US2211536A

US2211536A - Swimmer's glove

Info

Publication number: US2211536A
Application number: US305266A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Richard A Clayton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-11-20
Filing date: 1939-11-20
Publication date: 1940-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 1957-08-13

Description

A 13, 1940 R. A. CLAYTON, JR 2,211,536

SWIMMER S GLOVE Filed NOV. 20, 1959 2 F Fig.1

l4 7 INVEIVTOR Fig. 6 BY RICHARD A. CLAYTONJr.

' A TTORNZ Y5 Patented Aug. 13, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFEQE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to an improved swimmers glove adapted to be worn on the hand for the purpose of gaining more thrust from the swimming stroke, adding buoyancy to the users body, and in general increasing the ease of swimming.

One object of my invention is to provide a swimmers glove which will, as far as is possible,

have all the hydrodynamic characteristics of a correctly proportioned airfoil as to lift and drag, and at the same time have its center of lift so positioned longitudinally that no uncomfortable strains will be imposed on the weaker parts of the swimmers hand, such as the ends of the fingers.

Another object of my invention is to provide a swimmers glove having a convexly curved back provided with recesses adapted to receive the hand so that it conforms to the regular curving lines of the glove, thus preventing loss of effioiency due to interruption of the streamlines b the hand.

' Another object of my invention is to secure the glove to the users hand by means of a strap of elastic material, such as rubber, passing across the back of the hand in such a way and with sufficient tension that the hand is held firmly but comfortably in place and in continuous contact with the bottom of the recesses, thus pre--- venting lost motion between the hand and glove.

Another object is to provide a swimmers glove having all the foregoing characteristics which shall leave the wrist and fingers entirely free of rigid connection with 'anypart of the glove or strap so that the natural flexing of the joint is not impaired.

A further object of my invention is to provide the glove with recesses of such shape and contour that the fingers. and side of the hand may comfortably and efficiently impart lateral motion to the glove when the swimmer desires to propel himself through the water by a true sculling stroke, or combinations of the sculling only slightly concave in one direction, the whole conforming in transverse cross section to the shape of two airfoils abutting at their thicker portions. An elastic strap is secured to the body portion and extends over the recess for the palm 5 portion of the hand in such manner that when the hand is inserted the strap is put in tension thereby.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates my improved glove in its preferred embodiment only and in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout,

Fig. 1 is a back plan View of my invention showing the recess adapted to receive the hand and the elastic strap;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line III]1I of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 4 is a side view illustrating the position of the hand in the recesses and showing how the entire hand lies wholly within the body of the glove;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line V-V' of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI '25 of Fig. 1.

In its preferred embodiment my improved .swimmers glove comprises a body ll formed of wood or a light plastic, with a convexly curved back, rounded at its finger end l2 and curved around on smooth curves to join with a substantially vertical rear wall l3 at the wrist. Wherever two or more surfaces join, I provide gently rounded connecting curves so that over the whole of the body there are no sharp pointed portions which would disrupt the streamlined effect or increase the drag when the glove is moved laterally through water in a sculling stroke, that is, to the right or left, as viewed in Fig. 1. 40

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that in longitudinal section the back side of the body tapers from the forward end I2 to the rear wall I3, while in transverse cross section it conforms substantially to a section through a high lift air- 45 foil, with the exception that it has what in airfoil sections would be two trailing edges. In effect, therefore, the body is an airfoil section, and I have found by experimentation in water that it produces a remarkable amount of lift without noticeable drag.

I provide the palm of the body I l with a slight transversely concave palm M, which is merged with the sloping back portion by the marginal backwardly curved section, indicated at l6.

This backwardly curving section extends pcripherally around on each side from the rear wall l3 and fades out at the point of maximum width of the glove. I have found this curved section 18 to be very important in that it causes the glove to be forced upwardly through the water on the sculling stroke without the swimmer having to incline the surface to the horizontal. Therefore, it is not necessary that the swimmer deliberately tilt the glove to obtain an upward lift, but it is enough if he moves it laterally through the water in a sub stantially horizontal position. Also, this curved.

section gives better flow characteristics transversely over the glove, for on the sculling stroke the thin marginal edge which is trailing sets up less swirling action than would be the case if the bottom continued out to the edge along the line of the slightly concave palm. I have also observed that while the palm; should be slightly concave, the emciency of the glove is materially reduced if the palm is undercut too much, as excessive concavity increases drag.

On the back of the body I l, I provide a thumb recess ll, finger recesses i8, i9, 2!, 22 and a palm recess 23, all of which are cut deep enough into the body so that when the glove is in use, the back of the hand and the fingers lie approximately level with the side edges of the several recesses, and thus form a more streamlined body. At no point do the various parts of the hand extend beyond what would have been the continuous curved back had the recesses not been provided.

At the point where the fingers attach to the palm I provide the recesses with slightly raised portions lilo, 19a, 22a, and 22a. The purpose of these raised portions is to make the bottom of the recesses conform more perfectly to the exact shape of the under or palm side of the hand.

Between each of the finger recesses I provide tapering

division walls

24, 2B, 21 and 28, so that when the fingers are in the recesses they bear firmly against both. of the side walls. When the hand is moved laterally through the water, mo tion is imparted to the glove from the fingers and the sides of the palm through these side walls, so that such force is evenly distributed and does not put an excessive load on any part -of the hand. Further, since the recesses are defined by sloping side walls, I am able to make my glove in fewer number of finger sizes, as fingers of different diameters will fit snugly into the recesses.

To secure the glove to the hand I provide a resilient strap, formed preferably of rubber and extending across the recess for the palm portion of the hand. As seen in Fig. 1, the strap is a Y-shaped member comprising a piece 2i? secured by a nailing washer 3! to the edge of the body H rearwardly of the recess ll near the base of the thumb, and a second piece 32 secured by a like nailin washer 3! to the body portion between the thumb recess and finger recess l8. These two pieces join at a point 33 slightly off center with respect to the palm and toward the little finger side, and continue as a single piece to a point on the convexly sloping side, where it is similarly secured to the body. In practice I have found this type of strap and the position on the back of the hand as shown to be of the utmost importance. While it is necessary to hold the hand continuously in contact with the bottom of the recesses, it is equally essential that the wrist joint be left free so that its various flexing movements will not be restricted. With a strap as shown, I have found that both of these essentials are obtained.

Referring to Fig. 4, I show a hand 36 in place in the recesses and engaged across the back of the palm portion by the elastic strap. The wrist 3? protrudes from the rear of the glove and it will be noted that the wrist joint, indicated by dotted line 38, is entirely removed from both the glove and the strap, thus preventing interference with the free movements of the whole hand. It will also be noted that when the hand is inserted into the recesses, the back portion opposite the palm protrudes enough to put the strap in tension, but that no part of the hand or fingers protrudes any substantial distance above the level of the general outline of the curved back of the glove. Thus the hand and fingers fill up the recesses and serve to complete the streamlined eifect of the back of the glove, offer no resistance to motion, and at the same time full flexibility of the joints is maintained.

It will be understood that when swimming with my improved glove, one is worn on each hand, and while I have illustrated only the one for the right hand, there is no difference in construction except that the recesses are positioned to accommodate the left hand.

I have used a pair of gloves built in accordance with the foregoing description, and find that they feel perfectly natural on the hand. They are extremely comfortable, and because the thick, high lift portion is adjacent the palm portion of the hand, very little load is imposed on the outer ends of the fingers.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by theprior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A swimming glove comprising a rigid body generally circular in plan recessed in the back thereof to receive the hand of a swimmer and of a thickness substantially sufiicient to contain the hand, a generally flat palm, a back convexly curved transversely of the length of the hand, the thickness of said body and the rate of transverse curvature of said back decreasing from the wrist end to the finger end thereof, and yieldable means to hold the hand within the recess.

2. A swimming glove comprising a body generally circular in plan recessed in the back thereof to receive the hand of a swimmer and of a thickness sufficient to contain the hand, a back surface convexly curved transversely of the length of the hand, a generally fiat palm surface, said back and palm surfaces merging to form peripheral portions thinner than the central part of the body, division walls separating the recesses for the fingers rising from the bottom of the back recess to a height substantially equal to the thickness of the adjacent fingers. and means to hold the hand within the recesses.

3. A swimming glove comprising a body generally circular in plan recessed in the back thereof to contain the palm and fingers of a swimmers hand, the recesses for the palm and fingers being defined by walls against which the sides of the palm and fingers bear to transmit lateral movement of the hand to the glove, said recesses being of a depth approximating the thickness of the respective parts of the hand contained therein, said back being convexly curved transversely to the direction of the length of the hand, the rate of said transverse curvature decreasing from the wrist end of the body to the finger end thereof, and means to hold the hand in the recesses.

4. A swimming glove comprising a buoyant body, recessed in the back to receive the hand and fingers of a swimmer, and of a thickness sufficient substantially to contain the hand, a generally fiat palm, a back convexly curved transversely of the length of the hand, division walls between the finger recesses rising from the bottom of the recesses and of a height substantially equal to the thickness of the adjacent fingers, and an elastic member in tension across the back of the hand comprising a piece secured to the body between the thumb and first finger recesses, a second piece secured to the body near the recess for the base of the thumb, said pieces joining near the back of the hand and continuing as a single piece to a point adjacent the opposite side wall of the palm recess, and means tosecure said last mentioned piece to the body.

RICHARD A. CLAYTON, JR.