Patent Publication Number: US-2012023633-A1

Title: Protective hand guard

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/368,021, filed Jul. 27, 2010 and entitled Protective Hand Guard. 
    
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to articles of wearing apparel and, more particularly, to a hand guard which is selectively movable between a folded state where is assumes the general configuration of a wrist band, and an extended state where it is uniquely configured to at least partially cover the wearers hand and provide optional protection from the spread of germs. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Even a cursory review of media headlines demonstrates that there is a heightened global awareness amongst the general public regarding the risks associated with germ and disease transmission, both airborne and from surface contact. In various public venues, and most notably public restrooms, it is not uncommon to observe individuals attempt to avoid direct contact between their hands and a door handle or other surface. To avoid such contact, these individuals will often resort to using disposable hand towels or tissues as a makeshift hand guard, with such hand towel or tissue being manipulated so as to provide a barrier between the user&#39;s hand and the door handle or other surface. 
     There is known in the prior art various devices which are adapted to protect against the transmission of germs to an individual from various unsanitary surfaces such individual may encounter when out in public. Perhaps the most common of these devices are the sanitary hand wipes which are often encountered at grocery stores adjacent the shopping cart storage area, and are intended to allow a user to wipe and disinfect the shopping cart handle prior to grasping the same with his or her hands. Along these lines, there is also known in the prior art disposable sanitary covers which may be applied to a shopping cart handle to prevent germ transmission, such temporary covers being removed from the shopping cart handle and discarded when the individual has completed his or her use of the shopping cart. 
     However, the utility of these sanitary wipes and covers is somewhat narrowly confined to specific structures such as shopping cart handles, with such wipes and covers being generally unsuitable or impractical for use in broader based applications, such as for use as germ transmission safeguards on the handles of doors in public restrooms. In this regard, though sanitary wipes can be applied to any structure, they must be suitably stored and carried with the individual, which can often be cumbersome or impractical. Though currently known items of wearing apparel such as gloves could be selectively put on and taken off by a wearer as a means of guarding against germ transmission to the wearer&#39;s hands, the need to store such gloves in a purse or pocket during non-use, to retrieve and put on the gloves as an immediate precursor to grasping an object such as a door handle, and to thereafter remove and once again store the gloves after use also, in large measure, renders them largely impractical for use as germ transmission safeguards. 
     The protective hand guard constructed in accordance with the present invention addresses the need in the marketplace for a protective device which provides many of the safeguards of the aforementioned protective devices, but has more desirable aesthetic qualities and is adapted for a wider range of usage without placing any excessive burdens on the user/wearer. Thus, use of the protective hand guard constructed in accordance with the present invention need not be confined to any particular environment, and is perfectly suited for use in environments such as the work place, shopping malls, or other venues frequented by high concentrations of individuals. These, as well as other features and advantages of the present invention, will be described in more detail below. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a protective hand guard. The protective hand guard essentially comprises an elongate, tubular sleeve or sheath of a pliable fabric material which is elasticized in a manner allowing the sleeve to be resiliently stretched both radially and axially relative to an axis defined thereby. Disposed in a prescribed position within the sleeve is an aperture or opening which is sized and configured to accommodate the thumb on one hand of a wearer/user. 
     In use, the sleeve of the hand guard may be advanced over one of the wearer&#39;s hands and folded or collapsed in a manner causing the sleeve to assume the general shape and appearance of a wrist band extending about the wrist of the wearer. From this folded or collapsed state, the sleeve of the hand guard may be selectively unfolded or expanded to an extended state so as to cover the palm and at least portions of each of the fingers of the wearer&#39;s hand, the thumb of the wearer&#39;s hand being advanced through the aforementioned opening upon the extension of the sleeve of the hand guard over the palm of the wearer&#39;s hand. The size of the sleeve may be selectively varied as may be needed to accommodate different hand sizes, and based on how much of those fingers other than for the thumb on the hand of the wearer are to be covered thereby when in the extended state. Additionally, it is contemplated that the sleeve may be provided with gripper pads or similar gripper mechanisms which are disposed thereon so as to reside on or overlap the palm of the wearer&#39;s hand when the sleeve is in its extended state. 
     The present invention is best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These, as well as other features of the present invention, will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a protective hand guard constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side-elevational view of the protective hand guard of the present invention shown in a deployed or extended state covering the palm and portions of the fingers on one hand of the wearer; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom-elevational view of the protective hand guard of the present invention shown in a deployed or extended state covering the palm and portions of the fingers on one hand of the wearer; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a protective hand guard constructed in accordance with the present invention shown in a folded state on the wrist of a wearer; and 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom-elevational view of the protective hand guard of the present invention similar to  FIG. 3  but depicting a potential variant thereof. 
     
    
    
     Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and detailed description to indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the present invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same,  FIGS. 1-4  depict a protective hand guard  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention. The hand guard  10  comprises an elongate, tubular sleeve or sheath  12  which defines a first end  14  and an opposed second end  16 . The sleeve  12  is preferably fabricated from a pliable fabric material which is of sufficient elasticity as allows this sleeve  12  to be resiliently stretched both radially and axially relative to an axis A which is defined by the sleeve  12  and extends between the first and second ends  14 ,  16  thereof. It is also contemplated that the first and second ends  14 ,  16  may each be separately outfitted with a continuous elastic bend which is embedded within the sleeve  12 . 
     As is best seen in  FIGS. 1-3 , disposed within the sleeve  12  of the hand guard  10  is an aperture or opening  18 . The opening  18  preferably has a generally circular or oval configuration, though the present invention is not limited to any specific shape for the opening  18 . As further shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  and as will be described in more detail below, the opening  18  is sized and configured to accommodate the thumb on one hand of the wearer/user of the hand guard  10  when the same is articulated to a deployed or extended state. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2-4 , in an exemplary manner of using the hand guard  10 , the sleeve  12  is advanced over one of the wearer&#39;s hands and folded or collapsed in a manner causing the sleeve  12  to assume the general shape and appearance of a wrist band extending about the wrist of the wearer. The hand guard  10  is shown in such folded state in  FIG. 4 . From this folded or collapsed state, the sleeve  12  of the hand guard  10  may be selectively unfolded or expanded to an extended state so as to cover the palm and at least portions of each of the fingers of the wearer&#39;s hand, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . As is further apparent from  FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the sleeve  12  of the hand guard  10  is in its deployed or extended state, the thumb of the wearer&#39;s hand is advanced through the opening  18 . Further, the sleeve  12  is extended over and thus effectively covers the palm of the wearer&#39;s hand, including portions of those fingers of the wearer&#39;s hand other than for the thumb which protrudes from the opening  18  as indicated above. 
     As will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the resiliency of the sleeve  12  allows it to be expanded in a manner as needed to facilitate the advancement thereof over the wearer&#39;s hand to a location circumventing the wearer&#39;s wrist. Upon being advanced over the wearer&#39;s hand, the resiliency of the sleeve  12  allows it to assume a position wherein it is somewhat snuggly constricted about the wearer&#39;s wrist. When in this position, as indicated above, the sleeve  12  may be folded or collapsed by the wearer so as to cause the hand guard  12  to assume the general shape and appearance of a conventional wrist band. The resiliency of the sleeve  12  allows the same to be easily extended and stretched over the wearer&#39;s hand to cover the palm thereof, and further to remain snuggly engaged to the wearer&#39;s hand during use. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a hand guard  10   a  comprising a potential variant of the hand guard  10 . As seen in  FIG. 5 , the hand guard  10   a  is identical to the hand guard  10 , but further includes a plurality of gripper pads  20  which are disposed on the outer surface of the sleeve  12  and are preferably arranged in a prescribed pattern. Each of the gripper pads  20  is preferably fabricated from a material having a requisite level of tackiness, such as rubber. Though the gripper pads  20  are shown in  FIG. 5  as each having a circular or oval shape, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other shapes and sizes for the gripper pads  20  may be employed in the hand guard  10   a  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the hand guard  10   a , the gripper pads  20  are preferably arranged so as to span only a portion of the circumference of the sleeve  12 , with the gripper pads  20  further being arranged so as to be located or oriented in closer proximity to the first end  14  than to the second end  16  of the sleeve  12 . Moreover, when the sleeve  12  of the hand guard  10  is in its extended state, the preferred orientations of the gripper pads  20  upon the sleeve  12  causes such gripper pads  20  to be presented on the outer surface of the sleeve  12  overlying the palm of the wearer&#39;s hand. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that gripping mechanisms other than for the gripper pads  20  may be included in the hand guard  10   a  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, it will be recognized that the omission of the gripper pads  20  as in the hand guard  10  does not compromising the ability of the hand guard  10  to function to protect against the transmission of germs to the wearer from an unsanitary surface. 
     It is contemplated that the hand guard  10 ,  10   a  of the present invention may be modified such that sleeve  12  is not provided without the opening  18  therein. In this instance, the thumb of the wearer&#39;s hand would simply reside within the expanded interior of the sleeve  12  when the hand guard  10 ,  10   a  is being used for the purpose highlighted above. Still further, it is contemplated that the length of the sleeve  12  (i.e., the distance between the first and second ends  14 ,  16  thereof) may be selectively varied as may be needed to accommodate different hand sizes, and may further be varied depending on how much of the fingers other than for the thumb on the hand of the wearer are to be covered thereby when the sleeve  12  is in its extended state. 
     Due to its configuration, the hand guard  10  of the present invention is quickly and easily moved between its folded/collapsed and extended states, thus making it well suited for use in preventing germ transmission to the wearer&#39;s hand in a broad range of applications or environments without placing any excessive burdens on the wearer. Moreover, the desirable aesthetic qualities of the hand guard  10  further broaden its utility in protecting against germ transmission. 
     This disclosure provides exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited by these exemplary embodiments. Numerous variations, whether explicitly provided for by the specification or implied by the specification, such as variations in structure, dimension, type of material and manufacturing process may be implemented by one of skill in the art in view of this disclosure.