AUSTRALIA Regulation 3.2 Patents Act 1990 Complete Specification Innovation Patent APPLICANT Christa Guntendorfer Invention Title: PILLOW The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: P:\CommronWord97\335C1-3400O133963GUN\2110512 1P0 -File Patent Application.doc PILLOW The present invention relates to a pillow including a pillowcase made of at least one single-layer tissue or cover material like plastic or leather, and a pillow filler. Pillows are known in various configurations, shapes and of the most diverse materials, offering a plurality of applications such as, for instance, the use as head cushions, mattresses, nursing pillows, upholstery for sofas, car seats or the like, sleeping pillows or mattresses for animal baskets, yet even as pads for clothes as well as just as decorative objects. All pillows have in common that they comprise, in at least one outer cover or case, a filler made of the most diverse materials, said filler materials ranging from the most diverse natural materials like fabric, horsehair or down or feathers, to synthetic materials like foam, microfibers, polystyrene beads, to hay and straw. With hay or straw-filled pillows it has turned out to be positive, on the one hand, that, when using such pillows as sleeping pillows, the filler will exert a soothing effect on the user due to its content of ethereal oils, yet it has turned out to be negative, on the other hand, that the filler comprises stalks having relatively sharp or pointed ends, thus offsetting the positive effect to be achieved by such pillows by the even existing risk of injury due to the stalks. Frequently, such a pillow is even felt as altogether unpleasant and will thus be refused by the users. The present invention aims to further develop a conventional pillow to the effect that it is configured to receive additional elements without affecting the orthopaedic supporting effect of the pillow, and that it further contains, at least in part, filler materials that contribute or serve to promote the health or relaxation of a user.
2 To solve this object, a pillow of the initially defined kind is characterized in that at least one, particularly closeable, reception compartment is formed in the interior of the pillow filler, and that at least one fastening element for an insert element is provided in said reception compartment. In that at least one reception compartment is formed in the pillowcase, or in the interior of the pillow filler, which is, in particular, closeable by, for instance, buttons, a zip fastener or a hook and loop fastener, and at least one fastening element for an insert element is provided in the reception compartment, it is possible to insert in the reception compartment any material or material mixture or also, for instance, electrical appliances or their receivers or transmitters, which contribute to increasing the wellbeing of the user of the pillow, while at the same time ensuring that the pillow surrounding the reception compartment is comprised of a conventional pillow filler material such that the pillow will both maintain its orthopaedic supporting function when, e.g. a human being or animal sleeps on it, and contribute to increasing wellbeing including, for instance, a sounder sleep, sedation, muscular relaxation, relief of respiration or the like, in that materials or material mixtures or appliances exhibiting such properties, or causing respective reactions, are inserted and fixed in the insert element. According to a further development, the pillow to this end can be configured such that the insert element is comprised of a magnetic disc or foil, an electrically operated appliance or a gel pillow, or that the insert element contains a filler selected from grains like wheat, rice, spelt or the like, fruit stones like cherry stones; dried herbs, grasses or mixtures thereof; as well as herbs, grasses and/or textiles provided with ethereal oils; stones, semiprecious stones, a magnetic disc or foil, an electrically operated appliance or a gel pillow, or combinations or mixtures thereof. The selective choice of the insert element enables the adaptation of a conventional pillow :3 to the most diverse purposes of use and, moreover, above all the promotion or maintenance of the health of a user by such a pillow. By using, for instance, herbs, grasses, hay or even ethereal oils, the pillow can utilize for itself all the advantages to be achieved by the use of ethereal oils. In the human field, a respiration-relieving effect can, for instance, be achieved in the case of colds, or in the veterinary field ethereal oils can, for instance, be used to expel parasites. When using magnetic discs or foils, or gel pillows, tensions can be relaxed or loosened, or the use of warm fruit stones or grains may, for instance, alleviate bloating, wherein a plurality of further options of use may be envisaged by selecting suitable combinations of pillows and insert material(s). It will finally be possible by the use of an electrically operated appliance, which may optionally also be wirelessly controlled, e.g. a player for music, noises or voices, to soothe the user of the pillow, to convey the presence or closeness of a person of reference, or to just relax. By configuring the pillow in a manner that the fastening element is formed by a hook and loop fastener or a snap fastener, as in correspondence with a preferred further development of the invention, it will be feasible to safely and reliably fix an insert element in an undetachable manner in the interior of a pillow exactly on the desired location and to additionally ensure that the insert element will not get out of place or possibly even come out of the pillowcase. In order to ensure that the insert element will not shift, or its filler will not pack up or get out of place, especially in pillows that are filled to a relatively small extent, the invention is preferably further developed such that the reception compartment is stationarily held in the interior of the pillow by the aid of retaining or clamping elements and, in particular, optionally elastic retaining straps. By stationarily holding the reception compartment by the aid of retaining or 4 clamping elements like retaining straps, which are optionally designed to be elastic to some extent, it is possible to choose, and maintain during extended periods of use, a positioning of the reception compartment in the interior of the pillow, that is precisely and exactly adapted to the desired purpose of use, on the one hand, and to ensure, on the other hand, that the reception compartment will not be extremely deformed during use of the pillow and hence, for instance, cause the filler of an insert element contained therein to inadvertently get out of place or relatively less flexible elements constituting the insert element, such as a gel pillow or magnetic foil, to be inadvertently damaged or even destroyed. In that the reception compartment extends over at least 60%, particularly 75%, of the surface area of the pillow, as in correspondence with a preferred further development of the invention, it will be feasible to ensure that those parts of the body on which the filler of the insert element is to exert an effect will reliably abut on the insert element, thus providing as large as possible an area of contact with the desired part of the body. In order to also enable different or complementary insert elements or their fillers to be adjacently received within a pillow without causing an inadvertent mingling of the insert elements or their fillers, the pillow of the invention according to a preferred further development is devised such that the reception compartment is designed in several parts. Such a configuration, for instance, enables an insert element, which can for instance be heated, to be introduced into one part of the reception compartment and an insert element containing ethereal oils to be introduced into another compartment of the insert element such that, overall, a combination effect will be achieved. In that the pillow is designed to comprise several chambers and, in particular, be provided with separation webs, as in 5 correspondence with a preferred further development of the invention, it will be feasible to reliably prevent pillow fillers from getting out of place, on the one hand, and the formation of thermal bridges, which would occur in the event of out-of-place fillers or in the presence of quilting seams, will be avoided by providing separation webs, on the other hand. Furthermore, such a configuration will enable the maintenance of a substantially uniformly high resting surface of the pillow even over extended periods of use. In order to further impart decorative and/or protective functions to the pillow and optionally achieve further wellbeing-promoting effects by the pillow, the pillow is additionally provided with an openable and closeable cover. By providing an openable and closeable cover, protection against inadvertent damage or soiling will be ensured, which will be of particular importance when using the pillow according to the invention for infants or babies, or even in the veterinary field. By the selective choice of colors or patterns for the cover, effects known, for instance, as color therapy as well as soothing or relaxing effects will, moreover, also be achieved. Such a protective cover may be designed in a manner that the cover comprises at least one further element selected from optionally closeable reception compartments, reinforcing elements, nonslip supports, retaining elements like hook and loop fasteners or straps. By providing an additional closeable reception compartment, further wellbeing-enhancing elements can, for instance, be received in the interior of the pillow, e.g. a musical clock, a glow element or even elements like moisture sensors, temperature sensors or the like, in order to enable the adjustment of optimized ambient conditions in the region of the pillow, or optionally also provide some form of light therapy. By providing reinforcing elements like edge reinforcements or nonslip supports, the pillow, particularly when used as a 6 sleeping pillow for pets, can be secured against premature wear or damage by the using animal. In that the pillow is further developed such that the pillow is filled with natural materials such as horsehair, linen, straw, hay or the like, as in correspondence with a preferred further development of the invention, it is feasible to provide a pillow exclusively containing, or comprised of, natural materials, thus also ensuring that a user of the pillow will not develop allergic reactions to synthetics or avoiding excessive heating or sweating in the region of the area of contact between the pillow and the body, which may frequently occur when using synthetics. In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail by way of exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing, wherein: Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a pillow according to the invention, including two schematic illustrations of different insert elements, and Fig. 2 is a modified embodiment of a pillow according to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 depicts a pillow 1 in whose pillowcase 12 a reception compartment 2 is formed. The reception compartment 2, which is open towards a side 3 of the pillow 1, on said side 3 is provided with a closing element 4 such as, for instance, a zip fastener, a button tape or a hook and loop fastener. An insert element 5 can be inserted into the reception compartment 2, being preferably fixed in the interior of the reception compartment 2 by a retaining element 6 such as a hook and loop fastener, in order to prevent slipping or shifting of the insert element 5. The reception compartment 2, which is usually made of a textile material, is provided with retaining elements like retaining straps 10 at least at its corners 9 in order to retain the reception compartment 2 in the interior of the pillow 1, or pillowcase 12, as stationarily as possible without having to provide any stiffening elements in the interior of the pillow 1. As is schematically illustrated in Fig. 1, the pillow is still designed in the manner of a mattress through-sewn with ribbon like elements 11 so as to prevent as largely as possible the slipping or shifting of any pillow filler. In the illustration according to Fig. 1, the insert element 5 likewise comprises a closing element 4 in order to enable a filler (not illustrated) of the insert element 5 to be retained within the same, or to be replaced or renewed. Fig. 1 depicts two different insert elements 5, 5' for introduction into the reception compartment 2 of the pillow 1. The insert element 5' differs from the insert element 5, in particular, in that it is configured with chambers 7, said chambers 7 being formed by webs 8 made of the textile material of the insert element. Such an insert element 5' provided with chambers 7 is, above all, preferred when using easily movable insert element fillers like semiprecious stones, fruit stones or grains, since excessive shifting of the filler in the interior of the insert element 5' will thereby be prevented. In the same manner, any regions of the pillow 1 that are located above or below the reception compartment 2, or those outside the same, may, of course, be designed to comprise chambers in order to prevent the pillow filler material from shifting. By contrast, the insert element 5 does not have chambers and is, for instance, suitable for receiving less easily displaceable fillers like hay, straw, grasses or textiles supplemented with ethereal oils or even gel pillows or magnetic foils or the like. In the illustration according to Fig. 2, in which the reference numerals of Fig. 1 have been retained as far as possible, a pillow 1 is again shown, which by contrast to Fig. 1 is, however, comprised of two intimately connected layers 13 and 8 14. The layer 13 is configured in the manner of a mattress including webs 8 and chambers 7 to safely prevent slipping of the respective fillers. On the upper or outer side of layer 13, additional reception compartments 15 are provided, in which, for instance, a sensing element or a tone or noise-generating element such as a music clock can be inserted. The layer 14, which comprises the reception compartment 2, is designed to have a significantly smaller height than the layer 13 and has no tucks or the like. An insert element 5 is again insertable into the reception compartment 2, yet the insert element in the illustration according to Fig. 2 is designed as a plate-shape element, such as a magnetic foil, which can optionally be inserted into the reception compartment 2 without any additional cover. Yet, in order to reliably prevent the reception element 5 from, in particular inadvertently, slipping out of the reception compartment 2, the reception element is again provided with retaining elements 6 such as, e.g., snaps or hook and loop fasteners. For the protection of the pillow 1, the pillow 1 is usually provided with a, particularly washable, cover element, which is not illustrated in the Figures, in order to prevent the rapid wear, or too intense soiling, of the pillow. A pillow 1 according to the invention can, for instance, be used as a sleeping or soothing pillow for babies or infants, as a sleeping or wellness pillow for grownups and even as a sleeping pillow for pets like dogs and cats. Depending on the desired effect to be achieved, the most diverse pillow filler materials and, in particular, the most diverse filler materials of the reception element 5, 5' can be used, such as. grains, namely wheat, rice, spelt or the like, fruit stones like cherry stones; dried herbs, grasses or mixtures thereof, as well as herbs, grasses and/or textiles provided with ethereal oils, stones, semiprecious stones, a magnetic disc or foil, or a gel pillow, or combinations or mixtures thereof. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia. Further, the reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that such art would be understood, ascertained or regarded as relevant by the skilled person in Australia.