Pillow for Localized Support of the Head

Abstract

An asymmetrically disposed pillow formed of tube-like construction provides an over ear arch with cervical support depending from the rear end of the arch. The arch includes an upper cranial support section that lies along a horizontal axis and fits above the ear. A rear end of the cranial support section connects to a depending occipital support section, which depends behind the ear. A lower end of the occipital support section connects to a cervical support section that is disposed at a forward angle that is less than a right angle. Optionally, the forward branch of the arch depends from the cranial support section as a temporal support section. Optionally, the temporal support section further depends as a cheek support.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to beds and support devices for discrete portions of a user. More specifically, the invention relates to support devices for selected, localized portions of the head or neck of a user in a supine or prone position.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

A normal, rectangular pillow as commonly used for sleeping provides broad support for the head. To a small degree, this type of pillow has been customized for special needs. Different degrees of firmness allow a side sleeper to obtain a more firm pillow, while a back sleeper can obtain a less firm pillow, and a stomach sleeper can obtain a still less firm pillow. However, the normal pillow is not suited for relieving or eliminating pressure on sensitive areas of the head. Instead, the normal pillow provides a broad area of support, and it is difficult or nearly impossible to isolate certain areas of the head from contact while otherwise supporting the head.

Pillows having various special shapes are known. For example, the donut shaped pillow is useful for allowing the user to lie face down. This type of pillow finds application on message tables, where the user desires to lie face down with the head symmetrically disposed in a centered, forward looking position. Another special duty pillow is contoured to the cheek, ear, and nose so as to relieve excess pressure and avoid facial wrinkling. This pillow is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,448 to Boyd. While it is possible to relieve pressure on a specified facial structure or head structure by special pockets or recesses in a foam pillow, not all situations can be met with this solution.

Particularly after facial surgery, portions of the head and face are inflamed and extremely sensitive to pressure. It would be desirable to have a pillow that is capable of supporting the head with substantially no pressure applied to the face or to areas of the head where certain types of surgical incisions are made. The present invention is specifically directed to a pillow that allows a side sleeper to eliminate pressure on selected areas that are commonly inflamed and painfully sensitive after facial surgery, such as facelifts and similar operations. The pillow also is adaptable to relieving pressure on other inflamed portions of the head, especially the ear, which otherwise tends to be very difficult to isolate from pressure. Thus, the pillow has additional utility in relieving pressure on a sore ear. Those with an earache or swimmer's ear can find relief.

To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method and apparatus of this invention may comprise the following.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Against the described background, it is therefore a general object of the invention to provide a pillow capable of supporting the head in a suitable position for side sleep, while eliminating pressure on selected portions of the face, cheek, ear, and proximate areas.

According to the invention, a pillow for facial surgery patients is formed of tube-like construction. Subsections are arranged in series and shaped to skirt the top, rear, and bottom periphery of the user's ear, forming an ear pocket with open front. An upper cranial support arch lies along a horizontal axis and fits above the ear. A rear end of the cranial support section includes a depending occipital support section that extends behind the ear. A lower end of the occipital support section connects to a cervical support section that is disposed at a forward angle that is less than a right angle.

According to another aspect of the invention, a tubular pillow is disposed along a serpentine longitudinal axis that defines an ear pocket with open front for localized support of the head and neck of a human user. An arch-shaped cranial support defines an arcuate top of the open ear pocket for supporting the cranial portion of a user's head. A cervical support is connected to a rear end of the cranial arch support behind the ear pocket and extends downwardly and forwardly from the rear end of the cranial arch support for supporting a user's neck below the ear.

According to still another aspect of the invention, an asymmetric pillow defines an ear pocket with open front for localized support of the head and neck of a human user. An arch support bounds a top edge of the ear pocket, and a cervical support depends from a rear end of the arch support and extends forwardly and downwardly to support a cervical area of the user's neck and bound a rear edge of the ear pocket.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is top plan view of a head-supporting pillow.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing in phantom a representative head overlaid on the pillow in typical position resting on the pillow for side sleep.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pillow, taken along the plane through line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing a second embodiment of the pillow supporting an alternate portion of the head to relieve pressure on a different area of the head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a pillow 10 configured to support the human head in a suitable position and at a suitable height for side sleep. The pillow is formed of a shell or covering 12, which may be a fabric. The interior of the pillow contains a suitable means for supporting or cushioning the head, which may be a fill 14.

Important features of pillow 10 are configuration and resting contours shown in the drawing figures. Pillow 10 is configured in three-dimensional structure as a tube-like or cylindrical rod-like structure that is elongated along a serpentine, longitudinal axis 15, indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1. The configuration also is generally round in transverse cross-section at the majority of its length along the longitudinal axis. Accordingly, the uncompressed cross-section of pillow 10, taken at almost any point, is similar to the cross-section shown in FIG. 3. This cross-section is shaped as a circle, oval, ellipse, or the like, providing a central longitudinal high point or ridge 16 that generally overlies the position of longitudinal axis 15 in the view of FIG. 1. The overall height of pillow 10 at high point 16, as viewed in FIG. 3, is about four inches. The fill 14 of pillow 10 would be considered to be firm and should be sufficient to maintain a height at high point 16 of between two and three inches, in use.

In use, the high point 16 becomes blended into a more flattened vertical contour under the user's head. However, the overall tubular shape restricts or contains the horizontal spread. The pillow 10 may be considered to be circular in transverse cross-section when uncompressed, with approximately a four-inch uncompressed diameter. When compressed during use, the transverse cross-section may be considered to resemble an ellipse, and the typical major axis of the compressed ellipse is between five and six inches. This spread from about a four-inch diameter to about a six-inch major ellipse axis indicates that the pillow provides concentrated support to the user's head without readily causing the pillow to spread under selected sensitive areas of the head.

The contour of pillow 10 includes several support areas for the human head, best shown in FIG. 2. The first support area is the top, crown, or cranial support 18, which fits the user above his ear and extends forward approximately to the temple of the head. The second, optional support area is the rear cranial or occipital support 20, which fits the user behind the ear. The third support area is the cervical support 22, which supports the upper cervical vertebrae of the neck, between the lower ear and shoulder. In some instances, the occipital support 20 may be absorbed by the structures of the cranial and cervical support areas. The combination of two support areas, including a cranial arch and a cervical support, provides a stable base that supports the head for sleep and provides latitude for head movement during sleep. Preferred, three-area support includes cranial, occipital, and cervical support.

The appropriate contour of pillow 10 not only supports the indicated areas of the head and neck, but also circumnavigates the ear. Thus, an open-front pocket 24 is available to receive the user's ear. When the ear is in open pocket 24 as shown in FIG. 2, the front of cranial arch support 18 and the front of cervical support 22 extend forward of the ear, or to the right in the view of FIG. 2. These forward extremes lie along a theoretical connecting line that is nearly vertical or extending between top and bottom according to the view of FIG. 2. The connecting line would pass in front of the ear. Thus, both cranial support 18 and the cervical support 22 extend forward to a varying degree, to the right in FIG. 2, beyond the front edge of the ear. In approximate dimensions, pillow 10 has a width, left-to-right in FIG. 2, of about eight inches and a vertical dimension, top-to-bottom in FIG. 2, of about thirteen inches.

Using the directional conventions of FIG. 2 as specified in the prior paragraph, portions of the pillow can be described as extending in certain directions by considering the pillow to be formed of multiple sections of a bent tube following a centerline or longitudinal axis 15, FIG. 1. On this basis of description, cranial support 18 extends horizontally or front-to-back from in forward of the user's ear position to rearward of the ear position. Optional occipital support 20 extends downwardly or vertically from the rear end of the cranial support and is disposed along the rear edge of the user's ear. Cervical support 22 extends forward and downward from the bottom of occipital support 20 at an acute angle of less than ninety degrees. The preferred forward angle is approximately thirty degrees from vertical.

Because pillow is formed of a soft and pliable construction that is subject to easy deformation, these descriptions are approximations that best describe the pillow when undeformed by use. The contour of the pillow in resting or undeformed state provides a base line contour that will tend to be carried through during sleep.

Head movement on pillow 10 tends to be forward due to the support provided behind the ear. The open front of ear pocket 24 allows forward movement while protecting the ear from application of inadvertent pressure during sleep. In addition, the open front provides pressure relief to areas of the face and jaw forward and below the ear.

An alternative embodiment of the pillow 10 appears in FIG. 4. This configuration provides increased support to the top of the user's head and forward to the temple and optionally the cheek. Accordingly, the top of the pillow forms a cranial arch that encompasses from the occipital support to the forward end of the pillow tube. The arch further includes both the cranial support 18 and a temporal support 26. The arch may extend forward by a further portion, the orbital or cheek support 28. Both the temporal support and the orbital support areas preserve the open front of ear pocket 24.

More generally, this alternative embodiment provides a cranial arch that forms a top boundary of an ear pocket 24. The arch extends upwardly from approximately the mid-height of the ear pocket. The cervical support depends from the rear end of the arch, at the mid-height of the ear pocket to support the user's neck. This configuration leaves open the front side of the ear pocket and the area near the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is located below the ear. The TMJ is notorious as a source of facial pain, and the pillow 10 effectively relieves the TMJ from pillow pressure. In a similar way, use of pillow 10 may reduce the painful symptoms of other conditions, including facial surgery, injury to the face, sunburn, cystic acne, abscessed tooth, extraction of wisdon tooth or other tooth, tooth ache, dental surgery, sinusitis or sinus infection, trigeminal neuralgia, herpes zoster, herpes simplex, cluster headache, and migraine headache.

The pillow is asymmetric in order to support the indicated portions of the human head with selectivity and reliability. The cylindrical, tubular or rod-like configuration of the pillow can be viewed as being disposed along a serpentine longitudinal elongated centerline axis indicated by a broken line 30 in the view of FIG. 4. The axis 30 forms an asymmetric U-shaped hook in which the forward arm, which is shown to terminate in cheek support 28, is shorter than the rear arm, which terminates in cervical support 22.

The cylindrical, rod-like configuration of the pillow enables support areas to be centered at narrow central ridge region 16 overlying axis 30 of the cylindrical shape. The ridge region 16 can be viewed as lying along the longitudinal axis 30 of the tubular pillow. The axis 30 is asymmetric in overall contour, such that the pillow 10 can be likened to a hook or question mark in shape, forming an ear pocket with open front in the direction of the user's face. This shape provides comfortable support and minimizes any need for movement to find a better resting position. Accordingly, patients who have had facial surgery, a sore ear, or any of several other painful areas of the head are better enabled to obtain restful sleep.

The various fills 14 that are suitable for pillow 10 are known fills. Foamed plastic beads are a suitable choice. Feathers, down, or pile fills can be used. The view of FIG. 3 shows a fabric cover 12 over fill 14. As an alternative, pillow 10 can be formed of molded foam material, memory foam, and other materials known to be suitable for use in pillows.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be regarded as falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An asymmetric pillow defining an ear pocket with open front for localized support of the head and neck of a human user, comprising:

a cranial arch support bounding a top edge of said ear pocket; and

a cervical support depending from a rear end of said cranial arch support and extending forwardly and downwardly from the rear end of the cranial arch support to support a cervical area of the neck and bound a rear edge of the ear pocket.

2. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 1, wherein:

said arch support extends upwardly from about a mid-portion of said ear pocket; and

said cervical support extends downwardly from about a mid-portion of said ear pocket.

3. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 1, wherein:

said pillow is configured as a longitudinally elongated tube disposed along a serpentine longitudinal axis.

4. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 3, wherein:

said serpentine longitudinal axis is hook-shaped, such that in use under a user's head, the hook shape defines said ear pocket in suitable position to be disposed with open front facing forward toward the user's face.

5. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 1, further comprising:

an occipital support;

wherein said arch support comprises a cranial support connected at the rear end thereof to said occipital support; and

the occipital support interconnects said cranial support with said cervical support.

6. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 5, wherein said occipital support defines a rear edge of the ear pocket.

7. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 5, further comprising a temporal support at a front end thereof.

8. An asymmetric pillow according to claim 7, further comprising a cheek support at a front end of said temporal support.

9. A tubular pillow disposed along a serpentine longitudinal axis defining an ear pocket with open front for localized support of the head and neck of a human user, comprising:

an arch shaped cranial support defining an arcuate top of said ear pocket for supporting the cranial portion of a user's head; and

a cervical support connected to a rear end of said cranial arch support behind the ear pocket and extending downwardly and forwardly there from for supporting a user's neck below the ear.

10. A tubular pillow according to claim 9, wherein:

said cranial support extends upwardly from about a mid-portion of said ear pocket; and

said cervical support extends downwardly from about a mid-portion of said ear pocket.

11. A tubular pillow according to claim 9, wherein:

said serpentine longitudinal axis is hook-shaped, such that in use under a user's head, the hook shape defines said ear pocket in suitable position to be disposed with open front facing forward toward the user's face.

12. A tubular pillow according to claim 9, further comprising:

an occipital support to the rear of said ear pocket;

wherein said arch-shaped cranial support is connected at a rear end thereof to said occipital support; and

the occipital support interconnects said cranial support with said cervical support.

13. A tubular pillow according to claim 12, wherein said occipital support defines a rear edge of the ear pocket.

14. A tubular pillow according to claim 12, further comprising a temporal support extending downwardly and forward from a front end of said cranial support.

15. A tubular pillow according to claim 14, further comprising a cheek support extending downwardly and forward from a front end of said temporal support.

16. A tubular pillow according to claim 9, wherein said serpentine longitudinal axis is disposed in a generally hook-shaped configuration.