A protective device

The present invention relates to a protective device for protecting the heel of the hand. The invention may be used for example when participating in sports such as snowboarding or skateboarding.

When participating in sports such as snowboarding, ice- skating or skateboarding, it is common for a person to lose their balance and fall over. If a person falls face down towards the ground, it is usual for them to try to protect themselves by extending their arms, and using their hand to "break" their fall. This means that their hands contact the ground first, allowing them to slow the speed at which their upper body or head will impact the ground (if at all) .

Although effective in preventing injury to the upper body and head, this often results in damage to the hands, wrists and/or arms .

The bones of the hand and lower arm are shown in Figure 1. A hand 1 comprises four fingers 2 and a thumb 3. Each finger 2 comprises three bones, namely a distal phalanx 4, middle phalanx 5 and proximal phalanx 6. The thumb 3 on the other hand comprises only two bones, a distal phalanx 7 and proximal phalanx 8.

The hand 1 further comprises five metacarpal bones 9, to which each of the proximal phalanges (phalanx bones) of each finger and the thumb is respectively connected. Connected to the metacarpal bones 9 are eight carpal bones 10, arranged in two rows of four. The carpal bones 10 are then

connected to two bones that form the lower arm, namely the radius 11 and ulna 12.

A hand of course further comprises a number of ligaments and muscles and tendons by which the bones are held together and controlled, and is surrounded by skin. The area of the underside of the hand given by the metacarpal bones 9 (and surrounding ligaments, muscles, skin etc.) is known as the "palm" of the hand. Each metacarpal bone 9 comprises a bulbous base portion 9a, a thinner shaft portion 9b, and a bulbous top portion 9c. The area given by the carpal bones 10, the lower half of the thumb metacarpal 9 and the base 9a of each finger metacarpal 9 is known as the "heel" of the hand. The joints between the carpal bones 10 themselves and between the carpal bones 10 and the radius 11 and ulna 12 comprise the wrist joint.

When using the hands to break a fall, typically the hand is instinctively bent backward by extending the wrist joint so that the heel of the hand impacts the ground, as shown in

Figure 2. It is believed that this positioning of the hand makes the force from the impact transmit more effectively through the carpal bones 20 into the radius 11 and ulna 12 bones of the lower arm, and to some extent directly into the ends of the radius 11 and ulna 12. This is advantageous as it reduces the peak forces transmitted and thus the risk of fracture. Despite this, injuries to the wrist and hand often cause fractures of the distal radius or carpal bones or carpal ligament injuries.

The use of protective devices to prevent or reduce injury when participating in sports such as snowboarding or

skateboarding is well-known. Such protective devices are often adapted from wrist splints, which are used to protect the wrist when it has been injured, and in particular to reduce movement of the wrist allowing the joint and associated bones to rest and reducing painful movement. A typical such protective device is shown in Figure 3. The protective device 11 comprises rigid protective portions 12 and 13, which are held together by means of releasable straps 14 and 15. The protective device 11 when worn is shown in Figure 4. As can be seen, the first protective portion 12 is positioned on the underside of the hand and arm, and covers a part of the lower arm, the wrist joint, and a large portion of the palm. The second protective portion 13 is positioned on top of the hand and arm, and covers a similar area to the first protective part 12, namely a part of the lower arm, the wrist joint, and the back of the hand up to the joints between the metacarpal bones and the proximal phalanx bones. Other known devices only have significant protection on the underside of the hand and arm.

As can be seen from Figure 4, although the protective device 11 will offer some protection to the hand, wrist joint and arm in the case of a fall, the movement of the wrist joint will be restricted by the protective portions 12 and 13.

This will prevent a person from being able to put their hand in the position shown in Figure 2, and so prevent them from correctly positioning their hand to optimally break their fall. The movement of the palm is also restricted. This means that the protective device is not suitable for situations in which full mobility of the wrist or palm is

desirable. Further, the device is bulky and can be uncomfortable to wear for long periods .

In the light of the above, it would be desirable to have a protective device for protecting the heel of the hand that solved or mitigated some or all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a protective device for protecting the heel of the hand, comprising: an impact-resistant protective portion; a securing means for securing the protective portion to the hand; wherein the protective portion is arranged to cover, in use, the heel of the hand and is so configured and dimensioned that it does not extend towards the fingers or the wrist substantially beyond the heel of the hand.

In the event of a fall, the impact-resistant protective portion of the device provides protection for the wearer from the impact of the heel of their hand with the ground. However, as the protective portion does not extend towards the fingers or the wrist substantially beyond the heel of the hand, movement of the wearer's wrist is not restricted. This allows the wearer to position move their wrist to the optimal position for breaking their fall, and also to move it freely for any other purpose.

Advantageously, the protective portion does not extend substantially beyond the heel of the hand. This means the

protective device is less bulky and more comfortable to wear .

Advantageously, the protective portion is contoured to fit the heel of the hand. This provides greater protection as any impact is transmitted over a greater area of the heel of the hand, and also provides a more comfortable fit.

Preferably, the protective portion comprises a polymer material. This allows the protective portion to be strong but also light.

Preferably, the maximum extent of the protective portion in the direction from the wrist joint to the palm of the hand is less than 60mm. Preferably, the protective portion is constructed of a material with a thickness of less than 5mm. Preferably, the surface area of the protective portion when projected onto a planar surface is from 1800 to 6000mm ² .

Advantageously, the protective portion is arranged to break under an impact above a pre-determined threshold. This acts to dissipate some of the force from the impact with the ground into the protective device itself in the case of a particularly hard impact.

Preferably, the protective device further comprises a padding portion arranged to fit between the protective portion and the hand. This provides greater comfort and means any impact is transmitted over a greater area of the heel of the hand. The padding portion may be made of a flexible foam material.

The securing means may be removably attached to the protective portion. This allows the device to be removed easily. In that case, the securing means may be attached to the protective portion by means of hook-and-loop fabric fastening. This provides a convenient fixing mechanism.

Alternatively, the securing means is permanently attached to the protective portion. In that case, the securing means comprises an elasticated material. This allows the device to be removed. The securing means may comprise a fastening for varying the length of the securing means.

The securing means may be a glove or mitten. This is a convenient method for securing the device on the hand, particularly for activities such as snowboarding where gloves or mittens would already be worn, and provides for example insulation of the hand as well as protection in the case of a fall. Preferably, the glove or mitten comprises a pocket, and the protective portion is arranged within the pocket. Advantageously, the protective portion can be removed from and replaced within the pocket. This allows the protective portion to be removed in the case it is not needed, and replaced if necessary if it is broken during a fall.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a protective device for protecting the hand, comprising: an impact-resistant protective portion; a securing means for securing the protective portion to the hand; wherein the shape of the protective portion is such that, in use, the protective proportion can cover an area of the

user's hand extending from the wrist whilst the palm of the hand and the wrist joint are substantially uncovered by the protective portion.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a protective device for protecting the hand, comprising: an impact-resistant protective portion; a securing means for securing the protective portion to the hand; wherein the protective portion is arranged to cover, in use, at least a part of the hand extending from the wrist, the protective portion when projected onto a planar surface having a surface area from 1800 to 6000mm ² .

There will now be described, by way of illustration, two embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 shows the bones of the lower arm, wrist and hand;

Figure 2 shows the positioning of the hand when breaking a fall;

Figure 3 shows a known protective device in an unfastened configuration; Figure 4 shows a known protective device in a worn configuration;

Figure 5 is a bottom view of a protective device according to a first embodiment of the present invention in a worn configuration; Figure 6 is a top view of the protective device in the worn configuration;

Figure 7 shows a padding portion of the protective device;

Figure 8 shows a protective portion of the protective device;

Figure 9 shows the use of the protective device when breaking a fall; Figure 10 is a bottom view of the protective device in the worn configuration;

Figure 11 is a side view of a protective device according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a worn configuration; Figure 12 shows a protective portion of the protective device .

A first embodiment of a protective device according to the present invention is shown in Figures 5 to 9. As shown in Figure 5, the protective device 101 comprises a protective portion 102 made of a rigid or semi-rigid, suitably impact resistant, polymer material, which is contoured to fit the heel of the hand, and extends from base of the heel of the hand above the wrist joint to the bottom of the palm. A padding portion 103 is positioned between the protective portion 102 and the hand and is attached to the inner contoured surface (not visible in the Figures) of the protective portion 102. (The padding portion is not visible in Figure 5, but can be seen in Figures 6 and 7.) Opposed to inner surface is an outer surface 108 which, in the embodiment shown, is visible, although in some embodiments it may be covered by a cover for aesthetic purposes. The cover may, if desired, fully enclose the protective portion of the padding portion. As shown in Figure 8, the device has a circumferentially extending edge which, in the drawings, is divided into a wrist edge portion 110, a thumb edge portion 111, a palm edge portion 112, and a return edge

portion 113. It will be understood that those respective edge portions are defined merely for convenience; they are not independent separable structures and together form the continuous edge.

As can be seen particularly clearly in Figure 8, two hook pads 104 and 105 of a hook-and-loop fabric fastener are positioned on, for example adhesively attached to, the outer surface 108 of the protective portion 102. The first hook pad 104 is positioned in the vicinity of thumb edge portion 111, and the second hook pad 105 is positioned towards the return edge portion 113 of the protective portion 102 (that is, the edge closest to the "little" finger) . A securing means, which consists of an elongate strip 106 of flexible material having on one side loops of a kind that are removably attachable to the hook pads 104 and 105. The elongate strip 106 has a first end attached to the first hook pad 104, passes between the thumb and palm, around the back of the hand, and has its second end attached to the second hook pad 105 (see in particular Figures 5, 6 and 9) . Whilst, in the embodiment shown, the device is attached to the hand in use by means of an elongate flexible strip having loops on one side that are releasably attachable to the hook pads on the protective portion, it will be appreciated that any suitable fastening means may be used. For example, the flexible strip may have loops only on its end portions. Alternatively there may be a flexible strip fastener that is permanently attached to the protective portion at either the thumb edge portion 111 or the return edge portion 113, having a free end that is removably attached to the protective portion in the vicinity of the opposed edge of the protective device. The flexible strip

fastener could alternatively be permanently attached at both ends but be separable into two portions by means of a clasp. Another possible arrangement would include an elasticated flexible strip that is permanently attached at each end to either the thumb edge portion or the return edge portion.

In practice, the protective portion 102 is held in place on the hand by the securing means 106 and, being contoured to fit the heel of the hand, will be retained in place during normal use. Due to the small size of the protective portion 102, namely the fact that it extends only from the base of the heel of the hand to the bottom of the palm, movement of the wrist joint and palm is not or is barely restricted. However, in the event of a fall the protective portion 102 will be positioned between the hand and the ground, and so will provide protection to the hand and wrist joint and help prevent an injury occurring, as shown in Figure 10. As well as helping the protective device to stay in place during use, the fact that the protective portion 102 is contoured to fit the heel of the hand means that the force from the impact with the ground is distributed evenly across the entire part of the hand covered, rather than focussed at one particular point, again helping to prevent an injury occurring. The padding portion 103 also helps to evenly distribute the force from the impact with the ground into the hand.

In the case of a particularly hard impact the protective portion 102 is designed to crack, which acts to dissipate some of the force from the impact with the ground into the protective device itself.

Typical dimensions for the protective portion would in practice be as follows:

(i) From wrist edge portion to palm edge portion: 30mm to 60mm; (ϋ) From thumb edge portion to return edge portion: 60mm to 100mm.

It will be appreciated that the dimensions above will generally increase in proportion to one another. In general, the dimension (i) will be from 40% to 70%, and preferably 50% to 60%, of (ii) .

The dimensions above are, in the case of a contoured protective portion such as that shown in the drawings, measured from a planar projection of the contoured portion. The protective portion when projected onto a planar surface thus has a surface area from 1800 to 6000mm ² . Preferably, it has a surface area from 2750 to 5000mm ² .

The contouring of the protective portion is, as already mentioned, such that the surface closest to the hand generally follows the surface of the heel of the hand. In practice, the total depth of the protective portion (including the contouring) is of the order of 1 to 3cm whilst the thickness of the protective portion is from 0.3 to 0.75mm, and preferably from 0.3 to 0.5mm.

The protective portion may be made of any suitable material having an appropriate impact resistance. Suitable materials may include, without limitation, polystyrenes, acrylics, polyurethanes , polycarbonates, polyamides, polyethylenes and polypropylenes, either per se or reinforced as appropriate.

The impact resistance is such as to resist impact under most conditions of normal use, but is selected to allow breakage under unusual levels of impact such as would be experienced in a serious fall. In those circumstances, the severing or shattering of the protective portion can absorb the more of the energy resulting from the impact.

A second embodiment of a protective device according to the present invention is shown in Figures 10 to 12. As in the previous embodiment, the protective device 201 comprises a protective portion 202 and a padding portion 203 attached to the contoured inner surface of the protective portion 202 so that in use it is positioned between the protective portion 202 and the hand. The device has a circumferentially extending edge which is divided into a wrist edge portion

210, a thumb edge portion 211, a palm edge portion 212, and a return edge portion 213; again it will be understood that those respective edge portions are defined merely for convenience, and are not independent separable structures but together form the continuous edge.

However, in this case there are four hook pads 204 to 207 positioned on surface of the protective portion 202 opposite to the hand, each towards a respective corner of protective portion 202, and the securing means consists of first and second elongate strips of flexible material 208 and 209 having on one side loops of a kind that are removably attachable to the hook pads 204 to 207. The first strip 208 has a first end attached to the hook pad 204 positioned on the corner of the protective portion 202 where the palm edge portion 212 and return edge portion 213 meet, and passes around the back of the hand, between the thumb and wrist

joint, and has its second end attached to the hook pad 206 on the opposite corner, namely the corner where the wrist edge portion 210 and thumb edge portion 211 meet. The second strip 209 has a first end attached to the hook pad 205 positioned on the corner of the protective portion 202 where the palm edge portion 212 and thumb edge portion 211 meet, passes around the back of the hand, and has its second end attached to the hook pad 207 on the opposite corner, namely the corner where the wrist edge portion 210 and return edge portion 213 meet.

Although in these embodiments the protective portions 102 and 202 comprise a solid piece of polymer material, they could alternatively be made of a perforated material, for example simply the polymer material with a number of holes through it. This would make the protective device lighter, and would also allow air to circulate through the protective portion making it cooler to wear and aiding in the evaporation of sweat.

A third embodiment of a protective device according to the present invention (not shown) comprises a protective portion as in the previous embodiments. In this embodiment, however, the securing means is a glove or mitten with a pocket positioned over the heel of the hand. The protective portion would be placed within the pocket and so protect the heel of the hand. The protective portion could be removable from the pocket, in which case it could be replaced when broken or simply not required (for example if the gloves or mittens were simply being worn for warmth, and not during a sporting activity) . Alternatively the protective portion could be permanently fixed within the pocket.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of understanding, it will be obvious that changes and modifications may be practised within the scope of the appended claims .