Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
168 words
A palm guard for use with a sports glove comprising: a molded, rigid, elongated unitary body with shock absorption properties, the body defining a wrist portion having an outer edge at a wrist area of a wearer and extending below the wrist to a contiguous arched palm portion, the arched palm portion defining a convex arch having an apex with a maximum thickness greater than a thickness of the wrist portion and a thickness of a remainder of the arched palm portion, the convex arch forming a space between the palm guard and a palm and a heel area of the hand, the arched palm portion extending to a second edge at least substantially at a mid-palm area of the hand, the shock absorption properties of the palm guard, together with the thickness of the apex and the space between the heel area and the palm guard, for absorbing and dissipating impact forces to the wrist, heel and palm of the hand caused by falls during sports activities.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
168 words
A palm guard for use with a sports glove comprising: a molded, rigid, elongated unitary body with shock absorption properties, the body defining a wrist portion having an outer edge at a wrist area of a wearer and extending below the wrist to a contiguous arched palm portion, the arched palm portion defining a convex arch having an apex with a maximum thickness greater than a thickness of the wrist portion and a thickness of a remainder of the arched palm portion, the convex arch forming a space between the palm guard and a palm and a heel area of the hand, the arched palm portion extending to a second edge at least substantially at a mid-palm area of the hand, the shock absorption properties of the palm guard, together with the thickness of the apex and the space between the heel area and the palm guard, for absorbing and dissipating impact forces to the wrist, heel and palm of the hand caused by falls during sports activities.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
12 words
The palm guard of claim 1 molded from a polyamide plastic material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
The palm guard of claim 1 wherein the second edge has a first thickness, the arched palm portion increasing in thickness, the convex arch defining a greatest thickness, the wrist portion decreasing in thickness to the outer edge having a third thickness.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The palm guard of claim 1 wherein the apex defines a height of substantially 1 inch.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
215 words
An abbreviated glove for sports comprising: a finger area; a thumb area; a top of the hand area; a palm area having a guard mounting means attached thereto; a palm guard for attachment to the mounting means, the palm guard comprising a molded, rigid, elongated unitary body with shock absorption properties, the body defining a wrist portion having an outer edge positioned at a wrist area of the glove and extending from above the wrist area to a contiguous arched palm portion, the arched palm portion defining a convex arch having an apex with a maximum thickness greater than a thickness of the wrist portion and a thickness of a remainder of the arched palm portion, the convex arch forming a space between the palm guard and a palm and a heel area of the hand, the arched palm portion extending to a second edge at least substantially at a mid-palm area of the glove, the shock absorption properties of the palm guard, together with the thickness of the apex and the space between the heel area and the palm guard, for absorbing and dissipating impact forces to the wrist, heel and palm of the hand caused by falls during sports activities; and a wrist wrap means for securing the position of the wrist portion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
215 words
An abbreviated glove for sports comprising: a finger area; a thumb area; a top of the hand area; a palm area having a guard mounting means attached thereto; a palm guard for attachment to the mounting means, the palm guard comprising a molded, rigid, elongated unitary body with shock absorption properties, the body defining a wrist portion having an outer edge positioned at a wrist area of the glove and extending from above the wrist area to a contiguous arched palm portion, the arched palm portion defining a convex arch having an apex with a maximum thickness greater than a thickness of the wrist portion and a thickness of a remainder of the arched palm portion, the convex arch forming a space between the palm guard and a palm and a heel area of the hand, the arched palm portion extending to a second edge at least substantially at a mid-palm area of the glove, the shock absorption properties of the palm guard, together with the thickness of the apex and the space between the heel area and the palm guard, for absorbing and dissipating impact forces to the wrist, heel and palm of the hand caused by falls during sports activities; and a wrist wrap means for securing the position of the wrist portion.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The abbreviated glove of claim 5 made from an elastic material, the guard mounting means defining a pair of pockets for holding the palm guard.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
12 words
The palm guard of claim 5 molded from a polyamide plastic material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
42 words
The palm guard of claim 5 wherein the outer edge has a first thickness, the arched palm portion increasing in thickness, the convex arch having a greatest thickness, the wrist portion decreasing in thickness to the second edge having a third thickness.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The palm guard of claim 5 wherein the convex arch defines an apex having a height of substantially 1 inch.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
12 words
The sports glove of claim 5 further comprising padding beneath the pockets.