Patent Application
20170273465
People who travel, especially those who travel by plane, train, or bus, are faced with the problem of trying to comfortably rest in waiting areas and on board a vehicle. Some airports, train stations, and bus terminals may provide lounges where travelers can lie down to sleep. Travelers who fly first class, or who can afford sleeper cabins on board a train may be provided with seats that comfortably recline, or an actual bed, but such amenities are not available to the vast majority of travelers who are instead confined to a sitting position. For these persons, sleep deprivation is one of the most unpleasant aspects of travel. Certain solutions such as neck pillows alleviate the problem somewhat by providing head support. However, for some travelers who prefer to sleep in the prone position, i.e. face-down, or on their side, neck pillows do not provide an optimal solution. Sleeping with one's head on a folded-down tray table is also not an optimal solution. Clearly, a solution that provides more of a sensation of “lying down” for these travelers is very desirable.
This invention described herein provides support for a person's head to rest or sleep on when restricted to a seated position with limited space such as on a plane, bus, train, etc. It is generally flat and designed to fit inside a backpack, laptop bag, or carry-on item which is used as part of the support platform (the backpack is placed in your lap and holds the bottom section of the portable head support). It consists of (1) a baseboard, i.e. a support panel that slides into and is held in place inside a carry-on backpack or other item of hand-carried luggage and (2) a head support. The baseboard and the head support are joined by a hinge having an adjustable range of motion allowing the head reclining angle to be easily adjusted. The invention is designed to be compact, easy-to-use, and optimizes limited space. One of the discovered advantages is that holding a backpack or other carry-on on one's lap with the arms while using the portable head support to also provides some support to the traveler's torso as well. The range of motion of the hinge is adjustable to permit different head reclining angles. In one embodiment, the head support has hook-and-loop or other detachable fasteners permitting different types of head cushions to be interchanged. Another embodiment features interchangeable head supports of differing shapes.
The invention is described in preferred embodiments in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or similar language means that particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, “in certain embodiments”, and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. It is noted that, as used in this description, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are recited to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
Baseboard 2 is made of a 0.375″ flat piece of wood or plastic with dimensions 8.5″ by 8.5″; however, the dimensions of baseboard 2 are selected according to what size carry-on item the portable head support is intended to be used with. Baseboard 2 is designed to fit inside a carry-on item such as a backpack, computer bag, or even a purse as shown in
However, it is also conceived that some embodiments of the portable head support are designed to, for example, fit down the back of a person's shirt and provide support for the head from behind. In this example, baseboard 2 might be shaped so that Wb<Lb, i.e. that baseboard 2 is more rectangular than square.
It is generally desirable that the texture of both sides of baseboard 2 be such that it can be slid upward and downward within a carry-on item 5 relatively easily, yet have enough friction that headrest 1 doesn't have a tendency to slide downward when in use. Baseboard 2 in most preferred embodiments is therefore flat, so that it easily fits into a cavity inside a carry-on item. For example, baseboard 2 is flat in most embodiments because it is designed to slip between items of folded clothing in a backpack or other carry-on item.
Hinge 3 in one embodiment is made of a slender metal or plastic rod that is seated in a cylindrical channel defined by adjacent channel segments emanating alternately from one side of headrest 1 and baseboard 2 as shown in
Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to certain embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which have been presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
