US20160316943A1

US20160316943A1 - Roll-up pillow and retention system

Info

Publication number: US20160316943A1
Application number: US15/142,221
Authority: US
Inventors: William Keith Carlson
Original assignee: Volo Pillow LLC
Current assignee: Volo Pillow LLC
Priority date: 2015-04-29
Filing date: 2016-04-29
Publication date: 2016-11-03

Abstract

A pillow retention system includes a blanket member having a first side, an opposing second side, a first end and a second end, a first attachment member attached to a first side of the blanket member at the second end, and a second attachment member attached to the second side between the first and second ends, wherein the first attachment member and second attachment member cooperate to retain the pillow wrap around a rolled pillow.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED CASE

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) to provisional application No. 62/179,192 filed on Apr. 29, 2015, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Many people have a favorite pillow and sleeping on another pillow simply does not allow the user to sleep as comfortably or as well as when the person has that favorite pillow. Traveling potentially provides a conundrum for those with a favorite pillow—lug your favorite pillow around (exposing it to dirt, germs, and potentially losing it) or sleep on an unfamiliar pillow. Moreover, some of the pillows may be large and, when traveling, space may be an issue, especially on airplanes. Thus, when traveling with a favorite pillow, it becomes necessary to utilize a method of compaction in order to transport the item more efficiently. Several methods have been attempted in the past which involve rolling, attachment to ancillary stiffeners, and compressing the pillow into a temporary container. These other methods are too cumbersome, ineffective or troublesome to use. Thus, a new device is presented and offers novel improvements in all these areas, using a simple compression retention method, and re-useable packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to pillow wrap that includes a blanket member having a first side, an opposing second side, a first end and a second end, a first attachment member attached to a first side of the blanket member at the second end, and a second attachment member attached to the second side between the first and second ends, wherein the first attachment member and second attachment member cooperate to retain the pillow wrap around a rolled pillow.
In some embodiments, there is also included a resealable container, the resealable container configured to receive the pillow wrap wrapped around a pillow.
In some other embodiments, the first attachment member is a hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener and the second side of the blanket member has loop portions of the hook-and-loop fastener
In other embodiments, the attachment members may include a zipper or snaps.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present embodiments of the invention are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a roll-up pillow and retention system that includes a pillow wrap and transportation container according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pillow wrap in FIG. 1 beginning to wrap a pillow;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wrapped pillow to be inserted into a transportation container having indicia thereon;

FIG. 4 is a top plane view of the first and second sides of the pillow wrap of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a top plane view of first and second sides of another embodiment of a pillow wrap according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the pillow wrap in FIG. 5 encasing a pillow; and

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a pillow wrap using a zipper to secure the pillow wrap around a pillow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a first embodiment of a system 10 according to the present invention. The system 10 includes a pillow wrap 12 and a transportation container 14. The system 10 may also include a pillow 16, but the user of this system 10 may provide their own pillow to be used therein. The pillow wrap 12 preferably includes a soft material that can be easily folded and manipulated, is washable, and, as noted below, can have other indicia included on at least one surface. Further in this regard, the pillow wrap 12 has a first side 18 and a second side 20. See FIG. 2. The pillow wrap 12 also has a first end 22 and a second end 24. The pillow wrap 12 is longer than pillow 16 that is to be wrapped up in pillow wrap 12. The pillow wrap 12 is at least as wide as the standard pillow (or even a king size pillow) to keep the pillow from being dirtied. On the first side 18 at the second end 24 is a first attachment member 26. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the first attachment member 26 is one portion of a hook-and-loop fastener. More specifically, in FIGS. 1-3 the first attachment member 26 is the hook portion of the hook-and-loop fastener. The second side 20 is preferably made from a material that has loops that function as the loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener and becomes the second attachment member 28. This provides the advantage that when the pillow wrap 12 is wrapped around the pillow 16, the first attachment member 26 can hook to any location on the second side 20 of the pillow wrap 12. The wrapped pillow 16 can then be inserted into the transportation container 14.
As illustrated, the transportation container 14 has configuration similar to that of the wrapped pillow 16—a right cylinder. Transportation container 14 has the main body 30 and a top 32, the top 32 being secured to the main body 30 with a zipper 34. The top 32 could be secured to the main body 30 by other means. Additionally, while the top 32 is illustrated as a small right cylinder, it could also be just a flat disc. Other configurations are possible as long as transportation container 14 is sealed. The transportation container 14 may also include advertising, names, or any other appropriate indicia 40. The transportation container 14 may be made of any appropriate materials including, for example, transparent final, fabric, plastic, etc., in may either be transparent or opaque.
An alternative embodiment of a pillow wrap 112 is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, pillow wrap 112 has as a first attachment member 126 the loop portion of a hook-and-loop fastener. The first attachment member 126 is disposed on the first side 118 at the second end 124. A number of second attachment members 128 are disclosed on the second side 120 of the pillow wrap 112 between the first end 122 and the second end 124. The second attachment members 128 are the hook portion of the hook-and-loop fastener. Having a number of the second attachment members 128 spaced along the length of the pillow wrap 112 allows the pillow wrap 112 to be used with pillows having different thicknesses. As in the first embodiment, it would be possible to have the second side made from the hook portion of the hook-and-loop fastener, but it would be rough, scratchy, and hard. Thus, having a limited amount of surface space for the hook portion as second attachment members 128 is preferable. As noted in FIG. 4, the second side 120 may also have displayed thereon advertising, names, or any other appropriate indicia 140. Applicant notes that putting an indicia 140 on the the hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener is more difficult than that the loop portion.
A second alternative embodiment of pillow wrap 212 is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 In this embodiment, pillow wrap 212 has as a first attachment member 226 one portion of a snap closure. The first attachment member 226 is disposed on the first side 218 at the second end 224 may be a plurality of either the stud portion or the socket portion of a snap closure. The second attachment member 228 includes a plurality of the other of the stud portion or socket portion of a snap closure. A number of rows of the second attachment member 228 are included on the second side 220 to allow for the variation in pillow size.
A third alternative embodiment of a pillow wrap 312 is illustrated in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, pillow wrap 312 has as first and second attachment members 326, 328 portions of a zipper. As illustrated, the pull tab and slider body of the zipper are disposed at the second end 324 on the zipper tape that is the first attachment member 326. There are a number of corresponding zipper tapes that are the second attachment members 328 spaced along the second side of the pillow wrap 312. While it would be possible to have a pull tab and slider body on each of the second attachment members 328, they would pose a number of issues in that configuration: higher cost for more pull tabs and slider bodies, catch on the transportation container 14 or other structures, would make noise as they moved around, etc. Thus, it is preferable to have the pull tab and slider body on the first attachment member 326.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

I claim:

1. A pillow wrap comprising:

a blanket member having a first side, an opposing second side, a first end and a second end;

a first attachment member attached to a first side of the blanket member at the second end;

a second attachment member attached to the second side between the first and second ends, wherein the first attachment member and second attachment member cooperate to retain the pillow wrap around a rolled pillow.

2. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, further comprising a resealable container, the resealable container configured to receive the pillow wrap wrapped around a pillow.

3. The pillow wrap according to claim 2, wherein the resealable container is a transparent vinyl carrying tube.

4. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, wherein the first attachment member is a hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener and the second side of the blanket member has loop portions of the hook-and-loop fastener.

5. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, wherein the first attachment member is a loop portion of a hook-and-loop fastener and the second side of the blanket member has hook portions of the hook-and-loop fastener.

6. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, wherein the first attachment member is one portion of a zipper and the second attachment member is a cooperating portion of the zipper and is attached to the second side of the blanket member.

7. The pillow wrap according to claim 6, further comprising a plurality of second attachment members, each of the plurality of attachment members spaced from one another to allow for different sizes the pillow wrap.

8. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, wherein the first attachment member includes one of a stud and socket of a snap closure and the second attachment member includes the other of the stud and socket of a snap closure.

9. The pillow wrap according to claim 8, where in the first and second attachment members include a plurality of snap closures.

10. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, where the blanket member has a length between the first and second ends, and the length is longer that the pillow to be rolled in the blanket member.

11. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, wherein the first end of the blanket member is rolled in the pillow.

12. The pillow wrap according to claim 1, wherein the second side of the blanket member has marketing information displayed thereon.

13. A pillow wrap comprising:

a first attachment member attached to the blanket member at the second end;

14. The pillow wrap according to claim 13, wherein the first attachment member is attached to the first side of the blanket member.

15. The pillow wrap according to claim 13, further comprising a resealable container, the resealable container configured to receive the pillow wrap wrapped around a pillow.

16. The pillow wrap according to claim 13, wherein the first attachment member is a hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener and the second side of the blanket member has loop portions of the hook-and-loop fastener.

17. The pillow wrap according to claim 13, wherein the first attachment member is a loop portion of a hook-and-loop fastener and the second side of the blanket member has hook portions of the hook-and-loop fastener.

18. The pillow wrap according to claim 13, wherein the first attachment member is one portion of a zipper and the second attachment member is a cooperating portion of the zipper and is attached to the second side of the blanket member.

19. The pillow wrap according to claim 13, wherein the first attachment member includes one of a stud and socket of a snap closure and the second attachment member includes the other of the stud and socket of a snap closure.