Glove for use in the oil and natural gas extraction industries

1. A glove comprising:

a glove back;

a glove palm;

said glove palm joined to a glove back to form the glove, said glove having fingers and a thumb, said fingers and thumb having tip portions associated therewith; a plurality of base members secured to said glove back extending along a substantial length of the fingers and thumb, each of such base members including a proximal end, intermediate portion, and distal end, with an outer periphery extending along the perimeter of the base member; the distal end of each base member extending over the tip portions of the fingers and thumb;

an elongated protective member fixedly secured to each of said base members extending substantially along the length and width of each base members but recessed from the outer periphery of the base member, said protective members including a proximal end, an intermediate portion and a distal end adapted to cover proximal phalanges, intermediate phalanges and distal phalanges of the fingers and thumb of a person wearing said glove, said portions of the protective members adapted to cover the distal phalanges sloping downward to the distal end of each of said base members and extending to the tip portions of the fingers and thumb; said portions of the protective members adapted to cover sides of the distal phalanges sloping laterally and extending to a point recessed from the outer periphery of each of said base members.

2. The glove of claim 1 further including a plurality of protective members that are adapted to cover portions of metacarpal bones of the wearer.

3. The glove of claim 2 wherein said plurality of protective members extend above an upper surface of the glove back to a height in the range between 2 mm and 15 mm.

4. The glove of claim 1 wherein the protective members covering the proximal phalanges slope downward toward the proximal end of each base member.

5. The glove of claim 4 further including a plurality of protective members fixedly attached to the glove back that are adapted to cover portions of the metacarpal bones of the wearer.

6. The glove of claim 1 wherein said plurality of protective members comprise materials selected from the group consisting of polymers, foam, rubber, fiberglass and thermoplastic elastomeric material.

7. The glove of claim 1 wherein said plurality of protective members comprise thermoplastic elastomer with a hardness in the range between 30 Shore A and 45 Shore D.

8. The claim of a glove 1 wherein said plurality of protective members comprise separate upper and lower layers, said upper layer having a higher durometer than said lower layer.

9. The glove of claim 8 wherein said upper layer has a hardness in the range between 70 Shore A and 50 Shore D and wherein said lower layer has a hardness in the range between 0 Shore A and substantially 50 Shore A.