Articulated earmuff-to-headband attachment construction

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the following claims: 1.
An articulated earmuff-to-headband construction for acoustic earmuff devices which comprises: a rigid stud having an outboard shaft portion for interiorly directed fixation to an end portion of a resilient headband and an expanded free end inboard portion of substantially greater maximum diameter than said shaft portion; an acoustic earmuff comprising a rigid earcup element having a back wall, said back wall having an aperture therethrough; and a grommet composed of a soft resilient material and comprising (a) a internal bore, the diameter of said bore, in the unconstructed state, being not substantially less than the maximum diameter of said expanded free end inboard portion of said stud, and (b) a circumferential external groove of a size and shape to receive said aperture of said earcup; the diameter of said aperture being sufficiently less than the diameter of said grommet taken at the bottom of said groove such that, upon said receiving of said aperture in said groove, the material of said grommet underlying said groove is inwardly deformed to define an indwelling ridge on said internal bore of sufficiently lesser diameter than the maximum diameter of said expanded free end inboard portion of said stud as to lockingly and articulatingly capture said stud with said expanded free end inboard portion thereof being inboard of said ridge.
2.
The construction of claim 1 wherein said grommet is composed of material having a Shore A Durometer hardness value of no greater than about 60.
3.
The construction of claim 1 wherein said grommet is composed of a thermoplastic styrene-butadiene-rubber block copolymer.
4.
The construction of claim 1 wherein said grommet takes the general form of a closed-ended thimble, the closed end of said thimble defining the inboard end thereof.
5.
The construction of claim 4 wherein the exterior of said closed end of said thimble form grommet comprises a removable pull tab extending therefrom, said tab being of substantially smaller diameter than said aperture