Chairs and seats – Headrest
Patent
1992-02-18
1993-04-27
Grosz, Alexander
Chairs and seats
Headrest
5636, 5640, 5922, A47G 900
Patent
active
052056112
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cushion, pillow or like article and, more particularly, to a such an article adapted to provide lateral support for a user's head when it is resting against an upwardly sloping surface such as the back of a seat.
BACKGROUND ART
Travellers, in particular, are often forced to sleep in a sitting position. This can occur during extended travel in aeroplanes, buses, cars, trains and the like. Various proposals have been made to provide supporting pillows to reduce the discomfort experienced by persons sleeping in a sitting position. These prior art pillows have included bone shaped pillows for insertion under the neck and inflatable pillows in the form of a collar extending about a user's neck. None of these pillows, however, provide adequate lateral support for the head of the user. The present invention is directed to a novel pillow adapted for use by travellers and others seeking to sleep with the head upwardly inclined.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists in a cushion or pillow for laterally supporting a user's head when the user leans against an upright or upwardly inclined surface of a seat back or the like, comprising:
a base portion being generally thin and substantially planar and having an upper surface;
a lateral support portion being relatively thick, positioned laterally adjacent the base portion and projecting a predetermined distance transversely and upwardly from said upper surface; said base portion and lateral support portion also defining a generally continuous lower surface of the pillow;
whereby, in use, the pillow is positioned between the user's head and the inclined surface with the user's head bearing against the upper surface and leaning against the lateral support portion for supporting same against rotation about the axis of the user's neck.
The pillow according to the present invention enables the user to have his or her head comfortably supported lying back against the seat and inclined laterally slightly against the head support portion of the pillow. If desired the pillow may be provided with engagement means, such as strips of a hook and loop fastener, to assist in holding the major lower surface of the pillow in frictional engagement with the sloping surface. These engagement means may also be used to hold the pillow in a rolled-up or otherwise compressed form for transport or storage.
The pillow is preferably formed of a resilient foamed plastic or rubber material, however, it could be formed as an inflatable pillow. If desired the pillow may be covered by a removable cover of a woven or non-woven fabric. In the latter case the engagement means referred to in the last paragraph will be positioned on the cover.
The pillow according to the present invention is preferably of sufficient length that in use the lower end of the head support portion will rest on a user's shoulder. This assists in retaining the pillow in place under the user's head.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Hereinafter given by way of example only is a preferred embodiment of the present invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pillow according to the present invention in use;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the pillow of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the pillow of FIG. 1 seen from the user's left hand side;
FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of the pillow of FIG. 1 rolled up for transport or storage;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment pillow according to the invention; and
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of the pillow shown in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The pillow 10 comprises a block of a resilient foam rubber having a base portion 11 and a head support portion 12. The foam rubber block is encased in a removable fabric cover 13.
It is desirab
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patent: 2983310 (1961-05-01), Warlick et al.
patent: 3578383 (1971-05-01), Earl
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patent: 4440443 (1984-04-01), Nordskog
Azzopardi Jennifer Louise
Grosz Alexander
Kelly Sheilagh
Stephens Frederick Oscar
Stephens Frederick William Peter
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