AU2004100205A4 - Multi-position support device - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: Multi-position support device The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: Freehills Carter Smith Beadle Sydney 004606184 004540092 2 Multi-position support device Field of the invention The present invention relates to a multi-position support device for supporting a person in a number of different positions.

Background of the invention When lying, sitting or reclining, people have a tendency to adopt positions which, in order to support their upper body, put stress on their spine and promote bad posture.

Such positions may also be uncomfortable, especially after a long period of time without proper support.

For instance, many people lie, sit or recline on the floor when watching television or playing video games and while outdoors in a park or at the beach.

While relaxing outdoors it is also useful to have a groundsheet to protect a person's clothing and body. Also when spending time outdoors there is a tendency to be encumbered with numerous items, such as seating, groundsheets, rugs, sunscreen, sporting equipment, toys and food.

While there are many options available for supporting the upper body during leisure time, there is still a need for an easily portable, inexpensive and ergonomic support device which will provide stable, ergonomic support for a person whether they are in a lying, sitting or reclining position.

Summary of the invention In a first aspect, the invention provides a multi-position support device including a pillow having at least three support faces extending between opposite sides of the pillow and a groundsheet extending from the pillow. The at least three support faces are arranged to provide at least three differently aligned support positions. The groundsheet is affixed to the pillow along an apex of the pillow between a first and a second support face and is configured to serve as an anchoring groundsheet for at least one of the first and second support faces and for a third support face by extending beneath and beyond 004540092 3 the first or second support face when the pillow is resting on either the first or second respective support face.

Preferably, the pillow is inflatable and is in the form of a substantially triangular cylinder, such that differing corresponding enclosed angles are defined between adjacent support faces.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a multi-position support device including a pillow having adjacent first, second and third support faces extending between opposite sides of the pillow and a groundsheet extending from the pillow. The first, second and third support faces are arranged to provide three differently aligned support positions. The groundsheet is affixed to the pillow along an apex of the pillow between the first and second support faces, wherein the apex defines an enclosed angle greater than or equal to 80' and is configured to serve as an anchoring groundsheet for at least one of the first and second support faces and for the third support face by extending beneath and beyond the first or second support face when the pillow is resting on either the first or second support face respectively.

Preferably, the length of the groundsheet is at least twice as long as the height of the shortest support face.

Further, the groundsheet may be made of waterproof material.

Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a multi-position support device of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the multi-position support device of Figure 1 with an upper support face arranged at an angle of approximately Figure 3 is a side view of the multi-position support device of Figure 1 with an upper support face arranged at an angle of approximately Figure 4 is a side view of the multi-position support device of Figure 1 with an upper support face arranged at an angle of approximately 004540092 4 Figure 5 is a perspective view of the multi-position support device of Figure 1 which has been deflated and rolled up.

Figure 6 is a side view of the multi-position support device of Figure 1 with two people leaning against adjacent support surfaces.

Detailed description of the embodiments A support device of the invention includes a combination of a pillow and an anchoring groundsheet. A preferred embodiment of the present invention is in the form of a wedge-shaped pillow with a groundsheet attached to an apex of the pillow.

When using the support device, a person can assume a posture by resting his or her lower body on the groundsheet and lean against the inclined and exposed face of the pillow which faces the groundsheet. As will be appreciated, a person can adopt a range of postures, for example, sitting or reclining with his or her back against the exposed face of the pillow, reclining with his or her upper shoulders and neck against the exposed face of the pillow, lying with his or her stomach against the exposed face of the pillow or reclining with his or her side against the exposed face of the pillow. A person using the support device can also sit or recline at different angles depending on which face the pillow rests on.

By sitting on the groundsheet when leaning against the pillow, the person anchors the pillow, preventing it from slipping or otherwise moving and simultaneously protects his or her clothes and body from damp and dirt.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a support device of the preferred embodiment. The support device 10 includes an inflatable pillow 12 and a groundsheet 14. The pillow 12 is a wedge shape formed with three support faces 16, 18 and 22 and two sides 20. One of the three support faces 16 and one of the two sides 20 are visible in Figure 1.

The support device 10 provides three differently aligned support positions formed by the support faces 16, 18 and 22. First, by orientating the pillow 12 so that support face 16 is adjacent to the ground and the groundsheet 14 is under the pillow 12 so that it lies between support face 16 and the ground, a person sitting on the groundsheet 14 can lean 004540092 against support face 18 and recline at an angle of approximately 450 This orientation is depicted in Figure 2. Secondly, by orientating the pillow so that support face 22 is adjacent to the ground and the groundsheet 14 extends outwardly from the apex 26, a person sitting on the groundsheet 14 can rest against support face 16 and sit at an angle of approximately 800. This orientation is depicted in Figure 3. Thirdly, as depicted in Figure 4, by orientating the pillow so that support face 22 is adjacent to the ground and the groundsheet 14 is under the pillow 12 so that it lies between support face 22 and the ground, a person sitting on the groundsheet 14 can rest against support face 18 and recline at an angle of approximately Naturally, the three differently aligned support positions of the support device can be used to support a person reclining in postures other than the seated postures just described. For example, a person can rest his or her chest and upper stomach against support face 18 and hence lie in a prone position. The support device 10 provides ergonomic support for lying in a prone position, reducing the strain on both shoulder rotator cuffs and freeing up a person's hands for reading a book, holding a computer game control or the like. The inventors believe that use of the support device by children while playing computer games will promote good back care and posture from a young age.

In addition, the wedge-shaped configuration of the preferred embodiment has the additional advantage that two people can use the support device 10. Figure 6 depicts two people using the preferred embodiment of the support device in the orientation depicted in Figure 4 by resting against adjacent support faces. The first person 32 is seated on the groundsheet 14 with his back resting on support face 18. The second person 34 is sitting on the ground with her back resting against support face 16.

As depicted in the drawings, the groundsheet 14 is configured to allow a person using the support device 10 to sit or lie on the groundsheet 14 and anchor the pillow 12 when it is used in each of the differently aligned support positions. This anchoring enables a light-weight pillow, such as an inflatable pillow, to be a stable, ergonomic support, irrespective of the angle at which the user sits or reclines. The length of the groundsheet 14 should be sufficient so that it can be used as an anchoring groundsheet for

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004540092 6 each of the differently aligned support positions. The length of the groundsheet is typically at least twice the height of the shortest support face. The height of a support face is the distance between the apices which form the edges of that support face.

In the preferred embodiment, the groundsheet 14 is permanently affixed to the pillow 12. By permanently affixing the groundsheet 14 to the pillow 12, the groundsheet 14 will be effective in acting as an anchor for the pillow 12. Alternatively, the groundsheet 14 may be removably attached to the pillow 12, for example, by hook and loop adherent material, a zipper, a plurality of press studs or a plurality of buttons. A removable attachment must be sufficiently strong to withstand the tension placed on the join between the pillow 12 and the groundsheet 14 when the groundsheet 14 is being used as an anchoring groundsheet.

The groundsheet 14 is attached to the apex 26 of the pillow 12 between support faces 16 and 22. The groundsheet 14 comprises a thin, flexible sheet of waterproof material, such as a sheet ofpolyvinylchloride. This allows the groundsheet 14 to protect a person's clothing or body from damp, sandy or dirty ground in addition to anchoring the pillow 12. To increase user comfort, the groundsheet 14 has a soft velvet-type flocking material finish on at least one surface. The groundsheet 14 can alternatively be made of non-waterproof towel-like material, be formed by a thin inflatable envelope or be formed by a thin padded or spongy mat.

In addition, the groundsheet 14 can be formed with eyelets around its periphery so that it can be anchored to the ground by pegs even when a person is not lying against the pillow 12.

The support device 10 depicted in the Figures includes an inflatable pillow 12. In the preferred embodiment the pillow 12 and groundsheet 14 are made from flocked polyvinylchloride, in the form of an inner polyvinylchloride bladder and an external covering of a soft velvet-type flocking material finish.

A valve 24 for inflating the pillow 12 is positioned on support face 22. The pillow 12 can be inflated either by a person blowing directly into the valve or by use of an air pump, for example a hand pump. Valves suitable for such uses are well known in the art.

004540092 7 An advantage of using an inflatable pillow is that the user can inflate the pillow as much or as little as he or she chooses. Therefore, an inflatable pillow provides a greater range of ergonomic support options to suit different people, simply by varying the degree of inflation. In addition, an inflatable pillow can be deflated and rolled into a compact, light and easy to carry parcel. Figure 5 shows a support device 10 of the preferred embodiment which has been deflated and rolled into a small, compact cylinder.

The support device 10 has a contoured support face 18 including a concave depression 40 in the support face 18, as depicted in each of the Figures. The contoured surface is designed to provide additional ergonomic support to a person reclining on support surface 18. The inclusion of a contoured support face in the support device also provides more flexibility when designing the support device 10. Because of the contour, the wedge-shaped pillow is not restrained to obeying the rules of geometry, particularly it is not necessary that the enclosed angles of the apices of the support device total to 1800.

As depicted in Figure 1, the support device 10 of the preferred embodiment has seams 28 and 30 extending along the support faces 16, 18 and 22 of the pillow 12. These seams 28, 30 extend around the circumference of the pillow 12. The seams 28, reinforce the support faces, reducing the likelihood of the support faces buckling under the weight of a person and so making the support device 12 more comfortable and ergonomic.

In the preferred embodiment, the pillow 12 has rounded apices. These rounded apices provide further support for a person's head and neck.

The support device 10 can be used with tailored removable coverings. Removable coverings protect the polyvinylchloride sheeting, resulting in increased product life. In addition, a person can use different removable coverings to change the look and feel of the support device 10 to make it more appealing or to suit different environments. For example, removable coverings can be made from different coloured or patterned material or different types of materials, such as cotton towelling, leather or silk.

004540092 8 It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

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