Pillow device and functional pillow using the same

Abstract

To provide a pillow for comfortable sleep by maintaining an appropriate height suitable for each physique.SOLUTION: A pillow device and a functional pillow using the pillow device, include a pillow-part body on which the head of a recumbent person is placed, and a flip mechanism for adjusting a head position on an upper surface part to an appropriate height according to the head load of the recumbent person, and have a structural feature of including adjustment means that can maintain the head position at the appropriate height by using the fact that a load applied to the pillow part continuously changes between a supine position and left / right lateral decubitus positions. When using the pillow device, a user can maintain a posture that does not put strain on the body, resulting in a comfortable sleep, the recovery from fatigue.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pillow having a unique mechanism for adjusting the head position to an appropriate height according to the head load of a person lying down when the person lying down changes to a supine position or a lateral lying position. More specifically, it provides a person lying down with high-quality sleep by maintaining an appropriate posture even unconsciously for any posture.

Background Art

[0002] In daily life, by sleeping, we carry out "rest of the brain and body", "recovery from fatigue", "increase in immune function", "fixation of memory", "emotional sorting", etc.

[0003] Sleep is an essential activity for maintaining human health and thus for living, and it is desirable to get high-quality sleep.

[0004] One of the important factors for achieving high-quality sleep is posture. We do not maintain the same posture during sleep and turn over unconsciously. In an all-night sleep experiment with young men and women as subjects, when the sleeping postures were measured, as a result, during 8 hours of night-time sleep, although there were individual differences in turning over, the supine position was about 50%, the lateral lying position was about 40%, the prone position was about 5%, and the longest duration of remaining stationary was about 60 minutes. It can be seen that mainly the supine and lateral lying positions are repeated.

[0005] Also, measurement of body pressure according to posture has been carried out, and the result shows that the body pressure is generally higher in the lateral lying position than in the supine position, and there is a tendency for strong pressure to be applied to the buttocks in the supine position and to the shoulders and buttocks in the lateral lying position.

[0006] Generally, in the development of bedding, etc., it is said that "a posture maintaining the S-shaped curve of the spine" is good, and that posture can be realized by adjusting the height of the pillow. As described above, the fact that there are differences in the way body pressure is applied depending on posture means that the appropriate pillow height is different for each posture.

[0007] That is to say, the height of the pillow is a very important factor for improving the quality of sleep. For this reason, pillows whose height can be adjusted according to the posture are provided. For example, Patent Documents 1 to 4 can be cited.

[0008] Patent Document 1 discloses a pillow that can easily set an appropriate height without the user directly adjusting the height. The pillow device includes a swelling and shrinking part that supports the user's head, a swelling and shrinking mechanism that swells and shrinks the front swelling and shrinking part, and a control part that acquires user information and controls the swelling and shrinking mechanism according to the user information.

[0009] Patent Document 2 discloses a technique related to a lifting structure for adjusting the height of a pillow. The lifting structure is characterized in that a power unit and an interlocking unit are installed on a bottom plate, covered with a lid, the operation of the power unit deforms the interlocking unit, and the height of the lid is adjusted in a timely manner to adjust the height of the top surface of the pillow.

[0010] Both of the pillows disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a complex structure and incorporate machinery, so they are not suitable for providing to many people at an affordable price. As a result, the possibility of widespread distribution as a product is low. Since it is a machine, malfunction is conceivable, and the operating sound itself may interfere with sleep. For this reason, especially as an instrument for providing comfortable sleep, it is completely insufficient.

[0011] Patent Document 3 discloses a technique related to a pillow device that can realize a mechanism for adjusting the height of the occipital part according to the posture of a lying person at a low cost so that the lying person can sleep comfortably, but there are concerns about the functionality of the complex air supply part and air discharge part.

[0012] Patent Document 4 discloses a technology related to a pillow that automatically adjusts the height of the pillow when changing between two types of sleeping postures, lying on the side and lying on the back, allowing the head and neck to fully relax. However, the arcuate body is convex upward and unstable when placing the head on it. Due to this instability, if the head slips and shifts left or right from the apex on the arcuate body, the function of adjusting the pillow to an appropriate height cannot be achieved. Similar to Patent Documents 1 to 3 above, it does not fully consider the comfort during sleep.

[0013] Thus, although it is a simple mechanism, a pillow that can automatically maintain an appropriate height according to the posture and still enable comfortable sleep has not yet been realized.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0014]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Non - Patent Documents

[0015] Proceedings of the 51st Annual Conference of the Japan Ergonomics Society, Research on Body Pressure Distribution during Supine and Lateral Lying - Examination of the Elderly and Youth -, December 4 (Sat) - 5 (Sun), 2021, Online Conference

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0016] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned unsolved problems, and in particular, an object thereof is to provide a pillow device for creating an appropriate sleeping posture and a comfortable feeling by automatically adjusting the height with a simple mechanism, and a functional pillow using the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0017] In order to solve the above problems, the inventor focused on the difference in the load applied to the pillow between supine and lateral lying positions and conducted the development. In addition, an instrument structure capable of adjusting the height according to this load difference was studied. Creating this mechanism is a means of realizing sleep in an appropriate posture.

[0018] In order to adjust the height according to the load difference, when the head is placed on the upper surface part, a series of operations of instantaneously sinking are required. In this regard, a structure that uses a spring material and moves up and down according to the magnitude of the load was devised. (Hereinafter, it may be simply referred to as a "flip mechanism"). In addition, the spring material has a curved shape that draws a semi-circle from the lower surface part to the upper part. Due to the semi-circular shape of the short side surface part, the whole is configured so that the spring material can move at an appropriate angle. For load adjustment, a reinforcing plate can be provided on the lower surface part. In this case, by making the reinforcing plate a slidable cut type, adjustment according to individual differences and arbitrary adjustment from children to adults are possible. For fixing the slide part of the cut reinforcing plate, screws or known methods can be adopted.

[0019] Although there are individual differences in the weight of the human head, it is said to be approximately 1 / 10 of the body weight. When actually measured for adults, it was about 4 kg to 5 kg. While developing with this weight as the load standard, in the device of the present invention, the device structure is devised so that it can cope with children whose heads are lighter than adults by changing the strength of the band to be wound.

[0020] Thus, the overall structure of the device according to the present invention has a structure in which the spring member moves up and down due to the weight of the head, and is characterized in that a flip mechanism is provided so that it can be automatically adjusted to a height suitable for each of the supine and lateral lying positions. By operating with both ends in the longitudinal direction of the pillow body as fulcrums, the inventors found that a desired effect can be exerted, and thus completed the present invention.

[0021] That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a pillow device including a flip mechanism that adjusts the head position on the upper surface portion of the pillow body to an appropriate height according to the head load of a person lying on their side when the person changes to the supine or lateral lying position, and a functional pillow using the same.

[0022] Here, it is more preferable that the prototype of the pillow has a slightly concave portion on the upper surface for placing the head, a straight bottom surface, and the short side surface connected to the upper surface is formed in a semicircular shape. The molding is a major feature for the upper surface portion to operate at an appropriate height, and it is an essential condition for more effectively exerting the effect of the spring member descending at an optimal angle by cutting and molding the semicircular portion with an ideal radius.

[0023] The bottom surface of the pillow is designed with a material different from other parts, and does not bend like a spring member. Since it functions as a base, the user can maintain a stable sleeping posture.

[0024] In order to prevent the shoulder from contacting the bottom surface of the pillow when turning over, it is also acceptable to adopt a shape in which a part of the bottom surface is cut off.

[0025] The fixture has a role of fixing the upper surface portion to a moderately concave shape. In this way, a shape that allows for comfortable sleep without stress is realized. Since the bottom surface uses a material that does not bend as described above, it does not rise, and the effect is manifested only in the descent of the upper surface provided with the flip mechanism. In addition, by providing a cut reinforcing plate and adopting a slide type, it is arbitrarily possible to adjust the load according to the difference in head weight and to adjust to an optimal position when a person lying on their side changes to the supine or lateral lying position.

[0026] Furthermore, for the fixture, materials capable of achieving the purpose of fixation can be arbitrarily selected, such as winding the upper surface portion and the bottom surface portion with a band, or making holes in the upper surface portion and the bottom surface portion to pass a wire therethrough.

[0027] In addition to the load adjustment by the slide mechanism described above, the present invention can also accommodate various head weights by changing the thickness of the stainless steel material.

[0028] When the present invention is used on a bedding, it is preferably a firm mat. This is because in the case of a soft mat, the pillow may sink into the bedding due to its weight, and the flip mechanism may not function properly.

[0029] Also, the upper surface portion of the pillow part provided with the flip mechanism may be divided (cut) into left and right at the center. Even in this case, a pillow device capable of exhibiting a function similar to the solution of the problem aimed at by the present invention can be provided, and the use of the fixture is optional. Furthermore, it is also possible to optionally provide a bounce prevention device using a magnet or the like on the bottom surface.

[0030] In addition, by attaching a weighing function to the pillow part, the function of the pillow can be extended. Also, quite interestingly, the interior of the pillow of the present invention can be utilized as an acoustic space. For example, by placing speakers in the cavities on the bottom surface and the upper surface of the pillow part, it is possible to fall asleep while listening to relaxing music.

[0031] That is, according to the present invention, the following pillow device and a functional pillow using the same are provided. (1) A pillow device comprising a pillow part body on which the head of a recumbent person is placed, and a flip mechanism that adjusts the head position on the upper surface of the pillow part body to an appropriate height according to the head load of the recumbent person when the recumbent person is in a supine position or a lateral lying position, wherein the flip mechanism is configured by an adjustment means capable of keeping the head position in the pillow part at an appropriate height by utilizing the fact that the load applied to the pillow part continuously changes in the supine position and the left and right lateral lying positions. (2) The flip mechanism includes a spring member that is movable up and down from the center of the upper surface portion of the pillow body toward the lower surface portion of the pillow body with both ends in the longitudinal direction of the pillow body as fulcrums, and when the spring member is at its lowest position, it is designed to contact the lower surface portion of the pillow body. The pillow device according to (1), characterized in that. (3) The material of the spring member used in the flip mechanism is made of resin or stainless steel. The pillow device according to (1) or (2), characterized in that. (4) In the pillow device according to (1) to (3), when the spring member adopted in the flip mechanism descends to the lower surface portion of the pillow body, an adhesion mechanism for alleviating or preventing the springback of the spring member and its reinforcing support plate are provided on the lower surface portion of the pillow body. A pillow device characterized by that. (5) The pillow device according to (4), characterized in that the characteristics of a magnet are used as an adhesion mechanism for alleviating or preventing the springback of the spring member. (6) A functional pillow characterized by using a pillow device in which the periphery of the pillow device according to any one of (1) to (5) is covered with a cushioning material. (7) The cushioning material is composed of a material composed of low-resilience urethane and / or a bead cushion, and is selected and designed according to the age, neck system, and head weight of the person lying down. The functional pillow according to (6), characterized in that.

Advantages of the Invention

[0032] The pillow device of the present invention and the functional pillow using the same include a pillow body on which the head of a person lying down is placed, and when the person lying down is in a supine position or a lateral lying position, the head position on the upper surface portion of the pillow body is adjusted to an appropriate height according to the head load of the person lying down. It has a structural feature of a flip mechanism, and in the use of the pillow, the head position can be adjusted to an appropriate height according to the head load of the person lying down. As a result, it can realize high-quality sleep for all persons lying down.

[0033] In addition, a ripple effect can be expected by implementing sleep using the present invention. That is, by maintaining an appropriate posture, high-quality sleep can be obtained, leading to rest for the brain and body, fatigue recovery, an increase in immune function, and so on.

Brief Explanation of the Drawings

[0034]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0035] Hereinafter, the usage modes of the pillow device according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples of the usage modes.

[0036] As described above, the present invention relates to a pillow provided with a mechanism for adjusting the head position to an appropriate height according to the head load of a person lying down when the person lying down is in a supine position or a lateral lying position. It can maintain an appropriate posture even unconsciously and provides high-quality sleep for the person lying down.

[0037] That is, according to the present invention, (1) A pillow device comprising a pillow body on which the head of a person lying down is placed, and a flip mechanism for adjusting the head position on the upper surface portion of the pillow body to an appropriate height according to the head load of the person lying down when the person lying down is in a supine position or a lateral lying position, wherein the flip mechanism is configured by an adjusting means capable of maintaining the head position in the pillow at an appropriate height by utilizing the fact that the load applied to the pillow continuously changes in the supine position and the left and right lateral lying positions. (2) The flip mechanism includes a spring member that is movable up and down from the center of the upper surface portion of the pillow body toward the lower surface portion of the pillow body with both ends in the longitudinal direction of the pillow body as fulcrums, and when the spring member is at its lowest position, it is designed to contact the lower surface portion of the pillow body. The pillow device according to (1) is provided. (3) The pillow device according to (1) or (2) is provided, wherein the material of the spring member used in the flip mechanism is made of resin or stainless steel. (4) In the pillow device according to (1) to (3), when the spring member employed in the flip mechanism descends to the lower surface portion of the pillow body, an adhesion mechanism for alleviating or preventing the springback of the spring member and its reinforcing support plate are provided on the lower surface portion of the pillow body. The pillow device is characterized by this. (5) The pillow device according to (4) is provided, wherein the characteristics of a magnet are used as the adhesion mechanism for alleviating or preventing the springback of the spring member. (6) A functional pillow is provided, which uses a pillow device having a surrounding of the pillow device according to any one of (1) to (5) covered with a cushioning material. (7) The cushioning material is composed of a material composed of low-resilience urethane and / or bead cushion, and is selected and designed according to the age, neck system, and head weight of the person lying down. The functional pillow according to (6) is provided.

[0038] Figure 1 is an overall view of the present invention. In Figures 2, 3, and 4, the mechanisms of the pillow device of the present invention are shown in side view, top view, and bottom view, respectively. Also, Figure 5 is the same as the others except for the top surface. (1) is a spring member provided with a flip mechanism constituting the upper surface of the present invention, and (2) A and B are the short-side surface portions. (3) is a bottom surface portion that does not bend. (4) is a fixture for increasing the flexibility of the flip mechanism. In this figure, a band is adopted, but the use of a wire or the like is also allowed. From the left and right side surface portions "Figure 5(2)A or B" to the lower surface portion (5), a cut reinforcing plate is installed, and by adopting a slide mechanism, the load adjustment of the head weight can be arbitrarily performed. Furthermore, as described above, (5) is a cushioning material located under the resin that encloses them.

[0039] For the parts (1) to (3), it is optional to cover the inner part with a material such as urethane from the viewpoints of appearance and safety.

[0040] FIG. 5 shows an example of another form of the pillow in the present invention. (6) is a spring material provided with a flip mechanism that is divided into left and right at the center of the upper surface portion.

[0041] Place the pillow and lie down with your head placed at the center of (1) in FIG. 2 or the center of (6) in FIG. 5. Due to the weight of the head, the spring material of (1) in FIG. 2 or (6) in FIG. 5 provided with the flip mechanism descends. Regardless of individual differences and the head weights of adults and children, optimal load adjustment

[0042] During sleep, if the person lying on their side unconsciously turns over and changes from the supine position to the lateral position, since a part of the weight of the head is supported by the shoulder, the load applied to the pillow becomes about two-thirds of that in the supine position. Then, the spring material of (1) in FIG. 2 or (6) in FIG. 5 provided with the flip mechanism rises and returns to its original position.

[0043] During sleep, the person lying on their side unconsciously repeats this turning over, and the supine and lateral positions continue to change. The flip mechanism utilizes the fact that the load applied to the occipital region continuously changes between the supine position and the left and right lateral positions, and can keep the head position in the occipital region at an appropriate height. That is, during sleep, the person lying on their side can always maintain an appropriate posture.

[0044] When comfortable sleep in an appropriate posture is realized by the present invention, it leads to effects such as "rest for the brain and body", "recovery from fatigue", "increase in immune function", "fixation of memory", and "emotional regulation" for the person lying on their side.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0045] (1) Upper surface portion provided with a flip mechanism (2) Short side surface portions A and B (3) Bottom surface portion of a non-bending material (4) Fixture (5) Cushioning material (6) Upper surface part equipped with a flip mechanism (type divided into left and right)

Claims

1. a pillow body on which the head of a recumbent person is placed, a pillow device comprising a flip mechanism that adjusts the head position on the upper surface of the pillow body to an appropriate height according to the head load of the recumbent person when the recumbent person is in a supine position or a lateral lying position, wherein the flip mechanism is configured by an adjustment means capable of keeping the head position in the pillow at an appropriate height by utilizing the fact that the load applied to the pillow continuously changes in the supine position and the left and right lateral lying positions. The pillow device is characterized in that.

2. The pillow device according to claim 1, wherein the flip mechanism includes a spring member that is movable up and down from the center of the upper surface of the pillow body toward the lower surface of the pillow body with both ends in the longitudinal direction of the pillow body as fulcrums, and when the spring member is at its lowest position, it is designed to contact the lower surface of the pillow body.

3. The pillow device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the material of the spring member used in the flip mechanism is made of resin or stainless steel.

4. In the pillow device according to claims 1 to 3, when the spring member employed in the flip mechanism descends to the lower surface of the pillow body, an adhesion mechanism for alleviating or preventing the springback of the spring member and its reinforcing support plate are provided on the lower surface of the pillow body. The pillow device is characterized in that.

5. The pillow device according to claim 4, wherein the characteristics of a magnet are used as the adhesion mechanism for alleviating or preventing the springback of the spring member.

6. A functional pillow characterized by using a pillow device in which the periphery of the pillow device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is covered with a cushioning material.

7. The cushioning material is composed of a material composed of low resilience urethane and / or a bead cushion, and is selected and designed according to the age, neck system, and head weight of the recumbent person. The functional pillow according to claim 6 is characterized in that.

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