U.S. patent application number 11/726081 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-25 for football glove for quarterbacks.
Invention is credited to Charles B. McGough.
Application Number | 20080229477 11/726081 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39773212 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080229477 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McGough; Charles B. |
September 25, 2008 |
Football glove for quarterbacks
Abstract
The invention is a glove for football quarterbacks. It protects
the quarterbacks's fingers against impact injuries, and improves
his ability to grip and throw a football with distance and
accuracy, especially in inclement weather. The glove is made of a
thin, supple, leather-like material which fits tightly to the
player's hand. The four fingers of the glove each contain a hollow
contoured fingertip insert made from elastomer material. These
inserts enclose the player's four fingers from the tip up to, but
not above, the first knuckle, and have small drain holes to prevent
perspiration build-up. The inserts slightly increase the effective
length of the wearer's fingers without decreasing their bending
flexibility, and are contoured to conform to the rounded shape of a
football so that the player's fingers can make full contact with
its surface. The gloves thus enable the quarterback to put firm
gripping pressure on the football, while also protecting his
fingers against impact injuries.
Inventors: |
McGough; Charles B.;
(Savannah, GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHARLES B. McGOUGH
3 MARSHBRIDGE LANE
SAVANNAH
GA
31411
US
|
Family ID: |
39773212 |
Appl. No.: |
11/726081 |
Filed: |
March 22, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/161.1 ;
2/163 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 71/146 20130101;
A63B 71/141 20130101; A63B 2243/007 20130101; A63B 71/148 20130101;
A41D 19/01547 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/161.1 ;
2/163 |
International
Class: |
A41D 19/00 20060101
A41D019/00 |
Claims
1. A glove for football players, particularly quarterbacks, which
is constructed of thin supple leather or synthetic leather-like
material selected to conform tightly to the hand of a football
player in a manner similar to the close fit of a golf glove to the
hand of a golfer; said glove containing hollow contoured elastomer
fingertip inserts in each of the four fingers (the index, middle,
ring, and little fingers, but excluding the thumb) of said glove,
which completely enclose, support, and protect the glove wearer's
four fingers from the tip of each finger up to, but not above, the
first knuckle of each finger; and which said fingertip inserts
contain one or more small perspiration drain holes; and which said
fingertip inserts increase the effective length of each finger of
the glove wearer by a predetermined amount without reducing the
bending flexibility of the fingers; and which said fingertip
inserts are shaped so that the wearer's gloved fingers make
contact, indirectly through the fingertip insert and the glove
material, with the rounded surface of a football, so that when
wearing said glove the football player is able to grip and throw a
football even under inclement weather conditions.
2. Hollow contoured fingertip inserts made of elastomer material
which are designed to be inserted into each of the four fingers
(the index, middle, ring, and little fingers, but excluding the
thumb) of a football player's glove, and which completely enclose,
support, and protect the glove wearer's four fingers from the tip
of each finger up to, but not above, the first knuckle of each
finger; and which said fingertip inserts contain one or more small
perspiration drain holes; and which said fingertip inserts increase
the effective length of each finger by a predetermined amount
without reducing the bending flexibility of the fingers; and which
said fingertip inserts are contoured so that the wearer's gloved
fingers make contact, indirectly through the fingertip inserts and
the glove material, with the rounded surface of a football, so that
when wearing a glove containing said fingertip inserts a football
player is able to grip and throw the football even under inclement
weather conditions.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application succeeds U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/291,277, now abandoned.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING
[0003] Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] 1. Field of Endeavor
[0005] The field of endeavor of this invention is athletic (or
sports) gloves, specifically gloves used by participants in the
game of football as played primarily in the United States and
Canada.
[0006] 2. Prior Art
[0007] The players of almost all sports use various types of gloves
to protect their hands and improve their performance, and literally
dozens of patents have been applied for or issued in this
field.
[0008] For example, U.S. Patent Application 20050251078
(Fleishmann; Nov. 10, 2005) describes two-piece finger protectors
containing webs and straps designed to protect the hands of soccer
goal keepers. USPAs 20040199978 and 2004002522 (Cass; Oct. 14 and
Feb. 12, 2004) disclose an athletic glove having holes in the
gripping surfaces of three or more fingers and the palm to allow,
primarily, for better gripping and handling of a basketball.
[0009] USPA 20040107476 (Goldwitz; Jun. 10, 2004) describes a glove
in which two or three of the finger sections are truncated so that,
when the glove is worn, the tips of these fingers are exposed. USPA
20040021330 (Percell; Feb. 5, 2004) describes an adhesive film for
rubber adhesive tips which, when bonded to fingertips, supposedly
enhance the player's ability to grip and throw a ball.
[0010] USPA 20030037364 (Albert; Feb. 27, 2003) is an application
for a patent on a "grip-enhancing glove", which contains a
plurality of recesses or suction cups on the palm of a bowling
glove to enhance control.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,397 (Seminara; Nov. 16, 1999) describes
a "Batting Glove", which consists of leather wrist, palm, and
finger positions, hook-and-loop fasteners, a raised rubber pad, and
other features all designed to enable the batter to cradle a
baseball bat handle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,387 (Lopez; Sep. 8, 1987)
describes a glove apparatus consisting of a non-slip grip and
padding on various parts of the hand, which is claimed to provide
the wearer advantages in water sports, baseball, weight lifting,
golf, cycling, and other sports.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,016 (Luevano, Nov. 25, 1986) claims that
its laminated cushion "athletic glove with built-in cushioning"
provides protection to the user's hand without interfering with
flexing of the hand, thumb, and fingers.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,429 (Mulvaney; Jul. 8, 1986) describes a
glove made of leather in which one side of said leather has been
treated with a preferred resin in combination with a synthetic
hydrocarbon polymer to create a "tackified" surface which improves
the gripping characteristics of said glove.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,272 (Fisher, Nov. 26, 1996) describes
separate elastomeric sleeves which fit over the full lengths of the
individual fingers to extend the effective length of a basketball
player's fingers to facilitate one-handed dunks of a
basketball.
[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,385 (Hochmuth, Mar. 16, 1999) describes
a soccer goalkeeper's protective glove with padded fingers, having
lateral edge connections between the upper and inner regions of the
hand and fingers regions, so as to simplify manufacturing of said
soccer goalkeeper's glove.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,190 (Tobelmann, Jun. 1, 2004) discloses
a glove designed to enable a pool player to more effectively bridge
a pool cue. The four fingers of the glove contain solid insert
members (tips) which add length to the four fingers so that, when
the finger tips are placed on the surface of a billiard table, they
raise the height of the player's hand so that the player may more
easily strike the cue ball in a downward manner when it is very
close to the billiard ball. The Tobelmann glove, while effective
for its intended use, could not be used to grip and throw a
football. The solid tips of said glove touch only the tips of the
wearer's fingers, but do not enclose nor support the fingers up to
the first knuckle. Therefore, a wearer could not put pressure on
the surface of a football when gripping it while wearing the
Tobelmann gloves, since such pressure would cause the tips to bend
(or "hinge") at the interface between the solid tip and the tip of
the wearer's finger, thus making it impossible to effectively throw
a football while wearing these gloves.
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,283 (Kujawski, Jan. 3, 2006) describes a
gardening glove with cushion inserts to protect a female gardener's
long fingernails from damage during gardening. The fingers of the
gloves contain sponge or foam tip inserts which have horizontal
slits to receive and protect the long fingernails of the female
gardeners.
[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,155 (Sandusky, May 27, 2000) describes a
glove for use in football and other games, comprising two regions
of material, a front region made of a natural fiber base material
to which a layer of soft PVC has been applied, and a rear region
made of a man-made non-waterproof material, and having straps to
secure the glove to the wrist of the user.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,276 (Eibert, Apr. 1, 2001) describes
padded athletic gloves, which are thin flexible multi-purpose
athletic gloves comprising resilient silicone foam pads attached to
the palm side of the glove to provide protection for the hands
against shock and vibration during sports activities.
[0020] All of the above patents and applications describe gloves,
or features of gloves, which are intended to protect the wearer's
hand against injury, or to improve his/her ability to catch, grip,
or throw a ball, bat, club, or other item of athletic
equipment.
[0021] However, none of the devices described in any of the
above-listed patent documents have anticipated the principal
feature of the invention disclosed herein, the hollow contoured
elastomer fingertip insert, which is described in detail in this
application.
[0022] It should also be noted that a number of American sporting
goods companies sell gloves designed to improve the performance of
football players, including quarterbacks. These gloves are
generally made of tacky rubber-like synthetic material which helps
the player grip the football, especially under adverse playing
conditions such as rain, snow, mud, or cold. In theory, the
quarterback should be able to pass the football with greater length
and accuracy than he otherwise could if he were handling the
football with his bare hands under these difficult conditions.
[0023] However, these gloves, while popular with almost all other
football position players, are not widely used by quarterbacks at
any level (high school, college, or professional). The reason for
this is that all football gloves currently manufactured by U.S.
athletic glove companies are constructed of a relatively stiff and
thick (approximately 0.035 inch) material which does not conform
tightly to the quarterback's hand and fingers. The
currently-available gloves are designed for ruggedness so that they
can be used over and over again in many football games. Their
relatively heavy construction causes the quarterbacks to lose
sensory tactile "feel" in their throwing hand, which causes them to
pass the football with less accuracy and consistency than they
normally would with their bare hand. Therefore even in cold, wet
conditions, when a glove could provide warmth and improved gripping
ability, very few quarterbacks at any level use the current
generation of football gloves.
[0024] The use of very thin material (e.g. in the range 0.008 to
0.020 inches) for football gloves to give quarterbacks better
tactile "feel" in their throwing hands, would seem to be an obvious
solution to this problem. However, a thorough search of the prior
art, and of products offered by U.S. manufacturers of football
gloves, has not uncovered any football gloves made of material in
this thickness range.
[0025] Testing by the inventor of prototype football gloves has
shown that said gloves made of materials in the 0.008 to 0.020 inch
thickness range are thin and supple enough to conform tightly to
the hand, thus allowing the wearer to grip and throw a football
with length and accuracy, while protecting the hands in cold and
wet playing conditions.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0026] The football glove described herein has unique and
advantageous features which improve upon, and distinguish it from,
all gloves which are currently made for football players, including
those playing the quarterback position.
[0027] The glove is made of a very thin (typical thickness range
0.008 to 0.020 inches) leather or synthetic leather-like material,
which conforms tightly to the player's hand similar to the close
fit of a golf glove. The four fingers of the glove, which are
commonly known as the index, middle, ring, and little fingers
(herein designated the "four fingers", and the excluding the
thumb), each contain a hollow contoured elastomer fingertip insert
(herein designated the "fingertip insert") which encloses and
supports the player's finger from the tip up to, but not above, the
first knuckle. These fingertip inserts slightly increase the
effective length of each finger without reducing the ability of the
fingers to bend, and are contoured so that the player's gloved
fingertips, pressing through the fingertip inserts and the thin
glove material, fit tightly against the curved surface of the
football when the player grips the ball in a throwing position. The
fingertip inserts each have one or more small (typically 0.125 inch
diameter) drain holes to prevent the accumulation of perspiration.
The fingertip inserts also protect the fingers against impact-type
injuries which commonly occur when the fingers strikes a defender's
equipment as the quarterback throws the football.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] FIG. 1 is an overall view of the football glove, showing the
hollow contoured elastomer fingertip inserts inside the four glove
fingers of the player's said glove, and the thin, flexible leather
or leather-like glove material of which the glove is
constructed.
[0029] FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view of one finger of the glove,
showing one of the fingertip inserts installed inside the thin
glove material. This view shows how the fingertip inserts enclose
and protect the fingers from the tip of the finger up to, but not
above, the first knuckle. This view also illustrates the contoured
shape of the fingertip insert, which allows the player's gloved
finger to make good contact with the surface of the football to aid
the player in gripping and throwing. This view also illustrates how
the fingertip inserts protect the player's fingers against impact
injury. A fingertip insert perspiration drain hole is also
shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] The device consists of a tight-fitting glove 1 made of thin,
supple leather or leather-like synthetic material 2, having a
thickness typically in the range 0.008 to 0.020 inches, which can
be treated to provide resistance to water and a surface tackiness,
and having hollow contoured elastomer fingertip inserts 3 in each
of its four fingers 4 (excluding the thumb) which enclose, support,
and protect the wearer's fingers from the tip up to, but not above,
the first knuckle 5 of each finger, and which increase the
effective length of each finger by a predetermined amount
(typically 0.25 inches), and which are contoured so that the gloved
fingertips of the wearer can make good contact with the rounded
surface of a football 6. Each fingertip insert has one or more
small (typically 0.125 inches diameter) drain holes 7 which prevent
the accumulation of perspiration inside of said fingertip inserts.
The glove will be made in several hand sizes to accommodate all
football quarterbacks or other position players. The glove will
normally have a closure flap with a standard hook-and-eye (Velcro)
pad 8 so that it can be tightly closed on the hand, but other
closure types may be used.
[0031] The added effective finger length and the contoured shape of
the fingertip inserts allow the quarterbacks to get a firm grip on
the ball, especially under inclement weather conditions, thus
enabling said quarterbacks to improve both distance and accuracy of
their forward passes. The fingertip inserts are manufactured from
an elastomer material which is selected to be stiff enough to allow
the player's fingers to put throwing pressure on the ball through
the inserts, but flexible enough to yield and not cause injury if
the fingers are bent or struck during play. In fact, the fingertip
inserts will protect the quarterback against common injuries which
results from striking the hand against a defensive player's helmet
while in the act of throwing a pass. The fingertip inserts are
first molded into the various sizes needed for the different hand
and finger sizes of the players, and then inserted into the fingers
of the gloves during the manufacturing process. Gloves with such
fingertip inserts are not prohibited under Rules 14.m and 14.b of
the 2004 Football Rules and Interpretations published by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association.
[0032] As previously noted, the football glove containing said four
hollow contoured elastomer fingertip inserts is made from a thin,
supple leather or leather-like synthetic material (typically 0.008
to 0.020 inches thick) which enables the gloves to conform tightly
to the quarterback's hand in a manner similar to gloves worn by
golfers. These football gloves, which are approximately one-third
the thickness of standard football quarterback gloves, will greatly
improve the sensory "feel" the quarterback has in his throwing
hand. The thin supple gloves are less rugged than the thick-walled
football gloves now on the market, and are intended to be replaced
more frequently. It is possible that more than one glove will be
used in a single game, depending on conditions. This is not seen as
a disadvantage in major football, where millions of dollars are
riding on the performance of the players, especially the key
quarterback position. In golf, by analogy, it is not uncommon for a
professional or top amateur golfer to use three or four gloves in a
single 18-hole round even in normal weather, so that he/she can
maintain a perfect grip on the clubs.
[0033] Although football quarterbacks are expected to be the main
users of these gloves, other position players (receivers, running
backs, centers, long-snappers) may also find that the gloves
enhance their gripping and throwing ability, and hence improve
their performance.
* * * * *