Orthotic pillow

Abstract

To provide an orthotic pillow capable of more effectively correcting cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae by being used in a face-down position.SOLUTION: Provided is an orthotic pillow 10 that configured to be used in a face-down position, the pillow including a pillow body 12 in which are integrally formed a base layer 13, a left raised portion 14 formed on a left side of a base layer 13 and coming into contact with the left cheek of the user to support the left cheek, and a right raised portion 15 formed on a right side of the base layer 13 and coming into contact with the right cheek of the user to support the right cheek, and in which is formed a central recessed portion 16 that is a gap into which the nose of the user enters between the left raised portion 14 and the right raised portion 15. In addition, the length in the vertical direction of a left contact portion 14a of the left raised portion 14 in contact with the left cheek of the user and a right contact portion 15a of the right raised portion 15 in contact with the right cheek of the user is 45 to 60 mm so as not to come into contact with the eyes and mouth of the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a corrective pillow for correcting the cervical vertebrae and the like.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the problem of smartphone neck (hunchback) caused by prolonged use of smartphones has attracted attention, and due to smartphone neck, the number of people with distortion in the cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae is increasing. The distortion of the cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae is the cause of pain in the neck and shoulders and disorders of the autonomic nerves.

[0003] In contrast, conventionally, pillows for correcting distortion of the cervical vertebrae and the like have been provided, for example, disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Here, the corrective pillows disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 correct the cervical vertebrae by using them in the supine position. However, the inventor of the present invention has developed a pillow that can more effectively correct the cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae by using it in the prone position.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a corrective pillow that can more effectively correct the cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae by using it in the prone position.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the corrective pillow according to the present invention is a corrective pillow used in the prone position, and includes a base layer, a left raised portion formed on the left side of the base layer and supporting by contacting the left cheek of the user, and a right raised portion formed on the right side of the base layer and supporting by contacting the right cheek of the user. The pillow body is integrally formed, and a central concave portion, which is a gap for the user's nose to enter, is formed between the left raised portion and the right raised portion.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the corrective pillow of the present invention, by lifting and supporting the user's cheeks with the left and right raised portions, the distorted cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae can be effectively corrected.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The corrective pillow 10 according to the present embodiment is used in the prone position and is suitable for correcting distortions (smartphone neck) of the cervical vertebrae and thoracic vertebrae.

[0011] The corrective pillow 10 includes a pillow body 12 and a pillow cover 18 that covers the entire pillow body 12. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the corrective pillow 10, with only the pillow cover 18 appearing on the surface. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the pillow body 12 housed inside the pillow cover 18. FIG. 2(a) is a front view, FIG. 2(b) is a plan view, FIG. 2(c) is a side view, and FIG. 2(d) is a perspective view.

[0012] The pillow body 12 is made of chip urethane formed by mixing an adhesive with crushed urethane end materials and compression molding. In plan view, it is horizontally long rectangular. The pillow body 12 includes a lower base layer 13, and a left raised portion 14 and a right raised portion 15 formed separately left and right on the base layer 13. A central concave portion 16, which is a downward concave groove, is formed between the left raised portion 14 and the right raised portion 15.

[0013] The base layer 13, the left raised portion 14, and the right raised portion 15 are integrally formed by resin molding. In this embodiment, the base layer 13 is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with a horizontal width of 195 mm, a length of 50 mm, and a height of 25 mm. The left raised portion 14 and the right raised portion 15 are in the shape of semi-cylindrical columns lying horizontally with a horizontal width (diameter) of 90 mm, a length of 50 mm, and a height (radius) of 45 mm. The width of the central concave portion 16, which is the width of the gap between the left raised portion 14 and the right raised portion 15, is 15 mm.

[0014] The pillow cover 18 is a cover that covers the pillow body 12 and is the same shape as the pillow body 12 but one size larger. The pillow cover 18 is made of synthetic leather (fake leather).

[0015] The structure of the corrective pillow 10 has been described above. Next, the usage method of the corrective pillow 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 4 is an overall view showing the usage state, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view near the head in the usage state. FIG. 3(a) is a view of the usage state seen from the side, and FIG. 3(b) is a view of the usage state seen from above the head.

[0016] The user places the correction pillow 10 on a hard floor, bed, or the like, lies on their stomach horizontally, and places their face on the correction pillow 10. At this time, the user places their face on the correction pillow 10 such that the left cheekbone touches the left raised portion 14 and the right cheekbone touches the right raised portion 15, and the nose fits into the central concave portion 16. Also, it is desirable for the user to slightly spread both hands and feet and place the palms facing the floor side.

[0017] Then, the left cheekbone of the user touches the left contact portion 14a near the ridge line extending in the longitudinal direction of the left raised portion 14 via the pillow cover 18, and the right cheekbone of the user touches the right contact portion 15a near the ridge line extending in the longitudinal direction of the right raised portion 15 via the same pillow cover 18.

[0018] The left raised portion 14 and the right raised portion 15 that lift and support the user's left and right cheekbones from below by contact are pushed downward by the gravity of the head or the like and shrink. Here, the chip urethane that is the material of the pillow body 12 is a high-rebound elastic material, with a density of about 99.2 kg / m3 and an ILD hardness of about 470 N.

[0019] Therefore, even when the face is placed on the correction pillow 10, the left and right raised portions 14, 15 do not deform significantly, and the contact portions (supported portions) 14a, 15a of the user's left and right cheeks with the correction pillow 10 only sink by about 10 mm, and the contact portions 14a, 15a are located at a height of about 60 mm from the floor during use.

[0020] By supporting the user's cheekbones in this way with the contact portions 14a, 15a of the correction pillow 10, the head of the user lying on their stomach becomes slightly arched backward, and a posture can be maintained that corrects the cervical and thoracic vertebrae distorted in the direction of bending forward.

[0021] By maintaining such a corrected posture for about 30 seconds, it is possible to effectively correct the distortion from the 5th cervical vertebra to the 3rd thoracic vertebra. Further, by repeating the operation of the user raising the face by several centimeters while lying on the back and separating the face from the correction pillow 10 and then immediately placing the face on the correction pillow 10 again 4 to 5 times, it is also possible to effectively correct the displacement in the front-rear direction between adjacent cervical vertebrae.

[0022] Here, it is said that when there is a distortion between the 5th cervical vertebra and the 3rd thoracic vertebra due to a smartphone neck or the like, the functions of the sympathetic nerve and the thyroid gland decrease, and a disorder of the autonomic nerve occurs. By using the correction pillow 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to correct the distortion between the 5th cervical vertebra and the 3rd thoracic vertebra and to adjust the disorder of the autonomic nerve.

[0023] Also, in the present embodiment, the vertical length of the left and right raised portions 14, 15 of the pillow body 12 is 50 mm, and since the pillow cover 18 is also thin (about several mm), the vertical length of the portions (contact portions 14a, 15a) of the left and right raised portions of the correction pillow 10 that contact the cheeks is also about 50 mm. Therefore, when the correction pillow 10 supports and contacts the face from below, the contact portion between the upper contact portion of the correction pillow 10 and the face is only the cheek portion, and it does not contact the eye area or the mouth area.

[0024] When using the correction pillow 10, in many cases, the user feels pain when the eye area or the mouth area contacts the correction pillow 10. However, in the present embodiment, by setting the vertical length of the left and right raised portions 14, 15 to 50 mm, it is possible to prevent the support portions (left and right raised portions 14, 15) of the correction pillow 10 from contacting portions other than the user's cheeks.

[0025] Of course, the shape, size, material, etc. of the pillow body 12 can be changed as appropriate. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modified example of the pillow body 12' according to the present embodiment. In this modified example, the left and right raised portions 14', 15' are different in that they are not semi-cylindrical but rectangular parallelepiped-shaped, but the rest is substantially the same as the above embodiment.

[0026] This modified example also has the same operational effects as the above-described embodiment. However, there are acute angles at the contact portions 14'a and 15'a of the rectangular parallelepiped-shaped raised portions 14' and 15'. If the acute angles come into contact with the cheeks, the user may feel pain. Therefore, R chamfers are applied to the acute angle portions of the contact portions 14'a and 15'a.

[0027] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, the shape, size, material, etc. of the members constituting the corrective pillow can be appropriately changed.

[0028] In addition, when changing the shape, size, material, etc. of the pillow body 12, it is desirable to configure the corrective pillow 10 such that the height for supporting the user's cheeks by the left and right contact portions 14a and 15a during use is 50 to 80 mm. According to tests by the present inventor, it has been found that if the height for supporting the cheeks by the corrective pillow 10 is 50 to 80 mm, the distortion between the 5th cervical vertebra and the 3rd thoracic vertebra can be corrected well.

[0029] Also, it is desirable to configure the longitudinal lengths of the left and right contact portions 14a and 15a to be 45 to 60 mm. If the length of the contact portions 14a and 15a is shorter than 45 mm, the user's cheeks cannot be stably supported. If the length of the contact portions 14a and 15a is longer than 60 mm, the contact portions 14a and 15a may contact the user's mouth or eyes, and the user may feel pain.

[0030] In addition, it is desirable that the width of the central concave portion 16 is about 15 to 40 mm so that the user's nose does not strongly contact the corrective pillow 10 during use and fits well into the central concave portion 16.

[0031] Also, the material of the pillow body 12 can be changed as appropriate. However, if the pillow body 12 is too soft, when the user places their face on the corrective pillow 10, the pillow body 12 will deform greatly and the contact portions 14a and 15a will sink, resulting in unstable support for the cheeks. On the contrary, if the pillow body 12 is too hard, the user will feel pain in the cheeks. Therefore, it is desirable that the material of the pillow body 12 is a high-rebound elastic material.

[0032] More specifically, when the user places their face on the corrective pillow 10, it is desirable to use a high-rebound elastic material such that the height of the contact portions 14a and 15a sinks by 5% or more and does not sink by more than 15%. In this embodiment, the height of the contact portions 14a and 15a, which is about 70 mm from the floor, sinks by about 10 mm during use. For example, as the material of the pillow body 12, in addition to chip urethane, urethane rubber (polyurethane), silicone rubber, etc. can be used.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0033] 10 Corrective pillow 12 Pillow body 13 Base layer 14 Left raised portion 14a Left contact portion 15 Right raised portion 15a Right contact portion 16 Central concave portion 18 Pillow cover

Claims

1. In a corrective pillow for use in the prone position, a base layer, a left raised portion formed on the left side of the base layer and contacting and supporting the user's left cheek, a right raised portion formed on the right side of the base layer and contacting and supporting the user's right cheek, and a pillow body integrally formed therewith, wherein a central concave portion, which is a gap for the user's nose to enter, is formed between the left raised portion and the right raised portion. A corrective pillow characterized by this.

2. The corrective pillow according to claim 1, wherein the pillow body is formed from a highly resilient elastic material.

3. The corrective pillow according to claim 2, wherein when the pillow body supports the user's face, the left contact portion that contacts the user's left cheek of the left raised portion and the right contact portion that contacts the user's right cheek of the right raised portion are made of a material such that the height sinks by 5% or more and does not sink by more than 15%.

4. The corrective pillow according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the pillow body supports the user's face, the left contact portion that contacts the user's left cheek of the left raised portion and the right contact portion that contacts the user's right cheek of the right raised portion are configured to have a height of 50 to 80 mm from the floor.

5. The corrective pillow according to claim 1, wherein the left raised portion and the right raised portion are in a semi-cylindrical shape lying horizontally in a vertically convex posture on the base layer.

6. The corrective pillow according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal length of the left contact portion that contacts the user's left cheek of the left raised portion and the right contact portion that contacts the user's right cheek of the right raised portion is 45 to 60 mm so as not to contact the user's eyes and mouth.

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