CONTOUR SHAPED SUPPORT PILLOW
A contour shaped support pillow is provided including a trough located at an upper center of a front surface of the pillow, side support areas on the front surface at sides of the trough, and first and second neck support areas above and below the trough. A substantially flat back surface adjoins the front surface at an outer rear edge. A parting line is on the front surface following the outer rear edge and terminates on each side of the first neck support area at the outer rear edge. An edge region is between the parting line and the outer rear edge. The trough, the side support areas, and the first and second neck support areas within the parting line form a concave surface. A top of the front surface between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface has a concave shape.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a support pillow, and more particularly, to a contour shaped support pillow.
2. Description of Related Art
Children in particular, but also adults, have a tendency to roll or drop their heads sideways and sometimes forward while sleeping in a seated position. This is very uncomfortable, and causes the person sleeping to lack proper rest as a result. Many sleep pattern interruptions occur while fighting this position of imbalance during sleep. Sitting fully upright poses the greatest challenge in maintaining a balanced head position while trying to sleep. Usually, and especially in children, the upper torso will follow the head's position to the side, to the point of moving the person's body completely off center.
Many pillows have been developed to control a person's head position when seated in repose. Resulting prior art pillows tend to either be too bulky, incorporating too much material, or they are placed around a person's head and neck in an awkward position, or they allow for excessive movement of the head, which in turn causes the body to follow the head's position to the side. None keep the head balanced rather than cradled and none are designed in a contoured form to keep the head balanced effectively.
One of these prior art pillows is described by McNiel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,690, which is incorporated herein by reference. McNiel states that freedom of head movement, even the freedom in sliding of the body is an important consideration in the pillow's development, thereby facilitating a person's head and body to easily become off balance while sleeping in a seated position. Silver et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,349, which is incorporated herein by reference, references a pillow which is U-shaped for cradling a person's head and neck. By examining that pillow's design it becomes apparent that a person's neck and head are cradled by that or similar designs. One of the disadvantages of such designs is that the neck is forced forward by the thickness and the composition of the pillow's back side, thereby requiring a constant back pressure to keep the head in a resting position. Furthermore, due to its design, that pillow is not suitable for use by smaller children because of their lack of ability to apply enough back pressure against the pillow. Also, the U-shaped pillow only offers indirect head side support. The head side support is achieved by supporting the jaw bones which roll onto the pillow's side arm surface, rather than by supporting the skull itself, which is an uncomfortable solution. That pillow's use is not only uncomfortable, but also restricting and awkward. Due to its placement position it easily wrinkles collars and clothing in the neck and shoulder areas of the persons using it, which many times are business travelers. It also causes the head to tilt to one side or another onto the U-Shaped arms creating excessive and uncomfortable pressure points on one's cheek area and face. Lincoln, U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0264055 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, is designed to provide lateral padding to protect the sides of a child's face. The design of that pillow is specific to a child's car seat. Its excess side material for the purpose of side face protection will cause excessive heat buildup. The pillow includes a central hole and two neck support areas, one on the lower portion and one on the upper portion of the pillow, which along with the side support areas cause the pillow to form an enclosure (cradle) around the user's head when applied for use. Harnish, U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,633, and Gold et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,958 B2, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, are not pre-shaped to conform to the natural lines and form of the contact area of a person's rear skull area. The pillows only display generic surfaces, and due to their shape and incorporated angles and because those devices do not offer an effective natural neck support area, the head is easily allowed to roll out of them. In fact, the pillows place the head in a position conducive to being off balance due to their thickness. The pillows do not keep the head balanced and therefore the head will eventually fall sideways and/or forward in the direction of the straight or diverging wing angles. Other prior art pillows, such as those mentioned in Kogan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,792, and Josefek, U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,107, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, are primarily designed for rest in a supine position and incorporate excessive use of material, which is not user friendly for travel.
In summary, prior art pillows allow for excessive head movement, are placed around a person's neck and head at very uncomfortable positions, or they offer too much contact area with the top and sides of a person's head and neck circumference, which creates a feeling of cradling and constriction. Further, some of the prior art pillows promote heat buildup around the head region. Most prior art pillows are not designed for both children and adults. Further, none take balance into account, which is an important aspect of rest. Thus, there is a need for a pillow for both children and adults that keeps the head balanced in its centered and most comfortable position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA contour shaped pillow is provided to balance and to maintain a person's head in its neutral resting position. The pillow includes two upper side support areas with a trough centered between the two upper side support areas. The pillow has two neck support areas contour shaped to fill the area between a person's neck and a substantially flat surface upon which a person chooses to rest with an approximately flat back side with or without a fastening device. The pillow offers a comfortable front form molded to fit the contour and shape of a person's back skull and neck areas.
The contour shaped support pillow of the present invention provides an adequate and highly effective means of stabilizing the head in its most comfortable centered position, giving the head and the body the best chance to naturally maintain their balance and upright position while sleeping in a seated state. The pillow offers two neck support surfaces designed to relax the head supporting muscles and a concave center area molded to support the back side of the skull without forcing it forward when seated as do other inventions. The neck support surfaces are shaped for a better fit for providing support without cradling the user in any way. The pillow is small and convenient for use while traveling or at home. The pillow counteracts the natural tendency of the human head to drop sideways and forward while sleeping in a seated body position, thereby affording maximum rest quality to the user. The pillow is light in weight for ease of handling. The pillow makes efficient use of the material which comprises its make-up. The pillow keeps the user's face area clear, as the pillow does not require any face area contact, thus unnecessary heat buildup will be avoided and the user will be awarded a feeling of being free and unrestricted. The pillow does not cradle a person's head or neck. The pillow awards the user a higher degree of comfort by distributing the weight of the user's head evenly across its contour shaped surface area. The pillow is suitable for use by all age groups and is fashionable and pleasing to the eye. The pillow can be used without wrinkling the user's clothes.
A contour shaped support pillow is provided. The contour shaped support pillow balances and maintains a person's head in a neutral resting position. A trough is located at an upper center of a front surface of the pillow. Side support areas are on the front surface at a right side of the trough and a left side of the trough. A first neck support area is on the front surface below the trough. A second neck support area is on the front surface above the trough. A substantially flat back surface adjoins the front surface at an outer rear edge. A parting line is on the front surface of the pillow following the outer rear edge and terminates on each side of the first neck support area at the outer rear edge of the back surface. An edge region is between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface. The trough, the side support areas, and the neck support areas, one of which is within the parting line, form a concave surface for balancing and maintaining the person's head in the neutral resting position. A top of the front surface above the second neck support area between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface has a concave shape.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the side support areas are configured to provide side support to the person's head in a first alignment and to provide side support to a person's head, as well as neck support in a second alignment, the first alignment and the second alignment being 180° out of alignment, with regard to rotation around the trough center point.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, any given contour line of the front surface smoothly transitions between the trough and the side support areas in the shape of a logarithmic function such as that which is generally approximated by f(x)=2 log(10x)−x2.
In one exemplary embodiment, the edge region is sloping.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow is shaped like a heart with the side support areas being lobes of the heart, the concave shape of the top of the front surface being a bridge between the lobes, and the neck support area being a bottom rounded edge of the heart.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow contains elastomeric fill selected from the group consisting of an elastomer, a gel filled pouch, an air filled bladder, a polyurethane foam, a latex foam, a memory foam, cotton, and feathers.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow further includes a first hook and loop fastener strip at the center of the trough, and a cover having a second hook and loop fastener strip for attaching to the first hook and loop fastener strip such that the cover conforms to the concave surface.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow further includes a side pocket in the cover to which a portable media player can be attached or within which a portable media player can be inserted.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow further includes an interior pocket interior to the cover; and a zip fastener attached to the cover for opening and closing the cover and for providing access to the interior pocket.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow is rollable and insertable into a tube shaped container; and the pillow expands to a designed form when removed from the container.
In one exemplary embodiment, the pillow further includes hook and loop fastener strips on the back surface for attaching to an underlying surface.
In one exemplary embodiment, the cover is a material selected from the group consisting of leather, synthetic leather, fabric, and plastic.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a width of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the side support areas is between 150 mm and 300 mm; a height of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the first neck support area and the second neck support area is between 100 mm and 260 mm; a thickness of a thickest portion of the side support areas is between 20 mm and 120 mm; and a thickness of a center of the trough is between 0 mm and 20 mm.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a difference in thickness between the trough and the thickest portion of the side support areas is between 0 mm and 120 mm.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a width of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the side support areas is between 190 mm and 300 mm; a height of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the first neck support area and the second neck support area is between 150 mm and 260 mm; a thickness of a thickest portion of the side support areas is between 30 mm and 60 mm; and a thickness of a center of the trough is between 0 mm and 20 mm.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a difference in thickness between the trough and the thickest portion of the side support areas is between 0 mm and 60 mm.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a thickness of the first neck support area is between 30 mm and 50 mm, and a thickness of the second neck support area is between 10 mm and 20 mm.
FIG. 2′ is a front view of the first exemplary embodiment showing the pillow rotated 180° and supporting a person's head.
FIG. 5′ is another section view of the first exemplary embodiment along the cross-section line a-a′ of
The contour shaped support pillows of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are optionally made from a variety of materials, such as polyurethane or latex foams, memory foams, or of natural materials such as cotton, feathers, or the like. Other exemplary embodiments could be comprised of a combination of the above mentioned materials, or of an inflatable air bladder or a pre-shaped gel pouch, containing a material such as silicone. The layering of different types of foam to achieve different types of firmness across the pillow's surface, with each layer being adjoined through adhesive to the one touching it, is conceivable. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the pillow is made from resilient polyurethane foams through cast molding, free rise processing, injection molding, cutting, or the like. The pillow design takes into account foam quality measuring units such as Indentation Force Deflection (IFD), Indentation Load Deflection (ILD), and foam recovery time in order to provide for a foam body of comfortable firmness and of high quality and durability. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the pillow is covered with a material, which is comfortable to the touch, such as leather, or a cotton material, synthetic leather, terry cloth, or the like. The cover can be fully enclosing or it can be manufactured with a zipper or hook-and-loop fastener type opening which could then allow for the separation of the fill material from the cover for the purpose of separate use or of cleaning each individual part of the pillow.
All planar angles of the front face surface of the contour pillow 10 change as per the cross-section illustration of
The center contoured region, which includes trough 11 together with the elevated neck support area 12, is molded to receive the occipital region of a user's head. The center contoured region minimizes forward force tendencies. The unique shape of the contour pillow 10 ensures that the face remains clear and free, and the shape ensures that predominantly the back side of a user's head is in contact with the front surface of the contour pillow 10 thereby minimizing any wrinkling effect on a user's clothing around the neck and shoulder region. The contour pillow 10, through its contoured front panel design helps greatly in the center stabilization of the head while in use, either in a seated or supine position.
The pillow of exemplary embodiments of the present invention offers a comfortable front form molded to fit the contour and shape of a person's back skull and neck areas, and designed to support the back side of the skull without imposing any twisting moments on the person's skull.
It is recognized that proper fill material thickness between the skull area, at each point on the skull, and the surface upon which the skull is resting is important. Too thick of a fill will yield forward pressure on a person's head, not enough fill will yield a lack of support, true for any given point on the skull.
The contour of the pillow can be approximated by parabolic and logarithmic type curves. The trough 11 represents the fill space between the maximum curvature of a person's rear skull with the surface upon which the person chooses to rest. The thickness at this particular point determines the angle of the chamberlain's line and the resulting flexion angle when compared to the neutral head resting position. Further, points along the surface of the entire skull can be defined similarly and the fill space between said points and the substantially flat surface can then be determined. Each person's skull rounding is shaped slightly differently resulting in minute protrudences of the varying skull forms into the parabolic/logarithmic contour pillow. These minute indentations have been found to have no significant bearing on the comfort, or functionality of the device, as long as these variances are absorbed by proper fill material qualities, such as material composition, firmness and resilience, of which memory foam seems to be the best.
As the skull is a rounded object, any fill material height moving outwardly from the trough point 11 must also conform to the requirements described above, meaning proper fill material thickness must be chosen at any point where the pillow contacts the back area of a person's skull. A choice too thick will yield a rotational momentum imposed on said person's head, counteracting it will require fatiguing muscle input over the time of use.
The contour of the pillow follows a series of parabolic and logarithmic lines moving outwardly from the trough 11 to define proper material thickness at each point which contacts the person's skull and neck areas, resulting in a concave trough area and a varying convex edge along the circumference of the pillow's outer edge.
The height or focus of each parabola has been chosen to result in as small a shape as possible to allow for maximum comfort, also to allow for a form that is not intrusive on a person's space, and to allow for the object to be easily carried in transport, and also to reduce manufacturing costs by using the minimum amount of material to achieve all of the objectives above.
The contour shaped support pillow of exemplary embodiments of the present invention provides a more useful, efficient, and comfortable resting surface for the seated or supine rest seeking user than prior art pillows.
While the above description contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one or more preferred embodiments thereof. It will occur to those skilled in the art that modifications and alternatives can be practiced within the spirit of the invention. Many other variations are possible. For example, embodiments of different basic shapes are possible, such as but not limited to oval or triangular shapes. Also other embodiments may contain, as possible fill materials, gel filled pouches or air filled bladders of the same shape as the pillow to name a few variations. The materials used to cover the pillow can vary from leather, to synthetic leather, to cotton, or terry cloth, or any other different varieties of cover materials can be used. Also, instead of using the described hook-and-loop strips to fasten the pillow to a given surface, one could use snaps, clips, or the like, and strips of different shapes to affix the pillow to any given attaching surface, or no attachment mechanisms at all can be an option as well. Furthermore, instead of using a back material which displays an adhesive like quality such as a latex material described herein, one could use patches of gel which could be made part of the pillow's make-up, or similar to create an affinity between the back panel of the pillow and the surface upon which it is resting, though this is not a requirement of the design either. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Claims
1. A contour shaped support pillow for balancing and maintaining a person's head in a neutral resting position, comprising:
- a trough located at an upper center of a front surface of the pillow;
- side support areas on the front surface at a right side of the trough and a left side of the trough;
- a first neck support area on the front surface below the trough;
- a second neck support area on the front surface above the trough;
- a substantially flat back surface adjoining the front surface at an outer rear edge;
- a parting line on the front surface of the pillow following the outer rear edge and terminating on each side of the first neck support area at the outer rear edge of the back surface; and
- an edge region between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface,
- wherein the trough, the side support areas, the first neck support area, and the second neck support area within the parting line form a concave surface for balancing and maintaining the person's head in the neutral resting position,
- wherein a top of the front surface above the second neck support area between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface has a concave shape.
2. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 1, wherein the side support areas are configured to provide side support to the person's head in a first alignment and to provide side support to a person's head and neck in a second alignment, the first alignment and the second alignment being 180° out of alignment.
3. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 1, wherein a contour of the front surface smoothly transitions between the trough and the side support and the neck support areas in the shape of parabolic and logarithmic approximated curves.
4. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 1, wherein the edge region is sloping.
5. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 1, wherein the pillow is shaped like a heart with the side support areas being lobes of the heart, the second neck support area and the concave shape of the top of the front surface being a bridge between the lobes, and the first neck support area being a bottom rounded edge of the heart.
6. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 1, wherein the pillow contains elastomeric fill selected from the group consisting of an elastomer, a gel filled pouch, an air filled bladder, a polyurethane foam, a latex foam, a memory foam, cotton, and feathers.
7. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 1, further comprising:
- a first hook and loop fastener strip at the center of the trough; and
- a cover having a second hook and loop fastener strip for attaching to the first hook and loop fastener strip such that the cover conforms to the concave surface.
8. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, further comprising:
- a side pocket in the cover to which a portable media player can be attached or within which a portable media player can be inserted.
9. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, further comprising:
- an interior pocket interior to the cover; and
- a zip fastener attached to the cover for opening and closing the cover and for providing access to the interior pocket.
10. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, wherein:
- the pillow is rollable and insertable into a tube shaped container; and
- the pillow expands to a designed form when removed from the container.
11. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, further comprising:
- hook and loop fastener strips on the back surface for attaching to an underlying surface.
12. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, wherein the cover is a material selected from the group consisting of leather, synthetic leather, fabric, and plastic.
13. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, wherein:
- a width of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the side support areas is between 150 mm and 300 mm;
- a height of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the first neck support area and the second neck support area is between 100 mm and 260 mm;
- a thickness of a thickest portion of the side support areas is between 20 mm and 120 mm; and
- a thickness of a center of the trough is between 0 mm and 20 mm.
14. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 13, wherein a difference in thickness between the trough and the thickest portion of the side support areas is between 0 mm and 120 mm.
15. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, wherein:
- a width of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the side support areas is between 190 mm and 300 mm;
- a height of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the first neck support area and the second neck support area is between 150 mm and 260 mm;
- a thickness of a thickest portion of the side support areas is between 30 mm and 60 mm; and
- a thickness of a center of the trough is between 0 mm and 20 mm.
16. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 15, wherein a difference in thickness between the trough and the thickest portion of the side support areas is between 0 mm and 60 mm.
17. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 7, wherein:
- a thickness of the first neck support area is between 30 mm and 50 mm, and
- a thickness of the second neck support area is between 10 mm and 20 mm.
18. A contour shaped support pillow for balancing and maintaining a person's head in a neutral resting position, comprising:
- a trough located at an upper center of a front surface of the pillow;
- side support areas on the front surface at a right side of the trough and a left side of the trough;
- a first neck support area on the front surface below the trough;
- a second neck support area on the front surface above the trough;
- a substantially flat back surface adjoining the front surface at an outer rear edge;
- a parting line on the front surface of the pillow following the outer rear edge and terminating on each side of the first neck support area at the outer rear edge of the back surface;
- an edge region between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface;
- a first hook and loop fastener strip at the center of the trough; and
- a cover having a second hook and loop fastener strip for attaching to the first hook and loop fastener strip such that the cover conforms to the concave surface,
- wherein the trough, the side support areas, the first neck support area, and the second neck support area within the parting line form a concave surface for balancing and maintaining the person's head in the neutral resting position,
- wherein a top of the front surface above the second neck support area between the parting line and the outer rear edge of the back surface has a concave shape,
- wherein the pillow is shaped like a heart with the side support areas being lobes of the heart, the second neck support area and the concave shape of the top of the front surface being a bridge between the lobes, and the first neck support area being a bottom rounded edge of the heart,
- wherein the pillow contains elastomeric fill selected from the group consisting of an elastomer, a gel filled pouch, an air filled bladder, a polyurethane foam, a latex foam, a memory foam, cotton, and feathers,
- wherein a width of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the side support areas is between 190 mm and 300 mm; a height of the contour shaped support pillow between edges of the first neck support area and the second neck support area is between 150 mm and 260 mm; a thickness of a thickest portion of the side support areas is between 30 mm and 60 mm; a thickness of a center of the trough is between 0 mm and 20 mm; a difference in thickness between the trough and the thickest portion of the side support areas is between 0 mm and 60 mm, a thickness of the first neck support area is between 30 mm and 50 mm, and a thickness of the second neck support area is between 10 mm and 20 mm, and
- wherein the side support areas are configured to provide side support to the person's head in a first alignment and to provide side support to a person's head and neck in a second alignment, the first alignment and the second alignment being 180° out of alignment.
19. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, wherein the edge region is sloping.
20. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, further comprising:
- a side pocket in the cover to which a portable media player can be attached or within which a portable media player can be inserted.
21. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, further comprising:
- an interior pocket interior to the cover; and
- a zip fastener attached to the cover for opening and closing the cover and for providing access to the interior pocket.
22. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, wherein:
- the pillow is rollable and insertable into a tube shaped container; and
- the pillow expands to a designed form when removed from the container.
23. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, further comprising:
- hook and loop fastener strips on the back surface for attaching to an underlying surface.
24. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, wherein the cover is a material selected from the group consisting of leather, synthetic leather, fabric, and plastic.
25. The contour shaped support pillow of claim 18, wherein a contour of the front surface smoothly transitions between the trough the side support and the neck support areas in the shape of parabolic and logarithmic approximated curves.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 13, 2008
Publication Date: Dec 17, 2009
Inventors: Takafumi Eura (Santa Monica, CA), Sohail Sherif (Santa Monica, CA)
Application Number: 12/139,448
International Classification: A47C 20/00 (20060101); A47G 9/02 (20060101);