Patent Publication Number: US-5022094-A

Title: Gripping glove

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates generally to gloves and more particularly to a glove having gripping elements thereon to securely grip an object in the user&#39;s hand. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In tennis games, as in racquetball and other types of games that are played with a racket, the participant is normally faced with the problem of retaining the racket in his hand without losing the racket or having it twist in the hand due to impact with a ball moving at relatively high velocity. In either event, the grip on the racket, and, consequently, the angle of swing, are constantly changing as a result of impact of the racket with the ball, thus resulting in inconsistent games. 
     Additionally, gripping problems are frequently a result of a person suffering from injury or a stroke. It is not uncommon for a person suffering from a stroke to lose the use of the gripping ability in his or her hands. In order to restore the use of the arms and hands, therapy, including lifting exercises, is often prescribed. However, to participate in such exercises, it is necessary that the afflicted person be capable of gripping and retaining the exercise device (weight, for example) during the exercise period. Such gripping, of course, is not possible by one who has lost use of his or her hands. 
     Similarly, persons who have lost use of one or both hands are confronted with gripping problems for such daily activities as eating wherein it is necessary that the individual be capable of gripping the eating utensils in order to feed themselves. Without the gripping capability to hold a utensil, other means must be resorted to. 
     Furthermore, persons (particularly elderly persons) who have lost some gripping power in their hands may find it difficult to perform small tasks or hobbies such as firmly holding garden tools, etc., in their hands while working in the garden. In such cases, the person must give up the pleasure of gardening or device a means of providing the gripping capability to perform the necessary tasks. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a glove for securely retaining an object in the user&#39;s hand. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide such a glove with gripping means for providing a variable predetermined pressure on the gripped object. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a glove with such gripping means for releasably securing the object in the user&#39;s hand. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a glove which will securely retain a racket in a user&#39;s hand while preventing angular displacement of the racket even after tremendous impact of the racket with a ball or the like, such as encountered in tennis and racquetball. 
    
    
     These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of the drawings taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a pictorial top view of the glove of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a pictorial bottom (palm side) view of the glove of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a pictorial view of the glove on a user&#39;s hand with a racket shown securely held in the gloved hand. 
     FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating still another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The preferred embodiment of a glove 10 for use by an individual for securely holding an object in his or her hand is shown in FIGS. 1-3. The glove includes a wrist-engaging portion 12 including a strap 14 for securely retaining the glove on the hand of a user. Strap 14 is provided with an inner surface 16 having an adhesive material thereon for adhering to an adhering surface 18 on portion 12 for securing the surface 16 of strap 14 thereto for retaining the glove snugly around the user&#39;s wrist. Strap 14 also includes a back surface 15 of adhering material (FIG. 2). Such adhering surfaces are known as VELCRO™ fasteners and include nylon material having a surface of tiny hooks and a complementary surface of a clinging pile. 
     The glove includes a back side 20 (for the back of the hand) and an inner side 22 (FIG. 2) for the palm or inside of the hand. As seen in FIG. 1, the back side 20 of the glove, which is typically made of SPANDEX™, is provided with a cord or string-like endless member 24 which is looped through a retainer or loop of material 25 which is secured to the upper portion of the back side 20 of the glove. Cord 24 includes strand portions 26, 28, 30, and 32 which extend through retaining members 34, 36, 38, and 40 which are secured to the finger portions 42, 44, 46, and 48 of the glove. A strap 50 is provided with a pair of eyelets 52 and 54 through which strand portions 26, 28 and 30, 32, respectively, extend to be looped through respective eyelets 52 and 54. A VELCRO™ surface 55 is provided on surface 57 strap 50 (FIG. 2). 
     As seen in FIG. 2, the palm side 22 of the glove is provided with a surface 56 (such as suede) having tiny perforations 58 therein. The perforations permit ventilation of the hands. Typical gloves being developed now are directed to increasing grip capacity by providing different types of leathers or even stick lubricants, but with suede &#34;the wetter it gets, the better it grips.&#34; The wrist portion 12 of the glove is provided with a &#34;sweat&#34; band 60 on its inner surface to absorb perspiration. 
     FIG. 3 is a pictorial view illustrating the glove on a user&#39;s hand and a racket held securely in the gloved hand. As seen in FIG. 3, strap 50 is wrapped around the user&#39;s hand with its inner adhering surface 55 secured to the VELCRO™ hook surface 15 of strap 14 at the wrist portion of the glove. In this secured position and with the racket strapped into the user&#39;s hand, the racket becomes an extension of the user&#39;s hand. Adjustability of the grip relative to fingers 42, 44, and 46, 48 is provided by sliding cord member 24 through loop 26 to either shorten or lengthen that looped end of the cord passing through eyelets 52 or 54. 
     Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein like numerals refer to like parts, and wherein a cord member 60 is secured to and extends between fingers 42 and 48 and a second cord member 62 is secured to and extends between fingers 44 and 46. Each of the cord members 60 and 62 are provided with looped ends 64 and 66, respectively, passing through a single eyelet 68 on a strap member 70. A VELCRO™ surface 72 is provided on the inner surface of strap 70 for secured relation with outer VELCRO™ surface 74 of strap 14 when strap 14 is fastened to VELCRO™ surface 75 on the upper portion of the glove. 
     Still another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5 wherein cord members 76, 78, 80, and 82 are sewn to the upper back portion 86 of the glove and extend to the finger portions 42, 44, 46, and 48, respectively, of the gloves. The sewn area terminates at portions 86, 88, 90, and 92 of the finger portions 42, 44, 46, and 48, respectively, and the unsewn portions of cords 76, 78, 80, and 82 extend loosely through loops 94, 96, 98, and 100 provided on the fingers. A strap 102 having a VELCRO™ surface 104 on its inner surface may be directly sewn to the distal ends of cords 76, 78, 80, and 84 as shown in FIG. 5, or the ends of cords 76 and 82 along with cords 78 and 80 may be sewn together and passed through an eyelet (in the manner shown in FIG. 4) which may be provided on the end of strap 102. Wrist portion 12 is provided with strap 14 having VELCRO™ surfaces 104 and 106 on opposite sides thereof for secured relation of the glove as shown in FIG. 3. 
     It is understood that other modifications of the gripping glove may be resorted to, such as providing other types of means for securing the glove on the user&#39;s hand (other than the VELCRO™ fasteners). Also, other arrangements of the cord or cords and strap may be relied upon. However, such modifications are within the spirit and scope of the following claims.