U.S. patent application number 12/563197 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-01 for sports training glove.
Invention is credited to Amir Kettani.
Application Number | 20100077532 12/563197 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42055821 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100077532 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kettani; Amir |
April 1, 2010 |
SPORTS TRAINING GLOVE
Abstract
A sports training glove for wearing on a hand that restricts or
substantially discourages the catching of a ball with the palm of
the hand and substantially promotes the catching of a ball with the
fingers of the hand. The sports training glove has an inside hand
portion including a palm portion, and a raised member located
substantially on the palm portion of the inside hand portion of the
sports training glove and projecting outward from the palm
portion.
Inventors: |
Kettani; Amir; (Kirtland,
OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HAHN LOESER & PARKS, LLP
One GOJO Plaza, Suite 300
AKRON
OH
44311-1076
US
|
Family ID: |
42055821 |
Appl. No.: |
12/563197 |
Filed: |
September 21, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61101242 |
Sep 30, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/160 ; 2/161.1;
2/162; 2/163 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2243/007 20130101;
A63B 2243/0025 20130101; A63B 71/146 20130101; A63B 71/148
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/160 ; 2/161.1;
2/162; 2/163 |
International
Class: |
A41D 19/00 20060101
A41D019/00; A63B 71/14 20060101 A63B071/14 |
Claims
1. A sports training glove for wearing on a hand that restricts or
substantially discourages the catching of a ball with the palm of
the hand and substantially promotes the catching of a ball with the
fingers of the hand, said sports training glove comprising: an
inside hand portion including a palm portion; and a raised member
located substantially on said palm portion of said inside hand
portion of the sports glove and projecting outward from said palm
portion.
2. The sports training glove of claim 1 further comprising a
fingers portion.
3. The sports training glove of claim 1 further comprising a thumb
portion.
4. The sports training glove of claim 1 further comprising a
fingers portion and a thumb portion.
5. The sports training glove of claim 1 further comprising a wrist
portion.
6. The sports training glove of claim 5, wherein said wrist portion
further comprises at least one wrist strap.
7. The sports training glove of claim 1, wherein said raised member
is a general shape selected from the group consisting of a
hemispherical shape, a cubic shape, and a rectangular shape.
8. The sports training glove of claim 1, wherein said raised member
is solid.
9. The sports training glove of claim 8, wherein said raised member
is made of plastic or rubber.
10. The sports training glove of claim 1, wherein said raised
member further comprises an outer region and an inner region.
11. The sports training glove of claim 10, wherein said outer
region is made of plastic or rubber.
12. The sports training glove of claim 10, wherein said inner
region comprises a gel or a gas.
13. The sports training glove of claim 10, wherein said raised
member further comprises a valve that allows a fluid into said
inner region.
14. The sports training glove of claim 13, wherein said fluid is a
gel or a gas.
15. The sports training glove of claim 1, wherein said sports
training glove is made of a material selected from the group
consisting of leather, foam, cloth, plastic, rubber, and a
polymer-like material.
16. The sports training glove of claim 1, wherein said raised
member is affixed to said palm portion by means of attachment.
17. The sports training glove of claim 16, wherein said means of
attachment is selected from the group consisting of sewing, gluing,
and hook and loop fastening.
18. The sports training glove of claim 1, wherein said palm portion
further comprises a palm pocket.
19. The sports training glove of claim 18, wherein said raised
member resides and is removable from inside said palm pocket.
Description
[0001] This U.S. Patent Application claims priority to and the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/101,242
filed on Sep. 30, 2008 which is incorporated herein by reference in
its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to
gloves. More particularly, certain embodiments of the present
invention relate to sports training gloves that help train a user
to catch a ball (e.g,. a soccer ball or an American football) using
primarily the fingers of the hand.
BACKGROUND
[0003] There are many different types of sports gloves on the
market today. Some sports gloves help facilitate the gripping of a
bat or a club, for example. Others help facilitate the gripping of
a ball with the palm of the hand as well as with the fingers. Still
others help facilitate keeping the wrists straight. Most such
sports gloves are meant to be worn during the actual playing of a
sporting event (e.g., soccer, American football, golf) during
competition, not just during practice or training.
[0004] Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional,
traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of
skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with
embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder
of the present application with reference to the drawings.
SUMMARY
[0005] An embodiment of the present invention comprises a sports
training glove for wearing on a hand that restricts or
substantially discourages the catching of a ball with the palm of
the hand and substantially promotes the catching of a ball with the
fingers of the hand. The sports training glove includes an inside
hand portion including a palm portion, and a raised member located
substantially on the palm portion of the inside hand portion of the
sports glove and projecting outward from the palm portion. The
sports training glove may also include a fingers portion, a thumb
portion, and a wrist portion. The wrist portion may include at
least one wrist strap. The raised member may be of a general shape
such as, for example, a hemispherical shape, a cubic shape, and a
rectangular shape. The raised member may be solid and made of, for
example, plastic or rubber. Alternatively, the raised member may
have an inner region and an outer region where the outer region is
made of, for example, plastic or rubber and the inner region is
filled with a fluid such as, for example, a gel or a gas. The
raised member may include a valve that allows a fluid into the
inner region. The raised member may be affixed to the palm portion
by means of attachment. Such means of attachment may include, for
example, sewing, gluing, and hook and loop fastening.
Alternatively, the palm portion of the sports training glove may
include a palm pocket and the raised member resides and is
removable from inside the palm pocket. The sports training glove
may be made of one or more materials such as, for example, leather,
foam, cloth, plastic, rubber, and a polymer-like material.
[0006] These and other advantages and novel features of the claimed
invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof,
will be more fully understood from the following description and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1A illustrates a first example embodiment of an inside
hand view of a sports glove for training a user to catch a ball
with the fingers of the hand;
[0008] FIG. 1B illustrates a side view of a portion of the sports
glove of FIG. 1A;
[0009] FIG. 2A illustrates a second example embodiment of an inside
hand view of a sports glove for training a user to catch a ball
with the fingers of the hand;
[0010] FIG. 2B illustrates a side view of a portion of the sports
glove of FIG. 2A;
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of a goalkeeper
training glove similar to the sports glove of FIGS. 1A-1B and
showing certain example dimensions; and
[0012] FIG. 4 illustrates another example embodiment of an inside
hand view and a side view of a portion of a sports glove similar to
the sports glove of FIGS. 1A-1B, and having a valve for inflation
purposes.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an inside
hand view of a sports glove 100 for training a user to catch a ball
with the fingers of the hand. FIG. 1B illustrates a side view of a
portion of the sports glove 100 of FIG. 1A. The sports glove 100
includes a fingers portion 110, a thumb portion 120, a hand portion
130, and a wrist portion 140. The sports glove 100 may be a soccer
goalkeeper glove, an American football receiver glove, or any of a
number of different types of sports training gloves for sports that
involve the catching of a ball.
[0014] An inside portion of the hand portion 130 includes a palm
portion 135 having a raised member 150 substantially centered at
the palm portion 135. The raised member 150 may be a pad, for
example, providing a raised surface that curves upward away from
the palm portion 135 and, therefore, away from the palm of the hand
when the glove 100 is worn by a user. The raised member 150 helps
to train a user to catch a ball more with his fingers rather than
with the palm of his hand because the raised member 150 tends to
restrict or substantially discourage the catching of a ball with
the palm of the hand. The raised member 150 may also help to
improve the strength of a user's fingers and forearms when training
with the glove 100. In accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention, the raised member may be generally hemispherical in
shape, similar to a half of a racquet ball for example, and project
outward away from the palm by about one inch at its peak. Other
peak projection heights of the raised member 150 are possible as
well.
[0015] In accordance with various embodiments of the present
invention, the fingers portion 110, the thumb portion 120, and/or
the wrist portion 140 may or may not be present. For example, an
American football receiver may desire to have his fingers
uncovered. A soccer goalkeeper may desire to have her thumb
uncovered, for example.
[0016] FIG. 2A illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of an
inside hand view of a sports glove 200 for training a user to catch
a ball with the fingers of the hand. FIG. 2B illustrates a side
view of a portion of the sports glove 200 of FIG. 2A. The sports
glove 200 of FIGS. 2A-2B is very similar to the sports glove 100 of
FIGS. 1A-1B except that the raised member 250 of FIGS. 2A-2B is
shaped differently than the raised member 150 of FIGS. 1A-1B.
Instead of curving upward away from the palm, the raised member 250
is more rectangular or cubic in shape and projects immediately
outward from the palm across the full length and width of the
raised member 250. Other shapes of the raised member are possible
as well, in accordance with various alternative embodiments of the
present invention.
[0017] In accordance with various embodiments of the present
invention, the raised member 150 or 250 may be hollow or solid. For
example, the raised member 150 or 250 may be filled with a gel
material that is encapsulated in a plastic outer layer, or the
raised member 150 or 250 may be made of the same type of material
(e.g., plastic or rubber) throughout. Furthermore, the raised
member 150 or 250 may have a resilience similar to that of a
racquet ball, for example, such that the raised member gives or
compresses slightly when a ball is caught, assuming that the ball
makes contact with the raised member 150 or 250 and applies a force
thereto. Such resilience may help to prevent the ball from
immediately deflecting away from a user's hand (popping out) before
the user fully grasps the ball with his fingers, but still
encourages the user to grasp the ball with his fingers without
relying on his palms.
[0018] As a further alternative, the raised member may be
inflatable, as shown in FIG. 4, which illustrates an inside hand
view and a side view of a portion of a sports glove 400. The sports
glove 400 may include a valve 410, used for inflation purposes. For
example, the raised member may be capable of being inflated with a
fluid (e.g,. air or gas) via a pump device. The pump device may be
external to and connectable/unconnectable to the glove, or the pump
device may be integrated into the glove. When the raised member is
inflated, the glove is used for training. The raised member may
subsequently be deflated and used for actual competitive play.
[0019] The fingers portion 110, the thumb portion 120, the hand
portion 130, and the wrist portion 140 of the glove 100 or 200 may
be made of various materials including leather, foam, cloth,
plastic, rubber, or some other polymer-like material. The raised
member 150 or 250 may be attached to the palm portion 135 in any of
various ways. For example, the raised member 150 or 250 may be
sewn, hook and looped (e.g., Velcro.RTM.-like attachment means), or
glued externally or internally to the palm portion 135. As an
alternative, the raised member 150 or 250 may reside in a pocket
internal to the glove 100 or 200 at the palm portion 135 and may be
removable, for example. Other attachment or insertion means are
possible as well.
[0020] The sports training glove 100 or 200 may also include two
wrist straps 141 and 142 at the wrist portion 140. A user may wrap
a first wrist strap 141 around his wrist to a desired tightness and
secure the wrist strap 141 via, for example, a Velcro.RTM. or
Velcro.RTM.-like attachment means. Similarly, the user may wrap a
second wrist strap 142 around the first wrist strap 141 to a
desired tightness and secure the wrist strap 142 in a similar
manner.
[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a goalkeeper
training glove similar to the sports glove of FIGS. 1A-1B and
showing certain example dimensions.
[0022] While the invention has been described with reference to
certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In
addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular
situation or material to the teachings of the invention without
departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the
invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed,
but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within
the scope of the appended claims.
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