Patent ID: 7614867

Claim:
An apparatus for shaping a resilient earplug to facilitate insertion of the earplug into a user's ear canal, said apparatus comprising: an upper structural element having a substantially planar upper element shaping surface for contacting the earplug; a lower structural clement movably engaged with said upper structural element and having a substantially planar lower element shaping surface for contacting the earplug, the lower element shaping surface being in opposed relation to the upper element shaping surface; and an interlocking channel and rail slidingly securing the upper structural element to the lower structural element, wherein at least one of said lower element shaping surface and said upper element shaping surface is inclined relative to the other shaping surface, and wherein the earplug is compressed between the lower element shaping surface and the upper element shaping surface as one or both of the shaping surfaces move in relation to the other shaping surface.