Apparel – Guard or protector – Hand or arm
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-27
2001-09-18
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
Hand or arm
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289515
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of athletic equipment, and more particularly to an ergonomic fielding glove to be used in sports such as baseball, softball or the like.
Traditional four finger and three finger baseball or softball fielding gloves are designed along the form of an open hand. The glove is made with an outer shell and an inner compartment that contains the hand and positions it within the glove with the fingers extending into the finger slots of the outer shell. If you remove the glove from the hand, and view the hand as it was positioned in the glove, the thumb of the hand is rotated forward towards the palm at approximately 45 degrees from the plane of the hand and fingers. The fourth finger is also drawn forward slightly, positioned so that the thumb and fourth finger, when drawn towards each other, act to close the outer, vertical edges of the glove. The first, second and third fingers of the hand within the glove can close down around a ball, with a small amount of force but have little effect on the actual closing of the glove's outer vertical edges. The action of closing the glove's outer vertical edges, seals the ball inside the glove, after it is caught. This action is similar to closing a bare hand around a round object. The thumb and fourth finger close towards each other around the outside of the ball, the three fingers between the thumb and fourth finger close over the top. This limits the main force of closure to the thumb and the fourth, or smallest finger.
The positioning of the hand within the previously designed three or four fingered baseball/softball fielding gloves, overall, forms a pocket in the palm of the hand. Within the glove the palm of the hand is centered in the pocket of the glove. Between the valley of the thumb slot and index or first finger slot of the outer shell of the glove is the web. The fixed angle between the thumb and index finger within the outer shell of the glove is approximately 55 degrees in a traditional baseball/softball fielding glove.
In these previous fielding glove designs, the only surface area of the glove where the hand is not exposed to the force of the ball striking it is the web and the extended length of each of the glove's fingers. The palm of the glove and the web are the area where most of the balls are caught within the glove. The ball is either caught entirely in the pocket, or strikes the pocket and glances up into the web, or can be caught entirely in the web. A high percentage of time the ball strikes the pocket, and consequently the palm of the hand and fingers. Players wearing a previously designed glove frequently experience bruises, swelling, pain, and in some cases more serious damage from the impact of the ball striking the glove in the pocket area. Fielders wearing these previously designed gloves often removed their index finger from within the index finger slot and placed it outside the glove, against the back of the index finger slot, to put a little more padding between their finger and the impact of the ball striking the glove. Eventually manufacturers began cutting a hole in the back of the index finger slot to accommodate removal of the index finger from within the slot. Various padded inserts have been used to try to reduce the impact of a ball striking the pocket, and consequently the palm of the hand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the invention is to increase the closing pressure of a fielding glove catching a ball, decreasing the ball's tendency to pop loose when fielded or applying a tag to a base runner.
Another object of the invention is to decrease exposure and damage to the palm of the hand from the blunt force of a rapidly moving ball striking the pocket of the glove.
Another object of the invention is to reduce the tendency of a ball to ricochet out of the web area of the glove.
Another object of the invention relating to the starweb design is to reduce the number of pieces, dye cuts, stitching and labor needed to construct the web portion of the glove.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a fielding glove comprises an outer shell having at least one finger portion, a thumb portion, and a web joining the thumb portion and the nearest finger portion; a mitten compartment that holds all four fingers, positioned and fixed upon or within the outer shell at an angle of approximately 40 degrees in relation to the upright finger portions of the outer shell of the glove, and a thumb compartment that is rotated forward in a approximately 20 degree arc from the plane of the finger portion of the mitten, and maintains a fixed angle between the thumb and index finger within said mitten of approximately 90 degrees. In addition, to accommodate the ergonomic alignment of the mitten portion, the entrance for the hand into the mitten compartment, on or within the glove must also align at the same approximately 40 degrees, from the upright finger portions of the glove. Within the mitten compartment for the fingers and thumb, leather or other material would form a loop in each compartment where one or more fingers or a thumb could be inserted within to provide added leverage for closing the glove.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the mitten compartment for the fingers could include segmented compartments within the mitten for one, two, or three fingers, or could be designed to hold all four fingers.
In a further embodiment, the fielding glove has a billowing, flexible web/pocket area, consisting of a web attached between and slightly larger than the span between the thumb and first finger portion of the aforementioned outer shell. In addition, a molded or shaped concave indentation is created by a standdard leather molding process into the finger portion of the outershell that represents the non web portion of the web/pocket area. This area is molded in the same proportions as the web portion of said web/pocket area, that conforms to the spherical shape and dimension of a baseball or softball, as desired.
In yet a further embodiment, the fielding glove has a star shaped web, made with a central hollow ring of an appropriate material, with a diameter such to prevent the passage of a ball completely through the ring. Each leg of the starweb, is a single strap of material that is passed through and folded back over the ring, both ends of the single strap then attach to the outer edges of the valley between the thumb and finger portions, and the span of material that bridges the top of the valley between the thumb and finger portion, to form the legs of the star shaped web.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1562176 (1925-11-01), Latina
patent: 2324219 (1943-07-01), Latina
patent: 4541127 (1985-09-01), Gould
patent: 4908880 (1990-03-01), Clevenhagen
patent: 5544362 (1996-08-01), Synek
patent: 5671477 (1997-09-01), Aoki
patent: 5878436 (1999-03-01), Jones
Calvert John J.
Welch Gary L.
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