US2277893A - Hand protector - Google Patents

Description

March 33, 1942. c, TWEEDlE I 2,277,893 I HAND PROTECTOR Filed March 26. 1941 Patented Mar. 31, 1942 iUNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAND PROTECTOR Charles Tweedie, Jefferson City, Mo. Application March 26, 1941, Serial No. 385,258

7 Claims.

My .invention relates to means for preventing blistering and callousing of the hand by the use of golf clubs and the like. The principal object of the present invention is to improve the hand protector described in Letters Patent No. 1,943,567 granted to me January 16, 1934, and especially to improve the gripping'faculty of that device and to extend the range of the protective faculty thereof in the region of the little finger. The invention consists principally in providing for the adjustment of thedevice to the hand. It also consists in supplementing the patented device in the region of the little finger with an extra piece of greater width and length than the lobes of the patented device and movably mounted on the band, said supplemental piece being preferably of heart-shape with one or more slits in its small end through which the band is laced. It also consists in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a view of the face of th device in the flat,

Fig. 2 is a view of the back thereof,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, in the flat, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a View of the supplemental piece,

Fig. 5 is a view of the band opened out,

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are views of the device applied to a hand,

Fig. 9 is a back view of a modification, and

Fig. 10 is a central-longitudinal section on the line Il0 in Fig. 9.

My present invention comprises a band A preferably made of soft and moderately light leather with a suede or rough finish and formed into two loops, of which one, I, is closed and the other, 2, is open but is adapted to be closed by means of some form of detachable fastener mounted on the ends of the band. The band A terminates at one end in a lobe-shaped enlargement 3 for retaining a slide buckle 4 thereon which is also adapted to receive and retain the other end of said band. As shown in the drawing, the buckle 4 has two openings that extend therethrough and are separated by a cross-bar 6 and both ends of the strap extend through both openings in said buckle and beneath the ends thereof and over the cross-bar 5 thereof. In this way, the length of the band A and the loops l and 2 therein may be varied according to the position of the buckle 4 on said band and the point of engagement of the end ,5 of the band with said buckle.

In order that the girth of both loops I and 2 may be made adjustable, it is preferable to make the band A of a single strip doubled upon itself about .the middle portion thereof whereby the buckle or fastener .4 may be located away from the palm of the hand and preferably at the back or outer side portion of the little finger. Also for this purpose, two transverse slits I are cut in the face half 8of the band A about midway of the length of such half, that is, where it will be substantially opposite the line between the second and third fingers of the hand; and the back half 9 of said band is lacedv through said slits. By this arrangement, the face and back portions of the band are united together fiatwise but are slidable lengthwise relative to one another to maintain the point of sliding connection between said portions substantially midway of the length of the closed bandin all positions of adjustment thereof. As shown in the drawing, the-back half 8 of the band A is notched midway between the slits l to form lobes E0 on opposite sides thereof and thence decreases to a minimum width where it joins the face half 9, which is of substantially uniform width throughout the length.

In addition to the main band A, the present invention provides va supplemental piece or pad 13 of a suitable size, shape and location to improve the grip on the handle C of the club and to extend the area of protection against blisters and callouses. This supplemental piece B is preferably of heart-shape with a tab or extension II at its smaller end. It has in its small end portion a slit or slits i2, i3 through which the face portion 9 of the band A is laced to fasten the supplemental piece on the band and still leave it slidable thereon. Preferably the supplemental piece has two transverse slits i2, i3 spaced further apart than the slits "i in the back half of the band and the face portion 9 of the band is laced through all of the slits in the following order: First the endmost slit 1? in the supple-, mental piece B, then the two slits l in the back half 8 of the band A, and then the second slit K3 in said supplemental member. This arrangement affords a certain degree of stability to the position of the supplemental member 13 but still leaves it slidable on the band A. The supple: mental member B is thus located so as to cover and protect substantial portions of the inner faces of the third and little fingers and the portion of the palm adjacent thereto.

This manner of mounting the supplemental member B, which is preferably made of soft leather with a suede or rough finish, relieves it of tension endwise and crosswise so that it is entirely free to conform to the muscular changes of the hand incident to gripping. Thus the grip is improved and the area of protection against blistering and callousing is extended. In practice, the protector is mounted on the hand with the index and little fingers extending through the respective loops 1 and 2 thereof and with the second and third fingers back of the band and opposite the Wide portions IIJ thereof and with the notches that separate said wide portions located in substantial alinement with the line be tween the second and third fingers. Then the end portion 5 of g the band is pulled endwise through and adjusted in the buckle 4 to produce the proper fitting of the protector around the hand. When thus adjusted, the buckleis in position to lie at the back or outer side of the little finger when the protector is properly fitted to the hand, the back and face halves of the band A and the small end I I of the supplemental piece B provide three thicknesses of material that fill the hollow between the bottom portions of the second and third fingers and relieve the tension on the third and little fingers, thereby enabling the wrist to relax. The supplemental member B extends the area of protection against blisters and callouses in the region of the third and little fingers, improves the grip on the handle of the club and, as shown in Fig. 8, suggests the correct grip, that is, a firm grip on the handle by the third and little fingers and a light grip by the thumb and index finger for guiding the club in the back swing.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. '7, the band A conforms to the construction illustrated in the Patent No. 1,943,567; that is, both ends of the band are doubled back and stitched or otherwise secured to the back of the face portion of the band about midway of the length thereof. In this construction, the buckle 4a is secured to the back portion of one of the loops, preferably the little finger 2a loop and cooperates with a strap l4 that has a series of holes 15 adapted to receive the tongue 4b of the buckle. The end of this strap is connected to the other or index finger loop Ia preferably by means of a ring or link l6 through which the loop material is laced so as to make a free sliding connection. In this way, the tightening of the strap has the effect of drawing both loops taut.

What I claim is:

1. A hand protector comprising a band doubled on itself and united into two loops adapted to accommodate the index and little finger of the hand, and means for adjusting said loops to the hand, said means comprising a buckle mounted near the end of the back portion of one loop, a ring slidably mounted on the other loop, and a strap attached to said ring and adapted to cooperate with said buckle.

2. A hand protector comprising a band with a fastening device near one end and with the other end adapted for cooperation with said device, one-half of the band having oppositely disposed notches about midway thereof and transversely disposed slits near said notches, the other half of said band extending slidably through said slits.

3. A hand protector comprising a band with a fastening device adjustably mounted near one end and with the other end adapted for cooperation with said device, one-half of the band having oppositely disposed notches about midway thereof and transversely disposed slits near said notches, the other half of said band extending slidably through said slits.

4. A hand protector comprising a band with a buckle at one end and with the other end adapted for cooperation with said buckle, one-half of the band having oppositely disposed notches about midway thereof and transversely disposed slits near said notches, and a heart-shaped piece with transverse slits in its small end portion, the other half of said band extending through the slits in said band and the slits in said piece.

5. A hand protector comprising a band having cooperative fastening devices at its respective ends, one-half of the band having lobes that increase in breadth inwardly from their outer ends and are separated by oppositely disposed notches about midway of the length of said half and also having transversely disposed slits spaced apart in the midway portion thereof, and a supplemental piece having a tab at its small end and a transverse slit in said tab, the second half of said band being laced through the slits of both said band and said piece.

6. A hand protector comprising a band having cooperative fastening devices at its respective ends, one-half of the band having lobes that increase in breadth inwardly from their outer ends and are separated by oppositely disposed notches about midway of the length of said half, and having transversely disposed slits spaced apart in the midway portion thereof, and a heart-shaped piece having transverse slits in the small end portion thereof that are spaced apart further than the slits of the band, the second half of said band being laced through the slits in both the band and said piece.

7. A hand protector comprising a band doubled on itself and united into two loops adapted to accommodate the index and little finger of a hand and a supplemental piece wider and longer than a loop and having a transverse slit near one end thereof through which the band extends.

CHARLES TWEEDIE.

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