GB2266224A

GB2266224A - Weather protective hand covering for tennis players

Info

Publication number: GB2266224A
Application number: GB9208621A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roderick Neill Morgan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-04-21
Filing date: 1992-04-21
Publication date: 1993-10-27
Also published as: GB9208621D0

Abstract

The hand covering provides a player with protection against the cold, for outdoor play in cold winter weather, while maintaining good tactile contact between the skin of the player's racquet hand and the racquet handle. The covering comprises an elongated cuff 1 having a wrist band 2 for fastening around a player's wrist or forearm; a sleeve portion 3 for enclosing the racquet hand gripping the racquet handle; and an aperture 5 through which the racquet handle is inserted. The sleeve 3 may be provided with ventilation holes (9, Fig. 2) and an opening (10) closable, e.g., by a sliding clasp fastener. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE: Weather Protective Hand Covering for Tennis Players Field of the Invention The invention relates to an article of clothing providing weather protection for tennis players.

Many tennis players play outdoors in all seasons of the year, including winter. In cold climates such players can wear warmer and thicker clothing in the winter, but it has always been a problem how to protect the hands from extreme cold. Up to the present there has been no other choice available to players except to wear gloves or to play bare-handed. Playing bare-handed offers no protection to the hands from the cold, and it can become difficult for the player to grip the racquet handle properly after his playing hand becomes numb with cold.

Wearing gloves is however an unsatisfactory solution.

When a tennis player reaches a certain level of competence he is taught, or realizes, how he must change his grip on the racquet handle for each type of stroke played. With experience, this becomes automatic, but the player relies on good tactile contact with the racquet handle to sense when he 'is holding the racquet in the correct grip. Gloves destroy that tactile contact, and the player is unable to sense the racquet position and the correctness of his grip as accurately as he would have been able to do without gloves in warm weather.

The problem to be solved was therefore the provision of weather protective hand covering for the racquet hand'of a tennis player which left the palm, fingers and thumb in direct contact with the racquet handle.

The Invention The invention provides such a weather protective hand covering comprising an elongated cuff having a wrist band for fastening it securely around the wrist or lower forearm of a tennis player, a weather protective sleeve portion for encircling the racquet hand of the player, through which a racquet handle can be inserted to be held by the racquet hand within the sleeve portion.

Preferably the sleeve portion is shaped to accommodate the size of the hand gripping the racquet handle and to follow generally the natural angle formed between the player's forearm and the racquet handle.

Preferably the aperture for the racquet handle comprises a cylindrical collar of reinforced or slightly stiffened fabric, so that it does not interfere with free rotation of the handle in use. Alternatively if the fabric material of the sleeve is sufficiently soft and flexible, the aperture may be lightly elasticated to bring it into contact with the racquet handle. This provides better weather protection but does restrict to a small extent the free rotation of the racquet.

The wrist band may be an elasticated portion of the cuff, or a strap fastening. Preferably the fastening should be capable of being easily secured left-handed by a right -handed person or vice versa, and for that reason a hookand-pile fastening of the type sold under the Trade Mark VELCRO is preferred. It is desirable to avoid the possibility of an over-tight fastening causing a tourniquet effect preventing blood flow to the hand, and for that reason it is preferred for the fastening strap to include at least a portion that has elastic stretch properties.

The fabric material is preferably thermally insulating and weatherproof. A fleece-lined fabric is ideal, although if the cuff becomes too warm in use perspiration problems can occur. A pattern of eyelets through the fabric of the sleeve portion, providing ventilation without admitting an excess of cold air, is sufficient to avoid this problem.

A tennis player may wear a single elongated cuff according to the invention over his racquet hand, and a conventional glove over his other hand. It has been found that the cuff does not interfere with the playing of double-handed strokes, and allows the player full freedom to adopt all necessary grips on the racquet handle for the full range of single-handed strokes.

Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand covering according to the invention, shown worn around the wrist of a hand holding a tennis racquet; and Figure 2 is a plan view of a hand covering according to the invention laid out flat.

The hand covering of Figures 1 and 2 comprises an elongated cuff 1 of soft pliable fabric, with a wrist fastening portion 2, a sleeve portion 3 and a collar 4 defining an aperature 5 for a racquet handle.

The wrist fastening portion 2 comprises a strap 6 with a VELCRO (Trade Mark) fastening that can easily and rapidly be fastened around the wrist or lower forearm of a player's racquet hand. The strap 6 includes an elasticated portion 7 (Figure 2) so that when fastened it does not constitute a totally inelastic band encircling the player's wrist. Preferably it is fastened beneath the cuff of a player's shirt-sleeve, so that the protection from the cold is continuous down the player's arm, wrist and hand.

The sleeve portion 3 is preferably shaped so -as to provide a larger pouch portion 8 for the end of the racquet handle and the player's hand, and so as to allow for the natural angle formed between the player's forearm and the racquet handle. Ventilation holes 9 (Figure 2) may be provided at suitable points in the sleeve, which is preferably made from a soft wind-proof fleece-lined fabric.

The collar 4 around the aperture 5 is shown in the drawing as comprising a cylindrical portion of reinforced fabric, the reinforcing or stiffening being sufficient to hold it in use in an open cylinder so as to make it easy for the racquet handle to be inserted into the aperture 5 when picking up the racquet, and to permit free rotation of the racquet handle during play.

If desired a fastenable opening 10 (Figure 2) may be provided in the sleeve portion 8, to permit the player to push his hand through into the open while wearing the cuff 1. This is not necessary during play, but may be desirable for opening doors etc on the way to and from the court. The fastening of the opening 10 in Figure 2 is illustrated as a slide clasp fastener, although a VELCRO (Trade Mark) fastening may alternatively be used.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A weather protective hand covering for a tennis player, comprising an elongated cuff having a wrist band for fastening it securely around the wrist or lower forearm of a tennis player, a weather protective sleeve portion for encircling the racquet hand of the player, and an aperture through which a racquet handle can be inserted to be held by the racquet hand within the sleeve portion.

2. A hand covering according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve portion is shaped freely to accommodate the size of a player's hand gripping the racquet handle and to follow generally the natural angle formed between the player's forearm and the racquet handle.

3. A hand covering according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sleeve portion is made from a windproof and thermally insulating fabric which is soft and pliable so as not to restrict racquet movement in use.

4. A hand covering according to claim 3, wherein the sleeve portion is fleece-lined.

5. A hand covering according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the sleeve portion is provided with one or more ventilation eyelets.

6. A hand covering according to any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve portion is provided with a fastenable opening which, when unfastened, permits the player's hand to be extended through the opening and out of the sleeve portion.

7. A hand covering acdording to any preceding claim, wherein the aperture for the racquet handle comprises a cylindrical collar of reinforced or stiffened fabric slightly larger in diameter than the racquet handle so that it does not interfere with free rotation of the racquet handle in use.

8. A hand covering according to any preceding claim, wherein the wrist band is an elasticated portion of the cuff.

9. A hand covering according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the wrist band comprises a strap fastening.

10. A hand covering according to claim 9, wherein the wrist band strap fastening includes at least a portion with elastic stretch properties.

11. A hand covering according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the wrist band strap fastening is securable around the wrist or forearm by a hook-and-pile fastening material.

12. A weather protective hand covering for a tennis player, substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.