Inflatable Travel Pillow With V-Shaped Head Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inflatable travel pillows provide limited lateral support and unnatural head positioning due to their U-shaped design, which restricts the ability to lie flat and can constrict the throat area.
Innovation Solution
A pillow with a V-shaped profile formed by two sheets of flexible material, featuring a channel that increases in width from the centerline to create a pinch-point, allowing the head to be securely positioned and providing greater support and stability by channeling the head towards the apex of the V-shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a U-shaped profile is used to surround the user's neck, then lateral support is provided, but the head cannot fully rotate backwards to lie flat and the throat area may be constricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a symmetric U-shaped profile to an asymmetric V-shaped profile with a central apex. This asymmetric geometry creates a natural channel that guides the head backward without constriction, allowing the head to lie flat while maintaining proper alignment. The V-shape's angled sides provide lateral support without the horizontal constraint of the U-shape's base.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the pillow material surround and potentially constrict the throat area as in U-shaped designs, the V-shaped design inverts this approach by creating an open central channel. The material is positioned to support laterally while leaving the throat area open and unobstructed, reversing the harmful constriction effect.
2Ease of operation
If the base portion of the U-shape is reduced in size to allow head rotation, then head rotation is improved, but other problems such as limited lateral support and throat constriction remain
Solution Approach 1:
The V-shaped profile with its central apex creates an asymmetric geometry that naturally channels the head backward. The angled sides of the V provide lateral support throughout the entire structure, not just at the base, eliminating the need to reduce the base portion while still enabling full head rotation.
3Reliability
If a V-shaped profile with a pinch-point channel is used, then the head is securely located and center of gravity is biased towards the apex, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The V-shaped profile is achieved by changing the geometric parameters of the pillow cross-section from a U-shape (with horizontal base) to a V-shape (with angled sides meeting at an apex). This parameter change in the cross-sectional geometry creates the pinching effect and head-channelling function without requiring additional components or complex internal structures.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a pillow (10), comprising two sheets of flexible material, joined together to define a space, suitable for inflating to provide a cushioned support. The pillow has a head zone (16) for providing cushioning means to a user's head and two wings (18), configured to extend away from the head zone such that the pillow is substantially U-shaped in the plane of the pillow, when deflated. A channel (22) is provided between the sheets of flexible material to connect the wings (18). The channel (22) is positioned at a point in the head zone (16) furthermost from the wing ends (20). The width of the channel increases from the center line (24) such that when the pillow is inflated, the pillow has a substantially V-shaped profile, formed about the center line (24) and centered on the channel (22).