Abstract:
A gunn cut glove construction in which a pre-curvature at selected locations, preferably around the joints, in the fingers is achieved by sewing wedges of material into cut portions of the gunn section so that the shortened fingers and larger back sections easily meet at and can be joined without the need to gather or moccasin material resulting in the shape of the finger being such that it curves forward towards the palm section. Increased volume at the fingertips of a gunn cut construction glove is achieved by darting the palm side pieces of fingers proximate the fingertips. In addition, to reduce the inflexibility of gloves when curled into a fist, an elliptical piece is removed from the palm portion of the glove and the sides of the elliptical piece are sewn together along a seam.

Description:
This applications claims the priority of provisional application No. 60/353,426 filed Feb. 1, 2002. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is generally directed to pre-curved gloves designed to fit the normal curvature of the hand at rest or the curved formation of the hand in certain sporting activities, and in particular, to pre-curved glove patterns utilizing a gunn cut construction with enhanced fit in the palm region and fingers. 
   The public has come to see an increasing need for pre-shaped glove patterns which enhance the feel of the glove. Generally, the hand at rest is not in a position in which the fingers are straight, extending outwardly from the palm. Rather, the most comfortable at rest position is one in which the fingers are gently curved inwardly toward the palm. Accordingly, there is a need for gloves which are to be worn in a variety of activities, and, in particular, for skiing, snowboarding and other outdoor activities where warmth is required, to keep the fingers of the hand in a natural position. There is a similar need in sailing, golf, racquetball, squash, driving and industrial gloves. In the event that a glove is designed with straight fingers, there will be a stress between the fingers and the glove as the fingers try to maintain their comfortable, at rest curved position against the straight fingers of the glove. 
   Traditionally, the method used for pre-shaping of gloves is to make the back of the glove longer than the palm and introduce pre-shaped fourchettes and side walls to balance the sewing of the glove. In a traditional glove the glove includes a palm portion which includes the palm side of the fingers; a back portion which generally also includes the back portion of the fingers; fourchettes which provide the panels between the palm and back portions in the finger region; and side walls, on the outside of the hand and index finger. 
   In my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,216, the pre-shaping of the gloves to introduce the curvature is accomplished by cutting a straight fourchette, rather than the more traditionally curved fourchettes, and darting sections thereof to control the pre-shaping at more specific points. The darting reduces the length of the fourchette along the palm side of the glove, thereby allowing it to fit to the shortened palm fingers. However, when it comes to gunn cut patterns, there is no fourchette. So the pre-shaping is very hard to control in making the finger (gunn sections) shorter than the back. Also, there tends to be too much material on the palm portion of a gunn cut glove, which makes curling the fingers inward to make a fist difficult due to the excess material there. Accordingly, there is a need to remove material. In addition, even if material is removed, there tends to be a difficulty in making a fist and an improvement in this area which enhances the ability of a gunn cut construction glove includes a reduced area of the palm which is windowed with a guard or patch. In this way the bending in the area of the palm where the hand actually bends is enhanced. There is also a need to enhance the volume of the fingers in a gunn cut construction. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is generally directed to a gunn cut glove construction in which a pre-curvature at selected locations in the fingers is achieved by sewing wedges of material into cut portions of the gunn section so that the shortened fingers and larger back sections easily meet at and can be joined without the need to gather or moccasin material resulting in the shape of the finger being such that it curves forward towards the palm section. 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved pre-curved glove utilizing a gunn cut construction. 
   Another object of the invention is to provide an improved gunn cut glove construction which uses pre-curvature without the need for gathering or moccasining of the connection between the back portion of the fingers and the gunn section or sections. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved pre-curved gunn cut construction in which the pre-curvature is achieved by lengthening the edge of the gunn section which mates with the back of the fingers so that a straight connection without gathering is achieved but which includes the shortened palm section which creates a pre-curvature to the fingers. 
   Yet still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved pre-curved glove utilizing a gunn cut construction in which the pre-curvature provides a clean, non-gathered seam between the back section of the glove and the palm portion of the gunn sections and the palm sections of the fingers are longitudinally stabilized by a stiffening member. 
   Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved glove utilizing a gunn cut construction which has an elliptical section removed and the sides of the elliptical opening sewn together and an area of the palm portion around the sewn seam is windowed with a patch having an opening over the sewn seam. 
   Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved pre-curved gunn cut glove or mitten construction in which additional volume to the fingers is provided by darting the fingertip areas of the gunn cut sections. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide an improved pre-curved gunn cut construction in which the palm is cut with an elliptical shape taken out and then stitched together and a patch around the cutout is added with an opening over the stitched seam. 
   Yet still a further object of the invention is to improve the wearability of gunn cut construction by reducing wear on the finger tip seam and increase sensitivity at the fingertips by wrapping the palm portion of the fingers over to the back a distance and joining the back and front portions away from the fingertips. 
   Still other objects and advantages of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, be apparent from the specification. 
   The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, arrangement of parts, combinations of steps and procedures, all of which will be exemplified in the constructions and processes hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the back of a pre-curved gunn cut glove constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the palm side of the glove of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the inside of the palm of the glove of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a gunn section of the palm portion of the fingers for a glove constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the spreading and longitudinally stabilizing piece for use in connection with the pre-curved gunn cut gloves constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 6  is an alternate embodiment of the piece shown in  FIG. 5  in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the inside back of the glove of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a top plan view of the back of a pre-curved gunn cut glove constructed in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention; and 
       FIG. 9  is a top plan view of the palm portion of the pre-curved gunn cut glove of  FIG. 8 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   In a gunn cut construction the finger portions of the glove are sewn to the remaining portion of the glove at a point just below the joints of the four fingers. The front and back upper portions of the hand of a gunn cut glove (which cover the body of the hand), are conventionally formed as separate pieces joined together. The back sections of the fingers are formed as a single piece sewn to the upper portion of the glove, which covers the body of the hand. The palm side of the fingers are formed with one or more gunn cut sections  400  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The gunn cut section  400  of  FIG. 4  is used to form the palm and part of the sides of two separate fingers. As can be most clearly seen in  FIG. 4 , the exterior perimeter of the palm finger sections  410 ,  420  are cut and then spread with another material shown in  FIG. 4  as the darker material in the triangular regions. The cut portions  402 ,  403 ,  404  and  405  are simple slits which are spread and then sewn around the perimeter of the slits to the underlying material  201  (Shown in  FIG. 5 ). As shown in the upper portion of  FIG. 4 , the triangular materials which spread the slits correspond to wings  203 ,  204 ,  205  and  206  in backing material  201  shown in  FIG. 5 . A separate backing material section  201  would be used for each of the finger regions. Thus, the gunn cut section  400  shown in  FIG. 4  would have two separate backing sections, one for each finger. These outside perimeters are the portion of the gunn cut sections which are sewn to the finger backs to form the fingers. The rounded sections on either end are the tops of the palm portion of the fingers which attach to the corresponding portions of the backs of the fingers. The cut regions which are then spread by the addition of the material increases the perimeter of the gunn sections, thereby having the effect of increasing the perimeter of the palm side of the fingers without increasing the basic dimensions of the palm side of the finger so that the longer back sections cause the fingers to curl inwardly toward the palm as desired. The angled cuts are preferably made in the area of the two joints of each of the four fingers. The material used to stretch the cut portion of the section gunn section is preferably pliable but sufficiently sturdy to maintain the perimeter of the gunn section in its stretched position. It may be natural or synthetic materials whether woven or non-woven. In one preferred embodiment of the invention the stabilizing piece also includes a central longitudinal section which stabilizes the length of the palm portion of the glove, preventing it from stretching out and, thus, losing the benefit of the pre-curvature. Such a longitudinal section is not required as the material may merely be in the areas of the spread cuts. 
   Reference is made to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , in which two embodiments of this stretching piece are shown. In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , stretching piece  201  includes a central longitudinal section  202 , which traces the general shape of the palm portion of the finger with the wing portions  203 ,  204 ,  205  and  206  corresponding to the cutout triangular regions in gunn cut section  400 , which are sewn to the supporting piece  201  to maintain the triangular regions in an open position. In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , wing portions  203 ,  204 ,  205  and  206  are generally rectangular in shape. In practice, the end of these wing sections are often trimmed into a curved portion so they do not extend to any significant extent beyond the curved edge of the seam between the gunn cut section and finger backs. In the embodiment of  FIG. 6 , stretching piece  250  has a central longitudinal section  252  and generally triangular wing sections  253 ,  254 ,  255  and  256  to reduce excess material. 
   In a preferred embodiment of the invention the back of the fingers is longer than the front portion and the differential in the length of the back and front at their perimeters is made up for by the cut and spread triangular sections on the perimeter of the gunn cut sections. By this approach the sewer&#39;s job of joining the gunn cut section forming the palm portion of the fingers and the back portions of the fingers is simplified and the need to gather or moccasin this seam is avoided. Similarly, there is no need for the sewer to stretch or otherwise modify the perimeter of the pieces which are joined to form the finger. 
   In the traditional glove construction used for dress gloves and also in ski gloves, the fingers are made rather differently. The front and back portions of the fingers, which are generally connected to the palm and back of the glove respectively, are sewn to fourchettes or side panels which fit between the front and back of the finger portions from the crotch generally to the fingertip regions. To make a pre-curved glove with this construction merely requires that the fourchette be curved with the curvature adjusted so that the distance along the inside of the curved fourchette differs in length from the outside of the curved fourchette to the extent that the front and back panels of the glove differ in length. Generally, the more curvature that is intended to be used in the glove, the greater the curvature of the fourchette. However, this approach to pre-curvature is not suitable to the gunn cut construction, which is often substantially less expensive than the traditional fourchette approach. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  are perspective views of the back and palm sections of a pre-curved gunn cut construction glove constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention and  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the inside of the palm of the same glove  100  showing the manner in which the stretching piece  200  is sewn onto the palm portion of each of the fingers  102  and stitching  313  along the elliptical cut, described below in the palm portion, and the way in which the windowed covering guard  305  with window  316  is configured with stitching  317  and  318  to enhance the inward curling through the palm region. 
   Reference is next made to  FIGS. 8 and 9  which are plan views of the back ( FIG. 8 ) and palm sides ( FIG. 9 ) of glove  300 , like elements representing like reference numerals. Glove  300  includes hand portion  301  and finger portions  302 , hand back cover section  304  and palm guard section  305 , which wraps around to both sides of the back of the glove  300 . Guard section  305  has an opening  316  at the portion of the glove where zigzag stitching  313  is located. Zigzag stitching  313  joins sides  311  and  312  of an elliptical shaped opening cut in the palm portion of glove  300 . This elliptical opening is intended to remove additional material in the palm portion of the gunn cut glove palm upper section to enhance the flexibility of the palm portion as the hand and fingers are curled inward. The elliptical opening is held together by stitching  313 , which is preferably zigzag stitching, so that the elliptical portion becomes essentially a straight line of stitching along seam  313 . This has the effect of reducing the excess material on the palm side of the glove inherent to gunn cut construction. However, rather than merely covering this zigzag stitch seam  313  with a patch or covering, in accordance with the invention, an opening or window  316  in cover  305  is established. The window is essentially a section cut out of cover  305  in the desired location. The cover is stitched with stitches  317 ,  318  to the palm portion of the glove in an area around seam  313 . This windowed section  316  has the effect of enhancing the ability of the glove to bend at the portion within the window, which is placed at the appropriate spot where a wearer&#39;s hand actually bends. Otherwise, the stitching and the covering would have the effect of inhibiting the bending feature. Cover  305  is stitched around its upper and lower perimeters with seams  314  and  315 . 
   Reference is made to the finger region  302  of glove  300  in  FIG. 9 . As shown representatively on one of the fingers, the stitching  351  is used to secure the stretching piece  200  to the finger  350  along longitudinal portion  202  of stretching piece  201 . In addition, the wings  203 ,  204 ,  205  and  206  of stretching piece  201  are shown in the triangular cutout regions in  FIG. 9 . Stitching  380  near the top enhances the volume of fingertip portion  352  as described below. It is noted that seam  314  which holds the guard  305  in place also acts to secure the fingers  302  to the lower portion  301  of gunn cut glove  300 . 
   While the concept of expanding the perimeter of the gunn section by adding triangular shapes in the sides of the finger stalls are juxtaposed to the finger joints to allow flexion and break at the optimum points, at the ends of the fingers the gunn section is darted or cut and sewn (which is a process where a generally triangular region is cut out and the sides of the triangular region sewn to each other) to reduce the perimeter of the gunn section at that point, forcing the shape out and creating more volume there. This is shown at  380  in  FIG. 9  where a triangular section of the gunn cut section is darted near the fingertip such that a triangular section of the gunn cut section is gathered along seam  380  to reduce the perimeter at that point. The darting can be accomplished by either gathering the material and sewing it along the gathered seam or by physically cutting out a triangular portion of the gunn cut section and then sewing the adjacent surfaces together. 
   It is also particularly advantageous where the fingertips on the palm side extend as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , some distance beyond the finger ends (usually one to two centimeters, though greater or lesser distances are possible) so that the seam between the material forming the palm portion and the back portion of the fingers is not at the end of the fingertips. This has two advantages. It keeps wear away from the fingertip seam and it keeps the adjoining seam away from the fingertips, which is particularly important in applications that require fingertip sensitivity such as sailing gloves and other types of gloves. This wrap concept, where the finger on the palm side is wrapped around the fingertip and down the back side a distance (preferably 1–2 cm, although greater or lesser distances are possible), is shown particularly in  FIG. 8  where seams  381 ,  382  and  383  join the front and back portions of the fingers a distance below the fingertips on the back side of the fingers. Apart from the other features shown in connection with the gunn cut construction, this manner of finger construction on a gunn cut glove may be used regardless of whether the glove construction is pre-curved or not. This type of construction provides the dual benefits of avoiding wear at the fingertip seam, which can reduce the useful life of the glove, and keeping the joining seam away from the fingertip region, where fine touch and sensitivity is required. If the fingertip seam is right at the tip of the finger, this reduces the sensitivity of the wearer&#39;s fingers through the glove at the fingertips. 
   In a similar fashion, the thumb  390  may be pre-curved in the same fashion that the fingers  302  are pre-curved. The same approach may also be utilized in connection with a gunn cut construction mitten to achieve pre-curvature and also the wrap around feature. 
   Thus, several novel features are highlighted in connection with the gunn cut construction disclosed herein. A pre-curvature to the gloves is accommodated through the use of the cuts and stretcher pieces, which enhance the perimeter of the palm portion of the fingers without substantially lengthening the center of the palm portion of the fingers to provide a pre-curved shape to the glove fingers in a gunn cut construction. In addition, the reduction of the additional material on the palm side of the glove in the palm portion is achieved by cutting an elliptical shaped section out of the palm portion and stitching this together. This reduction in material enhances the ability of the glove to fit the palm better and to flex inwardly without excess material interfering with the movement. This enhanced movement is further improved by the use of a patch or guard member  305  having a windowed section removed surrounding the stitching joining the sides of the elliptical cutout region. This provides differentially improved bending of the glove in the palm region and, in particular, at the windowed cutout region of the guard. The guard region is centered preferably along the natural line along which the hand naturally folds. Also, in addition to the expansion of the perimeter of the gunn section by adding triangular shapes in the sides of the finger stalls which are juxtaposed to the finger points to allow flexion and break at the optimum points, the opposite concept of darting the gunn section at the fingertips to reduce the perimeter of the gunn section at that point, forcing the shape out and creating more volume at the finger tips is achieved. Finally, the palm finger stalls are extended beyond the ordinary termination of the finger length and wrapped to the back of the finger stalls and joined to the back portion of the finger stalls some distance from the finger ends to reduce wear on the fingertip seam and provide enhanced sensitivity at the fingertip regions in a gunn cut glove construction. The features shown herein may also be applied to pre-curvature of the thumb portion in a gunn cut glove construction and a mitten fingers section in accordance with a gunn cut construction. 
   Generally, the gloves manufactured in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention can be formed of traditional natural or synthetic leathers or other manmade or natural materials. Leathers are particularly suitable as the cut and spread sections can be created without affecting the way in which the remaining portion of the leather falls. The gunn cut construction can either be an arrangement in which the gunn cut section is used for the middle and ring finger with a single gunn cut section or can have two gunn cut sections: one for the index and middle finger, and the other for the ring and pinkie fingers. 
   The glove can be used for skiing or snowboarding, sailing, golf or other industrial or sporting uses. The gunn cut construction has a wraparound feature, so that the palm section of the fingers has no seam on the palm side but only on the edge of the finger. This is particularly useful for sailing and golf gloves. Similarly, the use of the stabilizing piece to support the additional material added in the cut and spread sections provides length stability for the palm side of the fingers, which is critical in a golf glove application. 
   Accordingly, an improved pre-curved gunn cut glove construction which provides effective pre-curvature of the fingers toward the palm section without the need to gather or moccasin the edges of the fingers is provided. 
   It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent in the preceding description, are efficiently obtained and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense. 
   It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention, herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.