Hunter's glove

Abstract

The glove of the invention embodies a combination of materials having special qualities structured, arranged, and assembled in a novel relation whereby the completed glove ensures warmth of the hand as a whole, a particular flexibility and live feel for the trigger finger, excellent wear resisting and friction maintaining surfaces on the thumb and first three fingers which provide an easily maintained grip of the hand of the hunter upon the firearm or other object held by the user of the glove under adverse conditions caused by low temperature, snow or rain, or other adverse conditions. The glove of this invention, although it is a hunting glove, is not a leather glove. It is not a lined glove, but is a glove made preferably of knitted jersey fabric of 100% acrylic yarn which is inherently stretchable and fits the hand and breathes. The invention resides primarily in the assembly of parts of novel structure and configuration cooperating in a novel manner to provide the qualities and capabilities herein mentioned.

Description

The present invention is directed to the provision of a glove particularly adapted to the requirements of a hunter under adverse weather conditions.

PRIOR ART

I am aware of prior art attempts to provide a special construction of glove for the hunter's use. Such attempts as have come to my attention indicate a misconception of the actual needs of the hunter. In an attempt to provide a sensitive trigger finger, the prior art has attempted to provide sensitivity by reducing the thermal protection of the trigger finger and has caused the finger thus covered to have an unnatural "paper bag" feeling which tends to detract from the shooter's attention.

U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,151,335; 3,111,678; and 2,728,082 show prior art developments of a glove for hunters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a glove, the composition, structure and mode of assembly of which provides a unique utiliTy of the fingers and thumb for cooperating with the gun stock or other like object, and particularly in maintaining the normal protection of the thumb and trigger finger but permitting the trigger finger to have free independent action at all times.

The invention provides local areas consisting of a 100% cotton knitted jersey material provided on its exposed surface, with a pattern of deposited adherent dots or papillae of synthetic rubberlike composition which provide a firm friction grip upon the gun stock or other like object which the user may elect to hold. The glove of the present invention embodying the aforesaid dotted material provides a firm friction grip upon the gun stock or like objects under adverse weather conditions which include (1) cold produced by cold winds or by still weather of low temperature, (2) snow--wet or dry--which would tend to make insecure or slippery the hold of the user upon a smooth gun stock or some other like object, and (3) wet weather--such as rain or wet snow--since a continuous film of snow or water would tend to be interposed between the gun stock and the grasping surfaces of the glove. Such a situation is avoided in the use of the present glove where the solid spherical dots or papillae penetrate the film of snow or moisture and provide an excellent friction hold on the solid surfaces of the stock and/or trigger regardless of the condition of the surfaces of the gun engaged by this papillated area.

The glove of the present invention provides an assembly of materials of diverse qualities which minimize the effect of wetness and/or chilling of the parts of the hands which are most active or essential in maintaining a secure hold on the gun and, particularly, the part or parts of the hands which are concerned with (1) a firm hold upon the firearm and (2) a warm and supple trigger finger. A split leather plam patch cooperates in maintaining an easy but effective grip on a slippery gun stock.

The invention provides a hunter's glove which can breathe. This is obtained by virtue of the woven base materials of the glove and the dots of papillae which are interposed between the gripping surfaces of the glove and the parts of the gun engaged by the hand of the hunter. The facing material of the finger stalls and thumb stall, which is not per se water-proof, is capable of breathing and does not tend to trap moisture inside the glove.

The invention provides, in connection with the fingers and thumb involved in the delicate operation of sighting and pulling the trigger, a resilient internal layer which distributes the pressure of the trigger hand and finger more evenly over a wider area and thereby gives a smooth feeling of complete control.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates on a reduced scale a pair of gloves exposing the palm sides, which gloves embody the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the palm side of the right hand glove of the pair shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a back elevational view of the right hand glove of the pair shown in FIG. 1 and here shown on the same scale as FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arows;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6--6 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 8 is a vertical section taken through the elastic wrist band forming the lower part of the glove shown in FIG. 2, this section being taken on line 8--8 and looking in the direction of the arrows (the stretch is indicated at 4a in the broken lines of FIG. 10);

FIG. 9 is an elevational view on an enlarged scale of the patch or facing material comprising dots or papillae secured to a knitted jersey backing which, in turn, is backed by a middle layer of polyurethane foam and an inner layer of nylon flock of loose feltlike consistency;

FIG. 9a is a fragmentary edgewise view of the sheet material utilized for the patches of dotted fabric employed on the facing of the thumb and second and third fingers and wrap around patch of the first finger shown in front elevation in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 10 is a layout plan view of the component parts of the glove of FIG. 2 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT SHOWN IN THE DRAWINGS

In FIG. 1 a pair of gloves of this invention consisting of a right-hand glove and a left-hand glove is shown on a reduced scale in front elevation; the right-hand glove--that is, the glove for the right hand--is illustrated in detail on a larger sscale throughout the remaining Figures of the drawings and it is to be understood that the left-hand glove is a mirror image of the right-hand glove.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-10 inclusive, the glove for the right hand is shown on a larger scale, and the glove is shown in front elevation on FIG. 2. It comprises the main portion of the entire glove consisting of the fingers 1, the thumb 2, the palm portion 3, and the wrist portion 4. FIG. 3 shows the same glove in rear elevation.

The main one-piece body portion 5 (see FIG. 10) of the glove, which body portion comprises the palm portion 3, the back portion 22 and parts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the finger portions and thumb portions, is preferably a single piece of knitted jersey of acrylic yarn, a well known fabric warm and pleasant to the touch. The said main body portion 5, illustrated in FIG. 10, includes the integral wrap around thumb portion 6, the stub first finger portion 7, middle finger portion 8, third finger portion 9, and the entirety of the little finger portion 10.

In assembling the elements of the glove the stub thumb portion 11 of the pattern 5 becomes the lower part of the thumb stall hereinafter generally referred to as the thumb of the glove, and the upper inside or ball portion of the thumb is supplied by the insert 12 which is constructed of the dotted fabric illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 9a.

This fabric of FIGS. 9 and 9a comprises a sheet of three layers. The outermost or exposed layer 13 consists of a base sheet of stretchable cotton knitted material upon the outer surface of which are deposited dots or papillae 14 (on a spacing of the order of 15 dots per lineal inch) which dots are composed of a plastic, artificial rubberlike material deposited as generally spherical drops or granules in plastic adhesive condition upon the surface of the base cotton knitted jersey material 13 to which it is bonded and firmly adheres. Upon the back (inside, in each case) of the dotted material 13 there is a middle layer 15 of a polyurethane foam approximately one-eighth inch thick. This foam layer 15 is soft and spongy and bonds to the back of the dot covered jersey material and to an inner layer 16 which is made up of fibrous nylon flock. This provides a combination fabric which feels soft and compressible.

The back or outside body part 17 of the thumb stall consists of a generally oval piece 17 (FIG. 10) of the same knitted jersey fabric material of which the body 5 of the glove is composed.

The front face of the thumb stall--that is, the part facing the fingers--comprises the dotted grasping surface on the ball of the thumb consisting of the part 12 which bears papillae (as per the structure shown in FIGS. 9 and 9a), and the edges of the main body part 6 are sewed to the edges of the papilla faced insert 12. The part 6 of the main body 5, lying to the right of the thumb base in FIG. 10, is folded to the left in FIG. 10 to establish the position of the body of the thumb stall 17. The dotted insert 12 has its upper edge 18 (FIG. 10) sewed to the adjacent lower edge of the depending thumb portion 11, and the two parts 11 and 12 are swung upwardly to provide the part of the thumb stall which faces the palm and fingers of the hand -- in this case, the right hand.

The dotted faced gripping portion (part 12) of the thumb stall which is faced with the papillae is sewed to the lower end of the depending portion 11 shown in FIG. 10 and the two parts together are swung upwardly and their edges joined to the edges of the piece 17 which is the back or outside part of the thumb stall. Thereby the dotted gripping part 12 for the inwaardly facing upper end of the thumb extends over the upper or ball part of the thumb and joins the knitted body portion 3 of the palm side of the glove at the short projecting part 11 and leaves that outwardly facing back region of the thumb covered with the knitted layer of the body of the glove and avoids either a seam or a bunching of the material in the crotch of the thumb. The finger stall 18 for the first finger comprises a complete wrap around thimble-like cover 23 (FIG. 1) for the outer end of the first finger of the hand, covering not substantially more than the two outer joints of the first finger of which, in the normal use of the glove, only the outermost one or two joints would engage the trigger of the firearm for firing the piece. The dotted material enclosing the outer end of the first finger is closed by a longitudinal seam 19 shown in cross section in FIG. 4 and in elevation in FIG. 5, which seam extends over the end of the finger as in FIG. 5.

The second and third fingers--20 and 21 respectively--of the glove are covered on their front or palm side with the above described dotted fabric (FIG. 4) and the fourth finger of the glove comprises a covering of only the knitted jersey material which forms the main body of the glove.

The back of the glove, as illustrated in FIG. 3, comprises a unitary body piece 22 of the knitted acrylic yarn above referred to, excepting only the wrap around outer end of the first finger which, as above explained, comprises the three-ply externally dotted material above the middle joint of the first finger. This means that the pull on the trigger is exerted through the dotted three-ply material which is soft and flexible. Squeezing the trigger is a requisite to accurate shooting and the present construction is conductive to that mode of use.

The ball of the thumb 2, as illustrated in FIG. 7, is faced with the dotted acrylic material which provides an excellent grip which is warm and flexible.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the facing of the dotted material over the ball of the thumb likewise provides a warm, soft and dry covering for the thumb and gives a non-slip gripping surface cooperating with like portions of the fingers of the hand.

The wrist portion 4 is composed of a band of what is commonly known as elastic web wrist material, and it serves the function of keeping the glove on the hand, and closing with low pressure per unit area, the connection between the closed body of the glove and the wrist of the wearer. The stretchabillity of the fabric of band 4 is indicated in broken lines in FIG. 10.

A leather palm patch 24 is extended across the palm of the hand in a slightly downwardly inclined direction from the first finger joint to the rear edge of the palm--that is, adjacent the little finger. This palm patch 24 is stitched to the jersey body of the glove, across the plam and also at the ends. This patch across the palm is made of split leather--that is, it exposes the fibers or flesh side of the leather which has been found to be superior to grain leather for providing frictional engagement, particularly when snow or moisture is present.

The dotted material comprises a rubberlike resin utilizing separate dots spaced to present approximately 15 dots per lineal inch in each direction. These deformable dots or granules, deposited as individual drops on a knitted cotton material, are highly effective to provide a good grip because of the high coefficient of friction. Consequntly, a firearm may be held firmly without requiring excessive and tiresome pressure.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a glove of the class described the combination of a hollow knitted palm portion, a plurality of hollow knitted tubular finger sections and a thumb section, said sections being joined to the palm portion, the first finger section of the palm portion being tubular and extending from the palm portion to a point substantially at the second joint of the first finger of the hand to be covered, a finger stall closed at its outer end and substantially covering the two outermost joints of said first finger and being joined to the aforesaid knitted first finger portion, said last-named joint being adapted to lie substantially at the innermost end of the second joint of the first finger of the user's hand, said first finger stall comprising stretchable walls adapted to cover the two outer joints of the trigger finger and having a granulated surface of adherent particles overlying the first and second joints of the occupying finger.

2. In a glove of the class described, the combination of a hollow knitted jersey body portion having an elastic tubular wrist portion at its lower end and having generally parallel tubular finger stalls closed at their outer ends and joined at their inner ends to and communicating with the hollow body portion, a tubular thumb stall closed at its outer end and having its lower end joined to and communicating with said body portion, the first finger stall comprising a cot for receiving the first two joints from the outer closed end and terminating at the next to the outermost joint of the first finger of the hand of the user, said cot being constructed of a base fabric of knitted jersey cloth with closely spaced dots of solid elastic synthetic gum adherent to the outer surface and being lined with a layer of polyurethane foam adherent to the inner surface of said fabric and an inner layer of nylon flock.

3. A glove of the class described having a palm portion of knitted jersey, finger stalls and a thumb stall joined to the palm portion, the combination of a trigger finger stall having a tubular base portion which is adapted to lie adjacent to and beyond the first knuckle of the hand of the wearer, said stall comprising a knitted tubular finger portion the lower end of which is adapted to be a continuation of and to be joined to the palm portion of the glove, the outer end of said trigger finger stall being closed, and said stall having its lower end joined circumferentially to lie adjacent the connection between the first joint and the second joint of the occupying trigger finger.

4. A glove comprising a central tubular palm portion of knitted jersey, a tubular elastic wrist portion joined at its upper edges to the lower end of said tubular palm portion, said palm portion including a tubular extension at one side of the palm portion, a thumb stall closed at its outer end and having an inner open end joined to the palm portion, said thumb stall comprising a front portion integral with the tubular palm portion and comprising a duplex front portion consisting of an outer wear resisting insert joined at its edges to the margins of the opening in the aforesaid side of said thumb stall and a layer of resilient fibrous material on the inside of said duplex front portion.

5. The glove of claim 1 wherein the thumb section includes a patch covering the face of the thumb, said patch consisting of an outer knit piece faced with adherent resin dots and an inner fibrous elastic backing.

6. The glove of claim 5 with a diagonal strip of leather, with the fiber side exposed, extending diagonally across the palm of the hand and over the front edge of the palm portion for engaging a gun stock gripped in the gloved hand.

7. A glove according to claim 5 wherein the middle finger stall of the glove comprises a wear and friction facing comprising a longitudinal strip on the inside face of the glove, said strip comprising a knitted fabric having closely spaced elastic papillae deposited thereon and having an adjacent layer of elastic foam attached thereto on the inside face of said strip.

8. The glove of claim 5 wherein two finger stalls for the second and third fingers, respectively, of the glove are continuous across the crotch of said fingers.

9. The glove of claim 8 wherein the backs of the fourth, third, second and the lower joint of the first finger are unitary with the front of the palm portion of the glove and the junction of the edges of the front and back of the glove occurs at the rear edge of the palm portion and at the rear edge of the fourth finger.

10. A hunting glove comprising a main body portion of knitted jersey cotton with attached thumb and finger stalls faced with dotted cloth comprising knitted sheet material faced with closely spaced dots of solid rubberlike plastic resin backed by a layer of polyurethane foam.

11. The glove of claim 10 wherein said layer of polyurethane foam is covered by a layer of nylon flock to render the surface of the foam non-sticky.