Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a finger sleeve support apparatus configured to restrain relative movement between two fingers on the hand of a wearer such that protection is afforded to the restrained fingers in certain types of activities.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to a finger support mechanism, and more particularly, to a finger sleeve apparatus configured for restraining the relative movement between selective fingers of a wearer&#39;s hand such that protection is afforded to the restrained fingers without interfering with normal functions of the wear&#39;s hand. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In certain common activities, a person may incur injury to his hand or certain fingers of his hand because all the fingers are free to move independently of one another. For instance, when a weight trainer tries to rapidly grab a dumb bell or switch from a bar bell to free weights, one or more of his fingers may get hurt accidently due to a quick change in his hand motion or gesture. Placing a glove over the hand is one method of avoiding such injuries, but use of a glove may interfere with the person&#39;s manual ability. Alternatively, many grapplers use tape to attach their fingers together for support, but this method is only temporary and sometimes difficult to remove. 
         [0003]    Therefore, a need exists for a restrictive support for use on selective fingers of a hand that does not interfere with normal functions of the hand. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The presently disclosed embodiments are directed to solving issues relating to one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
         [0005]    One embodiment is directed to a finger sleeve support apparatus comprising: a cylindrical member comprising a protruding tab on a first end and a hem overlay on a second end, wherein a row of stitching is formed in the center of the cylindrical member to form a first finger sleeve having a first opening and a second finger sleeve having a second opening, wherein the first and second openings are configured to accommodate two fingers of a wearer&#39;s hand and restrain movement of the fingers. 
         [0006]    In another embodiment, a finger sleeve support apparatus comprises a first cylindrical member having a first opening; a second cylindrical member connected to the first cylindrical member via a line of stitching, the second cylindrical member having a second opening; a protruding member disposed at a first end of the first and second cylindrical members; and a hem overlay disposed at a second end of the first and second cylindrical members, wherein the first and second cylindrical members are configured to allow two fingers of a user&#39;s hand to go through the openings and restrain relative movement of the two fingers 
         [0007]    Further features and advantages of the present disclosure, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present disclosure, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The present disclosure, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader&#39;s understanding of the disclosure and should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the disclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is an isometric diagrammatical illustration of a finger sleeve apparatus in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a first end view of the finger sleeve apparatus of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatical top view of the finger sleeve apparatus of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is diagrammatical side view of the finger sleeve apparatus of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a second end view of the finger sleeve apparatus of  FIG. 1  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is an isometric diagrammatical illustration of the finger sleeve apparatus of  FIG. 1  as can be worn on a user&#39;s hand. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    The following description is presented to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. Descriptions of specific devices, techniques, and applications are provided only as examples. Various modifications to the examples described herein will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are not intended to be limited to the examples described herein and shown, but is to be accorded the scope consistent with the claims. 
         [0016]    Reference will now be made in detail to aspects of the subject technology, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0017]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a finger sleeve apparatus  10  for supporting selective fingers of a hand, which comprises a first finger sleeve  12  and a second finger sleeve  14  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The first finger sleeve  12  and the second finger sleeve  14  are sized and shaped so as to comfortably accommodate two fingers of a wearer&#39;s hand, as shown in  FIG. 6  below. 
         [0018]    The finger sleeve support apparatus  10  may be constructed from a generally cylindrical fabric component  16  having a hem overlay  22  at a first end of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10 . In an exemplary embodiment, the fabric of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  may comprise a moderate thickness of a spandex fabric, neoprene fabric, or other similar material. The hem overlay  22  may comprise a wear-resistant fabric. 
         [0019]    The finger sleeve support apparatus  10  includes a first protruding tab  24  and an optional second protruding tab  26 , both tabs  24 ,  26  disposed at a second end of the finger sleeve support  10 . The two finger sleeves  12 ,  14  are formed in the cylindrical fabric component  16  by the addition of a substantially straight row of stitching  18  that extends from the hem overlay  22  and terminates proximate the tab  24 . As can be seen in the illustration, the row of stitching  18  does not extend into the tabs  24 ,  26 . 
         [0020]    The row of stitching  18  holds together two diametrically opposed sides of the generally cylindrical fabric component  16  so as to form a cross section in the shape of a “figure eight,” as best shown in  FIG. 2 . A first opening  32  in the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  is used for the insertion of a first finger from the second end of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10 , and a second opening  34  in the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  is used for the insertion of a second finger. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the hem overlay  22  functions to keep the first end of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  from fraying. 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a top view of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10 . As seen in the illustration, the row of stitching  18  denotes the region in which the first finger sleeve  12  is attached to the second finger sleeve  14 . As described above, the hem overlay  22  is disposed at the first end of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10 , and the tab  24  is disposed at the second end of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  showing that the tab  24  and the tab  26  may be formed by folding over the material of the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  to provide sufficient thickness to the tabs  24 ,  26  so as to enable grasping by the user. In an exemplary embodiment, terminal ends  36  and  38  of the respective tabs  24  and  26  may be secured in place by a portion of the row of stitching  18 , as best seen in  FIG. 5 . The finger sleeve support apparatus  10  may include a lining (not shown) disposed inside the first finger sleeve  12  and the second finger sleeve  14  so as to enable the finger sleeve support apparatus  10  to be more easily slipped onto and off the fingers of the wearer. 
         [0023]    The finger sleeve support apparatus  10  may be worn on the middle and ring fingers of a user, for example, with the tab  24  disposed near the knuckles and the overlay  22  near the finger tips, as shown in  FIG. 6 . In this case, the user&#39;s middle and ring fingers cannot move independently of each other, which further restricts the movement of other fingers, thereby protecting the user from an accidental injury of his fingers. 
         [0024]    While various embodiments of the invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the disclosure, which is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that can be included in the disclosure. The disclosure is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, although the disclosure is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described. They instead can be applied alone or in some combination, to one or more of the other embodiments of the disclosure, whether or not such embodiments are described, and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.