WO2006036111A1

WO2006036111A1 - Hearing protector

Info

Publication number: WO2006036111A1
Application number: PCT/SE2005/001393
Authority: WO
Inventors: Håkan DAVIDSSON; Joakim Birgersson; Anders Roos
Original assignee: Sordin Ab
Priority date: 2004-09-27
Filing date: 2005-09-22
Publication date: 2006-04-06
Also published as: SE0402327D0

Abstract

A hearing protector has two earmuffs (2), a member (3) which is connected thereto and adapted to fasten the hearing protector on a wearer's head (H) , and a sealing ring (5) fixed to a contact surface (4) of each earmuff (2) . The sealing rings (5) are adapted to abut against the wearer's head (H) in the area around the respective ears (E) . The shape of the contact surfaces (4) of the earmuffs (2) is adjusted to the shape of the wearer's head in the area around the respective ears (E) .

Description

HEARING PROTECTOR

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hearing protec¬ tor, which has two earmuffs, a means connected thereto and adapted to fasten the hearing protector on a wearer's head, and a sealing ring fixed to a contact surface of each earmuff, the sealing rings being adapted to abut against the wearer's head in the area around the respec¬ tive ears. Background Art In prior-art hearing protectors of this type, the sealing rings are relatively thick to be able to take up irregularities in the shape of the wearer's head around the respective ears and fit tightly against his head and compensate for differences in the shape of different wearers' head, thereby also increasing the wearer's comfort. The material of the sealing rings (usually rubber) generally suppresses noise to a lower degree than does the material of the earmuffs (usually rigid plastic) . A drawback of such thick sealing rings therefore is that they let through relatively much noise, which means that the sound-attenuating effect of the hearing protector is impaired. Summary of the Invention

The object of the invention therefore is to improve these hearing protectors and provide a hearing protector, which is designed so as to reduce the above problems. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a hearing protector which is of the type stated by way of introduction and characterised in that the shape of the contact surfaces of the earmuffs is adjusted to the shape of the wearer's head in the area around the respective ears.

By the contact surfaces of the earmuffs being adjusted to the shape of the wearer's head around the respective ears, a relatively thin sealing ring can be used, which means that an improved sound-attenuating effect is ensured while at the same time the comfort of the wearer is maintained. In a preferred embodiment, the sealing rings have a constant thickness along their circumference. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will in the following be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view and illustrates a hear¬ ing protector according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view and illustrates an earmuff included in the hearing protector according to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view and shows schematically the earmuff illustrated in Fig. 2, provided with a sealing ring and arranged to abut against a wearer's head. Description of a Preferred Embodiment The drawings illustrate a hearing protector 1 according to the invention. The hearing protector 1 has two earmuffs 2, which are connected to each other by a headband 3 for fastening the hearing protector 1 on a wearer's head H. In an alternative embodiment, the two earmuffs 2 can have, instead of the headband 3, a mount¬ ing each, which is adapted to be fixed to a helmet or the like, which is to be worn by the user.

Each of the earmuffs 2 has a contact surface 4, to which a sealing ring 5 is attached. The sealing rings 5 are arranged to abut against the wearer's head H. It is evident from Fig. 2 that the contact surface 4 of the earmuff 2 in its lower portion has a bulge 4a for adjust¬ ment to the dent that people normally have below the ear E in the vicinity of the jawbone. It is also evident that the contact surface 4 in its upper portion 4b is slightly retracted for adjustment to the bulge which is formed by the cranial bone and which people normally have above the ear E. Moreover the shape of the contact surface 4 is adjusted to other irregularities around the ear E.

The sealing ring 5 has a constant thickness along its circumference. By thickness is here meant the axial extent of the sealing ring 5. Due to the adjustment of the contact surface 4 to the shape of the wearer's head, the sealing ring 5 can be relatively thin (about 0.5-1.5 cm to be compared with 1.5-2.5 cm in prior-art hearing protectors with earmuffs without a contact sur- face adjusted in terms of shape) and still serve its main purpose of sealing against the head H around the wearer's ear E and at the same time be comfortable for the wearer.

Each of the sealing rings 5 can in its upper part have a groove (not shown) for receiving a side piece of spectacles.

Claims

1. A hearing protector, which has two earmuffs (2), a means (3) connected thereto and adapted to fasten the hearing protector (1) on a wearer's head (H), and a seal¬ ing ring (5) fixed to a contact surface (4) of each ear- muff (2) , the sealing rings (5) being adapted to abut against the wearer's head (H) in the area around the respective ears (E) c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the shape of the contact surfaces (4) of the earmuffs (2) is adjusted to the shape of the wearer's head in the area around the respective ears (E) .

2. A hearing protector as claimed in claim 1, in which the sealing rings (5) have a constant thickness along their circumference.

3. A hearing protector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which each of the sealing rings (5) in its upper part has a groove for receiving a side piece of spectacles .