Patent Publication Number: US-7220188-B2

Title: Golf glove for promoting swing accuracy

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a golf glove. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved golf glove which promotes club swing accuracy by stabilizing the posture of a golfer&#39;s hand and wrist from address to club swing while providing flexibility in the hand&#39;s sidewise movement. 
   As generally understood among golfers, a golfer&#39;s swing accuracy is generated by combination of body movements relative to club swings. For example, a golfer&#39;s grip is faulty, the golfer may not have control of club when he reaches the top of his backswing, thereby failing to shot the ball to a target point. To further facilitate grip and swing motion, a golf glove is worn on one hand that grips over the club handle with the other hand slightly covering finger portions of the glove-clad hand. A golf swing accuracy is known to substantially improve if the glove-clad hand is maintained without backward or forward leaning during the entire swing. So a prior art introduces a wrist support provided as an attachment to a golf glove in order to prevent the unwanted forward or backward leaning of a golfer&#39;s wrist during swing motion. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,391 discloses a sports glove for a bowler including a glove body having sleeves, a flexible cover attached to the sleeves to form a pouch, and cushioning pad disposed in the pouch to weight distribution and balance a bowler grabbing a bowling ball. Applicant believes that a bowler glove designed to efficiently hold a bowling ball is inapplicable to a golf glove dealing with a club swing mechanism for a golf player. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,302 discloses a wrist control device having a hand member for engaging the back of the hand, an independent arm member for engaging the top of the arm above the wrist, a pivot means pivotally connecting the members together for pivotal movement relative to one another. Applicant believes that this lacks stability due to instability of the independent arm member. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,298 discloses a golf training apparatus with an arm guide secured to the off arm of a golfer. A wrist guide pivotably attached to the arm guide and positioned on the hand of a golfer leads to the pivotal attachment of the wrist guide to the arm guide to ensure that the golfer&#39;s hand pivots relative to the forearm. Applicant believes that this resembles the &#39;302 patent in light of lacking stability caused by instability of the wrist guide. Further, this &#39;298 patent is designed to aid golf beginners, resulting in inapplicability to general application for golfing. 
   A demand is to provide a flexible wrist support clad to a glove, which allows the wrist to naturally move side to side while preventing backward or forward leaning of the 
   A demand is to provide a flexible wrist support clad to a glove, which allows the wrist to naturally move side to side while preventing backward or forward leaning of the wrist. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a golf glove promotes club swing accuracy by stabilizing the posture of a golfer&#39;s hand and wrist from address to club swing while providing flexibility in the hand&#39;s sidewise movement. 
   Another object is to protect a golfer&#39;s hand and wrist by enabling a support pad to safely support the golfer&#39;s backhand, thereby improving product reliability. 
   To achieve the above-described objects, the golf glove according to the present invention comprises outer and inner sections connected to each other by a thumb line and a little finger line to become worn from fingers to substantially above a wrist and toward an arm of a user where the outer section has a finger portion, a knuckle portion, a backhand portion, a wrist portion, and an arm portion. The inner section serves to cover along the user&#39;s palm. A support pad is embedded along the arm portion, the wrist portion and the backhand portion where the support pad comprises a backhand shingle having a lower end, a backhand wing outwardly extending from each side of the backhand shingle where the backhand wing is substantially curved along a curvature of the user&#39;s backhand, an arm shingle having a first edge, a second edge, and an upper end, where the upper end of the arm shingle is pivotably engaged to the lower end of the backhand shingle so that the backhand shingle makes an angular rotation against the arm shingle when required, and a first flex wing extending from the first edge of the arm shingle to become substantially perpendicular to the arm shingle and to approach the thumb line. 
   The backhand wing is substantially flappable relative to the backhand shingle and the support pad further comprises a second flex wing extending from the second edge of the arm shingle to become substantially perpendicular to the arm shingle toward the little finger line. For a better performance, the little finger line is severed along the arm portion and the wrist portion, and an arm strap is attached to the inner section along the little finger line and detachably attached to the outer section corresponding to the first flex wing. Here, the detachable attachment of the arm strap is implemented by a hook and pile mechanism. 
   Selectively, the little finger line is severed along the arm portion, the wrist portion and the backhand portion so the golf glove may further comprise an arm strap attached to the inner section along the little finger line corresponding to the arm portion and detachably attached to the outer section corresponding to the first flex wing, and a backhand strap attached to the inner section along the little finger line corresponding to the backhand portion and detachably attached to the outer section adjacent to the backhand shingle. Here, the detachable attachment of said each strap is implemented by a hook and pile mechanism. 
   The backhand shingle is substantially leaned over the arm shingle and an angle formed by the arm shingle and the leaned-over backhand shingle is between about three degrees and about ten degrees. Preferably, the angle formed by the arm shingle and the backhand shingle is about seven degrees. The upper end of the arm shingle is arc-shaped and has a quirk formed along an end line thereof, and the lower end of the backhand shingle is substantially surface-ground to rotatably fit in the quirk, thereby enabling the backhand single to pivotably rotate relative to the arm shingle. 
   The support pad may further comprise a pivot rotatably inserted through each end of the arm shingle and the backhand shingle. In an embodiment, the first flex wing serves to flexibly hook the user&#39;s arm corresponding to the thumb line. 
   The advantages of the present invention are numerous in that: (1) since the support pad is sidewisely rotatable while safely supporting the golfer&#39;s backhand during a club swing, the golfer&#39;s left hand (when she or he is right handed) is stably controlled with ease, thereby improving club swing accuracy; (2) The pivotable mechanism applied between the arm shingle and the backhand shingle substantially improves flexibility of the sidewise movement of the golfer&#39;s hand during the club swing, thereby protecting the golfer&#39;s hand and wrist; (3) since the support pad can be embedded in a pad base of the golf glove, the glove can be easily put on for club swing or taken off for relaxing on the green field, thereby improving usability and reliability, and (4) the flex wing extending from the side edge of the arm shingle further stabilizes the user&#39;s grip on the club in coordination with the detachable attachment of each strap, thereby maximizing the user&#39;s satisfaction. 
   Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a golf glove for improving club swing accuracy according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a view showing a support pad embedment in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a top view showing a support pad in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV—IV in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line V—V in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI—VI in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a function view showing relative rotation of a backhand shingle of the support pad during a backward swing of a golf club; and 
       FIG. 8  is another function view showing relative rotation of a backhand shingle of the support pad during a downward swing of a golf glove. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  shows an overall view of a golf glove  10  for improving club swing accuracy according to the present invention and  FIG. 2  shows another overall view showing a pad attachment mechanism. As shown therein, the golf glove  10  includes a glove part  12  and a support pad  14 . The glove part  12  comprises outer and inner sections  16 ,  18 . The outer and inner sections  16 ,  18  of the glove part  12  are connected to each other by a thumb line  20  and a finger line  22  to form the glove part  12  which becomes worn on a golf player&#39;s hand. The thumb and finger lines  20 ,  22  may correspond to a general sewing line of a known glove, where the thumb line  20  begins from the outer line of the thumb toward a user&#39;s lower arm and the little finger line  22  begins from the bottom line of the little finger toward the opposite side of the thumb line  20 . 
   The outer section  18  of the glove part  12  is partitioned to a finger portion  24 , a knuckle portion  26 , a backhand portion  28 , a wrist portion  30 , and an arm portion  32 . Meanwhile, the inner section  16  of the glove part  12  serves to cover along a palm, inner sides of the fingers and arm of the golf player whose hand and partial arm are worn in the glove part  12 . That is, the glove part  12  incorporated by the outer and inner sections  16 ,  18  can be worn from fingers to substantially above a wrist and toward an arm of its user or golf player. 
   In a preferred version, a pad base  34  is reserved along the arm portion  32 , the wrist portion  30  and the backhand portion  28  of the outer section  18  of the glove part  12  so that the support pad  14  becomes embedded in the pad base  34 . That is, the support pad  14  is embedded along the arm portion  32 , the wrist portion  30  and the backhand portion  28 . Preferably, the pad base  34  is double-layered. 
   As further shown in  FIGS. 2–8 , the support pad  14  comprises a backhand shingle  36  having a lower end  38 , an arm shingle  40 , and a first flex wing  42 . The arm shingle  40  has a first edge  44 , a second edge  46 , and an upper end  48 . The upper end  48  of the arm shingle  40  is pivotably engaged to the lower end  38  of the backhand shingle  36  so that the backhand shingle  36  makes an angular rotation against the arm shingle  40  when required. The first flex wing  42  is provided to extend from the first edge  44  of the arm shingle  40  to become substantially perpendicular to the arm shingle  40  and to approach the thumb line  20 . The backhand shingle  36  is preferably formed in a substantially triangular format so one angle side of the backhand shingle  36  serves as the lower end  38 . 
   In an embodiment, the support pad  14  further comprises a backhand wing  50  outwardly extending from each side of the backhand single  36  so that the backhand wing  50  is substantially curved along a curvature of the user&#39;s backhand. Preferably, the backhand wing  50  may be substantially flappable relative to the backhand shingle  36 . At least one groove  51  is formed along the backhand wing  50  in a lengthwise format to provide characteristic of its flexible bending along the curvature of the user&#39;s backhand. 
   For a better performance, the support pad  14  is provided with a second flex wing  52  extending from the second edge  46  of the arm shingle  40  to become substantially perpendicular to the arm shingle  40  toward the little finger line  22 . Here, the little finger line  22  is severed along the arm portion  32  and the wrist portion  30 . In this construction, an arm strap  54  is attached to the inner section  16  along the little finger line  22  and detachably attached to the outer section  18  corresponding to the first flex wing  42  that serves to flexibly hook the user&#39;s arm corresponding to the thumb line  20 . The detachable attachment of the arm strap  54  to the outer section  18  is implemented by a hook and pile mechanism. 
   Alternately, the little finger line  22  may be further severed along the arm portion  32 , the wrist portion  30  and the backhand portion  28 . In this mechanism, the arm strap  54  is paired with a backhand strap  56 . The backhand strap  56  is preferably attached to the inner section  16  along the little finger line  22  corresponding to the backhand portion  28  and detachably attached to the outer section  18  adjacent to the backhand shingle  36 . It is recommended that the detachable attachment of the backhand strap  56  is also implemented by a hook and pile mechanism. 
   In order to facilitate the angular rotation of the backhand shingle  36  relative to the arm shingle  40 , a pivot  58  is rotatably inserted through the upper end  48  of the arm shingle  40  and the lower end  38  of the backhand shingle  36 . Also, the backhand shingle  36  is formed to become substantially leaned over the arm shingle  40  so that an angle AA in  FIG. 4 , formed by the arm shingle  40  and the leaned-over backhand shingle  36  is between about three (3) degrees and about ten (10) degrees. In a preferred version, the angle AA formed by the arm shingle  40  and the backhand shingle  36  is about seven (7) degrees. 
   To further improve the performance of the support pad  14 , a backhand wing  50  is formed to outwardly extend from each side of the backhand shingle  36  of the support pad  14 . The backhand wing  50  is substantially curved along a curvature of the golf player&#39;s backhand. Also, an arm wing  60  may be selectively formed to outwardly extend from each side of the arm shingle  40 . Here, the arm wing  60  is substantially curved along another curvature of the golf player&#39;s arm. The backhand and arm wings  50 ,  60  are formed to become substantially flappable relative to the corresponding shingles  36 ,  40 . Here, at least one groove  61  is formed along the arm wing  50  in a lengthwise format to provide characteristic of its flexible bending along the curvature of the user&#39;s arm periphery. 
   Consequently, as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the golf glove  10  having the support pad  14  significantly stabilizes the backward swing in  FIG. 7  and downward swing in  FIG. 8 , thereby improving club swing accuracy. Here, a rotation angles BB, CC of the backhand shingle  36  against the arm shingle  40  may range between about three (3) degrees and about fifteen (15) degrees during the backward or downward club swing. 
     FIGS. 3–6  are provided to further explain the mechanism of the support pad  14  in the golf glove  10 . As shown therein, the upper end  48  of the arm shingle  40  is arc-shaped and has a quirk  62  formed along an end line  64  thereof. The lower end  38  of the backhand shingle  36  is substantially surface-ground to rotatably fit in the quirk  62 , thereby enabling the backhand single  36  to pivotably rotate relative to the arm shingle  40  so that the backhand shingle  36  makes an angular rotation against the arm shingle  40  in a reliable format during a golf club swing of the golf player. 
   In a preferred mode, hooks  66 ,  68  may be selectively formed on the golf glove  10  to provide detachable attachments of the straps  67 ,  69 . That is, piles  67 ,  69  formed on the straps  54 ,  56  are detachably attached on the corresponding hooks  66 ,  68  by flapping the straps  54 ,  56  over onto the pad base  34 . Specifically, the arm strap pile  67  is detachably attached onto the corresponding hook  66  and the backhand strap pile  69  is detachably attached onto the hook  68 . The arm portion side hook  66  is preferably formed on a portion of the pad base  34  corresponding to the arm flex wing  2 , and the backhand portion side hook  68  is formed on another portion of the pad base  34  corresponding to the backhand shingle  36 . 
   An advantage of the present invention is that since the support pad  14  is sidewisely rotatable while safely supporting the golfer&#39;s backhand during a club swing, the golfer&#39;s left hand (when she or he is right handed) is stably controlled with ease, thereby improving club swing accuracy. Further, the pivotable mechanism applied between the arm shingle  40  and the backhand shingle  36  substantially improves flexibility of the sidewise movement of the golfer&#39;s hand during the club swing, thereby protecting the golfer&#39;s hand and wrist. 
   In addition, since the support pad  14  can be inserted in the pad base  34  of the glove part  12 , the golf glove  10  can be easily put on for club swing or taken off for relaxation on the green field, thereby improving usability and reliability. Also, the first flex wing  42  extending from the side edge  44  of the arm shingle  40  further stabilizes the user&#39;s grip on the club in coordination with the detachable attachment of each strap  54 ,  56  thereby maximizing the user&#39;s satisfaction 
   Although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible by converting the aforementioned construction. Therefore, the scope of the invention shall not be limited by the specification specified above and the appended claims.