Patent Application
20080052832
Although embodiments described herein are described primarily in relation to a cushion adapted for use by a pregnant women, the invention is not so limited. It should be appreciated that embodiments of the invention may be used and/or configured for use by overweight persons or any other type of person having an enlarged abdomen.
With reference to
When each of the portions 15 and 20 are filled with cushion material, such as, for example, feathers, foam, sponge, other material or suitable combination of the foregoing, it creates a depression around the join 25 such that there is a raised portion extending along the line 45 of main portion 15 and also along the line 50 of the subsidiary portion 20. The depression so formed along the join 25 assists in providing a space for the abdomen of the pregnant woman. In some embodiments, the height of the filler material in portion 20 is less than the height created by the filler material in portion 15. Access for the filler material in each of the portions 15 and 20 may be through suitable fastening means, such as, for example, buttons, zip fastener, Velcro®, another fastening means, or a suitable combination of the foregoing. The fastening means may be used to assist in rearranging the filler material within each portion, and controlling the amount of filler material in each portion. This fastening means may be part of a cover (e.g., a loose-fitting cover), which can be separately washed repeatedly when needed.
In some embodiments, a greater bulk of filler material may be located at one end (e.g., 60) of main portion 15, or between a middle portion 55 and end 60, such as in region 65, of the main portion 15. Such an end or region may correspond to a position where the legs of a pregnant woman will straddle the cushion 10 when in a lying position.
In some embodiments, each of the portions 15 and 20 may be formed through a series of layers of filling material, such as foam or sponge (see
The cushion 10 may enable a pregnant woman to lie comfortably on either side with the portion 65 of main portion 15 tucked between her legs. This position is more clearly seen in
As noted above, the cushion filling material may be any of a variety of suitable materials, including, but not limited to: suitable feathers; down; polystyrene balls (as in bean bags); foam; sponge material; another suitable material; or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The cushion may be constructed and arranged so that the amounts of filling material in different portions of the cushion (e.g., 15 and 20) can vary and can be readjusted A cover, made of suitable material such as cotton, may be capable of enclosing the cushion material, and may be removable and perhaps loose-fitting to enable regular washing of the cover.
In some embodiments, a speaker and lead may be incorporated into the cushion having an attachment to an audio playing device, such as an MP3 player, radio etc. The speaker may be placed adjacent the subsidiary portion to enable music to be heard by a fetus in situations where a pregnant woman has her abdomen supported by the subsidiary portion.
Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.
