Patent Publication Number: US-7591023-B2

Title: Hockey glove

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to hockey gloves. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditional hockey gloves have finger gussets and finger pads that are directly mounted on the finger gussets such that, for each finger gusset and finger pad, the base layer of the finger pad&#39;s pocket is also the upper layer of the finger gusset. Because there is no space between the finger pad and the finger gusset, the movement of the finger may be imparted by the finger pad. There is therefore a need for a hockey glove offering greater flexibility to the fingers of the player. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     As embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides a hockey glove for receiving a hand of a player, the hand having a palm, a dorsal side, four fingers, each finger having palm and dorsal surfaces, lateral and medial surfaces, a proximate articulation, proximate, middle and distal phalanges with middle and distal articulations therebetween, and one thumb with palm and dorsal surfaces. The hockey glove comprises a hand receiving portion comprising: (a) a palm sheet for facing the palm of the hand and the palm surface of the fingers and thumb, the palm sheet having a palm periphery; (b) a dorsal sheet for covering the dorsal surface of the fingers, the dorsal sheet having a dorsal periphery; (c) a side finger web for facing the lateral and medial surfaces of each finger, the side finger web having an upper web periphery and a lower web periphery, the upper web periphery being connected to the dorsal periphery and the lower web periphery being connected to the palm periphery for defining first, second, third and fourth finger gussets for respectively enclosing the four fingers; and (d) a finger pad for covering at least partially the dorsal surface of one finger, the finger pad having a padding element enclosed in a pocket, the pocket comprising lateral and medial flaps extending downwardly along a portion of a length of the finger pad for connecting the pocket to one of the first, second, third and fourth finger gussets such that there is a void area between the pocket and the finger gusset. 
     The invention further provides a hockey glove for receiving a hand of a player, the hand having a palm, a dorsal side, four fingers, each finger having palm and dorsal surfaces, lateral and medial surfaces, a proximate articulation, proximate, middle and distal phalanges with middle and distal articulations therebetween, and one thumb with palm and dorsal surfaces. The hockey glove comprises a hand receiving portion comprising: (a) a palm sheet for facing the palm of the hand and the palm surface of the fingers and thumb, the palm sheet having a palm periphery; (b) a dorsal sheet for covering the dorsal surface of the fingers, the dorsal sheet having a dorsal periphery; (c) a side finger web for facing the lateral and medial surfaces of each finger, the side finger web having an upper web periphery and a lower web periphery, the upper web periphery being connected to the dorsal periphery and the lower web periphery being connected to the palm periphery for defining first, second, third and fourth finger gussets for respectively enclosing the four fingers, each finger gusset comprising portions of the finger web defining lateral and medial sides for facing the respective lateral and medial surfaces of the finger, a portion of the dorsal sheet defining an upper side for facing the dorsal surface of the finger and a portion of the palm sheet defining a bottom side for facing the palm surface of the finger; and (d) a finger pad for covering at least partially the dorsal surface of one finger, said finger pad having a padding element enclosed in a pocket, said pocket comprising a base layer facing a lower side of said padding element and an overlapping layer facing lateral, medial and upper sides of said padding element, said base layer having lateral and medial flaps extending downwardly along a portion of a length of said finger pad and said overlapping layer having lateral and medial flaps extending downwardly along a portion of the length of said finger pad, wherein said lateral flaps of said respective base and overlapping layers have their respective ends inserted between a portion of said lateral side of said finger gusset and a portion of said upper side of said finger gusset, wherein said medial flaps of said respective base and overlapping layers have their respective ends inserted between a portion of said medial side of said finger gusset and a portion of said upper side of said finger gusset, and wherein said ends of said lateral flaps of said respective base and overlapping layers are connected to said respective portions of said lateral and upper sides of said finger gusset and said ends of said medial flaps of said respective base and overlapping layers are connected to said respective portions of said medial and upper sides of said finger gusset such that there is a void area between said base layer of said pocket and said upper side of said finger gusset. 
     The invention also provides a hockey glove for receiving a hand of a player, the hand having a palm, a dorsal side, four fingers, each finger having palm and dorsal surfaces, lateral and medial surfaces, a proximate articulation, proximate, middle and distal phalanges with middle and distal articulations therebetween, and one thumb with palm and dorsal surfaces, said hockey glove comprising (a) a plurality of finger gussets, each finger gusset being adapted to receive a respective one of the fingers, each finger gusset having an upper side; and (b) a plurality of finger pads, each finger pad being mounted on a respective one of said finger gussets so as to extend over at least part of said upper side of said respective one of said finger gussets, each finger pad comprising a padding element enclosed in a pocket, said pocket having a first longitudinal end, a second longitudinal end, and a base layer that is spaced from said upper side of said respective one of said finger gussets such that there is a void area between said base layer of said pocket and said upper side of said finger gusset, said void area extending from said first longitudinal end to said second longitudinal end. 
     Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to the persons skilled in the art upon review of the following description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is provided herein below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1A  is a top view of a human hand with the integument of the hand shown in broken lines and the bones shown in full lines; 
         FIG. 1B  is a bottom perspective view of a human hand; 
         FIG. 1C  is a top perspective view of the human hand of  FIG. 1B ; 
         FIG. 2  is a front side perspective view of a prior art hockey glove, in which the side pad protecting the side of the index finger has been removed for better illustrating the connection between the finger pads and the finger gusset of the sheath enclosing the index finger; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the prior art glove of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4A  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines  4 A- 4 A of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 4B  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines  4 B- 4 B of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front side perspective view of a hockey glove constructed in accordance with the invention, in which the side pad protecting the side of the index finger has been removed for better illustrating the connection between the pocket of the finger pads and the finger gusset of the sheath enclosing the index finger; 
         FIG. 6  is side view of the hockey glove of  FIG. 5  showing the fingers in a straight position; 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the hockey glove of  FIG. 5  showing the fingers in a flexed position; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear side perspective view of the hockey glove of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines  9 - 9  of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines  10 - 10  of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 11  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along lines  11 - 11  of  FIG. 8 ; and 
         FIG. 12  is an enlarged schematic exploded view showing components of a finger sheath. 
     
    
    
     In the drawings, the embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of examples. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     To facilitate the description, any reference numerals designating an element in one figure will designate the same element if used in any other figures. In describing the embodiments, specific terminology is resorted to for the sake of clarity but the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is understood that each specific term comprises all equivalents. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 C, a human hand comprises a palm P, a dorsal side DS, four fingers F and a thumb T. Each finger F has a palm surface PS, a dorsal surface DS, a lateral surface LS, a medial surface MS, a proximate articulation PA, a proximate phalanx PP, a middle articulation MA, a middle phalanx MP, a distal articulation DA and a distal phalanx DP. The thumb T has a palm surface PS and a dorsal surface DS. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  illustrate a prior art hockey glove  10  for receiving the hand of a player. As it is known in the art, a hockey glove has a side pad (or side pads) located adjacent the index finger and extending generally from the base of the index finger to approximately the beginning of the distal phalanx of the index finger for protecting the side portion of the index finger. In order to better illustrate the connection between the finger pads and the finger gusset, the side pad has been removed in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     The hockey glove  10  has a hand receiving portion covering the palm P and dorsal side DS of the hand and extending generally to the end of the fingers F and a thumb sheath covering the thumb T. The hand receiving portion comprises a palm sheet  12  for facing the palm P and the palm surfaces PS of the respective fingers F and the palm surface PS of the thumb T and a dorsal sheet for covering the dorsal surface DS of the respective fingers F. The hand receiving portion also comprises a side finger web  14  for facing the lateral surface LS and medial surface MS of each finger F, this side finger web  14  being connected to the palm and dorsal sheets for defining finger gussets  16  for enclosing the fingers F. As it is well known in the art, pads  26 , for protecting the dorsal surface DS of each finger F, cover the finger gussets  16 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the finger gusset  16  is made of portions of the side finger web  14  (see medial and lateral sides  18 ,  20 ), a portion of the palm sheet  12  (see bottom side  22 ) and a portion of the dorsal sheet (see upper side  24 ). The pad  26  is made of a padding element  28  enclosed in a pocket  29  formed of the upper side  24  and a layer  30  surrounding the lateral, medial and upper sides of the padding element  28 . The respective ends of the medial side  18 , layer  30  and upper side  24  are stitched together and the respective ends of the lateral side  20 , layer  30  and upper side  24  are also stitched together (see stitches  32 ). It is understood that the stitches  32  are located along the length of the pad and that there are also stitches at both ends of the pad for closing the pad pocket  29 . The pad pocket  29  is directly mounted on the finger gusset  16  and the side  24  serves as a base layer for the pad pocket  29  and as an upper layer for the finger gusset  16 . In other words, the pad pocket  29  and the finger gusset  16  share a common layer, namely, the side  24 . 
     Hence, in the prior art glove  10 , there is no space between the pad  26  and the finger gusset  16  and the movement of the finger F may be imparted by the pad  26  due to the common layer (side  24 ) that serves both as a base layer for the pad pocket  29  and as an upper layer for the finger gusset  16 . 
       FIGS. 5 to 12  illustrate a hockey glove  100  constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As it is known in the art, a hockey glove has a side pad (or side pads) located adjacent the index finger and extending generally from the base of the index finger to approximately the beginning of the distal phalanx of the index finger for protecting the side portion of the index finger. In order to better illustrate the connection between the finger pads and the finger gusset, the side pad has been removed in  FIGS. 5 to 8 . 
     The hockey glove  100  has a hand receiving portion  102  covering the palm P and dorsal side DS of the hand and extending generally to the end of the fingers F and a thumb sheath covering the thumb T. The glove  100  further comprises a cuff portion  103 , which extends from the wrist up towards the lower forearm of the player, the cuff portion  103  being secured to the hand receiving portion  102  of the glove  100 . 
     The hand receiving portion  102  comprises four finger sheaths  104  adapted to enclose the index finger, middle finger, third finger and little finger of the player. The hand receiving portion  102  also comprises a palm sheet  106  for facing the palm P and the palm surfaces PS of the respective fingers F and the palm surface PS of the thumb T. The palm sheet  106  is made of a suitable flexible material such as soft leather, leather-like materials, synthetic suede, or Nash fabric. An example of a suitable material is commercialized under the name CLARINO (trade-mark of Kuraray Co. Ltd.). The palm sheet  106  may also be treated with silicone to improve stick control and may further be reinforced with a protective layer. The hand receiving portion  102  also comprises a dorsal sheet  108  for covering the dorsal surface DS of the respective fingers F. The hand receiving portion  102  further comprises a side finger web  110  for facing the lateral surface LS and medial surface MS of each finger F. The side finger web  110  is connected to the palm sheet  106  and dorsal sheet  108  for defining finger gussets  112  for enclosing the fingers F. 
     The hand receiving portion  102  also comprises dorsal pads  114  for protecting the dorsal side DS of the hand H of the player and finger pads  116  for protecting the dorsal surface DS of each finger F. While the glove  100  is shown as having, on each finger, first and second protective pads  116  and one flexion zone between these two pads  116 , it will become apparent to a person skilled in the art that a variety of other patterns of protective pads/flexion zones may be used. For example, on each finger, the glove may comprise three finger pads with two flexion zones. A spacer  115  made of flexible material fills the gap between the first and second finger pads  116  of a given finger sheath  104  for covering the player&#39;s knuckles when the finger sheath  104  is fully bent inwardly (see  FIG. 7 ). As best shown in  FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  11 , the first finger pad  116  covers at least partially the dorsal side DS of the proximate phalanx PP of the finger F and the second finger pad  116  covers at least partially the dorsal side DS of the medial phalanx MP and distant phalanx DP of the finger F.  FIGS. 9 to 12  show the detailed construction of the finger pads  116  and the finger gusset  112  that encloses the index finger F. 
     The finger pad  116  has a padding element  118  enclosed in a pocket  120  made of a base layer  122  and an overlapping layer  124  surrounding the sides and top of the padding element  118 . Examples of materials for the padding element  118  comprise polyethylene and may include various composite materials designed to absorb the energy of an impact. The padding element  118  may comprise a layer of low density padding and a layer of high density padding which overlies the low density padding. The high density padding is generally of greater density, stiffer, and less compressible that the corresponding layer of low density padding. The relative thicknesses of the layers of low and high density paddings may vary. The layers  122 ,  124  of the pad pocket  120  can be made of leather, knit polyester and PVC or other materials. 
     The finger gusset  112  is made of portions of the side finger web  110  (see medial side  110 A that faces the medial surface MS of the index finger F and lateral side  110 B that faces the lateral surface LS of the index finger F), a portion of the palm sheet  106  (see bottom side  106 A that faces the palm surface PS of the index finger F) and a portion of the dorsal sheet  108  (see upper side  108 A that faces the dorsal surface DS of the index finger F). The lower end of the medial side  110 A is connected to the medial end of the bottom side  106 A along the length of the finger gusset  112  (see stitches  128 ), and the lower end of the lateral side  110 B is connected to the lateral end of the bottom side  106 A along the length of the finger gusset  112  (see stitches  128 ). 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 10 and 12 , the palm sheet  106  has a palm periphery  106 P and the dorsal sheet  108  has a dorsal periphery  108 P. The side finger web  110  has an upper web periphery  110 UP and a lower web periphery  110 LP. The base layer  122  further comprises a medial flap  122 A and a lateral flap  122 B extending downwardly along a portion of the length of the finger pad  116  and the overlapping layer  124  further comprises a medial flap  124 A and a lateral flap  124 B extending downwardly along a portion of the length of the finger pad  116 . The medial flap  122 A of the base layer  122  and the medial flap  124 A of the overlapping layer  124  have their respective ends inserted between a portion of the medial side  110 A and a portion of the upper side  108 A (or, in other words, between a portion of the upper web periphery  110 UP and a portion of the dorsal periphery  108 P) and the lateral flap  122 B of the base layer  122  and the lateral flap  124 B of the overlapping layer  124  have their respective ends inserted between a portion of the lateral side  110 B and a portion of the upper side  108 A (or, in other words, between a portion of the upper web periphery  110 UP and a portion of the dorsal periphery  108 P). 
     The respective ends of the base layer  122  and the respective ends of the overlapping layer  124  are stitched together to form the pad pocket  120  (see stitches  125  in  FIG. 9 ). The overlapping layer  124  is first stitched to the base layer  122  for forming the pad pocket  120 , the pad pocket  120  is then turned in order to have the stitches  125  inside the pad pocket  120 . The padding element  118  is inserted in the pad pocket  120 , which is afterwards closed and stitched at one end, or both ends, for enclosing entirely the padding element  118 . 
     The upper end of the medial side  110 A is connected to the medial end of the upper side  108 A along the length of the finger gusset  112  and the upper end of the lateral side  110 B is connected to the lateral end of the upper side  108 A along the length of the finger gusset  112  (see stitches  126  in  FIG. 9 ). It is therefore understood that the upper web periphery  110 UP of the side finger web  110  is connected to the dorsal periphery  108 P of the dorsal sheet  108  via stitches  126  for forming the upper portion of the four finger gussets  112 . 
     The ends of the medial flaps  122 A,  124 A are stitched to the respective portions of the medial side  110 A and upper side  108 A and the ends of the lateral flaps  122 B,  124 B are stitched to the respective portions of the lateral side  110 B and upper side  108 A (see stitches  130  in  FIG. 10 ). It is understood that stitches  126  and stitches  130  can be the same stitches if the flaps  122 A,  124 A,  122 B,  124 B, medial, lateral and upper sides  110 A,  110 B,  108 A of the finger gusset  112  are all simultaneously stitched together. 
     The flaps  122 A,  124 A,  122 B,  124 B therefore connects the finger pad  116  to the finger gusset  112  such that there is a void area  132  between the finger pad  116  (the base layer  122  of the pad pocket  120  more precisely) and the finger gusset  112  (the upper side  108 A of the finger gusset  112  more precisely). Hence, the base layer  122  of the pad pocket  120  is spaced from the upper side  108 A of the finger gusset  112  such that there is the void area  132  between said the base layer  122  and the upper side  108 A. As best seen in  FIG. 11 , the void area  132  extends from a first longitudinal end  120 A of the pad pocket  120  to a second longitudinal end  120 B of the pad pocket  120 . In order words, the void area  132  extends along the entire length of the finger pad  116 . 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  11 , the lateral flaps  122 B,  124 B and the medial flaps  122 A,  124 A of the first pad  116  are located proximate a region between the proximate articulation PA and middle articulation MA of the finger F and the lateral flaps  122 B,  124 B and the medial flaps  122 A,  124 A of the second pad  116  are located proximate the distal articulation DA of the finger F. 
     The lower web periphery  110 LP of the side finger web  110  is finally connected to the palm periphery  106 P of the palm sheet  106  via stitches  128  for forming the bottom portion of the four finger gussets  112  and thereby completing the construction of these finger gussets  112 . 
     The above description of embodiments should not be interpreted in a limiting manner since other variations, modifications and refinements are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.