Body Pillow

This invention relates to pillows, and more particularly to large cushions for supporting a user reclining on either the user's right or left side.

There has been a long-felt need in the art to provide pillows, cushions and mattresses facilitating the positioning, rest or sleep of a user while the body of the user is comfortably disposed in a articular position. References such as Weltmer, U.S. Pat. No. 1,045,228 and Wheylan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,738 disclose simple pads for use in conjunction with mattresses while Vail, U.S. Pat. No. 3,626,526 discloses a compound, multilayered mattress formed with a plurality of cut-outs from a base layer joined to one horizontal surface of the base layer. Other cushions and pillows such as those found in Varaney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,048, Spann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,205 and Hofstetter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,021 disclose discreet, unitary pillows designed to be placed adjacent to, and to partially underlie or be engaged by a reclining user, while supports and other cushions such as those found in Enste, U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,221 and Willey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,306 are dedicated principally to engaging the front, or reverse of a user's torso, typically while the user remains in a sitting, or partially reclining position.

While these and other examples of the pillow, cushion and support arts enable a user to remain in one or more positions with varying degrees of comfort, research among currently marketed body cushions fails to reveal the availability of any cushion or pillow designed to enable a reclining user to rest upon the pillow while on the user's right or left side with the bodily appendages disposed beneath the pillow to be free from direct application of the weight of the user's bodily appendages supported by the pillow.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved body pillow.

It is another object to provide a body pillow enabling a reclining user to rest upon the pillow while the user is disposed on either the user's right or left side.

It is still another object to provide a body pillow which comfortably supports the major components of the user's body while bodily appendages of the user disposed beneath the pillow are freed from direct application of the weight of bodily appendages supported by the pillow.

It is yet another object to provide a body pillow which facilitates the resting of a user in a fetal position while supported by the pillow.

It is still yet another object to provide a body pillow which supports a larger portion of the anatomy of a reclining user.

It is a further object to provide a body pillow enabling a reclining user to comfortably rest while disposed in a position other than a face-up or face-down position.

It is a still further object to provide a body pillow for complementing the support and comfort provided to a reclining user by an underlying, conventional mattress.

It is a yet further object to provide a body pillow for supplementing an underlying conventional mattress while minimizing contact between the horizontal supporting surfaces of the underlying mattress and bed sores of a reclining user

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a pillow facilitating the comfort of a user during a short-term nap.

These and other objects are achieved with a body pillow provided by a single unit of a soft foam material enabling a user to rest, or to sleep, on either the right or left side of the user. The body pillow includes four separate, major sections each separately providing cushioning support for the head, one arm, rib cage and/or waist, and the knee and ankle of one leg of a reclining user. The shoulder, other arm and leg of the user may be supported by an underlying conventional mattress or other substantially flat substrate surface disposed beneath the body pillow. The four major sections of the body pillow are interconnected by a narrow, soft foam section approximating the body length of the user, to maintain proper positional relations between the four major sections. Corners of the pillow may be squared to provide support for a wider variety of reclining positions by a user.

A more complete appreciation of this invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an orthagonal projection of one embodiment constructed according to the principles of the disclosed invention;

FIG. 2 provides an end view of one side of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 provides a front view taken along one side of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 provides a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing the areas of that embodiment disposed on or adjacent to the horizontal surface of a supporting substrate;

FIG. 5 provides a frontal view of another side of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 provides a side view of one end of the embodiment of FIG. 1, when placed in the disposition shown in FIGS. 1 and 8;

FIG. 7 provides a side view of an end opposite from the view shown in FIG. 6, of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 8; and

FIG. 8 provides a plan view showing the disposition of a human user upon the embodiment of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the Figures, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 and 7, a pillow (10) is formed with an elongate, flexible volume of a resilient mass of material such as, for example, foam rubber, forming a connecting section (11) providing opposite horizontal planar surfaces (11') capable of supporting human anatomical members of a reclining user. A plurality of major sections including a head section (12), an intermediate section (14) and a leg section (15) are spaced-apart and joined to vertical sides of connecting section (11) which are intermediate to support surfaces (11'). Each of the major sections (12), (14), and (15) provide two opposite support surfaces (12'), (14'), and (15') respectively, for supporting human anatomical members of a reclining user. An upper arm section (13a) and a lower arm section (13b) (shown inverted in FIG. 1 and with nominal orientation in the end view of FIG. 2), are joined to support surfaces (11') with an adjacent, but spaced-apart neighboring relation to head section (12). Upper and lower arm sections (13a), (13b) are disposed on opposite support surfaces (11') of connecting section (11), and provide support surfaces (13a'), (13b'), whereby one arm of a reclining user may rest upon the uppermost support surface (l3a'), (l3b'), depending upon the orientation of pillow (10).

As shown in FIG. 1, head, intermediate and leg sections (12), (14) and (15). as well as upper and lower arm sections (13a), (13b) are joined to connecting section (11) to form an integrated, single structure for pillow (10). Pillow (10) may be covered with a one-piece sewn cover (22) of cotton percale or similar material. In situations where price considerations are secondary, two covers, one a patterned material serving as an outer cover, can be used to encase pillow (10). A full length closure in cover (22) may be provided along the relatively straight side of the cover as the cover would appear if shown in the side view presented by FIG. 3.

As indicated by FIGS. 4, 7 and 8, one vertical side of connecting section (11) forms a generally flush vertical surface with adjacent vertical surfaces of upper and lower arm sections (13a), (13b) and leg section (15). When in a reclining position, with pillow (10) supported on a generally horizontal, planar surface such as that provided by a conventional bedroom mattress or, alternatively, a floor (preferably with a carpeted surface), the head of a user may be supported by horizontal surface (12') while the torso and lower leg (and ankle) may be supported by horizontal surfaces (14'), (15'), respectively. As indicated in FIG. 6 and shown by FIG. 8, when a user is reclining upon the user's left side, the right arm of the user may rest upon and be supported surface (13b') while the left arm of the user may be placed in a valley (24) beneath connecting section (11) and between head section (12) and arm section (13a). This advantageously enables the left arm of the reclining user to comfortably rest without bearing the weight of either the head, right arm or other anatomical members of the user. Additionally, when reclining upon the user's left side as shown in FIG. 8, the left leg of the user may be placed between the supporting substrate (such as the upper surface of mattress (20) and the adjacent underside surface (15') while the right leg rests upon and is supported by the exposed upper surface (15') of leg section (15)), as shown in FIG. 8. Alternatively, both the left and right legs may rest upon and be supported by the exposed uppermost surface (15') of leg section (15) while the lower, undersurface (15') rest fully and directly upon the uppermost surface of mattress (20). As indicated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 5 through 7, head, intermediate and leg sections (15) are symmetrically arranged about a horizontal plane (30) which, as shown in FIG. 1, is generally parallel to the uppermost surface of a mattress (20) and which bisects connecting section (11) when sections (11), (12), (14) and (15) of pillow (10) rest upon the uppermost surface of mattress (20). Plane (30) will, due to the horizontally symmetric arrangement of sections (12), (14) and (15) relative to connecting section (11) also bisect sections (12), (14) arms sections (13a) (13b) as indicated by the lines of intersection (32) between these sections and plane (30) shown in FIG. 1.

It may be appreciated, therefore, that pillow (10) is reversible, thereby enabling a user to recline upon either the user's right or left side with a right arm of the user disposed beneath section (11) within valley (24) or, while the user reclines upon the user's right side, with the user's left arm disposed within valley (26) beneath connecting section (11).

One embodiment of a pillow was constructed with the dimensions indicated in Table I:

Head Section (12) 12-inch by 6-inches thick supporting a user's head;

Upper and lower arm sections (13a), (13b) with intermediate connecting section (11);

3-inch by 1/7-inch by 8-inches supporting the user's upper arm;

Intermediate section (14): 12-inch by 12-inch by 3-inches thick supporting the user's rib cage and waist;

Leg section (15): 15-inch by 32-inch by 4-inches thick supporting the user's upper knee, ankle and foot.

Vertical thicknesses of the supporting sections may be made of foam and may be varied according to personal needs, but for an average adult would be as indicated in Table I, when measured from the uppermost supporting surfaces of mattress (30) or other flat surface. For an average adult, the widest portion of pillow (10) would be approximately nineteen and one-half inches, as measured in the plane of FIGS. 2 and 6. Length, as measured in the planes of FIGS. 3 through 5 and 8, would be approximately sixty-five inches. These overall dimensions, may vary according to the age and size of the user.

Mattress (10) may be constructed by cutting the several sections from larger sheets of foam material, and then fitting and gluing those sections together. Alternatively, mattress (10) may be constructed from a soft foam material in an injection mold process, thereby simplifying its manufacture and minimizing cost. Other embodiments may be constructed as ballons, or inflated pillows, to further minimize cost of manufacture.

In view of the foregoing, it may be seen that the foregoing paragraphs describe a pillow suitable for use by both able and well individuals where a primary concern is comfort, and cost is a secondary consideration, and for disabled or convalescent patients in hospital and nursing care facilities to enable a reclining user to comfortably rest on either the user's left or right side, for either extended or short-term periods. While the configuration of pillow (10) encourages resting in a fetal position, the irregular shape of the pillow does not necessarily dictate either the length of time which the pillow may be used during a period of rest or a limitation of body positions while resting.

It is evident that those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses and modifications or departures from the specific embodiments described herein without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed. The shape and design of the pillow and its several sections serve principally to illustrate the principles of the invention and may be modified without departing from those principles. Consequently, the invention is to be construed as embracing each and every novel feature and combination of features present in or possessed by the pillow herein disclosed, and is to be limited solely by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.