Abstract:
According to one embodiment, a golf glove includes: a main body that includes a palm side portion and a back side portion, the palm side portion being configured to fit to a palm of a hand of a golfer, the back side portion being configured to fit to a back side of the hand; a first slip preventive element placed at least on a first area that is interior of a grip receiving area on an outer surface of the main body, where a grip portion of a golf club is in contact with the main body when the golfer grips the golf club; wherein the first slip preventive element has a larger slip resistance to sweat of the hand and water coming into an inside of the golf glove than the main body.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-037583, filed Feb. 19, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a golf glove which fits closely to a bare hand of a golfer so as to allow the golfer to swing accurately under every condition which includes wet weather or hot weather in summer under which sweat is secreted from the hand of the golfer. 
         [0003]    When playing golf, a glove has been an inevitable item for a hand of a golfer to keep a firm grip on the club in general for an accurate swing. Different from those worn for fashion or protecting hands against coldness, the golf glove is formed of an extremely thin material so as to cover closely and entirely a palm side area and a back side area of the hand of the golfer, and in the case of a right-handed player, the glove is mainly put on his or her left hand, so that the grip portion of the club is grabbed by a palm side of the left hand of the golfer via the glove. 
         [0004]    As this occurs, various devices are made to eliminate slip between the grip portion of the golf club and the surface of a palm side of a golf glove main body. Namely, JP-A-8-188909, which will be shown below, discloses a golf glove in which a shearing treatment is applied to a palm side area (a surface side) of a glove by sewing the fabric to shrink it so as to prevent a slip of the glove on the grip portion. 
         [0005]    In addition, JP-A-2003-175143 discloses a golf glove in which a resin or rubber slip preventive element is provided on a golf glove main body which is made of an elastic fibrous material in a position which is brought into contact with a grip portion of a golf club so as to keep an enhanced firm grip on the club. 
         [0006]    As has been described above, the various devices have been adopted to ensure the firm grip on the club which includes the shearing treatment that is applied to the surface of the palm side area of the glove main body or the resin or rubber slip preventive element that is attached thereto. However, almost all of these devices are those made for preventing the slip on the surface of the glove main body but not devices made for attempting to prevent a slip between the bare hand of the golfer and an inner surface of the golf main body. 
         [0007]    Namely, water adheres to the palm of the hand of the golfer under wet weather or due to sweat being secreted from the hand of the golfer in summer and stays between an inner surface of the glove main body and the palm of the golfer&#39;s hand, producing a very slippery condition. Even though the slip preventive treatment is applied on the surface of the glove main body, since the slippery condition is produced in the interior of the glove main body, it becomes difficult to keep a firm grip on the club. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf glove including: a main body that includes a palm side portion and a back side portion, the palm side portion being configured to fit to a palm of a hand of a golfer, the back side portion being configured to fit to a back side of the hand; a first slip preventive element placed at least on a first area that is interior of a grip receiving area on an outer surface of the main body, where a grip portion of a golf club is in contact with the main body when the golfer grips the golf club; wherein the first slip preventive element has a larger slip resistance with the hand of the golfer than the main body. 
         [0009]    According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf glove including: a main body that includes a palm side portion and a back side portion, the palm side portion being configured to fit to a palm of a hand of a golfer, the back side portion being configured to a back side of the hand; a second slip preventive element placed on a second area that is interior of an intermediate portion area in the main body, the intermediate area being positioned at a substantially intermediate between a lowermost position of a little finger portion of the main body and a wrist portion of the main body, so as to extend from the palm side portion to the back side portion; wherein the second slip preventive element is made of a porous elastic resin film. 
         [0010]    According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf glove including: a main body that includes a palm side portion and a back side portion, the palm side portion being configured to fit to a palm of a hand of a golfer, the back side portion being configured to fit to a back side of the hand; a third slip preventive element including a traversing portion and a lower portion, the traversing portion placed on an interior of the palm side portion so as to traverse bases of finger portions except thumb portion in the main body, the lower portion placed on the interior of the palm side portion so as to extend along a life line on the palm of the golfer in a direction reverse to an extending direction of the life line; wherein the third slip preventive element is made of a resin foam film. 
         [0011]    According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf glove including: a main body that includes a palm side portion and a back side portion, the palm side portion being configured to fit to a palm of a hand of a golfer, the back side portion being configured to fit to a back side of the hand, the back side portion including an access opening formed at a lower position thereof; a locking belt that is sewn to the back side, the locking belt for closing the access opening; a forth slip preventive element placed on a forth area that is interior of the back side portion, the forth area extending from a lowermost position of an index finger portion of the back side portion toward the locking belt, the forth slip preventive element including minute projections and made of an artificial leather. 
         [0012]    According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a golf glove including: a main body that includes a palm side portion and a back side portion, the palm side portion being configured to fit to a palm of a hand of a golfer, the back side portion being configured to fit to a back side of the hand, the back side portion including an access opening formed at a lower position thereof; a first slip preventive element placed at least on a first area that is interior of the palm side portion except a finger portions, the first slip preventive element being made of first porous resin; a second slip preventive element placed at least on a second area that is interior of the palm side portion except the finger portion, the second slip preventive element being made of second porous resin; and a locking belt that is sewn to the back side, the locking belt for closing the access opening; wherein the first area and the second area do not overlap. 
         [0013]    In this way, the invention is characterized in that the preventive elements which exhibit the high resistance to slip relative to water secreted from the hand of the golfer and water which penetrates into the golf glove in wet weather are affixed to the specific locations on the inner surface of at least the portions on the palm side area or the back side area of the glove main body with which the grip portion of the golf club is brought into abutment, whereby the stable grip is obtainable under every condition, thereby making it possible to prevent effectively miss hitting. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    These and other object and advantages of this invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a deployment view showing a palm element of a glove parts before they are sewn together which covers mainly a palm side area of a hand of a golfer according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a deployment view of a back element of the glove parts before they are sewn together which is divided into three pieces to cover mainly a back side area of the hand of the golfer according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a deployment view showing a palm side element and a back element of a thumb portion according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a deployment view of various slip preventive elements which are attached to an inner surface of a glove main body according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a palm side of a golf glove of the invention which has been completed by sewing together the parts along predetermined sewing lines according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a back side of the golf glove of the invention according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a life line on a hand of a golfer to explain the life line. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a plurality of gusset elements of the golf glove of the invention according to an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a locking belt and a strap element of the golf glove of the invention according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0024]    Hereinafter, an embodiment of a golf glove according to the invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a deployment showing a palm element of a glove parts before they are sewn together which covers mainly a palm side area of a hand of a golfer,  FIG. 2  is a deployment of a back element of the glove parts before they are sewn together which is divided into three pieces to cover mainly a back side area of the hand of the golfer,  FIG. 3  is a deployment showing a palm side element and a back element of a thumb portion,  FIG. 4  is a deployment of various slip preventive elements which are attached to an inner surface of a glove main body,  FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a palm side of a golf glove of the invention which has been completed by sewing together the parts along predetermined sewing lines, and  FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a back side of the golf glove of the invention. 
         [0026]    In  FIG. 1 , reference numeral  1  denotes a palm element, which is adapted to mainly cover a palm side area of a hand of a golfer, of glove parts before they are sewn together to make up a glove main body  20 , and materials similar to those used for conventional glove elements which include a natural leather, an artificial leather and the like are usable as a material which makes up the palm element  1 . In the embodiment shown in the figures, although the palm element  1  will be described as including a back side element  6  of a little finger portion which is formed integrally therewith in addition to a palm side element  2  of an index finger portion, a palm side element  3  of a middle finger portion, a palm side element  4  of a ring finger portion and a palm side element  5  of the little finger portion, the back side element  6  of the little finger portion may, of course, be provided on a back element, which will be described later. 
         [0027]    In  FIG. 2 , reference numeral  7  denotes the whole of the back element of the glove parts before they are sewn together which is divided into three elements to mainly cover a back side area of the hand of the golfer, and in the divided elements, reference numeral  8  denotes a back side finger element in which a back side element  9  of the index finger portion, a back side element  10  of the middle finger portion and a back side element  11  of the ring finger portion are provided continuously. Reference numerals  12  and  13  denote a back intermediate element and a back lower end element, respectively. In addition, reference numerals  21  and  22  denote a palm side element of the thumb portion and a back side element of the ring finger portion, respectively. In addition, the back element  7  and the palm side element  21  and the back side element of the thumb portion may be manufactured using the similar materials to those of the conventional gloves which include a natural leather, a synthetic leather, an artificial leather and the like as with the palm piece described above. 
         [0028]    As shown  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9  a plurality of gusset elements  32  placed between the palm and back side elements of the finger portions that allows sterical structure fitting to the finger of the golfer, a belt or strap element on which a locking member  19   a  such as a hook-and-loop fastener for closing an access opening  31  and the like are inevitable in addition to the parts described above in order to complete the glove main body  20 . 
         [0029]    Reference numeral  14  denotes a slip preventive element which is made by uniformly laying a porous modified ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)-base elastic resin film on polyester fibers as a base material, and this slip preventive element is adapted to closely adhere to the skin of the palm of the hand of the golfer even with a slight grip load (a grabbing pressure) and properly closely adheres to the palm even though the palm is wet with secreted sweat or water, exhibiting a highest resistance to slip. The slip preventive element  14  is affixed to an inner surface of a substantially intermediate position between the base of the palm side element  5  of the little finger portion and a wrist portion on the palm element  1 , that is, a position surrounded by a dotted line A in  FIG. 1  in such a manner as to extend from the palm side area to the back side area by means of sewing or the like. 
         [0030]    The substantially intermediate position between the base of the palm side element  5  of the little finger portion and the wrist portion on the palm element  1  is a location where the grip portion of the golf club is brought into strongest abutment with the palm of the hand, and a firm grip may be ensured by providing the slip preventive element which is made of the porous ABS-base elastic resin film which exhibits the highest resistance to slip in the location concerned of the glove main body  20 . 
         [0031]    Reference numeral  15  denotes a slip preventive element which is made of a foamed polyurethane resin film which exhibits a good resistance to slip, and the slip preventive element  15  includes a traverse element  16  which is formed so as to traverse an inner surface side of the back element  1  in the vicinity of the bases of the finger portions excluding the thumb portion and a lower element  17  which is provided so as to be curved to extend in an opposite direction to a life line  30  on the palm of the hand of the golfer. The slip preventive element  15  so configured is attached to a position surrounded by a dotted line B in  FIG. 1  along a circumferential edge portion thereof by means of sewing or the like. 
         [0032]    The life line  30  extends from the edge of the palm above the thumb and travels in an arc towards the wrist. 
         [0033]    Since the slip preventive element  15  is, as has been described above, made to include the traverse element  16  which is formed so as to traverse the inner surface side of the back element  1  in the vicinity of the bases of the finger portions excluding the thumb portion and the lower element  17  which is provided so as to be curved to extend in the opposite direction to the life line  30  on the palm of the hand of the golfer, even though secreted sweat or the like is interposed between the palm of the hand of the golfer and the inner surface of the glove main body  20 , the inner surface of the glove main body  20  closely adheres to the hand of the golfer, thereby making it possible to effectively prevent the displacement of the club when the club is swung. 
         [0034]    Reference numeral  18  denotes a slip preventive element made of an artificial leather on which minute irregular slip preventive projections are formed, and the slip preventive element  18  is attached an inner surface of the back intermediate element  12  on the back element  7 , that is, a side with which the palm of the hand of the golfer is brought into abutment by means of sewing or the like. In addition, the back intermediate element  12  of the back element  7  corresponds to the diagonally extending portion which extends from the vicinity of the base of the index finger portion towards the locking belt or strap element  19  which is sewn to the glove main body  20  to close the access opening  31 . 
         [0035]    The concentration of slip on to the back side of the glove main body  20  in association with the affixing the preventive slip  14  and the preventive slip  15  to the palm element  1  is preventable effectively by providing the slip preventive element  18  on the inner surface of the back intermediate element  12  of the back element  7 . Thus, the golf glove is provided which closely fits to the bare hand of the golfer under every condition. 
         [0036]    In this way, the golf glove of the invention is characterized in that the preventive elements which exhibit the high resistance to slip relative to water secreted from the hand of the golfer and water which penetrates into the golf glove in wet weather are affixed to the specific locations on the inner surface of at least the portions on the palm side area or the back side area of the glove main body with which the grip portion of the golf club is brought into abutment, whereby the stable grip is obtainable under every condition, thereby making it possible to prevent effectively miss hitting. 
         [0037]    As described with reference to the embodiment, there is provided a golf glove which ensures a stable grip on the golf club under wet weather or even in summer by affixing a preventive element which exhibits a remarkable resistance to slip in a specific location on an inner surface of a glove main body.