Abstract:
A football glove that is both functional and effective. A vinyl rubber pad with finlike grippers is placed over the glove material at each one of the five fingers and at the both heels of the palm on the small finger side and the thumbside. All the knuckles are ribbed only on the circumference of the finger on the palm side which helps the fingers to be in a premature curved position and promotes quicker reaction time.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a sports glove and, more particularly, to a sports glove for catching footballs.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     As is known, gloves have been used for purposes for sports relating to catching balls or objects for many years. In the past, such as in the game of baseball, sports have utilized gloves to enhance catching and have improved the game and for the enjoyable for the players. Other sports such as football, have adopted the use of gloves to protect and help players catch footballs in cold weather or simply for the protection against the elements. As with other sports, technology has improvised the fact that special gloves can enhance the performance of the athlete. Various methods have been used to address these problem and have ranged in a variety of ideas.  
         [0003]     The football game consists of a number of players on the field which each player has a different responsibility. One of the responsibilities of some players is to catch a football, called a receiver, that is thrown by a player called a quarterback. These throws or passes can range in high rates of speeds and velocities and can promote pain when caught in regular weather but which is amplified in extreme weathers. The catcher or receiver makes most of their catches with their hands and more specifically, with their finger tips. The receiver must utilized a closing motion with the finger tips to absorb the velocity of a fast pass. The faster the pass, the more the fingers need to adjust to absorb the velocity to prevent pain in the fingers or from “clapping” the ball with the palms of the hands, which will produce a dropped ball. Such velocity of a pass at short to long distances, produces a reaction of muscle fibers and fibrils in the receiver&#39;s hands which the player must have correct timing and have sensitivity of the absorption to create a clean catch in the fingers with minimum pain.  
         [0004]     In football, currently-known and marketed gloves are utilized for weather protection and provide a minimal enhancement in gripping and catching ability. In the past, weather protection has been the main feature of football gloves, while gripping and effectiveness has been neglected due to the potential bulkiness of the gloves and the failure to produce such technology. Further, gloves that did not fit the hand comfortably or were not form fitting failed to be introduced in the market because of inability to be effective for playability of a football player. The concern of velocity absorption and the promotion to increase the timing of the fingers to close around a football has been a problem for football players at all levels. Therefore, there is a substantial need in the art for a football glove having increased absorption and improved timing characteristics without the drawbacks associated with many prior art gloves.  
         [0005]     There have been a variety of currently-known prior art gloves that tried to address these issues on mechanical, cosmetic, and effectiveness means. These prior art patents relate to the concerns and issues that are directed to be solved. They consist of the following methods.  
         [0006]     In Re22167, the Wells glove was introduced for dress wear that conformed to the hand and was utilized in everyday use. In Re31538, Antonious invented a glove and in particular a glove for the use in sports. Antonious invented the glove with golf in mind and included inventive features for air hold circulation, flexible knuckles and a Velcro closure. In U.S. Pat. No. 203,959, the Townshend gloves were created to improved and protect the corn huskers from the elements and the beating of work on the husker&#39;s hands. The gloves were to provide durability with a latex/sand protective coating. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,179,871, St. John created a glove utilizing rubber gum and rubber cement to provide a palm surface to increase a grip and to adhere to things and in St. John&#39;s case, an automobile steering wheel. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,167,226, Wells develops another dress glove that comprised of small rubber particles that embedded in the glove that was spaced throughout the palm. Wells discusses that the rubber should be dramatically limited to prevent the noticeably of the glove as it&#39;s use is for daily wear and entertaining. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,459,985, Woodbury advances the work glove with adhesive particles on the palm to provide gripping attributes with sharp particles. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,465,136, Troccoli develops a golf glove that has extra material to provide durability along the diagonally portion of the palm of the hand where the golf club will reside. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,046, Scherr proposes a knitted yarn that is stretchable which includes an adhesive palm that stretches with said yarn knitted glove. In Bruchas&#39; U.S. Pat. No. 3,096,523 patent for a football glove, he becomes more innovative by developing a glove that has adhesive tactile at the finger portions and has an open back and also creates an elastic zone that is between the back first and second knuckles to keep the fingers in the stalls. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,461, Bullock creates a golf glove that provides friction for a golf club in the palm of the hand. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,765, Stanton creates a glove that has a stretch material that provides high friction which provided for more gripping power. In 1977, Brucker created a hockey glove in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,339 with a heavy padding on the back of the glove with a flexible palm that is waterproof that would prevent wear and tear. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,429, Mulvaney provided a detacktified leather glove for sports or for work and followed up with U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,832 using a processed solution containing nitrocellulose and silicone resins. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,387, Lopez introduces the invention of increasing strength of the grip without using more exertion. He dedicates a theory, like the others to prevent slippage of barbells or baseball bats utilizing VELCRO hook and loop fasteners that attach to a VELCRO wrap on a bat, weight barbell or golf club. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,509, the Bower&#39;s patent proposes a two piece sport glove that uses a chroming tanning process on leather to improve gripping power. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,294, Turangan invented a sport glove for the game of catch that encompassed elastic material with patches of hook-loop fasteners that are applied to the football and the glove to help in a game of catch.  
         [0007]     Some of the aforementioned prior art for athletic gloves pertaining to the present invention, gloves were made with leather. In fact some were treated with a chemical to promote gripping power, these were used for either as work gloves or as sports gloves and they were made for the purpose to prevent wear and tear. The leather gloves fall very short of the invention at hand because leather is a primitive material which actually prevents absorption and flexibility because of it&#39;s rigid properties. Leather also does not promote a soft feel as it is the same as just having skin on skin. The leather actually creates a slower reaction time with less feel to the finger tips.  
         [0008]     The second category of prior art is the use of a gum/adhesive element to the palms in various embodiments. The tacky adhesives and variables range from solutions containing nitrocellulose and silicone resins to an adhesive tactile at the fingers. Although these do in fact help in the gripping power especially as work gloves, they are minimal for a football glove as they would lessen the sensitivity and would create a slower reaction time. Although these gloves might be stretchable to some extent, these gloves also would produce little or no ball absorption and would make it much more difficult to catch a ball.  
         [0009]     Finally, there is a group of prior art that enables Velcro or a hook-loop fastener as an additive to increase gripping power. Velcro is very impractical for football unless there would be a football that has a Velcro receptor to adhere to the gloves, which in college or professional football has not occurred. In addition, there would be less flexibility with these gloves that would decrease reaction time. This invention is targeted toward teaching catch with a child or without practically and just for fun.  
         [0010]     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a football glove for football players to catch footballs.  
         [0011]     It is another object of the invention to provide a football glove that absorbs impact of catching footballs.  
         [0012]     It is another object of the invention to provide a football glove that minimizes pain when absorbing the impact of the football.  
         [0013]     It is another object of the invention to provide a football glove that increases flexibility in the fingers.  
         [0014]     It is an object of the invention to provide a football glove increases reaction time for a player to catch a football.  
         [0015]     It is an object of the invention to provide a football glove to increase gripping power.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a football glove that is both functional and effective. A rubber vinyl pad with finlike grippers is placed at each one of the five fingers and at the heel of the palm to promote absorbtion and gripping capabilities. All the knuckles have ribbed flexors on the palm side only which helps the fingers to be in a curved position and promotes quicker reaction time. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a football glove designed in accordance with this invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a side view of an index finger of the football glove showing the application of the finlike grippers;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a football glove index finger with the finlike grippers attached; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a side view of an alternate embodiment of a close-up of the index finger with glove material covering the finlike grippers. 
     
    
       [0022]     For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the FIGURES.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]     For the sake of brevity, each element will be followed by the same number to promote consistency in the description.  
         [0024]     Generally speaking, the invention pertains to a shock absorbing football glove  10 . The football glove  10  features foam shock absorbing pads and rubber ribbed placements where the finger bends.  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  shows a football glove  10  with the encompassed elements. The football glove  10  is made with any desired glove material  32  and on the palm side, each finger tip pad of the glove contains a finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  that been placed on top of the surface of the desired material. Each finger including the thumb has this pad which is at least one millimeter thick, any millimeters in length, and any millimeters in height that is made of any density rubber vinyl. This finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  is any general shape and has three finlike grippers  28 . The finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  is placed on top of the glove material  32 . The football glove  10  and the glove material  32  that covers the finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  in an alternate embodiment can be either sewn or glued.  
         [0026]     There is also a middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  that is located on the palm side of the football glove  10  between the first and the second knuckles on the four fingers. Concurrently, there is another middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  that is located between the first and second knuckle of the thumb. The middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  is any general shape and is constructed the same way as the finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  as being at least one millimeter thick, any millimeters in length, any millimeters in height, and is made of any density rubber vinyl. The middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  as is placed on top of the surface of the glove material  32  and is attached by being sewn or glued.  
         [0027]     On the heal of the palm side of the football glove  10 , there is a heel-palm pad  16  that is located under the glove material  32  that is located on the side of the smallest finger. It can be any shape and is composed of any density vinyl rubber material the same of which encompasses the finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  and the middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  of the football glove  10 . It is one millimeter thick and can be any length or height and contains three finlike grippers  28  that are of any length, any width, and are at leas one millimeter thick.  
         [0028]     On the palm side of the football glove  10 , there is a thumbside palm-pad  18 . The thumbside palm-pad  18  is not connected to the heel-palm pad  16  and both are separated by more than three millimeters. It is comprised of the same density rubber vinyl material and is greater than one millimeter thick. It is located on top of the glove material  32 . It is one millimeter thick and can be any length or height and contains three finlike grippers  28  that are of any length, any width, and are at least one millimeter thick.  
         [0029]     There is a rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20  is located on the palm side only. This rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20  encompasses half the circumference that is located only on the palm side and is located on the first knuckle of each of the four fingers. The rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20  has at least three ribs and is made of a flexible rubber. The back side is made of the same material as the rest of the glove and the rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20  can be sewn or glued to the other material of the glove for attachment.  
         [0030]     There is a rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  which is also located on the palm side only. This rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  encompasses half the circumference of the finger and is located on each finger except the thumb. The rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  has at least three ribs and is made of a flexible rubber and is located at the second knuckle. The back side is made of the same material as the rest of the glove and the rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  can be sewn or glued to the other material of the glove for attachment.  
         [0031]     Finally, there is a rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  located on the palm side only. This rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  also encompasses only half the circumference and is located on each finger including the thumb. The rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  has at least three ribs and is made of flexible rubber and is located at the third knuckle which is the closest knuckle to the base of the hand. The back side of the glove is made of the same material as the rest of the glove and the rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  can be sewn or glued for attachment.  
         [0032]      FIG. 2  generally shows an explosive side view of the index finger portion of the football glove  10 . The finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  is attached to or sewn to the top of the material of the football glove  10  on the finger tip area. The middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  is also attached to the top of the material of the football glove  10 .  FIG. 2  also depicts the rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20 , the rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22 , and the rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  from a side view. Each one of these elements are located on the palm side and stop half way around circumference of the fingers. The rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20 , the rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22 , and the rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  are attached by being sewed or glued for attachment.  
         [0033]      FIG. 3  generally shows a side view of the index finger portion of the football glove  10  and a close-up of the finlike grippers  28  as being attached in the final stage. The finlike grippers  28  are at least 1 millimeter in length and are in the shape of a fin pointing downward. There are three of them and the tip can be a point or rounded. The rounded or point of the fin must point down.  
         [0034]      FIG. 4  generally shows an alternate embodiment of the index finger portion of the football glove  10 . The alternate embodiment may have glove material  32   32 vering the finlike grippers  28 , finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12 , middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14 , thumbside palm-pad  18 , and the heel-palm pad  16 . This material will not cover the rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20 , the rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22 , or the rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24 .  
         [0035]     In operation, the finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  and the finlike grippers  28  serve as both vibration and shock absorbers in catching footballs as it will be the first interface with the said football. The finger tip rubber vinyl pad  12  and it&#39;s finlike grippers  28  work with the middle finger rubber vinyl pad  14  and it&#39;s finlike grippers  28  to absorb and to tighten around the football with minimal pain or impact on the fingers while providing maximum sensitivity without compromising the sleekness of the football glove  10 . The finlike grippers  28  curl and encompass the football preventing movement because of the finlike grippers  28  and the rubber vinyl material cause intense friction with a leather football that prevents movement. The heel-palm pad  16  and the thumbside palm-pad  18  and the finlike grippers  28  on them, cause intense friction with a leather football that secures and the strengthens the grip of the football while causing little impact on the hands. The distance that is open between the heel-palm pad  16  and the thumbside palm-pad  18  add to the flexibility of the glove and allow the two pads to work conjointly and in cohort to tighten around the football. Finally, the finlike grippers  28  on the heel-palm pad  16  and the finlike grippers  28  on the thumbside palm-pad  18  squeeze the football to prevent slipping with the increased friction and finalizes the security of the catch.  
         [0036]     The rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20  will cause the glove to obtain a pre-modified angle curve shape in the relaxation state of the fingers. This pre-modified angle curve shape is justified prior to the time the football reaches the player&#39;s hands and it works along with the rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  to enhance and to quicken the time it would take to flex the glove fingers around a football. The rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  works in the same fashion as the rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20  and the rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  by increasing the flexibility of the player&#39;s hand and to improve the timing of the contraction of the player&#39;s fingers around the football at the precise moment of impact. The key attribute of the rubber ribbed top knuckle bend  20 , the rubber ribbed second knuckle bend  22  and the rubber ribbed third knuckle bend  24  is that they are located on the palm side of the glove and do not go around the entire finger. They encompass half of the circumference of the finger which amplifies the extreme ease of the flex and the fact they do not concompass the back side of the hand, prevents the fingers from straightening out of the premodified angle curve, which without it, would results in dropped footballs, pain in the fingers and hands, and would promote injuries.  
         [0037]     Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.  
         [0038]     Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.