Evaluation of the Protective Padding in Professional Ice Hockey Gloves (original) (raw)
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Performance of Prototype Pneumatic Boxing Gloves under Two Different Conditions of Target Padding
The impact damping capabilities of four different boxing gloves were assessed under two different conditions of target padding to determine whether target characteristics might influence previous conclusions concerning potential for impact mitigation through novel glove design. A conventional 10 oz glove (Std 10 oz), a conventional 16 oz glove (Std 16 oz), a prototype pneumatic glove with a sealed bladder (SBLI) and a prototype pneumatic glove with a bladder allowing air exchange with the external environment (ARLI) were each dropped three times on to a force plate from six heights ranging from 2.5 to 5.0 metres. The force plate was covered by a 50 mm thick mat of EVA material and results obtained were compared with those of an earlier experiment involving use of a similar protocol but a 25 mm thick EVA force plate covering. The thicker mat greatly reduced peak impact forces for all gloves, with values for the Std 10 oz glove becoming much closer to those reported by other researchers for punches delivered by elite boxers to crash test manikins. Peak rates of force development were also substantially decreased. Protective effects provided by the ARLI glove relative to the Std 10 oz glove were diminished but still in the order of 17%-22% for peak impact force and 27%-49% for peak rate of force development across the range of drop heights. With the 50 mm mat thickness, the SBLI glove was as effective as the ARLI glove in reducing peak impact force, whereas this was not the case with the 25 mm mat. It was, however, always inferior to the ARLI glove in decreasing peak rate of force development. The ability of the ARLI glove to afford protection across a spectrum of impact conditions could yield important practical advantages.
Effect of Pneumatic Boxing Gloves on Impact Kinematics and Their Relationship to Impact Forces
World Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2019
This study was aimed at improved understanding of the mechanisms of previously reported protective effects of a pneumatic boxing glove. A Motion Capture System was used to obtain velocity data from four different boxing gloves dropped on to a force plate from nine heights ranging from 1 to 5 metres. Two gloves were of the conventional type but differed in mass. The other two were prototype pneumatic gloves. One of these (SBLI) had a sealed bladder while the other (ARLI) incorporated a port allowing air exchange with the external environment. The pneumatic gloves decelerated more slowly than the conventional gloves following impact and compressed through a greater absolute distance. Consequently, they took longer to reach zero velocity. As drop height increased, these trends became more pronounced for the ARLI glove than the SBLI glove. Increase in velocity during rebound was also slower for the pneumatic gloves. The ARLI glove had a lower coefficient of restitution than any of the other gloves at low to moderate drop heights but not at high drop heights. The SBLI glove had a higher coefficient of restitution than the other gloves at all drop heights from 2 metres upwards. This indicated that, overall, the ARLI glove was the most effective, and the SBLI glove the least effective, in dissipating the kinetic energy of impact through conversion to other energy forms. For all gloves at all drop heights, peak positive acceleration at the beginning of rebound was of lower absolute magnitude than peak negative acceleration at the end of compression. The influence of drop height on an index characterising this relationship differed between the conventional and pneumatic gloves, possibly reflecting structural changes to gloves as impact energy increased. The conventional and pneumatic gloves How to cite this paper: Perkins, P., Ja-mieson, A., Spratford, W. and Hahn, A. 473 World Journal of Engineering and Technology differed regarding temporal alignment between key kinematic and kinetic events, and there were some differences between the two pneumatic gloves in this respect. Nevertheless, peak glove deceleration correlated highly with peak impact force, not only for each glove individually but also when data for all gloves were combined. The findings confirmed the potential practical utility of the ARLI glove and identified air cushion thickness, glove compressibility and capacity for air release and subsequent reuptake as critical aspects of its design.
Pneumatic Boxing Glove Reduces Upward Drift in Peak Force and Loading Rate over a Long Series of Impacts, 2019
A conventional boxing glove and a prototype pneumatic glove were each fitted to a mechanical fist and dropped 253 times from a height of 3 metres on to a force plate covered by an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) mat. Impact dynamics were measured and modelled. From the outset, peak impact force and peak rate of force development (loading rate) were lower for the pneumatic glove. For both gloves, these variables displayed upward drift during the drop series, but the drift was smaller for the pneumatic glove. Consequently, the magnitude of the protective effect provided by the pneumatic glove increased with the number of impacts. For the conventional glove, change in peak force showed a close inverse relationship to force plate contact time (R 2 > 0.96) and the time from first contact of the glove with the force plate to attainment of peak force (R 2 = 0.85). These relationships were much weaker for the pneumatic glove (R 2 = 0.09 and 0.59 respectively), suggesting the possibility of a more complex impact damping mechanism. Following the 253 drops of the pneumatic glove, the EVA mat covering the force plate was replaced, and another 10 drops then performed. Peak force readings were immediately reduced to an extent suggesting that 26%-34% of the increase that had occurred over the 253 drops was attributable to impact-induced change in mat properties. This has implications for future experimental designs. Overall, the findings provided further evidence of the potential of pneumatic gloves to enable safer boxing.
Effect of gloves on prehensile forces during lifting and holding tasks
Ergonomics, 1999
The eOE ect of gloves on the spatio-temporal characteristics of prehensile forces during lifting and holding tasks was investigated. Participants (n = 10) lifted a force transducer equipped object (weight = 0.29 N) with various types of gloves and barehanded using a two-® ngered precision grip. Rubber surgical gloves of varied thicknesses (0.24, 0.61 and 1.02 mm) were worn to examine the eOE ect of glove thickness on a rayon surface. It was found that grip force increased with thickness because the participants employed a higher safety margin above the minimum force required to hold the object. The safety margin for the barehanded condition was the smallest. The performance time for lifting the object was not in¯uenced by the variation of glove thickness. The ® ndings suggest that glove thickness, which presumably modi® es the cutaneous sensation, in¯uences grip force regulation. The eOE ect of glove material (rubber and cotton) was also examined in relation to slippery (rayon) and non-slippery (sandpaper) surfaces. It was found that the participants used a larger grip force with the cotton glove than the rubber glove for the slippery surface, but not with the non-slippery surface. With use of the rubber glove, a relatively low grip force level was maintained for both slippery and non-slippery surfaces. The performance time for the cotton glove was longer than that for the rubber glove. The ® ndings suggest that the rubber glove provides better e ciency of force and temporal control than the cotton glove in precision handling of small objects.
Iterative Design of Impact-Damping Gloves for Safer Boxing
Design methods were employed over a 5-year period to develop boxing gloves capable of substantially buffering impact forces delivered to an opponent, thereby permitting safer boxing. Multiple concepts were explored, with sophistication of prototypes gradually increasing. The protypes underwent both quantitative laboratory testing and qualitative evaluation in the field. The laboratory testing methods were evolved over time to enhance test reliability and ecological validity. Feedback from the laboratory and field trials was highly instrumental in guiding the process of glove development. It was eventually found that, compared to standard boxing gloves, pneumatic gloves with sealed bladders were effective in reducing peak impact forces and peak rates of force development when impact magnitudes were low to moderate but not when they were high. By contrast, pneumatic gloves incorporating a bladder enabling air exchange with the external environment were protective across the entire range of impact magnitudes likely to be encountered in boxing. These gloves are configured differently from standard gloves in terms of the positioning of the fist relative to the glove padding, but now have close visual resemblance to standard gloves. The aesthetics of the gloves have proven critical to their acceptance. Wearer comfort is also vital and, although we extensively pursued the concept of thumbless gloves, we finally deemed it necessary to include separate thumb compartments to accommodate user advice. There is scope for further glove refinement, but recent experience indicates that the latest version is currently sufficient for use in modified boxing programs that emphasise safety, with such targeted contextual sufficiency realis-ing a fundamental aim commonly associated with projects employing the design approach. Small batches of the gloves have recently been manufactured to cater for modified boxing programs.
Two prototype pneumatic boxing gloves of different design were compared against conventional 10 oz (Std 10 oz) and 16 oz (Std 16 oz) gloves in terms of ability to reduce impact forces delivered to a target. One of the pneumatic gloves (SBLI) contained a sealed air bladder inflated to a pressure of 2 kPa. The other (ARLI) incorporated a bladder that allowed release of air to the external environment upon contact with a target, followed by rapid air reuptake. Each glove was placed on to a mechanical fist and dropped 10 times on to an in-floor force plate from each of nine heights ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 metres, with the 5-metre drop generating a peak pre-impact glove velocity close to the reported maximum for elite boxers. Compared to the conventional gloves, the ARLI glove substantially reduced peak impact forces at all drop heights, with the reduction exceeding 30% even at the 5-metre level. The SBLI glove was as effective as the ARLI glove in reducing peak impact forces at drop heights of up to 2.5 metres, but its performance then progressively diminished, and at drop heights of 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 metres it produced peak force readings similar to those recorded for the Std 10 oz and Std 16 oz gloves. The superiority of the ARLI glove was even more evident in relation to peak rate of force development, with reductions relative to the Std 10 oz glove being ~60% at drop heights up to 3.5 metres and still ~47% at 5 metres. Peak rate of force development for the SBLI glove exceeded that for the ARLI glove for all drop heights of 2.0 metres and above, and at 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 metres it was higher than the readings for the Std 10 oz and 16 oz gloves. The protective effect of the ARLI glove was associated with an increase in impact compliance and prolongation of contact time between glove and target. It is concluded that a pneumatic boxing glove that provides for air exchange with the external environment can greatly reduce impact magnitudes across the whole range of pre-impact glove velocities likely to be encountered in boxing, thereby mitigating risks associated with the sport. While acceptance of the gloves by the boxing community is uncertain, opportunity may exist for almost immediate uptake in modified boxing programs.
Glove Attributes and Their Contribution to Force Decrement and Increased Effort in Power Grip
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2009
To determine the contribution of the loss of tactile sensitivity, glove flexibility, glove thickness, and changes in finger geometry to force decrement and increased effort during gloved power grip. Background: Gloved work has been shown to increase the effort required to perform manual tasks. Method: A battery of maximal and submaximal gripping tasks was performed while grip force and surface electromyography of seven forearm muscles were recorded. Participants performed power grips while wearing three different thicknesses of rubber gloves (differing only in thickness; maximum 3.1 mm), wearing interdigital spacers between the fingers (matched to the glove thicknesses), and with a bare hand. Results: Decreases in maximum grip force compared with the bare hand were observed for the thickest glove (-31.0 ± 6.8%, p < .05) and for the thickest interdigital spacers (-9.7 ± 5.9 %, p < .05). Participants increased their grip force with increasing glove thickness for a submaximal object-lifting task (p < .01). To maintain an unloaded grip posture and to create a fixed submaximal force, participants increased muscle activation (p < .05) for all muscles with increasing glove thickness. Conclusion: Decreases in maximal grip force and increased effort in submaximal tasks could be attributed to a combination of reduced tactile sensitivity, the effort to bend the gloves, and interdigital separation. Application: Although the values obtained are specific to the rubber gloves tested, the results give insights into factors important in the design and selection of gloves.
Quantification of boxing gloves damping: Method and apparatus
Measurement, 2018
In the present work, a new non-destructive method for quantifying amateur boxing gloves damping is proposed. This method is based on the determination of the relative variation of punch's energy or acceleration; a damping factor is defined to assess the damping ability of the glove. The compression of the glove is also quantified by defining, as a new parameter, the compression ratio. The designed impactor is described and the performed measurements are presented; six 10 oz competition gloves, including three new and three worn gloves, are tested using three shock energy levels of 4, 18 and 44 J. The damping factor values range between 0.04 and 0.92 depending on the glove condition and its effectiveness in attenuating the punch intensity. At weak and moderate impact energy levels, the compression ratio values are significantly smaller for new gloves than for worn gloves. At high energy level, the two types of gloves exhibit similar compression ratio values but quite different damping factors.
Force-endurance relationship: does it matter if gloves are donned?
Applied Ergonomics, 1995
The human hand is a very useful multipurpose tool in all environments. However, performance capabilities are compromised considerably when gloves are donned. This is especially true for extra-vehicular activity (EVA) gloves used in a space environment. The primary aim of this study was to establish exertion and endurance limits for specific tasks. The objective of this study was to develop grip force endurance relations. Six subjects participated in a factorial experiment involving three hand conditions, three pressure differentials, and four levels of force exertion. The results indicate that while the force that could be exerted depended on the glove, pressure differential, and the level of exertion, the endurance time at any exertion level depended just on the level of exertion expressed as a percentage of maximum exertion possible at that condition. The impact of these findings for practitioners as well as theoreticians is discussed.