GLOVE WITH IMPACT RESISTANT DORSAL STRUCTURE

GANT PRESENTANT UNE STRUCTURE DORSALE RESISTANTE AUX IMPACTS

English Abstract

A glove includes a glove body in a shape of a hand and having a palm side and
a
dorsal side opposite the palm side. A protective structure is located on the
dorsal side. The
protective structure includes multiple openings with thermoplastic boundary
segments and
surrounding thermoplastic main segments that provided for a two-stage impact
configuration.

Claims

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
6

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.
7

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.
8

Description

GLOVE WITH IMPACT RESISTANT DORSAL STRUCTURE
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This application relates generally to work gloves and, more
specifically, to
gloves to protect the knuckle areas of the dorsal side of the hand from
impact.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Glove construction for protection of the human hand is well
known. A
variety of protective features for the knuckle region of the hand are also
known. For
example, gloves that incorporate a molded thermoplastic rubber protectant
applied to the
knuckle and/or finger region are known. A variety of configurations of such
thermoplastic
rubber protective structures are known, and improved configurations are
continually
sought.
SUMMARY
[0003] In one aspect, a glove includes a glove body in a shape of a
hand and having
a palm side and a dorsal side opposite the palm side. A protective structure
is located on
the dorsal side. The protective structure includes multiple openings with
thermoplastic
boundary segments and surrounding thermoplastic main segments that provided
for a two-
stage impact configuration.
[0004] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the
accompanying
drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages
will be
apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Fig. 1 is a dorsal side top plan view of a glove;
[0006] Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the protective
structure region of the
glove;
[0007] Fig. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of the protective
structure;
[0008] Fig. 4A is a cross-section along line A-A of Fig. 2;
[0009] Fig. 5 is an enlarged side perspective view of the protective
structure; and
[0010] Fig. 6 is a schematic side-elevation; and
[0011] Fig. 7 is a cross-section showing partial compression.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Referring to Fig. 1, a glove 10 includes a glove body 12 in a
shape of a hand
(e.g., shaped to receive a hand therein) and having a palm side 14 and a
dorsal side 16
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Date Regue/Date Received 2023-01-26

opposite the palm side. A protective structure 20 is located on the dorsal
side and is
formed by a thermoplastic rubber element 22 secured on the dorsal side. The
thermoplastic
rubber element 22 includes a base segment 22a and a plurality of elongated
finger segments
22b extending from the base segment. The base segment 22a is located across a
base
knuckle region of the dorsal side 16 and each finger segment 22b extends along
a
respective finger region of the dorsal side to a top knuckle region of the
finger segment.
[0013] Each finger segment 22b includes a plurality of through
openings 24
through which a material 26 forming the glove body is exposed. The plurality
of through
openings 24 of each finger segment are spaced apart along a length of the
finger segment.
At least one through opening, here multiple through openings, of each finger
segment is/are
bounded, at least in part, by a thermoplastic boundary segment 22c and each
thermoplastic
boundary segment 22c is bounded, at least in part, by a surrounding
thermoplastic main
segment 22d. The combination of the thermoplastic boundary segments 22c and
surrounding thermoplastic main segments 22d provides for a two-stage impact
configuration. In particular, each thermoplastic boundary segment 22c is (i)
shaped to be
more flexible than the surrounding thermoplastic main segment 22d and/or (ii)
dimensioned to be more flexible than the surrounding thermoplastic main
segment and/or
(iii) comprised of a material that is more flexible than a material of the
surrounding
thermoplastic main segment.
[0014] The protective structure 20 is a separate unit that is
connected to the
material 26 of the dorsal side 16 of the glove body, such as by stitching or
adhesive.
[0015] Each thermoplastic boundary segment 22c has at least one
portion 30 that
extends to a height that is higher than a height of all immediately adjacent
portions of the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment 22d, where each height is measured in a
direction
perpendicularly away from the dorsal side of the glove (e.g., in a direction
out of the page
in Fig. 1).
[0016] For each thermoplastic boundary segment, a recess 32 is formed
in the
thermoplastic rubber element at least between an upper portion of the
thermoplastic
boundary segment 22c and an upper portion of the surrounding thermoplastic
main
segment 22d. The surrounding thermoplastic main segment 22d has a main
thickness TM,
and the recess 30 extends downward a depth dl for at least 40% of the main
thickness (e.g.,
at least 50% of the main thickness). The recess provides increased flexibility
of the
thermoplastic boundary segment 22c relative to the thermoplastic main segment
22d.
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Date Regue/Date Received 2023-01-26

[0017] In embodiment, a lower portion of each thermoplastic boundary
segment
22c is bonded to a lower portion of the surrounding thermoplastic main segment
22. More
specifically, the lower portion of each thermoplastic boundary segment 22c may
be bonded
to the lower portion of the surrounding thermoplastic main segment 22d by co-
molding.
The materials used for each thermoplastic boundary segment 22c and the
surrounding
thermoplastic main segments 22d may be identical. However, in other
embodiments, the
composition of the thermoplastic boundary segments 22c may be different than
that of the
thermoplastic main segments 22d, to enhance the differential flexibility of
the
thermoplastic boundary segments.
[0018] Here, the higher portions 30 are configured as a peak formed
by a first
upwardly angled top edge 30a and a second upwardly angled top edge 30b,
providing a
generally triangular-shape in side view. In addition, the peaks are further
formed by a first
side wall 30c and a second side wall 30d that angle toward each other when
moving
upward to the peak. This configuration provides for increasing flexibility of
the portions
30 along the height of the portions 30. Fig. 4A shows a cross-section along A-
A of Fig. 4,
showing the bonding regions 31 between the boundary segment 22c and the main
segment
22d.
[0019] Thus, the portions 30 form multiple sections that are raised
relative to the
surrounding thermoplastic main segment 22d such that a planar object moving
toward the
dorsal side of the glove will impact one or more of such raised sections prior
to impacting
the surrounding thermoplastic main segment, per Fig. 6, providing the two-
stage impact
feature. Fig. 7 shows exemplary deflection of a portion 30 during an initial
impact.
Boundary segments 22c (stage 1) are thus configured as the first point of
contact to absorb
light impact and abrasions, protecting the integrity of main segments 22d
(e.g., many nicks
and abrasions experienced throughout that day, so as to not cause premature
wear of
portion 22d). Boundary segments 22c (stage 1) are also configured to absorb
some initial
impact, working jointly with segment 22d, to achieve an overall impact
performance level
(e.g., such as ANSI Level 2).
[0020] In the illustrated embodiment, a perimeter of each through
opening 24 is Y-
shaped. This shape has been found particularly advantageous to facilitate
glove flex (e.g.,
when a user makes a fist). However, other opening shapes are possible.
[0021] As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the base segment 22a also include
multiple through
openings with thermoplastic boundary segments and surrounding thermoplastic
main
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Date Regue/Date Received 2023-01-26

segments similar to that described above for the finger segments. In addition,
the thumb
portion of the glove may include a separate thermoplastic protective structure
with similar
openings.
[0022] It is to be clearly understood that the above description is
intended by way
of illustration and example only, is not intended to be taken by way of
limitation, and that
other changes and modifications are possible.
[0023] What is claimed is:
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Date Regue/Date Received 2023-01-26

Representative Drawing