Abstract:
An athletic glove is provided for an athlete participating in a sport or competition. The athletic glove includes specifically designed finger receptacles for enhanced stability and protection for the athlete&#39;s fingers and improved performance. A first finger receptacle encloses the little and ring fingers preventing them from moving relative to each other. A second finger receptacle encloses the index and middle finger thus preventing them from moving relative to each other.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/331,702 filed May 4, 2016. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to athletic equipment and apparel, and more specifically to protective and performance enhancing football gloves. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art. 
         [0004]    Typical football equipment includes padded pants, shoulder pads, and helmets among other protective or performance enhancing equipment. Football gloves are particularly important because they serve a dual function of protecting the players hands while improving the ability of the player in catching, holding, and throwing the football. As with other pieces of equipment, football gloves are tailored to particular player positions. For example, receiver&#39;s gloves include special materials that improve the players grip on the football in less than ideal weather conditions. Alternatively, linemen wear gloves that include padding intended to help prevent injuries. 
         [0005]    While current forms of football gloves help improve player performance and provide protection against some injuries, there is a need for an improved football glove that advances performance while preventing new injuries and help previous injuries from getting worse or possibly even aid in healing. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present invention provides an athletic glove having a plurality of finger receptacles, a thumb receptacle, a closing system, a palm surface, and a backhand surface. 
         [0007]    Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent by reference to the following description and appended drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to the same component, element or feature. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way; 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a is a top view of the backhand of an athletic glove according to the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a side view of an athletic glove according to the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an athletic glove according to the present disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a palm view of a right and left hand athletic glove according to the present disclosure; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an athletic glove according to the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. 
         [0015]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary an athletic glove  10  is illustrated and will now be described. The athletic glove  10  includes a palm portion  12 , a first finger receptacle  14 , a second finger receptacle  16 , a thumb receptacle  18 , and a cuff  20 . More specifically, the athletic glove  10  is generally assembled from several pieces of material. For example, a backhand  20  of the athletic glove may be a single first section  22  of material that forms a backhand portion of each of the palm portion  12 , the first finger receptacle  14 , and the second finger receptacle  16 . Additionally, the forehand  24  of the athletic glove may be a single second section  26  (more appropriately viewed in  FIG. 2 ) of material that forms a forehand portion of each of the palm portion  12 , the first finger receptacle  14 , and the second finger receptacle  16 . Thus, the first section  22  and second section  26  of material may be formed from one or more layers of material, such as lycra, leather, neoprene, nylon, synthetic leather, and the like, and are joined by methods known in the art, such as sewing, knitting, and the like, to form a cavity  28  (more precisely shown in  FIG. 3 ) for receiving the athlete&#39;s hand. Therefore, the first and second finger receptacles  14 ,  16  and the thumb receptacle  18  combine to form the cavity  28 . In one example of the present invention, the second section  26  of material of the forehand  24  of the athletic glove is an outwardly facing abrasion resistant high tack material to enhance the athlete&#39;s grip. In other examples, the backhand  20  includes pads  30  having additional layers of material in specific areas to provide additional protection against impact to the bones of the hand. In particular, the pads  30  may include finger pads  32 , a knuckle pad  34 , a thumb pad  36 , and a backhand pad  38 . 
         [0016]    The first and second finger receptacles  14 ,  16  and thumb receptacle  18  extend from the palm portion  12 . The width of each of the first and second finger receptacles  14 ,  16  is wide enough to receive two adjacent fingers of the athlete&#39;s hand. The width W 1  of the first finger receptacle  14  is wide enough to receive each of the little and ring fingers of the athlete&#39;s hand. Likewise, the width W 2  of the second finger receptacle  16  is wide enough to receive each of the index and middle fingers of the athlete&#39;s hand. The thumb receptacle  18  is sized to receive the thumb. However, other examples of the athletic glove that include a finger receptacle that is wide enough to receive three fingers does not fall outside the scope of the present invention. 
         [0017]    The cuff  20  of the athletic glove includes a closing mechanism  40  as well as other protective features. The closing mechanism  40  is disposed on the cuff  20  to securely fix the athletic glove  10  to the athlete&#39;s hand. The closing mechanism  40  includes a strap  42  having a portion of a hook-and-loop fastening system  44  to enclose and tighten the wrist cuff  20  around the wrist of the athlete. However, other types of fastening systems may be utilized to secure the athletic glove  10  to the hand of the athlete without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, snap buttons or a strap buckle, among other methods, may be used as the closing mechanism  40 . 
         [0018]    The first finger receptacle  14  includes a first end  46  and a second end  48 . The first end  46  of the first finger receptacle  14  is fixed to the palm portion  12  as the second end  48  extends outwardly from the palm portion. The second end  48  terminates in two lengths such that the second end  48  fits tightly to each of the little finger and ring finger given the differing lengths of the two fingers. A first length  50  tightly fits to the end of the little finger with the second length  52  tightly fitting to the end of the ring finger of the athlete&#39;s hand. Similarly, the second finger receptacle  16  includes a first end  54  and a second end  56 . The first end  54  of the second finger receptacle  16  is fixed to the palm portion  12  between the first finger receptacle  14  and the thumb receptacle  18 . The second end  56  of the second finger receptacle  14  also terminates in two lengths such that the second end  56  fits tightly to each of the middle finger and the index finger given the differing lengths of the two fingers. A first length  58  tightly fits to the end of the index finger with the second length  60  of the second end  56  of the second finger receptacle  16  tightly fitting to the end of the middle finger of the athlete&#39;s hand. 
         [0019]    Turning now to  FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 , a side view of the athletic glove  10  is depicted in  FIG. 2  with cross-sections of an interior structure  62  of the athletic glove  10  illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 5 . Thus, the interior structure  62  of the athletic glove  10  will now be described. The first and second finger receptacles  14 ,  16  of the athletic glove  10  each include a finger web  64 ,  66 . More specifically, the first finger receptacle  14  includes the finger web  64  disposed proximate the center of the width of the first finger receptacle  14  and extends from the first end  46  to connect to the second end  48  of the first finger receptacle  14 . The finger web  64  further connects the backhand  20  to the forehand  24  of the first finger receptacle  14  separating the little finger from contacting the ring finger. The second finger receptacle  16  includes the finger web  66  disposed proximate the center of the width of the second finger receptacle  16  and extends from the first end  54  to connect to the second end  56  of the second finger receptacle  16 . The finger web  66  further connects the backhand  20  to the forehand  24  of the second finger receptacle  16  separating the index finger from contacting the middle finger. The finger webs  64 ,  66  provide the capability for slight movement between the fingers without skin-to-skin friction thus preventing blisters or other skin injuries. 
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , another example of the athletic glove  10  is illustrated as a pair and will now be described. The forehand  24  and backhand  20  may include specialized materials to improve performance and protection. Additionally, the forehand  24  and backhand  20  may be configured to include designs such as team logos  68  or mascots. The covers may also include special reinforcing straps or materials to improve the stability of the athletic glove and more importantly the athlete&#39;s hand within the athletic glove. 
         [0021]    The athletic glove may also include additional features without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, protective features that prevent the hyperextension or otherwise mis-movement of the several joints of the athlete&#39;s hand, fingers, thumb and wrist may be incorporated into the athletic glove. 
         [0022]    The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.