Adjustable Ear Covers For Safety Hats

Abstract

The ends of a strap are connected by fastening members to opposite sides of the bottom of a safety hat at locations that are in front of the ears when the hat is worn. The strap slants from the hat down across the ears and around the nape of the neck. A pair of ear covers between the strap and the head engage the head around the ears and are connected to the strap by retaining members connected to the outer sides of the ear covers, across which the strap extends obliquely to hold them against the head.

Description

The general practice is to mount noise-suppressing ear covers on the ends of a curved spring band that passes over the head or around behind it and holds the covers against the sides of the head. When worn with a safety hat, the spring band projects from the hat and may catch on adjacent objects. Also, the band is made of metal which may accidentally come in contact with electric wires. The pressure of the ear covers against the head depends entirely on the spring pressure exerted by the band and this is very difficult to adjust. Also, difficulty sometimes is experienced in adjusting the bands for applying ear covers to heads of different sizes.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide an ear cover arrangement which is supported only by a safety hat, which can be made of dielectric materials, which does not project from the hat, which is easy to adjust to any head size, which does not require a metal spring, which holds the ear covers firmly against the head, which helps hold the hat in position on the head and which is simple in construction.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a side view;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear view; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line III--III of FIG. 1, but shown partly in elevation.

Referring to the drawings, safety headgear, such as a helmet or hat having a hard shell 1, is provided with a brim. At the inner edge of the brim, where it merges into the bottom of the crown, there is a downwardly extending narrow flange 2. At opposite sides of the hat this flange is provided with holes 3 that are disposed in front of the ears of the person wearing the hat. The location of these holes is about half way between the ears and the front of the hat. Extending through these holes are hooks 4 that may be made of a rigid plastic. The hooks are provided with loops in which the ends of a strap 5 are secured. The strap extends from the hooks downwardly and rearwardly across the ears and around the nape of the neck. This strap supports two ear covers 6 and presses them against the opposite sides of the head around the ears. Fastening members other than hooks can be used for attaching the strap to the hat, if desired. Also, the strap could be attached to the customary shell lining instead of to the shell.

As shown in FIG. 3, each ear cover includes a rigid cup 8 provided at its edge with an inwardly projecting flange 9. A cushion ring 10 is held against the front of the flange by means of a skirt 11 stretched over the inner side of the cup. The cushion is designed to engage the head around an ear, with the ear projecting into the cup. Inside the cup there is a thick lining 12 of foam rubber or plastic to deaden sound.

The outer side or back wall of the cup is a section of a sphere and has a large opening 14 through it, preferably located nearer the top than the bottom. Slidingly engaging the outer surface of the wall is the edge of a strap-retaining member, such as a circular concave or dished hub 15. The diameter of the hub at its edge is considerably greater than the diameter of opening 14 and the hub always covers the opening. Inside the cup there is a circular resilient clamping disc 16 that slidingly engages the inner surface of the outer wall around the opening therein and therefore covers and seals the inner end of the opening. The central portion of this disc is connected to the hub in such a manner as to cause the disc to become concave and conform to the adjoining surface of the cup.

For fastening the disc and hub together, it is preferred that the center of the hub be provided with an integral boss 18 that projects into opening 14 in the cup. This boss fits in a bushing 19 that extends through a central hole 20 in the disc and that is provided with a head 21 engaging the inner surface of the disc around that hole. The boss and the head of the bushing are drawn toward each other by a screw 22 extending through the bushing and into a threaded axial opening 23 in the boss. By turning this screw one way or the other, the pressure of the disc and hub against the adjoining wall of the cup can be adjusted. The pressure is always maintained great enough to clamp the cup between the hub and disc, but not so great as to prevent the cup from being slid manually in any desired direction across the edge of the hub when desired. The size of cup opening 14 determines the extent of lateral movement of the cup relative to the hub. The opening is made as large as possible without permitting any part of it to extend outwardly beyond the edge of the hub when the diametrically opposite wall of the opening engages the side of the bushing.

To fasten the ear covers to the strap, each of the hubs is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite parallel slots 25 through it. In between these slots the hub has an intermediate pair of slots 26 parallel to the first pair. Coming down from the hat, the strap extends through the uppermost slot 25 and out of the slot 26 directly below it. Then the strap extends in through the lower intermediate slot and out of the lowest slot in the group. Consequently, the portion of the strap between the two intermediate slots engages the outer surface of the hub. The ear covers can be adjusted along the strap by simply pulling the strap through the slots of the hubs in one direction or the other.

In use, the hubs are turned on the ear covers so that the strap extends obliquely across the covers when the latter are positioned correctly on the head. Any desired angular adjustment can be made in this way between the hubs and the ear covers to suit the individual wearer of the headgear. The portion of the strap between the two ear covers is adjustable in length. This can be done by forming the strap in two pieces and connecting their adjoining ends by suitable adjustable means. One of the most suitable is a Velcro fastener because it does not require any buckle or the like that presses against the head or neck, it lies flat and it is easily adjusted. At least a portion of the strap extending between the ear covers should be elastic. In fact, the entire strap can be elastic if desired.

It will be seen that the invention disclosed herein permits the ear covers to be held firmly against the head with any desired amount of pressure and without the use of springs. The extension of the strap around the back of the neck helps to hold the hat in place on the head. The best angle and position for the strap to extend across the ear covers can be selected by manipulating the hubs on the covers. The only portions of the strap that project beyond the sides of the hat are the short portions that extend across the ear covers, but even these portions fit snugly against the hubs and ear covers. When it is desired to remove the covers from over the ears and yet continue to wear the hat, the back portion of the strap can be swung up over the back of the hat at the same time that the ear covers are moved up against the sides of the hat. The ear covers therefore remain attached to the hat even when they are not being used.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

Claims

We claim:

1. The combination with a safety hat provided with fastener-receiving portions beneath it at opposite sides of the portion of the hat that is in front of the ears when worn on a head, of fastening members detachably connected with said receiving portions, a nape strap connected at its ends to said fastening members and adapted to slant therefrom downwardly and rearwardly, a pair of noise-suppressing ear covers having inner sides shaped to receive the ears and engage the head around the ears, and retaining members connected to the outer sides of the ear covers and connecting the strap to them, the strap extending obliquely across the ear covers to hold them against the head, the retaining members being adjustable along the strap, each ear cover being rotatable relative to the portion of the strap extending across it, and said rotation being on an axis substantially perpendicular to said strap portion, whereby to permit the angle of the ear covers relative to the strap extending across them to be adjusted.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said retaining members has a concave inner side facing the outer side of the adjoining ear cover, a pair of diametrically opposite parallel slots therethrough, a second pair of slots therethrough between said diametrically opposite slots and parallel to those slots, and means between the second pair of slots pivotally connecting the retaining member to the adjoining ear cover on said perpendicular axis, and the strap extends through said slots with a portion of it engaging the outside of the retaining member between said second pair of slots.

3. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said fastening members are hooks and the hat has a brim, said fastener-receiving portions of the hat are formed by a downwardly projecting flange beneath the brim spaced inwardly from its edge, and said holes for the hooks are in said flange.