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[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/438,745, entitled “Hand Protector for Use with Sports Equipment”, filed Jan. 8, 2003.
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a hand protector and, more particularly, to a hand protector which is used with sports equipment for protecting the hand of a user.
[0003] Sports, particularly sports played by young children and/or teenagers can result in injuries. This is particularly true with hockey related sports such as ice hockey, floor hockey, field hockey, etc. where each participant carries a stick or other such implement for hitting a puck, ball or the like. Typically, users hold hockey sticks with two hands with one hand, particularly the non-dominant hand, on the upper end of the stick and the other hand, typically the dominant hand, grasping the stick at different points between the two ends. It is the second hand, which is nearest the end of the stick used for hitting the puck or ball which is most exposed to the potential for injury by being struck by the stick of another player. A common occurrence in hockey and other stick sports is that a first player will forcibly swing his stick in the vicinity of a second player. The stick will impact a distal end of the second player's stick and slide or ride up the shaft of the stick to impact the second player's fingers gripping the stick. This can result in jammed, bruised, or broken fingers, hands, wrists, or arms of the second player.
[0004] Padded protective gloves are often used by players of such sports to protect their hands against injury. However, these gloves are relatively expensive due to the materials involved and the craftsmanship required to make a pair of protective gloves. For this reason, these gloves are typically used by frequent players of the sport, such as members of organized teams, who deem it cost effective and necessary to purchase and use such gloves. Less frequent players, such as participants in a school gym class or after-school activity, for instance, generally will participate in the sport without any protection for their hands due to protective gloves not being furnished to them (either because the school or activity center has not purchased any or because the participants (or guardians thereof) do not deem it necessary to buy expensive gloves for such an infrequent activity). Additionally, even if gloves are originally furnished, because they are not attached to the sticks, they often become separated from the sticks, lost, stolen, or otherwise forgotten about, leaving the participants to play the sport without hand protection.
[0005] It would be desirable to have inexpensive and effective hand protectors for use with sports, specifically sports in which sticks are used such as hockey and lacrosse, for instance. It would be further desirable to have hand protectors that can be attached to the sticks such that the separation of the hand protector from the stick is less likely to happen. The hand protector of the present invention seeks to provide inexpensive hand protection for players of stick sports and remedy the problems associated with protective gloves.
[0006] Briefly stated, the present invention is a hand protector for use with sports equipment having an elongated shaft and an operative end. The hand protector comprises an outer sleeve and an inner sleeve. The outer protective sleeve has a first end and a second end. The inner sleeve is generally flexible and tubular for slidably receiving the shaft. The inner sleeve is positioned within the outer protective sleeve and is engaged with the first end of the outer protective sleeve. The inner sleeve has an inner surface and an outer surface. The outer protective sleeve surrounds at least a portion of the inner sleeve, whereby a user places a hand around the outer surface of the inner sleeve and compresses the outer surface to cause the inner surface to deflect inward and grip the shaft, thereby increasing a frictional engagement of the hand protector with the shaft.
[0007] In another aspect, the present invention is a combination sports stick and protector therefor. The combination comprises a stick and a hand protector. The stick has an elongated shaft and an operative end. The hand protector has an outer protective sleeve having a first end and a second end and a generally flexible tubular inner sleeve having an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner sleeve is positioned within the outer protective sleeve and is engaged with the first end of the outer protective sleeve such that the outer protective sleeve surrounds at least a portion of the inner sleeve. The inner sleeve slidably receives the shaft. The shaft is positioned within the inner sleeve, such that at least a portion of the shaft is surrounded by the inner sleeve. A user places a hand around the outer surface of the inner sleeve and compresses the outer surface to cause the inner surface to deflect inward and grip the shaft, thereby increasing a frictional engagement of the hand protector with the shaft.
[0008] The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings the embodiment which is presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
[0009] In the drawings:
[0010]
[0011]
[0012]
[0013] Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “right”, “left”, “upper”, and “lower” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
[0014] Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout, there is shown in FIGS.
[0015] The hand protector
[0016] The cross-sectional dimensions of the inner surface
[0017] Preferably, the inner sleeve
[0018] The hand protector
[0019] Preferably, the second end
[0020] The outer protective sleeve
[0021] In use, the user places the hand protector
[0022] In this way, the user's lower-most hand on the stick
[0023] The hand protector
[0024] From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the present invention comprises a hand protector which is particularly well suited for protecting the forward hand of a user of a hockey stick. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concepts thereof. For instance, a user may prefer to use two hand protectors