Patent Application
20060288468
The present invention relates in general to a hood/liner apparatus and method for use with hearing protection equipment, and in particular to an all weather hood/helmet liner apparatus for use with hearing protection earmuffs.
People who work in environments with excessive noise must use some type of hearing protection to reduce the risk of injury to their ears. In northern climates, where such work environments occur outdoors, protection from the cold is also necessary during the winter months. Oftentimes such work environments also include overhead hazards. To ensure worker safety under such conditions, the use of Personal Protection Equipment, referred to as PPE, is necessary. Typical PPE for these people include: (1) earmuffs for hearing protection against loud noises; (2) standard cold weather hood or safety helmet liner for head and neck protection against frost bite and to retain body heat; (3) safety helmets for head protection against falling objects; (4) safety glasses for eye protection against flying objects. These four forms of PPE are often used at the same time with the goal of having complete head protection. The goal of complete head protection is not achieved however because previously mentioned PPE for (1) hearing and (2) warmth interfere with each other, thus not allowing either standard earmuffs or hoods/liners to provide their individual maximum protection.
Earmuffs, by their design, must fit over the ears, and be in direct contact with and snug against the head, forming a seal around the ears, for maximum noise reduction (dB attenuation), to provide the best hearing protection. However, when used in combination with a liner, the liner is typically placed on the head first and the earmuffs are placed on the head second, causing the earmuffs to ride up on the liner, and thereby failing to form a protective seal around the ears. In scenarios where the earmuffs are placed over the liner, the earmuffs are no longer in direct contact with the head and excessive noise is not effectively blocked. The result to the wearer is poor hearing protection.
Alternately, the earmuffs can be placed on the head first, and the liner can be placed over the earmuffs. The problem with this method is the liner no longer fits snugly on the wearer's head around the earmuffs, which hold the liner away from the head, forming large gaps between the liner and the head around the ears and face, allowing for significant cold air intrusion. The result to the wearer is good hearing protection but a cold head due to improper liner fit. This method is typically never used because of limitations in liners: they are not typically large enough to allow earmuffs to fit under the liner. Simply making conventional liners larger is not the solution because making the liner large enough to accommodate the earmuffs underneath would result in a liner too large to fit under a safety helmet.
When working in cold weather, people put a liner on to keep their head warm and protect their skin from frostbite. The liner must fit snug to retain heat lost by the head and keep wind from blowing between the wearer's head and the liner. Liners that are constructed properly and fit the wearer properly are most effective at providing head and skin protection against frostbite and providing warmth. Properly constructed and good fitting liners are made less effective when the liner is placed on the head over the earmuffs in an effort to provide maximum hearing protection to the ears.
Several patents have been given to cold weather hard hat liners, safety helmets and earmuffs. Patents have also been given to combinations of these PPE to improve how the PPE work together. PPE combinations of safety helmets and earmuffs are found, as are PPE combinations of safety helmets and liners.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,319 issued Dec. 19, 1989 to Daniels and U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,853 issued Jun. 16, 1981 to Schuessler describe all weather face and neck protectors for hard hats and safety helmets. These covers attach over the brim of a hard hat or safety helmet and seat tightly about the face and neck to seal out the elements. These covers does not accommodate hearing protection earmuffs and are not designed for use without a hard hat or safety helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,009 issued Nov. 19, 1996 to Ryvin and U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,404 issued Aug. 21, 1990 to Fekete, Sr. describe cold weather hoods/helmet liners which may be worn under a safety helmet. These hoods/liners are not designed to accommodate hearing protection earmuffs, with or without a safety helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,631 issued Sep. 7, 1982 to Newcomb and U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,290 issued Feb. 23, 1982 to Montesi describe devices for mounting hearing protection earmuffs on the sides of a hard hat, and U.S. Patent Des 244,491 issued May 31, 1977 to Csiki et al. describes a safety helmet with attached earmuffs for hearing protection.
There is no prior art for cold weather liners with provisions to allow earmuffs to be used for maximum hearing protection while also delivering maximum warmth when both liners and earmuffs are used together, or in combination with a safety helmet. There is no prior art allowing all 3 PPE (liner, earmuffs, helmet) to be handled and managed as a single PPE.
What is needed then, is a hood or helmet liner which can be used either with stand alone hearing protection earmuffs or with a safety helmet with attached hearing protection earmuffs, which allows the earmuffs to seal around the ears for maximum hearing protection and while still remaining snug around the face and head for maximum cold weather protection, and when combined with a safety helmet with attached hearing protection earmuffs, can be taken on and off as a single unit of PPE for simple and easy use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which provides weather protection.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which is simple and easy to use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which accommodates for the use of hearing protection earmuffs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which accommodates for the use of a safety helmet with attached hearing protection earmuffs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which provides for quick and easy use when combined with a safety helmet with attached hearing protection earmuffs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which provides both maximum hearing protection and maximum weather protection when used with hearing protection earmuffs.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a hood/liner apparatus which provides both maximum hearing protection and maximum weather protection when used with a safety helmet with attached hearing protection earmuffs.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are realized in one embodiment of an all weather hood/liner apparatus for use with hearing protection earmuffs, comprising an all weather hood with adjustable cuff openings around each ear to accommodate earmuffs designed to provide hearing protection. When used with standalone hearing protection earmuffs, the wearer first puts on the earmuffs, then the hood is pulled on over the earmuffs and the ear cuffs are adjusted snugly around each earmuff. When used as a liner for safety helmets with attached hearing protection earmuffs, the helmet is worn over the hood/liner, then the earmuffs are pulled down passing through the hood ear cuff openings to be placed directly over the ears. The hood ear cuffs are then adjusted snugly around each earmuff. This new hood/liner apparatus provides superior hearing protection compared to liners worn under hearing protection earmuffs and provides superior weather protection compared to hoods and liners worn over hearing protection earmuffs. The hood/liner apparatus, when combined with a safety helmet having attached hearing protection earmuffs, work together as a single unit of personal protection equipment (PPE), for simple and efficient operation.
This hood/liner apparatus is intended to be used in situations where PPE for hearing and warmth are needed to reduce risk of injury from excessive noise and cold weather. Typical applications are wintertime rail yard workers and construction workers.
This hood/liner apparatus is designed such that it will accommodate earmuffs without reducing their effectiveness, whether the earmuffs are a standalone set or are attached to a safety helmet, and at the same time provide head and skin protection against frost bite similar to standard liners where earmuffs are not used. The hood/liner apparatus, by its design, also aids the earmuffs by adding additional force to keep the earmuffs snug to head which achieves maximum earmuff noise reduction (dB attenuation).
Other objects and features of the invention will become clear upon a reading of the Detailed Description.
The present invention may be understood from the description of the embodiment which follows and from the accompanying drawings. The drawings are hereby expressly made a part of the specification.
The progression from
Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the various drawings to depict like or similar elements of the claimed hood/liner apparatus. For the purpose of presenting a brief and clear discussion of the hood/liner apparatus, the preferred embodiment will be discussed in conjunction with use in a cold weather environment. This is for representative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting in any manner.
Referring now to
As can be seen, a standalone pair of hearing protection earmuffs 42 are worn entirely underneath the hood/liner apparatus 10, with each earmuff 42 protruding into and being surrounded by an ear cuff 12, and with the earmuff headband 44 underneath the hood/liner shell 22 and resting snugly against the wearer's head.
For use, the hearing protection earmuffs 42 would be placed on the wearer's head first, and adjusted for comfort, then the hood/liner apparatus 10 would be pulled on over top of said earmuffs 42 and earmuff headband 44, and the ear cuffs 12 would be pulled over each earmuff 42 allowing the head/liner shell 22 to lie snug against the wearer's head without being held away from the wearer's head by the protruding earmuffs 42. Once the hood/liner apparatus 10 is comfortably in place, with the earmuffs 42 protruding into the ear cuffs 12 and with the head/liner shell 22 snug against the wearer's head, then the ear cuff outer openings 24, are cinched down snug around the earmuffs 42 by means of the drawstrings 14 and drawstring spring locks 16, and finally the entire hood/liner apparatus 10 and the underlying hearing protection earmuffs 42 are made more snug by a final adjustment to the neck closure 18, preventing cold and wind infiltration, providing for maximum weather protection and also providing for superior hearing protection over the use of hearing protection earmuffs 42 without the hood/liner apparatus 10, as tightening down the hood/liner apparatus 10 by adjustment of neck closure 18 provides a tighter fit for the hearing protection earmuffs 42 than if used alone, providing even greater dB attenuation.
Referring now to
For use, the hood/liner apparatus 10 would be pulled on the wearer's head first, and the safety helmet 50 with attached hearing protection earmuffs 40 would be pulled on over top of said hood/liner apparatus 10, the earmuffs 40 would then be pulled through the ear cuff outer opening 24 and placed directly against the wearer's head over the wearer's ear, and extending into and being surrounded by an ear cuff 12. Once the hood/liner apparatus 10 and safety helmet 50 are comfortably in place, with the earmuffs 40 extending into the ear cuffs 12 and with the head/liner shell 22 snug against the wearer's head, then the ear cuff outer openings 24, are cinched down snug around the earmuffs 40 by means of the drawstrings 14 and drawstring spring locks 16, and then the entire hood/liner apparatus 10 and the hearing protection earmuffs 40 are made even more snug by a final adjustment to the neck closure 18, preventing cold and wind infiltration, providing for maximum weather protection and also providing for superior hearing protection over the use of hearing protection earmuffs 40 without the hood/liner apparatus 10, as tightening down the hood/liner apparatus 10 provides a tighter fit for the hearing protection earmuffs 40 than if used alone, providing even greater dB attenuation.
The function of the hood/liner shell 22 is to provide warmth and wind protection to the wearer, and to provide a foundation for locating the ear cuffs 12. The liner shell 22 is made of a fabric that is durable, abrasion and wind resistant and may be lined with a fabric that is both soft and warm (high R-value), which lining fabric is then bonded together to the liner shell 22 fabric making a single shell. When constructed in this manner, the liner shell gives additional warmth and wind protection to the wearer. The hood/liner apparatus 10 neck closure 18 is located under the hood/liner 10 face opening and is typically fastened by a hook-loop fastener 20, but could also be fastened by a button, snap or other closure device. This hood/liner shell 22 is similar to other cold weather liners, with the exception being that this hood/liner shell 22 has the attached ear cuffs 12, providing accommodation for hearing protection earmuffs 42 and for safety helmet 50 with attached hearing protection earmuffs 40. No other cold weather liners have provisions similar to ear cuffs 12.
The hood/liner ear cuffs 12 may be constructed of any fabric that has both good insulating properties and is slightly elastic, such as one of the various fleeces on the market. The ear cuffs 12 are sewn to the liner shell and the drawstring 14 casing is sewn in the outer ear cuff opening 24. The ear cuff 12 drawstring 14 and spring lock 16 are similar to those found in use on sweatshirt hoods or cuffs and collars on wind breaker jackets. The draw string 14 and spring lock 16 allows the ear cuff outer opening 24 to be adjusted to allow a proper fit and seal on the earmuffs 40, 42. The drawstring 14 and spring lock 16 may be replaced by an elastic band encased within the perimeter of the ear cuff outer opening 24, providing for an automatic snug fit and weather seal, although it would not produce as snug a fit as a locked drawstring. The ear cuffs 12 may also be constructed of a more elastic fabric or a combination of fabrics to eliminate the need for a drawstring and spring lock or for elastic banding within the perimeter of the ear cuff 12, or some combination of these or other ear cuff constriction methods may be used.
The first design provision that separates the hood/liner apparatus 10 from other standard cold weather safety helmet liners is that it allows the hood/liner apparatus to be worn with hearing protection earmuffs without compromising the effectiveness of the hood/liner apparatus' ability to provide head and skin protection and without compromising the earmuffs ability to provide hearing protection.
The second design provision of this new hood/liner apparatus 10 accommodates the specific PPE combination of a safety helmet with attached earmuffs thus providing a method for all 3 PPE (helmet, attached earmuffs, and hood/liner apparatus) to be handled and managed as a single integrated PPE. The result to the wearer is the 3 can be placed on and removed from the head as a single unit of PPE.
Design provisions that allow the hood/liner apparatus 10, and a safety helmet 50 with attached hearing protection earmuffs 40 to function and be handled as a single piece of PPE is illustrated in
Referring now to
The method and embodiment of the present invention shown and discussed are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and a wide variety of equivalent methods and embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
