Stuffed Contoured Pillows

Abstract

A head pillow having a pre-shaped head cradle padded permanently with a sheet of foam, a neck roll adjustably padded with a roll of sheet foam and side wings adjustably padded with shreaded foam or fiber and zippered means to provide access to vary the heighth of said adjustable padding according to the user's individual requirements.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE

Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,926 is an inflatable of similar external design. The heighth and softness of the parts may be changed in total by the amount of inflation. This has been produced and sold since its inception.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

I had until recently always assumed that by varying the inflation, the firmness and heighth of these four sections could be varied and that similarly varying the relative heights could please the user, i.e., a small person would prefer them all low and a large person would prefer them all high. Such is not the case, for example a person side sleeping with his underarm in front of him would wish the two side wings higher than a person sleeping with his underarm behind him. One person when back sleeping might wish a larger or firmer neck roll because he is more hunched, that is his neck is further forward from his shoulder blades. I know now that with an inflatable pillow such variations cannot be accomplished.

With an inflatable if pressure or weight is applied to one section the air therein will pass immediately to other sections, for example, when the neck pressure rests on an inflated neck roll heighth and firmness is increased in the center upper section and wings whether it is desired or not. In the present invention this transmission of pressure is avoided. Also if for instance the wings are inflated extra high for side sleeping, the neck roll may be firmer and higher than desired.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Accordingly it is the purpose of my present invention to provide a fabric covered pillow instead of vinyl covered, probably having the center upper section relatively thin and of constant height, and the side sections of the pillow easily and individually stuffable or unstuffable with shredded foam or fiber by the user to his individual taste, as well as compensating for any permanent compression resulting from continued use at any time without affecting the heighth of the adjoining sections.

In the case of the neck roll I padded it with an actual roll of sheet foam so the user can easily make it larger or smaller.

I have discovered that there is little virtue in varying the height of the center section since to increase it only requires a larger neck roll, and back sleeping with the head pushed forward by an overly large pillow not only overly flexes the neck, interfering with breathing, but invites neck wrinkles and double chins, etc. Therefore, I prefer to recommend that this section be permanently and thinly stuffed.

Pillows and cushions in the past have been customarily closed by sewing the filling port shut. I provide that the filling port be closed by a zipper protected by a flap so that the filling materials do not clog the zipper. Thus stuffing can be easily increased, removed or transferred from one section to another by the user. The zipper can be a conventional one or a double one with a closing device starting from each end and coming together in the center.

Stuffing, padding and filling are used interchangeably in the specification and claims and are to be considered substantially equivalent in meaning.

The structural combination set forth to accomplish these needs and purposes are objects of this invention and also other objects and accomplishments may be obvious from the following specifications, claims, and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view portions in section

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on horizontal line 3--3

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on vertical line 4--4

FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 1

FIGURE

FIG. 1 shows the principal parts of my contoured or form fitted head pillow 10 including: a woven fabric cover 11, head cradle 12 for the back of the head especially while back sleeping, permanently padded with sheet foam such as polyester foam, possibly 1/4 to 1 inch thick according to its density. The cover 11 is sewed at 13 and 14 also, around the contour of foam 12, holding it in place.

A neck roll 20 is formed principally between sewing 13 and zipper 21, and is stuffed with an oval roll of sheet foam 23 such as polyester foam so that it may be varied in diameter by user access through zipper 21, and the cutting off of or addition to the amount of linear material forming roll 22.

Peripheral sewing 30 of fabric cover 10 plus zipper 21, less the area of head cradle 11 and neck roll 20 leaves left and right bulbous wings 31 and 31 which are stuffed with small loose pieces of coarsely ground foam or fiber 32, so it is accessible to the user through the zipper 21, for convenient addition or removal of said stuffing 32, thus varying the heighth and softness of either or both of said wings 31 according to the user's individual requirements. One wing might be stuffed to a heighth suitable for side sleeping with the lower arm positioned to the rear of the user and the other wing suitable in heighth for side sleeping with the lower arm extending forward of the user.

Claims

Accordingly I claim:

1. A contoured head pillow composed of several defined sections, a woven fabric integrally covering said pillow, a first padded bulbous section comprising a neckroll adapted to support the nape of the user, additional padded bulbous sections extending angularly from each end of said first section to form a substantially U-shaped pillow, access means to said sections to permit changing the amount of padding to adjust the height of said padded sections, a further section comprised of resilient material having substantially planar surfaces, and said further section being secured to said bulbous sections in a plane bisecting said bulbous sections to form a cradle for receiving the head of a user wherein said sections are formed with different types of padding materials.

2. In a pillow as set forth in claim 1 wherein said further section is flatly padded with sheet foam.

3. In a pillow as set forth in claim 1 wherein the neckroll section is padded with a roll of sheet foam.

4. In a pillow as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bulbous sections are padded with loose material.