Pillow with separate interior compartments

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional pillows fail to provide optimal head and neck support for users who change sleeping positions, as they are designed for specific positions and restrict head placement, leading to poor sleep quality and potential neck injury, while also having a limited durability.

Innovation Solution

A pillow with vertically stacked internal compartments filled with different cushioning materials of varying densities and firmness, allowing for customizable support across the entire surface, enabling optimal sleep posture in multiple positions and improving durability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If pillows are constructed with zones and plateaus arranged horizontally across the pillow to support different sleep positions, then the pillow can provide support for specific sleep positions, but the user's head is restricted to a small portion of the pillow and positional freedom is denied

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesupport for different sleep positionsVSAvoidpositional freedom for head placement

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The pillow is divided into multiple vertically stacked compartments (first compartment, second compartment, third compartment) filled with different cushioning materials. This segmentation allows each compartment to provide different levels of support, enabling the pillow to adapt to various sleep positions while maintaining overall head placement freedom across the entire pillow surface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of arranging support zones horizontally across the pillow surface, the invention transitions to a vertical stacking arrangement of compartments. This dimensional change from horizontal to vertical organization allows the entire top surface to remain accessible for head placement while providing differentiated support through vertical layering of materials with varying densities and firmness levels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Adaptability or versatility

If pillows are constructed with zones and plateaus arranged horizontally across the pillow to support different sleep positions, then the pillow can provide support for specific sleep positions, but the pillow's deterioration rate increases at specific locations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesupport for different sleep positionsVSAvoidpillow durability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The pillow is divided into multiple vertically stacked compartments (first compartment, second compartment, third compartment) filled with different cushioning materials. This segmentation allows each compartment to provide different levels of support, enabling the pillow to adapt to various sleep positions while maintaining overall head placement freedom across the entire pillow surface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of arranging support zones horizontally across the pillow surface, the invention transitions to a vertical stacking arrangement of compartments. This dimensional change from horizontal to vertical organization allows the entire top surface to remain accessible for head placement while providing differentiated support through vertical layering of materials with varying densities and firmness levels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Reliability

If a pillow is designed for a specific sleep position, then optimal support is provided for that position, but users who rotate between positions cannot achieve optimal sleeping posture

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoptimal head and neck supportVSAvoidcompatibility with multiple sleep positions

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The pillow is designed with multiple compartments containing different cushioning materials (memory foam, latex foam, polyurethane foam, down alternative, shredded memory foam) to provide universal support across multiple sleep positions. Each material type offers distinct support characteristics, enabling the single pillow to function effectively for side sleepers, back sleepers, and stomach sleepers, eliminating the need for position-specific pillows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The pillow incorporates composite construction with multiple types of cushioning materials (memory foam, latex foam, polyurethane foam, down alternative, shredded memory foam) in different compartments. This composite approach combines the benefits of various materials to provide adaptable support that accommodates different sleep positions and user preferences, achieving both optimal support and multi-position versatility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Data Source

PatentUS11350774B2Pillow with separate interior compartments

Publication Date: 2022.06.07 TALALAY GLOBAL INC

AI summary

A pillow including a pillow-liner having an upper liner, a lower liner, and at least one middle liner. The upper liner, lower liner, and at least one middle liner are sealed together adjacent peripheral edges thereof to define an open end and at least two internal compartments. The at least one middle liner is generally parallel with the upper and lower liners. The pillow also includes cushioning materials for filling the at least two internal compartments. Each of the at least two internal compartments are filled with different cushioning materials such that the internal compartments have different density and firmness when filled with the respective cushioning materials. At least one of the at least two internal compartments is filled with a plurality of loose pieces of a shredded foam material, and at least one of the at least two internal compartments is filled with a one-piece molded foam material.