Background Of The invention There are many forms of hearing protection devices available. At one end of the spectrum of known devices there are ear muffs which totally cover the ears of the user. At the other end of the spectrum there are ear plugs which are adapted to be pressed into the auditory canals of the ears of the user. Both types of hearing protection devices have disadvantages.

In the case of ear muffs there is a discomfort factor. More particularly, the ears of the user are completely isolated from cooling air by the ear muffs and so sweating may result. This can be as much an annoyance to the wearer as the noise the reason for wearing the ear muffs. In the case of ear plugs there is a danger of an ear infection being contracted with repeated use. Moreover, one of the ear plugs can be readily lost requiring the set to be replaced.

Generally, industrial safety requirements not only require workers to use hearing protection devices but also headwear to protect the worker from head injury. To fulfill both requirements conventional 'hard' hats as used in heavy industry as well as the construction industry and which are formed from heavy shock resistance plastic have been fitted with ear muffs mounted to the hat through arms which are spring biased such that the ear muffs are able to rest against the head of the user over his or hers ears. However, the presence of the ear muffs also increases the overall weight of the hat. The disadvantage of muff type hearing protection devices outlined above also remain.

In less dangerous industries, a lighter form of plastic 'bump' hat is commonly used. Workers using this form of hat are usually provided with insertable ear plugs that are normally linked to a neck band of some type which allows the user to withdraw the ear plugs and still have them at hand when required. However, having the plugs dangle around the neck of the user is highly undesirable not only from a hygiene perspective but also from the point

of view that the ear plugs potentially risk becoming entangled with fixed or moveable machinery. It can also be a nuisance to have to insert and remove each ear plug individually.

Summary Of The Invention It is an aim of the present invention to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a hat for wearing on the head of a user and carrying a pair of support arms arranged on opposite sides of the hat with respect to each other, each support arm supporting a tragus deflector, one to each. The tragus deflectors are locatable over the tragi of the ears and the arms are each adapted to be able to exert a biasing force when the hat is worn. The deflectors are further adapted to be able to deflect the tragi from resting positions under the action of the biasing forces to thereby substantially close the auditory canals of the ears of the user.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of protecting hearing with the use of a hat carrying a pair of support arms arranged on opposite sides of the hat with respect to each other. Each support arm supports a tragus deflector respectively, and is adapted to be able to exert a biasing force when the hat is worn on the head of the user. The method involves positioning the hat on the head on the user such that each deflector is located adjacent to the tragus of a corresponding ear of the user one to each and further, allowing the deflectors to deflect the tragi under the action of the biasing forces to thereby substantially close the auditory canals of the ears of the user.

The arms may be able to be caused to exert the biasing forces following location of the deflectors over the tragi of the ears. Alternatively, the tragus deflectors may be spaced apart from each other such that the arms need to be forced away from each other to allow the deflectors to be located over the tragi of the ears, whereby the forcing apart causes the biasing forces to be generated.

The position of the arms may also be able to be adjusted relative to one another. Similarly, the position of each tragus deflector may be able to be varied on the corresponding arm so that the tragus deflectors are able to be located over the tragi.

The tragus deflectors will generally comprise discrete units that are removable from the arms. However, the tragus deflectors may be integrally formed with the corresponding arms of the hat if desired.

The hat can be formed from any material deemed suitable and may be formed from plastics material used in the manufacture of conventionally known hard hats and bump caps.

Since the tragus reflectors are not positioned in the auditory canals in use, the risk of the user contracting an ear infection is markedly reduced. Moreover, the weight of the hat may be substantially less than conventional hats provided with ears muffs. In addition, discomfort associated with sweating about the ears can be minimised as the contact area of the tragus deflectors with the tragi is significantly less compared to the area of contact associated with the use of conventional ear muffs. The ears of the user also remain well ventilated.

The present invention will now be further described with reference to a number of preferred, non-limiting embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

Bnef Descnptlon of The Accornpanylng Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hat of the present invention; Figure 2 is front view of the arm of the hat shown in fig. 1; Figure 3 shows the tragus deflector of an arm of the hat of fig. 1 in contact with the tragus of an ear of a user; Figures 4 to 6 illustrate various forms of tragus deflectors of hats embodied by the present invention; and Figure 7 is a front view of an arm of another hat embodied by the invention.

Best Mode Of Carrying Out The Invention The hat 10 shown in fig. 1 comprises a visor 12 projecting from a cap 14 shaped for placement on the head of a user. Brackets 16 receiving arms 18 are mounted on opposite sides of cap 14 with respect to each other and a tragus deflector 20 is carried on a lower end region 22 of each arm respectively.

As can be seen more clearly in fig. 2, each arm 18 is supported by pivot pins 24 arranged on brackets 16. The arms are able to pivot forwards and backwards toward and away from the front of the hat generally indicated by the

numeral 26 about the pivot pins 24 allowing accurate fore and aft positioning of the tragus deflectors 20 over the tragi of the users ears when the hat 10 is worn as indicated in fig. 3.

The arms 18 are formed from a stiff but resilient plastics material. In use, the arms 18 are forced away from each other as the hat is positioned on the users head. This may be achieved by either drawing the arms apart as the hat is being positioned or alternatively, by pressure contact with the corresponding sides of the users head as the hat is lowered into position. As a result of the forcing apart of the arms 18, biasing forces are inheritly generated in the arms due to the resilient nature of the material from which the arms are formed and which act to press the tragus deflectors toward each other. The biasing forces are sufficient to cause the tragus deflectors 20 to deflect the tragi of the ears so as to thereby substantially close the auditory canals of the ears of the user. This results in a significant reduction in the noise reaching the user's ear drums and so protects the hearing of the user.

The tragus deflector 20 shown in fig. 2 has a pad 28 and a shank 30 both formed from a stiff water repellant closed cell plastic that can be readily cleaned with a suitable detergent. The pad 28 is able to deform to a small degree for the comfort or the user and is dome shaped such that outer convex surface 29 is able to maintain adequate contact with the tragus when the pad is pressed against the tragus in use. The pad is also dimensioned such that it is not able to enter the auditory canal to any degree that may cause injury to the user during positioning of the hat 10 on the head of the wearer or if the pad is subsequently dislodged from the tragus.

The shank 30 is provided with a male thread 32 engaged with a female thread defined in aperture 34 extending through arm 18. The distance the pad 28 projects from the arm 18 is thereby able to be altered by screwing the tragus deflector 20 into or outwardly from the arm. This ensures firstly that the biasing forces are able to be generated and that the tragus deflectors are able to deflect the tragi sufficiently to close the auditory canals. It also allows the user to make appropriate adjustments so that the hat is comfortable when worn.

The arm 18 shown in fig. 4 is provided with a slot 36 within which are defined ridges 38 able to be received in the valleys between the crests of the male thread 32 of the shank 30 so that the tragus deflector is again able to be

screwed into or outwardly from the arm. As the slot 36 extends in the lengthwise direction of the arm the position of the tragus deflector is also able to be varied up or down the arm as necessary to be able to overlie the tragus of the corresponding ear. Alternatively, the arm itself may be able to be slid up and down relative to cap 14 within a suitably adapted bracket 16 to accommodate the variation in distance between the top of the skull and the tragi between different users.

Rather than being threaded, the shank 30 of each tragus deflector may be provided with a number of recesses 40 spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the shank as shown in fig. 5. This arrangement allows the distance the pad 28 projects from the arm 18 to be readily altered by forcing the shank through the slot 36 so that the arm 18 is received and gripped within the appropriate recess 40 as necessary to ensure sufficient deflection of the corresponding tragus of the user.

Fig. 6 shows yet another tragus deflector 20 having a shank 30 that is not threaded but which is defonnable when pressed through aperture 34 with linear movement or rotating movement such that the shank 30 is received within the aperture in an interference fit so as to thereby be fixedly be held on arm 18. To facilitate the entry off the shank into aperture 34 the end 42 of the shank 30 is tapered. The grip on the shank may be enhanced if a thread is defined within aperture 34 or the interior wall of the arm defining the aperture is otherwise roughened. This arrangement is supplemented by a spacer 44 which inhibits flexing of the shank when the pad 28 is pressed against the tragus of an ear under the action of the biasing force exerted by the arm and so provides the stiffness required to enable the tragus to be sufficiently deflected.

In another embodiment shown in fig. 7, a pin in the form of a screw 46 is threadably received in an aperture 48 formed in a lower region 50 of wall 52 of eack bracket 16 such that an end 54 of the screw bears against the corresponding arm 18. The arms, therefore, are able to be flexed inwardly toward each other when the screws 46 are screwed into the respective apertures 48 to either generate the biasing forces to cause the tragi be deflected by the tragus deflectors 20 when the hat 10 is worn or to generate sufficient biasing forces such that the tragi are able to be deflected to substantially close the auditory canals of the ears.

Alternatively, the hat may be provided with spring mechanisms, one being associated with each arm respectively, as provided with conventionally known hard hats for causing the arms 18 to be biased against the head of the user, but in this instance with enough force such that the tragi can be deflected to substantially close the auditory canals.

The ends of shanks 30 that project outwardly from the arms in a direction away from the hat may also be covered with caps to thereby enhance the appearance of the hat and to provide smooth outer profiles to reduce the possibility of catching on clothing. In addition, the arms 18 may each be formed with a twist extending in the lengthwise direction of the arms such that the tragus deflectors are orientated at an angle toward a rear region of the cap and to thereby limit contact of the deflectors with regions of the ear other than the tragi. Rather than the deflectors being orientated at such an angle by the arms, the tragus deflectors themselves may be formed so that pads 28are held at the desired angle relative to the arms 18.

Accordingly, although the present invention has been described hereinbefore with reference to a number of preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by the skilled addressee that numerous variations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims.