Abstract:
A wrist protective supporter has a wrist section curved to cover from a wearer&#39;s arm to a wrist, a hand-back pivoting section hinge-connected to the wrist section and pivoting vertically, a hand-back supporting member engaged to the hand-back pivoting section to pivot from side to side, a rail provided to the wrist section to face the hand-back pivoting section, a slider moving along the rail and pushing and pivoting the hand-back pivoting section downward by interfering with the hand-back pivoting section, an engaging section provided to the slider and engaged or disengaged with the rail, and a knob releasably engaged to the hand-back supporting member by passing through the hand-back pivoting section. The wrist protective supporter for bowling supports a wrist to correctly throw a ball while preventing an injury which may happen due to a shock to the wrist during the bowling.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims all benefits of Korean Utility Model Application No. 2004-6053, filed on Mar. 6, 2004 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a wrist protective supporter for bowling supporting a wrist to correctly throw a ball while preventing an injury which may happen due to a shock to the wrist during the bowling, and more particularly to a wrist protective supporter for bowling capable of easily pivoting a hand-back section vertically and from side to side according to a wearer&#39;s throwing characteristic to regulate an angle, and easily replacing the back of the hand section (which is herein also described as “hand-back section”) of the protective supporter with a hand-back section having a suitable structure according to a change of a wearer&#39;s throwing characteristic.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     In general, a wrist protective supporter is a bowling utensil preventing an injury of a wrist or finger which may happen due to a weight of a bowling ball during the bowling and allowing a user to correctly throw the ball according to her or his throwing characteristic, thereby improving a performance. Various types of wrist protective supporter are developed and commercialized. Hereinafter, the protective supporter will be briefly described as follows.  
         [0006]     A wrist protective supporter having a general and simplest structure comprises a bottom surface made of an adsorptive material so that a user can easily handle a bowling ball, and protects the wrist by fixing and preventing the wrist from being bended back.  
         [0007]     A wrist protective supporter having a more complicated structure than that described above is structured such that a wearer can arbitrarily adjust an angle of a wrist section and a hand-back section and thus easily put spin on the bowling ball when throwing the ball. The wrist protective supporter capable of adjusting the angle is shown in  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , the wrist protective supporter comprises a hand-back section  30  adhering closely to the back of the hand, a wrist section  10  adhering closely to an exterior of the wrist, an angle adjusting section  20  connecting the hand-back section  30  and the wrist section  10  and adjusting a connecting angle between the hand-back section  30  and the wrist section  10  from side to side or up and down. The angle adjusting section  20  and the wrist section  10  are connected by a screw type angle adjusting means  50  and a catching type angle adjusting means  60 . The wrist section  10  is pivoted from side to side by the screw type angle adjusting means  50  and vertically pivoted by the catching type angle adjusting means  60 .  
         [0008]     The catching type angle adjusting means  60  comprises a catching piece  61  operated by a spring and having a catching protrusion (not shown) which is formed on a bottom surface of the catching piece  61  and inserted into a plurality of catching recesses  65  perforated in equal intervals on the hand-back section  30 . Accordingly, the bended angle between the wrist section  10  and the hand-back section  30  is adjusted according to whether the catching protrusion formed on the bottom surface of the catching piece  61  is inserted into any one of the catching recesses  65  perforated on the hand-back section  30 . However, according to this manner, when the hand-back section  30  is bended back, the catching piece  61  is easily deviated from the catching recesses  65 . When the catching piece  61  is deviated from the catching recesses  65 , a wrist may be injured. In other words, when a wearer swings a bowling ball while stepping, the wearer&#39;s wrist may be bended back due to a weight of the bowling ball and thus be injured. In addition, when handling the catching type angle adjusting means  60 , since the wearer should remove the catching piece  61  from the catching recess  65  and then insert it into another catching recess  65 , the handling is inconvenient and the structure is also complicated.  
         [0009]     Meanwhile, if a beginner continuously practices the bowling, as her or his bowling ability is improved to an expert, a throwing characteristic is also gradually changed. However, the screw type angle adjusting means  50  can adjust only the angle due to a hinge connection of the hand-back section  30  and the wrist section  10  and the hand-back section  30  and the wrist section  10  aren&#39;t separated. Accordingly, when the throwing characteristic is changed after purchasing a wrist protective supporter comprising the hand-back section  30  initially fitted to a user, the user should purchase another wrist protective supporter.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art. The object of the present invention is to provide a wrist protective supporter for bowling comprising removably attached hand-back section and wrist section and capable of easily adjusting the hand-back section vertically and from side to side and replacing the hand-back section with a hand-back section suitable for a throwing characteristic changed according as a user&#39;s throwing characteristic is changed.  
         [0011]     In order to accomplish this object of the present invention, there is provided a wrist protective supporter for bowling, the wrist protective supporter comprising: 
        a wrist section curved to cover from a wearer&#39;s arm to a wrist;     a hand-back pivoting section hinge-connected to the wrist section and pivoting vertically;     a hand-back supporting member engaged to the hand-back pivoting section to pivot from side to side;     a rail provided to the wrist section to face the hand-back pivoting section;     a slider moving along the rail and pushing and pivoting the hand-back pivoting section downward by interfering with the hand-back pivoting section;     an engaging section provided to the slider and engaged or disengaged with the rail; and     a knob releasably engaged to the hand-back supporting member by passing through the hand-back pivoting section.        
 
         [0019]     Herein, a guide recess into which the rail is inserted is formed in the slider to move along the rail.  
         [0020]     Meanwhile, the rail is formed in opposed inner surfaces of the slide recess formed in a longitudinal direction of the wrist section in a middle of a width of a leading end of the wrist section abutting on the hand-back pivoting section, respectively; a plurality of engaging recesses are formed in the rail in the longitudinal direction thereof; and the engaging section is inserted or withdrawn into or from the engaging recesses.  
         [0021]     Also, the engaging section comprising: 
        a vertical through-hole formed in the slider;     a button inserted into the vertical through-hole and moving in a longitudinal direction of the vertical through-hole by an applied force;     an engaging piece protruded from both lower ends of the button; and     a coil spring including an end abutting on a bottom surface of the button and the other end abutting on a catching step formed on a lower end of the vertical through-hole.        
 
         [0026]     Herein, a bolt is formed on a center of a bottom surface of the knob, a nut is fixed on an upper surface of the hand-back supporting member and the bolt passes through the hand-back pivoting section and thus is engaged to the nut of the hand-back supporting member.  
         [0027]     Also, a rubber washer is positioned between the hand-back pivoting section and the hand-back supporting member. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0028]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wrist protective supporter according to the prior art;  
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a wrist protective supporter according to an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the wrist protective supporter shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a state that a slider is separated from a rail of a wrist section shown in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0033]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view showing an engaged state of a hand-back supporting member and a hand-back pivoting section shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  is a partial sectional view of the slider shown in  FIG. 4 ; and  
         [0035]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the slider moving along the rail shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]     Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.  
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a wrist protective supporter according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a wrist protective supporter according to an embodiment of the invention comprises a wrist section  110  covering an exterior from a wearer&#39;s arm to a wrist and a hand-back section  130  hinge-connected to a leading end of the wrist section  110 , pivoting up and down and covering the back of the hand and fingers of the wearer. The hand-back section  130  is divided into a hand-back pivoting section  140  hinge-connected to the wrist section  110 , pivoting up and down and a hand-back supporting member  150  screw-engaged with the hand-back pivoting section  140 , pivoting from side to side and supporting the back of the hand and the fingers of the wearer.  
         [0038]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the wrist protective supporter shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a state that a slider is separated from a rail of a wrist section shown in  FIG. 3 . The wrist protective supporter for bowling according to an embodiment of the invention will be more specifically described with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 .  
         [0039]     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the wrist section  110  is curved in a width direction thereof and covers an exterior from an arm to a wrist. A Velcro tape is adhered to an inside of the curved wrist section  110  and a first cushion pad  111  is adhered to the Velcro tape to increase a feel and to allow the wrist section  110  to be adhered closely to the arm and thus to support the arm more safely when the wrist section  110  covers the arm.  
         [0040]     A rail  115  is formed in a middle of a width of the wrist section  110  in a longitudinal direction of the wrist section  110 . A slider  120  moves back and forth along the rail  110 . When the slider  120  is located to be protruded forward, the hand-back pivoting section  140  of the hand-back section  130  is pushed and thus pivoted downward. To the contrary, when the slider  120  moves rearward along the rail  115  and thus does not interfere with the hand-back pivoting section  140 , the hand-back pivoting section  140  can pivot upward to the maximum extent, so that it abuts on the leading end of the wrist section  110 . Like this, when the hand-back pivoting section  140  pivots upward to the maximum extent, an angle with the wrist section  110  becomes 0 degree and thus the hand-back pivoting section  140  is linearly extended from the wrist section  110 .  
         [0041]     Meanwhile, the hand-back pivoting section  140  is curved in a width direction to cover the wrist, and both sides of the hand-back pivoting section  140  are hinge-connected to both sides of the leading end of the wrist section  110 , respectively. Accordingly, when the hand-back pivoting section  140  pivots upward to the maximum extent, a part of a rear end of the hand-back pivoting section  140  is inserted into the wrist section  110  and thus abuts on the slider  120 . Accordingly, when the slider  120  is advanced forward, the slider  120  pushes the hand-back pivoting section  140  to be pivoted downward. A protrusion  141  having a semi-circle shape is formed on the middle of the width of the hand-back pivoting section  140 , and a through-hole  143  is formed in a center of the protrusion  141 . Meanwhile, a rotating knob  160  is formed with a bolt  163  on the bottom surface thereof. Under state that the rotating knob  160  is located on an upper surface of the protrusion  141 , the bolt  163  of the rotating knob  160  passes through the through-hole  143  of the protrusion  141  and is engaged with one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  located on a lower part of the hand-back pivoting section  140 .  
         [0042]     Also, as shown in  FIG. 3 , one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  covers the back of the hand, an index finger, a middle finger, a third finger and a little finger, and a nut  153  is fixed to an exterior surface of a region thereof corresponding to the back of the hand. Such hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  are somewhat differently structured according to a throwing characteristic. Of the two hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  shown in  FIG. 3 , the hand-back supporting member  150  having a part formed long correspondingly to the index finger is used to throw the heavier bowling ball rather than another hand-back supporting member  151 . In general, compared to the beginner who started to learn the bowling, a weight of the bowling ball is gradually increased so as to improve a power as it is proficient to the bowling.  
         [0043]     Meanwhile,  FIG. 5  is a sectional view showing an engaged state of a hand-back supporting member and a hand-back pivoting section shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  is located on the lower part of the through-hole  143  of the hand-back pivoting section  140 , and the bolt  163  of the rotating knob  160  is engaged with the nut  153  after having passed through the through-hole  143  of the hand-back pivoting section  140 . Accordingly, the bolt  163  of the rotating knob  160  is engaged or disengaged with the nut  153  according to the rotating direction of the rotating knob  160 . Under the engaged state of the bolt  163  and the nut  153 , when the bolt  163  is firmly tightened after adjusting the angle of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 , one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  is fixed with being angle-adjusted to the hand-back pivoting section  140 . Under this state, when it is desired to replace one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  with another hand-back supporting member, the bolt  163  is released from the nut  153  by rotating the rotating knob  160 , and thus one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  and the hand-back pivoting section  140  are separated. Then, it is replaced with another hand-back supporting member and engaged. In addition, a Velcro tape is adhered to an inner surface of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 , so that a second cushion pad (refer to  FIG. 2 )  152  is adhered by the Velcro tape. Further, a rubber washer  155  covering the bolt  163  is provided to between the hand-back pivoting section  140  and one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 , thereby preventing the hand-back pivoting section  140  and one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  from being damaged due to a tightening force of the bolt  163 .  
         [0044]     Hereinafter, the rail  115  and the slider  120  provided to the wrist section  110  will be more specifically described.  
         [0045]     Referring to  FIG. 4  again, a slide recess  113  is formed in the middle of the width of the wrist section  110  in a direction from the leading end to the rear end, and the rails  115  are formed on both opposed inner surfaces of the slide recess  113  in a longitudinal direction of the slide recess  113 . A plurality of engaging recesses  117  are provided to the rails  115  along the length thereof.  
         [0046]     Meanwhile,  FIG. 6  is a partial sectional view of the slider shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the slider moving along the rail shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0047]     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the slider  120  located in the slide recess (refer to  FIG. 4 )  113  of the wrist section (refer to  FIG. 4 )  110  is provided with the guide recess  121  having a width and a depth of the thickness of the rail  115  which is formed on both sides of the slider  120  in a longitudinal direction of the slider  120 , and an engaging section  123  having an elastic acting from the lower part to the upper part of the guide recess  121  is formed on a side of the guide recess  121 . Accordingly, when the slider  120  is inserted into the slide recess  113  so that the rail  115  is inserted into the guide recess  121  of the slider  120 , the slider  120  moves to the front and the rear of the wrist section  110  along the rail  115 . When the engaging section  123  corresponds to the engaging recess  117  of the rail  115  as the slider  120  moves, the engaging section  123  moves upward, so that it is inserted into the engaging recess  117  and thus the slider  120  is fixed.  
         [0048]     Hereinafter, the engaging section  123  of the slider  120  will be described.  
         [0049]     As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a vertical through-hole  125  is formed in the rear end of the slider  120 , and a button  126  is inserted into the vertical through-hole  125 . An engaging piece  127  is formed to protrude to both sides on a lower end of the button  126 . A tensioned coil spring  128  is located in the vertical through-hole  125  with it covering the button  126 . An upper end of the tensioned coil spring  128  abuts on a bottom surface of the button  126  and a lower end of the tensioned coil spring  128  abuts on a catching step  129  formed on the lower end of the vertical through-hole  125 . Accordingly, when the button  126  is pushed, the coil spring  128  is compressed and the engaging piece  127  is moved downward. When a force applied to the button  126  is removed, the coil spring  128  is elastically restored, so that the button  126  is pushed upward and the engaging piece  127  is also moved upward.  
         [0050]     When the engaging piece  127  is inserted into the engaging recess (refer to  FIG. 4 )  117  of the rail (refer to  FIG. 4 )  115  by the operations of the button  126 , the engaging piece  127  and the coil spring  128 , the slider  120  is stopped. Under this state, when the button  126  is pushed, the engaging piece  127  is withdrawn from the engaging recess  117  and the slider  120  again moves along the rail  115 .  
         [0051]     Referring to  FIG. 2  again, when the slider  120  moves forward along the rail  115 , it pushes and pivots the hand-back pivoting section  140  downward, and when the slider  120  moves rearward, it does not interfere with the hand-back pivoting section  140 , so that the hand-back pivoting section  140  pivots upward to the maximum extent.  
         [0052]     Meanwhile, fixing bands  171 ,  172  are provided to the wrist section  110  and one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  to fix an arm and a palm located inside of the wrist section  110  and one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 . More specifically, a ring  173  is fixed on both side ends of the curved wrist section  110 , respectively, a hook  175  which is engaged with the ring  173  is fixed on one end of the fixing band  171 , and the Velcro tape is adhered to the other end of the fixing band  171 . Accordingly, when the hook  175  is engaged with the ring  173 , the fixing band  171  is passed through the other ring, and then the Velcro tape is adhered each other, the fixing band  171  is fixed with covering around the arm located inside of the wrist section  110 .  
         [0053]     In addition, a ring  177  is formed on one end of the width of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 , an end of the fixing band  172  is fixed on the other end of the width of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  and the Velcro tape is adhered to the fixing band  172 . Accordingly, when the fixing band  172  is passed through the ring  177  and then the Velcro tape of the fixing band  172  is adhered, the fixing band  172  is fixed with covering the palm located inside of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 .  
         [0054]     Hereinafter, an operation relationship of the wrist protective supporter for bowling according to the invention as described above will be explained.  
         [0055]     A user selects one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  according to her or his throwing characteristic. Then, one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  is positioned to the lower part of the hand-back pivoting section  140 , and the bolt  163  of the rotating knob  160  is passed through the through-hole  143  of the hand-back pivoting section  140  and then engaged with the nut  153  of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151 .  
         [0056]     During engaging the bolt  163  with the nut  153 , the rotating knob  160  is rotated and firmly tightened under state that the right and left angle of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  is set. Then, one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  and the hand-back pivoting section  140  are integrated.  
         [0057]     Under this state, the vertical angle of the hand-back section  130  and the wrist section  110  is adjusted. At this time, the wearer moves the slider  120  along the rail  115 , i.e., the length of the slide recess  113  by pushing or drawing the slider  120  with pushing down the button  126  of the slider  120 . At this time, when the slider  120  is advanced by pushing it, the hand-back pivoting section  140  is pivoted downward due to the interference of the leading end of the slider  120  of the hand-back pivoting section  140 , thereby increasing the bended angle of the hand-back pivoting section  140 . When the slider  120  is drawn rearward, the hand-back pivoting section  140  is pivoted upward, thereby gradually decreasing the bended angle. In general, in order to put spin on a ball or achieve a hook, it is advantageous that the downward pivoting angle of the hand-back section  130 , i.e., the bended angle is large and the right and left pivoting angle of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  is also large. However, the vertical bended angle and the right and left pivoting angle can be changed without limit according to the wearer&#39;s throwing characteristic.  
         [0058]     As described above, according to the wrist protective supporter for bowling of the invention, the slide recess  113  is formed on the wrist section  110 , and the rails  115  are provided to the opposed inner surfaces of the slide recess  113 , so that the slider  120  moves along the rails  115 . However, it is should be understood that the objects and effects of the invention can be achieved even though a pair of rails are fixed on the upper surface of the wrist section without the slide recess formed in the wrist section and the slider is mounted and moved in the fixed rails.  
         [0059]     As described above, according to the wrist protective supporter for bowling, in order to adjust the vertical bended angle of the wrist section  110  and the hand-back section  130 , when the slider  120  is moved under the button  126  of the slider  120  being pushed and then located in a proper position, the engaging piece  127  is inserted into the engaging recess  117  of the rail  115  and thus the slider  120  is fixed, so that the hand-back section  130  is not pivoted upward due to the interference of the fixed slider  120  and the wrist section  110 , thereby preventing the wrist from being bended back due to the bowling ball in swinging.  
         [0060]     Further, according to the wrist protective supporter for bowling, one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  can be removably attached to the hand-back pivoting section  140 . Accordingly, as the wearer&#39;s throwing characteristic is changed, a suitable structure of the hand-back supporting member can be provided, so that the wearer can throw the bowling ball according to her or his changed throwing characteristic.  
         [0061]     In addition, according to the wrist protective supporter for bowling, since one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  and the hand-back pivoting section  140  are structured to be removably attached, it is possible to adjust the right and left pivoting angle of one of the hand-back supporting members  150 ,  151  using the engagement configurations of the rotating knob  160  and the nut  153 , to simplify the structure of the wrist protective supporter and to extend the functions thereof.  
         [0062]     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.