FI3687342T3

FI3687342T3 - Adaptable support cushion

Info

Publication number: FI3687342T3
Application number: FIEP18779328.6T
Authority: FI
Inventors: Adam Roman Szpyt
Original assignee: Bett1 De Gmbh
Priority date: 2017-09-28
Filing date: 2018-09-24
Publication date: 2023-07-19
Also published as: WO2019063476A1; DK3687342T3; PT3687342T; LT3687342T; RS64442B1; DE202017105925U1; EP3687342B1; ES2949969T3; PL3687342T3; HUE062534T2; HRP20230725T1; EP3687342A1; SI3687342T1

Claims

1 18779328.6 ADAPTABLE SUPPORT CUSHION Field of the invention The invention relates generally to the field of pillows, such as support pillows, sleeping pillows, neck pillows, neck support pillows or the like.

More particularly, the invention relates to a support cushion for supporting a head and/or neck of a user of the support cushion.

Background to the invention

A variety of different support pillows have been developed over the past decades.

These can differ, for example, in terms of a geometry, a dimension, a filling material, a thickness and/or a hardness.

However, conventional support cushions are usually not customizable to a user’s needs and/or requirements.

Conventional support cushions therefore often have to be offered in different variants by one manufacturer in order to at least partially meet the individual requirements and/or needs of different users.

Document US 2007/245493 Al discloses a support cushion according to the generic concept of claim 1.

Summary of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention advantageously allow the support cushion according to the invention to be adapted by a user themselves.

Furthermore, the support cushion according to the invention is characterized by a particularly comfortable and soft surface.

The invention is defined by the features of claim 1.

One aspect of the invention relates to a support cushion for supporting a head and/or neck of a user.

The support pillow can be designed in particular as a sleeping pillow, a neck pillow and/or a neck support pillow.

The support cushion has an at least partially viscoelastic filling material, an inner cover which is at least partially filled with the filling material and encloses the filling material, and an outer cover which encloses the inner cover.

The inner cover has an opening through which additional filling material can be filled into the inner cover by the user and/or at least a part of the filling material can

2 18779328.6 be removed from the inner cover so that a filling volume, a thickness and/or a hardness of the support cushion can be individually adapted by the user.

In principle, the support cushion can have any geometry, such as a cube-shaped, a cubic, a cuboid, a cylindrical, a conical, and/or a spherical geometry.

The at least partially viscoelastic filling material may designate a filling material which consists at least partially of viscoelastic material and/or of material with viscoelastic material properties.

In particular, the filling material can therefore be a solid.

The viscoelastic filling material may in particular comprise a viscoelastic foam and/or a viscofoam.

It should be mentioned, however, that the filling material can also have other components which do not necessarily have viscoelastic material properties.

The inner cover may define an inner volume of the support cushion which is at least partially filled with the filling material.

Similarly, the inner volume of the support cushion can be an inner volume of the inner cover, which can be filled with the filling material.

The inner cover can be bag-shaped or any other shape.

Via the opening of the inner cover, additional filling material can be introduced into the inner volume of the inner cover and/or the support cushion in an advantageous manner, for example in addition to filling material already present in the inner volume.

Alternatively or additionally, filling material located in the inner volume can be at least partially removed from the inner volume of the inner cover and/or from the support cushion via the opening.

This allows the user to customize the support cushion by removing filling material and/or adding filling material.

In particular, the user can adapt a thickness, a height, a filling volume, a dimension, a hardness, a degree of hardness, a weight and/or a total volume of the support cushion in this way, in particular without requiring further changes and/or adaptations to the support cushion, such as opening or sewing a seam of the inner cover.

Furthermore, due to the embodiment of the support cushion according to the invention, a manufacturer of the support cushion can offer the support cushion in one variant and at the same time cover the needs of all possible users.

This in turn can allow the support cushion to be produced and marketed cost-effectively.

The outer cover may further enclose the inner cover and the filling material arranged in the inner cover.

For example, the outer cover can have an opening through which the inner cover, at least partially filled with the filling material, can be inserted into the outer cover.

The opening of the outer cover can be reversibly closable, for example

3 18779328.6 with a zipper, a hook-and-loop closure, an adhesive closure, a hook fastener, a button closure and/or a snap closure.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the inner cover is at least partially permeable to air and/or breathable.

Alternatively or additionally, the outer cover is at least partially permeable to air and/or breathable.

This can advantageously increase the deformability of the support cushion, since air can escape from the inner volume and/or flow into the inner volume.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the opening of the inner cover is a closable opening, in particular a reversibly closable and/or reclosable opening.

This may allow a user to adapt the support cushion and/or filling material multiple times without wear and tear by removing and/or adding filling material.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the support cushion comprises a closing device for reversibly closing the opening of the inner cover, wherein the closing device comprises a zipper, a button closure, a snap closure, a hook-and-loop closure, a hook fastener and/or an adhesive closure.

Such closing devices can be characterized in particular by robustness, reliability and/or long-lasting functionality.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the support cushion is substantially cuboid-shaped, wherein the inner cover and/or the support cushion has two substantially parallel long sides and two substantially parallel narrow sides, each extending transversely to the long sides.

The narrow sides are each shorter than the long sides, wherein the opening of the inner cover is formed on at least one of the narrow sides of the inner cover.

For example, a user can position their head on the support cushion such that their neck is substantially parallel to the narrow sides of the support cushion.

By arranging the opening on one of the narrow sides, it can thus be ensured that the user does not feel the opening and/or a closing device of the opening.

Overall, the user's well-being can be increased during the use of the support cushion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the inner cover has two openings.

The two openings can be arranged at two opposite narrow sides of the inner cover.

This may allow a user to fill additional filling material on the two opposing narrow sides and/or to remove filling material.

It should also be mentioned here that, alternatively or in addition to the opening on the narrow side, the opening and/or a further opening can be arranged at at least one or both long sides.

The inner cover thus has at least one opening, but may also have two, three or four openings.

4 18779328.6 According to an embodiment of the invention, the filling material is washable so that the inner cover with the filling material disposed therein and/or the entire support cushion can be washed by the user. Alternatively or additionally, the filling material is washable without shrinkage and/or without loss of a viscoelasticity, so that the inner cover with the filling material arranged therein and/or the entire support cushion can be washed by the user. This can simplify handling of the support cushion and/or save costs, such as cleaning costs. This can also increase hygiene. It should be mentioned here that the filling material may also include non-washable visco foam. According to an embodiment of the invention, the filling material comprises a visco foam which is at least partially viscoelastic and/or has viscoelastic material properties. This can significantly improve support properties of the support cushion. However, the filling material may also have additional components. In general, visco foam can refer to a foam-like material with viscoelastic material properties. According to an embodiment of the invention, the filling material comprises a plurality of flakes and/or a plurality of elongated filling material elements. For example, the flakes may denote shreds and/or shred-like elements. The flakes can have any size distribution and/or geometry. In particular, the flakes can be angular, round, oval, cube- shaped, cuboid, cubic, polygonal, and/or polygonal in shape. Different flakes of the filling material may have different dimensions and/or geometries. The elongated filling material elements may denote, for example, strip-shaped, rod-shaped, thread-shaped, and/or rope-shaped elements, which may have any cross-section, such as round, roundish, angular, rectangular, and/or polygonal. Different filling material elements can have different dimensions, lengths, geometries and/or cross-sections. According to an embodiment of the invention, the filling material and/or the visco foam has a crush hardness of 0.9 kPa to 2.5 kPa, in particular about 1.1 kPa to about 1.8 kPa. According to an embodiment of the invention, the inner cover has a stabilizing layer on each of two opposing inner surfaces of the inner cover for mechanical stabilization of the support cushion. The stabilizing layers can be attached to the inside surfaces of the inner cover, for example glued and/or sewn. The stabilizing layers can advantageously stabilize a shape and/or geometry of the support cushion. According to an embodiment of the invention, each of the stabilizing layers consists at least partly of visco foam, in

18779328.6 particular entirely of visco foam.

Alternatively or additionally, the inner surfaces of the inner cover each face the filling material.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the inner surfaces of the inner cover are each completely and/or completely covered by one of the stabilizing layers.

5 The two stabilizing layers can have identical or different thicknesses.

The stabilizing layers arranged on the inner surfaces of the inner cover can also be designed as a single piece.

According to the invention, the outer cover has a cover material, wherein a three- dimensional (3D) spacer knit is formed at least on an outside of the cover material and/or the outer cover, at least in a partial area of the outer cover.

On the outside, the cover fabric and/or the outer cover has a honeycomb-like structure, a honeycomb structure and/or a honeycomb-like mesh structure with recesses open to the outside.

The outer side of the outer cover can designate the side facing a user and/or the side facing away from the inner cover.

The spacer fabric may, for example, have a spacer structure with stitches of knitted mono- or multifilament spacer yarns.

Due to the structural design of spacer knits, they can be more stretchable than knitted spacer fabrics, which can increase comfort for the user of the support cushion, as the outer cover with spacer knit can be formed to be soft, elastic and with a pleasant feel.

In addition, the honeycomb-like structure on the outside of the support cushion can increase air circulation and moisture removal from the support cushion.

However, the honeycomb-like, outwardly open recesses are not only advantageous in terms of air exchange and moisture removal, as well as compensating for temperature fluctuations in general, but also enable increased elasticity, which provides the user with a soft feel and also allows the outer cover to adapt to the user lying on it in an optimum manner without being impaired by brittle spacer threads that are often noticeable in spacer knits.

The outer cover can, for example, be produced on a large-diameter circular knitting machine operating according to the so-called 3-way technique with a high throughput and thus high economy.

The recesses of the mesh structure are thereby preferably provided in a regular arrangement on the outer side of the cover fabric and/or the outer cover, wherein although an irregular arrangement, for example one forming a pattern, is also conceivable.

6 18779328.6

The honeycomb-like recesses open to the outside can be variable in terms of their geometry, for example round and/or oval and/or also angular in terms of their open cross- section.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the cover fabric and/or the outer cover of 3-D spacer fabric is formed of at least two layers with an upper layer forming the outer side and a fabric layer forming an inner layer of preferably polyester fibre fabric.

The inner layer can form a smooth fabric layer, which can also be jacquardized and provided with a pattern, for example, and on which the upper layer of the 3-D spacer fabric made of textured, twisted yarn, in particular multifilament yarn, can be formed towards the outside.

In this case, the honeycomb-like recesses can extend at least substantially over the entire thickness of the top layer, that is, from the outside to the inner layer or close to it, in order to allow optimum climate control with respect to the exchange of air and moisture between the two sides of the cover fabric.

In addition, the depth of the honeycomb-like recess increases the softness of the top layer of 3-D spacer fabric, which can be used to obtain an improved feel.

The cover fabric and/or the outer cover can also have a three-layer structure.

For example, the cover fabric can be a middle layer knitted to the top layer and formed with a monofilament yarn as a filler.

As a result, stabilization and a haptically often desired volumization of the 3-D spacer fabric can be achieved with simultaneous high air and moisture permeability.

According to a preferred embodiment, the monofilament yarn can be formed from polyester, but other synthetic fibres such as those formed from polyamide can also be used for this purpose.

To give the outward-facing surface or outer side of the spacer fabric a particularly smooth and pleasant feel, the surface surrounding the honeycomb-like recesses can be formed from particularly fine knitted stitches.

Studies have shown that it is particularly advantageous in terms of comfort and microclimatization if the upper layer of the spacer fabric has a weight proportion of 50% to 70%, in particular 55% to 60%, of the cover fabric and/or the outer cover.

The inner layer may account for 20% to 30%, in particular 25% to 30%, of the weight of the cover fabric and/or the outer cover.

7 18779328.6

When a filler is used, optimum results in terms of air permeability, stabilization and volumization have been obtained with a weight content of 10% to 20%, in particular 15% to 20%, of the middle layer on the cover fabric and/or outer cover.

The cover fabric and/or the outer cover may have a weight of 200 g/m? to 300 g/m?

which allows it to have the required durability and at the same time be easy to handle in terms of its weight during manufacture and use.

The outer cover can be formed on all sides of the support cushion, i.e. on the upper side, on the lower side, on the long sides and on the narrow sides.

The outer cover can completely enclose the inner cover.

However, it is also conceivable to design different sides of the support cushion and/or the outer cover in different ways.

The same formation of all sides can allow a particularly simple production.

To enable insertion and removal of the inner cover, it is advantageous if the outer cover has an at least partially circumferential closing, in particular a zipper.

The following is a summary of exemplary possible embodiments of the outer cover.

The outer cover has a cover fabric and/or is formed from a cover fabric which has a 3-D spacer knit on at least one outer side and has a honeycomb-like mesh structure with outwardly open recesses on the outer side.

The cover fabric and/or the outer cover can be formed from at least two layers of 3-D spacer fabric with an upper layer forming the outer side made of textured, twisted yarn, in particular multifilament yarn, and a layer forming an inner layer made of preferably smooth polyester yarn.

The cover fabric and/or the outer cover may be formed in three layers with a middle layer knitted with the upper layer with a monofilament yarn as filler, wherein the monofilament yarn preferably is formed of polyester or polyamide.

The honeycomb-like recesses may extend at least substantially through the thickness of the top layer and, optionally, the middle layer.

The top layer may have a weight percentage of 50% to 70%, particularly 55% to 60%, of the cover fabric and/or outer cover.

The inner layer may have a weight percentage of 20% to 30%, in particular 25% to

30%, of the cover fabric and/or the outer cover.

The middle layer may have a weight percentage of 10% to 20%, in particular 15%

to 20%, of the cover fabric and/or the outer cover.

8 18779328.6 The cover fabric and/or the outer cover may have a mass per unit area of 250 g/m? - 300 g/m? have, The cover fabric and/or the outer cover can be the same on all sides. These and other aspects of the invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Brief description of the figures

Fig. 1A schematically shows a perspective view of a support cushion according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1B schematically shows a cross-sectional view of an outer cover of the support cushion of Figure 1A.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the support cushion of Figure 1A.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the support cushion of Figure 1A.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the support cushion of Figure 1A.

Fig. 5 schematically shows a perspective view of a support cushion according to a further embodiment. The Figures are only schematic and not to scale. Identical reference numerals in the Figures may denote similar, identical or identically acting elements. Detailed description of embodiment examples

Fig. 1A schematically shows a perspective view of a support cushion 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. Figures 2 to 4 each show a perspective view of the support cushion 10 of Figure 1A. Fig. 1B schematically shows a cross-sectional view of an outer cover 16 of the support cushion 10 of Figure 1A. In the embodiment example shown in Figures 1A to 4, the support cushion 10 is cuboid-shaped. However, the support cushion 10 may have any other geometry. In particular, the support cushion 10 may have a size of 40 cm by 80 cm. The support cushion 10 has two substantially parallel long sides 12a, 12b and two narrow sides 14a, 14b, each extending transversely and/or orthogonally to the long sides 12a, 12b, which are shorter than the long sides 12a, 12b.

9 18779328.6 The support cushion 10 comprises an outer cover 16 and an inner cover 18. In this case, the inner cover 18 is arranged in the outer cover 16 and the outer cover 16 encloses the inner cover 18. In Figure 1A, the inner cover 18 is completely arranged within the outer cover 16 so that the outer cover 16 completely surrounds the inner cover 18. In Figures 2 and 3, the inner cover 18 is only partially arranged within the outer cover 18 to illustrate the structure of the support cushion 10. In Figures 4 and 5, the support cushion 10 is shown without the outer cover 16 in each case.

The long sides 12a, 12b and the narrow sides 14a, 14b of the support cushion 10 may be long sides 12a, 12b and narrow sides 14a, 14b of the inner cover 18 and/or the outer cover 16. The narrow sides 14a, 14b can be about 40 cm long in particular and the long sides 12a, 12b can be about 80 cm long in particular.

For inserting the inner cover 18 into the outer cover 16, the outer cover 16 has an opening 17 arranged at the long side 12a, at which a zipper 19 is arranged for opening and/or closing the opening 17. Alternatively or additionally, a hook-and-loop closure, a button closure, an adhesive closure, a snap closure, and/or a hook fastener may be arranged at the opening 17.

The outer cover 16 has a cover fabric 50 and/or is formed from a cover fabric 50. In particular, an outer surface of the outer cover 16 may be seamless.

The outer cover 16 and/or the cover fabric 50 of the outer cover 16 is formed with a 3-D spacer knit 51 up to its outer side 52, wherein the outer cover 16 has a honeycomb- like mesh structure with outwardly open recesses 54 in a regular, fine-grained arrangement.

In this case, the recesses 54 preferably have an oval cross-section towards the outside, which can be dimensioned in the non-tensioned state to be about 2 mm to 4 mm in width and about 3 mm to 5 mm in length.

The material webs 56 of knitted spacer fabric 51 located between the recesses 54, which are offset and arranged regularly with respect to one another, are at least approximately equal in width.

The outer cover 16 and/or the cover fabric 50 is in the form of a three-layer 3-D spacer fabric with an upper layer 58 forming the outer side 52, which is formed from textured, twisted polyester multifilament yarn, a middle layer 60 of a brittle polyester monofilament yarn serving as a filler, which also forms the spacer fabric 51 and is knitted with the upper layer 58, and a layer of smooth polyester yarn forming an inner layer 62 and knitted with the upper layer 58 and middle layer 60.

10 18779328.6

The upper layer 58 has a fine knit structure 64 on the outer side 52, which gives the surface a soft feel.

In terms of thickness, the upper layer 58 in the advantageous embodiment shown is dimensioned such that it occupies at least 70% to 80% of the total thickness of the cover fabric 50 in order to exploit the microclimatic advantages of the spacer fabric 51 to the greatest possible extent.

To permit the greatest possible air circulation and optimum moisture removal to the outside, the honeycomb-like recesses 54 extend substantially through the thickness of the top layer 58 and the middle layer 60 to adjacent to the bottom layer 62, so that the cover fabric 50 has at the same time a high degree of flexibility and stretchability in width due to the recesses 54. The elasticity in height causes softness, which can be defined by the filler of the middle layer 60, depending on the desired degree of softness.

It is understood that, depending on the application, the cover fabric 50 and/or the outer cover 16 may be produced by any known spacer-knitting method on circular knitting machines, as well as by any known finishing method, such as a washing, bleaching and shrinking process following the knitting process.

At the narrow side 14a, the inner cover 18 has an opening 20. Furthermore, the inner cover 18 has an interior volume 22 filled with a filling material 24. Advantageously, a user of the support cushion 10 can introduce additional filling material 24 into the interior volume 22 and/or remove filling material 24 from the interior volume 22 via the opening 20. As a result, a filling volume, a thickness, a hardness, a mass, and/or a total volume of the support cushion 10 can be adapted by the user.

The opening 20 may be located approximately between two halves of the inner cover 18. The opening 20 can be at least 3 cm long, and in particular at least 5 cm long.

Further, the opening 20 may have a length no greater than the length of the narrow side 14a.

In other words, the opening 20 may be formed in only a portion of the narrow side 14a or along the entire length of the narrow side 14a.

In particular, the opening 20 may be centred on the narrow side 14a and have a length of 10 cm to 20 cm, for example.

In particular, the opening 20 may extend along the narrow side 14a for about 10% to 100%, for example 15% to 60%, of the entire length of the narrow side 14a.

At the opening 20, the inner cover 18 has a zipper 26 as a closing device 26 with which the opening 20 can be opened and/or closed.

Alternatively or additionally, a hook- and-loop closure, a button closure, an adhesive closure, a snap closure, and/or a hook

11 18779328.6 fastener may be arranged at the opening 20. Also, at least one further opening 20 and/or at least one further closing device 26 may be arranged on the further narrow side 14b and/or on at least one of the long sides 12a, 12b. The closing device 26 may extend along the entire length of the opening 20. Accordingly, the closing device 26 may be at least 3 cm long, and in particular at least 5 cm long. Further, the closing device 26 may have a length of no more than the length of the narrow side 14a. In other words, the closing device 26 may be formed in only a portion of the narrow side 14a or along the entire length of the narrow side 14a. In particular, the closing device 26 may be centred on the narrow side 14a and may have a length of 10 cm to 20 cm, for example. In particular, the closing device 26 may extend along the narrow side 14a for about 10% to 100%, for example 15% to 60%, of the entire length of the narrow side 14a. The filling material 24 comprises, at least in part, a plurality of flakes 25 of a visco foam, i.e., a foam-like material having viscoelastic material properties. The individual flakes 25 may have any shape, dimension, geometry and/or size. The filling material 24 and/or the flakes 25 of visco foam may, for example, have a crush hardness from about

0.9 kPa to 2.5 kPa, in particular from about 1.1 kPa to about 1.8 kPa. The filling material 24, the flakes 25, the inner cover 18, the outer cover 16 and/or the support cushion 10 are thereby washable, in particular without loss of viscoelasticity of the filling material 24. For example, the support cushion 10 may be washable up to 30°C, up to 60°C and/or up to 95°C. A stabilizing layer 32, 34 for mechanical stabilization of the support cushion 10 is further arranged on each of two inner surfaces 28, 30 of the inner cover 18, which are opposite one another and/or arranged opposite each another. Each of the stabilizing layers 32, 34 may consist at least partially of visco foam. Each of the stabilizing layers 32, 34 can be arranged in particular over the entire surface of the associated inner surface 28, 30. For example, the stabilizing layers 32, 34 may be bonded and/or sewn to the inner surfaces 28, 30, such as at an outer periphery of the stabilizing layers 32, 34. In this case, the inner surfaces 28, 30 and/or the stabilizing layers 32, 34 face the inner volume 22 and/or the filling material 24. The stabilizing layers 32, 34 can also have, for example, a crush hardness of from about 0.9 kPa to 2.5 kPa, in particular from about 1.1 kPa to about

1.8 kPa. The stabilizing layers 32, 34 may be made of the same material as the filling material 24. Furthermore, the stabilizing layers 32, 34 can be formed in one piece. Furthermore, the stabilizing layers 32, 34 can have identical thicknesses or different

12 18779328.6 thicknesses. Also, the stabilizing layers 32, 34 may have different thicknesses in different areas. For example, the stabilizing layers 32, 34 can each have a different thickness in an edge region near the narrow sides 14a, 14b and/or long sides 12a, 12b than in a centre region.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a support cushion 10 according to an embodiment. Unless otherwise described, the support cushion 10 of Figure 5 has the same elements and features as the support cushion 10 of Figures 1A through 4. In contrast to the filling material 24 of the support cushion of Figures 1A to 4, the filling material 24 of the support cushion 10 of Figure 5 has a plurality of elongated filling material elements 25. The filling material elements 25 may be of a strip-shaped, thread- shaped, rod-shaped and/or rope-shaped design, for example. The filling material elements 25 may consist of visco foam. The individual filling material elements 25 may have any dimensions, lengths, cross-sections and/or sizes. The filling material 24 and/or the filling material elements 25 made of visco foam can, for example, have a crush hardness from about 0.9 kPa to 2.5 kPa, in particular from about 1.1 kPa to about 1.8 kPa. The filling material elements 25 may also be washable in a manner analogous to the flakes 25 described in the preceding Figures 1A to

4. It should be noted in addition that “comprehensive” does not exclude other elements, and “one” or “a” does not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features that have been described with reference to any of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features of other embodiments described above. Reference numerals in the claims are not to be regarded as a limitation.