Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
Claims
1. A glove, comprising:
a glove body in a shape of a hand, the glove body having a palm side and a
dorsal
side opposite the palm side;
a protective structure on the dorsal side, the protective structure comprising
at least
one thermoplastic rubber element secured on the dorsal side, the at least one
thermoplastic
rubber element comprising a base segment and a plurality of elongated finger
segments
extending from the base segment;
wherein the base segment is located across a base knuckle region of the dorsal
side
and each finger segment extends along a respective finger region of the dorsal
side to a top
knuckle region of the finger segment;
wherein each finger segment includes a plurality of through openings through
which a material forming the glove body is exposed, wherein the plurality of
through
openings are spaced apart along a length of the finger segment;
wherein at least one through opening of each finger segment is bounded, at
least in
part, by a surrounding thermoplastic boundary segment and each surrounding
thermoplastic
boundary segment is bounded, at least in part, by a thermoplastic main
segment, wherein
the thermoplastic boundary segment is:
shaped to be more flexible than the surrounding thermoplastic main
segment; and/or
dimensioned to be more flexible than the surrounding thermoplastic main
segment; and/or
comprised of a material that is more flexible than a material of the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment.
2. The glove of claim 1, wherein each thermoplastic boundary segment has at
least
one portion that extends to a height that is higher than a height of all
immediately adjacent
portions of the surrounding thermoplastic main segment, wherein each height is
measured
in a direction perpendicularly away from the dorsal side of the glove.
3. The glove of claim 2, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary segment,
a recess is
formed in the thermoplastic rubber element at least between an upper portion
of the
thermoplastic boundary segment and an upper portion of the surrounding
thermoplastic
main segment.
4. The glove of claim 3, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary segment,
the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment has a main thickness, and the recess
extends
downward for at least 40% of the main thickness.
5. The glove of claim 4, wherein the recess extends downward for at least
50% of the
main thickness.
6. The glove of claim 3, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary segment,
a lower
portion of the thermoplastic boundary segment is bonded to a lower portion of
the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment.
7. The glove of claim 3, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary segment,
the lower
portion of the thermoplastic boundary segment is bonded to the lower portion
of the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment by co-molding.
8. The glove of claim 2, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary segment,
the at
least one portion is configured as a peak formed by a first upwardly angled
top edge and a
second upwardly angled top edge.
9. The glove of claim 8, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary segment,
the peak
is further formed by a first side wall and a second side wall that angle
toward each other
when moving upward to the peak.
10. The glove of claim 1, wherein a perimeter of each through opening is Y-
shaped.
11. A glove, comprising:
a glove body in a shape of a hand, the glove body having a palm side and a
dorsal
side opposite the palm side;
a protective structure on the dorsal side, the protective structure comprising
at least
one thermoplastic rubber element secured on the dorsal side, the at least one
thermoplastic
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rubber element comprising a base segment and a plurality of elongated finger
segments
extending from the base segment;
wherein the base segment is located across a base knuckle region of the dorsal
side
and each finger segment extends along a respective finger region of the dorsal
side to a top
knuckle region of the respective finger segment;
wherein each finger segment includes a plurality of through openings through
which a material forming the glove body is exposed, wherein the plurality of
through
openings are spaced apart along a length of the finger segment;
wherein at least one through opening of each finger segment is bounded, at
least in
part, by a thermoplastic boundary segment, wherein each thermoplastic boundary
segment
is bounded, at least in part, by a surrounding thermoplastic main segment,
wherein the
thermoplastic boundary segment includes multiple raised sections that are
raised relative to
the surrounding thermoplastic main segment such that a planar object moving
toward the
dorsal side of the glove will impact one or more of the raised sections prior
to impacting
the surrounding thermoplastic main segment.
12. The glove of claim 11, wherein each thermoplastic boundary segment
defines a
through opening perimeter that is Y-shaped.
13. The glove of claim 11, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary
segment, a recess
is formed in the thermoplastic rubber element at least between an upper
portion of the
thermoplastic boundary segment and an upper portion of the surrounding
thermoplastic
main segment.
14. The glove of claim 13, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary
segment, the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment has a main thickness, and the recess
extends
downward for at least 40% of the main thickness.
15. The glove of claim 13, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary
segment, a lower
portion of the thermoplastic boundary segment is bonded to a lower portion of
the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment.
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16. The glove of claim 11, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary
segment, each
raised section is configured as a peak formed by a first upwardly angled top
edge and a
second upwardly angled top edge.
17. The glove of claim 16, wherein, for each thermoplastic boundary
segment, the peak
is further formed by a first side wall and a second side wall that angle
toward each other
when moving upward to the peak.
18. A glove, comprising:
a glove body in a shape of a hand, the glove body having a palm side and a
dorsal
side opposite the palm side;
a protective structure on the dorsal side, the protective structure comprising
at least
one thermoplastic rubber element secured on the dorsal side, the at least one
thermoplastic
rubber element comprising a base segment and a plurality of elongated finger
segments
extending from the base segment;
wherein the base segment is located across a base knuckle region of the dorsal
side
and each finger segment extends along a respective finger region of the dorsal
side to a top
knuckle region of the respective finger segment;
wherein each finger segment includes a plurality of openings, wherein the
plurality
of openings are spaced apart along a length of the finger segment;
wherein at least one opening of each finger segment is bounded, at least in
part, by
a thermoplastic boundary segment, wherein each thermoplastic boundary segment
is
bounded, at least in part, by a surrounding thermoplastic main segment,
wherein the
thermoplastic boundary segment includes multiple raised sections that are
raised relative to
the surrounding thermoplastic main segment such that a planar object moving
toward the
dorsal side of the glove will impact one or more of the raised sections prior
to impacting
the surrounding thermoplastic main segment.
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