Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F11/00—Methods or devices for treatment of the ears or hearing sense; Non-electric hearing aids; Methods or devices for enabling ear patients to achieve auditory perception through physiological senses other than hearing sense; Protective devices for the ears, carried on the body or in the hand
  • A61F11/06—Protective devices for the ears
  • A61F11/14—Protective devices for the ears external, e.g. earcaps or earmuffs

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to acoustic hearing protective devices and, more particularly, to an earmuff device comprising foam materials for providing a wearer with a high sound attenuation.
• Earmuff devices are commonly used to protect against hearing damage in environments where noise levels are not able to be controlled within safe limits.
• Such devices generally include a pair of rigid cups connected by a head band, each cup having an interior lined with an acoustical material and a cushion extending from the cup toward the head of a wearer to seal the respective cup to the wearer's head around the ear.
• earmuff devices are recognized as having certain advantages over other forms of hearing protection devices, such as earplugs. For example, earmuffs are preferred for intermittent use where continuous insertion and removal of earplugs would be annoying or impractical. Additionally, earmuffs provide superior comfort properties over earplugs and other hearing protection devices particularly due to the soft cushion which contacts the head of a wearer and due to the absence of items inserted into the ear.
• an earmuff which provides a high level of sound attenuation but is comfortable when worn, practical to use, and simple and economical to manufacture.
• An earmuff device including a connecting band having opposing first and second ends, a pair of earmuff cup assemblies connected to the opposing first and second ends of the connecting band, a first foam disposed at the earmuff cup assemblies, and a second foam disposed at the earmuff cup assemblies, where the first foam comprises a moderately high density foam having highly engineered polymer transition properties with precise loss factor values, modulus values, and polymer transition values and maximum damping at prescribed temperature and frequency conditions, and where the second foam comprises a moderately high density hydrophilic foam particularly employed for optimal property convergence in cell size, air flow, density, and static stiffness.
• An earmuff cup, an earmuff cushion, and an earmuff liner including the respective first and/or second foams, are also provided.
• FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a earmuff assembly of the invention.
• FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of an earmuff cup of FIGURE 1.
• FIGURES 1 and 2 An earmuff device 10 is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• the earmuff device 10 broadly comprises a generally U-shaped, resilient connecting band 12 and a pair of earmuff cup assemblies 14 and 16 connected to opposite ends of ' connecting band 12.
• the ear muff cup assemblies 14 and 16 are affixed to the connecting band 12 in any desired manner. Most preferably, earmuff cup assemblies 14 and 16 may be connected to an adapter which, in turn, is connected to the band 12.
• the adapter may be configured to allow the ear muff cup assemblies 14 and 16 to pivot or rotate relative the band 12 or, alternatively, the adapter may hold the assemblies 14 and 16 fixedly on the band 12, etc.
• Each of the earmuff cup assemblies 14 and 16 comprises a rigid earmuff cup 18, a cushion 20, and an earmuff cup liner 22.
• Rigid cup 18 is generally formed of two pieces, a cup shaped portion 24 and a cushion seal plate 26, which are fixed together at an interface, for example, by sonic welding, etc.
• the cushion 20 is fixed to the cushion seal plate 26 and extends from the rigid earmuff cup 18.
• the earmuff liner 22 is disposed at an interior of the rigid earmuff cup 18.
• the cushion 20 and earmuff cup liner 22 are shaped as desired to appropriately fit on the rigid earmuff cup 18 and to provide adequate fit and comfort to the wearer.
• the cushion 20 and the liner 22 may be substantial round in shape or square, etc.
• the earmuff device 10 is intended to be applied over the head of a wearer with the ear muff cup assemblies 14 and 16 fitted over the ears so that the ears extend entirely into the interior of the rigid earmuff cups 18 and the cushions 20 seal around the ears.
• the resilient connecting band 12 is worn around the head to hold the earmuff device 10 thereon.
• the band 12 may extend over the crown or around the back of the head, or under the chin, etc.
• the connecting band 12 possesses a tension which fits the ear muff cup assemblies 14 and 16 tightly, but comfortably over the ears.
• the ear muff cup assemblies 14 and 16 effectively seal the ears from the outer environment. That is, the earmuff cup assemblies 14 and 16 act as a barrier between the inner ear of the wearer and sounds emanating in the outer environment. In particular, the cushions 20 and the earmuff cup liner 22 attenuate the passage of sound from the outer environment into the ears.
• the cushions 20 and the earmuff cup liner 22 are formed any material(s) sufficient to provide high sound attenuation to the wearer.
• materials are used to compose the cushions 20 and the earmuff cup liner 22 such that the earmuff device 10 provides a sound attenuation having a Noise Reduction Rating (hereinafter, "NRR") of 30db or greater.
• NRR Noise Reduction Rating
• the cushion 20 comprises a moderately high density foam having highly engineered polymer transition properties with precise loss factor values, modulus values, and polymer transition values and maximum damping at prescribed temperature and frequency conditions.
• the cushion 20 may be composed of a urethane foam having the above-mentioned properties, such as a foam available under the trade name, CONFOR.
• the foam of the cushion 20 may be of a homogenous construction or may be formed as laminate sheets adhered together to form the cushion 20.
• the cushion 20 may further include an outer liner of a vinyl material, etc., essentially covering the inner urethane foam.
• cushion 20 may be cylindrical, round, or rectangular to fit the generally matching earmuff cup 14 and 16 design in a reasonable manner.
• Cushion 20 is quite flexible and may also be made to a shape requiring deformation to fit earmuff cup assemblies 14 and 16.
• Cushion 20 defines a central opening 21 which generally has a shape which matches the shape of cushion 20. Opening 21 is generally aligned with the internal portions of an ear such that the ear may be received within the rigid earmuff cup 18, as described above.
• An exemplary cushion 20 is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 5,420,381 to Gardner Jr. et al., which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.
• the earmuff cup liner 22 generally comprises an open cell foam or other material containing open pores of size and shape sufficient to absorb sound and provide high attenuation, as discussed above.
• the earmuff cup liner 22 is preferably formed of a moderately high density hydrophilic foam which is particularly employed for optimal property convergence in cell size, air flow, density, and static stiffness.
• the liner 22 may be composed of a relatively soft urethane foam possessing the above-mentioned properties, such as a urethane foam currently produced by Lendell Manufacturing, Inc (LMI).
• LMI Lendell Manufacturing, Inc
• the invention provides an earmuff device which is lightweight and comfortable when worn and which provides a high sound attenuation, preferably, an attenuation having an NRR of 30 or more. More particularly, the earmuff device of the invention comprises acoustic foams specifically designed and utilized to provided the wearer with this high sound attenuation, while maintaining comfort and practicality properties of the earmuff device.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Vascular Medicine (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• Otolaryngology (AREA)
• Psychology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Soundproofing, Sound Blocking, And Sound Damping (AREA)
• Helmets And Other Head Coverings (AREA)
• Orthopedics, Nursing, And Contraception (AREA)
• Bedding Items (AREA)
• Headphones And Earphones (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34825995

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (19)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 2005
  • 2005-01-24 WO PCT/US2005/002159 patent/WO2005072668A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2005-01-24 CA CA002552653A patent/CA2552653A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-01-24 AU AU2005209264A patent/AU2005209264A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-01-24 CN CNA2005800023680A patent/CN1909862A/zh active Pending
  • 2005-01-24 BR BRPI0506978-5A patent/BRPI0506978A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2005-01-24 EP EP05706047A patent/EP1706082A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-01-24 US US11/041,383 patent/US20050283882A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-01-24 RU RU2006130376/14A patent/RU2006130376A/ru not_active Application Discontinuation
• 2006
  • 2006-06-20 NO NO20062893A patent/NO20062893L/no not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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