U.S. patent application number 10/824000 was filed with the patent office on 2005-02-03 for ball catching tool.
This patent application is currently assigned to MIZUNO CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Doi, Tamotsu, Motooka, Ken, Terashita, Masaki.
Application Number | 20050022282 10/824000 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34100677 |
Filed Date | 2005-02-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050022282 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Motooka, Ken ; et
al. |
February 3, 2005 |
Ball catching tool
Abstract
A ball catching tool comprises an outer leather member, an inner
leather member and an elastic member. The outer leather member is
formed by sewing a leather palm and a leather back to each other.
The inner leather member, inserted into the outer leather member,
is formed by sewing a palm member located on the side of the
leather palm and a back member located on the side of the leather
back to each other and provided with a plurality of stalls
including a thumb stall receiving the thumb of the user. The
elastic member is fixed to the back member partially forming the
thumb stall to extend along the back member from one end of the
thumb stall toward the other end of the thumb stall in the width
direction of the thumb stall for fixing the thumb of the user in
the thumb stall.
Inventors: |
Motooka, Ken; (Shiso-gun,
JP) ; Doi, Tamotsu; (Osaka, JP) ; Terashita,
Masaki; (Osaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROUTMAN SANDERS LLP
BANK OF AMERICA PLAZA, SUITE 5200
600 PEACHTREE STREET , NE
ATLANTA
GA
30308-2216
US
|
Assignee: |
MIZUNO CORPORATION
Osaka
JP
|
Family ID: |
34100677 |
Appl. No.: |
10/824000 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 71/143
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/019 |
International
Class: |
A41D 013/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 31, 2003 |
JP |
2003-204773 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A ball catching tool comprising: an outer leather member formed
by sewing an outer palm leather and an outer back leather to each
other; an inner leather member, inserted into said outer leather
member, formed by sewing a palm member located on the side of said
outer leather palm and a back member located on the side of said
outer back leather to each other and provided with a plurality of
stalls including a thumb stall receiving the thumb of a user; and
an elastic member fixed to said back member partially forming said
thumb stall to extend along said back member from one end of said
thumb stall toward the other end of said thumb stall in a width
direction of said thumb stall and fixing the thumb of the user in
said thumb stall.
2. The ball catching tool according to claim 1, further comprising
a fixing member fixing said elastic member to said thumb stall,
wherein said fixing member is provided with an opening rendering
the thumb of the user easily bendable in said thumb stall.
3. The ball catching tool according to claim 2, wherein said
elastic member and said fixing member are fixed onto at least
either the outer surface or the inner surface of said thumb
stall.
4. The ball catching tool according to claim 1, wherein said inner
leather member has a little finger stall receiving the little
finger of the user, and said elastic member is fixed to said little
finger stall.
5. A ball catching tool comprising: a thumb stall receiving a thumb
of a user; a forefinger stall receiving a forefinger of the user; a
middle finger stall receiving a middle finger of the user; a ring
finger stall receiving a ring finger of the user; a little finger
stall receiving a little finger of the user; and an elastic member
extending in the width direction of said thumb stall along the back
side of said thumb stall to cover a thumb receiving hole provided
in said thumb stall and fixing the thumb of the user in said thumb
stall.
6. A ball catching tool comprising: a thumb stall receiving a thumb
of a user; a forefinger stall receiving a forefinger of the user; a
middle finger stall receiving a middle finger of the user; a ring
finger stall receiving a ring finger of the user; a little finger
stall receiving a little finger of the user; and a cylindrical or
tube-like elastic member inserted into said thumb stall, said
elastic member fixing the thumb of the user in said thumb stall.
Description
[0001] This nonprovisional application is based on Japanese Patent
Application No. 2003-204773 filed with the Japan Patent Office on
Jul. 31, 2003 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated
by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a ball catching tool, and
more particularly, it relates to the structure of a ball catching
tool for baseball or softball.
[0004] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0005] A ball catching tool employed for baseball or softball is
prepared by inserting an inner leather member formed by sewing a
palm member and a back member to each other into an outer leather
member formed by sewing a leather pocket and a leather back to each
other, providing a core of felt or the like between the leather
pocket and the palm member, sewing the outer and inner leather
members to each other and thereafter binding these members to each
other with leather strings, for example.
[0006] The aforementioned inner leather member is provided with
baglike or cylindrical thumb and finger stalls for receiving the
thumb and the fingers of the user respectively. While the user of
the ball catching tool catches a ball by grasping the same with the
thumb inserted into the thumb stall and the fingers received in the
finger stalls, it is particularly desirable that he/she efficiently
transmits the power of the thumb to the ball catching tool. In
general, however, a thumb receiving hole provided in the thumb
stall is so sized as to exceed the thickness of the thumb. In order
to fix the thumb in the thumb stall so that the user can
efficiently transmit the power of the thumb to the ball catching
tool, therefore, various contrivances have been devised in
general.
[0007] For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-161884
describes a thumb hold provided in a thumb stall, Japanese Patent
Laying-Open No. 10-15143 (1998) describes a baseball glove provided
with a thumb fixing band, Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No.
55-161573 (1980) describes a baseball glove provided with a finger
control member consisting of an annular band, Japanese Patent
Laying-Open No. 11-206949 (1999) (Japanese Patent No. 2911863)
describes a ball catching tool for baseball/softball having a
clamping band to a thumb receiving portion, Japanese Patent
Laying-Open No. 8-215367 (1996) describes a glove provided with a
thumb stop holding the thumb of the user, and Japanese Utility
Model Laying-Open No. 3-96870 (1991) describes a glove or a mitt
provided with a thumb contact section.
[0008] On the other hand, Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No.
62-9482 (1987) describes a baseball glove having a buffering
leather partition fitted to one of a forefinger stall, a middle
finger stall and a ring finger stall, and Japanese Utility Model
Laying-Open No. 59-145965 (1984) describes a baseball glove formed
by fixing a band body to a little finger stall in a bent state to
parallelly arrange a loop-like finger receiving portion.
[0009] Each of thumb fixing members such as the thumb hold
described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No.
2001-161884, the finger control member described in Japanese
Utility Model Laying-Open No. 55-161573, the clamping band
described in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-206949 (Japanese
Patent No. 2911863), the finger stop described in Japanese Patent
Laying-Open No. 8-215367 and the thumb contact section described in
Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 3-96870 is fixed to a ball
catching tool by binding strings thereto or pulling a band-like
member.
[0010] However, it is not easy to locate the thumb of the user on
the optimum position with the thumb fixing member but the thumb may
disadvantageously be fixed to a position deviating from a desired
position such that the user cannot efficiently transmit the power
of his/her thumb to the ball catching tool.
[0011] Further, the strings of the thumb fixing member may be
loosened due to frequent use of the ball catching tool. Thus, it is
difficult to ensure desired clamping force of the thumb fixing
member for the thumb over a long period, and hence the thumb fixing
member must disadvantageously be frequently adjusted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention has been proposed in order to solve
the aforementioned problems, and an object of the present invention
is to provide a ball catching tool enabling the user to easily fix
his/her thumb to a desired position in the ball catching tool and
capable of ensuring desired fitness over a long period with no
requirement for frequently adjusting the position of the thumb.
[0013] According to an aspect of the present invention, the
inventive ball catching tool comprises an outer leather member, an
inner leather member and an elastic member. The outer leather
member is formed by sewing an outer palm leather and an outer back
leather to each other. The inner leather member, inserted into the
outer leather member, is formed by sewing a palm member located on
the side of the outer palm leather and a back member located on the
side of the outer back leather to each other and provided with a
plurality of stalls including a thumb stall receiving the thumb of
the user. The elastic member is fixed to the back member partially
forming the thumb stall to extend along the back member from one
end of the thumb stall toward the other end of the thumb stall in a
width (cross) direction of the thumb stall for fixing the thumb of
the user in the thumb stall.
[0014] The aforementioned elastic member is so fitted to the thumb
stall of the inner leather member that the elastic member can
provide proper elastic force (clamping force) to the thumb of the
user inserted into the thumb stall. The user can fix the position
of his/her finger in a proper range while ensuring a certain degree
of allowance in the thumb stall due to this elastic force.
[0015] The ball catching tool according to the present invention
preferably further comprises a fixing member fixing the
aforementioned elastic member to the thumb stall. In this case, the
fixing member is preferably provided with an opening for rendering
the thumb of the user easily bendable in the thumb stall. Further,
the aforementioned elastic member and the fixing member may be
fitted or attached to the outer surface of the thumb stall, to the
inner surface of the thumb stall, or to both of the outer and inner
surfaces of the thumb stall. While the inner leather member has a
little finger stall receiving the little finger of the user, the
aforementioned elastic member may be fitted or attached to this
little finger stall.
[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, the
inventive ball catching tool comprises a thumb stall receiving the
thumb of the user, a forefinger stall receiving the forefinger of
the user, a middle finger stall receiving the middle finger of the
user, a ring finger stall receiving the ring finger of the user, a
little finger stall receiving the little finger of the user and an
elastic member. The elastic member extends in the width direction
of the thumb stall along the back side of the thumb stall to cover
a thumb receiving hole provided in the thumb stall for fixing the
thumb of the user in the thumb stall. According to this aspect, the
thumb stall includes both thumb stalls of outer and inner leather
members, and the elastic member may be fixed to either thumb
stall.
[0017] Also according to this aspect, the elastic member can
provide proper elastic force (clamping force) to the thumb of the
user inserted into the thumb stall, and the user can fix the
position of his/her thumb in a proper range due to this elastic
force.
[0018] According to still another aspect of the present invention,
the inventive ball catching tool comprises a thumb stall receiving
the thumb of the user, a forefinger stall receiving the forefinger
of the user, a middle finger stall receiving the middle finger of
the user, a ring finger stall receiving the ring finger of the
user, a little finger stall receiving the little finger of the user
and a cylindrical or tube-like elastic member inserted into the
thumb stall for fixing the thumb of the user in the thumb stall.
Also according to this aspect, the thumb stall includes both thumb
stalls of outer and inner leather members, and the cylindrical
elastic member may be inserted into either thumb stall. The
aforementioned "cylindrical elastic member" may be an elastic
member having a cylindrical or tube-like portion capable of
receiving the thumb of the user, and a baglike elastic member
having a closed opening is also included in the concept of the
aforementioned "cylindrical elastic member", for example. The
cylindrical elastic member, typically fixed to the thumb stall, may
not necessarily be positively fixed to the thumb stall if the same
can be relatively strongly fixed to the thumb stall simply upon
insertion.
[0019] Also when the cylindrical elastic member is inserted into
the thumb stall as described above, the cylindrical elastic member
can provide proper elastic force (clamping force) to the thumb of
the user, and the user can fix the position of his/her thumb in a
proper range due to this elastic force.
[0020] The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and
advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from
the following detailed description of the present invention when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a ball catching tool
according to an Example of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an inner leather member of the ball
catching tool according to the Example of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in
FIG. 2, showing a thumb stall of the inner leather member;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an elastic member and a
fixing member fitted into another thumb stall;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an elastic member and a
fixing member fitted into a little finger stall; and
[0026] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an exemplary
cylindrical elastic member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] An embodiment of the present invention is now described. A
ball catching tool according to this embodiment is a tool for
catching a ball such as a glove or a mitt for baseball or softball,
and comprises an outer leather member, an inner leather member
inserted into the outer leather member, a core having a function of
relaxing impact applied from a caught ball, an elastic member
having a function of fixing the thumb or the little finger of the
user in a thumb stall or a little finger stall and a fixing member
fixing the elastic member to the thumb stall or the little finger
stall.
[0028] The outer leather member is formed by sewing a leather
pocket (outer palm leather) consisting of natural or synthetic
leather or a material homogeneous therewith and a leather back
(outer back leather) consisting of natural or synthetic leather or
a material homogeneous therewith to each other. The outer leather
member has a thumb stall receiving the thumb of the user, a
forefinger stall receiving the forefinger of the user, a web
portion provided between the thumb stall and the forefinger stall,
a middle finger stall receiving the middle finger of the user, a
ring finger stall receiving the ring finger of the user and a
little finger stall receiving the little finger of the user.
[0029] The inner leather member is formed by sewing a palm member
located on a leather palm and a back member located on a leather
back to each other. The palm member and the back member can also be
composed of natural or synthetic leather or a material homogeneous
therewith. The inner leather member also has a thumb stall, a
forefinger stall, a middle finger stall, a ring finger stall and a
little finger stall, similarly to the outer leather member. These
thumb and finger stalls are inserted into the corresponding thumb
and finger stalls of the outer leather member, i.e., the thumb
stall, the forefinger stall, the middle finger stall, the ring
finger stall and the little finger stall of the outer leather
member respectively. The core, set between the leather pocket and
the palm member, is made of a material such as felt.
[0030] The ball catching tool according to this embodiment can be
prepared by inserting the aforementioned inner leather member into
the outer leather member, setting the core between the leather
pocket and the palm member, sewing required portions of the inner
and outer leather members to each other and coupling or tying the
same with leather strings.
[0031] The elastic member is made of an elastic material such as
rubber or urethane form. This elastic member, typically attached or
fixed to a portion of the back member partially forming the thumb
stall and/or the little finger stall of the inner leather member,
extends along the back member from an end of the thumb stall and/or
the little finger toward the other end in the width direction
perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thumb stall
and/or the little finger stall.
[0032] The elastic member may extend along the back portion of the
thumb stall of the outer or inner leather member in the width
direction thereof to cover a thumb receiving hole (hole for
receiving the thumb of the user) provided in the thumb stall, or
may extend along the back portion of the little finger stall of the
outer or inner leather member in the width direction thereof to
cover a little finger receiving hole (hole for receiving the little
finger of the user) provided in the little finger stall.
[0033] The elastic member may have a cylindrical or tube-like
shape, to be inserted into the thumb stall or the little finger
stall of the outer or inner leather member. This cylindrical
elastic member may be an elastic member having a cylindrical or
tube-like portion capable of receiving the thumb or the little
finger of the user, and a baglike elastic member having a closed
end, an elastic member formed by rounding a sheetlike elastic
member or an elastic member provided with a tube-like portion
having an arbitrary sectional shape other than a circular (annular
shape) is also employable. The cylindrical elastic member,
typically attached or fixed to the thumb stall and/or the little
finger stall, may not necessarily be positively fixed to the thumb
stall and/or the little finger stall if the same can be relatively
strongly fixed to the thumb stall and/or the little finger stall
simply upon insertion.
[0034] The aforementioned elastic member fitted to the thumb stall
can supply proper elastic force (clamping force) for wrapping up
and holding the thumb of the user while supplying proper force from
the periphery for preventing the thumb from unnecessary movement in
the thumb stall when the user inserts his/her thumb into the thumb
stall. In other words, the elastic member can hold the thumb on a
proper position (preferably on the central portion of the thumb
stall) while supplying proper elastic force to the thumb of the
user for inhibiting the thumb from moving to an improper position.
Therefore, the user can fix the position of his/her thumb in a
proper range while ensuring a certain degree of allowance in the
thumb stall for efficiently transmit the power of the thumb to the
ball catching tool. Similar effects can be expected also when the
elastic member is fixed or fitted to the little finger stall.
[0035] Further, the elastic member fixed to the thumb stall or the
little finger stall in the aforementioned mode can supply proper
clamping force to the thumb or the little finger of the user
integrally with the thumb stall or the little finger stall for
ensuring desired fitness over a long period. Particularly when the
width of the thumb stall or the little finger stall is previously
reduced, the fitness can be improved.
[0036] In addition, the elastic member fixed to the thumb stall or
the little finger stall hardly deviates after the same is fitted to
the thumb stall or the little finger stall. Therefore, the position
of the elastic member may not be adjusted later. In particular, it
is possible to effectively inhibit the elastic member from
deviation by fixing substantially the overall elastic member to the
thumb stall or the little finger stall with an adhesive or the
like.
[0037] The fixing member can be made of natural or synthetic
leather or a material homogeneous therewith, for example. When made
of a material harder than that of the elastic member, the fixing
member is more hardly deformed than the elastic member, to be
capable of reliably and efficiently supplying desired elastic force
to the thumb or the little finger of the user.
[0038] The aforementioned fixing member is arranged on the surface
of the elastic member to fix the elastic member to the thumb stall
or the little finger stall, and fitted to the thumb stall or the
little finger stall to hold the elastic member between the fixing
member and the thumb stall or the little finger stall. In order to
fix the elastic member to the thumb stall or the little finger
stall of the inner leather member, the fixing member may be sewn to
the palm member along with the back member in the vicinity of both
ends of the thumb stall or the little finger stall in the width
direction thereof, for example. In order to fix the elastic member
to the thumb stall or the little finger stall of the outer leather
member, the fixing member may be sewn to the leather back in the
vicinity of both ends of the thumb stall or the little finger stall
in the width direction thereof to hold the elastic member between
the inner surface of the leather back and the fixing member, for
example. The elastic member can be fixed to a desired stall with
the fixing member in the aforementioned manner.
[0039] The aforementioned fixing member is preferably provided with
an opening. This opening is preferably provided to be located on
the first joint of the thumb or on the first joint and/or the
second joint of the little finger when the user inserts his/her
thumb or little finger into the stall. Thus, the user can easily
bend his/her thumb or little finger in the thumb stall or the
little finger stall. While the opening may conceivably have a
circular or elliptic shape, still another arbitrary shape is
employable for the opening so far as the aforementioned effect is
attained.
[0040] Further, the fixing member may be fitted onto the outer
surface of at least either the thumb stall or the little finger
stall of the outer leather member, onto the inner surface of at
least either the thumb stall or the little finger stall of the
outer leather member, onto the outer surface of at least either the
thumb stall or the little finger stall of the inner leather member
or onto the inner surface of at least either the thumb stall or the
little finger stall of the inner leather member along with the
aforementioned elastic member.
[0041] A ball catching tool according to an Example of the present
invention is now described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
[0042] FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a ball catching tool
(baseball or softball glove) 1 according to this Example. As shown
in FIG. 1, the ball catching tool 1 according to this Example
comprises an outer leather member 10 formed by connecting a leather
pocket 8 including a pocket portion and a leather back 9 to each
other with leather strings or the like. The outer leather member 10
is made of natural or synthetic leather.
[0043] The outer leather member 10 comprises a thumb stall 2, a
forefinger stall (first finger stall) 4, a middle finger stall
(second finger stall) 5, a ring finger stall (third finger stall) 6
and a little finger stall (fourth finger stall) 7 receiving the
thumb, the forefinger, the middle finger, the ring finger and the
little finger of the user respectively, a web portion 3 provided
between the thumb stall 2 and the forefinger stall 4 and a hand
receiving portion for receiving the hand of the user in the ball
catching tool 1.
[0044] The ball catching tool 1 also has an inner leather member 11
shown in FIG. 2 inside the aforementioned outer leather member 10.
The inner leather member 11 is formed by sewing a palm member 12
and a back member 13 arranged on the palm and the back of the
user's hand respectively to each other. In consideration of the
touch of the ball catching tool 1, the palm member 12 and the back
member 13 are prepared from softly tanned leather. The ball
catching tool 1 according to this Example can be prepared by sewing
required portions of the aforementioned inner and outer leather
members 11 and 10 to each other and connecting these members 11 and
10 to each other with leather strings or the like.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the inner leather member 11 also has a
thumb stall 2A, a forefinger stall (first finger stall) 4A, a
middle finger stall (second finger stall) 5A, a ring finger stall
(third finger stall) 6A and a little finger stall (fourth finger
stall) 7A receiving the thumb, the forefinger, the middle finger,
the ring finger and the little finger of the user respectively,
similarly to the outer leather member 10.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 2, the palm member 12 and the back member
13 are so cut that the widths of portions of the back member 13
forming the thumb stall 2A and the finger stalls 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A
of the inner leather member 11 respectively are smaller than those
of portions of the palm member 12 forming the thumb stall 2A and
the finger stalls 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A respectively, and portions
close to both ends in the width direction of the portions of the
back member 13 forming the thumb stall 2A and the finger stalls 4A,
5A, 6A and 7A respectively are sewn to the palm member 12 while
opening longitudinal ends of the back member 13. In particular, a
notch 17 is provided on the portion of the back member 13 forming
the thumb stall 2A, thereby reducing the width (W) of the root
(base) of the portion of the back member 13 forming the thumb stall
2A. Thus, the widths (W) of the portions of back member 13 forming
the thumb stall 2A and the finger stalls 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A
respectively are rendered smaller than those of the portions of the
palm member 12 forming the thumb stall 2A and the finger stalls 4A,
5A, 6A and 7A respectively so that the widths of the thumb stall 2A
and the finger stalls 4A, 5A, 6A and 7A can be reduced and a
remarkable effect by an elastic member 14 can be expected.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, the sheetlike elastic member 14 is
arranged on the portion of the back member 13 forming the thumb
stall 2A, and a sheetlike fixing member 15 is placed on this
elastic member 14. More specifically, the elastic member 14 and the
fixing member 15 are stacked on and fixed to the portion of the
back member 13 forming the root (base) of the thumb stall 2A.
[0048] The elastic member 14 and the fixing member 15 extend along
the back member 13 from an end of the thumb stall 2A toward the
other end in the width direction shown by arrow in FIG. 2. Further,
the elastic member 14 and the fixing member 15 extend along the
portion of the back member 13 forming the thumb stall 2A in the
width direction of the thumb stall 2A to cover a thumb receiving
hole provided in the thumb stall 2A.
[0049] The elastic member 14 is constituted of a urethane foam
sheet, and the fixing member 15 is made of sheetlike natural or
synthetic leather. In the example of FIG. 2, the elastic member 14
is fixed onto the surface of the back member 13 with an adhesive,
and the fixing member 15 is sewn to the palm member 12 and the back
member 13 in the vicinity of both side ends thereof. The fixing
member 15 has a substantially elliptic opening 16 on the central
portion thereof.
[0050] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the thumb stall 2A taken along
the line III-III in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the palm member 12
and the back member 13 define a thumb receiving hole 18 for
receiving the thumb of the user, while the elastic member 14 and
the fixing member 15 are fixed onto the outer surface of the back
member 13 (outer side of the thumb stall 2A). More specifically,
both side ends of the fixing member 15 are superposed on both side
ends of the back member 13 and the fixing member 15 and the back
member 13 are sewn to the palm member 12, thereby fixing the
elastic member 14 to the back member 13.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a modified thumb stall 2A. As
shown in FIG. 4, an elastic member 14 and a fixing member 15 may be
fixed onto the inner surface of a back member 13 (inner side of the
thumb stall 2A). In the section shown in FIG. 4, the fixing member
15 and a palm member 12 define a thumb receiving hole 18 for
receiving the thumb of the user.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 5, an elastic member 14 and a fixing member
15 may be fixed to a portion of a back member 13 forming a little
finger stall 7A. Further, a cylindrical elastic member 19 shown in
FIG. 6 may be prepared to be inserted into the thumb stall 2A or
the little finger stall 7A. The cylindrical elastic member 19 can
be prepared from rubber or the like.
[0053] While the embodiment and the Example of the present
invention have been described, it is also planned from the first to
properly combine the aforementioned characteristic structures with
each other.
[0054] According to the present invention, the user of the ball
catching tool can fix his/her thumb to a position in a proper range
in the thumb stall by simply inserting the thumb into the thumb
stall. Therefore, he/she can efficiently transmit the power of
his/her thumb to the ball catching tool.
[0055] According to the present invention, further, the elastic
member is inserted into or fixed to the thumb stall of the inner or
outer leather member, so that the elastic member can supply proper
elastic force (clamping force) to the thumb of the user
substantially integrally with the thumb stall. Therefore, the
elastic member so substantially reinforces the thumb stall that
fitness of the ball catching tool can be ensured over a long
period.
[0056] In addition, the elastic member hardly deviates once the
same is fitted to the thumb stall. Therefore, it is not necessary
to adjust the attached position of the elastic member.
[0057] Although the present invention has been described and
illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by
way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way
of limitation, the spirit and scope of the present invention being
limited only by the terms of the appended claims.
* * * * *