AU2011235944B2 - Pillow Selection and Sleeper Appraisal - Google Patents

Abstract

DUD.3U-AU-Ul A neck measurement device (20) and a method of selecting a pillow (1, 41, 51) which takes into account the physique of the user are disclosed. A neck compression index (NCi) is calculated being the weight of the sleeper in kilograms divided by the shoulder width (ear to outer arm dimension) of the sleeper in centimetres. Preferably a compensated NCi is calculated which takes into account the softness or hardness of the mattress. A pillow resiliency is then selected based on the (compensated) NCi. Colour coded pillow slips can be used to assist sleepers to self-select a pillow appropriate for their physique. Mail order and Internet based selling methods are disclosed.

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE PTY LIMITED Actual Inventor: MACFARLANE, Andrew Robert Address for Service: FRASER OLD & SOHN Patent Attorneys PO Box 560 MILSONS POINT NSW 1565 Invention Title: Pillow Selection and Sleeper Appraisal Details of Parent Application: 2006 251 849 - HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE PTY LIMITED Dated 23 May 2006 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1A 3U6D-AU-U I PILLOW SELECTION & SLEEPER APPRAISAL Field of the Invention The present invention relates to pillows and, in particular, to the selection of the correct pillow characteristics to suit the physique of the user and the bed on which 5 the user sleeps. Background Art Many different types of pillows are manufactured and their properties vary considerably according to factors which as the shape of the pillow, the material from 10 which the pillow is fabricated, the resiliency of that material, the age of the pillow, and so on. Similarly, there are many variations in mattresses each of which results from a different manufacturing technique, different materials, different resiliency and so on. 15 Since persons come in many different shapes, sizes, and weights, inevitably there will be many mismatches between sleepers, pillows and mattresses. In particular, poor pillow support is thought to require the neck muscles to partially support the head during sleep. As these neck muscles tire, the sleeper tosses and turns in order to provide some respite for the neck muscles but thereby disturbs their sleep. 20 The genesis of the present invention is a desire to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, the abovementioned difficulties by the provision of a pillow selection process and apparatus which takes into account the physique of the user and type of bed and/or mattress (eg slats, spring mattress, foam mattress, latex mattress etc.). 25 Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a neck measuring device for pillow selection, said device comprising a generally planar body having at least one corner defined by two substantially straight edges which are 30 substantially perpendicular to each other, one surface of said body having a scale extending along one of said edges and having regularly spaced marked indicia extending along said scale, wherein said indicia are mirror reversed whereby a user 1 standing in front of a mirror and holding said device to his shoulder and neck, can read said indicia in said mirror. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a 5 method of selecting a pillow from a set of pillows to suit the physique of a user, said method comprising the steps of: (i) ascertaining the width of a shoulder of said user, (ii) ascertaining the weight of said user, (ii) from the results of steps (i) and (ii) calculating a neck compression 10 index comprising the user's weight divided by their shoulder width, and (iv) selecting a pillow approximating to the calculated neck compression index from a set of pillows arranged in order of increasing hardness to correspond with increasing magnitude of neck compression index. 15 Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a pillow in accordance with a 20 preferred embodiment, Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevation of a bed illustrating a sleeper sleeping on his side and utilising the pillow of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan view of a measuring device able to be utilised by a prospective purchaser, 25 Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-section (ie in the long dimension of the bed) through a conventional pillow, Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section through the pillow of Figs. I and 2, Fig. 6 is a longitudinal cross-section through a pillow most suitable for habitual back sleepers, 30 Fig. 7 is a longitudinal cross-section through a pillow most suitable for those sleepers who alternate between sleeping on their side and sleeping on their back, Fig. 8 is a schematic representation of a passport style photograph of a purchaser utilizing a website based pillow purchasing system, 2 Fig. 9 is a representation of the photograph of Fig. 8 after it has been uploaded by the purchaser to the vendor's website, 2A 5065D-AU-DI Fig. 10 is a representation similar to Fig. 9 but illustrating the photograph aligned with an internal template, and Fig. 11 is a representation of the way in which the shoulder width of the purchaser is ascertained. 5 Detailed Description The pillow 1 of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in Fig. I has a longitudinal side 2 and a transverse side 3 (the other longitudinal side and the other transverse side not being apparent in Fig. 1). The upper surface 5 of the pillow I is 10 shaped such that the longitudinal cross-section of the pillow is substantially constant. The transverse side 3 is preferably approximately 330mm long and has an appreciable vertical extent 6 (unlike conventional pillows which have negligible vertical extent at their transverse side). 15 In addition, the upper surface 5 is formed with a crest 8 which is located closely adjacent the transverse side 3. Moving away from the crest 8 in a longitudinal direction towards the other transverse side, the upper surface 5 falls away. The longitudinal side 2 is approximately 590mm in length and substantially vertical. The longitudinal side 2 has substantially the same appearance as any longitudinal cross 20 section through the pillow 1. This is in marked contrast to conventional pillows where the longitudinal sides are substantially merely an edge. Preferably the pillow I is formed from two, or even three, layers of foamed plastics or other elastomeric materials, such as polyurethane or latex, which preferably 25 have different densities. As seen in Fig. 2, a user 10 is depicted sleeping on a mattress 11 having a surface of negligible resilience or "give" and is also depicted sleeping on his side. It will be seen that the lower shoulder 12 of the user 10 either abuts, or is closely 30 adjacent to, the transverse side 3. The crest 8 supports the neck of the user, in particular in the region between the ear and the shoulder. The upper portion of the head, in particular above the ear, is supported by the sloping surface of the pillow 1 which faces away from the shoulder 12. 3 5065D-AU-DI An important advantage obtained by the pillow 1 is that the crest 8, in particular, supports the neck and lower head and thus the neck muscles are, in large part, relieved of this obligation. In addition, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, the 5 lower shoulder 12 in practice at least to some extent, sinks into the mattress 11 or other supporting surface of the bed on which the user is sleeping. It is also desirable to gauge the resilience or firmness of the mattress so that this can be taken into account in assessing the effective vertical depth of the shoulder 12 in the sleeping position illustrated in Fig. 2. 10 In order to assist the user 2 to carry out the requisite measurements on himself, a generally L-shaped measuring device 20 as illustrated in Fig. 3 is provided. The device 20 has first and second edges 21, 22 which are substantially mutually perpendicular and each of which is provided with a ruled scale, preferably having two 15 series of indicia. The first series of indicia is a conventional numerical scale and the second series of indicia is a mirror image reversal of the numbers of that scale. As a consequence of the mirror image reversal of the numbers of the scale, a user 10 can utilise the device 20 himself by standing in front of a mirror in order to measure the height of his head above the shoulder, and the horizontal extent from neck to 20 shoulder. The shoulder width is the horizontal dimension from the user's ear to the outside edge of the adjacent arm. The head height is the vertical dimension from the upper surface of the shoulder to the top of the head. By looking in the mirror, the mirror reversed numerals are again reversed and thus are readily legible to the user 10. 25 Preferably the device 20 in addition to including instructions also includes an orifice 25 through which the user 10 may insert a thumb, for example, in order to assist the holding of the device 20 on the user's shoulder in order to take the requisite measurements. The device 20 is preferably fabricated from cardboard and has the scale, numbers and instructions printed thereon. 30 Turning now to Figs. 4-7, a number of different pillows are illustrated in longitudinal cross-section. Fig. 4 shows a conventional pillow 31 which has narrow transverse edges. Fig. 5 essentially repeats the shape of Figs. I and 2 and illustrates 4 3U(3U-AU-Ul the shape of the pillow I suitable for persons who habitually sleep on their side. Fig. 6 shows the shape of a pillow 41 suitable for a person who habitually sleeps on their back. It will be seen that the crest 8 is essentially reduced or abolished giving a generally level upper surface 5. For those persons who sleep alternatively on their 5 back and on their side, a pillow 51 of the shape illustrated in Fig. 7 is best with a lesser crest 8A than the crest 8 of Fig. 5. The inventor has observed that head size, and hence head weight, differs little from one individual to another, but that body size including shoulder width, and hence 10 the weight which compresses the mattress 11, varies to a very substantially degree from one individual to another. In response to this observation the inventor has developed a Neck Compression Index which is the total weight of a person in kg divided by the width (or sideways extent) of the person's shoulder in centimetres. Thus a first person weighing I10 kg and having a slight build with a shoulder width of 15 only 18 cms has a neck Compression Index (NCi) of 110/18 = 6.1. Similarly another person who weighs 95 kg and has a normal build with a shoulder width of 18 cm has an NCi of 5.28. Conversely a 55 kg person with a shoulder width of 13 cms would have an NCi of 4.23. Typically the NCi is normally between about 3 and about 8. 20 The NCi provides an indication of the degree of pressure or force to which the pillow is subjected during sleep. The lower the NCi the less the density and/or hardness of the pillow which best matches the user's physique. A very small percentage of the human population has either very long necks or 25 very "tall" heads (or both) and thus need a pillow which is lengthened in the head to toe sleeping direction. The advantage of measuring the head height by the device 20 of Fig. 20 is that it enables this small percentage of the population to be accorded the different treatment they require. 30 The nature of the mattress is also preferably taken into account. For example, a very soft mattress compresses under the weight of the sleeper to an appreciable extent below the undeformed upper level of the mattress, for example by as much as 15cm. Therefore before the neck compression index is calculated the shoulder width 5 ..vUJU~-tiu-U I should be adjusted to account for the nature of the mattress. Furthermore, a pillow top (an additional layer of padding) can reduce the shoulder width by from 2-5cms. These adjustments are summarised in the following table. 6 JUOJU-AU-UI Table 1 Mattress Type Adjustment to measured shoulder width Hard Subtract 2cm Medium Subtract 2-5cm Soft Subtract 5-8cm Pillow Top Subtract 2-5cm That is, using the adjusted shoulder width an Nci can be calculated which is compensated for the nature of the mattress (and also any pillow top). 5 Turning now to the pillow, different manufacturing techniques have different ways of measuring the resilience of the pillow. For latex pillows there is a standard referred to as "indent deflection loading" or IDL which utilizes the pressure or weight required to compress by 40% a block of foam typically one foot by one foot in area to 10 be compressed and eight inches thick. Very soft latex or foam pillows which compress to a substantial degree have an IDL of typically 6-8 whereas "hard" latex or foam pillows which only compress a small amount have an IDL of typically 10-15. Pillows made from polyurethane foam, or latex, use a different measuring 15 criterion, namely the mass or density of the foam material expressed in kilograms per cubic meter. "Soft" pillows are typically 50-65 kg/m 3 whilst "hard" pillows are typically 70-75 kg/m 3 . In addition, pillows made from polyurethane or latex foam use a still further 20 standard rating which utilises two letters and a pair of two digit numbers. "Soft" foam pillows have a rating such as VF52-40, or OP35-110 or HF18-35 whereas "hard" foam pillows have a rating such as AA15-60, or AA17-80 or LR38-40. These figures need to be modified somewhat if the pillow is provided with an array of vertical holes (eg 5mm in diameter) and/or horizontal channels, both of which reduce the effective 25 hardness. 7 3V0:)U-tAU-U I With the above in mind it is possible to draw up a selection table which enables a pillow to be selected once the neck compression index, and preferably the compensated neck compression index, has been calculated. Table II is such a selection table. 5 Table II Compensated Latex Pillow Latex Pillow Foam Pillow NCi Range IDL Range kg/m 3 range Hardness & Density Grade 3-4 8-9 50-60 HS18-35 4-5 9-10 65 VF52-40 5-6 10-12 70 ST29-60; LR38-40 6-8 12-15 75 MA25-60; AA17-80; AA15-60 A preferred embodiment of the present invention is particularly applicable to accommodation establishments such as hotels, motels, and the like. Such establishments pride themselves on offering their customers a good night's sleep 10 which naturally requires that the customer, mattress and pillow be matched to the maximum possible extent. This can be achieved in accordance with the preferred embodiment as follows. The accommodation establishment normally has a single type (or a restricted 15 number of types) of mattress throughout all its bedrooms. Thus the establishment can select, say, four different types of pillows which cover the expected range of uncompensated neck compression indices for substantially all their customers. These pillows are then placed in corresponding colour coded pillow slips and all four types of pillows are provided for each bed in each room. In addition, each room is 20 provided with the device of Fig. 3 and instructions (labelled Personal Pillow Selection) to the room occupant to use the device of Fig. 3 to measure his NCi. Once this has been calculated it falls within one of the ranges of pillows and so the correspondingly coloured pillow slip is determined and the correct pillow thereby 8 5065D-AU-I) selected. The uncompensated Nci can be used because the nature of the mattress is known beforehand. In another embodiment, a mail order pillow purchasing business can be 5 conducted in which the customers using a personal measuring kit determine their weight and their neck and head dimensions and supply these together with their details of their mattress to the vendor. The vendor then calculates the compensated NCi and determines a suitable pillow which is then either fabricated or selected from the range of pillows on offer by different pillow manufacturers. 10 In a still further embodiment, the mail-order pillow purchasing business can be conducted via a website and the Internet. In particular, in this embodiment the device of Fig. 3 is not required to be utilised by the prospective purchaser. Instead, to ascertain the width of the purchaser's shoulder, the purchaser uses a conventional 15 webcam (or camera able to take a photograph and send it via the Internet to a distant destination) to take a head and shoulders photograph 71 (similar to a passport photograph) of themselves as illustrated in Fig. 8. The photograph 71 is then transmitted to the website of the vendor and appears to the purchaser as illustrated in Fig. 9. The purchaser is then able to translate his image relative to two intersecting 20 markers 72, 73 illustrated by dashed lines in Fig. 9, thereby resulting in the situation as illustrated in Fig. 10. Here the purchaser's left ear is aligned with the vertical marker 72, and the top of the shoulders are aligned with the horizontal marker 73. This establishes the purchaser's photograph in relation to a template stored in the computer which operates the vendor's website. 25 Next the vendor displays on the screen, a marker line 75 indicating the horizontal distance to the right of a baseline 74 aligned with the purchaser's left ear (as seen in Fig. 11), the marker line 75 initially being illustrated by a broken line. Associated with the marker line 75 is a screen display 76 which displays a distance in 30 centimetres which represents the length of the arrow extending from the baseline 74 to the marker line 75. Initially this distance in centimetres is, say, 15 cm. 9 3UR3D-AU-UI The purchaser then moves the marker line to the right as seen in Fig. 11 so that the marker line 75 is flush with the left shoulder of the purchaser as indicated by a dot-dash line in Fig. 11. This causes the screen display 76 to increase to, say, 18 cm which is the width of the purchaser's shoulder which is then either manually or 5 automatically entered into the data being collected by the vendor and from which the neck compression index is to be calculated. As mentioned previously, the inventor has observed that head size differs little from one individual to another. This is supported by anthropometry studies such as 10 those conducted amongst British navy personnel and reported in the book "The Measure of a Man and a Woman" published in 2002. Consequently, it is known that for, say 99% of purchasers, the length of the neck and head is the same and is approximately 27-28 cm. Since the scale on the photograph is the same in the vertical direction as in the horizontal direction, an assumed head height of 27.5 cm enables the 15 distance of the marker line 75 from the baseline 74 to be calculated with acceptable accuracy, and displayed in the screen display 76. Consequently, as the position of the marker line 75 is varied, so the calculated distance displayed in the screen display 76 is also varied, all based on the assumed height of the head and neck. 20 The foregoing describes only some 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. In this specification, inferences to the masculine gender are to be taken to 25 include the feminine gender, and vice versa. The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "having" or "including" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of". 10

Claims (9)

1. A method of selecting a pillow from a set of pillows to suit the physique of a user, said method comprising the steps of: (i) ascertaining the width of a shoulder of said user, (ii) ascertaining the weight of said user, (iii) from the results of steps (i) and (ii) calculating a neck compression index comprising the user's weight divided by their shoulder width, and (iv) selecting a pillow approximating to the calculated neck compression index from a set of pillows arranged in order of increasing hardness to correspond with increasing magnitude of neck compression index.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 including the further step of: (v) modifying step (i) to calculate an adjusted shoulder width taking into account the nature of the mattress to result in a compensated neck compression index.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 including the further step of: (vi) enclosing different pillows within different pillow slips whereby step (vii) comprises selecting a different pillow slip.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 including the further step of: (viii) arranging for each of said different pillow slips to be a different colour.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 including the step of: (ix) using the device claimed in any one of claims I to 8 of Australian Patent No. 2006 251 849 in carrying out step (i).

6. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 and carried out by a guest of an accommodation establishment in accordance with instructions provided by said accommodation establishment.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 and carried out by a person visiting a website via a communications link. 11

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said communications link comprises the internet.

9. A method of selecting a pillow to suit the physique of a user, said method being substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 or 8-11 of the drawings. Dated this 26 th day of February 2013 HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE PTY LIMITED BY: FRASER OLD & SOHN Patent Attorneys for the Applicant 12