Patent Application
20130230685
The present invention relates generally to cushions and more particularly to pillows.
Individuals with medical conditions sometimes require specialized cushions for resting or sleeping. For example, someone with a head injury or requiring a cerebral shunt/medical device to drain excess fluid from the brain may be limited in how they can rest their heads on pillows due to the pressure of the pillow against the injury or shunt/medical device.
One way to compensate for the extra pressure caused by a firm pillow would be to use a less firm pillow. However, this might not provide enough support for the individual's head in order to provide a comfortable night's sleep. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a cushion that enables an individual with a head injury or other medical condition to rest their heads without causing undue stress.
The present invention encompasses a cushion with varying areas of firmness. A center area is filled with a gel-type material or liquid. An outer area circumferentially surrounds the center area and is filled with a beaded material and, in one embodiment, additionally filled with a gel-type material or liquid. A bi-directional valve is coupled to the outer area and configured to add or remove air from the outer area.
The center area 101 can be filled with a gel, a gel-type material, or a liquid. The gel-type material or liquid can comprise a silicone gel or some other type of gel material. The liquid might be a highly viscous liquid that provides the same properties as the gel.
The outer area 102 is filled with a beaded material or pellets. In addition to the beads, the outer area 102 can contain a gel, a gel-type material, or a liquid that is mixed in with the beads/pellets. The beads can be polypropylene resin beads, polystyrene beads, foam, or some other beaded material. The gel-type material or liquid that can be added to the beads can be the same gel used in the center area 101 or a different type of gel.
Both the center area 101 and the outer area 102 are individually enclosed in order to keep their respective filling materials separated. The coverings can be any type of material that is appropriate for containing the different areas respective filling materials. For example, rubber, synthetic rubber, vinyl, spandex, or some other synthetic material would contain a liquid or gel-type material. A cotton or linen material would contain beads if the gel-type material was not also used in this area. However, the present invention is not limited to any one type of covering material. Additionally, the entire cushion can be covered with a natural material, such as cotton or linen, that is more comfortable when in contact with an individual's skin.
In one embodiment, the outer area 102 includes a perforated second layer of material 200 within the outer covering. The perforated inner covering 200, as shown in
In one embodiment, the center area 101 is permanently affixed to the center of the outer area 102. In an alternate embodiment, the center area 101 is removable such that it can slide into or out of the center of the outer area 102 and be held in place temporarily by friction or some attachment device (e.g., hook and loop fastener). The alternate embodiment would allow an individual to replace and/or change the different areas of the cushion as necessary depending on a changing medical condition. In another embodiment, the center area 101 might be removed completely to leave just the outer area 102.
A bi-directional valve 103 is coupled to the outer area 102. The valve 103 enables inflation and deflation of the outer area 102 in order to change the firmness of this area 102. Since the outer area 102 comprises a beaded-material, the valve 103 could include a screen or filter device that allows only air out of the outer area 103 and prevents the beaded material and gel, if present, from exiting. In one embodiment, an inflation/deflation device can be connected to the valve to add or remove air from the outer area 102. Such an inflation/deflation device is illustrated in
In an alternate embodiment, the bi-directional valve enables self-inflating and self-deflating of the outer area 102 by opening the valve. For example, in order to reduce the amount of air in the outer area 102, one would open the valve and apply pressure on the outer area 102 to push the air out of the valve then close the valve prior to releasing the pressure on the outer area 102. To re-inflate the outer area 102, the valve could be opened and, based on the type of material in the outer area 102, air would naturally be drawn back into the outer area 102.
Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
