THERAPEUTIC PILLOW

Abstract

A therapeutic pillow which supports a user's head, neck, upper back and lower back so that the user maintains a neutral posture while lying in an inclined position. The pillow is comprised of one or more pieces. The pillow is generally wedge shaped and contoured. The contours are designed to conform to the curvature of the head, neck, upper back and lower back of a person standing with perfect posture, or in a neutral position, in order to provide the best support. This can be based on average dimensions, or it can be custom made for a specific individual.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present specification relates to a pillow, more particularly a therapeutic pillow for individuals that have gastroesophageal reflux disease.

BACKGROUND

Individuals with acid reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease (“GERD”), and other conditions have difficulty sleeping because of the discomfort caused by laying in a totally flat horizontal position. Laying horizontally makes it easier for stomach acid to creep up the esophagus causing the symptoms of GERD to worsen, these symptoms can be such as heartburn, regurgitation, the sensation of stomach contents or liquid coming up into the chest and mouth, chest pain, cough, sore throat, and difficulty breathing. Other medical conditions, such as pregnancy, and obesity can exacerbate the symptoms and significantly interfere with sleep.

Elevating the head and keeping the upper body upright enables gravity to assist in relieving some of these symptoms. However, keeping the head elevated while sleeping can be problematic. Some methods of keeping the head elevated involve using multiple pillows, but the pillows can shift during use causing the user to lay in a totally flat position despite their use of multiple pillows. Wedge pillows can also be used, but they do not properly support a user's neck and back leading to neck discomfort and back pain. Therefore, there is a need for a pillow that allows the user to comfortably sleep in the proper position yet not exacerbate the user's GERD condition.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present therapeutic pillow has been made in view of the above-mentioned disadvantages occurring in the prior art. One advantage of this therapeutic pillow is it may support a user's head, neck, upper-back and lower-back in such a manner that the user maintains a neutral position while lying in an inclined orientation. The pillow is generally wedge shaped and contoured. The contours are designed to conform to the curvature of the head, neck, upper-back and lower-back of a person standing with perfect posture, also called a neutral position, to provide the best support. This can be based on average dimensions of users, or it can be custom made for a specific user.

The pillow may be made from compressible materials such as viscoelastic materials, memory foam, or the like. The pillow may be inflatable using air, water, gel, or the like. The pillow may also include a cooling layer to help a user be as comfortable as possible. The cooling layer may be built into the pillow, or it may be a covering such as a pillowcase.

The pillow may be comprised of one or more pieces. For example, a base and a topper. The base may be comprised of a first material, and the topper may be comprised of a second material. The first and the second materials may be different materials, or they may be the same materials. For example, those materials may be compressible, viscoelastic, memory foam, cooling, inflatable, and the like.

The pillow may be comprised of three or more pieces, a base, a neck support, and a lower-back support. The base may be configured to support the head and the upper back. The neck support may be configured to support the neck. The lower-back support may be configured to support the lower back. These pieces may be configured in such a manner that the user is able to maintain a neutral position while lying in an inclined position. The neck support may be configured so that the bottom of the neck support conforms to the base. The lower-back support may also be configured so that the bottom of the lower-back support conforms to the base. These configurations may keep the neck support and lower-back support from shifting during use. This can be aided by an attaching portion. Each of these pieces may be made from compressible materials such as viscoelastic materials, memory foam, inflatable materials, or the like. Additionally, each piece may also comprise a cooling layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present specification will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is an isomeric view of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a profile view of a user in neutral position in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 4 is an isomeric view of a user maintaining neutral position on the therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 5a is an isomeric view of another embodiment of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 5b is an isomeric view of another embodiment of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 5c is an isomeric view of another embodiment of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 6a is an isomeric view of an embodiment of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 6b is an isomeric view of another embodiment of a therapeutic pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 6c is an isomeric view of a base pillow in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 6d is an isometric view of a neck support in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

FIG. 6e is an isometric view of a lower-back support in accordance to one, or more embodiments;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1-2, an embodiment of a therapeutic pillow 10 is shown. The therapeutic pillow 10 is generally shown as a wedge shape with a top 11 and a bottom 13. The plane of the top 11 meets the plane of the bottom 13 to form an incline angle 12. The incline angle may be between 20 and 45 degrees, more preferably between 25 and 40 degrees and more preferably still between 30 degrees and 35 degrees. The pillow has a height 14, which may be between 12 and 22 inches. The pillow has a length 16, which may be about 36 inches. In a particular embodiment, the ratio between the height and the length is about 1:2.75. The pillow has a width 18, which may be about 30 inches but can be between 10 and 60 inches, more preferably between 15 and 45 inches and more preferably 30 inches. The bottom 13 of the pillow 10 can be generally flat. The top 11 of the pillow 10 is contoured, generally alternating between concave portions 15 and convex portions 17.

Referring to FIG. 3, a profile view of a user standing in neutral position. Neutral position is a postural position which has been linked to a variety of causes for better health, such as, less strain on muscles and ligaments, keeping bones and joints in alignment, cutting down on the wear and tear of joint surfaces, helping to prevent the onset of arthritis, decreasing the strain on the ligaments in the spine, preventing the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions, preventing backache and muscle pain, aiding in digestion, and the like. Neutral position generally consists of standing straight and tall with the shoulders back, the stomach in, weight mostly in the balls of the feet, head level, arms hanging naturally at sides. A user in neutral position has a number of natural contours including a head curvature 20, a neck curvature 22, an upper-back curvature and a lower-back curvature 26 wherein there can be a neck height distance 29 from the neck curvature to a neutral plan, a upper back height distance 24 to the upper-back curvature 25 to the neutral plan and a lower back height distance 27 to the lower-back curvature 26 to the neutral plan. The therapeutic pillow 10 can substantially contour itself to the user's curvatures from the neck to the lower back.

Referring to FIGS. 1 & 4, the contours of the pillow 10 on its top 11 are such that its support a user in a reclined neutral position. The headrest 30 is generally concave and configured to conform to the head curvature 20. The neck support 32 is generally convex with a non-orthogonal height 33. The neck support 32 essentially conforms to the neck curvature 22. The upper-back support 34 is generally concave or it can be straight and essentially conforms to the upper-back curvature 25 with a height 35 which can be 0 inches touching the back or at most 12 inches not touching the back. The lower-back support 36 is generally convex with a height 37 and may conform to the lower-back curvature 26. The curvatures, heights, and depths may be determined as an approximation for a group of individuals, or they may be determined for a custom therapeutic pillow 10 for a specific individual.

The pillow 10 may be made from any compressible material, such as, foam, poly foam, viscoelastic, memory foam, or the like. The materials may be inflatable using air, gel, water, or the like, or any combination of the afore mentioned inflating materials. The pillow 10 may also incorporate materials to keep the user cooler, such as a cooling layer, cooling pillowcase, or the like, which may be comprised of a cooling material such as gel memory foam, phase-changing gel, phase-changing foam, gel infused latex, gel infused polyfoam, gel infused foam, and the like. The cooling materials can comprise an additional cooling layer 40. When using the cooling layer 40, the convex portions 17 and concave portions 15 may be configured to accommodate the natural contours of a user including the additional thickness of the additional layer 40.

Referring to FIG. 5a-5b, another embodiment of the therapeutic pillow may be generally wedge-shaped pillow comprised of two or more pieces, a base 42 and a topper 50. The base 42 has a generally flat bottom 13 and a contoured top 41. The contours of the top 41 of the base 42 are similar to the contours of the top 11 of the pillow 10 as previously discussed, which can include generally concave portions including the headrest 30 and the upper-back support 34, and can also include generally convex portions including the neck support 32 and the lower-back support 36. The top 45 of the topper 50 is contoured in the same manner as the top 41 of the base 42. The bottom 43 of the topper 50 is generally contoured in the same manner to essentially conform to the top 41 of the base 42. This helps to eliminate movement of the topper during use.

Referring to FIG. 5c, a particular embodiment of the pillow comprised of two or more pieces. The contour of the top 41 of the base 42 is generally concave to accommodate the head curvature 20, and the upper back curvature 24. The bottom 43 of the topper 50 essentially conforms to the top 41 of the base 42. The topper 50 may include convex portions including the neck support 32 and the lower-back support 36. The topper 50 may include a generally flexible portions 55 connecting the neck support 32 and the lower-back support 36, allowing the topper 50 to be a single unit. The pillow may include a cooling layer 40 overlaying the topper 50.

The topper 50 is removably attachable to the base 42 with or without an attaching portion 48. Attaching portion 48 may help prevent the shifting and/or separation of the topper from the base and can be such, as for example, hook and loop, high friction materials, snaps, ties, magnets, or the like. The attaching portion may be on the bottom 43 of the topper 50, or it may be on the top 41 of the base 42, or it may be on both.

The base 42 may be comprised of a first material. The topper may be comprised of a second material. The first and second materials may be the same material, different materials, or any combination of same and different materials. The materials can be compressible materials such as, for example, foam, poly foam, viscoelastic, memory foam, or the like. The materials may be inflatable materials using air, gel, water, or the like, or any combination of materials for inflation. The materials may be comprised of a cooling material such as gel memory foam, phase-changing gel, phase-changing foam, gel infused latex, gel infused polyfoam, gel infused foam, and the like.

Referring now to FIGS. 6a-6e, another embodiment of the therapeutic pillow 10 may be generally concave wedge-shaped. The pillow 10 may be comprised of three or more pieces, the base 42, a removable neck support 52, and a removable lower-back support 56. The base 42 having a bottom 13, and a generally concave top 41. The planes of the top 41 and the bottom 13 forming an incline angle 12. The base 42 may also comprise a cooling layer 51. The removable neck support 52 and the removable lower-back support 56 may be placed on the base 42 to accommodate users with differing distances between the neck curvature 22 and the lower-back curvature 26.

The removable neck support 52 comprises a top 53 and a bottom 54. The bottom 54 of the removable neck support 52 essentially conforms to the base 42 and may have an attaching portion 60. The top 53 of the removable neck support 52 may comprise a non-orthogonal height and is configured to support the neck of the user in a neutral position, as discussed previously. The top 53 of the removable neck support 52 may also comprise a cooling layer 55. The attaching portion 60 may be on the bottom 54 of the removable neck support 52, on a portion of the top 41 of the base, neither, or both.

The removable lower-back support 56 may be comprised of a top 57 and a bottom 58. The bottom 58 of the removable lower-back support 56 may be configured to essentially conform to the base 42 and may have an attaching portion 61. The top 57 of the removable lower-back support 56 may be configured to support the lower-back of the user in a neutral position. The top 57 of the removable lower-back support 56 may optionally comprise a cooling layer 59. The attaching portion 61 may be on the bottom 58 of the removable lower-back support 56, on a portion of the top 41 of the base 42, neither, or both. Attaching portions 60 and 61 may be comprised of hook and loop, high friction materials, snaps, ties, magnets, or the like.

The base 42 may be comprised of a first material, the removable neck support 52 may be comprised of a third material, the removable lower-back support 56 may be comprised of a fourth material, and the cooling layers 51, 55, and 59 may be comprised of a fifth material. The first, third, fourth and fifth materials may be the same materials, different materials, or any combination of same and different materials. The materials may be compressible materials, such as, foam, poly foam, viscoelastic, memory foam, or the like. The materials may be inflatable using air, gel, water, or the like. The materials may be comprised of a cooling material such as gel memory foam, phase-changing gel, phase-changing foam, gel infused latex, gel infused polyfoam, gel infused foam, and the like.

The contours for the headrest 30, removable neck support 52, upper-back support 34, and removable lower-back support 56 may be determined by estimates for a group of users, or they may be determined for a custom therapeutic pillow for a specific user.

In closing, it is to be understood that although aspects of the present specification are highlighted by referring to specific embodiments, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that these disclosed embodiments are only illustrative of the principles of the subject matter disclosed herein. Therefore, it should be understood that the disclosed subject matter is in no way limited to a particular methodology, protocol, and/or reagent, etc., described herein. As such, various modifications or changes to or alternative configurations of the disclosed subject matter can be made in accordance with the teachings herein without departing from the spirit of the present specification. Lastly, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined solely by the claims. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to those precisely as shown and described.

Certain embodiments are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the methods and devices described herein. Of course, variations on these described embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Accordingly, this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described embodiments in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Claims

1. A therapeutic pillow to support a user having a neutral posture, a head, a neck, an upper back, and a lower back, the pillow comprising: a generally wedge-shaped pillow wherein the pillow comprises a top and a bottom which create an incline angle, and wherein the bottom is generally flat; andthe top is contoured to include a concave headrest, a convex neck support, a concave upper-back support, and a convex lower-back support wherein the concave headrest is configured to support the head of the user in a neutral position, the convex neck support is configured to support the neck of the user in a neutral position, the concave upper-back support is configured to support the upper back of the user in a neutral position, and the convex lower-back support is configured to support the lower back of the user in a neutral position.

2. The therapeutic pillow of claim 1, wherein the pillow is made of a compressible material.

3. The therapeutic pillow of claim 2, wherein the compressible material is viscoelastic.

4. The therapeutic pillow of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of the pillow is inflatable.

5. The therapeutic pillow of claim 4, wherein the inflatable portion of the pillow is fillable with air, water, or gel.

6. The therapeutic pillow of claim 1, wherein the pillow further comprises a cooling layer.

7. The therapeutic pillow of claim 1, wherein the contours for the head curvature, the neck curvature, the upper-back curvature, and the lower-back curvature are customized for a specific user.

8. A therapeutic pillow to support a user having a neutral posture, a head, a neck, an upper back, and a lower back, the pillow comprising: a generally wedge-shaped base wherein the base comprises a top and a bottom which create an incline angle; anda topper wherein the topper comprises a top and a bottom wherein the bottom of the topper is configured to conform to the base and the top of the topper is contoured to include a concave headrest, a convex neck support, a concave upper-back support, and a convex lower-back support;wherein the concave headrest is configured to support the head of the user in a neutral position, the convex neck support is configured to support the neck of the user in a neutral position, the concave upper-back support is configured to support the upper back of the user in a neutral position, and the convex lower-back support is configured to support the lower back of the user in a neutral position.

9. The therapeutic pillow of claim 8, wherein the pillow is made of a compressible material.

10. The therapeutic pillow of claim 9, wherein the compressible material is viscoelastic.

11. The therapeutic pillow of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the pillow is inflatable.

12. The therapeutic pillow of claim 11, wherein the inflatable material is fillable with air, water, or gel.

13. The therapeutic pillow of claim 8, wherein the pillow further comprises a cooling layer.

14. The therapeutic pillow of claim 8, wherein the contours for the head curvature, the neck curvature, the upper-back curvature, and the lower-back curvature are customized for a specific user.

15. A therapeutic pillow to support a user having a neutral posture, a head, a neck, an upper back, and a lower back, the pillow comprising: a generally concave wedge-shaped base wherein the base comprises a top and a bottom which create an incline angle wherein the top is contoured to include a concave headrest configured to support the head of the user in a neutral position, and a concave upper-back support configured to support the upper-back of the user in a neutral position;a neck support having a top and a bottom wherein the neck support bottom is configured to conform to the base, and the neck support top is configured to support the neck of the user in a neutral position; anda lower-back support having a top and a bottom wherein the lower-back support bottom is configured to conform to the base, and the lower-back support top is configured to support the lower-back of the user in a neutral position.

16. The therapeutic pillow of claim 15, wherein the pillow is made of a compressible material.

17. The therapeutic pillow of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the pillow is inflatable.

18. The therapeutic pillow of claim 18, wherein the inflatable portion is fillable with air, water, or gel.

19. The therapeutic pillow of claim 15, wherein the pillow further comprises a cooling layer.

20. The therapeutic pillow of claim 15, wherein the contours for the head curvature, the neck curvature, the upper-back curvature, and the lower-back curvature are customized for a specific user.