Abstract:
A finger grip for providing protection to the fingertip or finger and also enhancing the grip of the user, the finger grip having a flexible resilient sheath having a first open end and a second closed tip end, the finger grip being formed of a predetermined length for encapsulating the fingertip or the finger, the finger grip being perforated or imperforate and capable of being coated with an adhesive or anti-bacterial, depending upon the intended use.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/464,393, filed Mar. 3, 2011. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to finger grips, and more particularly, the invention relates to finger grips providing easily applied protective sheaths encompassing the terminal phalanx or fingertips and/or fingers, the finger grips providing a firm grip for sports and for occupations that require fingertip or finger protection, yet require firm gripping capability. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    In many sports and/or occupations, players and workers wear gloves to insure a firm grip with their hands and also to protect their hands from injury. 
         [0006]    Sports players normally wear the gloves to improve their grip on an implement, such as a golf club or a bat. Football players, particularly receivers, also wear gloves in order to improve their grip on the ball. 
         [0007]    Workers in many occupations wear gloves to protect their fingertips and fingers from injuries, such as burning, cutting, or contusions. Still further, food preparers often wear gloves to protect their hands from cutting, contusions, and from burning due to hot plates, bowls and pots. 
         [0008]    In all of the aforesaid instances, the gloves to do not always fit the particular hand properly. There may be slack in the palm portion and frequent adjustments must be made to wrist straps in order to obtain the desired fit of the glove. 
         [0009]    Since most of the gripping is done with the termainal phalanx or fingertips or with the fingers, it would be more natural to have a gripping surface associated with the fingertips and fingers only, which would provide a snug fit and would not be affected by moisture. 
         [0010]    In addition, the finger grips of the present invention could also be fabricated with an antibacterial coating and be used in the health industry to prevent the spread of germs and other microbial agents. 
         [0011]    The prior art available in this field includes U.S. Pat. 3,967,631 to Kosal, which is for a fingernail cap for the protection of finished fingernails, the fingernail cap being of rigid, solid material. There is also U.S. Pat. 6,243,868 to Wanzenried for fingertip protectors which are slidably receivable over the fingertips and secured by adhesive or by a hook and loop fastener band. Finally, there are fingertip grippers disclosed by Percell in U.S. Publication No. US2004/0021330 for an adhesive film incorporating a rubber adhesive tip which is applied to the tips of the fingers. The gripper of Percell does not encapsulate the fingertip or the finger, but is applied to the area of the finger opposite the fingernail. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel finger grip which encapsulates the fingertip or the entire finger, the finger grip being formed of a continuous imperforate surface and moisture impervious. 
         [0013]    An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel finger grip which encapsulates the fingertip or the entire finger, the finger grip being formed of a perforate surface. 
         [0014]    A further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel finger grip for encapsulating the fingertip or the entire finger which improves the grip of the individual on an object. 
         [0015]    A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel finger grip which is treated with an antibacterial coating which prevents the spread of germs and other microbial agents. 
         [0016]    A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel finger grip which is easily put on the fingertips or fingers and which can be reused or disposed of after use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    A finger grip for providing protection to the fingertip or finger and also enhancing the grip of the user, the finger grip having a flexible resilient sheath having a first open end and a second closed tip end, the finger grip being formed of a predetermined length for encapsulating the fingertip or the finger, the finger grip being perforated or imperforate and capable of being coated with an adhesive or an anti-bacterial, depending upon the intended use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent, particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a perforated finger grip of the present invention designed for fingertip encapsulation; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a perforated finger grip of the present invention designed for encapsulation of the entire finger; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a perforated finger tip grip positioned on a fingertip; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a perforated finger grip positioned on the entire finger; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a hand having a perforated fingertip grip positioned on each finger; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a side view illustrating the manner of positioning either a fingertip grip or a finger grip; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a continuous imperforate finger grip of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a continuous imperforate fingertip grip of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0027]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a finger grip of the present invention designed for fingertip encapsulation, and  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a finger grip of the present invention designed for encapsulation of the entire finger. The finger grip  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 1  comprises a sheath  12  having an open end  14  and a closed end  16 . Sheath  12  is constructed from a resilient flexible material such as rubber, synthetic rubber, silicone, latex, polymer, thermoplastic or elastomer. The fabrication from resilient flexible material allows the finger grip to be rollably inserted over the fingertip and to maintain firm contact with the fingertip without the need for a securing means such as adhesive, or hook and loop straps. The size of the open end  14  and the internal cavity  18  defined by the sheath  16  would be sized to accommodate fingertips of varying sizes, however, due to the flexible resilient gripping nature of the sheath  12 , one size cavity will accommodate several sizes of fingertips. 
         [0028]    In one embodiment, the sheath  12  is formed with a plurality of perforations  20  which extend from its exterior surface  22  to its interior surface  24 . The perforations  20  allow the underlying skin to breath and serve to whisk away moisture. 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a finger grip  30  which is designed to encapsulate substantially the entire finger. It&#39;s structural elements and its construction are identical to that of the fingertip grip illustrated in  FIG. 1  with the exception that the sheath  32  is of a longer extension so as to encapsulate not only the fingertip, but also the knuckles and remaining segments of the entire finger. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the fingertip grip  10  of  FIG. 1  positioned on the fingers of a hand indicating the length to which the fingertip grip  10  extends. 
         [0031]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the finger grip  30  of  FIG. 2  positioned on the fingers of a hand illustrating the extension of finger grip  30  from the tip of the finger to the base of the finger as opposed to that of fingertip grip  10 . 
         [0032]    The finger grips, whether they be the fingertip grips, or the full finger grips, would be sold in sets of five, which would include a sizing chart. The finger grips within the sets would vary in size so as to accommodate the thumb through the pinky. In the preferred embodiment, the finger grips would be sold with their interior surface  24  rolled upon the outer surface  22  from the open end  14  to closed end  16 . This would allow the user to engage the finger grip with the tip of the finger and unroll the finger grip abutting the interior surface  24  to the skin of the finger and exposing the outer surface  22  illustrated by the arrows A and B in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The finger grips may also be sold in an unrolled configuration as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  7  and  8  and rolled as described before use. 
         [0033]    The finger grips are designed to protect the fingertips and the fingers, and to provide a better grip as set forth heretofore. However, the finger grips can be modified for specialized use. For instance, in the health field, the finger grips could be coated with an anti-bacterial agent  40  (see  FIG. 7 ). Still further, in certain specialized areas where additional gripping is required, the exterior surface of the finger grips could be coated with an adhesive  50  (see  FIG. 8 ). Still further, in certain specialized areas where an individual performs a task using only one or two fingers, it is not necessary that the entire package of finger grips be utilized, but rather, the individual could utilize only those finger grips for those fingers required for the task at hand, such as the thumbs and forefinger for turning pages which have been affected by static. 
         [0034]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a finger grip of the present invention illustrating a second embodiment. The finger grip  30 B is identical to the finger grip  30  illustrated in  FIG. 2  with the exception that the finger grip  30 B is imperforate and presents a continuous surface.  FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a fingertip grip  10 B which again is identical to the fingertip grip illustrated in  FIG. 1  in all respects with the exception that it is imperforate. The finger grip  30 B illustrated in  FIG. 7  also illustrates the coating of the finger grip with an anti-bacterial agent  40 . The fingertip grip  10 B illustrated in  FIG. 8  illustrates the use of the finger grips with an additional adhesive  50 . 
         [0035]    Therefore, while the present invention has been disclosed with respect to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore manifestly intended that the invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalence thereof.