Ergonomic hand grip and method of gripping
First Claim
1. An ergonomic elongated handgrip for being held in a hand of a user, which handgrip when disposed generally upright and gripped with the thumb of the user'"'"'s hand prevents pronation of the first metacarpal and the thumb, and which grip comprises:
- a) an elongated base having a central longitudinal axis and upper and lower opposed ends, and a series of generally transversely extending finger receiving grooves, each of which extends partially around said base, said grooves being spaced apart longitudinally on said base, the circumference of said base increasing upwardly from the lowermost groove to the uppermost groove, the base'"'"'s reduced circumference allowing greater contraction of the small finger of the gripping hand at a joint between the phalanges and metacarpals, than the contraction of the comparable joints of the other three fingers of the gripping hand, on said base andb) a thumb support adjacent to said upper end of said base, said thumb support extending generally transverse to the axis of said base to one side of the axis having a slightly arcuate surface so as to position and support the thumb of the gripping hand in a bent position to one side of the axis with a bend in both joints of the thumb.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ergonomic hand grip is provided for use with a wide variety of devices and equipment such as ski poles and bicycle handlebars. In a basic illustrated form, the grip has an elongated base that is contoured so that, when gripped, the thumb is bent and the hand and wrist are in a neutral position. In the neutral position, the hand is not cocked or hyper-extended, but rather is generally aligned with the forearm. In particular, a thumb support is provided adjacent to one end of the base to position and support the thumb in the bent position. The base is also provided with suitable depressions and/or recessed areas to receive enlarged portions of the gripping hand to cause the knuckles to be in generally linear alignment. Further, the end of the base opposite the thumb support is reduced in size to allow disproportionately more contraction of the lowermost two fingers, and primarily the lowermost or little finger. When used in certain applications such as for ski poles where the base is generally upright, the base is desirable tilted slightly forwardly. The grip tends to promote improved alignment and stabilization of the parts of the user'"'"'s body and in particular stabilize the user'"'"'s shoulders, and in turn his/her hips, legs, etc. for greater stability and efficiency of movement. The grip also facilitates the users ability to resist stress applied to the grip.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An ergonomic elongated handgrip for being held in a hand of a user, which handgrip when disposed generally upright and gripped with the thumb of the user'"'"'s hand prevents pronation of the first metacarpal and the thumb, and which grip comprises:
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a) an elongated base having a central longitudinal axis and upper and lower opposed ends, and a series of generally transversely extending finger receiving grooves, each of which extends partially around said base, said grooves being spaced apart longitudinally on said base, the circumference of said base increasing upwardly from the lowermost groove to the uppermost groove, the base'"'"'s reduced circumference allowing greater contraction of the small finger of the gripping hand at a joint between the phalanges and metacarpals, than the contraction of the comparable joints of the other three fingers of the gripping hand, on said base and b) a thumb support adjacent to said upper end of said base, said thumb support extending generally transverse to the axis of said base to one side of the axis having a slightly arcuate surface so as to position and support the thumb of the gripping hand in a bent position to one side of the axis with a bend in both joints of the thumb. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A ergonomic hand grip for being held in a hand of a user comprising:
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a) an elongated base having an upper and lower end, b) a slightly arcuate thumb locating and supporting ledge adjacent to said upper end of said base, and extending outwardly from, c) a series of generally transversely extending finger-receiving grooves extending at least partially around said base and spaced apart longitudinally of said base, said grooves being positioned longitudinally on said base so that when said grip is held by the hand of the user, said ledge is positioned relative to the thumb on the hand so that the thumb rests upon said ledge in a bent position with a bend in both joints of the thumb rather than an extended position, said groove for the small finger of the hand being sufficiently reduced in circumference beyond what is required to accommodate the shorter length of the small finger relative to the lengths of the remaining fingers of the hand so that when said grip is held by the hand of the user, the small finger received in said groove contracts substantially more than the remainder of the fingers of the hand. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. An ergonomic handgrip for being held in a hand of a user comprising:
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an elongated base having a central longitudinal axis and upper and lower opposed ends, said base having a reduced circumference adjacent said lower end to allow greater contraction of the small finger of the gripping hand at the joint between the phalanges and metacarpals than the contraction of the comparable joints of the other three fingers of the gripping hand, said base, when disposed generally upright, also having an enlarged circumference at said upper end; and a generally forwardly directed portion contoured for engaging so as to position and support the areas of the palm of the inside of the gripping hand where the fingers join to the palm, said forwardly directed portion includes four individual indentations one for each finger, said indentation for the small finger of the gripping hand being disproportionately larger than said indentations for the other fingers of the gripping hand to facilitate greater contraction of the small finger than the two uppermost fingers of the gripping hand when gripping, said indentation for the ring finger of the gripping hand being disproportionately larger than said indentations for the two uppermost fingers of the gripping hand to facilitate greater contraction of the ring finger than the two uppermost fingers of the gripping hand when gripping; a generally sidewardly directed portion contoured for engaging so as to position and support the areas of the inside of the gripping hand where the fingers join to the palm; and a generally rearwardly directed portion contoured for engaging so as to position and support the intermediate palm area of the gripping hand; a thumb support adjacent to said upper end of said base, said thumb support including a support surface extending generally transverse to the axis of said base and extending to one side of the axis and adapted to position and support the thumb of a gripping hand in a bent position to one side of the axis with a bend in both joints of the thumb, and an enlarged portion below said little finger indentation. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. An ergonomic hand grip for being held in a hand of a user comprising:
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an elongated base having a central longitudinal axis and first and second opposed ends, said first and second ends each being solid continuous surfaces adapted to restrict engagement with another device, said base having a reduced circumference adjacent said second end to allow greater contraction of the small finger of the gripping hand at the joint between the phalanges and metacarpals and at the distal joint than the contraction of the comparable joints of the other three fingers of the gripping hand; a thumb support adjacent to said first end of said base, said thumb support including a support surface extending generally transverse to the axis of said base and extending to one side of the axis so as to position and support the thumb of the gripping hand in a bent position to one side of the axis with a bend in both joints of the thumb; and an enlarged portion at said second end of said base.
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30. An elongated handgrip, when disposed generally upright, comprising:
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an elongated body having a longitudinal generally central axis, the body having an upper end and a lower end, the body having a generally smooth contoured outer surface comprising a series of elongated surface portions that extend generally upright and parallel to the axis and are arranged circumferentially around the axis to engage a hand of a user with the palm and the fingers of the hand wrapped around the body surface and with the thumb uppermost, said surface portions comprising first, second, third and fourth portions, said first elongated surface being contoured for engaging the innermost digits of the fingers of a user'"'"'s hand, said surface portion having a series of longitudinally spaced apart recesses for each receiving one of said digits, said second elongated surface portion being sidewardly directed and being contoured for engaging the portion of the palm of the user'"'"'s hand generally aligned with the knuckle joints, said second surface portion having an elongated recess extending generally upright and parallel to said axis for receiving and generally aligning at least the top two knuckles of a user'"'"'s hand; said third elongated surface portion being rearwardly directed and being contoured for engaging the remaining portions of a user'"'"'s palm including the thumb pad, said third surface portion being generally at a right angle to said second surface portion, and being wider over at least most of its height than said first surface portion, said fourth portion being contoured for engaging the end two digits of the fingers of a user'"'"'s hand in bent encircling condition, said fourth surface portion being angled so that it is generally further from the second surface portion where it meets the third surface portion than it is from the second surface portion where it meets the third surface portion, the area of said body'"'"'s upper end that is generally opposite from said second surface portion, being contoured with a thumb positioning and supporting ledge that extends generally transverse to the central axis, said thumb supporting ledge facing generally upwardly, the thumb supporting ledge commencing at the upper end of the third surface portion, then sloping upwardly to provide a support for the intermediate digit of the thumb so that that digit extends slightly upwardly, then sloping back downwardly to provide a support for the outermost digit of the thumb so that the digit extends back downwardly, whereby the thumb is supported with both joints bents; said thumb support ledge being inclined downwardly as it extends rapidly away from the central axis to support the bent thumb so that the inside of the thumb is rotated toward the palm of the hand.
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Specification