Handwear

Abstract

 Handwear (2) on which at least one roller (14) is mounted so as to lie over the palm of a user's hand for rotation to facilitate movement of a pole thereacross.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to handwear examples of which are gloves and mittens.

[0002] The background to the invention will be described in relation to a particular application. Other fields to which the invention may be applied may well occur to the reader.

[0003] In one form of angling, a fishing line is tied to the tip of a multi-section pole which is often referred to as a "roach pole". No reel is used and in order to place the hook in a desired position the pole is shipped by adding sections of pole to extend the pole until the tip of the pole is suitably placed. To retrieve the line and hook, with or without a fish, the pole is unshipped by removing sections of the pole so that the tip is brought in. The action necessary to ship and unship the pole involves feeding the pole from hand to hand as it is extended or shortened. The action involves a considerable amount of work, which is tiring, and it is difficult to perform the action smoothly. Jerky action is magnified at the tip of the pole which can lead to the loss of fish.

[0004] Against this background, in accordance with the invention, there is provided handwear on which at least one roller is mounted so as to lie over the palm of a user's hand for rotation to facilitate movement of a pole thereacross.

[0005] In use, the roach pole can be pushed or drawn smoothly across the roller simplifying the action, so reducing the effort involved, and reducing the skill required to prevent the tip from wobbling.

[0006] In order to guide the pole, the roller preferably has a waist between its ends.

[0007] The handwear preferably includes one, two or three additional rollers.

[0008] The or each roller is preferably mounted in a rigid support by means of a spindle.

[0009] In addition to the roller(s) one or more pads of low friction material are preferably placed to engage a the pole when gripped by a wearer of the handwear.

[0010] One embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is shows the palm side of a glove embodying the invention;

Figure 2 shows an enlarged cross section on arrows A-A in figure 1, of a roller and its support from the glove of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged exploded pictorial view of an alternative set of rollers and their support.

[0011] Referring to the drawings, the handwear is in the form of a glove 2, which may be made from any suitable material, e.g. leather, and which has a boxlike, or channel section support 4 made of a relatively rigid plastics material e.g. nylon, mounted on the palm. The support 4, which may be stitched, to the palm, has a base 6 from opposite ends of which extend two members 8 each formed with holes 10 to receive three shafts or spindles 12 on each of which a resilient polyurethane roller 14 is moulded for rotation therewith. In other embodiments one, two or four rollers may be used. The support may be fixed adjustable, e.g. by hook and loop fastening tape such as velcro, so that the angler can adjust the orientation of the rollers to her or his preference.

[0012] The rollers are so oriented that, in use, a roach pole can be grasped in the hand wearing the glove and can be pushed or pulled by the other hand smoothly across the rollers 14. In general the direction of the pole is transverse to the angler's palm and fingers, the rollers being normally set with their axes at right angles to the length of the pole. The base 6 of the support 4 is curved, as illustrated, thus allowing the rod to be gripped more easily but it may alternatively be plane. Between its ends each roller has a waist which assists to guide the pole so that it does not slide off the end of the roller. The spindles of each roller may also be journalled in suitable bearings, such as needle bearings or ball-bearings.

[0013] An alternative roller and support assembly is shown in Figure 3. Here the support is in two parts a base 16 and a cover 18. The base is formed with four slots 20 into which tangs 22, on the cover, snap so as to retain the cover on the base. Only two slots and two tangs can be seen in the drawings.

[0014] The base 16 is formed with upstanding walls 24, similar to the members 8 in Figure 2, except that instead of holes, the walls 24 are formed with grooves 26 to receive the shafts 12. When the cover 18 is closed over the base 16, the rollers protrude partly through an aperture 28. On opposite sides of the opening 28 portions 30 of the cover overlie and engage the walls 24. The portions 30 are formed with grooves 32, corresponding to the grooves 26, and form with the grooves 36 a bearing for corresponding shafts 12. The base 16 is secured to the palm of the glove by rivets 38 which pass through conical reinforcements 40.

[0015] Although other parts of the glove are generally subject to less friction as the pole is shipped or unshipped, it may be desirable to place other rollers on the glove or, more preferably as illustrated, pads 34 of low friction material or wear resistant material, e.g. PTFE.

[0016] Conversely, it may be helpful to provide parts of the glove with a high degree of friction. To this end pads 36 of rubberised material are stitched to the glove. One suitable material is available commercially under the trademark "Tough Tex".

[0017] In other embodiments the roller(s) may be carried by a mitten or by a strap which passes over the palm and round the back of a user's hand.

Claims

1. Handwear on which at least one roller is mounted so as to lie over the palm of a user's hand for rotation to facilitate movement of a pole thereacross.

2. Handwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein the roller has a waist between its ends.

3. Handwear as claimed in claim 1 or 2, including one, two or three additional rollers.

4. Handwear as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the or each roller is mounted in a rigid support by means of a spindle.

5. Handwear as claimed in any preceding claim, in the form of a glove.

6. Handwear as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, in the form of a mitten.

7. Handwear as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 in the form of a strap.

8. Handwear as claimed in claim 5 or 6, including one or more pads of low friction material placed to engage a pole when gripped by a wearer of the handwear.

9. Handwear as claimed in any preceding claim including one or more pads of high friction material placed to engage a pole when gripped by a wearer of the handwear.

Drawing