BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pillows.
2. Background Art
Nearly everyone uses a pillow when they sleep. However, typical pillows, which may be filled with materials such as down feathers, synthetic fibers or polymeric materials, may not provide adequate support to a person's head or neck. Furthermore, as a person shifts positions throughout the night, the filling materials can accumulate in the corners of the pillow leaving the user with little, if any, support.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pillow according to the present invention wherein the head portion is divided into three, generally equally-sized compartments;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the pillow of FIG. 1 taken along line 6—6 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pillow according to an aspect of the present invention wherein the head portion is divided into a center compartment and two generally smaller side compartments;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pillow according to another aspect of the present invention wherein the head portion is divided into a central compartment and two generally larger side compartments;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a pillow according to an aspect of the present invention wherein the head and neck portions are divided into three, generally equally sized compartments;
FIG. 10 is perspective view of a pillow according to another aspect of the present invention wherein the center compartment is divided into two, generally equally sized sub-compartments;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pillow according to an aspect of the present invention wherein the center compartment is divided into two, generally unequally sized sub-compartments;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a pillow according to another aspect of the present invention wherein the center compartment is divided two, generally unequally sized sub-compartments;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a pillow according to an aspect of the present invention wherein the head portion includes a generally trapezoidal center compartment;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a pillow according to another aspect of the present invention wherein the head portion includes a generally trapezoidal center compartment;
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a pillowcase according to the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of a pillowcase according to one aspect of the present invention having head and neck portions on one side thereof; and
FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of a pillowcase according to another aspect of the present invention having head and neck portions on both sides thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Referring first to FIGS. 1–5, a pillow 10 according to one aspect of the present invention is illustrated. Pillow 10 may be divided into a neck portion 18 and a head portion 20. Neck portion 18 may be generally rectangular and extending the length of pillow 10. Head portion 20 may be divided into at least two head compartments, such as compartments 12, 14 and 16 shown herein. Of course, pillow 10 according to the present invention is not limited to the use of three head compartments as shown, and it is understood that more or fewer head compartments could be utilized. Neck portion 18 may be separated from the head compartments 12, 14 and 16 by any means, such as stitching, glue, or any other suitable means of forming the portions and compartments. According to one aspect of the present invention, neck portion 18 comprises between about ¼ and ⅓ of the width of pillow 10, with head portion 20 comprising the remainder of the width. However, other relative proportions of neck portion 18 and head portion 20 are fully contemplated. Furthermore, pillow 10 shown and described herein can have any length proportion, such as to form a standard size pillow, a king size pillow, or any other size.
Pillow 10 may be constructed from any suitable material such as, but not limited to, cotton, polyester, spandex, or other materials or combinations thereof. As illustrated in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, neck portion 18 and head portion 20 are filled with a filling material 22. According to one aspect of the present invention, filling material 22 includes a polymer filling, which may include polymer (such as, but not limited to, polystyrene) beads or microbeads. Of course, it is understood that filling material 22 may include any material which is suitable for filling a pillow. According to one aspect of the present invention, neck and head portions 18, 20 may provide structure to maintain filling material 22 in position underneath a user's head, rather than allowing migration of filling material 22 to the corners and edges of pillow 10.
Although not shown, a cover may be provided to enclose pillow 10. The cover may be constructed from any suitable material such as, but not limited to, cotton, polyester, spandex, or other materials or combinations thereof.
With reference again to FIG. 1, the embodiment illustrated includes three, generally rectangular head compartments 12, 14, 16 which are disposed generally parallel to each other and are generally equally sized. According to another aspect of the present invention, center head compartment 14 could be larger than side head compartments 12 and 16 as shown in FIG. 7 or, alternatively, center head compartment 14 could be smaller than side head compartments 12 and 16 as shown in FIG. 8. The relative sizes of center head compartment 14 compared with side head compartments 12 and 16 depicted herein is merely exemplary, and other proportions of head compartments 12, 14, 16 are fully contemplated according to the present invention.
Turning to FIG. 9, a pillow 10 in accordance with another aspect of the present invention is illustrated wherein neck portion 18 is divided into at least two neck compartments, such as neck compartments 24, 26, 28 shown. FIG. 9 depicts neck compartments 24, 26, 28 which are generally equally sized, along with head compartments 12, 14, 16 which are generally equally sized. However, it is understood that neck compartments 24, 26, 28 can be utilized with pillow embodiments other than that shown in FIG. 9, and that the configuration of neck compartments 24, 26, 28 need not correspond with the configuration of head compartments 12, 14, 16 (i.e., neck compartments which are generally equally sized could be used with head compartments which are generally unequally sized).
Referring now to FIGS. 10–12, pillow 10 according to the present invention can include a center compartment 14 which is divided into two or more sub-compartments 30, 32. Sub-compartments 30, 32 can have a length dimension disposed generally parallel to the length of neck portion 18, and can be generally equally sized as depicted in FIG. 10. Alternatively, sub-compartments 30, 32 could be of differing sizes, such as a larger upper sub-compartment 30 compared with lower sub-compartment 32 (FIG. 11), or a larger lower sub-compartment 32 compared with upper sub-compartment 30 (FIG. 12). Of course, center compartment 14 could be divided into more than two sub-compartments. The sub-compartments can be disposed generally parallel to each other as illustrated herein, or could be angularly disposed. Furthermore, the sub-compartments are not limited to being disposed with their length dimension extending parallel to the length of neck portion 18 and, for example, could be disposed with their length generally perpendicular to the length of neck portion 18. Still further, side compartments 12, 16 could also be subdivided in any manner such as those configurations described above.
FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate pillows 10 according to the present invention wherein head compartments 12, 14, 16 are disposed angularly with respect to each other. As shown, center head compartment 14 can be generally trapezoidal in shape, such that center compartment 14 may be larger than side compartments 12, 16. It is understood that the particular angles, shapes, and relative sizes shown herein for the configuration of compartments 12, 14, 16 are merely exemplary, and any other angles, relative sizes, and resulting shapes of compartments 12, 14, 16 are fully contemplated according to the present invention.
Referring now to FIG. 15, a pillowcase 110 for receiving a conventional pillow is shown, wherein those elements of pillowcase 110 corresponding to elements of pillow 10 have been designated with like reference numerals except for the addition of a “1” prefix. Pillowcase 110 has a first side 136, a second side 138 and an opening 140 therebetween for receiving a pillow therein. A zipper 142 or any other closure means such as, but not limited to, snaps, buttons, Velcro®, or the like can be provided to close opening 140 and thus secure a pillow within pillowcase 110. Neck portion 118 and head portion 120 can be provided in first side 136 alone, as depicted in FIG. 16, or neck and head portions 118, 120 can be provided in both first side 136 and second side 118 as illustrated in FIG. 17. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 16, first side 136 may contain filling material while second side 138 may or may not contain any filling material, whereas both first and second sides 136, 138 may contain filling material in the embodiment shown in FIG. 17. Although a particular configuration of neck and head portions 118, 120 has been illustrated in FIGS. 15–17, it is understood that pillowcase 110 could also include, but is not limited to, any configuration of neck and head portions 118, 120 shown and described herein with reference to pillow 10.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Patent Grant
7120953
