Apparel – Hand or arm coverings – Gloves
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-01
2001-08-28
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Hand or arm coverings
Gloves
C002S160000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279166
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to leather gloves, and more particularly, to a leather glove with inserts located about the middle knuckle portion (proximal interphalangeal joint) of each digit especially adapted to effect the ease of bending the fingers within the glove.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Gloves which permit the flexing of the fingers are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,249 issued to Hansson shows a glove with a triangular cut made in the region proximal the metacarpophalangeal joint. This cut does not have any material affixed thereto, merely an opening. The cut exposes the knuckle joint to the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,162 discloses a hockey glove having a lateral padded wart with split formed in the top panel of the fingers. The split in the top panel of the index finger includes an elastic insert made from lycra elastic material. The splits located in the other fingers are not covered with elastic material, and appear to merely be openings similar to those found on the '249 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,162 discloses a glove which has elongated generally rectangular inserts located from about the metacarpophalangeal joint to about the middle phalanx. It appears as if the '162 glove finger receiving portion includes a top, bottom, right and left panel, with the inserts being included in the right and left panels. The instant invention does not have right and left panels and is quite structurally different than the '162 device.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be known to use cuts or slots to increase the flexibility of the motion of a joint, no prior art teaches the method of providing a generally triangular insert on the finger receiving portion about the proximal interphalangeal joint for the pinky, ring, middle and index finger. Nor does the prior art described above teach or suggest a first and second insert placed on the right and left side of the finger receiving portion about the proximal interphalangeal joint of the small (pinky), ring, middle and index finger respectively. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, the present invention, briefly described, provides a glove having a pinky finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger and thumb receiving portion in communication with a hand receiving portion. The pinky finger, ring finger, middle finger and index finger receiving portions each have a top panel and a bottom panel, which are connected to form each of the finger receiving portions. Each finger receiving portion includes a distal region, an intermediate region, and a proximal region, the proximal region connected to the hand receiving portion, the distal region surrounding the fingertips and the intermediate region residing about the middle knuckle of the hand. The intermediate region of each finger receiving portion includes a right and left insert, the insert being generally of a triangular shape and provided on the bottom panel. The inserts are sewn in the bottom panel after the bottom panel has been rotated to approximate the bending of the middle knuckle. This permits the wearer to close his hand about an object without stretching the glove intermediate regions. This permits the wearer to tighten his grip with greater ease and increases the life expectancy of the glove.
In the manufacture of the glove finger portions, the bottom panel has a small triangular cut made in the intermediate region on both the right and left side. This cut may be made of one of any of several different geometries. The bottom panel is then rotated about between 30 and 60 degrees at the intermediate region to approximate the bending of the middle knuckle of the finger. A right and left insert is then sewn into the opening formed while the bottom panel is in the rotated position. The right and left inserts may have a generally triangular or sinusoidal configuration. Each insert has the general appearance of a triangle similar to a 90 degree, 45 degree, 45 degree triangle. The insert has a long side and two approximately equal shorter sides, these shorter sides converging on the 90 degree apex in a curvilinear fashion, giving a sinusoidal appearance. Each bottom panel of the finger receiving portion has a right and a left terminus. Each top panel of the finger receiving portion has a right and a left terminus. The top panel right terminus is sewn to the bottom panel right terminus. The top panel left terminus is sewn to the bottom panel left terminus. The right insert long side is co-linear with the bottom panel right terminus and is located at the intermediate portion thereon. The left insert long side is co-linear with the bottom panel left terminus and is located at the intermediate portion thereon. The right and left insert long side is therefore sewn to the top panel right and left terminus intermediate portion respectively. This configuration is repeated for the pinky finger receiving portion, the ring finger receiving portion, the middle finger receiving portion, the index finger receiving portion and in some cases the thumb receiving portion.
The right and left insert biases the intermediate region to approximate the position of the middle knuckle when the middle knuckle is in a bent position. The bottom panel is then returned to the neutral or straight finger position and then the top panel is sewn on both the right and left sides forming the finger receiving portion of the glove. This process is repeated for the pinky finger, ring finger, middle finger and index finger. In the instant invention, the inserts are not placed on the thumb, however, there may be certain situations when it would be desirable to do so and as such it is considered to be in the scope of the invention.
The top panels of the finger receiving portions proximal ends are integral with the hand top panel. The bottom panels of the pinky and index finger are integral with the palm panel. The middle finger and index finger bottom panels are affixed to the palm panel by conventional stitching.
The palm panel further includes the bottom element of the thumb receiving portion of the glove. A top element of the thumb receiving portion is attached to the palm panel, directly to the bottom element of the thumb receiving portion, the hand top panel, and a portion of the ring finger top panel.
The glove may be secured about the wrist by a flap which connects one side of the glove to the other with hook and loop fasteners. The glove may further have no such connection means and may simply fit atop the hand.
The hand top panel and the palm panel are sewn about the right and left sides forming the hand receiving portion of the glove. The finger and thumb receiving portions are then affixed to the hand receiving portion.
The above brief description sets forth rather broadly the more important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood, that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, metho
Calvert John J.
Hamill Jr. Tom
Moran Katherine
LandOfFree
Glove with inserts on the finger portions does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Glove with inserts on the finger portions, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Glove with inserts on the finger portions will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2541640