U.S. patent application number 10/345955 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-22 for pillow facilitating good sleep.
Invention is credited to Hwang-Pao, Lee.
Application Number | 20040139548 10/345955 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32712031 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040139548 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hwang-Pao, Lee |
July 22, 2004 |
PILLOW FACILITATING GOOD SLEEP
Abstract
A pillow facilitating good sleep is integrally molded from a
soft foam or non-foaming plastic material, such as PVC, EVA or PU.
The pillow is provided at a bottom thereof with a transverse recess
having predetermined depth and width, so as to form at least front
and rear support portions below front and rear sides, respectively,
of the pillow. The front and rear support portions have different
heights, so that the pillow has a slightly inclined top surface to
provide at least two different heights forusers. The bottom
transverse recess allows a portion of the top surface supporting a
user's head to downward deform while the front or the rear support
portion ergonomically supports the user's nape to facilitate good
sleep. Pads of different heights may be removably attached to the
bottom of the pillow to adjust an overall height thereof according
to the user's actual need.
Inventors: |
Hwang-Pao, Lee; (Chu Pei
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROXELL LAW OFFICE PLLC
SUITE 1404
5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Family ID: |
32712031 |
Appl. No.: |
10/345955 |
Filed: |
January 17, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/636 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 9/10 20130101; A47G
9/1009 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
005/636 |
International
Class: |
A47G 009/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A pillow facilitating good sleep, comprising a main body
integrally molded from a soft foam or non-foaming plastic material,
said main body being provided at a middle area of a bottom thereof
with a transverse recess having predetermined depth and width, so
as to form front and rear support portions below front and rear
sides, respectively, of said main body; said front and rear support
portions having different heights to provide said main body with
two different heights and accordingly a slightly inclined top
surface; and said transverse recess at the middle area of said
bottom allowing a portion of said top surface of said main body
supporting a user's head to downward deform due to a force applied
by the user's head to said main body, while said front or said rear
support portion ergonomically supporting the user's nape to
facilitate good sleep.
2. The pillow facilitating good sleep as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said soft plastic material is selected from the group
consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene vinyl acetate
resin (EVA), polyurethane (PU), and other similar plastic
materials.
3. The pillow facilitating good sleep as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said bottom of said main body further includes lateral
support portions integrally extended from said front and rear
support portions to enclose said transverse recess.
4. The pillow facilitating good sleep as claimed in claim 1,
further comprising one or more pad members having a uniform
perimeter the same as that of said bottom of said main body and
having different heights, said pad members being adapted for
removably attaching to said bottom of said main body with adhesive
means to adjust an overall height of said main body.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a pillow, and more
particularly to a pillow facilitating good sleep. The pillow is
integrally molded from a soft plastic material and has a transverse
recess formed at a middle area of a bottom thereof to provide at
least two support portions below front and rear sides of the
pillow. The bottom transverse recess enables a portion of the
pillow supporting a user's head to downward deform by an extent
depending on a force applied by the user's head to the pillow while
the front or the rear support portion fitly supporting the user's
neck. The front and the rear support portions are different in
height for the pillow to have a slightly inclined top surface, so
that a user may freely select a desired pillow height. One or more
pad members of different heights may be removably attached to the
bottom of the pillow to adjust an overall height of the pillow to
facilitate a good sleep.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Pillows made of a foam material are conveniently available
in the market, and the comfort provided by such pillows varies with
the formula and foaming ability of the foam materials. The
conventional foam-material-made pillows may be generally divided
into two types according to their formations. The first type has a
puffy middle portion and thickness-reduced peripheral portions, as
shown in FIG. 1. The second type has a section shape like a kidney,
as the pillow 1 shown in FIG. 2. The pillow 1 has a flat bottom 11
and a top surface 12 formed into a front and a rear curved
projection 13, 14 with a middle valley 15 located between the front
and the rear projection 13, 14. The first type of the conventional
foam-material-made pillow only provides a middle portion adapted to
downward deform while it supports a user's head thereon but not any
portion to support the user's neck, and is therefore not
ergonomically suitable for use. The front projection 13 of the
pillow 1 of the second type foam-material-made pillow is able to
support the user's neck and is therefore ergonomically suitable for
use to provide a certain degree of comfort during sleep. The
projections 13, 14 are directly formed during the pillow 1 is
molded to provide fixed curves close to a part between the user's
head and nape, so as to meet the ergonomic requirement. However,
the fixed curves provided by the projections 13, 14 on the pillow 1
do not always suitable for all users because the hardness and
foamed degree of the pillow 1 varies with different materials used
to form the pillow. In other words, the foam-material-made pillow 1
that has fixedly formed projections on the top surface 12 does not
satisfy all users of different sizes due to a limited range of
hardness of the pillow 1.
[0003] Moreover, although the two curved projections 13, 14 provide
two different heights, the pillow 1 does not satisfy all users.
Pillow manufacturers have to produce pillows having other height or
thickness to provide more choices for users. Generally speaking,
male users would need a higher pillow while female users prefer a
lower pillow. The multiple sizes and specifications of pillows
inevitably increase difficulties in the manufacturers' production
control. Meanwhile, it is uneasy and even confusing for a user to
immediately decide in a store which pillow is most suitable and
comfortable for use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a pillow that is made of a soft plastic material and has a
structure facilitating good sleep.
[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
pillow that provides at least two different heights, so that a user
may select one of the heights that is more comfortable to him or
her.
[0006] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
pillow, an overall height of which may be adjusted to satisfy
different users, so that the pillow may be easily manufactured
under good production control and eliminate the user's confusion in
purchasing it.
[0007] To achieve the above and other objects, the pillow according
to the present invention is integrally molded from a soft foam or
non-foaming plastic material, such as PVC, EVA or PU. The pillow is
provided at a bottom thereof with a transverse recess having
predetermined depth and width, so as to form at least front and
rear support portions below front and rear sides, respectively, of
the pillow. The front and rear support portions have different
heights, so that the pillow has a slightly inclined top surface to
provide at least two different heights for users. The bottom
transverse recess allows a portion of the top surface supporting a
user's head to downward deform while the front or the rear support
portion ergonomically supports the user's neck to facilitate good
sleep. Pads of different heights may be removably attached to the
bottom of the pillow to adjust an overall height thereof according
to the user's actual need.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present
invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best
understood by referring to the following detailed description of
the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings,
wherein
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first conventional
pillow;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second conventional
pillow;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a pillow according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of FIG. 3;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 3;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a side view of the pillow of FIG. 3 in use;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of a pillow according to
another embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a side view of the pillow of FIG. 7 in use;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a pad member for
removably attaching to a bottom of the pillow of the present
invention to adjust an overall height thereof; and
[0018] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the pillow of the present
invention with the pad member of FIG. 9 attached to a bottom
thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Please refer to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 in which a pillow 2
according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown.
The pillow 2 is integrally molded from a soft plastic material,
which may be a foam or a non-forming plastic material, including,
for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene vinyl acetate resin
(EVA), or polyurethane (PU). The pillow 2 has a smooth top surface
21 without any recess portion 15 as that provided in the second
conventional pillow 1 for particularly supporting a user's head
thereon. A bottom 22 of the pillow 2 is provided at a middle area
with a transverse recess 23 having a predetermined depth and width,
so as to form two support portions 24, 25 separately below a front
and a rear side of the pillow 2. The two support portions 24, 25
are different in height. That is, the front and rear sides of the
pillow 2 have different heights, making the top surface 21 a
slightly inclined surface. When the pillow 2 is in use, as shown in
FIG. 6, the transverse recess 23 formed at the middle area of the
bottom 22 of the pillow 2 allows a portion of the pillow 2 having a
user's head 3 supported thereon to downward deform by a degree
depending on a force applied to the pillow 2 by the user's head 3,
while the support portion 24 or 25 still provides a natural and
proper support to the user's nape 31, making the pillow 2 an
ergonomically ideal pillow for use. The two support portions 24, 25
having different heights allow the user to freely select either the
front or the rear side of the pillow 2 to most comfortably support
the nape 31 and therefore facilitate a good sleep.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of a pillow 2 according
to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this
embodiment, the pillow 2 also includes a bottom 22 having a
transverse recess 23 to form two support portions 24, 25 separately
below front and rear sides of the pillow 2. However, the pillow 2
in this second embodiment further includes two lateral support
portions 26, 27 integrally extended from the front and rear support
portions 24, 25 to locate below left and right sides of the pillow
2, such that the transverse recess 23 is enclosed in the support
portions 24, 25, 26 and 27. The pillow 2 of the second embodiment
may still be integrally molded and mass-produced while providing
the same good effect to facilitate a good sleep.
[0021] Please refer to FIGS. 9 and 10. The pillow 2 of the present
invention may have one or more pad members 3 removably attached to
the bottom 22 to increase an overall height of the pillow 2. The
pad members 3 may have different heights and have an outer
perimeter the same as that of the bottom 22 of the pillow 2. The
pad member 3 may be easily attached to the bottom 22 of the pillow
2 with adhesive means, such as double-side tapes or patches, or
repeatedly usable tapes, so that the user may conveniently adjust
the overall height of the pillow 2 according to actual need. The
pad member 3 not only saves the user from troubles in choosing a
pillow having a suitable height, but also enables a manufacturer to
maintain good quality control in production of uniform-sized
pillows.
* * * * *