Tactical glove

Abstract

A glove employable for both striking and grappling incorporates an articulation hinge for enabling the glove to transition between a clinched fist position for striking and an unclenched open position for grappling. The glove additional incorporates a removable absorbent liner that may be worn over the user's hand for absorbing sweat. The liner may be removed after use and laundered.

1 . A glove employable for both striking and grappling, the glove comprising:
 an exterior flexible shell including a mitten sheath for housing the users palm and fingers and a wrist band for securing the glove to the user's hand, the mitten sheath being connected to the wrist band, the mitten sheath having shape adaptable for transitioning between a clinched fist position for striking and an unclenched open position for grappling, the mitten sheath having a dorsal side and a palm side, and   a dorsal pad incorporated within said exterior flexible shell for affording strike and shock protection to the dorsal surfaces of the user's hand, fingers, and wrist, the dorsal pad including a layer of high density foam sandwiched between two layers of low density foam, the high density foam having less flexibility than the low density foam,   the dorsal pad configured with a bent shape to conform to fingers positioned in a clenched fist position for striking,   the dorsal pad including an articulation hinge for facilitating bending and unbending rotational motion by the dorsal pad to and from the clinched fist position and the unclenched open position by clenching and unclenching of the user's fingers,   the articulation hinge being positioned within the dorsal pad and the dorsal pad being positioned within the exterior flexible shell to afford proximity to the user's metacarpal/proximal phalange joints when the glove is worn by the user.   
     
     
         2 . The glove of  claim 1  wherein the articulation hinge is formed by a partial cut into the layer of high density foam. 
     
     
         3 . The glove of  claim 2  wherein the partial cut extends more than half way through the layer of high density foam. 
     
     
         4 . The glove of  claim 3  wherein the partial cut is positioned on the surface of layer of high density foam closest to the user's hand when the glove is worn by the user. 
     
     
         5 . The glove of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a palm pad incorporated within the exterior flexible shell for affording strike and shock protection to the anterior surface of the users carpal/metacarpal joint, the palm pad being positioned within the exterior flexible shell to afford proximity the user's carpal/metacarpal joint when the glove is worn by the user; and 
 a palm mesh embedded in an opening within said exterior flexible shell for affording ventilation through the exterior flexible shell and for facilitating bending and unbending rotational motion about the articulation hinge of the dorsal pad, the palm mesh being positioned within the exterior flexible shell to afford proximity the user's metacarpal/proximal phalange joints when the glove is worn by the user. 
 
     
     
         6 . The glove of  claim 1 , wherein
 the exterior flexible shell further including an articulated thumb sheath for housing the user's thumb, including the tip of the user's thumb, the articulated thumb sheath attached to the mitten sheath in conformance with the user's carpometacarpal junction for facilitating extension of the user's thumb during grappling, the mitten sheath having a dorsal side and a palm side,   
       and the glove further comprising:
 a thumb pad extending from the dorsal side of the thumb sheath over the tip of the thumb sheath and down the inside of the thumb sheath to the mitten sheath adjacent to the user's metacarpal/proximal phalange join, the thumb pad having a bent shape for imparting curvature in an inwardly direction, angling the user's thumb toward the user's fingers so as to reduce accidental gouging, and 
 a reinforcement strip attached to and extending from a tip of the articulated thumb sheath to the mitten sheath in an inner palm region for protecting the user's thumb against hyperextension. 
 
     
     
         7 . The glove of  claim 6  further compromising:
 an anti-microbial applied to a glove element selected from the group consisting of the exterior flexible shell, the dorsal pad, the palm pad, the palm mesh, and the thumb pad. 
 
     
     
         8 . The glove of  claim 1  further compromising:
 a removable absorbent liner for absorbing the user's sweat, the liner having a mitten shape and being insertable within the glove while being worn on the user's hand. 
 
     
     
         9 . The glove of  claim 8  further compromising:
 an anti-microbial applied to a glove element selected from the group consisting of the exterior flexible shell, the dorsal pad, the palm pad, the palm mesh, the thumb pad, and the liner. 
 
     
     
         10 . An improved method for manufacturing a glove according to  claim 1 , wherein the improvement comprises the additional step of imparting an articulated hinge to a high density layer of a dorsal pad by partially cutting into the high density layer for forming a score line.