Cabot Corporation

Cabot Safety Corporation

Cabot Safety Intermediate Corporation

3m Innovative Properties Company

Ross Gardner, Jr

Robert Nicolo Falco

Gregory L Simon

John P Stallings

Dennis J Downs

An earmuff cushion and other foam hearing protective components such as earplugs and pods for semi-aural hearing protectors and earplugs providing improved attenuation are described. The cushion and other foam hearing protective components are comprised of a dynamically stiff foam material having a low static stiffness, and a high dynamic stiffness, which produces improved attenuation in the earmuff and other hearing protective devices in which it is used. Earmuffs made from the cushion, semi-aural hearing protectors, earplugs, and improved methods of making the hearing protective devices are also described.

Acoustical hearing protective devices utilizing dynamically stiff foam

An earmuff cushion providing improved attenuation is described. The cushion is a foam material having a low static stiffness, and a high dynamic stiffness, which produces improved attenuation in the earmuff in which it is used. Earmuffs made from the cushion and improved methods of making the cushion and the earmuffs are also described.

Acoustical earmuff

Disclosed herein are hearing protective earplug constructions of the roll-down type. In one aspect the constructions employ means to limit the depth of insertion of the earplug into the ear canal and to facilitate proper insertion thereof. In another aspect, the constructions employ polymeric foam bodies adapted to be compressed, inserted into the ear canal and there allowed to expand to obturate the ear canal and whose recovery time is markedly and inversely temperature dependent.

Polymeric foam earplug

A hearing protective earplug which permits alternative push-in and roll-down modes of insertion. The earplug includes a soft, smoothly contoured, resilient, homogeneous viscoelastic polymeric foam main body element having a manipulable stem axially embedded therein and extending outwardly from its base.

Hearing protective earplug having alternative modes of insertion

Hearing protector

Earplug or similar article

There is disclosed an acoustic earmuff device wherein there is provided an articulated earmuff-to-headband attachment construction which is readily fabricated and assembled and which provides sufficient freedom of pivotal motion of the earmuff relative to the headband as to allow each earmuff to readily assume the proper wearing position with respect to the head of the user. The invention utilizes a soft resilient grommet fitted through an aperture in the back wall of a rigid earcup to articulatingly capture a rigid stud extending inwardly from an end portion of a resilient headband.

Articulated earmuff-to-headband attachment construction

There is disclosed herein a hearing protector structure comprising a generally U-shaped spring headband and a pair of ear canal obturating elements articulatingly affixed to the end portions of the headband. The hearing protector of the invention is possessed of the characteristics of light weight and comfort combined with superior sound attenuation performance.

Growing community of inventors

Indianapolis, IN, United States of America

Ross Gardner, Jr