Patent Application
20210186171
The present invention relates generally to travel pillows and more particularly relates to travel pillows that are removably incorporated onto or into backpacks, carryon travel luggage and other types of travel luggage.
When traveling on common carriers such as airplanes, trains, buses, etc., travelers often encounter difficulty when sleeping, especially on long distance or/or long duration trips.
In the case of flying, airlines use to provide small travel pillows; however, more and more such pillows are not necessary provided complementary, but rather are provided for a fee. In addition, there are concerns that pillows that are provided on common carriers such as airlines are not necessarily cleaned and sanitized between the times they used by different passengers.
Accordingly more and more travelers are traveling with their own pillows. As a result there are a variety of different travel pillows available to travelers, many of which are sold at travel shops, including travel shops located in airports and train stations. The most common pillows that are available are either inflatable or stuffed with foam materials and/or natural and synthetic batting materials.
Inflatable travel pillows are convenient in that they are compact when not inflated, allowing they to be placed in carryon travel bags. However inflatable pillows are not durable and often, if not eventually, leak air and have to be replaced.
Travel pillows stuffed with foam materials and various batting materials are much more comfortable than inflatable pillows and do not have the problem of leaking and deflating. However, travel pillows stuffed with foam and batting materials cannot be deflated into a compact form. Therefore travel pillows stuffed with foam and batting materials, which are preferred over inflatable travel pillows by many travelers, are not as convenient to travel with. Often such stuffed travel pillows have to be carried separately from other baggage. This compounds the inconvenience of traveling, especially when carrying other bags/luggage before and after checking in and after retrieving other bags/luggage upon arrival at a destination.
The present invention provides a travel pillow that is removably incorporated into a backpack or other type of carryon travel luggage. The removable pillow of the present invention relieve travelers from having to carry travel pillows as separate articles when traveling.
According to various features, characteristics and embodiments of the present invention which will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds, the present invention provides a travel pillow in combination with an article of travel luggage which comprises:
an article of travel luggage; and
a pillow that is removably attached to a surface of the article of travel luggage,
wherein the pillow comprises a flexible receptacle having an opening that allows the flexible receptacle to be stuffed with a filler material to give the pillow a desired firmness.
The article of travel luggage can be a backpack, a suitcase or any type of typical carryon travel bags/baggage/luggage that travelers typically take on travel trips, or take camping, or hiking, or to the beach or to other destinations.
According to one embodiment the pillow is attached in a recess formed in the surface of the article of travel luggage.
The pillow can be removably attached to the surface of the article of travel by means of a Velcro® fasteners, snaps, clips, ties, or any suitable fastener or fastener system.
The pillow can also include one or more straps and a compartment with an opening for storing the one or more straps therein.
The pillow can also include one or more storage pockets for storing small articles such as earbuds, earplugs, etc.
The pillow can also include a handle if desired.
In use the pillow can be stuffed with a filler material such as one or more articles of clothing or a removable piece of foam material to give the pillow a desired firmness.
The present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings which are given as non-limiting examples only, in which:
As noted above, the present invention provides a travel pillow that is removably incorporated onto or into an article of travel luggage. For purposes of the present invention the term “article of travel luggage” or “travel luggage” includes backpacks, suitcases and encompasses any type of typical carryon bags/baggage/luggage that travelers typically take on trips, or take camping, or hiking, or to the beach or to other destinations. As can be understood from the description that follows that present invention provides a pillow that does not have to be carried as a separate article from a traveler's travel luggage when traveling. The pillow comprises a flexible receptacle into which a soft material or articles can be received to provide “filler” for the pillow.
The pillow is received onto the surface of, or preferably into a recess formed in the surface of, a backpack, suitcase, carryon bag or other article of travel luggage. The pillow can be removably attached to the backpack, suitcase, carryon bag of other article of travel luggage by Velcro® fasteners, snaps, clips, ties, or any suitable fastener or fastener system.
The pillow has a large zippered opening with which to access the interior for placing or removing filler materials into the flexible receptacle. In further embodiments, rather than include a zipper, the opening could include snaps, hooks, ties or other suitable elements to close the opening.
In addition to the large zippered opening, the pillow can also have one or more smaller closable openings than can access the interior of the flexible receptacle or otherwise assess one or more small interior lined pockets to receive and store small articles such as earbuds, earplugs, etc. that a traveler may wish to carry and have access to.
The pillow may further have one or more straps, handles, ties, etc. that can be used to carry the pillow and/or hook the pillow on a holder or headrest.
The pillow is made from a flexible material such as cloth or fabric and at least one side, e.g. the back, can be made from a soft material to provide a comfortable touch or feel when one rests against the soft material.
In use the interior of the flexible receptacle can used as packing space for small articles of clothing like socks, undergarments, etc. so as not to lose any packing space. Otherwise an insert made from a foam material can be placed into the flexible receptacle for purposes of using the pillow during a flight, train ride. bus ride, etc.
The overall shape of the backpack 1 in
The pillow 3 in
In further embodiments of the present invention, the pillow 3 could be attached to the outside surface of the front of the backpack 1 and have the same general size and shape of the front of the backpack 1 or be smaller in size and have any desired shape.
As shown in
In the embodiment of the pillow 3 shown in
Also shown in
The configuration of the large zippered opening 6 and smaller closable opening 7 as shown in
As noted above the present invention is not limited to incorporating a pillow into or onto any particular type of carryon luggage.
In
As shown in
As discussed above, pillow is preferably made from flexible material such as cloth or fabric and at least one side, e.g. the front, is made from a soft material to provide a comfortable touch or feel when one rests against the soft material. If desired, the pillow 3 could include a waterproof liner, or could be made from a waterproof material.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, from the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the present invention and various changes and modifications can be made to adapt the various uses and characteristics without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as described above and set forth in the attached claims.
