Stitchless dorsal padding for protective sports gloves and other protective gear

Abstract

A protective glove can include a unitary dorsal panel formed from an inner scrim material and a plurality of protective elements molded directly to an exterior surface of the inner scrim. Two or more protective elements can be formed as an array of discrete islands each separated by substantially zero-elevation interstitial spaces. The unitary dorsal panel can be sewn or otherwise attached circumferentially to the palmer sections of the glove. This array of protective elements can provide increased protection to the user's fingers, hands, wrists, and lower forearms while maintaining flexibility and tactile feel on both palmar and dorsal sides of the glove, increasing flexibility where needed without compromising protection.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protective sports glove, comprising:
 a unitary dorsal panel formed with a waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads formed as individual islands raised from a zero-elevation surface, said foam protective pads being separated from each other by interstitial channels having a width within a range of from 1-4 mm between the discrete foam protective pads; and   a palmar section connected to the dorsal section.   
     
     
         2 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said interstitial channels have a width of approximately 2 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said unitary dorsal panel is formed with a border flange surrounding the waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads. 
     
     
         4 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said border flange surrounding the waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads is substantially contiguous. 
     
     
         5 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said border flange surrounding the waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads has a width within a range of 2-8 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said border flange surrounding the waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads has a width within a range of 5-6 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads includes quadrilateral shapes. 
     
     
         8 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads includes crescent shapes. 
     
     
         9 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said dorsal panel is fused to a layer of mesh scrim material. 
     
     
         10 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 5 , wherein the palmar section is stitched to said border flange surrounding the waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads. 
     
     
         11 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , further comprising a lower wrist/forearm portion extending below said unitary dorsal panel. 
     
     
         12 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 11 , wherein said lower wrist/forearm portion is configured to encircle a user's forearm below the wrist. 
     
     
         13 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 12 , wherein said lower wrist/forearm portion includes an attachment strap configured to secure said lower wrist/forearm portion around said user's forearm below the wrist. 
     
     
         14 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein said dorsal panel is comprised of ethylene-vinyl acetate foam. 
     
     
         15 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein two adjacent foam protective pads of said foam protective pads have trapezoidal cross sections. 
     
     
         16 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said foam protective pads has a curved face. 
     
     
         17 . A protective sports glove, comprising:
 a unitary dorsal panel formed with a waffle-pattern array of foam protective pads formed as individual islands raised from a zero-elevation surface, wherein two or more of said foam protective pads are separated from each other by an interstitial channel,
 a main section configured to correspond to the back of a wearer's hand, and 
 five finger sections each protruding from said main section; and 
   a substantially contiguous border flange surrounding the entire unitary dorsal panel.   
     
     
         18 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 17 , wherein said foam protective pads are positioned on both said main section and said five finger sections. 
     
     
         19 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 17 , further comprising a palmar section stitched to the unitary dorsal panel along at least a portion of said border flange surrounding said five finger sections. 
     
     
         20 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 17 , wherein said border flange along adjacent finger sections is configured to avoid interference. 
     
     
         20 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 17 , wherein said border flange along a portion of said five finger sections comprises one or more slits for added flexibility. 
     
     
         21 . The protective sports glove according to  claim 17 , wherein a top surface of said border flange is sloped relative to said zero-elevation surface.