Wrap-Style Head Support with Jaw Indentation for Lateral Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing head support devices, such as U-shaped pillows, fail to provide adequate lateral and upright support for a user's head, leading to discomfort and inability to sleep when seated, as they do not effectively prevent the head from falling to one side or forward.
Innovation Solution
A wrap-like head support apparatus with cushion material that tapers in width from front to back and features an indentation and cutouts to support the jaw and shoulders, allowing for lateral support and preventing forward movement, utilizing a connector system for easy adjustment and attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a U-shaped pillow is used to support the head, then the head can be positioned upright, but the pillow fails to provide sufficient lateral support and cannot prevent the head from falling to one side or forward
Solution Approach 1:
The wrap features an indentation specifically positioned to support the jaw area, creating a localized support zone that prevents the head from falling forward. This localized structural feature addresses the specific problem of forward head movement while maintaining overall wrap flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The wrap is designed with flexible cushion material that can dynamically adapt to different head shapes and sizes. The material's flexibility allows it to conform to the user's anatomy while maintaining support, resolving the contradiction between providing reliable support and accommodating various head positions.
2Ease of manufacture
If the cushion material width is uniform throughout the wrap, then manufacturing is simplified, but the wrap cannot effectively accommodate various user head shapes and dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion material width varies at different locations of the wrap, with greater width in the front-to-back direction at the center and reduced width at the ends. This non-uniform width distribution allows the wrap to accommodate various head shapes and dimensions effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The wrap design changes the dimensional parameters of the cushion material along its length, creating a tapered profile that enhances adaptability to different user anatomies while remaining manufacturable through standard cutting and sewing processes.
3Reliability
If the wrap is designed with complex structural features to provide adequate support, then head support reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than making the entire wrap complex, only specific local features are designed with enhanced structure - namely the indentation for jaw support and the varied cushion width. The rest of the wrap remains simple and flexible, maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving reliable support.
Solution Approach 2:
The wrap functionality is segmented into distinct zones: the indentation zone for jaw support, the wider central zone for head support, and the tapered end zones for flexibility. This segmentation allows each zone to be optimized for its specific function without making the entire device complex.
Data Source
AI summary
A head support apparatus and method with a wrap with a top, a bottom, a front, a back, a length, an inside and an outside and a first end and a second end. A connector on the first end and the second end where the connector on the first end is connectable with the connector on the second end. Cushion material, with a width, on the inside of the wrap where the cushion material width is greater along the length and front to back than at the first end and second end of the wrap and an indentation in the front of the wrap and in the cushion material such that a user's jaw is supported underneath the jaw and a user's head is laterally supported on two sides when said wrap is placed around a user's neck.