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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of therapeutic support
pillows, and in particular to support pillows and methods for their use
which are intended as improvements to the support pillow and methods
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134, the complete disclosure of which is
herein incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 describes a therapeutic support pillow which is
provided to support a small child or an infant, and particularly to hold a
small child in a manner that prohibits lateral movement. Although the
support pillow described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 has been generally
successful when used to prohibit the lateral movement of a small child,
various improvements are desired. For example, it would be desirable if
such a support pillow could be used with an adolescent or an adult. For
some applications, it would be further desirable if improvements could be
made to the overall structure of the support pillow.
Many adults or adolescents participate in activities which make it
desirable to support certain objects or body parts. For example, with
activities such as reading, typing, breast feeding, and the like, it is
often desirable to support the arms or elbows. As another example, when
sleeping in an upright position it is often desirable to have the neck and
head supported. As a further example, it is often desirable to provide
support to the lower back.
Although some support structures have been proposed for supporting objects
or body parts, such as the arms of a chair or certain braces, such
structures are often uncomfortable and inconvenient to use. Further, some
support structures are not easily portable, thereby limiting their use. In
a further drawback, most support structures are designed only for a
particular application and do not have multiple uses.
For these and other reasons, it would be desirable to provide an improved
support pillow and methods which would overcome these and other drawbacks.
In particular, it would be desirable if such a support structure and
methods were capable of supporting certain small objects or body parts,
such as the arms, elbows, lower back, neck or head. Such a support pillow
and methods should be comfortable, portable, and easy to use. In one
particular aspect, it would be desirable if such a support pillow could be
used in a variety of applications to support certain objects or body
parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a support pillow and methods for its use. In one
exemplary method, support is provided to a person's lower back. According
to this method, a support pillow is provided having a resilient cushion
body with a medial region and first and second opposing cantilever arms
extending from the medial region. The cantilever arms have respective
first and second end portions remote from the medial region. The
cantilever arms are curved about a vertical access to define a
substantially toroidal configuration for the cushion body and to position
the first and second end portions in a confronting relation to one
another. The cantilever arms and medial region cooperate to define a
generally circular open well. Such a support pillow is placed around the
person's torso in the area of the lower back. The first and second end
portions of the cantilever arms are positioned in front of the person's
torso, and the medial region of the support pillow is positioned adjacent
the person's lower back. The cantilever arms are biased around the
person's torso to hold the support pillow vertically positioned relative
to the person's torso while the medial region is positioned against the
person's lower back. In this manner, the support pillow may be employed to
support the person's lower back even when the person is in various
positions. For example, the support pillow may be used to support the
lower back when the person is sitting in an upright position, such as when
sitting in a chair. Alternatively, the support pillow may provide support
to the person's lower back while the person is lying.
In another exemplary method, such a support pillow may be placed around the
person's torso, with the first and second end portions of the cantilever
arms being at the back of the person's torso, and with the medial region
of the support pillow being adjacent the front of the person's torso. The
cantilever arms are biased around the person's torso to hold the support
pillow vertically positioned relative to the person's torso. With the
support pillow placed around the person's torso in this manner, an object
may be rested on the cantilever arms or the medial region while the
cantilever arms are biased around the person's torso.
For example, the person may be sitting while resting the object on the
cantilever arms. In one exemplary aspect, the object is printed material,
such as a book, that is rested on the medial region. Alternatively, other
objects such as games, food, video game controls, and the like, may be
rested on the medial region. In a further aspect, the person's elbows or
forearms are rested on the medial region. Resting of the person's forearms
or elbows in this manner is advantageous when performing a variety of
activities with the hands, such as typing on a keyboard, breast feeding a
baby, and the like.
In yet another exemplary method, such a support pillow is provided to
support a person's neck and head. According to the method, the support
pillow is placed around the person's neck with the first and second end
portions of the cantilever arms being at the front of the person's neck.
The medial region of the support pillow is positioned adjacent the back of
the person's neck. The cantilever arms extend around the person's neck so
that the neck is supported at least in part by the cantilever arms in the
medial region.
In one aspect, the support pillow is positioned so that the cantilever arms
rest on the person's shoulders. In another aspect, the person's head is
tilted so as to rest the person's neck and head against the support pillow
in the region of the open well. For example, the support pillow may be
employed to Support the person's neck and head while sitting in a chair or
other location where the person's head may be supported when titled.
Alternatively, the support pillow may be employed to support the person's
neck while lying down.
The invention provides an exemplary support pillow having a resilient
cushion body and a medial region and first and second opposing cantilever
arms extending from the medial region. The cantilever arms have respective
first and second end portions remote from the medial region. The
cantilever arms are curved about a vertical axis to define a substantially
toroidal configuration for the cushion body and to position the first and
second end portions in a confronting relation to one another. The
cantilever arms and medial region cooperate to define a generally circular
open well. At least a portion of the cushion body is covered with a
material suitable for receiving a marking substance from a writing
instrument such as a pen, marker, or the like. Preferably, such a material
comprises a fabric having a smooth surface (such as satin, rip-stop nylon,
and the like) and covers a bottom portion of the cushion body. In this
way, the support pillow may be employed to receive an autograph or other
message by simply turning the support pillow on its side or top and
writing on the bottom portion.
In a preferable aspect, a head member is further provided and is attached
to the cushion body. The head member will preferably be attached to one of
the cantilever arms such that the head member extends in a direction
generally parallel to the vertical axis. In one particular aspect, the
head member is in the shape of a unicorn.
The invention provides one particularly preferable embodiment of a support
pillow which may be used in a liquid medium, such as water. The support
pillow comprises a resilient cushion body having a medial region and first
and second opposing cantilever arms extending from the medial region. The
cantilever arms have respective first and second end portions remote from
the medial region, with the cantilever arms being curved about a vertical
axis to define a substantially toroidal configuration for the cushion body
and to position the first and second end portions in a confronting
relation to one another. The cantilever arms and medial region cooperate
to define a generally circular open well. The cushion body is constructed
of a sponge material so that the cushion body may be placed in a liquid
medium. In this way, the support pillow may be placed around the torso of
a person when bathing, with the support pillow maintaining the person in a
generally upright position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top view of a support pillow constructed in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the support pillow of FIG. 1 taken
along lines 2--2.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional top view of an alternative embodiment of a
support pillow according to the present invention.
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate one exemplary use of the support pillow of FIG. 1
when placed around a person while in a sitting position.
FIG. 6 illustrates a further exemplary method for using the support pillow
of FIG. 1 to support an object in front of a person's torso according to
the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates yet another use of the support pillow of FIG. 1 for
supporting a person's neck and head according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates still yet another use of the support pillow of FIG. 1
for supporting a person's lower back according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a support pillow having a
head member attached to one of the cantilever arms according to the
present invention.
FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate exemplary uses of the support pillow of FIG. 9.
FIG. 12 illustrates a bottom portion of the support pillow of FIG. 9 which
is constructed of a material suitable for receiving a marking substance
from a writing instrument according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a support pillow 10 will be
described. The support pillow 10 may be constructed essentially
identically to the support pillow described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134,
previously incorporated herein by reference. The support pillow 10
includes a curved outer surface 12 which is rounded in both a longitudinal
and a lateral direction. The support pillow 10 further includes a curved
central inner surface 14 which defines a rounded, generally circular or
elliptical well region 16. While the body of the support pillow 10 is
substantially continuous and uniform, with curved surfaces 12 and 14 also
being continuous, it is convenient to consider the pillow body as
consisting of a medial region 15, and two opposed cantilever arms 18 and
20. The arms 18, 20 extend in opposite directions away from the medial
region 15, but are curved towards one another to give the pillow 10 its
toroidal configuration. While the continuous structure does not provide a
precise or exact division between the medial region 15 and each arm,
considering the body of the pillow in view of these components facilitates
a description of the structure and function of the pillow 10.
Cantilever arms 18, 20 include respective blunt ends 22 and 24, positioned
remotely of the remedial region. The support pillow 10 is proportioned so
that ends 22, 24 normally, i.e., when not under external stress, touch one
another. However, the ends 22, 24 do not exert substantial pressure
against each other. The toroidal shape defined by the outer and inner
curved surfaces 12, 14 is proportioned such that at a central vertical
plane, represented by line 2--2 in FIG. 1, bisects the pillow 10 at the
medial region 15. Pillow 10 thus has bilateral symmetry with respect to
the central plane. The central plane further contains a vertical, central
axis about which the toroidal pillow body is formed. Profiles of the
pillow 10 taken radially of the central axis, i.e., sections of the pillow
10 in planes that also contain the central axis, are elliptical in shape
throughout the medial region, and likewise are elliptical throughout the
length of each cantilever arm 18, 20 with the exception of blunt ends 22,
24.
Well region 16 has a width W in the direction perpendicular to the central
plane. The width W will preferably be in the range from about four to
eight inches, with a particularly preferred width being about six inches.
Such a width will enable the support pillow to fit "snug" around the torso
or waist of most users. The pillow preferably has a circumference of about
15 to 30 inches, and more preferably about 21 inches. As will be described
in greater detail hereinafter, the pillow 10 is constructed so that the
arms 18, 20 may be moved away from each other to vary the width W so that
the pillow 10 may be used in a variety of applications.
Referring to FIG. 2, the pillow 10 includes a central core 30 which is
constructed of a resilient, compression resistant, hypoallergenic
material, such as a polyester filling. The central core 30 is encased in a
lining 32, such as cotton or other pliant conforming fabric. The polyester
is firmly and tightly packed into lining 32, such that the core 30 and
lining 32 together provide a self-supporting pillow body, i.e., the
support pillow 10 retains ) its shape without any sagging or drooping of
the cantilever arms 18, 20 when held at the medial region 15. The tightly
packed polyester core 30 also provides the pillow with firmness in the
sense that it will undergo only slight elastic deformation (as compared to
a conventional pillow) when an object (such as a persons' arms or elbows)
is rested on the arms 18,20 or medial region. Covering the lining 32 is a
conforming, removable exterior covering 34, also preferably constructed of
cotton. The elliptical profile i.e., the profile in the central plane,
preferably has a vertical height of about four to eight inches, and
preferably at about six inches. Line A--A in FIG. 2 represents a
horizontal mid-plane, with the top and bottom halves of pillow 10 being
symmetrical about the mid-plane.
FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a support pillow 40.
Support pillow 40 is constructed of a sponge material or other porous
material (such as foamed rubber). The sponge material will preferably
provide substantially the same type of support as described in connection
with the support pillow of FIG. 1. Constructing the pillow 40 of a sponge
material allows the support pillow to be placed in liquids, such as water.
For example, the support pillow may be placed around the waist or torso of
a person (particularly an infant or a small child) when bathing. The
support pillow holds the person upright to prevent the person from falling
or slipping while within the bathtub. This is particularly advantageous
when attempting to bathe a small child, who may be slippery due to water
or soap on the skin. After bathing, the support pillow may be removed from
the person, wrung out, and left in the tub to dry.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, an exemplary method for using the support
pillow 10 will be described. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the support pillow 10 is
placed around a person's torso with the medial region 15 being at the
front of the person's torso. The cantilever arms 18, 20 extend around the
side of the person's torso, with the ends 22, 24 being at the back of the
person's torso. As previously described, the arms 18, 20 are resilient so
that they may be moved away from each other. In this way, the pillow 10
may be positioned around the person's torso by grasping the arms 18, 20
and pulling them away from each other while sliding the ends 22, 24 around
the person's torso. The arms 18, 20 are sufficiently biased so that the
pillow 10 will remain vertically secured to the person's torso by the arms
18, 20. Preferably, the support pillow 10 will be positioned around the
person's torso just above the waist, with the waist and the person's
thighs helping to prevent the support pillow 10 from sliding down the
person's waist when a force is applied to the top surface of the pillow
10.
In FIGS. 4 and 5, the person is in a sitting position, with the bottom of
the support pillow 10 resting upon the person's knees and legs. In this
configuration, the person may rest the elbows or forearms on the
cantilever arms 18, 20 and/or the medial region 15 to support the person's
arms while operating a keyboard 36, a computer game, an electronic device,
or the like 36. When resting the elbows and/or the forearms on the support
pillow 10, the support pillow 10 will experience only slight deformation
so that sufficient support is provided to the person's arms while also
providing a comfortable support surface. Optionally, the keyboard 36
itself may be directly rested on the support pillow 10, such as on the
medial region 15 when operating the keyboard 36.
The support pillow 10 will preferably be constructed so that a single size
may be used for most people. In some circumstances, however, it may be
advantageous to vary the dimensions of the pillow 10 to fit the particular
person.
Referring to FIG. 6, an alternative use of the support pillow 10 will be
described. In FIG. 6, the support pillow 10 is placed around a person's
torso in a manner similar as that previously described in FIGS. 4 and 5.
The person will preferably be in a sitting position, with the support
pillow 10 around the torso and being supported by the person's thighs. The
person's elbows are rested on the support pillow at the cantilever arms
18, 20 or at the medial region 15 to provide support to the person's arms
while reading a book 38 or other printed material. The vertical position
of the support pillow 10 relative to the person's torso may be adjusted to
place the book 30 at a comfortable reading position.
Referring to FIG. 7 still yet another exemplary use of the support pillow
10 will be described. In FIG. 7, the support pillow 10 is placed around a
person's neck, with the medial region 15 being at the back of the person's
head and the ends 22, 24 being in front of the person's neck. The well
region 16 is sufficiently sized so that the support pillow 10 will not
choke or interfere with the breathing of the person. The support pillow 10
is placed around the person's neck by pulling the ends 22, 24 away from
each other and sliding the ends 22, 24 around the neck. When placed around
the neck, the support pillow 10 rests upon the person's shoulders so that
when the person's head is tilted, the person's neck or head will rest
against the support pillow 10 in the region of the open well 16. The
support pillow 10 may be used to support a person's neck or head when the
person is in virtually any position, such as lying, sitting, or the like.
When around the neck, the support pillow 10 is particularly useful when
the person is sitting in a chair or other supporting member, such as when
in an airplane or an automobile as shown in FIG. 7. When sitting in an
upright position, it is often difficult to sleep comfortably since little
support is provided to the head and neck. When the support pillow 10 is
around a person's neck, the person may comfortably sleep in an upright
position, with the support pillow 10 providing sufficient support to the
neck and head.
Referring to FIG. 8, still yet another exemplary method for using the
support pillow 10 will be described. In FIG. 8, the support pillow 10 is
placed around a person's torso with the medial region 15 being at the back
of the person's torso, and the ends, 22, 24 being at the front of the
person's torso. The medial region 15 will preferably be positioned in the
area of the lower back, such as at the lumbar region, so that the support
pillow may provide support to the person's lower back. The support pillow
10 is placed around the person's torso in a manner similar to that
previously described in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5. The arms 18, 20 are
sufficiently resilient so as to hold the support pillow in a constant
vertical position relative to the person's torso.
The support pillow 10 may be used to provide support to the lower back when
the person is in a variety of positions, such as when lying, sitting, and
the like. The support pillow 10 will be particularly useful when sitting
in a chair C with the outside surface 12 of the pillow being positioned
against the back of the chair C. In this way, the inner surface 14 will be
biased against the person's lower back. The support pillow 10 will undergo
only slight elastic deformation when positioned against the person's back
so that sufficient support will be provided to the lower back. At the same
time, the support pillow 10 is sufficiently resilient so that the support
will be comfortable to the person. A further advantage of support pillow
10 is that it will snugly fit around the person's torso so that when the
person twists or moves about, the support pillow 10 will generally
maintain its position about the person's torso. As shown in FIG. 8, arms
22, 24 are available to support the person's arms, such as when typing.
Referring to FIG. 9, an alternative embodiment of a support pillow 40 will
be described. The support pillow 40 may be constructed essentially
identically to the support pillow of FIGS. 1-3 except that the support
pillow 40 includes a head member 42 which is attached to one of the
cantilever arms 18'. Alternatively, the head member 42 may be attached to
the pillow 10 anywhere along the top surface, with the head member 42
preferably being generally parallel to a vertical axis of the support
pillow 40. Although shown with the head of a unicorn, the head member 42
may include the head of virtually any animal or other figure. The head
member 42 will preferably be filled with the same materials used to make
the central core 30 of the support pillow 10. In this manner, the head
member 42, will be soft and cushiony but will also be sufficiently rigid
to be self-supporting. The support pillow 10 will also include a portion
suitable for receiving a marking substance from a writing instrument as
described in connection with FIG. 12.
Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, exemplary uses of the support pillow 40
will be described. In FIG. 10, the support pillow 40 is placed around the
person's torso with the cantilever arms 18', 20' being around the person's
waist or lower torso, and with the head member 42 being in front of the
person's torso. In this way the person may rest the head, neck, or chest
on the head member when in a sitting position.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the support pillow 40 may be placed around the
person's torso when in the standing position. In this manner, the person
may conveniently walk about with the support pillow 40 held around the
torso, and with the head member 42 being at a comfortable viewing distance
in front of the person. When the person sits, the support pillow 40 may be
employed to rest his or her arms on the cantilever arms 18', 20'.
Referring to FIG. 12, a bottom portion 44 of the support pillow 40 is
preferably constructed of a material which is suitable for receiving ink
from a pen 46, marker, or similar writing instrument. Preferably, the
bottom portion 44 will be constructed of a fabric having a smooth surface,
such as satin, non-rip nylon, and the like. In this manner, the support
pillow 40 may be used to receive autographs or other messages, such as
when used at a slumber party, or to personalize the support pillow 40.
The present invention has been described in detail. However, modifications
and variations may occur to those skilled in the art without departing
from the principles of the claimed invention. Therefore, the scope of the
invention should be determined primarily with reference to the appended
claims, along with a full scope of equivalents to which those claims are
entitled by law.
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