Light blocking eye cover attachable to a pillow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sleep aids, such as sleep masks and ear plugs, require users to awaken and manually deploy them, disrupting sleep due to the complexity of putting them on, especially for light and sound blocking during early morning sunlight or noise exposure.
Innovation Solution
A pillow assembly with an integrated elongate eye covering structure, featuring a sleeve with separate cells filled with media, attached to a pillow enclosure that allows easy deployment over eyes and ears without opening the eyes, providing simultaneous light and sound blocking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a sleep mask with strap is used to block light, then light blocking effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to requiring manual deployment and strap adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the light-blocking eye cover with the pillow into a single integrated unit. The eye cover is attached to the pillow surface, allowing users to access light and sound blocking functionality simply by positioning their head on the pillow, eliminating the need for separate sleep masks and their complex straps.
Solution Approach 2:
The eye cover and ear plugs are pre-positioned and attached to the pillow before use. When the user places their head on the pillow, the light-blocking and sound-blocking elements are already in place, requiring no manual deployment or adjustment during the sleep process.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a separate sleep mask is used, then light blocking is achieved, but loss of time increases due to needing to find and don the mask
Solution Approach 1:
The eye cover is integrated into the pillow structure, eliminating the need for a separate sleep mask that must be found and donned. The light-blocking functionality is permanently attached to the pillow, making it immediately accessible when the user places their head on the pillow.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional ear plugs are used, then sound blocking is improved, but device complexity increases due to requiring separate insertion and positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates ear plugs into the pillow structure, positioning them within the pillow body or attached to its surface. This allows users to access sound blocking by simply positioning their ears against the pillow, eliminating the need for separate insertion and positioning actions required by traditional ear plugs.
Solution Approach 2:
The ear plugs are pre-positioned within the pillow structure before use. When the user places their head on the pillow, the ear plugs are already in the correct position, requiring no manual insertion or adjustment during sleep.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If sleep aids require manual deployment, then effectiveness is achieved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to tactile stimulation disrupting sleep
Solution Approach 1:
Both the eye cover and ear plugs are pre-positioned and attached to the pillow before use. When the user places their head on the pillow, the light-blocking and sound-blocking elements are already in place, requiring no manual deployment or adjustment that could cause tactile stimulation and disrupt sleep.
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly is configured to include an elongate eye covering portion and optionally a pillow portion. The pillow portion includes an enclosure which can contain a pillow therein. The elongate eye covering portion is preferably configured as a sleeve divided into multiple adjacent cells filled with beads or other media. The cells on the sleeve are spaced apart by a distance similar to a spacing between eyes of an adult. Adjacent cells can thus cover eyes and optionally also ears of the user. Seams divide the cells from each other and define a contour of the cells. This contour preferably includes notches between adjacent cells to provide relief for a nose of the user between adjacent cells. Opposite sides of the sleeve can have different heat transfer characteristics so one side feels cooler than the other, allowing selection of a preferred side to contact the wearer.