Catcher's Glove

Abstract

A protective inner glove worn in conjunction with a catcher's glove, particularly in baseball or softball, the glove including a thin, flexible shock-absorbing material continuously affixed over a thumb, index-finger, and metacarpal region of a palm at a thenar eminence of the catcher's hand adjacent to the index finger providing protection to the phalanges, interphalangeal joints, metacarpal bones and underlying nerves of the thumb and index-finger from trauma caused by repetitive impact in catching a ball. The shock-absorbing material composed of a visco-elastic material affixed within the glove having liquid-like and rubber-like properties for absorbing energy and vibration isolation providing impact protection while simultaneously maintaining the catcher's tactile sensation and gripping movement freedom for effective catching.

Claims

1. An improved inner glove used in conjunction with a catcher's mitt for protection of a hand from trauma caused by repetitive impact of a ball, the improved inner glove comprises: a. a flexible glove body having an outer palmar side and a dorsal side extending from a proximal edge of the hand around a wrist crease to a little, ring, middle and index fingers and thumb distal edges, said glove body having an inner side enveloping said fingers and thumb; b. a continuous shock-absorbing material integrated within the glove body affixed on the inner surface comprising: 1. a thumb region covering a first distal phalanx and first proximal phalanx and expanded to include an outer border of said thumb; 2. a index finger region covering a second distal phalanx and second proximal phalanx and a first middle phalanx of said index finger; and, 3. a palm region adjacent to the index finger region and extending over a thenar eminence of a palm providing protection from trauma caused by repetitive impact of said ball.

2. The improved inner glove of claim 1, wherein the continuous shock-absorbing material is composed of a visco-elastic material.

3. The improved inner glove of claim 2, wherein the continuous shock-absorbing material is a thickness of not more than inches.

4. The improved inner glove of claim 2, wherein the continuous shock-absorbing is composed of a polyether base and a polyurethane material.

5. The improved inner glove of claim 1, wherein the glove body consists of a thin skin tight leather.

6. The improved inner glove of claim 1, wherein the glove body consists of a spandex material between the thumb, index, middle, ring and little finger.

7. The improved inner glove of claim 1, wherein the glove body further comprises a fastening means near said wrist crease for fastening said glove onto said hand.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is a blown-up view of the shock-absorbing material and its positioning within the glove body.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a palmar view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0023] FIG. 3 is an anatomical schematic of the palmar side of a human hand illustrating the phalanges, interphalangeal joints and metacarpal bones and blood vessels of the crucial-vulnerable areas.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate the inner protective glove 10 according to the present invention for prevention of repetitive impact trauma to a catcher's hand. The inner glove 10 includes a palmar and distal side forming a glove body 30 extending from a proximal edge 40 of a wrist of a catcher's hand to distal edges of a thumb, index, middle, ring and little fingers 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d and 50e, respectfully, and enveloping said fingers. A continuous visco-elastic shock-absorbing material 20 is affixed within an inner surface of glove body 30 and continuously covers a thumb region 60, an index finger region 70 and a palm region 80.

[0025] The thumb region 60 of shock-absorbing material 20 provides coverage from repetitive impact trauma to a first distal phalanx 90, proximal phalanx 95, metacarpal bone 100 and blood vessel 105 of thumb 50a.

[0026] The index finger region 70 of shock-absorbing material 20 provides coverage from repetitive impact trauma to a second distal phalanx 110 and proximal phalanx 115 and first middle phalanx 120 of index finger 50b. The shock-absorbing material 20, further provides protection to a second metacarpal bone 125 and blood vessels 130a and 130b.

[0027] The palm region 80 of shock-absorbing material 20 covers adjacent to index finger 50b and middle finger 50c and extending over a thenar eminence 140. The palm region 80 provides protection from repetitive impact trauma to metacarpal bones 100, 125 and 135 and blood vessels 105, 130a and 130b.

[0028] Inner protective glove 10 according to the foregoing embodiment of the invention provides protection to the targeted crucial-vulnerable areas of the catcher's hand from repetitive impact with catching a hard baseball or fast-pitched softball. The shock-absorbing material is also thin and flexible allowing tactile sensation and freedom in gripping movement of the catcher's hand necessary for effective catching.

[0029] It is understood that the foregoing description is a preferred embodiment of the invention and that the invention is not limited to the specific form illustrated. Modifications may be made in the design and arrangement of the elements without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.