Patent Application
20240407552
This invention relates to braces, including a head brace that holds a user's head in an upright position.
A variety of neck pillows and other devices are available that may be worn by airline travelers in an attempt to find comfort while seated upright for extended periods of time.
However, many of these neck pillows do not succeed in keeping the user's head upright during use, and as such, become uncomfortable as the user falls asleep and his/her head falls forward and/or to the side. Other types of braces meant to hold the user's head generally upright are attached by extending a strap around the outer circumference of the seat, but these configurations may impinge on the person seated behind the user.
Accordingly, there is a need for a head brace that holds a user's head comfortably upright during use and that does not interfere with other people seated adjacent the intended user.
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
In general, the head brace assembly according to exemplary embodiments hereof includes a brace for holding a person's head in a generally upright and supported position against a seat (e.g., against the headrest portion of an airline seat). The head brace assembly may include one or more straps that extend about the user's head (e.g., around the left side, forehead, and right side of the user's head) and that connect to the seat behind the user. In this way, when worn, the user's head is held upright and supported, and the user may rest and/or sleep without having his/her head fall forward or to the side.
In one exemplary embodiment hereof, as shown in
Note that the elements 100, 200 are depicted as basic shapes in the figures for easy understanding and to represent the general configuration of the elements 100, 200 with respect to one another. However, it is understood that the representations do not necessarily represent the size, shape or form of the elements 100, 200, nor the proportional sizes, locations and/or exact orientations of the elements 100, 200 with respect to one another. These details will be described in other sections.
In addition, the location of the strap assembly 100 on the wearer's head as depicted may not necessarily represent the exact locations of the elements 100 when worn by different users, and it is understood that the location of the elements 100 during use may depend on the wearer's discretion (e.g., for best comfort). The head brace assembly 10 also may include other components and elements as necessary for the assembly 10 to perform its functionalities.
During use, a user may attach the attachment assembly 200 to a surface of the seat S, may sit and/or lay in the seat with his/her head resting against an upper portion of the seat S, and may extend the strap assembly 100 around his/her head. Alternatively, at least a portion of the attachment assembly 200 may be provided as already attached to a surface of the seat S and the user may simply attach the strap assembly 100 to the attachment assembly 200 before extending the strap assembly 100 around his/her head. In either of these configurations, the strap assembly 100 may hold the user's head generally upright and against the seat.
As mentioned above, the attachment assembly 200 may be attached to a seat S upon which the user may wish to sit while using the head brace assembly 10. In some embodiments, as shown in
With this general context, the strap assembly 100 and the attachment assembly 200 will next be described in detail.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In other embodiments, the head covering may include a cap 130 that is pulled onto the user's head such that the top of the user's head also may be covered.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the second ends 114, 122 of the first and second strap members 110, 118, respectively, include tabs 121 that the user may grasp to pull the first and second strap members 110, 118 away from the head covering 126 to release the attachment members 111, 119 and to remove the straps 110, 118.
In some embodiments, the head covering 126 may include a variety of padded portions. For example, the head covering 126 may include nose padding 132 that provides padding in the area of the head covering 126 that may be positioned over and/or generally adjacent the user's nose area when worn. In some embodiments, the head covering 126 also may include a bendable member in the area of the user's nose (e.g., a wire integrated with the nose padding 132) that may enable the user to adjust the contour of the head covering 126 and/or nose padding 132 in the nose area for comfort and stability, and to block out light.
In some embodiments, the head covering 126 may includes side padding 134 that may be positioned in the area of the sides of the user's head and that may provide padding in the area of the strap members 110, 118. In some embodiments, the side padding 134 may be integrated into the side strap 110, 118 instead of and/or in addition to being integrated into the head covering 126.
For the purposes of this specification, the first attachment mechanism 202 will be described in detail with the understanding that the second attachment mechanism 204 may be identical and/or substantially the same to the first attachment mechanism 202. In addition, the first attachment mechanism 202 will be described primarily in relation to its configuration with the first strap member 110 with the understanding that its relation to other strap members (e.g., the strap members 102, 118) may be identical and/or substantially the same.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the attachment mechanism's first surface 206 includes an adhesive (and/or other suitable attachment systems such as suction cups, etc.) such that the attachment mechanism 202 and the strap member 110 attached thereto may be secured to the seat S. It may be preferable that the adhesive be strong enough to hold the first strap member 110 attached to the seat S when forces Fp are applied to the first strap member 110 in a direction generally parallel to the surface 206 during use of the head brace assembly 10. In this way, the first surface 206 is secured to the seat S during use. In some embodiments, however, it also may be preferable that the adhesive be weak enough such that when forces Fo are applied to the first strap member 110 in a direction generally orthogonal to the surface 206 that the adhesive may release and the attachment mechanism 202 and the strap member 110 attached thereto may be removed from (e.g., peeled off of) the seat S. Given the above, it may be preferable that the adhesive be repositionable and/or reusable adhesive such that the surface 206, after being removed from a first seat may be reattached to another seat for subsequent use (e.g., during a different airline trip).
In some embodiments, the attachment mechanism 202 may include a side tab 210 (e.g., located on an end of the attachment mechanism 202 opposite the user's head when used) that the user may grasp and pull (e.g., upward) to apply the orthogonal force Fo and to remove the attachment mechanism 202 from the seat S.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In any event, it is preferable that the corresponding attachment members 212, 214 adhere to one another strong enough to remain connected and to thereby hold the first strap member 110 attached to the seat S when forces Fp are applied to the first strap member 110 in a direction generally parallel to the surface 206 during use of the head brace assembly 10. In this way, the strap member 110 is secured to the seat S during use. In some embodiments, however, it also may be preferable that the corresponding attachment members 212, 214 adhere to one another weak enough such that when forces Fo are applied to the first strap member 110 in a direction generally orthogonal to the surface 206 that the attachment members 212, 214 may release and the strap member 110 may be removed from the seat S when desired. Accordingly, the strap member 110 and/or the releasable attachment member 214 attached thereto may include a side tab 216 (e.g., located on an end of the strap member 110 and/or the releasable attachment member 214 opposite the user's head when used) that the user may grasp and pull (e.g., upward) to apply the orthogonal force Fo and to remove the strap member 110 from the seat S.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the rigidity member 218 also may be configured on a different side of the strap member 110, e.g., on an upper, top surface, and/or through an inner surface (e.g., passing through the strap member 110 and/or through any padding or fabric that may be configured with the strap member 110) to provide a similar degree of rigidity to the strap member 110. For example, in the embodiment of
Similarly, in some embodiments, as shown in
It also is contemplated that the rigidity member 220 be configured and/or integrated into the embodiment of
It also is contemplated that the rigidity member 220 be attached directly to the seat S.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the strap members 102, 110, 118 comprise fabric, webbing, leather, other suitable materials (preferably flexible), and any combinations thereof. It also is contemplated that the strap members 102, 110, 118 comprise elastic.
In some embodiments, the rigidity members 218, 220 comprise plastic (e.g., PVC), metal, wood, composite materials, other suitably rigid materials, and any combinations thereof.
It is understood that any aspect and/or element of any embodiment of the assembly 10 may be combined with any other aspect and/or element of any other embodiment of the assembly 10 in any way to form additional embodiments of the assembly 10 all of which are within the scope of the assembly 10.
Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human).
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some” means “one or more,” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs”, and includes the case of only one ABC.
As used herein, including in the claims, term “at least one” should be understood as meaning “one or more”, and therefore includes both embodiments that include one or multiple components. Furthermore, dependent claims that refer to independent claims that describe features with “at least one” have the same meaning, both when the feature is referred to as “the” and “the at least one”.
As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So, for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. In the context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all of the conversation.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “using at least,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means “using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.”
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “based on” means “based in part on” or “based, at least in part, on,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “based on factor X” means “based in part on factor X” or “based, at least in part, on factor X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “based on X” does not mean “based only on X.”
In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word “only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “at least partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y” means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not mean that “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs from Y in at least some way.
It should be appreciated that the words “first,” “second,” and so on, in the description and claims, are used to distinguish or identify, and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, letter labels (e.g., “(A)”, “(B)”, “(C)”, and so on, or “(a)”, “(b)”, and so on) and/or numbers (e.g., “(i)”, “(ii)”, and so on) are used to assist in readability and to help distinguish and/or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting or to impose or imply any serial or numerical limitations or orderings. Similarly, words such as “particular,” “specific,” “certain,” and “given,” in the description and claims, if used, are to distinguish or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting.
As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “multiple” and “plurality” mean “two or more,” and include the case of “two.” Thus, e.g., the phrase “multiple ABCs,” means “two or more ABCs,” and includes “two ABCs.” Similarly, e.g., the phrase “multiple PQRs,” means “two or more PQRs,” and includes “two PQRs.”
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” or “approximately 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
As used herein, including in the claims, singular forms of terms are to be construed as also including the plural form and vice versa, unless the context indicates otherwise. Thus, it should be noted that as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Throughout the description and claims, the terms “comprise”, “including”, “having”, and “contain” and their variations should be understood as meaning “including but not limited to”, and are not intended to exclude other components unless specifically so stated.
It will be appreciated that variations to the embodiments of the invention can be made while still falling within the scope of the invention. Alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose can replace features disclosed in the specification, unless stated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosed represents one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
Use of exemplary language, such as “for instance”, “such as”, “for example” (“e.g.,”) and the like, is merely intended to better illustrate the invention and does not indicate a limitation on the scope of the invention unless specifically so claimed.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
