Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to ear plugs and, in particular, to ear plugs used by swimmers.

Background Art

Many swimmers find it desirable to wear ear plugs to prevent the ingress of water into their ears whilst swimming because they are liable to catch ear infections or otherwise develop problems with their ears. Various types of ear plug are known, however, a common difficulty is that such plugs are easily able to be dislodged whilst swimming and thus lost. Also swimmers find difficulty in locating their plugs if they are stored loose in a rucksack, backpack or similar. Thus a swimmer having changed into swimming trunks to commence swimming is often frustrated by being able to find only one ear plug of a pair of ear plugs which were thought to both be located in the swimmer's backpack.

Genesis of the Invention

The genesis of the present invention is a desire to at least ameliorate to some extent the abovementioned difficulties.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an ear plug arrangement for a swimmer having a pair of ears, a neck and a nape of said neck, said arrangement comprising a pair of ear plugs located one at either end of a resilient tether having a substantially fixed configuration and which is dimensioned to extend only from the swimmer's left ear to the right ear via said nape.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of preventing ingress of water into a swimmer's ears whilst swimming, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) locating the tether of a pair of ear plugs each located at a corresponding end of a resilient tether having a substantially fixed configuration and being dimensioned to extend only between the swimmer's ears via the nape of the swimmer's neck, behind the swimmer's head adjacent said nape,

(ii) inserting one ear plug into one ear, and

(iii) inserting the other ear plug into the other ear, whereby said tether extends between said ears and above said nape and thereby does not impede forward motion of said swimmer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ear plug arrangement of the preferred embodiment,

Fig. 2 is an exploded enlarged view of one end of the tether and the corresponding ear plug,

Fig. 3 is a side view looking partially from the rear of the head of a swimmer wearing the ear plug arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2,

Fig. 4 is a front view of the neck of the swimmer of Fig. 3 showing the ear plug arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2 in a non-use configuration.

Detailed Description

As seen in Fig. 1 the ear plug arrangement 1 takes the form of a left ear plug 2, a right ear plug 3 and a tether 4 which interconnects the plugs 2, 3 and which is moulded from plastics material into a generally cylindrical form which has a C-shaped configuration.

Each of the plugs 2, 3 has a cylindrical base 6 and a quasi-conical cup 7. At the crown of the cup 7 is a nipple 8. A series of ribs 9 interconnect the interior of the cup 7 with the cylindrical base 6. The plugs 2, 3 are preferably moulded from a soft resilient plastics material which enables the cup 7 to deform when placed into the ear so as to effectively seal the ear.

As seen in Fig. 2, the cylindrical base 6 has a central aperture which is able to releasably receive a spear headed prong 10 (of which there is one at each free end of the tether 4). Thus the plugs 2, 3 are releasably detachable from the tether 4 to enable their replacement if the plugs 2, 3 become worn and / or dirty.

The tether 4 is preferably made from a stiffer, more resilient plastics material than the plugs 2, 3 so that although the tether 4 can be deformed out of its C-shaped configuration illustrated in Fig. 1, a strong restoring force is produced by the deformation. This therefore provides a clamping action which ensures that the plugs 2, 3 when inserted into the ears of a swimmer experience an inwardly directed force which maintains the plugs inserted.

Turning now to Fig. 3, the head 11 of a swimmer is illustrated snowing the left ear 12, neck 13 and nape 14. As seen in Fig. 3, the left ear plug 2 is inserted into the left ear 12 and in corresponding fashion (but not illustrated) the right ear plug 3 is inserted into the right ear. The cup 7 as seen in Fig. 2 seals the ear 12. The tether 4 is dimensioned so as to extend directly from ear to ear above the nape 14 of the neck 13 and close to the swimmer's head 11. Thus in this position the tether 4 is maintained behind the head 11 and so does not impede the forward progress of the swimmer through the water.

Turning now to Fig. 4, if desired the swimmer may remove the plugs 2, 3 from the ears and allow the tether 4 to drop down around the neck 13 as illustrated so that the ear plugs 2, 3 are adjacent the collarbones 15, 16 of the swimmer. In this non-use configuration the ear plug arrangement 1 is conveniently held around the neck 13 and thus the ear plugs are on hand if the swimmer should decide to re-enter the water.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "including" or "having" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of.