Patent Application
20240172820
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The disclosure relates to sleep mask devices and more particularly pertains to a new sleep mask device for facilitating a user to rest their forehead against a support while sleeping in a seated position. The device includes a sleep mask which has a face portion and a flap portion which is foldable between a stored position and a deployed position. The flap portion rests on the user's forehead when the flap portion is positioned in the deployed position to cushion the user's forehead against the support.
The prior art relates to sleep mask devices including a sleep pillow device that includes a pair of lateral cushions each extending away from a central cushion. The prior art discloses a pillow device that includes a helmet being wearable on a user's head and a neck ring being attached to the helmet which extends partially around the user's neck. The prior art discloses a sleep mask device that includes a sleeve which insertably receives a weighted panel or a thermal panel. The prior art discloses an eye covering device that includes a band with a plurality of cells being distributed along the band and pair of flared ends. The prior art discloses a sleep pillow device that includes a pair of pillows that are positionable on opposing side of a user's head and a face panel which is attached to the pillows and which extends across the user's face. The prior art discloses a sleep enhancing device that comprises an elongated pillow that wraps around a user's eyes and ears.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a sleep mask that is wearable on a user's face such that the sleep mask covers the user's eyes. The sleep mask has a face portion and a flap portion. The face portion rests against the user's face when the sleep mask is worn. The flap portion is positionable in a deployed position has the flap portion resting against the user's forehead to facilitate the user to comfortably rest their forehead against a support object when the user is sleeping in a sitting position. The flap portion is positionable in a stored position having the flap portion resting against the face portion. A pair of elastomeric straps is each coupled to the sleep mask thereby facilitating the pair of elastomeric straps to be worn around the user's head for retaining the sleep mask on the user's face.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The sleep mask 12 includes a first cover 28 that defines the face portion 20. The first cover 28 has a forward wall 30, a rearward wall 32 and a perimeter wall 34 extending between the forward wall 30 and the rearward wall 32. The perimeter wall 34 has a first lateral side 36, a second lateral side 38 and a bottom side 40 and each of the first lateral side 36 and the second lateral side 38 curves outwardly along a lateral axis extending between the first lateral side 36 and the second lateral side 38. The bottom side 40 curves upwardly a point that is centrally located between the first lateral side 36 and the second lateral side 38 to define a nose space 42 to accommodate the user's nose 44 when the sleep mask 12 is worn on the user's face 14. The sleep mask 12 includes a first pad 46 that is surrounded by the first cover 28. The first pad 46 has an outer surface 48 that is contoured to conform to the perimeter wall 34 of the first cover 28. The first pad 46 is comprised of a resiliently compressible material to enhance comfort for the user 18.
The sleep mask 12 includes a second cover 50 which defines the flap portion 22. The forward wall 30 of the first cover 28 extends beyond an upper threshold 52 of the face portion 20 such that the forward wall 30 defines a forward wall 54 of the second cover 50. The second cover 50 has a back wall 56 and a peripheral wall 58 extending between the forward wall 54 of the second cover 50 and the back wall 56. The peripheral wall 58 has an upper side 60, a first lateral side 62 and a second lateral side 64. Each of the first lateral side 62 and the second lateral side 64 of the peripheral wall 58 curves outwardly along a lateral axis extending between the first lateral side 62 and the second lateral side 64 of the peripheral wall 58.
The sleep mask 12 is foldable along the upper threshold 52 of the face portion 20 having the forward wall 54 of the second cover 50 resting against the forward wall 30 of the first cover 28 when the flap portion 22 is positioned in the stored position. The forward wall 30 of the second cover 50 lies on a plane that is oriented coplanar with the forward wall 30 of the first cover 28 when the flap portion 22 is positioned in the deployed position. The upper side 60 curves downwardly at a point that is centrally located between the first lateral side 62 and the second lateral side 64 of the peripheral wall 58 to define a nose space 66 in the flap portion 22. The nose space 66 in the flap portion 22 accommodates the user's nose 44 when the sleep mask 12 is worn on the user's face 14 and the flap portion 22 is positioned in the stored position. The sleep mask 12 includes a second pad 68 that is surrounded by the second cover 50. The second pad 68 has an outside surface 70 that is contoured to conform to the peripheral wall 58 of the second cover 50. Additionally, the second pad 68 is comprised of a resiliently compressible material to enhance comfort for the user 18.
A pair of elastomeric straps 72 is provided and each of the elastomeric straps 72 is coupled to the sleep mask 12 such that the pair of elastomeric straps 72 forms a closed loop with the sleep mask 12. The pair of elastomeric straps 72 can be worn around the user's head 74 for retaining the sleep mask 12 on the user's face 14. Each of the pair of elastomeric straps 72 has a first end 76 and a second end 78. The first end 76 of each of the elastomeric straps 72 is coupled to the first lateral side 36 of the perimeter wall 34 of the first cover 28. The second end 78 of each of the elastomeric straps 72 is coupled to the second lateral side 38 of the perimeter wall 34 of the first cover 28. Furthermore, the elastomeric straps 72 are spaced apart from each other and are vertically distributed on the first lateral side 36 and the second lateral side 38 of the perimeter wall 34 of the first cover 28.
In use, the sleep mask 12 is worn on the user's face 14 when the user 18 wishes to sleep during daylight hours. Furthermore, as is most clearly shown in
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
