Patent Publication Number: US-6704936-B1

Title: Boxing gloves incorporating multi-layer, anti-absorbent materials

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to boxing gloves and more specifically to boxing gloves which incorporate breathable mesh and absorbent linings. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Boxing gloves are used in amateur and professional boxing matches and for training purposes. Boxing gloves are conventionally shaped to accommodate a user&#39;s fist and are formed by an inner mitt into which the user inserts their hand and an outer shell which is padded. The thickness of the padding is increased or decreased depending upon the application. 
     The padding is intended to provide a protective cushion to prevent damage to the user&#39;s hand as well as the target which is being struck, such as a heavy bag or opponent. The amount and type of padding used depends on the application. Typically, training gloves incorporate only a small portion of padding in order to protect the users hands. Conversely, sparing gloves utilize a thicker amount of padding to protect not only the users hands but also the sparring partner from damage. The padding in boxing gloves is typically formed by polyfoam, polyvinyl chloride closed cell and open cell layers. The outer shell of the glove is conventionally covered by leather, vinyl or other durable material and the inner mitt is cotton or other durable material. 
     While the padding within the gloves serves to protect the user from potential damage from impact, the user must properly form a fist with their hands within the gloves or risk injury to their hands including broken bones and sprained joints within the hand. Additionally, forming and maintaining a proper fist reduces the potential for eye injuries where the sparing partner or opponent is struck by an extended thumb. Eye injuries during boxing are a serious problem given the potential for permanent injury and extreme discomfort. 
     In use the user inserts their hands within the inner mitts of the gloves. Conventional boxing gloves are typically secured around the users hands by laces which are threaded through eyelets arranged along a slit which extends longitudinally along the palm of the glove. The gloves are tightly secured by pulling the laces tight and tying the ends of the laces together. Once properly secured, the user then maintains a fist with both hands within the gloves and begins their training routine which may include punching a heavy bag or sparring with a partner. 
     Throughout the routine, the hands of the user perspire. This perspiration is absorbed by the inner lining of the glove. As the routine continues the glove becomes uncomfortable as the inner lining becomes saturated with perspiration. Since the inner lining of the glove is enclosed, air cannot enter to dry the lining creating an unsanitary environment within the glove where bacteria reproduce. The bacteria within the glove can cause the inner lining to rot. With repeated use, the perspiration build up also causes odor problems within each glove. 
     The present invention provides boxing gloves which allow perspiration to escape, are easy to secure and encourage the hands to form a proper fist so that the potential for injury is reduced. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A boxing glove formed by an inner mitt and a padded outside covering that utilizes breathable palm material, a full thumb retainer, a waterproof pad lining and grip bars. 
     The inner mitt is formed by the breathable palm material and the waterproof pad lining. The mitt is shaped so that when a hand is inserted all the fingers of the hand are contained within a finger compartment and the thumb of the hand is contained in a separate thumb compartment. The breathable palm material forms the front of the mitt and the pad lining forms the back of the mitt. The breathable palm material is formed by two layers, a thin breathable inner lining which contacts the palm and inner portion of the thumb and a breathable mesh outer material which forms the exposed outside palm of the glove. The inner lining wicks away perspiration from the hand of the user and the mesh outer material allows the perspiration to dry and escape to the outside. The waterproof pad lining is sewn to and opposes the breathable palm material forming the back of the mitt. When a hand is properly inserted into the mitt through the mouth of the glove the front of the mitt contacts the palm side of the hand and the back of the mitt contacts the back side of the hand. 
     A back of the mitt is padded by the attachment of the padded outside covering. The padded outside covering is formed by open or closed cell foam, cotton, wool or rubber padding which is covered by leather, vinyl, PVC or other durable material. The padded outside covering is sewn to the back of the mitt so that when a hand is inserted into the mitt and a fist is formed the outside surface of the fist is fully padded by the padded outside covering. 
     A collar is sewn to the mouth of the mitt. The collar secures the glove to the users hand using a strap which is attached at one end to the outside surface of the collar. The strap is wrapped in encircling relation around the collar so that the collar firmly engages the wrist of the user and is held in place by hook and loop fasteners. The inside surface of the collar and the palm of the mitt may contain a sizing slit which allows the collar to encircle many different size wrists for proper engagement. 
     In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the boxing glove showing the palm of the glove. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the boxing glove. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the boxing glove showing top of the glove and illustrating the thumb retainer. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown boxing glove  10 . The boxing glove  10  is formed by an inner mitt  20 , a padded outside covering  40  and a collar  50  which is attached to the mouth of mitt  20 . 
     Inner mitt  20  is shaped so that when a hand is inserted all the fingers of the hand are contained within finger compartment  22  and the thumb of the hand is contained in a separate thumb compartment  24 . Mitt  20  is formed by a breathable palm lining  26  which opposes a waterproof pad lining  28 . Palm lining  26  forms the front of mitt  20  and pad lining  28  forms the back of mitt  20 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, Palm lining  26  is formed by two layers, a thin breathable inner lining  26   a  which contacts the palm and inner portion of the thumb of the wearer and a mesh outer lining  26   b . One side of outer lining  26   b  contacts inner lining  26   a  and the other side forms the outside palm of glove  10 . Inner lining  26   a  is constructed from COOLMAX or other suitable breathable material and acts to absorb and wick away perspiration from the hand of the wearer. Outer lining  26   b  is constructed of breathable mesh material and forms the exposed outside palm of glove  10 . Mesh outer lining  26   b  allows the perspiration wicked away by inner lining  26   a  to dry and escape to the outside. Palm lining  26  may be constructed with a leather thumb arc  27  which reinforces the thumb area and a padded reinforced outside palm area  29 . Padded reinforced outside thumb area may be constructed of leather, vinyl, PVC or other suitable flexible material. The perimeter of palm lining  26  opposes and is sewn to pad lining  28  using conventional sewing methods. Pad lining  28  forms the back of mitt  20 . Pad lining  28  is formed by waterproof Taffeta fabric so that glove  10  is easy to clean and maintains its weight since sweat is not absorbed by the padding of glove  10 . When a hand is properly inserted into mitt  20  the palm lining  26  of mitt  20  contacts the palm of the hand of the wearer and pad lining  28  of the mitt  20  contacts the back of the hand of the wearer. 
     Two cylindrical grip bars  62  and  64  are sewn between the inner and outer linings  26   a  and  26   b  of the palm lining  26  of mitt  20 . Each grip bar  62  and  64  is formed by flexible cylindrical closed cell foam that is approximately 1.2 cm in diameter. Closed cell foam is used so that sweat is not absorbed by the grip bars causing the weight of the glove to change. Alternatively, grip bars  62  and  64  may be formed by open cell foam, pvc, plastic or other suitable material. First grip bar  62  is positioned within palm lining  26  of mitt  20  so that it corresponds with the position of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers of an average sized hand of a wearer. Second grip bar  64  is positioned within palm lining  26  of mitt  20  so that it corresponds with the position of the distal interphalangeal joints of the fingers of an average sized hand of a wearer. First and second grip bars  62  and  64  are adapted in length so that they extend across palm lining  26  of mitt  20 . First and second grip bars  62  and  64  encourage proper fist formation by causing the fingers of the wearer to curl around both first and second grip bars  62  and  64 . The positioning of first and second grip bars  62  and  64  provide reference points which can be used to verify proper insertion of the hand. 
     A back of mitt  20  is padded by the attachment of padded outside covering  40 . Padded outside covering  40  is formed by pad  42  which is covered by a cover  44 . Pad  42  is constructed from closed cell foam and cover  44  is constructed from leather. Cover  44  may be made from vinyl, PVC, PU or other suitable flexible durable material. Pad  42  may be constructed from open cell foam, cotton, wool or rubber depending on the application. For instance, open cell foam may be used in training gloves to achieve a lighter weight. Padding  42  may also be covered by vinyl, PVC or other durable material. The perimeter of padded outside covering  40  is sewn to mitt  20  using conventional sewing methods so that the back of mitt  20  is covered. Padded outside covering  40  is curved so that a preshaped boxing glove  10  is formed. When a hand is inserted into mitt  20  the formation of a fist is encouraged by the shape of glove  10 . Padding  42  is shaped so that when a fist is formed the entire outside surface of the fist is fully padded. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a thumb retainer  70  is attached to and joins the thumb  44   a  and finger  44   b  of the outside covering  44 . Thumb retainer  70  is attached to thumb  44   a  and finger  44   b  by conventional sewing methods. By joining thumb  44   a  and finger  44   b  of outside covering  44 , thumb  44   a  is prevented from extending and causing possible injury. Thumb retainer  70  is formed by leather and is sized so that thumb  44   a  of outside covering  44  is retained within 1-2 cm from finger  44   b  of the outside covering  44 . Thumb retainer  70  can be sized so that thumb  44   a  is retained within a selected distance from finger  44   b.    
     A padded cuff  50  is sewn to the mouth of mitt  20  and padded outside cover  40 . Cuff  50  is formed by an outside leather cuff wrap  52  which is padded by closed cell foam cuff pad  58 . Cuff wrap  52  may be constructed from vinyl, PVC or other suitable flexible material. Cuff  50  is divided into a front  56   a  and back  56   b . Front  56   a  is attached to palm lining  26  and back  56   b  is attached to pad lining  28  and padded outside cover  40 . The inside of front  56   a  is padded by cuff pad  58  and is lined by palm lining  26  which extends into cuff  50 . The inside of back  56   b  is padded by cuff pad  58  and is lined by pad lining  28  which extends into cuff  50 . Cuff  50  opens at the wrist where it meets palm lining  26  as seen in FIG.  1 . Palm lining  26  may contain a sizing slit  26   c  which allows cuff  50  to be spread open so that a wearer may more easily insert their hand. Cuff  50  secures glove  10  to the wearers hand using a strap  54  which is attached at one end to the outside  56  of cuff  50 . Strap  54  is wrapped in encircling relation around the outside  56  of cuff  50  so that cuff  50  firmly engages the wrist of the wearer and is held in place by cooperating hook and loop fasteners  54   a  and  54   b  located along the outside  50   b  of cuff  50  and the inside of strap  54  respectively. Cooperating hook and loop fasteners  54   a  and  54   b  are attached to the outside  50   b  of cuff  50  and the inside of strap  54  using conventional sewing methods. Strap  54  is formed by vinyl and is adapted in length so that it may wrap fully around cuff  50  when the hand of a wearer is properly inserted into glove  10  as seen in FIG.  3 . Alternatively, collar  50  may be secured by tying laces which are threaded through eyelets located along slit  26   c  of palm lining  26  and the opening of collar  50 . 
     In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.