CN114585279A

CN114585279A - Head rest

Info

Publication number: CN114585279A
Application number: CN202080071423.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 斯科特·哈索尔
Original assignee: Nott Nordy Co ltd
Current assignee: Nott Nordy Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-11
Filing date: 2020-10-09
Publication date: 2022-06-03
Also published as: US20220322831A1; EP4017321A1; WO2021068036A1; EP4017321A4; AU2020363436A1

Abstract

A headrest has a flexible tensioning strap, a forehead strap, and a shaped cushioning wedge member connected between the strap and the forehead strap. The tensioning strap anchors the lower edge of the wedge member that acts as a fulcrum, and the wedge member includes sufficient rigid structural integrity to act as a load arm to exert a rearward load force on the forehead strap to resist the force exerted on the front of the wedge member by the user's neck.

Description

Head rest

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a headrest for use in a seating position.

Background

Proper body positioning in a seated position, especially for positioning of the head, is especially challenging.

Various devices have been developed to facilitate sleep in a seated position, including U-shaped filled or inflated pillows that are behind the neck. While these pillows may prevent the head from leaning laterally to some extent, they are often insufficient to keep the head back. Furthermore, airline safety regulations may not allow for attaching a headrest to a headrest of an airline seat.

Likewise, various other prior art devices have been designed to hold the head backwards in particular without being attached to the headrest, including those using a rigid support frame anchored between the user's back and the seat, including US 9833025B 2(KNAPP) 2017, 12, 5 days, using a rigid frame comprising a pair of rods, US 7004545B 2 (milller) 2006, 2, 28 days, using a rigid support for the head holding a backward fixing means, US 9283878B 2(IPNOS techins LLC (IPNOS technologies limited)) 2016, 3, 15 days, 2016, having a rigid member to fix the head using a support device 105, and US 10343572B 2(KNAPP)2019, 7, 9 days, using a locking bracket and a forehead support.

However, these rigid frames are bulky and hinder portability.

Other devices circumvent the rigid frame, including US D670035S (MIETH et al) 10 months 30 days 2012, which uses flexible tension straps connected to head attachments above and in front of the head, US 2015/0042143 a1(MCCARTER et al) 2015 2 months 12 days using safety straps located on the helmet and applying tension to the helmet, US 4560201 a (SCOTT) 1985 years 12 months 24 days which uses a similar arrangement to MCCARTER et al, but which can be wrapped around the forearm, US 8820838B 1 (PALMER) 2014 9 months 2 days which discloses a similar arrangement attached to a baseball cap, and US 2011/0054372 a1 (murraghan) 2011 months 3 days which uses a sheet connected to the cap.

However, these tensioned strap-only headrests may not be sufficient to hold the head backward and apply undesirable compressive forces to the cervical spine when under tension.

The present invention seeks to provide a headrest which will overcome or substantially ameliorate at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least provide an alternative.

It will be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms part of the common general knowledge in the art, in australia or in any other country.

Disclosure of Invention

A headrest is provided herein that does not have the cumbersome rigid frame of the prior art arrangement and further improves head restraint capability compared to the non-rigid arrangement of the prior art.

The present headrest includes a flexible tensioning strap and a forehead strap that holds the head back in a natural equilibrium position to enable rest while seated. The headrest further includes a shaped cushioning wedge member connected between the strap and the forehead strap.

The wedge-shaped member has a substantially flat rear portion continuing from the strip and a front portion which is convex in vertical cross-section. The front portion transitions back to its lower edge to meet the strap and to its upper region where the forehead strap is attached.

The convex front surface extends forwardly between the lower edge and the upper region such that, in use, when the tension strap is frictionally anchored between the back of a user and the seat, the tension strap anchors the lower edge of the wedge member, which therefore acts as a fulcrum.

In addition, the wedge member includes sufficient rigid structural integrity to act as a load arm to exert a rearward load force on the forehead strap to resist forces exerted on the front of the wedge member by the user's neck.

Thus, the present device has no rigid frame and can therefore be more easily manipulated and stowed, including by rolling up to the compact form disclosed herein, than prior art rigid frame arrangements.

Furthermore, the wedge-shaped members of the present structural ensemble can exert greater rearward head restraint forces over the head and at greater horizontal angles than the prior art arrangements described above, as compared to the prior art non-rigid frame arrangements that employ tensioning straps immediately behind the head.

The wedge member may transition rearwardly at its lower region to define a lower surface which, in use, bears downwardly on the shoulder of a user.

The lower surface may be at 45 ° or greater relative to a plane defined by the seat.

The wedge member may include structural sides on both sides of the core.

The structural side may include a semi-resilient foam member.

The structural side may be shaped to define a convex curvature of the wedge-shaped member.

The structure side may be shaped to extend more forward at its lower region.

The core may comprise a less dense material than the structural side.

The structural sides and core may be covered with a material covering.

When the user's neck is pressed against the front in use, the material cover may be pressed inwardly into the core to pull the sides of the structure closer and wedge against the sides of the neck for lateral stability.

The wedge member may further include a structural backing plate at a rear thereof.

The structural backing plate may include a longitudinal configuration along the vertical axis for enhancing its bending resilience relative to the vertical axis.

The forehead strap may comprise a relatively thin, stretchable, and breathable material.

The forehead strap may comprise a thinner material than the material of the strap.

The forehead strap may widen toward its front.

The headrest may further include a flap folded over an upper edge of the wedge-shaped member to secure the forehead strap thereunder.

The flap may be secured across the front of the wedge member along the front edge and may be attached to the rear of the wedge member at the rear edge of the wedge member.

The rear edge may be attached along the vertical length of the rear of the wedge member using hook-and-loop fasteners.

The headrest may be provided with a plurality of forehead straps having different diameters, and each of the plurality of forehead straps may be selected according to the size of the head.

The flap may include an inner hidden pocket within which a plurality of forehead straps may be stored.

The lower edge of the strap may include a transverse fastener that is attached to the transverse fastening strap along the strap and on opposite sides of the strap when the headrest may be rolled up.

The lateral fasteners of the lower edge may be located on the rear surface of the strip and the lateral fasteners along the strip may be located on the front surface of the strip.

The strap may further comprise a transverse carrying strap between the transverse fasteners.

The strap may comprise neoprene.

The belt strip may comprise a sufficient length to extend to the waist region.

The strap may comprise a sufficient length to avoid being seated in use.

The strip may comprise a length of about 50 centimeters from the wedge-shaped member.

In use, the pillow may allow hands-free adjustment, wherein the user may adjust the tension applied by the straps by tilting forward to release the straps, thereby tilting the head forward or backward to re-engage the straps before lying back again to apply the user adjustable tension.

The strip may be about 18 centimeters wide.

The band may include an upper narrow chest region segment and a lower widened waist region segment.

The widened waist region may comprise a width substantially the same as a width of the wedge-shaped member.

Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed.

Drawings

Although there may be any other form which may fall within the scope of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a rear perspective view of a headrest being worn by a user;

FIG. 2 shows a side perspective view of the headrest;

figures 3 and 4 illustrate internal horizontal cross-sectional views of shaped cushioning wedge members of a headrest according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates the application of a headrest and the various forces applied thereby to restrain the head;

FIG. 6 shows a front perspective view of the headrest;

FIG. 7 illustrates a rear perspective view of the headrest;

FIG. 8 shows the head restraint rolled up into a compact form; and

figure 9 illustrates the physical forces exerted by the cushioning wedge members.

Detailed Description

A headrest 100 includes a flexible material tensioning strap 101, a holding forehead strap 102, and a shaped cushioning wedge member 103 connected between the strap 101 and the forehead strap 102.

As best shown in fig. 5, the wedge-shaped member 103 has a generally flat rear portion 106 continuing from the strip 101 at its lower edge 107.

The wedge-shaped member 103 comprises a front portion 108 that is generally convex in side view vertical cross-section, the front portion 108 transitioning back to the lower edge 107 to meet the strap 101, and the front portion 108 transitioning back to connect to an upper region 109 of the forehead strap 102.

As shown in fig. 5, and with further reference to fig. 9, lower edge 107 serves as fulcrum 113 when tensioning strap 101 is frictionally anchored between the user's spine and seat 110. The wedge-shaped member 103 includes sufficient rigid structural integrity to act as a load arm 114 to exert a rearward load force 111 on the forehead strap 102 to resist a force 112 exerted on the front portion 108 by the user's neck 119.

As further shown in fig. 5, the wedge-shaped member 103 may transition rearwardly at a relatively steep angle at a lower region thereof so as to define a lower surface 115 at an angle of 45 ° or more relative to a plane defined by the seat, which lower surface 115 may bear downwardly on the shoulder of the user in use, thus additionally pivoting the wedge-shaped member 103 rearwardly about the lower edge 107/fulcrum 113 to apply an additional rearward load force 111 to the forehead strap 102 to hold the head rearwardly.

The wedge-shaped member 103 may include internal structural members to provide sufficient resilience to function as the load arm 114. The internal structural member may comprise a foam piece.

Referring to fig. 3, the wedge-shaped member 103 may include structural sides 116 on both sides of the core 117. The structural side 116 may comprise a semi-resilient foam member that may be shaped to define the convex shape shown in fig. 5. The structural side 116 may be shaped to extend more forward at its lower region to conform forward around the neck region as compared to the upper head region.

The core 117 may comprise a less dense foam or a non-unitary piece, such as a filler, a crushed foam, or the like. The core 117 may comprise a memory foam.

The wedge-shaped member 103 may be covered at the front within a material cover 118. The rear of the wedge-shaped member 103 may comprise the same material as the strap 101, such as neoprene.

In an embodiment, the core 117 may allow for a gap between its front surface and the material cover 118.

As shown in fig. 4, when the user's neck 119 is pressed against the front 108, the material covering 118 may be pressed inward into the core 117 to draw the structural sides 112 closer (as shown) while wedging against the sides of the neck 119, thus providing lateral support to prevent the head from leaning laterally.

Wedge-shaped member 103 may further include a structural backing 129 such as cardboard or plastic. The structural backing plate 129 may include a longitudinal configuration along the vertical axis (e.g., corrugations or grooves) for enhancing its bending resilience relative to the vertical axis.

However, in embodiments, the forehead straps 102 may be adjustable, and according to a preferred embodiment, the forehead straps 102 have a fixed length. The forehead strap 102 may have a relatively thin, slightly stretchable, and breathable material to comfortably engage across the forehead without causing sweat to accumulate. As shown in fig. 5, the forehead strap 102 may widen toward its front.

In embodiments, the forehead strap may include a pair of lateral buttons or similar attachments, such as disposed at about the location of the ears to which the mask may be attached, rather than around the ears.

As shown in fig. 1, 6, and 7, the flap 120 may be folded over the upper edge of the wedge-shaped member 103 to secure the forehead strap 102 thereunder. As shown in fig. 6, the flap 120 may be secured across the front 108 of the wedge member 103 along a front edge 121 thereof and attached to the rear of the wedge member 103 at a rear edge 122 of the flap 120. The rear edge 122 may be attached using hook-and-loop fasteners. In particular, the trailing edge 122 may include hook strips attached anywhere along the length of the loop backing 123.

The headrest 102 may be provided with a plurality of forehead straps 102, each of the plurality of forehead straps 102 being selectable depending on the size of the head of the person. The flap 120 may include an internal hidden pocket (not shown) thereunder within which a plurality of these forehead straps, along with other accessories such as earphones, eye patches, etc., may be stored. Alternatively, the flap 120 may allow the user to use another forehead strap 102 of his own choosing.

The headrest 100 may be rolled up in the manner shown in fig. 8. The headrest 100 may be attached to itself using hook-and-loop fasteners. In particular, referring to fig. 1, the lower rear edge of the strap 101 may include a rear transverse fastening strap 124 attached to a front transverse (width) fastening strap 125 along the strap 101.

To roll up the headrest 101, the wedge member 103 may be rolled up along the rear surface of the strap 101 until the rear fastening strap 104 may be attached to the front fastening strap 125. The strap 101 may include a front transverse carrying strap 126 between the rear fastening strap 124 and the front fastening strap 125.

Preferably, the strap 101 comprises neoprene, which has been found to provide sufficient resilience but slight scalability, comfort and frictional engagement capability to wedge behind the user's back. The neoprene may be about 4mm thick. In embodiments, the neoprene may include perforations for breathing air and reducing perspiration (such as toward the upper back, neck region, among others). Such perforations may further reduce the overall weight of the pillow 100 by about 5%.

As shown in fig. 1, the strap 101 may have a sufficient length to extend along the chest region 127 of the user. In a preferred embodiment, the band 101 has a sufficient length to additionally extend along the waist region 128. However, the strap 101 is preferably not too long to avoid sitting in use.

In this regard, the strip 101 comprises a length of about 50 centimeters from the wedge-shaped member 103.

In an embodiment, the strip 101 may be adjusted in length by folding the strip 101 back on itself. For example, referring to FIG. 7, the back transverse fastening strip 124 may include hook fasteners. Further, the entire or substantially the entire rear surface of the strap 101 may include loop fasteners. Likewise, the user may fold the bottom end of the strap 101 back onto itself such that the rear transverse fastening strip is engaged and retained along the strap 101. In this way, for example, the user may adjust the length of the strap to between about 20cm-50 cm.

The length of the strap 101 allows the user to adjust the tension applied thereby by tilting forward to release the strap 101, wherein the head may tilt forward or backward to re-engage the strap 101 before lying back again in order to apply the user adjustable tension.

The strip 101 may be wide enough to provide sufficient frictional engagement and prevent slippage during use. The strip 101 may be about 18 centimeters wide. The strap 101 may comprise an upper narrow section 104 at the chest region 127, which upper narrow section 104 widens to a lower wider section 105 at the waist region 108 to obtain a maximum frictional grip at the lower wider section 105 extending further back against the seat. Further, when the pillow 100 is rolled up in the manner shown in fig. 8, the wider section 105 may encapsulate the wedge-shaped member 103. The narrow section may reduce the overall weight of the pillow 100. The wider section 105 may comprise a width that is substantially the same as the width of the wedge-shaped member 103.

In an embodiment, a smaller version of the pillow 100 may be manufactured for use by a child.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, since obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the term "about" or similar terms should be construed as being within 10% of the stated value.

Claims

1. A headrest, comprising:

a flexible tensioning strap;

a forehead strap;

a shaped cushioning wedge member connected between the strap and the forehead strap, wherein:

the wedge member has a generally flat rear portion continuing from the strap and a front portion that is convex in vertical cross-section, the front portion transitioning rearwardly to a lower edge of the wedge member to meet the strap and rearwardly to an upper region of the wedge member connecting the forehead strap, and wherein the convex front surface extends forwardly between the lower edge and the upper region such that, in use, when the tensioning strap is sandwiched between a user's back and a seat, the tensioning strap anchors the lower edge of the wedge member acting as a fulcrum, and the wedge member includes sufficient structural integrity to act as a load arm to exert a rearward load force on the forehead strap to resist a force exerted by the user's neck on the front portion of the wedge member.

2. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the wedge member transitions rearwardly at a lower region thereof to define a lower surface that bears downwardly in use on the user's shoulders.

3. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the lower surface is at 45 ° or greater relative to a plane defined by the seat.

4. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the wedge member includes structural sides of both sides of the core.

5. The headrest of claim 4, wherein the structural side includes a semi-resilient foam.

6. The headrest of claim 4, wherein the structural side is shaped to define a convex curvature of the wedge-shaped member.

7. The headrest of claim 4, wherein the structural side is shaped to extend more forwardly at a lower region of the structural side.

8. The headrest of claim 4, wherein the core comprises a less dense material than the structural side.

9. The headrest of claim 4, wherein the structural sides and the core are covered with a material covering.

10. The headrest of claim 9, wherein when the user's neck is pressed against the front in use, the material cover presses inwardly into the core and pulls the structure side closer to wedge against the side of the neck for lateral stability.

11. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the wedge member further comprises a structural back plate at the rear of the wedge member.

12. The headrest of claim 11, wherein the structural back plate includes a longitudinal configuration along a vertical axis for enhancing bending flexibility of the structural back plate relative to the vertical axis.

13. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the forehead strap includes a relatively thin, stretchable, and breathable material.

14. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the forehead strap comprises a thinner material than a material of the strap.

15. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the forehead strap widens toward a front portion of the forehead strap.

16. The headrest of claim 1, further comprising a flap folded over an upper edge of the wedge member to secure the forehead strap beneath the flap.

17. The headrest of claim 16, wherein the flap is secured across the front of the wedge member along a front edge and is attachable to a rear of the wedge member at a rear edge of the wedge member.

18. The headrest of claim 17, wherein the rear edge is attached along a vertical length of the rear portion of the wedge member using hook-and-loop fasteners.

19. The headrest of claim 16, wherein the headrest is provided with a plurality of forehead straps having different diameters, each of the plurality of forehead straps being selectable according to head size.

20. The headrest of claim 19, wherein flap includes an interior concealed pocket within which the plurality of forehead straps are stored.

21. The headrest of claim 1, wherein a lower edge of the strap includes lateral fasteners that attach to lateral fastening straps along and on opposite sides of the strap when the headrest is rolled up.

22. The headrest of claim 21, wherein the lateral fasteners of the lower edge are located on a rear surface of the strap and the lateral fasteners along the strap are located on a front surface of the strap.

23. The headrest of claim 21, wherein the strap further comprises a lateral carrying strap between the lateral fasteners.

24. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the strap comprises neoprene.

25. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the strap comprises a sufficient length to extend to a lumbar region.

26. The headrest of claim 25, wherein the strap comprises a length that avoids being seated short of in use.

27. The headrest of claim 26, wherein the strap comprises a length of about 50 centimeters from the wedge member.

28. A headrest according to claim 1 wherein, in use, the user can adjust the tension applied by the strap by tilting forward to release the strap to cause the head to tilt forward or backward to re-engage the strap before lying back again to apply a user adjustable tension.

29. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the strap is about 18 centimeters wide.

30. The headrest of claim 29, wherein the strap includes an upper narrow chest area section and a lower widened waist area section.

31. The headrest of claim 30, wherein the widened lumbar region includes a width substantially the same as a width of the wedge-shaped member.

32. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the strap is adjustable in length by folding the strap back on itself, wherein the strap includes a rear lateral fastening strip at a lower edge of the strap and a majority of the rear surface of the strap includes a corresponding fastening material, the rear lateral fastening strip and the corresponding fastening material including a hook-and-loop fastener such that the rear lateral fastening strip engages and is retained along the corresponding fastening material of the strap when a bottom edge of the strap is folded back on itself.