Eye and hearing protection

A safety unit combining eye and hearing protection in which retention of earcups on the head of wearer is by resilience of separate side arms carrying the earcups. The resilience is resisted by a provision of a rigid frame to spectacles, or a rigid beam to goggles. Snap fitting of arms to the frame or beam enables use of the arms with either spectacles or goggles. The spectacle lens or goggle visor is separate from the rigid frame or beam.

The present invention relates to a safety unit providing eye and hearing 
protection. 
Eye protection is currently provided by one piece moulded spectacles or 
goggles or spectacles using replacement lenses. Visors are also known 
which require a headband for location purposes. To accommodate various 
head sizes and profiles, the spectacle side arms are adjustable in length 
so allowing the side arms to rest on and hook behind the ears and the 
front frame is pivoted with respect to the side arms. Goggles usually 
dispense with ear hooks in favour of an elasticated fixing passing round 
the head of the wearer. 
Hearing protection is provided by earcups mounted on a plastic or wire 
headband, usually moulded in one plane. To accommodate the various head 
sizes and profiles the earcups are adjustable by moving along the 
headband, also allowing for pivoting in two planes. 
To provide combined eye and hearing protection one current option is to 
wear separate spectacles and earmuffs. This has the disadvantage that the 
wearer has to tolerate both side frames and a headband which results in 
loss of mechanical performance of the earmuff. From the Safety Executive 
or Employers position, it means ensuring that the employee/operative wears 
two pieces of protection equipment independent of each other. Combined 
protection is also available by wearing a safety helmet with earmuffs on 
the helmet and a visor used via a helmet mounted adaptor. Often there is 
no need for the person to wear a safety helmet and so this combination 
adds unnecessary features. Another alternative is to combine earmuffs with 
the aforementioned face visor, but again the headband required for 
location purposes is often disliked by wearers, and visors in some 
instances are too bulky for the job. 
Invariably most human faces are asymmetrical the eyes are usually not on a 
horizontal axis and not equidistant from the nose. Likewise the ears often 
vary on a horizontal plane and the distance between forehead and ear often 
varies on either side of the face. 
There have been paper proposals for combining eye and hearing protection 
and in one early proposal a rigid spectacle frame has permanently hingedly 
connected arms incorporating spring means to bias the arms inwardly for 
the purpose of urging earcups carried by the ends of the arms into 
engagement with the head. This requires the arms to be rigid. The use of 
such spring means and fixedly connected arms is considered unsatisfactory 
and a recent paper proposal apparently aimed at overcoming problems with 
this earlier proposal proposes a one piece substantially U-shaped 
resilient and transparent frame which provides both eye protection, from a 
central part, and arms for the support of ear protectors mounted thereon. 
In our view it is technically impossible to produce a safety spectacle 
which meets required impact resistance safety standards and desired 
optical performance from a one piece resilient frame, as the resilience 
required to hold the ear protection in place, to give required hearing 
attention performance, would give rise to stress in any integral lens part 
which would be detrimental to optical performance. 
Neither of the above paper proposals tackle the question of adjustability 
to cater for facial asymmetry. 
The present invention aims to provide both eye and hearing protection in 
one unit and in a manner which is more acceptable to the wearer than 
present alternatives. The invention aims to provide a unit which cannot be 
incorrectly worn, and when fitted provides comprehensive eye and hearing 
protection, a major benefit. The present invention aims to provide 
adjustment to compensate for facial asymmetry. 
Accordingly the present invention, provides a safety unit combining eye and 
hearing protection, comprising eye protection in the form of spectacles or 
goggles and hearing protection in the form of a pair of earcups/muffs, and 
wherein the spectacles or goggles have a pair of arm members extending 
therefrom which carry at their ends a respective one of the earcups. 
Combining spectacles and ear muffs in this way dispenses with the need for 
a separate headband for the earmuffs. The spectacles/goggles rest on the 
bridge of the nose or otherwise, whilst the earcups/muffs fit over and/or 
about the ears. More particularly the earcups/muffs are held applied to 
the side of the head, e.g. over the ears, by tension in the arm members. 
This arises from elasticity (in the nature of resilience) in the arm 
members. 
In effect the spectacle/goggles and the arm members thereof take the place 
of the headband of the conventional ear protector. 
As flexing of the spectacle part and/or any see through safety screen or 
spectacle/goggle lens is undesirable, the tension has to be applied 
through the arm members and the means of achieving this will be described 
further hereinafter. 
It will be understood that the unit has to be adaptable to fit various head 
sizes and profiles, and hence we find it convenient to have the earcup 
adjustably secured relative to the spectacles/goggles. This may be 
achieved by having the earcups mounted adjustably, say for sliding and 
pivoting, on the ends of the arm members or additionally or alternatively 
to provide an adjustable connector between the spectacles/goggles and the 
arm members. 
According to one embodiment, facial asymmetry is compensated for by 
providing for both earcups to be adjustable on an inclined plane to fit 
ears that vary in height and distance from the forehead and to one 
another. Arm members linking the earcups with the spectacles/goggles 
provide that inclined plane. That also provides for adjustment of the 
frame for the spectacles/goggles in relation to the ears with pivoting 
therefrom to fit facial contours. Pivoting of each earcup around a 
respective button of the earcup or arm and cooperating with the other 
provides adjustment to the side elevation of the face to provide a unique 
fit. 
We also envisage configuring the spectacle/goggle end of the arm members 
for securing releasably/interchangeably with different spectacle/goggle 
parts. These may be from different manufacturers. 
In essence then, we propose a pair of arm members configured to cooperate 
engagingly with spectacles/goggles at one end and earcups/muffs at the 
other.

Referring firstly to the drawing of FIG. 1a there is illustrated a safety 
unit having the eye protection in the form of a pair of safety spectacles 
having side arms 1, and a spectacle frame 2 carrying separate lenses 3 or 
integrally moulded lenses. The side frame is shaped to give side 
protection--see hatched area 5. 
Material of the side arms may be transparent or opaque depending on 
requirements. An earcup is shown at 7 carried on an end of the side arm 1. 
In order to provide adjustment to suit different head sizes, the end of 
the side arm is provided with an elongate slot 9 in which a lug 11 
projecting from the earcup is received slideably. This caters for 
adjustment in the direction of the arrow A. The lug also allows for 
rocking of the earcup relative to the side frame as represented by arrows 
B and C and the rocking of the spectacle frame as represented by arrow F. 
The material from which the arm members are moulded has an elasticity in 
the nature of resilience which urges them towards a rest position with the 
ends of the arms and hence the earcups urged toward one another. By this 
means the safety unit is held in place on the wearers head. 
Referring now to FIG. 1b there is illustrated one half of an alternative 
embodiment of safety unit having spectacles which are the same as those 
described with reference to FIG. 1a save for the arrangement used for 
coupling the side frame to the earcup 7'. Here the earcup has a slot 13 
which receives slidably the end of the side arm. The arm may be recessed 
transverse to its length as at 15 to provide stops for ease of location of 
the earcup at the desired position along the length of the side arm. This 
may be further aided by resiliently urging the arm into contact with 
abutments cooperating with the recesses. The slot is preferably pivotably 
secured to the earcup to allow for rocking movement in the direction of 
arrows B and C as in FIG. 1a. 
Either of the ways of connecting the side arms to the earcups as described 
with reference to FIGS. 1a and 1b may be employed in the following 
embodiments. 
Referring now to FIGS. 2a to 2e, here there is illustrated an embodiment of 
safety unit, again having eye protection by way of spectacles, in which 
the arm members forming the side frames 10 are provided as separate parts 
to the spectacle frame 12. 
The arm members 10 are preferably reversible, i.e. they can be used as left 
or right side frames--although this is not essential. The arm members are 
connected to the spectacle frame by a keying means which in the 
illustrated embodiment comprises a rib 14 which is part circular in 
cross-section and which is received in a complimentary slot 16. The arm 
member extends past the keying means as at 18 and is arranged to cooperate 
with an abutment 20 on the spectacle frame or as part of the keying means. 
The material of the arm members, typically a plastics or metal or a 
combination thereof, is chosen for properties of elasticity so that 
movement of the arm members in a direction of arrow D away from its rest 
position, generates a restoring force in the direction of arrow E--see 
FIG. 2E. Movement in the direction of arrow D causes the arm extension to 
contact the abutment 20 and thereafter will cause the arm member to bend. 
The dotted outline of FIGS. 2A and 2E shows the relaxed position and the 
solid outline the distorted portion in which the tension forces generated 
in the arm members are sufficient to hold the unit in place on the face 
and sufficiently tightly to give the required hearing attenuation. 
In order to avoid distorting the spectacle frame this has to be constructed 
as a rigid beam. 
The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2A to E has the type of earcup fixing 
as described with reference to FIG. 1a and it will be seen that the lug 
11' is slidably received in the slot 9' and with provision for rocking 
movement by virtue of spacing of shoulders 11a, 11b. 
Referring now to FIGS. 2f and 2h, here there is illustrated an embodiment 
of safety unit, again having eye protection by way of spectacles, in which 
the arm members forming the side frames 10 are provided as separate parts 
to the spectacle 12. 
In all manners the unit works as previously described save in this unit the 
keying means for the arm members which in the illustrated embodiments 
comprises a rib 14 is moulded on the inside of spectacle 12 is part 
circular in cross section and is received in a complimentary slot 16. The 
arm member extends past the keying means as at 18 and is arranged to 
cooperate with an abutment 20 on the spectacle frame or as part of the 
keying means, the force being exerted along plane XX. 
FIG. 2g shows a perspective view of spectacle 12 having the keying means 14 
moulded integrally in the frame with aperturing to either side rather than 
as an internal or external projection. 
Any hinge mechanism will perform the function of keying means 14. A 
projection with a spherical end and complimentary cupped reception part 
can provide a useful alternative also allowing for swivelling of the arm 
relative to spectacles. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3a to 3c, here we show a safety unit in which the 
eye protector is in the form of goggles 20 and is provided with a pair of 
arm members 26, carrying at their respective ends a respective earcup 28. 
The arm members as with the previous embodiment of FIG. 2 utilise their 
elastic properties to generate the necessary location force for holding 
the earcups in contact with the head. Goggles traditionally have a 
relatively soft and flexible frame 22 for close fitting to the face of the 
wearer and a separate lens 24 which fits into the frame. Often the lens is 
more rigid than the frame. Because our arm members are subject to a 
bending force, this has to be resisted if it is to be sustained. 
Accordingly where a traditional frame construction is employed, we provide 
a relatively rigid beam 30 to which the arms are attached. The beam can 
carry a keying means similar to that described with reference to the 
embodiment of FIG. 2. The chief characteristic of the keying means is that 
it resists rotation of the arm members beyond a prescribed open position. 
Any non-rotatable connection will suffice where pivoting of the arm 
members towards a closed position does not have to be accommodated. Where 
it does, the arm extension and abutment which we describe with reference 
to FIG. 2 is preferred albeit with suitable modification to permit hinging 
closed. 
Referring again to the embodiment of FIG. 3, it will be seen that frame 22 
is apertured at 32 to receive therethrough the opposite ends of the beam 
30, thus permitting the arm members 26 to be fitted into the keying means 
18'. The frame is shown with a tapered sleeve moulded in the frame which 
prevents ingress of dirt, fluids, aerosols and in the case of welding 
goggles bright light. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the lens is 
separate from the beam 30 and fits into the soft moulded outer frame part. 
Alternatively the lens may be keyed to the beam. Integral moulding is less 
desirable. 
Where the goggles are made from a sufficiently rigid material then arm 
members can be attached to the goggles directly. A suitable abutment 
member such as that illustrated in FIG. 5 having a body 60 and rib 62 
(similar to the rib 14 of FIG. 2) may be incorporated into a moulded 
surround 68 of the goggles 64 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The arm member 70 
may then be attached. The block 60 may be affixed in any other convenient 
way. 
A further feature of the invention is to provide the arm members with 
coupling means which allows them to be connected to any spectacle or 
goggle provided with complementary coupling means. This allows the arm 
members to be used with a variety of existing manufacturers spectacles or 
goggles. In the case of the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3 all that is 
required is for the ribbed keying means to be incorporated into the 
manufacturers design. Alternatively, this may be by means of a projecting 
tab, for fitting into a complementary slot formed in the spectacles or 
goggles. It will be understood that where the elasticity (resilience) of 
the arm member is utilised such a tab can be formed at the end of the arm 
member to give desired interchangeability/adaptability. 
Reverting to FIG. 3b we prefer to have the rigid beam moulded with one way 
air ventilators 83. The goggle frame 22 is moulded with apertures 84 to 
receive ventilators 83. 
It is envisaged that the rigid beam may incorporate resilient arm members 
either by providing some form of reinforcement to the beam or by virtue of 
using a relatively thick section. 
It will be understood that the unit will be designed to meet the 
appropriate British Standards (currently appropriate in this regard are 
BS2092, BS1542 and BS679 for eye protection, and BS6344 part 1 tested to 
BS5108 for hearing protectors to European Standards CEN and International 
Standards). 
Referring now to FIG. 6, an earcup/muff is illustrated at 100 having a 
button 102 by which it is mounted slidably in direction of arrows 105 on 
one of a pair of arm members 104 of the goggles/spectacles (shown at 106). 
The button 105 also allows for pivotal movement of the frame relative to 
the ears providing required adjustments (shown by arrows). It will be 
understood that the earcup adjustment of FIG. 1b may be employed as an 
alternative. The arm member is inclined downwardly from the spectacle 
frame and this caters for asymmetric adjustments. 
Referring now to FIG. 7 there is illustrated, a spectacle frame 110 formed 
as a moulding with slots shown dotted 111 for receiving side arms, only 
one of which 112 is shown, employing resilient snap fastening--one 
embodiment of which is shown further with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. We 
also propose a goggle in which such an arm receiving slot is incorporated 
in the moulded shielding thereof, but more specifically into the ends of 
the rigid beam thereof as of the aforedescribed keying means. 
A lens is shown at 114 and is received within the frame work 110 which 
provides a shoulder against which the lens abuts around its periphery, 
with tabs 116 to provide lowermost retention effectively providing a 
U-shaped slot on section A--A with the section elsewhere such as B--B 
being generally L-shaped to provide a lip surrounding the periphery of the 
lens and the aforesaid abutment surface. Location is achieved by a 
generally U-shaped clip 118 one leg 119 of which is received (e.g. snap 
fittingly) in an opening 120 in the frame and the other 121 serves to trap 
the lens between it and a flange 122 of the frame 110 i.e. the lens is 
held against the outer face of flange 122. 
FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative embodiment of lens retention clip 
essentially the same as that of FIG. 14 wherein one limb has spring legs 
119' engaging in the opening 120' with the lens being trapped between the 
leg 121' and the outer face of flange 122' of the frame 110. The above 
lens retention methods are also possible for a goggle. 
Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11--here a spectacle frame 110" (although it 
could be applied to a goggle) has rear slots 130 to receive the end of a 
respective arm 132 which end provides resilient tab 134 and side guides 
136 (either as part of or separate limbs of the tab 134) to provide 
interconnection in a snap fitting manner. The end 134 when pushed home 
cooperates with a groove, slot, recess or shoulder at the end of slot 130 
for retention purposes, but facilitating removal by deformation of the end 
against its inherent resilience otherwise locating the arm member with 
respect to the frame part. The aforementioned tab construction is 
particularly advantageous in construction permitting selection of arms and 
frames (e.g. spectacles or goggles) for assembly together from a variety 
of different designs. The arm 112 of FIG. 7 is slotted to receive button 
135 of the earcup 137. That cup is recessed to receive the arm as shown in 
FIGS. 8 and 9 allowing for inclined slidable adjustment. The alternative 
is a fitting as per FIG. 1b. As with the previously described embodiments, 
the arm 112 or 132 is resilient to provide required head gripping. 
It is also envisaged to provide optional preferably hinged side arms of 
traditional ear location type adapted to fit to the spectacle frames in 
place of the earcup carrying arm members, to facilitate use of the 
spectacles without earcups when required. Goggles may have slots to 
receive the traditional elastic headband when the earcup carrying arm 
members are removed.