Patent Application
20200151792
The present invention relates generally to pillows, and more specifically, to a pillow customization system and method for providing a user with a completely custom pillow that suits their needs, mattress firmness, and body. The system and method of the present invention provides for a customized pillow that will reduce sleeplessness due to crooked necks, unsupported neck discomfort, and overall general user discomfort.
Pillows are well known in the art and are effective means to provide comfort to a user during rest and sleep. For example,
It should be appreciated that many people suffer from trouble sleeping or staying asleep, one cause of which is an ill-fitting pillow. There are a variety of buying options when it comes to pillows including size, shape, firmness, covering, fillers, and the like. However, these options have conventionally been combined into a few selections for users. Therefore, the user is forced to make an arbitrary selection, likely leading to future discomfort.
In addition, conventional pillow selections are not appropriate for all sleeping positions. People may primarily sleep either on their back, their stomach, or their sides. However, many rotate sleeping positions throughout the night. A perfectly sized pillow will keep a side-sleeping person's head aligned with their spine and will keep a back-sleeping person's head aligned with their spine as well. Since there is generally not a pillow that can accommodate both positions, the person will find a crook in their neck when they wake up or even have difficulty sleeping because of the discomfort.
In addition, pillows ideally need to be matched with a person's bed—the same pillows that suit a person on their bed would not suit that same person if they bought a new bed (with a new firmness) or slept in a different bed. A person buying a pillow online or in a store, even if they test the pillow in the store, cannot know if that pillow will suit them at home and keep their spine in alignment.
Accordingly, although great strides have been made in the area of pillows, many shortcomings remain, and a custom solution is needed.
The novel features believed characteristic of the embodiments of the present application are set forth in the appended claims. However, the embodiments themselves, as well as a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
While the system and method of use of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims.
Illustrative embodiments of the system and method of use of the present application are provided below. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions will be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The system and method of use in accordance with the present application overcomes one or more of the above-discussed problems commonly associated with conventional pillows. Specifically, the present invention provides for complete pillow customization based on user photographs and user inputted selections and data. These and other unique features of the system and method of use are discussed below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
The system and method of use will be understood, both as to its structure and operation, from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system are presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless described otherwise.
The preferred embodiment herein described is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to enable others skilled in the art to follow its teachings.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several views,
In the contemplated embodiment, system 201 includes a subject user 203 for which a customized pillow is to be designed. The system is configured to collect data from the user, process the data, and customize the pillow.
Prior to receiving data from a user, the system is configured to conduct an analysis on the major different kinds of human body shapes, thereby creating analytical data 205, which is used during the data analysis. As shown in
During use, the plurality of cells 303 collect load data, thereby resulting in a graph 401 as shown in
Referring back to
Once the photos are taken by the subject user on the computing device, the photos are uploaded to be processed with computing device 207 and associated software and algorithms. The photos are assign a customer number and will be scheduled for manual or automatic digitization to capture the required measurements and adjust them based upon the standard card the user is holding in the photos. After the photos with them laying on their mattress are analyzed the corrected measurements for the pillow will be created. The program will adjust each measurement based upon the size of the credit card, based on the firmness of the mattress, based upon the weight of the individual plus their body type and based upon the compressibility of the selected filler material.
Once the digitization of the measurements are automated, the system is configured to automatically blur out the faces before storing the photos to keep each person's privacy intact. Further, any names/numbers associated with credit cards will further be blurred.
The subject user 203 receives directions on how to take photos through the platform. The computer/server/database are configured to process the photos to determine a mattress firmness and subject user measurements 221. Based on the determined mattress firmness, subject user measurements, and user inputted data, the pillow design 219 is developed and further proceeded to manufacture 223.
To simplify capturing the measurements of a person and the firmness of their bed, having a subject user take several photos of themselves in their home environment solves the problem. A big challenge to overcome when analyzing a photo is the size and dimensions of various objects. One solution is to have people hold a ruler or a tape measure in each photo, however, this may not be convenient for all users. Accordingly, a common object nearly everyone has is a credit card. They are a standard size worldwide of 2⅛ by 3⅛. By having the person hold one during each photo, the relative distances of each measurement can be made. The length and width can be measured and use that to determine the rest of the measurements on each photo. Each customer will be given the choice of several common standard objects such as coins, dollar bills, credit cards, or smart phones to be used as a measurement standard.
The subject user will be provided with sample photos, instructional videos and written instructions as to how to create each required photo. The user will further be shown what the finished photo should look like and provided with a quick checklist to make sure they take the required photos and have followed the instructions for each photo, such as holding the credit card by the corner.
It should be appreciated that one of the unique features believed characteristic of the present application is the use of user provided photos, along with user inputted selections, to develop a fully customizable pillow.
In
One of the unique features believed characteristic of the present invention is the ability to calculate the firmness of the subject user's mattress. This is important because a person testing out a pillow on a mattress who then buys a pillow could have a completely different result when they use their pillow at home, since their mattress may be significantly different from the one they tried at the store. For example, if the user's mattress is firmer than the mattress in the store, the pillow will be too thick, if the user's mattress is softer than the mattress at the store, the pillow will be too low since the pillow sinks into the mattress more. Accordingly, the firmness of a user's mattress is determined by measuring from the photos they submit of how much their bed compresses due to their body weight, this firmness factor is used to adjust and customize the measurements of their pillow so it keeps their head in alignment with their spine. Furthermore, when a pillow is purchased online, the purchaser has no idea whether the pillow will adequately support their neck in either the back or side sleeper position, or whether the pillow will be adequately sized based on the firmness of their bed.
In
Additional measurements taken can include: a distance between the user's thighs (N); a distance between the user's knees (P); and a distance between the user's ankles (Q) when the user is standing with their legs apart. These measurements are further compared with a distance between the user's thighs (N2); a distance between the user's knees (P2); and a distance between the user's ankles (Q2) when the user is standing with their legs together.
The plurality of measurements are compared within the computing device and software to determine needed angles associated with the user's body, these angles shown as (K), (r1), (s1), (r2), and (s2) in the diagrams. This provides needed data for the system to calculate the needed pillow details.
In
Additional measurements can include: a distance from the user's ear to their shoulder (AA); a distance from the user's jaw to the base of their neck (BB); and a distance from a front to back of the user's neck (CC). Again, it should be appreciated that the measurements are used to calculate angles (a); (b) to determine the subject user's shape, and therefore calculate the best pillow features.
In
Again, these measurements and photos are used to calculate angles (a), (b), (p), (q) associated with the user's body.
By measuring the size of the neck and the location of the neck relative to their back when laying on their back and to their shoulder when sleeping on their side, the correct neck support can be provided so the head and neck are in alignment with the spine. This helps sleepers go to sleep faster, suffer less discomfort and feel more rested without the classic crook in their neck. These measurements determine the size of the neck support and account for the compressibility of the pillow, the compressibility of the mattress, the weight of the individual and the distribution of their weight on their neck and their head.
In
The instructions provided to the user can include instructing the user to hold a device, such as a credit card in order to provide a reference size, instructions on what to wear, what colors to wear, what pictures to take, long hair directions, and facial hair directions. The platform can further provide instructions for the lying down photo capturing, including providing direction on camera angle, camera distance, sheet color, and wall colors.
Platform 211 is further configured to receive subject user selections 1009, the selections including one or more 1011 of: (1)subject user weight; (2) firmness selection associated with one or more zones of a pillow diagram; (3) desired filler material selection, such as hypoallergenic or breathable; (4) desired pillow size and shape selection; (5) temperature selection, wherein the user selects from one of cooling, warming, and neutral; (6) sleep partner selection, such as whether the subject user sleeps with a partner and/or a pet; and (7) desired pillow function selection, such as whether the pillow is to be used as a head pillow, back pillow, front pillow, between the legs pillow, or travel pillow. It is contemplated that any number of other selections could be provided, such as the option for a cover and the material of the cover, the options including color, pattern type of material, sweat retardant solutions, quality of material, thread count, bamboo, or any other material.
It is contemplated that possible materials for use, can include foam, memory foam, cubes of foam, polyester fibers, goose down, cotton, latex, hypoallergenic, features, buckwheat husks, or any other material.
In
In
In
In
In
In
The system of the present invention provides for pillow customization, which provides for a plurality of benefits. The pillow can further be customized, wherein the pillow is appropriate for sleeping in multiple positions, wherein the user can orient the pillow at different angles to fit their particular need.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the embodiments may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. Although the present embodiments are shown above, they are not limited to just these embodiments, but are amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62760593 | Nov 2018 | US |
