EP3505017A1

EP3505017A1 - Pillow

Info

Publication number: EP3505017A1
Application number: EP18212058.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luca SCUDIERI
Original assignee: MeRes Srl
Current assignee: MeRes Srl
Priority date: 2017-12-28
Filing date: 2018-12-12
Publication date: 2019-07-03
Also published as: IL263762A; US20190191898A1

Abstract

A pillow (10), comprising an external envelope (12) made from a three-dimensional breathable, fireproof, and antibacterial fabric, is disclosed. The external envelope (12) encloses at least one inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material. The external envelope (12) completely envelopes the inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material, so that the inner surface of such external envelope (12) fully covers the outer surface of such inner breathable layer (14). The external envelope (12) and the inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material are reciprocally coupled in a removable manner. The external envelope (12) is provided with opening means (18) configured for making it possible to extract the inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material from such external envelope (12). Between the external envelope (12) and the inner breathable layer (14) there is conveniently interposed at least one intermediate ergonomic layer (16) made from a foamy and fireproof material. The intermediate ergonomic layer (16) is externally coupled with the envelope (12) in a removable manner and is configured for at least partially enclosing the inner breathable layer (14). The intermediate ergonomic layer (16) is also irremovably coupled with the inner breathable layer (14) in correspondence with their respective contact surfaces.

Description

The present invention relates to a pillow. More specifically, the present invention relates to a pillow that can be used in hospital applications or in other sectors such as the civil, naval, automotive, aeronautical or railway ones.
A pillow, just like a mattress, plays a fundamental role in the sleep quality of a person. As a matter of fact, in order for a rest to be effective and to prevent one from waking up with pains and aches, his/her head and neck shall be aligned with the rest of the body. Therefore, the function of a pillow is to allow the body to remain in a correct position during the sleep stage, while also facilitating breathing.
Specific pillows are known for some time which are used, in particular, by persons who shall stay in bed for extended periods of time, typically during a hospitalization, or by immobilized persons who live at home. These pillows feature orthopaedic characteristics that can be classified into two categories: biomechanical characteristics and microclimatic characteristics. The biomechanical characteristics concern pillow elasticity, tensile strength, and compression strength. Conversely, the microclimatic characteristics typically concern humidity resistance and thermal capacity, which concur to develop a given contact temperature and humidity between the pillow and the person laid thereon. Besides having the above-mentioned orthopaedic characteristics, sanitary pillows shall also be fireproof, hypoallergenic, anti-decubitus (i.e. they shall prevent and heal skin injuries caused by decubitus) and strongly breathable, in particular in the zone that is in contact with the user or patient.
At present, different types of pillows, called sanitary pillows, are known, which adopt different technical solutions. One of the most known solutions is a so-called "memory foam" pillow, i.e. a pillow made from a viscoelastic polyurethane foam which deforms under the human body's weight and heat. These pillows memorize the shape of the user's head and deform correspondingly. Once the head's weight is removed, the pillow quickly recovers its initial shape.
An alternative to the "memory foam" pillow consists of a latex pillow, which is made from a natural latex processed in such a way as to generate a foamy material which strength and elasticity is imparted to via a vulcanization process. Other types of pillows also exist, such as, for instance the Waterlily™ pillow (also called water foamed pillow, obtained through a polyurethane foam processing process), a goose feather pillow, a three-dimensional polymer, or 3D polymer, pillow, usually made from a polyester polymer, or a water pillow.
A drawback of the prior art pillows consists in that each of them features a number of advantages concerning some of the above-mentioned characteristics, but also a number of disadvantages concerning other characteristics. For instance, a "memory foam" pillow features optimum ergonomic and orthopaedic properties, but is little breathable. A latex pillow is ergonomic and easy to wash, but it is not orthopaedic nor breathable nor anti-decubitus. Another problem of the prior art pillows also relates to a poor durability of their correct shape.
Document US 2009/311933 A1 discloses a fireproof pillow made from a low resilience polyurethane foam. The fireproof layer and the layer made from polyurethane foam are simply sandwiched, and this document does not specify whether it is possible to separate these two layers or not.
Conversely, document CA 2897584 A1 illustrates a multilayer pillow provided with a plurality of layers made from different materials, superimposed to each other. At least one of these layers consists of a bag containing water.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a pillow that is capable of solving the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in an extremely simple, cost-effective, and particularly functional manner.
In details, an object of the present invention is to provide a pillow that combines all advantages of the prior art pillows together, so as to be, in particular, fireproof, comfortable, ergonomic, orthopaedic, antiallergic, breathable, anti-decubitus, handy, durable, and antibacterial.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pillow that retains its correct shape for a long time.
These objects according to the present invention are achieved by providing a pillow as set forth in claim 1.
Further characteristics of the invention are highlighted by the dependent claims, which are an integral part of the present disclosure.
In general, a pillow according to the present invention can comprise:

one or more ergonomic layers made from a foamy material and one central breathable layer made from a three-dimensional polymeric material; or
a plurality of layers made from a three-dimensional polymeric breathable material, which perform the two functions of ergonomic design and breathability to different extents; or
one layer only made from a three-dimensional polymeric breathable material.

The characteristics and advantages of a pillow according to the present invention will be more apparent from the following, explanatory and non-limitative, description, which makes reference to the attached schematic drawings, wherein:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a pillow according to the present invention;
figure 2 is a cross sectional view of a first embodiment of a pillow according to the present invention; and
figure 3 is a cross sectional view of a second embodiment of a pillow according to the present invention.

With reference to the figures, they show a number of embodiments of a pillow according to the present invention, which is identified as a whole by the reference numeral 10. The pillow 10 comprises an external envelope, or surface layer, 12, made from a three-dimensional breathable, fireproof, and antibacterial fabric. The external envelope 12 is made from a preferably non-quilted fabric. As shown in the embodiment depicted in figure 3, the external envelope 12 encloses at least one inner breathable layer 14 made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material. The external envelope 12 completely envelopes the inner breathable layer 14 made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material, so that the inner surface of such external envelope 12 completely covers the outer surface of such inner breathable layer 14. The external envelope 12 and the inner breathable layer 14 made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material are removably reciprocally coupled together. The external envelope 12 is thus provided with opening means 18 configured for making it possible to extract the inner breathable layer 14 made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material from such external envelope 12.
In the embodiment of figure 2, between the external envelope 12 and the inner breathable layer 14 there is further interposed at least one intermediate ergonomic layer 16 made from a foamy and fireproof material, externally coupled with the envelope 12 in a removable manner and configured for at least partially enclosing the inner breathable layer 14. The intermediate ergonomic layer 16 is also irremovably coupled with the inner breathable layer 14 in correspondence with their respective contact surfaces.
Preferably, the foamy material used for the intermediate ergonomic layer 16 is of the shape memory type. This material is possibly formed of a shape memory polyurethane foam, also briefly referred to as "memory foam". Such material is possibly provided with one or more through holes in order to achieve appropriate breathability characteristics.
According to a preferred embodiment of the pillow 10, the three-dimensional polymeric material that the inner breathable layer 14 is made from consists of a polymer of the class of polyesters. More specifically, the inner breathable layer 14 consists of a plurality of elastic components (springs) made from a three-dimensional polymeric material, preferably a polymer of the class of polyesters.
Coupling the intermediate ergonomic layer 16 made from a foam material with the inner breathable layer 14 made from a three-dimensional polymeric material results in a synergic technical effect that goes beyond a simple summation of the advantages achievable by such layers if taken individually. In fact, these two layers being used together, the foamy material that the intermediate ergonomic layer 16 is made from receives the body's weight and fits its pressure, thus leaving the three-dimensional polymeric material of the inner breathable layer 14 sufficiently little compressed as to retain its own breathability.
Preferably, the shape memory foamy material that the intermediate ergonomic layer 16 is made from has a density ranging from 40 kg/m³ to 60 kg/m³. Even more preferably this density substantially equals 50 kg/m³.
Preferably the three-dimensional polymeric material that the inner breathable layer 14 is made from has a density ranging from 20 kg/m³ to 40 kg/m³. Even more preferably this density substantially equals 30 kg/m³. It is obviously possible to select other density values both for the shape memory foamy material and for the three-dimensional polymeric material.
Each of the inner breathable layer 14 and the intermediate ergonomic layer 16 is obtained starting from a respective slab of material. Conversely, the external envelope 12 is obtained from a three-dimensional fabric in order to achieve the highest breathability characteristics.
The pillow 10 as a whole can be manufactured in the standard dimensions for a pillow, such as, for instance, 43 x 72 x 13.5 cm. The overall thickness of the pillow 10, including its respective inner layers, can range from about 13 cm to about 18 cm.
The procedure to obtain the pillow 10 is the following:

first of all, one or more slabs of a shape memory foamy material that make up the intermediate ergonomic layer 16 are manufactured. These slabs are realized in a bag-like shape, i.e. with at least one inner cavity suitable for receiving the inner breathable layer 14;
then at least one slab of the three-dimensional polymeric material that makes up the inner breathable layer 14 is inserted into the inner cavity of the "bag";
the thus obtained assembly is then inserted into the external envelope 12 made from a three-dimensional breathable fabric.

It has been thus demonstrated that a pillow according to the present invention achieves the previously highlighted objects.
The pillow of the thus conceived present invention is, in any case, susceptible of numerous modifications and variants, all falling into the same inventive concept; moreover, all details are replaceable with technically equivalent elements. In practice, the material used, as well as shapes and dimensions, can be whatsoever depending on the technical requirements.
Therefore, the scope of protection of the invention is that defined by the attached claims.

Claims

A pillow (10) comprising an external envelope (12) made from a three-dimensional breathable, fireproof, and antibacterial fabric, said external envelope (12) enclosing at least one inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material, wherein the external envelope (12) fully envelopes the inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material, so that the inner surface of said external envelope (12) fully covers the outer surface of said inner breathable layer (14), wherein the external envelope (12) and the inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material are reciprocally coupled in a removable manner, and wherein the external envelope (12) is provided with opening means (18) configured for making it possible to extract the inner breathable layer (14) made from a fireproof three-dimensional polymeric material from said external envelope (12).
The pillow (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that between the external envelope (12) and the inner breathable layer (14) there is further interposed at least one intermediate ergonomic layer (16) made from a foamy and fireproof material, said at least one intermediate ergonomic layer (16) being externally coupled with the envelope (12) in a removable manner and being configured for at least partially enclosing the inner breathable layer (14), said intermediate ergonomic layer (16) also being coupled irremovably with the inner breathable layer (14) in correspondence with their respective contact surfaces.
The pillow (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the foamy material that the intermediate ergonomic layer (16) is made from is of a shape memory type.
The pillow (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the shape memory foamy material has a density ranging from 40 kg/m³ to 60 kg/m³.
The pillow (10) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the shape memory foamy material is provided with one or more through holes.
The pillow (10) according to any claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the shape memory foamy material is a polyurethane foam.
The pillow (10) according to any claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the three-dimensional polymeric material that the inner breathable layer (14) is made from consists of a polymer of the class of polyesters.
The pillow (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the three-dimensional polymeric material that the inner breathable layer (14) is made from has a density ranging from 20 kg/m³ to 40 kg/m³.
The pillow (10) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the inner breathable layer (14) consists of a plurality of elastic components made from a polymer of the class of polyesters.