Adjustable pillow

Abstract

An adjustable pillow comprising a support surface for receiving and supporting at least a part of a human body and forming a plurality of apertures there through for providing air circulation and substantial washability and at least one foldable channel. The foldable channel is a recess in the support surface about which the support surface generally folds is disclosed. The plurality of apertures provides efficient conduits through which air and water may flow while the pillow is folded along a foldable channel or unfolded.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 878,324 filed Jan. 3, 2007. Said U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 878,324 filed Jan. 3, 2007 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention generally relates to the field of pillows, and more particularly to an adjustable pillow providing desirable comfort, air circulation, and maintenance characteristics.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Pillows are often utilized by individuals to properly support and align the head and neck while resting in a prone, seated, or other position. Pillows generally comprise a soft, comfortable material enclosed within a flexible material to support a body part, generally the head. However, conventional pillow materials and designs pose problems for the user. The standard tubular shape design does not allow significant spatial adjustments, c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]In a further aspect of the invention, the adjustable pillow comprises a first portion defining a plurality of apertures for ventilating the first portion, and a second portion interconnected with the first portion. The second portion defines a channel ab

Problems solved by technology

However, conventional pillow materials and designs pose problems for the user.

The standard tubular shape design does not allow significant spatial adjustments, causing many users to fold the pillow or redistribute the interior material by “fluffing” the pillow.

Folding standard pillows is often undesirable, resulting in general packing and firming of the interior material.

Additionally, some interior materials produce undesirable reaction forces, when the material strains to revert to its original, steady state shape.

Redistributing the internal material may accelerate the firming process, causing the pillow to become uncomfortable more quickly and may provide poor spinal alignment.

Conventional pillows utilizing common materials, such as foam, cotton, wool, alpaca, down, and the like, also tend to lose softness and collect undesirable substances such as dirt, sweat, oils, skin cells, dust mites, and other microorganisms.

Most common materials are not satisfactorily washable, thereby leaving the undesirable substances within the pillow.

Some synthetic materials are washable, but when used in a standard pillow design, suffer from a lack of desirable adjustability.

Materials that do not wash and dry properly are subject to mold, bacteria, and other microbial growths.

These growths pose potential allergenic risks and other health concerns.

Solid uniform foam material is generally three to four inch thick pieces that compress under the weight of a user, but provide no substantial air circulation.

When air circulation is limited, the pillow may become unduly warm at the point where the head and neck rest on the pillow.

As a result, increased amounts of sweat may be absorbed by the foam material.

Thus, when a user folds the pillow, the foam pushes back against the user creating restless sleep or discomfort.

However, chopped foam still suffers from an undesirable amount of limited air circulation.

In general, foam tends to collect undesirable substances such as dirt, sweat, oils, skin cells, dust mites, and other microorganisms, which are allergenic hazards to some users.

Solid uniform foam cannot be thoroughly washed and dried, while chopped foam pieces wash and dry more completely than solid uniform foam pieces.

Memory foam may tend to soften and compress over time, depending on the foam density, limiting the life expectancy of the pillow.

Further, since memory foam is utilized in solid uniform configurations, it is difficult to satisfactorily wash and dry the material.

While feathers may be soft and comfortable, some feather material can pose high allergenic risks.

However, even feather composites, down, and hypo-allergenic feather material pose clumping problems, are unwashable, and accumulate sloughed skin cells, microorganisms, and the like.

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