Hearing protector

• US 6,286,622 B1
• Filed: 07/11/2000
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Simply Silence Simsin B.V.
• Original Assignee: Simply Silence Simsin B.V.
• Inventors: Tiemann, Rudi Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Khanh
• Application Number:
  US09/613,772
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• Field of Search: 181/135, 181/129, 181/130, 181/131, 181/132, 181/134, 181/137, 128/864, 128/868
• US Class Current: 181/135
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/08 internal, e.g. earplugs
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/085 including an inner channel

Abstract

A hearing protector, including a sealing body with a channel, and a muffling device which is connected to the sealing body and connects to the channel. When the sealing body is placed in an auditory canal, the channel extends between the auditory canal and the atmosphere. The channel has a distal end part at the side of the auditory canal and a proximal end part at the side of the atmosphere. The muffling device connects to the proximal end part of the channel and includes a rotatable control element, provided with at least one through aperture. The muffling device also includes a housing element provided with at least one through aperture. The control element and the housing element are rotatable relative to each other between two or more discrete rotation positions with corresponding muffling value. The apertures in the control element and the housing element overlap each other to a greater or lesser extent depending on a mutual angle of rotation.

Claims

1. A hearing protector for placing in an auditory canal of a user, comprising:

a sealing body with a channel extending therethrough; and

a muffling device which is connected to said sealing body and connects to said channel;

whereby said sealing body is to be placed in the auditory canal with said channel extending between the auditory canal and the atmosphere, in which said channel has a distal end part at the side of the auditory canal and a proximal end part at the side of the atmosphere; and

;

wherein said muffling device connects to said proximal end part of said channel and comprises a rotatable control element, which control element is provided with at least one through aperture,

said muffling device further comprising a housing element, which housing element is provided with at least one through aperture;

said control element and said housing element being rotatable relative to each other between two or more discrete rotational positions with corresponding muffling values, with the result that said apertures in said control element and in said housing element overlap each other to a greater or lesser extent depending on a mutual angle of rotation, wherein said control element and said housing element are provided with complementary position-indicating means for indicating said two or more discrete rotational positions, said complementary position-indicating means comprising parts which through a rotation of said control element and said housing element relative to each other snap or click into each other.

2. The hearing protector according to claim 1, wherein said complementary position-indicating means comprise at least one projection on said control element and at least two recesses in said housing element, the number of recesses and the positions thereof corresponding to the number of discrete rotational positions with corresponding muffling values.

3. The hearing protector according to claim 1, wherein said control element comprises several through apertures, said several through apertures having different diameters.

4. The hearing protector according to claim 1, wherein in one of the discrete rotational positions indicated by said complementary position-indicating means there is no overlap of through apertures in said control element and in said housing element.

5. The hearing protector according to claim 4, including two through apertures of different diameter in said control element, and three recesses in said housing element.

6. The hearing protector according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of said through aperture in said control element is small compared with the diameter of said channel in said sealing body.

7. A hearing protector according to claim 1, wherein said sealing body with said channel extending through it further comprises:

a central tube having a wall bounding said channel;

at least a first shell provided on said tube and designed to rest in a sealing manner against an auditory canal; and

an end wall bounding said distal end part of said channel and having an end edge part of an elastically deformable material which is bent inwards in the radial direction, which end edge part is elastically deformable in an axial direction under an axial pressure load, as a result of placing said sealing body in an auditory canal.

8. The hearing protector according to claim 7, wherein said distal end part of said channel is spherical, said end wall having a central part connecting to said inward bent end edge part, which central part is designed in a spherical shape in a radial direction.

9. The hearing protector according to claim 8, in which a deformation of said end edge part in the axial direction causes said central part to deform outwardly in the radial direction.

10. The hearing protector according to claim 7, wherein said first shell connects to said end wall.

11. A hearing protector according to claim 7, wherein a second shell is provided, which second shell has a greater radial measurement than said first shell and connects to said tube, and is designed to rest against an opening edge of the auditory canal.

12. A hearing protector according to claim 7, wherein the thickness of said end wall is smaller than the thickness of said tube.