Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6763539
-
Patent Number
6,763,539
-
Date Filed
Monday, April 28, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 20, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 005 655
- 005 652
- 005 630
- 005 636
- 005 639
- D06 601
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
In one embodiment, a pillow comprises a pillow body comprising a medial region and two opposing arms with ends extending from the medial region to define an inner well region. The pillow body is sized and configured to permit the medial region to rest on a user's lap, with the ends of the opposing arms being generally adjacent to the user's waist. A support member is disposed across at least a portion of the well region such that the ends of the arms extend beyond the support member. The support member is sized and configured to assist in supporting a baby when lying on the pillow body while the ends of the arms are generally adjacent to the user's waist.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of support pillows, and in particular to support pillows useful in supporting infants, babies and other items. In one particular application, the support pillows may be useful in holding a baby while feeding the baby.
When feeding a baby, some type of support typically needs to be provided. For example, one common technique used in breast feeding is to position the baby lengthwise across the mother while holding the baby in the mother's arms. A similar position may be used when bottle feeding except that the baby's head may be rested in the crook of the feeder's arm while the rest of the body rests on the feeder's lap.
In either case, supporting the baby while feeding can tire and fatigue the feeder, especially if feeding is prolonged or is required numerous times throughout the day. To help support the baby, a variety of pillows have been proposed including, for example, those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,661,861; 5,581,833 and 5,519,906, the complete disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is related to other types of support pillows that may be used to facilitate feeding of a baby, among other uses. In one embodiment, the invention provides a nursing pillow that comprises a pillow body having a medial region and two opposing arms with ends extending from the medial region to define an inner well region. The pillow body is sized and configured to permit the medial region to rest on a user's lap, with the ends of the opposing arms being generally adjacent to the user's waist. A support member is disposed across at least a portion of the well region such that the ends of the arms extend beyond the support member. Further, the support member is sized and configured to assist in supporting a baby when lying on the pillow body while the ends of the arms are generally adjacent to the user's waist. Hence, such a pillow may be used to facilitate the feeding of a baby by placing the baby onto the pillow, with the baby's bottom or hip resting on the support member and the upper body being supported by one or more of the arms and/or medial region.
In one aspect, the support member may comprise a piece of fabric extending across the well region. Conveniently, the piece of fabric may be generally aligned with a midplane of the pillow body. In another aspect, the pillow body may be constructed of a fill material that is enclosed in a fabric cover, and the support member may comprise a continuation of the fabric cover that extends across the well region.
The dimensions of the support pillow are selected so that the pillow may conveniently fit on the user's lap while also providing the proper position for the baby, such as when feeding or holding the baby. For example, the pillow body may have a thickness in the range from about 3 includes to about 9 inches, and more preferably from about 5 inches to about 7 inches. The well region may have a width in the range of 6 inches to about 9 inches, and more preferably from about 7 inches to about 8 inches. Also, the well region may have a depth in the range of about 9 inches to about 14 inches, and the support member may have a depth in the range from about 4 inches to about 8 inches. The opposing arms may each have a width in the range from about 6 inches to about 12 inches, and more preferably from about 8 inches to about 10 inches. In some cases, the arms may have a variable width. The medial region may further have a depth in the range from about 5 inches to about 9 inches, and more preferably from about 6 inches to about 8 inches.
The support member may also have an edge that is configured to rest against the user's stomach. Conveniently, the edge may be curved in geometry. The ends of the arms may also be curved in geometry. In one aspect, the pillow body may be U-shaped in geometry.
The invention in another embodiment provides a method for supporting a baby. The method may utilize a pillow comprising a pillow body having a medial region and two opposing arms extending from the medial region to define an inner well region. A support member is disposed across at least a portion of the well region. The pillow body is placed on a user's lap, with the opposing arms being generally adjacent to the user's waist, and a baby is placed onto the support pillow, with at least some of the baby's weight being supported by the support member.
In one arrangement, the baby may be placed onto the pillow such that the baby's bottom or hip is positioned on the support member. In this way, the baby's chest and head are somewhat elevated and may also be in contact with the user's chest. Such an arrangement may be particularly useful when bottle feeding, breast feeding, or simply holding the baby, especially when sleeping. Further, in cases where the baby is congested, elevating the baby's chest and head may help the baby breath easier.
The pillow may also be used for resting at least one of the user's arms to help prevent the arms from becoming fatigued.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of one embodiment of a support pillow according to the invention.
FIG. 2
is a front view of the pillow of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is a cross sectional side view of the pillow of
FIG. 2
taken along lines
3
—
3
.
FIG. 4
illustrates the pillow of
FIG. 1
when used for nursing a baby according to the invention.
FIG. 5
illustrates another embodiment of a support pillow according to the invention.
FIG. 6
illustrates a further embodiment of a support pillow according to the invention.
FIG. 7
illustrates the pillow of
FIG. 5
when use for nursing a baby according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides embodiments of support pillows and methods for their use. In some embodiments, the pillows may be configured to extend at least partially around the user's waste while also providing an inner well region that is disposed over the user's lap. A support member may extend across at least a portion of the well region and may be used to help hold a baby when lying on the pillow. For instance, the baby's mid section may be held by the support member while the baby's chest and/or head may be supported by the pillow. In this way, the pillow may be used to hold the baby when bottle feeding, breast feeding, sleep, or simply lying. Further, the pillow may be used to hold other items as well, such as food, books, magazines, games, computers, electronic controls, and the like.
The support pillows are particularly useful when the user is in a sitting position so that the pillow may be held across the user's lap. Optionally, a strap may be connected to the ends of the pillows arms and extend around the user's waist to help hold the pillow to the user, especially when the user stands or moves around in a chair or couch.
The support pillows are configured such that they easily fit the shape of essentially any waist by having the arms of the pillow terminate at the user's side. At the same time, the support member provides sufficient support for the baby. Such a configuration also helps the user to be positioned in an ergonomically correct orientation while nursing or feeding the baby. Another feature is that the support pillow may be sized to fit within a rocking chair while also being large enough to properly support the baby. The contoured nature of the pillow also allows the pillow to sit close to the user while resting comfortably on the user's lap, such as when feeding. The slightly sloping sides of the pillow body also elevates the baby's back and head to facilitate nursing.
Referring now to
FIGS. 1-3
, one embodiment of a support pillow
10
will be described. Support pillow
10
comprises a pillow body
12
that may be generally defined in terms of a medial region
14
and two opposing arms
16
and
18
having ends
20
and
22
, respectively. The medial region
14
together with arms
16
and
18
partially surround and define a well region
24
. Disposed across a portion of well region
24
is a support member
26
that is designed to assist in supporting some or all of an object resting on pillow
10
.
As best shown in
FIG. 3
, pillow body
12
may be constructed of a fill material
28
that is covered with a fabric cover
30
. The fill material
28
may comprise essentially any type of material that is safe to be used with humans and that provides the necessary firmness for pillow
10
. Examples of fill materials include fibers, foams, feathers, and the like. Fabric cover
30
may comprise essentially any type of fabric that is safe to be used around babies, such as cotton and polyester fabrics. The pillow body may be filled with a sufficient amount of fill material
28
so that it is relatively firm. In this way, when a baby rests on pillow body
12
, it only slightly deforms.
To facilitate manufacturing, cover
30
may be constructed of a top piece
32
, a middle piece
34
and a bottom piece
36
. These pieces may be sewn together along seam lines to enclose the fill material
28
. Use of middle piece
34
also provides pillow
10
with greater flexibility so that arms
16
and
18
may be manipulated without causing buckling of the pillow body
12
. Conveniently, support member
26
may be a continuation of top piece
32
and bottom piece
36
that are sewn together along the inner edges of arms
16
and
18
, along medial region
14
and along an outer edge
38
of support member
26
. However, it will be appreciated that other methods of constructing support member
26
may be used as well. For example, support member
26
may comprises a separate piece of fabric. As another example, support member
26
could be constructed of a mesh material, netting, it may have holes or it may include a fill material as well. Support member
26
may be constructed of a non-stretchable material or a stretchable material to permit arms
16
and
18
to be further separate from each other.
A shown in
FIG. 2
, support member
38
slightly droops. In this way, a seat is formed in the inner well region for receiving the baby's bottom while the upper torso and head are elevated by the pillow body. Also, such a configuration is comfortable for the baby.
In some cases, support pillow
10
may be constructed using materials and techniques similar to those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,261,134; 5,546,620; 5,661,861; 6,038,720; 6,055,687; 6,434,770; 6,532,612; 6,279,185; and 6,412,128, the complete disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. Also, it will be appreciated that pillow
10
could be constructed to be inflatable as well.
As best shown in
FIG. 1
, outer edge
38
of support member
26
is curved and is designed to rest against the user's stomach. This permits pillow body
12
to sit closer to the user, such as when the pillow
10
sits on the user's lap when feeding a baby. Ends
16
and
18
may conveniently be curved, or they may have other shapes as well, such as straight. In some cases, outer edge
38
is spaced apart from ends
16
and
18
, such as by a distance in the range from about 1 inch to about 8 inches. Such a design enables the ends
16
and
18
to be positioned adjacent the user's sides while outer edge
38
is generally adjacent to the user's stomach. In this way, well region
24
is moved closer to the user.
Pillow
10
may be generally U-Shaped in geometry so that medial region
14
rests on the user's lap while arms
16
and
18
are generally positioned adjacent to the user's sides as illustrated in FIG.
4
. Although the outer shape is generally a continuous curve, it will be appreciated that other shapes may be used as well, such as a pillow having corners where the arms and medial region intersect.
Arms
16
and
18
and medial region
14
may be constructed so that they are generally curved to form slightly sloping surfaces down to support member
26
. In this way, the slight slope elevates the baby's back and head for easy nursing as illustrated generally in FIG.
4
. Further, the arms
16
or
18
may be used to help hold the user's arm when nursing or feeding the baby. When nursing or feeding a baby, support member
26
provides support for the baby's bottom or hip, and the sloping surfaces of the opposite arm
16
or
18
and medial region
14
help hold the baby in place so that the baby will not slide or move around during feeding. Hence, as shown in
FIG. 4
, a user may nurse a baby while sitting upright in an ergonomically correct position, with the user's arms resting on arms
16
and
18
. Further, the baby's mouth is properly positioned in front of the mother's breast so that the mother may comfortably nurse the baby. The sloping surfaces of the pillow body properly orient the baby while also holding the baby in the proper position.
As previously described, the dimensions of the support pillow
10
may be selected so that the pillow
10
may conveniently fit on the user's lap while also providing the proper position for the baby, such as when feeding or holding the baby as illustrated in FIG.
4
. For example, the pillow body
12
may have a thickness T (see
FIG. 2
) in the range from about 3 includes to about 9 inches, and more preferably from about 5 inches to about 7 inches. The well region
24
may have a width W (see
FIG. 1
) in the range of 6 inches to about 9 inches, and more preferably from about 7 inches to about 8 inches. Also, the well region
24
may have a depth d (see
FIG. 3
) in the range of about 9 inches to about 14 inches, and the support member
26
may have a depth D (see
FIG. 1
) in the range from about 4 inches to about 8 inches. The opposing arms
16
and
18
may each have a width Wd in the range from about 6 inches to about 12 inches, and more preferably from about 8 inches to about 10 inches, which may vary over the length of the arms. The medial region
14
may further have a depth Dp in the range from about 5 inches to about 9 inches, and more preferably from about 6 inches to about 8 inches.
Such dimensions are particularly well suited when pillow
10
is used to facilitate nursing or feeding of a baby. However, it is conceivable that smaller or larger pillows could be used for other applications. For example, a smaller pillow could be made as a toy.
The pillows of the invention may also include various pockets to hold a wide assortment of items, such as bottles, pacifiers, toys, rattles, drinks, phones, food and the like. As shown in
FIG. 5
, pillow
10
has been modified to include a pocket
50
that is shown holding a bottle
52
. Pocket
50
may conveniently be formed of a fabric that may be attached to pillow
10
using a variety of fastening devices, such as thread, snaps, a hook and loop fastener material, buttons, glue or the like. Further, the size and location of pocket
50
may vary depending on the size of the item or items to be held. Optionally, the top end of pocket
50
may include an elastic material
54
to help hold items within the pocket.
As shown in
FIG. 6
, pillow
10
may be modified to include multiple pockets. As shown, pillow
10
has pockets
56
and
58
. These are disposed at the medial region; however, it will be appreciated that they may be located at other areas as well.
FIG. 7
illustrates the pillow of
FIG. 6
when using by a nursing mother.
The invention has now been described in detail for purposes of clarity and understanding. However, it will be appreciated that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A nursing pillow comprising:a pillow body comprising a medial region and two opposing arms with ends extending from the medial region to define an inner well region, wherein the pillow body is sized and configured to permit the medial region to rest on a user's lap, with the ends of the opposing arms being generally adjacent to the user's waist; and a support member disposed across at least a portion of the well region such that the ends of the arms extend beyond the support member, wherein the support member is sized and configured to assist in supporting a baby when lying on the pillow body while the ends of the arms are generally adjacent to the user's waist.
- 2. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the support member comprises a piece of fabric extending across the well region.
- 3. A nursing pillow as in claim 2, wherein the piece of fabric is generally aligned with a midplane of the pillow body.
- 4. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein pillow body comprises a fill material enclosed in a fabric cover, and wherein the support member comprises a continuation of the fabric cover that extends across the well region.
- 5. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the pillow body has a thickness in the range from about 3 includes to about 9 inches.
- 6. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the pillow body has a thickness in the range from about 5 inches to about 7 inches.
- 7. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the well region has a width in the range of 6 inches to about 9 inches.
- 8. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the well region has a width in the range of 7 inches to about 8 inches.
- 9. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the well region has a depth in the range of about 9 inches to about 14 inches, and wherein the support member has a depth in the range from about 4 inches to about 8 inches.
- 10. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the support member has an edge that is configured to rest against the user's stomach, and wherein the edge is curved in geometry.
- 11. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the opposing arms each have a width in the range from about 6 inches to about 12 inches.
- 12. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the opposing arms each have a width in the range from about 8 inches to about 10 inches, and wherein the width varies along the arms.
- 13. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the ends of the arms are curved.
- 14. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the pillow body is U-shaped in geometry.
- 15. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the medial region has a depth in the range from about 5 inches to about 9 inches.
- 16. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, wherein the medial region has a depth in the range from about 6 inches to about 8 inches.
- 17. A nursing pillow as in claim 1, further comprising at least one pocket coupled to the pillow body.
- 18. A method for supporting a baby, the method comprising:providing a pillow comprising a pillow body having a medial region and two opposing arms extending from the medial region to define an inner well region, and a support member disposed across at least a portion of the well region; placing the pillow body on a user's lap, with the opposing arms being generally adjacent to the user's waist; placing a baby onto the support pillow, with at least some of the baby's weight being supported by the support member.
- 19. A method as in claim 18, wherein the baby's bottom or hip is positioned on the support member, and further comprising nursing the baby.
- 20. A method as in claim 18, further comprising resting at least one of the user's arms on one of the opposing arms of the pillow body.
- 21. A method as in claim 18, wherein the support member comprises a piece of fabric extending across the well region, and wherein the baby's bottom is placed onto the piece of fabric.
- 22. A method as in claim 18, wherein pillow body comprises a fill material enclosed in a fabric cover, wherein the support member comprises a continuation of the fabric cover that extends across the well region, and further comprising positioning the piece of fabric adjacent to the user's stomach.
- 23. A method as in claim 18, wherein the pillow body has a thickness in the range from about 3 includes to about 9 inches, wherein the well region has a width in the range of 6 inches to about 9 inches, wherein the well region has a depth in the range of about 9 inches to about 14 inches, wherein the support member has a depth in the range from about 4 inches to about 8 inches, and wherein the opposing arms each have a width in the range from about 6 inches to about 12 includes, and further comprising resting the opposing arms on the user's legs.
- 24. A method as in claim 18, wherein the support member has an edge that is curved in geometry and further comprising placing the edge against the user's stomach.
- 25. A method as in claim 18, wherein the arms each have curved ends that extend beyond the support member, and further comprising positioning the ends such that they are generally adjacent to the user's waist.
- 26. A method as in claim 18, wherein the pillow body is U-shaped in geometry, and further comprising resting the opposing arms on the user's legs while the user is sitting.
- 27. A method as in claim 18, wherein the medial region has a depth in the range from about 5 inches to about 9 inches, and further comprising placing the medial region across the user's legs.
- 28. A method as in claim 18, further comprising breast feeding the baby while lying on the pillow.
- 29. A method as in claim 18, further comprising bottle feeding the baby while lying on the pillow.
- 30. A method as in claim 18, further comprising storing an item in a pocket that is coupled to the pillow body.
US Referenced Citations (57)
Foreign Referenced Citations (11)
Number |
Date |
Country |
42 05 650 |
Nov 1993 |
DE |
1 306 034 |
May 2003 |
EP |
1.430.355 |
Jan 1966 |
FR |
2 379 268 |
Sep 1978 |
FR |
215848 |
May 1924 |
GB |
1 508 809 |
Apr 1978 |
GB |
2 198 341 |
Jun 1988 |
GB |
2 205 236 |
Dec 1988 |
GB |
WO 0221978 |
Mar 2002 |
WO |
WO 0221979 |
Mar 2002 |
WO |
WO 0228232 |
Apr 2002 |
WO |