Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
  • A47G9/00—Bed-covers; Counterpanes; Travelling rugs; Sleeping rugs; Sleeping bags; Pillows
  • A47G9/10—Pillows
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47G—HOUSEHOLD OR TABLE EQUIPMENT
  • A47G9/00—Bed-covers; Counterpanes; Travelling rugs; Sleeping rugs; Sleeping bags; Pillows
  • A47G9/10—Pillows
  • A47G2009/1018—Foam pillows

Definitions

• the present invention relates to pillows. More particularly, it relates to a pillow configured with a central relief area and improved neck support component configured to appear as a normal pillow and provide a person who is laying prone or supine, greatly improved neck support.
• pillows consist of a top and bottom surface sewn together at the perimeter edges to form an interior cavity which holds stuffing or padding.
• This single sewn seam central engagement structurally causes the top and bottom surfaces to slope alongside edges toward the circumferentially located seam. The slope is somewhat of an arc from the widest point of the pillow at a mid section toward the seam from the top and bottom surfaces.
• the padding-stuffed central portion of the pillow even without the sloping surfaces, support the user's head laying upon it, in such a fashion that the user's neck is angled upward from the axis of their spine in the prone position on a bed or support surface. In addition to a straining neck posture, this sloping reduces the support given to the neck and can be uncomfortable and even cause permanent damage over time.
• US Pat. No. 5,016,303 to Tanaka et al. teaches a cervical and head support pillow consisting of a pillow casing with a plurality of foam inserts inserted within the casing. Inserts are combined in a variety of manners to allow the user to obtain many types of support on the neck and head.
• a vexing problem with pillows, with such inserts, is that a user may, on accident, lose or misplace any or all of the inserts and deem the device useless.
• the inserts are positioned incorrectly, or have a foam density that is too high or too low, the device in question may only further complicate neck or head discomfort experienced by the user.
• conventionally employed bed pillows as a rule are filled with stuffing material such as polyester, or feathers, or down, or foam, or even the new memory foams. All these materials retain the heat produced by a user's head while laying upon it. Humans radiate more heat through their head than any other part of their body, and for a person sleeping for the night, or even for a nap on a hot day, the laying of their head on a heat retaining conventional pillow can become uncomfortable and may interrupt a good nights sleep.
• a simple solution is to merely flip the pillow over, but this of course inhibits the sleeping pattern of the user who must awaken heated, and flip their pillow.
• the many support pillows seen on television and advertised in photographs generally have an appearance that is unconventional and are sized unconventionally. Rather than appearing as large rectangular pillows with smooth top and bottom surfaces, most support pillows are smaller than a conventional pillow and have humps on the edge, or other odd contours. These unconventional shapes are a problem for users who may have spent hundreds of dollars on bedding since they will not fit and fill out a conventional pillow case in an aesthetic manner. This is especially true where the bedding is on a double bed and a conventional pillow is located adjacent to a current mode of support pillow. As a consequence, many potential users of neck support pillows avoid using them and continue to suffer, rather than have bedding that appears odd or damaged from the odd and unconventional shape of available neck support pillows.
• an improved pillow head support device and system which provides a pillow which will provide even neck support to the user no matter the sleeping position.
• a pillow head support should also provided substantial alignment of their neck with the axis of their spine for both side and back sleeping users. This alignment is most important to prevent injury over the long term.
• a pillow should employ interior support components and a structure internally which will self-conform the neck support and alignment of the neck to a wide variety of the shapes and contours of user's heads and necks.
• such a pillow should provide this improved support while concurrently eliminating or reducing the body heat build up in the pillow over short or long sleeping periods.
• such a neck supporting pillow should appear to viewers as a conventional pillow and be conventionally engageable with conventional pillow cases such that the cased pillow appears normal or the same as a cased conventional pillow in the same bed.
• Such a pillow should have this conventional rectangular pillow appearance while still providing the benefits of support and adaptability to user body shapes.
• the device herein disclosed and described, achieves the above-mentioned objects and goals, through the provision of a pillow having a gusseted exterior cover configured to form a pillow cavity for housing a support pillow within. While a non-gusseted cover with the interior support pillow of this invention would still be an improvement, in the preferred mode of the device, the cover for the interior housed support pillow is gusseted so as to provide a more even side surface and two substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces.
• the pillow cover forming the interior cavity for the support pillow is formed of top and bottom fabric walls providing exterior and interior surfaces of substantially a rectangular shape.
• a sidewall gusset panel communicates between the perimeter edges of both the top and bottom surfaces and is engaged thereto in a conventional fashion such as sewing.
• the interior cavity can be sealed by complexly sewing the gusset for the perimeter of the pillow or a means to access the interior cavity can be provided in the form of an elongated opening which may be closed by a zipper, buttons, or other conventional means of closure.
• the interior cavity is defined by the sidewalls and engaged gusset.
• the cavity is configured to hold the support pillow therein. With the support pillow inserted, the exterior of the pillow cover appears as a normal pillow to viewers and will engage within conventional pillow cases and provide a normal appearing pillow when placed with other bedding.
• the support pillow insert is positioned within the interior cavity formed within the gusseted pillow cover.
• the support pillow insert features a top surface, bottom surface, and a side surface extending therebetween. This renders the shape and dimension of the support pillow insert substantially a cooperating shape to the interior cavity and adapted to engage within the similarly shaped interior cavity formed by the pillow cover.
• the sidewalls of the formed support pillow and overlain pillow cover are substantially vertical to the support surface the pillow rests upon such as a bed.
• This provides a step of sorts from the top surface of the pillow supported on the bed or other surface, to the support surface.
• the height of this step can be chosen to maintain their neck substantially aligned with their spine.
• a plurality of different sized pillows with different height side surfaces can be made available for users to choose the most comfortable.
• the gusset may be formed of slightly elastic material and planar support pillow inserts provided in a kit to allow users to adjust the height of the top surface above the support surface to their liking and comfort.
• a void In a substantially central area of the support pillow, between the circumferential gusset sidewall, there is formed a void.
• the void may be circular, oval, square, rectangle, or other shapes. However, the current preferred shape is circular or oval due to the even stress this provides on the fabric communicating therethrough. It is anticipated that the void can be square, rectangular or oval in shape and the application is considered to include these other shapes within the scope of the use of the term void herein.
• This void communicates substantially between the top and bottom surfaces of the support pillow engaged in the interior cavity.
• This aperture may communicate entirely through the support pillow or may be covered on the top and bottom surface by a very thin layer of stretch fabric and communicate therebetween. Consequently, unlike other support pillows which attempt to use different fillings, different shapes, and different contours of the support pillow, the device herein employs a void of support in this center area of the support pillow which is hidden by the overlain pillow cover when the support pillow is engaged within the interior cavity of the pillow cover.
• the inserted support pillow interior cavity surrounding this void is filled with support material. It may be filled with one, or a combination of, filler material from a group consisting of down, down substitute, polyester, Dacron, feathers, micro-beads, foam, gel, beans, buckwheat, water, or any other filler material that will fill the internal cavity of the insert.
• filler material from a group consisting of down, down substitute, polyester, Dacron, feathers, micro-beads, foam, gel, beans, buckwheat, water, or any other filler material that will fill the internal cavity of the insert.
• the inserted support pillow will have the void in the support provided by the filler, in the area of the aperture.
• the pillow In use, the pillow, with the inserted support pillow engaged within the interior cavity of the pillow cover, looks like a normal pillow. This is especially preferred in that the formed pillow may be engaged in conventional bed linens, and the pillow can be sized in conventional pillow sizes to fit twin, full, queen, and king beds and linens in a fashion where the linen pillow case covered pillow will appear as a normal pillow even if positioned next to a non-support pillow.
• the pillow device herein employs the void to allow the projecting portions of a user's head to settle into the aperture. This is true whether the projecting portion is the ear of a side-sleeper or the back rear of the head of a back sleeper, or the nose and face of a face-sleeper. With the projecting portions of the head settling into the void, in virtually all positions the side of the pillow is of a height to allow the neck of the user to stay aligned with their spine, while laying down.
• a shoulder portion of the support pillow insert formed between the sidewall of the support pillow and the void formed by the aperture, is positioned perfectly to support the user's neck.
• This shoulder support portion also supports the neck in alignment with the spine of the user during their prone position in bed.
• this shoulder portion can be filled with viscoelastic polymer gel infused memory foam, such as visco-elastic polyurethane foam with viscoelastic polymer gel beads infused.
• the gel beads infused in the solid solution of memory foam maintain the vertical support ability of the formed foam.
• the void is filled with air, this also provides a means to dissipate heat from the user's head and allows the user's head to be maintained at a cooler temperature when laying upon the pillow herein. This is due to the fact that air in the void will not retain heat as well as the conventional foam or down or feather pillow filler material.
• the void provides a means to reduce pressure on the ear when the user is positioned on their side, greatly increasing comfort. When positioned on their back, the projecting portion of the rear of the user's head, will comfortably engage within the void and align the neck while so positioned. Finally, the reduced pressure of the pillow cover against the ear, due to the void in support, helps to alleviate any muffling of some sounds that would normally occur from the user's ear contacting the surface of a conventional pillow.
• a further object of the invention is the provision of a void in support, centrally located on the support pillow insert, to provide an area to position projecting parts of the user's head within, whether the user is on their back or side.
• Still yet another object of the invention is the support shoulder portion formed between the aperture and the sidewall providing superior neck support.
• Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a reduction of pressure on the ear or face when positioned as such through the provision of the void described above.
• An additional object of this invention is the provision of a support pillow that is adjustable for users with especially large or small body frames.
• Figure 1 depicts a top view of the assembled device showing the support pillow insert engaged within the interior cavity of the pillow casing, and depicting in dotted line, a centrally located void in the support pillow insert providing a centrally located relief and substantially equal sized shoulders for user neck support.
• Figure 2 depicts a top view of the device of figure 1 , shown with the void located off center slightly to provide shoulder sections for neck support of different sizes.
• Figure 3 shows a top plan view of the support pillow casing covering the internally housed support pillow.
• Figure 4 depicts a side view of the support pillow casing, showing the gusseted construction of the sidewall thereby forming a substantially planar head support surface.
• Figure 5 depicts a perspective view of the support pillow casing and showing an opening on the sidewall for insertion of the support pillow insert within the interior cavity of the support pillow casing.
• Figure 6 shows a top view of the support pillow insert depicting the central position of the formed void communicating between the top and bottom surfaces.
• Figure 7 depicts a side view of the support pillow insert showing the preferred substantially planar sidewalls and the void providing means for pressure relief provided by the void (in dotted line).
• Figure 8 shows the device herein assembled with the support pillow insert inside the support pillow casing and inserted within a conventional linen set pillow case to achieve a normal appearance thereof.
• Figure 9 depicts an exploded view of a height-adjustable and firmness adjustable mode of the device with an insertable center portion engageable between two engageable half sections.
• Figure 10 shows a slice through a shoulder portion of the device showing foam material forming the shoulder and which may also form the remainder of the support pillow.
• Figure 11 depicts another slice view through a shoulder depicting a mode of the device having a center portion of the shoulder formed of a harder material such as a viscoelastic polymer gel foam and the opposing sides formed of softer material such as visco-elastic memory foam and which may also form the remainder of the support pillow.
• a harder material such as a viscoelastic polymer gel foam
• softer material such as visco-elastic memory foam
• Figure 12 depicts another preferred mode of the device wherein the shoulder portion is formed of a foam material such as visco elastic memory foam which has gel foam beads disbursed in the solid solution of foam material and which may also form the remainder of the support pillow.
• a foam material such as visco elastic memory foam which has gel foam beads disbursed in the solid solution of foam material and which may also form the remainder of the support pillow.
• Figure 13 shows the support insert of the device herein wherein the void is oval in shape.
• Figure 14 shows the support insert of the device herein wherein the void is rectangular in shape.
• FIG. 1 a top view depiction of the as-used position of the device 10 wherein a user would lay their head upon the upper facing surface 11.
• the device 10 can be inserted within a conventional linen set pillow case 13 as in figure 8, and appear like a normal down or feather stuffed pillow making the device 10 employable by those who will not use other support pillows which appear contoured or do not fill out the pillow case 13 properly.
• the position of a void 22 formed into the support insert 20 contained within the pillow casing 12, is depicted by the dashed line.
• the void 22 in figure 1 is seen centrally located relative to the length and width of the insert 20 and when in the as-used position shown, remains in a substantially central location on the device 10. This positioning forms shoulders 30 or neck support portions, extending between the edge of the insert 20 to the circumference of the void 22 which are substantially equal.
• the void so positioned provides means to dissipate heat from the user's head during use and additionally a relief when supporting the ear overhead to allow for less muffling of surrounding sounds.
• the void 22 is shown closer to one side edge of the insert 20 than the other side edge.
• the shoulders 30 are formed in unequal sizes which allows a user to choose the shoulder 30 having the width between the side edge 26 and the circumference of the void 22 which is most comfortable supporting their neck.
• the neck support provided by the shoulder 30 positioned between the void 22 and side edge 26 of the insert 20 provides improved neck support when the user settles their head on to the upper facing surface 11 and places one side of their head over the void 22 which is covered by the sidewall of the casing 12.
• Such neck support is provided independent of the user's body position, whether laying on their back or side. Further, since projecting portions of the user's head are accommodated by the void 22, the user's neck remains in proper alignment whether sleeping on a side or their back.
• the material forming the shoulder 30 of the support insert 20 can be the same material as the rest of the support insert 20 or can be customized in the area of the shoulder 30 for increased support or lessened support as the case may be and as depicted in figures 10-12.
• Figure 3 shows the top view of the casing 12 in the as used position with the support insert 20 housed in an internal cavity formed by the upper and lower wall of the casing 12 which is connected by a gusseted sidewall.
• the casing 12 employs a gusset sidewall 16 communicating between the top surface 14 and bottom surface 18.
• the gusset sidewall 16 provides a means to remove the arc normal pillow surface's have when simply joined at a central seam. It thus allows a construction which provides a substantially planar top surface 14 and bottom surface 18 of the formed support insert 20. This also establishes a substantially stable sidewall width and thereby maintains the support of the shoulder 30 constant when the top surface 14 supports the weight of the user's head and the shoulder 30 supports their neck.
• Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the casing 12 showing an optional but preferred opening 19 at one end of the gusset circumferential sidewall 16.
• the opening 19 is of such a configuration to allow the insertion of the support insert 20 into the internal cavity of the casing 12.
• the opening 19 may be sewn shut but if not required is preferred as it allows for a washing of the casing 12.
• the opening 19 may remain open in the as-used position but may also close by means of hook and loop fasteners, zipper, or other cooperating fasteners of the like.
• the support insert 20 can be seen in the top view of Figure 6 with centrally located void 22.
• the favored mode of the void 22 is circular in shape as it allows for even stretching and contraction of the foam or other material forming the body of the insert 20.
• the void can be oval or rectangular or other shapes.
• the void 22 may be configured in different sizes to increase the area of non support and decrease the shoulder 30 size, to accommodate different sized users and it is anticipated the device 10 will be sold in such different sizes to accommodate various head sizes. Consequently, it should be noted that the relative void 22 size depicted in the figure is merely there for
• the dimensions of the insert 20 are configured to cooperatively engage for an easy insertion and removal with the interior cavity 27 of the casing 12.
• the means for neck support of the user in the as-used position with their head laying upon an upper facing surface 11 is provided by the shoulder 30.
• This shoulder 30 is defined by the area of the support insert 20 between the circumference of the void 22 and the sidewalls 26 closest to the void 22.
• the position of the void 22 may be varied to produce substantially equal dimensioned shoulders 30 or two different sized shoulders 30 allowing a user to choose for comfort.
• Figure 7 shows the substantially planar shape of the sidewall 26 of the insert 20 extending from the top surface 24 to the bottom surface 28. This shape conforms to the shape of the internal cavity 29 of the casing 12 and provides for a good cooperative engagement therein and the substantially planar sleeping surfaces for the user.
• the void 22 might also be provided with inserts 23 (figure 9) adapted to engage the void 22.
• inserts 23 may be provided with support material such as memory or other foam of varying hardness such that the void 22 can be adjustable for support.
• the void 22 may be provided with fluid filled or gel filled inserts 23 which may be chilled or heated to provide temperature therapy to the user, such as in a hospital or home care setting.
• FIG 8 there is seen in Figure 8 the device 10 herein assembled with the support pillow insert 20 inside the support pillow casing 12, inserted within a conventional linen set pillow case 13.
• this is a substantial consideration because many users spend hundreds of dollars on linen for bedrooms and are hesitant to use or employ strangely configured or contoured pillows in combination with their linens.
• the device 10 herein by providing a support pillow which appears substantially conventional prior to and in an engagement with a conventional pillow case 13, will encourage more widespread use for users formerly recalcitrant to do so with oddly configured support pillows.
• Figure 9 depicts an exploded view of a mode of the device 10 wherein the support insert 20 is formed in assembleable components.
• the support insert 20, in this mode, is provided with a planar first half 33 engageable to either one of a planar second half 35 or a center section 37.
• the insertable center section 37 provides two means of adjustment to the device 10. First a means for height adjustment of the upper facing surface 11 above the bed or other support surface. Varying the thickness of the center section 37 varies the height of the upper facing surface 1 1 and the shoulder 30. Additionally, means of adjustment of the firmness of the assembled support insert 20 is provided by varying the firmness of the material used for the center section 37. For instance, the center section 37 may be formed of closed cell foam or gel style foam and render the insert firmer to the user in the as-used position. Or, more compressible material such as memory foam can be employed to render the insert 20 softer. Further, the center section 37 can be removed to lower the height of the upper facing surface 11 as an adjustment for smaller users such as children.
• the support insert 20 can be provided as a kit with the first half 33 engaged either one of a planar second half 35 or a center section 37, and with a plurality of center sections 37 available in different heights and different density materials to make the assembled support insert harder or softer as well as taller or shorter.
• Figure 10 shows a slice through the support shoulder 30 of the device 10 showing material forming the shoulder portion 30 to be of one material which can be the same material the remainder of the support insert 20 is formed, or could be different such as firmer material such as a denser Visco elastic memory foam style material.
• Figure 11 depicts a slice through the support shoulder 30 of the support insert 20 formed of two different materials.
• a central portion 41 is formed of one material which is sandwiched between adjoining portions 43. This is one particularly favored mode of the device 10 to provide better neck support to the users.
• a favored construction is forming the adjoining portions 43 from visco-elastic memory foam of three to six pound density, since it softens when it comes in contact with heat from the user's neck and conforms to shape for even support.
• the central section 41 would be formed of the denser memory foam, or more preferably of a gel foam, or a memory foam with disbursed gel beads as in figure 12, both of which provides more support at higher compression levels and long durations which collapses the
• Figure 12 depicts another particularly preferred mode of the device 10 wherein the shoulder
• the void 22 is currently preferred in a substantially circular shape or the oval shape shown in Figure 13 shows the support insert 20 of the device 10 herein wherein the void 22 is oval. Additional shapes are anticipated such as that of Figure 14 which shows the support insert 20 having a rectangular in shape.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Otolaryngology (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Bedding Items (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (2)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (1)

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• 2011
  • 2011-09-30 EP EP11830031.8A patent/EP2621312A4/en not_active Ceased
  • 2011-09-30 US US13/250,915 patent/US20120079659A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2011-09-30 CN CN2011800575179A patent/CN103379842A/zh active Pending
  • 2011-09-30 WO PCT/US2011/054405 patent/WO2012045032A2/en active Application Filing
  • 2011-09-30 CA CA2850473A patent/CA2850473A1/en active Pending
  • 2011-09-30 AU AU2011308529A patent/AU2011308529A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2019
  • 2019-02-25 US US29/681,404 patent/USD887175S1/en active Active

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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