U.S. patent application number 11/639649 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-13 for baseball glove having a restraining rib.
This patent application is currently assigned to Taiwan Sakurai Mfg. Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Tai-Ming Chung, Kuan-Ming Lin.
Application Number | 20080060104 11/639649 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38641473 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080060104 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Kuan-Ming ; et
al. |
March 13, 2008 |
Baseball glove having a restraining rib
Abstract
A baseball glove includes a glove body having back and palm
sections, thumb and finger pockets, and a web bridging the thumb
and finger pockets. The palm section has a thumb's ball area, a
hypothenar area, a heel area, and a ball-catching region formed
between the thumb's ball and hypothenar areas and above the heel
area. At least one restraining rib is provided on the palm section,
and bounds partially the ball-catching region. The restraining rib
is adapted to prevent a caught ball from slipping off the
ball-catching region, and extends between the ball-catching region
and the thumb's ball area, between the ball-catching region and the
heel area, and between the ball-catching region and the hypothenar
area. The ball-catching region is unbounded at one side of the
ball-catching region opposite to the restraining rib.
Inventors: |
Lin; Kuan-Ming; (Kaohsiung
City, TW) ; Chung; Tai-Ming; (Kaohsiung City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TOWNSEND AND TOWNSEND AND CREW, LLP
TWO EMBARCADERO CENTER, EIGHTH FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94111-3834
US
|
Assignee: |
Taiwan Sakurai Mfg. Co.,
Ltd.
Kaohsiung City
TW
|
Family ID: |
38641473 |
Appl. No.: |
11/639649 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2102/182 20151001;
A63B 71/143 20130101; A63B 2102/18 20151001 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/19 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/08 20060101
A41D013/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 28, 2006 |
TW |
095215236 |
Claims
1. A baseball glove comprising: a glove body having a back section,
a palm section opposite to said back section, finger pockets
extending upwardly from said back and palm sections, a thumb
pocket, and a web bridging said thumb pocket and said finger
pockets, said palm section having a thumb's ball area, a hypothenar
area, a heel area, and a ball-catching region formed between said
thumb's ball area and said hypothenar area and above said heel
area; and at least one restraining rib provided on said palm
section and bounding partially said ball-catching region, said
restraining rib being adapted to prevent a caught ball from
slipping off said ball-catching region and extending between said
ball-catching region and said thumb's ball area, between said
ball-catching region and said heel area, and between said
ball-catching region and said hypothenar area, said ball-catching
region being unbounded at one side of said ball-catching region
opposite to said restraining rib; wherein said restraining rib has
an elongated embossment protruding from said palm section, and a
root that is connected to said embossment and that does not
protrude from said palm section, said palm section further having a
stitching line looping along said root.
2-3. (canceled)
4. The baseball glove of claim 1, wherein said restraining rib
forms a single continuous curve.
5. The baseball glove of claim 1, wherein a pair of said
restraining ribs are provided on said palm section to bound said
ball-catching region and extend downwardly and convergingly from
said ball-catching region, said restraining ribs having respective
bottom ends that are spaced apart from each other below said
ball-catching region.
6. The baseball glove of claim 1, wherein a plurality of said
restraining ribs are provided on said palm section, and are spaced
apart from each other along a curve that bounds partially said
ball-catching region.
7. The baseball glove of claim 1, wherein said back section
includes a first back surface region on a back side of said thumb's
ball area, said first back surface region having at least one first
back rib.
8. The baseball glove of claim 7, wherein said finger pockets
include a little finger pocket and a ring finger pocket, said back
section further having a second back surface region below said
little finger and ring finger pockets, said second back surface
region having a second back rib.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application
No. 095215236, filed on Aug. 28, 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a glove, more particularly to a
baseball or softball glove.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional baseball glove 1 has a
glove body 11 made of a leather material, and a filling matter
filled inside the glove body 11. The glove body 11 includes a palm
portion 12 corresponding to a palm of a player's hand, and finger
pockets 13 extending upwardly from the palm portion 12 for
insertion of the player's fingers therein.
[0006] Conventionally, in order to protect the player's hand, the
filling matter is made hard so as to harden the entire leather-made
glove body 11. However, this results in the glove 1 being stiff and
inflexible to use, such that the player encounters difficulties in
performing a catching operation in that he/she may not be able to
overcome the hardness of the filling matter and the glove body 11
to smoothly flex the glove body 11. Further, since a front side of
the palm portion 12 is smooth, the caught ball may easily slip off
from the glove body 11, particularly, during high-speed catching
maneuvers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a baseball glove that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned
drawbacks of the prior art.
[0008] According to this invention, a baseball glove comprises a
glove body and at least one restraining rib. The glove body has a
back section, a palm section opposite to the back section, finger
pockets extending upwardly from the back and palm sections, a thumb
pocket, and a web bridging the thumb pocket and the finger pockets.
The palm section has a thumb's ball area, a hypothenar area, a heel
area, and a ball-catching region formed between the thumb's ball
area and the hypothenar area and above the heel area. The
restraining rib is provided on the palm section, and bounds
partially the ball-catching region. The restraining rib is adapted
to prevent a caught ball from slipping off the ball-catching
region, and extends between the ball-catching region and the
thumb's ball area, between the ball-catching region and the heel
area, and between the ball-catching region and the hypothenar area.
The ball-catching region is unbounded at one side of the
ball-catching region opposite to the restraining rib.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a conventional baseball
glove;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the first preferred
embodiment of a baseball glove according to the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the first preferred
embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a schematic back view of the first preferred
embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of the second preferred
embodiment of a baseball glove according to the present invention;
and
[0015] FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of the third preferred
embodiment of a baseball glove according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] Before the present invention is described in greater detail,
it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same
reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the first preferred embodiment of
a baseball glove 2 according to the present invention is shown to
comprise a glove body 21 and one restraining rib 221.
[0018] The glove body 21 is made of leather, and has a back section
212, a palm section 213 opposite to the back section 212, finger
pockets 214 extending upwardly from the back and palm sections 212,
213, a thumb pocket 211, and a web 216 bridging the thumb pocket
211 and the finger pockets 214. The palm section 213 has a thumb's
ball area 2131, a hypothenar area 2132, a heel area 210, and a
ball-catching region 222 formed between the thumb's ball area 2131
and the hypothenar area 2132 and above the heel area 210. The
finger pockets 214 include a little finger pocket 2141 and a ring
finger pocket 2142.
[0019] The back section 212 includes a first back surface region
215 on a back side of the thumb's ball area 2131 and having three
spaced-apart first back ribs 231 (see FIG. 3), and a second back
surface region 217 below the little finger and ring finger pockets
2141, 2142 and having three spaced-apart second back ribs 232 (see
FIG. 4). The first back ribs 231 are made by embossing a leather
piece using a die, after which a peripheral edge 2311 of each first
back rib 231 is sewn so as to form a stitching line 2312 and to fix
the shape of each first back rib 231. The leather piece is made to
form the back section 212 of the glove body 21 and back sides of
the thumb and finger pockets 211, 214. The stitching line 2312 can
prevent an external force from flattening the first back ribs 231.
The second back ribs 232 are made in a manner similar to that of
the first back ribs 231, so that a detailed description of the same
is dispensed herewith for the sake of brevity.
[0020] Through the presence of the first and second back ribs 231,
232, i.e., the first back ribs 231 projecting outwardly from the
first back surface region 215 and the second back ribs 232
projecting outwardly from the second back surface region 216, the
back section 212 of the glove body 21 is strengthened and
protected.
[0021] In this embodiment, the restraining rib 221 is an elongated
embossment protruding from the palm section 213 of the glove body
21 and having a peripheral root 2211 that does not protrude from
the palm section 213. The restraining rib 221 forms a single
continuous curve that bounds partially the ball-catching region 222
and that extends between the ball-catching region 222 and the
thumb's ball area 2131, between the ball-catching region 222 and
the heel area 210, and between the ball-catching region 222 and the
hypothenar area 2132. The ball-catching region 222 is unbounded by
the restraining rib 221 at one side of the ball-catching region 222
opposite to the restraining rib 221. The restraining rib 221 is
made in a manner similar to that of the first back ribs 231, that
is, a leather piece is embossed using a die, after which the
peripheral root 2211 of the formed restraining rib 221 is sewn to
provide a stitching line 2212 that is looped along the peripheral
root 2211 of the restraining rib 221, thereby fixing the shape of
the restraining rib 221. The leather piece is formed into the palm
section 213 of the glove body 21 and front sides of the thumb and
finger pockets 211, 214. Further, the two leather pieces of the
back section 212 and the palm section 213 are sewn together in a
conventional manner to form the baseball glove 2.
[0022] Due to the presence of the restraining rib 221 on the palm
section 213 of the glove body 21, when a ball (shown in FIG. 2 in
phantom lines) is caught, it is retained exactly in the
ball-catching region 222 of the glove body 21. This is made
possible by the protrusion of the restraining rib 221 on the palm
section 213, as well as by the partial bounding of the restraining
rib 221 on the ball-catching region 222. Moreover, since the
embossed restraining rib 221 forms a corrugation on the palm
section 213, even if the baseball glove 2 is new and the
leather-made glove body 21 is hard, the glove body 21 can quickly
and easily bend along the restraining rib 221 so that the gripping
action during catching of the ball is more flexible and relaxed.
Additionally, the overall appearance of the baseball glove 2 is
enhanced due to the presence of the first and second back ribs 231,
232 and the restraining rib 221.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 5, the second preferred embodiment of a
baseball glove 2 according to the present invention is shown to be
similar to the first preferred embodiment. However, in this
embodiment, the palm section 213 of the glove body 21 is provided
with a pair of restraining ribs 221' to bound the ball-catching
region 222'. The restraining ribs 221' extend downwardly and
convergingly from the ball-catching region 222' such that an upper
portion of the ball-catching region 222' is larger than a lower
portion thereof. The restraining ribs 221' respectively have bottom
ends that are spaced-apart from each other below the ball-catching
region 222'. A ball can similarly be received and retained in the
ball-catching region 222' during a catching operation.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 6, the third preferred embodiment of a
baseball glove 2 according to the present invention is shown to be
similar to the first preferred embodiment. However, in this
embodiment, the palm section 213 of the glove body 21 is provided
with three restraining ribs 221'' that are spaced apart from each
other along a curve that bounds partially the ball-catching region
222''. The advantages of the first preferred embodiment can be
likewise attained using the third preferred embodiment.
[0025] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what are considered the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *