Abstract: An earplug for blocking sound and method of making the same, which includes a planar insert within an earplug of compressible slow recovery foam. A method of attenuating sound by inserting the earplug at an ear canal entry so that the planar insert is tactilely vertical, and pushing the earplug into the ear canal allowing the earplug to flex perpendicular to plana surfaces of the planar insert.

Abstract: An earplug for blocking sound and method of making the same, which includes a planar insert within an earplug of compressible slow recovery foam. A method of attenuating sound by inserting the earplug at an ear canal entry so that the planar insert is tactilely vertical, and pushing the earplug into the ear canal allowing the earplug to flex perpendicular to plana surfaces of the planar insert.

Abstract: An earplug for blocking sound can be installed uniformly deep in a person's ear canal and can be easily withdrawn. The earplug includes a foam cylinder (12) and a string (14) extending in a loop from the rear of the cylinder, with opposite front ends (32, 34) of the string loop projecting into the body and held therein as by adhesive (38).

Abstract: An earplug for blocking sound can be installed uniformly deep in a person's ear canal and can be easily withdrawn. The earplug includes a foam cylinder (12) and a string (14) extending in a loop from the rear of the cylinder, with opposite front ends (32, 34) of the miring loop projecting Into the body and held therein as by adhesive (38).

Abstract: A compact exercise device (10) of the type wherein a person grips handle devices (12, 30) lying at opposite ends of a rope that extends through a housing (22), the person pulling one end of the rope away from the housing while resisting movement of the other end of the rope towards the housing to exercise. A windup spool (114) lies in one of the handle devices and a spring (130) urges the spool to wind up rope by a spring, but the spool is normally prevented from turning in either direction by a release mechanism (110). A person who holds a handle grip (100) with most fingers of his/her hand, uses his/her thumb to depress a button (90) to operate the release mechanism. While the thumb continues to depress the button, the person moves a handle device away from the housing to lengthen the effective length of rope, or moves a handle device towards the housing to shorten the effective length of rope.

Abstract: An earplug has a front portion (14) for entering the ear canal and a rear portion (16) that serves as a handle, with a marking (56) near their intersection to indicate to a supervisor whether or not the earplug has been fully installed. The marking is preferably the result of the front and rear portions being formed of material of different colors. Thus, if a supervisor observes a location where a color change occurs, at a significant distance out of the worker's ear canal, the supervisor is informed of a possible insufficient depth of earplug installation.

Abstract: An earplug dispenser is provided, which is of simple construction and which is easily operated by a person to dispense one or two earplugs with minimal possibility of the earplug bouncing off the person's hand and onto a dirty floor. The earplug dispenser includes a barrier (26) lying on a stand, a wheel (20) with earplug-receiving holes (22) rotatably mounted above the barrier, and a handle device (28) fixed to the wheel and lying below the barrier. As the handle device is turned about a vertical axis (60), earplugs in the wheel holes move over a dispense aperture (42) in the barrier and fall through it and through the handle device onto the palm of a person who is turning the handle device. The handle device includes a largely cylindrical handle (72) that encourages the handle to be held with the palm (P) closely under the open lower end (44) of the handle and with the fingers of the person extending up along vertical grooves (82) in the handle, so earplugs fall into the person's palm.

Abstract: An earplug is described, of the type which has an elongated stem (12, FIG. 2) and a plurality of hollow cone elements (20-24) each centered on the stem and spaced along a forward portion thereon, which has enhanced noise-blocking ability and which is easier to install and remove. Each element is in the shape of a hollow cone, and has a peripheral portion (32) that extends at an included angle (C) that is preferably about 60°, which results in wider area sealing of the peripheral portion of the cone elements against the ear canal of the wearer. The considerable included angle of the cone element peripheral portions, also facilitates the folding over of the peripheral portion of an element into a reverse configuration (32C, FIG. 7) during pullout of the earplug from the ear canal, to facilitate such pullout.

Abstract: A noise-blocking banded earmuff wherein the earmuffs (12, 14) are fixed against rotation about a horizontal axis (34) with respect to the band (24), and wherein the band can extend upwardly around the top of the head, downwardly (24A) around the neck, or rearwardly (24B) behind the head, using earmuffs of moderate size. Instead of each earmuff aperture being of a vertically elongated oval shape, each aperture has four 90.degree. concave corner segments (46-49) lying at the corners of an imaginary square (36), and four connecting segments (41-44) that each connects two concave segments. The middles (56) of the connecting segments lie closer to the aperture axis (34) than the middles (50) of the concave corner sections. The connecting segments can be largely straight to form an earmuff aperture of largely square shape with rounded corners. The connecting segments can be convex (181-184) to form an earmuff aperture of largely cloverleaf shape.

Abstract: A noise blocking band earplug has a band (12) with outer portions (44, 46) that are bent to prevent the ear-engaging pods (20, 22) from touching the ground, whether placed right-side-up or upside-down on the ground. When the middle region (32) of the band rests on a horizontal surface (64), a band inner end part (70) extends at an upward incline (C) with its outer end forming a second bend (80) so the outer end part (72) extends at a downward incline (D), with the second bend preventing the pods from touching the ground when the earplug is laid upside-down. At the second bend (80), the largely vertical height (J) of the band is increased and its outer surface (102) is made convex to provide pads for more readily pressing the pods against the outside of the ear canals.

Abstract: An earplug is provided, of a type that includes a soft shell (12) and an insertion stem (16), which facilitates pullout of the earplug from the ear canal and which has an increased ability to block noise. The earplug includes a body or shell of soft elastomeric material with a forward portion (20) constructed to enter the ear canal and a rearward portion (22) which flares in a rearward direction. A stem (16) of more rigid material than the shell, extends along most of the length of a passage (14) formed within the shell. The shell passage has a neck part (42) at the rear of the shell forward portion. The stem has a forward flange (32) lying in interference fit within the passage at a location forward of the passage neck part, and the stem has a rearward flange (34) that lies in interference fit with the flared rear portion of the shell.

Abstract: A noise blocking earmuff is described, which has a better noise blocking ability and which is more comfortable than prior earmuffs. The earmuff includes a cup-shaped shell (20), a cushion (22) that surrounds the open inner end of the shell and which presses against the head of the wearer, and an inside sound-absorber (26) lying in the shell. The cushion is formed of slow recovery material which has a rebound of no more than about 10 percent, to more comfortably and completely conform the cushion to the area of the wearer's head that the cushion presses against. The inside sound absorber includes a layer (50) of resilient felted foam for blocking higher frequency sounds, and a layer (52) of unfelted foam for blocking lower frequency sounds, to obtain a better overall noise blocking capability.

Abstract: An earplug of the slow recovery type is described, which has open cells for expelling gas to the outside during compression, but which resists the entry of water through the outside and the soiling of the outside by dirt. The earplug includes a body formed of pressure-molded slow recovery resilient foam material forming multiple gas-filled shells. The plug body has a surface region forming a skin wherein the average cell cross-sectional area is less than half that of cells at the center of the body, and is less than one-tenth millimeter, the surface region being primarily continuous.