thumb receiving portion extending from an area proximate the base of the player's thumb to the end of the thumb, said finger receiving portion comprising on said back side a protective pad comprising at least two flexion zones that allow the player to bend his fingers at said zones . 2. A protective glove as defined in claim 1, wherein said hand receiving portion comprises four finger receiving portions adapted to respectively receive and enclose the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player and wherein each said finger receiving portion comprises a protective pad comprising a first flexion zone and a second flexion zone, said first and second flexion zones allowing the player to bend his fingers at said zones. 3. A protective glove as defined in claim 2, wherein said first flexion zone corresponds generally to the joint area between the proximal phalanx and the middle phalanx and said second flexion zone corresponds generally to the joint area between the middle phalanx and the distal phalanx of each of the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player. 4. A protective glove as defined in claim 2 or 3 , wherein said first and second flexion zones separate said protective pad into three distinct segments. 5. A protective glove as defined in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a preferential bend toward the palm side is pre-built into said finger sheaths to better fit the normal posture of the finger. 6. A protective glove as defined in claim 5, wherein the degree of pre-built bending of the finger sheath that receives the little finger of the player is greater than the degree of pre-built bending of the finger sheath holding the third finger of the player, which is itself greater than the bending of the finger sheath receiving the middle finger of the player, which is itself greater than the degree of pre-built bending of the finger sheath holding the index finger. 7. A protective glove as defined in claim 5 or 6 , wherein each finger sheath has a protective pad element in a condition of curl toward the palm side, said condition of curl being maintained in the absence of a finger in each said finger sheath, said pad element comprising a pair of segments and a flexion zone between said segments, said segments being capable of moving angularly apart from one another at said flexion zone under efforts tending to augment a degree of curl of said finger sheath, said finger sheaths manifesting a differential degree of curling one with relation to the other, said differential in the degree of curling being maintained in the absence of a hand in said glove. 8. A protective glove as defined in any one of preceding claims, wherein the thumb sheath of the glove comprises a protective pad and a flexion zone that allows the player to bend his thumb at that area.' 9. A protective glove as defined in any one of preceding claims, wherein said flexion zones are created by segmenting, at selected areas, the protective pads located on the dorsal side of said finger sheaths. 10. A protective glove as defined in any one of preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal dimension of the dorsal sides of at least two adjacent segments exceeds the longitudinal dimension of their respective inner sides. 11. A protective glove as defined in any one of preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal dimension of the dorsal sides of each said first, second and third segments exceeds the longitudinal dimension of their respective inner sides.

Inventors: SAURIOL CLAUDE, SAURIOL, CLAUDE
Applicants: BAUER INC, SAURIOL CLAUDE, BAUER INC., SAURIOL, CLAUDE
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A41D13
IPC codes: A63B71