Selective nonlinear attenuating earplug

• US 6,148,821 A
• Filed: 04/29/1998
• Issued: 11/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: Cabot Safety Intermediate Corporation et al
• Inventors: Falco, Robert N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Michael A.
• Application Number:
  US09/069,108
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• Field of Search: 128/864-868, 181/131, 181/135
• US Class Current: 128/864
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/08 internal, e.g. earplugs
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/085 including an inner channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1058 Manufacture or assembly

Abstract

The present invention presents a selective nonlinear attenuating earplug. The earplug is tunable by the wearer and permits the wearer to select the performance of the earplug. The earplug of the present invention can function either in a selective attenuation mode or a maximum attenuation mode. The selective capability of the earplug permits a wearer to select the degree of desired sound attenuation depending upon the particular environment surrounding the wearer. In the selective attenuation mode, sound attenuation is low for a specific range of intensities and increases for sounds with intensity above those in the specified range. Selective attenuation is especially effective for the loudest noises. The advantage of a selective attenuation mode is especially realized when the wearer wishes to receive an intelligible speech transmission while being situated in a noisy environment while still protecting the wearer from dangerous noises. The present invention is particularly useful when the noisy environment is caused by high continuous or pulsed noises, such as gunshots or those noises generated in an industrial setting. In the maximum attenuation mode, the hearing protector stops all sounds throughout the frequency range, regardless of their intensity.

Claims

1. A hearing protector earplug capable of selectively attenuating noises comprising:

an assembly which includes selectively engageable parts for manual adjustment between at least a first orientation and a second orientation so as to selectively attenuate noises;

wherein the assembly includes;

a stalk member having a stalk aperture;

a stem having a stem aperture;

a sound channel through the stalk member and the stem; and

wherein the stem is rotatably coupled to the stalk member and in the first orientation the stem aperture and the stalk aperture are axially aligned to form an inlet aperture in the sound channel and in the second orientation the stem aperture and the stalk aperture are not axially aligned.

2. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1 further including:

an acoustic filter disposed within the sound channel.

3. The hearing protective earplug of claim 2, wherein

the stalk member includes a stalk passage way therein, a stalk cavity and an annular shoulder formed at one end of the stalk cavity and the stem includes a stem passage way therein, a stem cavity and an annular shoulder formed at one end of the stem cavity.

4. The hearing protective earplug of claim 3, wherein

the sound channel is a continuous channel formed by the stalk passage way, the stem passage way and the acoustic filter.

5. The hearing protector earplug of claim 3, wherein

the stem is rotatably coupled to the stalk member by inserting the stem into the stalk cavity whereby the stem abuts the annular shoulder of the stalk member.

6. The hearing protective earplug of claim 3, wherein

the stalk passage way and stalk cavity are axially aligned with one another whereby one end of the stalk passage way communicates with one end of the stalk cavity, and the stem passage way and stem cavity are axially aligned with one another whereby one end of the stem passage way communicates with one end of the stem cavity.

7. The hearing protective earplug of claim 3, wherein

the acoustic filter is disposed between the annular shoulder of the stem and the annular shoulder of the stalk member when the stem is rotatably coupled with the stalk member.

8. The hearing protective earplug of claim 2, wherein the acoustic filter comprises:

a cylindrical body having a first closed opening and a second closed opening, the first closed opening having a first aperture and the second closed opening having a second aperture.

9. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, wherein

the first orientation comprises a selective attenuation mode of the earplug and the second orientation comprises a maximum attenuation mode.

10. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, wherein

the inlet aperture is essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sound channel.

11. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, including

at least one flange extending from the assembly for engagement with the ear.

12. The hearing protective earplug of claim 11, wherein

at least one flange comprises:

a plurality of flanges.

13. The hearing protective earplug of claim 12, including:

at least three flanges.

14. The hearing protective earplug of claim 13, wherein

the flanges have a conical, hemispherical or arcuate shape.

15. The hearing protective earplug of claim 13, wherein

the stalk member has a nose end and the stalk member further includes a flange array comprising at least three hollow, rearwardly extending flange elements of substantially circular crossections and of serially increasing diameters integrally affixed to the stalk member at spaced intervals along at least a portion of the length thereof, the flange element of the smallest diameter being located at the nose end.

16. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, wherein

the earplug is composed, at least in part, of a material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic silicone rubber, natural rubber, neoprene rubber, SBR rubber, EPDM rubber, polybutadiene rubber, polyurethane elastomers, ethylene vinyl acetate elastomers, elastomers based on acrylic acid precursors and vinyl halide polymers.

17. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, wherein

the stem has a free end with an aperture therein for receiving a chord.

18. The hearing protective earplug of claim 17, wherein

the free end has a plurality of ribs.

19. The hearing protective earplug of claim 17, wherein

the free end has an outer dimension greater than the outer dimension of the stalk member.

20. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, wherein

the assembly includes:

a foam portion for engagement with the ear.

21. The hearing protective earplug of claim 1, wherein

the stalk member comprises a soft, resilient polymeric foam body.

22. The hearing protective earplug of claim 21, wherein

the foam body is composed of polyurethane.

23. A method of selectively attenuating sound in an earplug comprising:

providing a stalk member having a stalk passage way and a stalk aperture;

providing a stem having a stem passage way, stem cavity and stem aperture;

inserting the stem into the stalk cavity; and

rotating the stem relative to the stalk member to change the attenuation of the earplug.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein

the stalk member includes a stalk cavity therein and the stem includes a stem cavity therein whereby a sound channel is formed by the stalk passage way, stalk cavity, stem cavity and stem passage way.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein

the stem is rotated to axially align the stem aperture with the stalk aperture to form an inlet aperture and provide a selective attenuation mode and wherein the stem is rotated to not axially align the stem aperture to the stalk aperture to provide a maximum attenuation mode, the inlet aperture communicating with the sound channel.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

inserting an acoustic filter into the stem cavity prior to inserting the stem into the stalk cavity.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein

the stem has a free end with an outer dimension greater than the outer dimension of the stalk member.