U.S. patent application number 11/397847 was filed with the patent office on 2007-10-25 for athletic glove with wicking material.
This patent application is currently assigned to SPORT MASKA INC.. Invention is credited to Andre Desjardins, Trevor Tierney.
Application Number | 20070245451 11/397847 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38617989 |
Filed Date | 2007-10-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070245451 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Desjardins; Andre ; et
al. |
October 25, 2007 |
Athletic glove with wicking material
Abstract
A protective athletic glove comprises an inner palm side and an
opposed outer padded side. The inner palm side has a palm surface
covering a majority of the inner palm side and at least one opening
defined within the palm surface. A wicking material is disposed at
least across the opening. The wicking material is more breathable
than the main palm material and has aspiration pores therethrough
which actively draw moisture from an inner surface of the wicking
material to an outer surface thereof.
Inventors: |
Desjardins; Andre; (Dorval,
CA) ; Tierney; Trevor; (Denver, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OGILVY RENAULT LLP
1981 MCGILL COLLEGE AVENUE
SUITE 1600
MONTREAL
QC
H3A2Y3
CA
|
Assignee: |
SPORT MASKA INC.
|
Family ID: |
38617989 |
Appl. No.: |
11/397847 |
Filed: |
April 5, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/159 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 19/01523 20130101;
A41D 31/12 20190201; A63B 71/143 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/159 |
International
Class: |
A41D 19/00 20060101
A41D019/00 |
Claims
1. A protective athletic glove comprising an inner palm side and an
opposed outer padded side, the inner palm side having a palm
surface covering a majority of the inner palm side and at least one
opening defined within the palm surface, a wicking material being
disposed at least across said opening, said wicking material being
more breathable than said main palm material and having aspiration
pores therethrough which actively draw moisture from an inner
surface of said wicking material to an outer surface thereof.
2. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 1, wherein
said glove has a thumb portion and finger portions, said palm
surface having a central palm portion and digit palm portions
extending therefrom, said digit palm portions being defined on
inner sides of said thumb portion and said finger portions.
3. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 2, wherein
said at least one opening is defined within said central palm
portion.
4. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 2, wherein
said at least one opening is defined in at least one of the digit
palm portions.
5. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 2, further
comprising a plurality of said openings, at least of which being
defined within said central palm portion and at least one of which
being defined in each of the digit palm portions.
6. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 3, wherein
said at least one opening defines a length in a direction extending
longitudinally between a cuff of the protective athletic glove and
distal tips of said finger portions thereof and a width in a
direction transverse to said length that extends laterally across
said inner palm side, said width being greater than said
length.
7. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 1, wherein
said protective athletic glove is a lacrosse glove.
8. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 1, wherein
said main palm material defines an outer surface facing away from a
user's hand when wearing said protective athletic glove and an
inner surface facing towards the user's hand, said wicking material
covering a majority of said inner surface of said main palm
material.
9. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 1, wherein a
plurality of ventilation holes are defined through said main palm
material, said ventilation holes being disposed outside of said at
least one opening.
10. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 2, wherein
each of said finger portions define side gussets extending between
said digit palm portions and said opposed outer padded side
thereof, said side gussets being ventilated and more breathable
than said main palm material.
11. The protective athletic glove as defined in claim 10, wherein
said side gussets include a mesh material extending along a full
length of said finger portions, from an innermost end to a distal
end thereof proximate distal tips of said finger portions.
12. A lacrosse glove for protecting at least a wearer's hand having
a dorsal side, a palm side, four fingers and one thumb, the
lacrosse glove comprising: an inner palm surface on said palm side,
said inner palm surface having at least one opening defined
therein; and a wicking material disposed at least across said
opening, said wicking material being more breathable than said
inner palm surface and having moisture aspirating pores
therethrough which actively draw moisture from an inner surface of
said wicking material to an outer surface thereof.
13. The lacrosse glove as defined in claim 12, wherein said inner
palm surface includes a central palm portion and digit palm
portions extending therefrom, said digit palm portions being
defined on inner sides of said thumb and said fingers.
14. The lacrosse glove as defined in claim 13, further comprising a
plurality of said openings including at least one palm opening
defined within said central palm portion and at least one digit
opening defined within each of said digit palm portions.
15. The lacrosse glove as defined in claim 14, wherein said palm
opening defines a length relative to a longitudinal axis extending
between a cuff of the lacrosse glove and distal tips of said
fingers thereof and a width relative to a transverse axis extending
laterally across said palm side, said width being greater than said
length.
16. The lacrosse glove as defined in claim 13, wherein each of said
fingers define side gussets extending between said digit palm
portions and a padded dorsal side thereof, said side gussets being
ventilated and more breathable than said inner palm surface.
17. The lacrosse glove as defined in claim 16, wherein said side
gussets include a mesh material extending along a substantial full
length of said fingers from an innermost end to a distal tip
thereof.
18. A protective athletic glove for protecting at least a wearer's
hand, the glove having a dorsal side, a palm side, four fingers and
one thumb, the glove comprising: an inner palm surface on said palm
side, said inner palm surface having at least one opening defined
therein; and a wicking material disposed at least across said
opening, said wicking material being more breathable than said
inner palm surface and having moisture aspirating pores
therethrough which actively draw moisture from an inner surface of
said wicking material to an outer surface thereof.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates generally to a protective
athletic glove, and more particularly to a protective athletic
glove having improved moisture removal.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Risk of injuries is always of concern for athletes,
particularly for athletes competing in contact and/or physical
sports in which protective clothing is worn to limit injuries, such
as for example sporting activities including ice hockey, lacrosse,
cricket, field hockey and the like. Particularly for such stick
based sports, players wear protective gloves such as to limit
potential damage to their hands and wrists which may be caused by
impacts directed thereagainst by the puck, ball or other players
sticks, as the case may be.
[0003] Such protective athletic gloves must offer protection to the
wearer's hands and wrists, while nevertheless permitting at least
some breathability to cool the wearer's hands. As wearing such
padded protective gloves while performing rigorous athletic
activities, particularly those played in warm climates such as
field hockey, lacrosse and cricket, can lead to the wearer's hands
becoming hot and sweaty, many attempts have been made to provide
improved ventilation and cooling for such protective athletic
gloves. For example, ventilation holes extending through the outer
padding of the glove have become common.
[0004] The palms of such protective athletic gloves are
particularly difficult to ventilate, at least partially because the
palm portion of the glove tends to be wrapped around a stick held
by the user. In an attempt to provide improved ventilation to the
wearer's palm, it has been known to provide large openings in the
palm portion of the glove, with mesh covering these openings. The
mesh allows the wearer's palms to breather more easily while
nevertheless enclosing the palm, which is required by regulation in
many lacrosse and hockey leagues. While such mesh covered openings
provide good ventilation, the mesh inserts defined within the
glove's palm tend to wear unduly quickly relative to the more
robust material from which the rest of the palm is made, generally
caused by the friction between the stick and the mesh material.
[0005] Therefore, while cooling the wearer's hand, and in
particular the palm portion thereof, remains desirable, a more
durable solution is sought such that repair and replacement of the
athletic gloves is minimized. Further still, while the mesh
material provided in regions of the palm of prior art gloves allows
ventilation, it fails to specifically address the problem of high
perspiration which can build up within the glove and on
particularly on the inner surfaces of the palm thereof. While the
mesh provides ventilation, which cools the wearer's hand,
perspiration can nonetheless occur and become trapped within the
glove, including on the inner surfaces of the meshed palm.
[0006] Therefore, there remains a need for a protective athletic
glove having improved cooling and internal moisture reduction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an
improved protective athletic glove.
[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide an
improved protective athletic glove having improved cooling and
internal moisture reduction.
[0009] Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a protective athletic glove comprising
an inner palm side and an opposed outer padded side, the inner palm
side having a palm surface covering a majority of the inner palm
side and at least one opening defined within the palm surface, a
wicking material being disposed at least across said opening, said
wicking material being more breathable than said main palm material
and having aspiration pores therethrough which actively draw
moisture from an inner surface of said wicking material to an outer
surface thereof.
[0010] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a lacrosse glove for protecting at least a
wearer's hand having a dorsal side, a palm side, four fingers and
one thumb, the lacrosse glove comprising: an inner palm surface on
said palm side, said inner palm surface having at least one opening
defined therein; and a wicking material disposed at least across
said opening, said wicking material being more breathable than said
inner palm surface and having moisture aspirating pores
therethrough which actively draw moisture from an inner surface of
said wicking material to an outer surface thereof.
[0011] There is also provided, in accordance with another aspect of
the present invention, a protective athletic glove for protecting
at least a wearer's hand, the glove having a dorsal side, a palm
side, four fingers and one thumb, the glove comprising: an inner
palm surface on said palm side, said inner palm surface having at
least one opening defined therein; and a wicking material disposed
at least across said opening, said wicking material being more
breathable than said inner palm surface and having moisture
aspirating pores therethrough which actively draw moisture from an
inner surface of said wicking material to an outer surface
thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Further features and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken
in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the protective athletic
glove in accordance with the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of the inner palm side of
the protective athletic glove of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inner palm side of the
protective athletic glove of FIG. 1; and
[0016] FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the protective athletic
glove of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] Referring to FIG. 1, a protective athletic glove 10 may be
worn for protecting at least a wearer's hand during athletic
activities such as stick sports including ice hockey, cricket and
lacrosse or alternately for operating motorized vehicles, such as
motorcycles, snowmobiles, and the like. The glove 10 generally
comprises a main glove body 11 having an outer or dorsal padded
side 14 and an opposed inner palm side 12. A proximal cuff end 16
at least partially circumscribes an opening within which the user's
hand is inserted for putting on the glove 10, which further
includes four finger portions 18 and a thumb portion 20.
[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the protective
athletic glove 10 is specifically intended for lacrosse, which is
typically played indoors and/or in warm climates, and as such
adequate cooling of the user's hand when wearing the glove 10 is
particularly important. As such, most lacrosse gloves, in
comparison to ice hockey gloves for example, include means for
cooling the user's hand which may include mesh and/or cooling holes
incorporated into the glove. The protective athletic glove 10
provides improved cooling and internal moisture reduction for the
wearer's hand when wearing the glove, it is well-suited for use as
a lacrosse glove. However, it is to be understood that the
protective athletic glove 10, while described herein with
particular reference to its use as a lacrosse glove, can be used
for any type of athletic activity for which protection to the hands
of the user is sought, including for example (but not limited to)
stick sports such as ice hockey, lacrosse or cricket, or for
operating motorized vehicles such as motorcycles, snowmobiles and
the like.
[0019] Referring now to FIG. 2, the inner palm side 12 of the glove
10 includes an inner palm surface 24 which includes a main palm
portion 26 that covers a majority of the inner palm side 12. The
main palm portion 26 is composed of a relatively robust and
long-wearing material such as leather or a synthetic replacement.
As the wearer regularly grasps a stick (such as a lacrosse stick
for example) when wearing the protective athletic glove 10, this
main palm portion 26 therefore should provide a good grip on the
stick's shaft or handle while being relatively resistant to wear
which can occur from frequent sliding of the glove down the stick
or rotation of the stick within the wearer's gloved hands. As in
one particular embodiment the protective athletic glove 10 is used
for lacrosse, the main palm portion 26 is disposed at least in
those areas which one skilled in the art will expect to be
relatively high use areas of the palm and as such those regions
which most frequently contact the stick during play. Accordingly,
diagonal strips 27 and 29 of the main palm portion 26 extend
generally across the inner palm surface 24 from a point near where
the thumb 20 meets the main glove body 11 to respective end points,
one at a central base point 35 of the palm and the other at a
corner base point 37 of the palm. The inner palm surface 24
includes both the central main palm portion 26 and digit palm
portions 28 disposed on the inner palm side of each of the fingers
18 and the thumb 20. In the embodiment depicted, the digit palm
portions 28 are integral with and extend from the central main palm
portion 26, and therefore, are formed of the same durable material
as described above. However, it is to be understood that the finger
palm portions could in fact be separate from the central main palm
portion 26 of the inner palm surface 24, and be composed of a
different material.
[0020] The inner palm surface 24 has at least one opening 30
defined therein, and in the embodiment depicted includes a
plurality of such openings 30 defined both in the central main palm
portion 26 and the digit palm portions 28. Particularly, the
openings 30 include larger palm openings 31 defined through the
central main palm portion 26 and relatively smaller digit openings
33 defined through the digit palm portions 28.
[0021] The inner palm side 12 of the glove 10 further comprises a
wicking material 34 which is disposed at least across each of the
openings 30 defined within the inner palm surface 24, thereby
covering these openings 30. In one embodiment, the wicking material
34 is in fact applied to most of a rear (i.e. inwardly facing)
surface of the inner palm surface 24, and therefore is both
disposed within each of the openings 30 and also on the inwardly
facing side of the inner palm surface 26 such that much of the
user's palm and fingers in fact directly contact this wicking
material 34.
[0022] The wicking material 34 is more breathable than the more
robust material of the main palm portion 26, and therefore the
wearer's hand is provided with good ventilation, when wearing the
glove, via these openings 30 which are covered only by the highly
breathable wicking material 34. Further, the wicking material 34
provides improved moisture removal from the interior of the glove
in comparison with other breathable materials, such as a simple
open-mesh type material. The wicking material 34 defines a
plurality of aspiration pores therethrough which act to actively
draw moisture from an inner surface of the wicking material towards
an outer surface thereof. Such pores defined in the wicking
material 34 are significantly smaller than the much larger openings
defined in the open mesh material of the prior art. The pores of
the wicking material are small enough to employ capillary action to
draw moisture outward through the material. For example, the pores
of the wicking material 34 are significantly smaller, and in at
least one embodiment are microscopic, in comparison with the
significantly larger (eg: 1-2 mm) openings of prior art mesh
materials.
[0023] Accordingly, the wicking material 34 provides both good
airflow to the wearer's hand through these pores, while
additionally providing improved perspiration and other moisture
removal from the inside of the glove via the same aspiration pores,
which actively draw moisture through the wicking material. This is
not the case of an open mesh-type of material, which merely
provides airflow into and out of the glove without providing any
such moisture wicking properties. While any number of commercial
wicking materials can be employed, in one embodiment the wicking
material 34 includes Absortek.RTM..
[0024] Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, in the embodiment
depicted, the central main palm portion 26 of the inner palm
surface 24 includes three palm openings 31 therein within which the
wicking material 34 is disposed. The palm openings 31 are however,
located outside of those relatively high wear regions in which the
strips 27, 29 of the more robust inner palm surface are disposed.
Regardless, these palm openings 31 may be relatively large such as
to provide good breathability and perspiration withdrawal from
within the glove. For example, as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, the
glove 10 includes three relatively large palm openings 31, two
smaller digit openings 33 in each of the fingers 18 and another
large digit opening 33 near the base of the thumb 20. It is, of
course, to be understood that other shapes, sizes, and number of
openings 30 may be provided within the inner palm surface 24 of the
athletic glove 10 as desired and in order to best suit the chosen
athletic activity.
[0025] Each of the palm openings 31 defined within the central main
palm portion 26 of the inner palm surface 24 defines a length
relative to the longitudinal axis 13 (shown in FIG. 2) and a width
relative to the transverse axis 15 which extends laterally across
the inner palm side of the glove. At least one of the palm openings
31 has a width which is greater than the length of the opening. In
an alternate embodiment, all of the palm openings 31 have widths
greater than their lengths.
[0026] The more durable leather or similar synthetic material of
the inner palm surface 24 may additionally be provided with small
holes 43 in regions thereof outside of the openings 30, in order to
provide additional ventilation to the wearer's hand when in the
glove 10. Such additional ventilation holes 43 may be formed
through the palm surface in any number of ways, including punching
for example.
[0027] As best seen in FIG. 4, the side gussets 40 of the fingers
18 of the glove provide additional ventilation in order to cool the
wearer's hand within the glove. Particularly, each of the fingers
18 define opposed side gussets 40 extending between the inner digit
palm portions 28 and the opposed outer padded sides 21 of the
fingers 18. The side gussets 40 include a mesh material 42 which is
more breathable than the robust inner palm surface 24 and
therefore, thereby ensuring good airflow within the finger portions
18 of the glove. In the depicted embodiment, the mesh material 42
of the side gussets 40 extends the full length of each of the
fingers 18, from an innermost end 44 to the outer distal tips 19 of
the fingers. The end portions of the gussets 40 (i.e. at the tips
of the fingers) may also be composed of the mesh material 42, as
best seen in FIG. 3.
[0028] The embodiments of the invention described above are
intended to be exemplary. Those skilled in the art will therefore
appreciate that the forgoing description is illustrative only, and
that various alternatives and modifications can be devised without
departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly,
the present is intended to embrace all such alternatives,
modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the
appended claims.
* * * * *