NECK PILLOW AND ARM HOLDER

Abstract

A personal comfort device having a neck support portion and an arm and upper body support portion. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the neck support portion may comprise a U-shaped pillow having a pair of opposing arms. The neck support portion may be placed onto the back a user's neck such that the two opposing arms pass on either side of the user's neck and such that the free ends of the two opposing arms are located on the front side of the user. The neck support portion may support the head and neck of a user in a comfortable manner. The arm support portion may be interconnected to the neck support portion such that it hangs approximately on the user's torso. The arm support portion may be functional to receive the user's arms and maintain them in approximately a folded position across the user's torso. The arm support portion may be integrated into a blanket to thereby provide additional comfort to a user.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/989,897 filed Nov. 23, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, including but not limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the incorporation by reference being made with the following exception: In the event that any portion of the above-referenced provisional application is inconsistent with this application, this application supercedes said above-referenced provisional application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to comfort devices, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to personal comfort devices for use while traveling and in other situations, such as medical, sleep aids, etc.

2. Description of Related Art

People are often desirous of improving their personal comfort while traveling. In the past, for example, travelers have utilized a wide variety of devices to improve their comfort in confined locations, such as while seated in an airplane seat. For example, travelers often have employed neck pillows and other personal comfort items. However, while these comfort enhancement items are useful for their intended purposes, they fall short in providing complete comfort and support for the neck and upper body.

The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present invention. The present invention minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein. The features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts various combinations of neck supports and arm and upper body supports pursuant to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a neck support and arm support pursuant to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts a neck support and a blanket with an integrated arm support pursuant to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 depicts a neck support and arm support pursuant to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 depicts a neck support and arm support pursuant to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the disclosure claimed.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

Applicants have discovered a personal comfort device that may comprise a neck pillow with an attached arm support. The neck pillow may comprise a body portion that is substantially U-shaped such that it can be placed onto the neck of a user. An arm support may be attached to the neck pillow such that it is positioned approximately on the torso of a user. The arm support may support the arms of the user in a folded position across the user's torso. The attachment of the arm support to the neck pillow maintains the arm support in position on the torso of the user. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the neck pillow may be replaced by a strap, scarf or other member that passes around the neck of a user. The arm support may comprise any device for supporting the arms and upper body of a user, including a sleeve, hammock, or tubular member. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the neck pillow and the arm support may be removable attachable to each other.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there are depicted various neck supports 1a, 1b, and 1c and various arm and upper body supports 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i. The neck supports 1a, 1b, and 1c may be connected to any of the arm supports 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i using fasteners 1d. The neck support 1a may comprise a U-shaped pillow, which may be a filled pillow or inflatable. The U-shaped pillow may comprise a pair of arms 12 and 14. Fasteners 1d may be attached to the free ends of the arms 12 and 14. Neck support 1b may comprise a scarf. Neck support 1c may comprise a strap 18.

The arm support 1e may comprise a hammock that supports both arms of a user. The arm support 1g may comprise a sleeve 1h that supports both arms of a user. The arm support 1f may comprise a blanket 22 with an integrated arm support on the back of the blanket 22. The integrated arm support may take the form of arm supports 1e, 1g or 1i. The arm support 1f may comprise a tube or muff. The arrows in FIG. 1 indicated the direction of insertion of a user's arms into the respective arm supports. The neck supports 1a, 1b, and 1c and arm supports 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i may have straps 24 that support the arm supports 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i from one of the neck supports 1a, 1b, and 1c. Fasteners may be used to interconnect the neck supports 1a, 1b, and 1c and the arm supports 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i. The straps 24 may be adjustable to accommodate users of different sizes.

FIG. 2 depicts a user wearing the neck support 1a and the arm support 1e. FIG. 3 depicts a user wearing the neck support 1a and the blanket 22 with an integrated arm support 1f. FIG. 4 depicts a user wearing the neck support 1a and the arm support 1i. FIG. 5 depicts a user wearing the neck support 1a and the arm support 1h. It will be appreciated that the neck support 1a may be replaced by the neck supports 1b or 1c in any of the FIGS. 2-5.

It will be appreciated that the present invention may comprise a neck support portion, such as 1a, 1b, and 1c, and an arm support portion, such as 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i, and at least one support member, such as strap 24, extending between said neck support portion and said arm support portion, where the at least one support member is operable for suspending the arm support portion from the neck support portion. Further, the neck support portion, such as 1a, 1b, and 1c, may be a means for suspending the arm support portions from a neck of the user. The arm support portion, such as 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1i, may constitute a means for supporting both arms of the user on a torso of a user. The arm support portion may be adapted and configured for receiving and enclosing both forearms and the hands of a user. The invention may further comprise a blanket portion, such as blanket 22, for covering at least a portion of a body of a user, where the blanket portion is suspended by the at least one support member from said neck support portion. The blanket 22 may have an integrated arm support portion. The blanket portion and the arm support portion may have a storage pocket 30 for storing useful items as seen in FIGS. 1-5.

Those having ordinary skill in the relevant art will appreciate the advantages provide by the features of the present disclosure. For example, it is a feature of the present disclosure to provide a personal comfort device with a neck pillow and interconnected arm support.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features of the present disclosure are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the present disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein.

Claims

1. A personal comfort apparatus for a user, comprising:

a neck support portion;

an arm support portion; and

at least one support member extending between said neck support portion and said arm support portion, said at least one support member operable for suspending said arm support portion from said neck support portion.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said arm support portion is adapted and configured for receiving and enclosing both forearms of the user.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said neck support portion comprises a U-shaped pillow.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a blanket portion for covering at least a portion of a body of said user, said blanket portion being suspended by the at least one support member from said neck support portion.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said arm support portion is integrated with said blanket portion.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said neck support portion comprises an inflatable bladder.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said arm support portion comprises at least one of a hammock and a sleeve member.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one fastening device, said at least one fastening device operable to allow said neck support portion and said arm support portion to be removable connected to each other.

9. A personal comfort apparatus for a user, comprising:

a first support means for supporting both arms of the user on a torso of a user; and

a second support means for suspending the first support means from a neck of the user.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said second support means comprises a neck support portion for supporting the neck of the user.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said second support means comprises a U-shaped pillow portion for supporting the neck of the user.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said second support means comprises a strap.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said second support means comprises a scarf.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a blanket portion for covering at least a portion of the body of the user, wherein said second support means suspends said blanket portion from the neck of the user.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said first support means and said blanket portion are integrated with each other.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a fastening device for removably joining the first and second support means.

18. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a storage pocket.

19. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said user is at least one of a traveler and a patient.

20. A personal comfort apparatus for a user, comprising:

a neck support portion for supporting a neck of a user;

an arm support portion for supporting both arms of a user in a folded position on the torso of the user;

a blanket portion for covering at least part of a body of the user;

wherein said blanket portion and said arm support portion are integrated together; and

at least one support member extending between said neck support portion and said arm support portion, said at least one support member operable for suspending said arm support portion from said neck support portion.