Apparel – Guard or protector – Hand or arm
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-07
2001-08-28
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Guard or protector
Hand or arm
C002S016000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279159
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a protective aid for protecting the hands and wrists of skaters.
As is known, a lot of persons, in particular young people, practise skating sprots, both at an agonistic level and at a hobby level, mainly due to the fact that are easily available on the market new types of skates comprising four aligned skating wheels.
In particular, these new types of skates allow the skater to easily control his/her skate while greatly facilitating directional changes.
On the other hand, the learning of a proper use of these skates is very difficult and requires a great perseverance by an inexperienced skater.
Moreover, in practicing this sport, particularly at the start thereof, the skater is frequently subjected to dangerous failings because of a frequently occurring equilibrium loss.
During these falls, the skater tends instinctively to limit possible damages by abutting against ground that portion of his/er hand palm arranged near the wrist, both in a case of a frontwardly fall and in the case of a backwardly fall.
Thus, the region of the hand palm adjoining the wrist is inevitably subjected to a traumatic reaction which, in many cases is very painful and requires several days for recovering and, frequently, a proper orthopedic care.
In this connection, it should be pointed out that the impact against the hand palm can also damage the articulation of the user's wrist, in particular because of an excessive extension movement (hyperextension) of the hand with respect to the forearm, which can lead to a radius extension fracture, which is a classical injury pattern of a fall on the outstretched forearm (compare in this respect the article by G. Ahlbäumer et al. “Injury Pattern and Prevention of Wrist Injuries in Snowboarding”,Proceedings of the ECOSA 6th International Conference on Product Safety Research, Amsterdam 1998, published on Jun. 15, 1998).
Moreover, the hand palm and wrist constitute the regions more exposed to impact dangers even as the user encounters along the skating path obstacles which the user tends to avoid by using his/her hand.
PRIOR ART
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,188 a glove for protecting the ligaments, articulations and bones of the hand is known comprising a glove body with a plate for protecting the hand palm and tie-straps connecting the fingers of the glove body with the plate. Further, a shield to be located on the inner side of the forearm is articulated to the plate. The protective device as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,188 prevents that in the case of a violent impact against ground the fingers are bent beyond a natural allowable bending angle. Dangers associated with a hyperextension of the hand with respect to the forearm in the course of a fall on the ground are not considered in the U.S. patent and the protective device is not capable of protecting against such hyperextension movements, since the shield is basically freely movable with respect to the glove body and the forearm, so that basically a free extension movement of the hand with respect to the forearm without any limitation or slowing down is possible.
Further, wristguards are known having a glove-like or cuff-like (sleeve-like) textile part to which at least one stiff splint in the form of a plastic insert is fixed or fixable. By means of the splint the hand is more or less fixed in a given position with respect to the forearm so that extension movements of the hand with respect to the forearm are prevented altogether. Due to the stiffness of the splint, pressure points on the forearm can be created at the splint top in case of a fall which may cause forearm fractures. Further, the muscles relevant to the extension movements are immobilized or even paralyzed so that natural reflexes which could help to prevent injuries are slowed down or at worst are suppressed altogether.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective aid for protecting a hand and wrist of a skater, which allows a very good protection of those regions of the hand palm and wrist susceptible to be exposed to traumatic impacts in case of a fall.
Further it is an object of the present invention to provide such a protective aid which allows a very good protection against injuries, which can be caused by excessive extension movements of the hand with respect to the forearm.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a protective aid which can be fitted to a user hand in a very simple and quick manner.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a protective aid which can be made from easily available materials and at a comparatively low cost.
According to one aspect of the invention, at least one of the above objects, as well as of yet other objects, which will become more apparent hereinafter, is achieved by a protective aid for protecting a hand and wrist of a skater, characterized in that said protective aid comprises a first protective element, which can be arranged on that region of the hand palm near the wrist, and a second protective element, which can be arranged on the inside portion of the wrist, and being connected with the first protective element via a connecting element, said protective aid being provided with engagement means for engaging for engaging at least one of a hand and a wrist of the skater.
According to a preferred embodiment, said first protective element comprises a first protective plate and said second protective element comprises a second protective plate, said protective plates preferably being shaped shell-like.
For providing for an effective engagement between protective aid and hand and wrist it is suggested said engagement means comprises first engagement means associated with the first protective element for engaging a hand of the skater and comprising second engagement means associated with the second protective element for engaging a wrist of the skater. Said first engagement means can comprise at a side region of the first protective element a ring-like portion for receiving a hand thumb in a ring hole which preferably has self-centering properties to provide for a correct positioning of the protective aid with respect to hand and wrist.
Good results have been achieved if the first engagement means comprise a first band having an adjustable length with removable locking means, coupled to said first protective element and adapted to be arranged on the back of the hand. A (first) protective padding for protecting the back of the hand may be arranged along said first band.
The second engagement means can comprise a second band of adjustable length, with removable locking means, coupled to said second protective element and adapted to be arranged on the outer side of the user's wrist. Again, a padding (second protective padding) for protecting the outer side of the wrist of the user may be arranged along the second band.
Preferably, on a surface of the first protective element a contoured reinforcement element is provided.
It is suggested that the first protective element has a first contact surface for contact with the hand palm near the wrist and the second protective element has a second contact surface for contact with the inside portion of the wrist. The first protective element can comprise a shell-like carrier member carrying said first contact surface. Correspondingly, the second protective element may comprise a shell-like carrier member carrying said second contact surface.
For high comfort for the user wearing the protective aid, one, preferably both contact surfaces may be provided with a cushioning lining attached to the respective protective element. Further, at least one of said contact surfaces can be anatomically contoured in accordance with the anatomical contour of the hand palm near the wrist or the inside portion of the wrist, respectively, to increase the comfort for the user, and to promote a correct positioning of the protective aid with respect to hand and wrist.
It is preferred that the third protective element comprises
Ahlbaumer Georg
Giugni Fabrizio
Micheloni Valter
Ahlbäumer Georg
Mohanty Bibhu
Rosenman & Colin LLP
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