GB2585180A

GB2585180A - Improvements in pillows for maintaining body sleep position

Info

Publication number: GB2585180A
Application number: GB1906590.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Russel Wiseman Harry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-05-10
Filing date: 2019-05-10
Publication date: 2021-01-06
Also published as: GB201906590D0

Abstract

A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position which helps keep a person 3 (figure 1) on their back when sleeping. The pillow includes a pillow body 1 which has a raised rear side forming into curved edge bolsters 6 and 7 (figure 2) to the sides of a convex centre 13 and a neck support area 5. The bolsters 6 and 7 form into pillow sides. The pillow sides have internal means to enable weighing down of said sides 6 and 7. The internal means in the sides may comprise pillow weights 9 and 10 which may further be comprised of a gel. The purpose of the present invention is to weigh the pillow down to help prevent the person 3 from turning in their sleep.

Description

PATENT APPLICATION

OF

HARRY RUSSEL WISEMAN

FOR

IMPROVEMENTS IN PILLOWS FOR MAINTAINING BODY SLEEP POSITION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to pillows which are used for sleeping and help maintain body position.

Background

The use of pillows dates back many years and other than their use for general comfort they also have been developed into supportive and more structured types. These include neck pillows which support the neck by providing a deep area for the head to rest and a supportive area to keep the neck in alignment with the spine while sleeping. These can also be known as cervical pillows. Cervical pillows help patients to maintain comfortable positioning after therapeutic, orthopaedic and surgical measures.

Travel pillows provide support for the neck in a sitting position. Their "U" shape fits around the back of the neck and keeps the head from slipping into an uncomfortable and possibly harmful position during sleep. However, U-shaped pillows can sometimes force the head forward, creating neck stiffness.

Doughnut pillows are firm pillows shaped like a torus, with a space in the middle to alleviate pressure on the tailbone area while sitting. These pillows are used primarily by individuals who have suffered an injury to the tailbone area, or who suffer pain from haemorrhoids or another ailment of the colon.

Lumbar pillows are designed to support the inward curve of the lower back, filling the space created between the lower back and the back of the chair when in a sitting position. These pillows are generally used to support the lower back while driving or sitting, such as in an office chair. Orthopaedic pillows are similar to memory foam pillows.

These all offer an ability to provide additional bodily comfort and support but do not attempt to help the person to always sleep on their back, which has many benefits. Sleeping on your back is helpful for the spine and neck because the back is straight and not forced into any contortions. In an ideal world, you would sleep on your back without any pillows, as this position leaves the neck in a neutral position. Back sleeping also has its cosmetic benefits.

Spending all night with the face in the air, as opposed to facing into a pillow, leads to fewer facial wrinkles. Other benefits include keeping the spine aligned; reducing tension headaches, the position also helps chronic conditions by reducing pressure and compression. Sleeping on the back also relieves sinus build up, plus, there are many elements that make sleeping on the back far more nuanced than being able to lie there.

The need for a pillow or support however is a modern requirement for people wanting a comfortable night's sleep on their back.

Therefore the prior art shows patents that have been presented which have methods of supporting and holding the head and neck, as follows: This is shown in patent US2016/0073803 (JOHNSON) which discloses an incredibly soft, yet supportive, form sitting head cradle that aids in consistent and comfortable back sleep while eliminating pressure on, or anything touching your facial skin during sleep. The Back to BeautyTM Anti-Wrinkle Head Cradle is a support designed to cradle the head and neck and keep anything from touching facial skin. It is made with a down or alternatively micro fibre materials. It has unique crescent-shaped head supports to deliver the stability and comfort necessary for successful nights sleeping without anything touching the face.

Patent US6154905 (FRYDMAN) discloses a stress reducing device which is defined by a dual use orthopaedic pillow having a low density polyurethane foam outer region, a high density polyurethane foam middle region that are provided in removably attachable layers, so that the size of the device may be adjusted to accommodate different sizes and preferences of individual users. The pillow advantageously includes leg clasps for securely engaging the inner thighs of an individual in a sideling position defined by a stern and a pair of crescent shaped buttresses. The buttresses resist rotation to the prone and supine lying positions. The high foam within the stem separates the knees to reduce spinal stress. Advantageously, a supine sleeping position is added by positioning said pillow under the legs to flatten out the spine while supporting the legs at the thigh and calf regions.

Patent US8584285 (SIPHERD) discloses a travel pillow that provides head cushioning, lateral support and stays in place when the user is in a seated position or semi-reclined. The travel pillow including a neck support cradle, head base contour to provide vertical head support, head support platform, side buttresses to provide lateral head support and support bases to achieve an anatomically neutral position for the cervical spine.

Patent US2019/0045950 (SMITH) discloses a relaxation and meditation pillow which includes a base and a cradle portion. The base has front, rear, left and right sides, a bottom surface and a top surface. The top surface has a central depression configured to cradle back of a user's head. A cradle portion is connected to a top surface of the base. The cradle portion has a horseshoe shape and is spaced around a portion of the central depression of the base. In use, a user may lie their head on the base with the back of their head in the central depression and the cradle portion covering a portion of the top and sides of the user's the head and user's ears to enhance relaxation and meditation during yoga and other, similar activities.

The prior art therefore shows that there is a need for a more effective pillow which is more structured yet still very comfortable to hold a person during sleep on their back, for the duration of a sleeping period.

The present invention aims to provide an improved pillow which is made of a single moulded and shaped memory foam or similar composition and covered in a pillow case, which offers comfort, support and prevents the person from being able to turn onto their side, unless additional force is applied by them therefore.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a single moulded and shaped foam pillow. The pillow for maintaining a body sleep position has a convex bottom which lies on top of a bed surface as with conventional pillows. The underside of the pillow structure is partially convex and provides support to hold the head in place due to the weight of the head in conjunction with the type of density foam being used but should the user wish to turn onto their side; the curved underside enables this with additional turning force from them. As shown in the accompanying Figures.

The pillow body consists of the pillow which has a raised rear side which is curved upwards from a base and has two curved edge bolsters, which the persons head is laid between.

A neck support area of the pillow is much more planar and graduates upwards toward the centre area of the curved convex middle. As shown.

The pillow therefore provides a stable but comfortable area for the head which has a raised and curved rear, culminating with the frontal bolsters to the head and neck region thereto. The pillow is a foam and preferably of the known memory type. to maintain its form and comfort over long periods.

A cotton pillow cover is placed over this to provide a finish standard and level that is already common in pillows for beds. To prevent the pillow from 'turning over' when the person is moving in their sleep, internal weights are housed inside the end sections, see Figure 3. These may be derived from a gel type of material inside sealed compartments, to enable the weights to remain pliable in-line with the comfort requirements of the pillow. The gel compartments will be housed within pockets within the foam body of the pillow.

Thus, as the persons head and body turns during sleep, the weights keep the side bolsters in place and detract them from wanting to move and being able to turn over. This helps maintain an upward facing head position but if the person adds further force to the action; then the pillow can be made to 'tilt', aided by its shape as the persons weight and movement over comes the ability of the weights resistance.

Thus, the pillow herein described is a shaped stabilizer for persons who are sleeping, to encourage them to sleep on their backs and gain the benefits of this position.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be clearly understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familial-with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved pillow for maintaining a body sleep position, which has all the advantages of the prior art support pillows and none of the disadvantages It is another object of the present invention to provide a new pillow for maintaining a body sleep position, which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved pillow for maintaining a body sleep position which is of durable and reliable construction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved pillow for maintaining a body sleep position which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved pillow for maintaining a body sleep position which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

Brief description of figures

Figure 1 shows an elevated frontal view of the pillow for maintaining a body sleep position.

Figure 2 shows a dimensional view of pillow for maintaining a body sleep position.

Figure 3 shows a dimensional view of the pillow for maintaining a body sleep position, with internal side weights.

Figure 4 shows a rear view of the pillow for maintaining a body sleep position.

Figure 5 shows a dimensional view of the pillow for maintaining a body sleep position, showing its foam body and pillow case cover.

Figure 6 shows an elevated view of pillow for maintaining a body sleep position and a person trying to turn over during sleep.

Figure 7 shows a side elevation of the pillow for maintaining a body sleep position.

Detailed description of figures

A typical embodiment of the pillow for maintaining a body sleep position is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the pillow body 1, which is formed from a single moulded and shaped foam, having a raised rear side 2 and two curved edge bolsters 6 and 7, to help maintain an upward facing head position. The persons head and neck 3 lay onto the convex centre 13 with the neck supported by the neck support area 5.

Figure 2 shows the pillow body 1A and the pillow side 4, with curved edge bolsters 6A and 7A to either side of the persons head and shoulders 3A which is laid on the neck support area 5A. The raised rear side 2A is shown to the top of the pillow body 1A and to the underside and bottom is the convex bottom 14.

The pillow body 1B has pillow weights 9 and 10, as shown in Figure 3. The pillow side 8 and the neck support area 5B are also shown.

To the rear of the pillow body 1C we can see the raised rear side 2C and the rear form of the curved edge bolsters 6C and 7C, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 5 shows the foam body 12 which forms the pillow body 1D and its pillow case cover 11.

When a person 3E moves during sleep or attempts to turn over, the curved edge bolsters 6E and 7E prevent the action, aided by their internal weights (not shown), unless excessive turning force is used, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 7 shows a side view of the pillow body 1F, with raised rear side 2F and pillow side 4F. The person's neck is laid upon neck support area 5F. Curved edge bolster 6F is also shown.

Claims

Claims 1) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position, comprising; a single piece pillow body which has a raised rear side forming into curved edge bolsters to the sides of a convex centre, a neck support area and pillow sides arranged in use with internal means to enable weighing down of said sides, together defining a pillow body.
2) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position according to claim 1 wherein, said back plate further comprises a cotton pillow cover.
3) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position according to claim 1 wherein, said raised rear side aids head positioning.
4) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position as claimed in claim 1 wherein, curved edge bolsters help maintain an upward facing head position.
5) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position as claimed in claim 1 wherein, a convex centre aids comfort and head positioning.
6) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position as claimed in claim 1 wherein, a neck support graduates upwards toward the centre area of said convex centre.
7) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said pillow sides have provision internally for housing weights.
8) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position as claimed in claim 1 and 7 wherein, weights placed inside a pillows sides may be comprised of a gel.
9) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position according to any preceding claim; is a single foam piece pillow which helps hold a person on their back sleeping position, due to aforementioned features.
10) A pillow for maintaining a body sleep position as substantially herein described with reference to the figures. O C\IO a)