Formable travel pillow assembly and method

Abstract

A formable travel pillow assembly malleably conforms to various anatomical features of a user's head and / or neck region for enhancing support and comfort during travel or similar situations. The pillow assembly comprises an outer pillow construction and an inner formable member. The pillow construction is formed from a viscoelastic material and comprising first and second pillow ends, a head-accepting seat intermediate the first and second pillow ends, and a member-receiving cavity. The inner formable member is received within the member-receiving cavity and comprises a flexible outer sheath and a ductile inner material. The inner material is formable into select configurations for selectively adjusting the first and second pillow ends relative to the head-accepting seat.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Technical Field[0002]The present invention generally relates to a pillow assembly for use during travel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a formable travel pillow, which may be resiliently configured and viscoelastically stressed to match the anatomical contours of a user's head and / or neck.[0003]2. Description of the Prior Art[0004]Some of the more pertinent prior art relating to travel pillows and the like is briefly described hereinafter.[0005]U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,365 ('365 patent), which issued to Kretchmer, discloses a Therapeutic Pillow. The '365 patent teaches a pillow comprising a flat substantially rectangular block of material that is more resilient on its upper top layer and is less resilient on its lowermost layer. It is substantially rectangular overall, but has a cutout in at least one of the longer rectangular sides, although this cutout may be repeated in the opposite rectangular side. The cutout is substantially ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]Accordingly, it is primary object of the present invention to provide a “one-size-fits-all type formable travel pillow assembly, which assembly may be formed around a person's head and neck region to comfortably provide pillow support to the wearer. To achieve these and other readily apparent objectives, the present invention essentially provides an adjustable travel pillow, which pillow comprises a main pillow body constructed from viscoelastic polyurethane foam otherwise commonly known as memory foam. Embedded inside the memory foam is a bendable wire assembly, which assembly comprises a ductile wire encased in a plastic sheath. The bendable wire assembly has unique structural properties in that when the pillow is bent to adapt the pillow to different positions depending on the user's needs, the wire will take a temporary shape and hold the pillow in the adjusted positions. When the user is finished with the pillow, the pillow can be formed or return to an original flat or axial position and put back in to the storage bag.

[0014]The foam has a memory characteristic which enables the foam to return to its original position after it has been compressed and adjusted for use by the user. One of the unique characteristics is believed to reside in the fact that the pillow can be bent around the head and used almost like earmuffs so that it can serve as a pillow for the wearer as well as an earmuff to cut down the surrounding noises, particularly when aboard an airplane or in a car or even sitting on a couch at a person's home. The cradle in the center upper side of the pillow is design to receive the back of the head of the user and the center lower part of the pillow fills the gap between the neck and seat providing an ultimate comfort for the user.

Problems solved by technology

As a result, breathing is freer than with a conventional pillow, where the arm is often extended under the pillow attempting to hold the head horizontal, in which it often fails, but such does succeed in restricting the blood flow in the arm, leading to a condition strongly resembling bursitis in pain and restriction of arm movement, a painful condition not easily remedied.

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