Inflatable resting device |
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申请号 | EP15150603.7 | 申请日 | 2015-01-09 | 公开(公告)号 | EP3042587A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2016-07-13 |
申请人 | Gateway Global Limited; | 发明人 | Ibrahim, Jimmy Arifino; | ||||
摘要 | An inflatable resting pillow (10) comprises two inflatable compartments, the lower compartment (14) providing a base to support the attached upper compartment; both compartments being separately inflatable. The upper compartment (12) provides an opening facing the user for receiving the user's head with a number of inner support surfaces providing lateral, longitudinal and vertical stability. The upper compartment also includes lateral passageways (20, 22) allowing air circulation to the implanted face of the user, and other passageways (18) for the user's arms by which to keep the device in stable contact with the user's body and to also provide means for the user to rest on the forearms to provide a stable and comfortable resting position with the person's head and upper body leaning forward upon the upper compartment; the combination of support structures designed to render stable support of the reposing user while achieving and maintaining optimum spinal alignment. | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | The present invention relates generally to a device for allowing or facilitating a person to rest comfortably in a basically upright sitting position. More specifically, the device that is placed on the lap of a user or directly in front of the user while in an upright or sitting position is intended to provide means for supporting the upper torso as well as the head and neck of the user and to reduce as possible stress on the spine. It is well recognized that for the majority of passengers on common carriers, it is often difficult to relax in the seats provided. In most aircraft, the economy seats, even some of the more recent designs of reclining seats, typically provide closely spaced forward facing seats in rows separated by relatively small or inadequate space, known in the air transport trade as "pitch". Pitch configurations though designed to maximize economy of passenger miles for the carrier, do not maximize the comfort of the passengers. While the discussion of the present invention will be directed to aircraft seating, it is to be understood that similar problems and the solutions thereto likewise reside in other venues, including other common carriers including buses, trains and even multi-passenger motor vehicles. Reclining seats in most instances recline only a modest amount, insufficient to provide comfort on a long term basis. While some reclining seats provide a modicum of comfort, the instability of support provided by such seats allows a passenger's head and neck to be unstable both laterally and forwardly, especially during sleep or when dozing, which can impose more discomfort in the long term than the benefits of the semi-reclined position. In recent years, a number of devices have become available intended to alleviate this discomfort. An early such device was the "neck pillow" - a donut-shaped inflatable cushion which surrounds the user's neck, passing under the chin. This can be worn when sitting upright, but best in a reclined position, and provides some support for the head and neck. More sophisticated designs are intended to provide enhanced stability for the head and neck and, in other advanced designs, more stability as well for the upper torso of the user. There have been a number of proposals which are found in the prior art, that provide enhanced degrees of stability for the slumbering passenger however, none of the prior art provides the degree of comfort and stability than does the design of the present invention, as will be completely set forth hereinafter. As restrictions increase upon the amount of hand baggage that a passenger may bring aboard an aircraft, it is important to enhance compactness when not in use so as to make a resting device easily transportable amidst the belongings of the passenger without being bulky or becoming an item of "checkable" or revenue-bearing baggage. A key factor then is to maximize the "inflatability" of the support device. Contrary to the design concepts of seats designed with limited backward reclination, the present invention addresses the use of a resting device in which the user positions himself in a forward leaning position. There exist in the prior art a number of designs which employ a comparable concept of the forward leaning resting device. The known prior art do not appear to provide adequate measures or means of comfort and stability. It is the principle object of the present invention to provide in a resting device, such as a pillow, vertical stability as well as lateral support for the user and in particular the user's head while resting or sleeping. It may be noted that in prior art devices, the head and/or neck are usually supported on a flat surface, where the head is turned on a side, facing either right or left, and the neck is bent significantly forward, curving the spine in the cervical region into an unnatural position. Likewise, most prior art devices like some mentioned above show the thoracic region of the spine curved in a unnatural forward configuration; and some devices result in a posture where even the lumbar spine is curved forwardly. It is a particular advantage of the present invention that the head has "full-face" support much as is the posture achieved in the use of a sitting massage chair. Support of the full face (forehead, chin and both sides) achieves reduction of stress on more body parts than the prior art. It is an advantage of the present invention that the full-face "plant" provides both forward and lateral support for the head, which achieves a resting position which preserves to a great degree the ideal curvature of the spine; that is, the ideal "S" curvature of an upright posture, rather than a forward curled "C" shape which in leaning far forward causes the unnatural positions seen in the prior art devices. Resting in a position which preserves near-normal spine posture causes the least stress on the spine and hence more comfort for the entire body. The prior devices that allow the head to tilt too much downwardly can impart stress not only to the cervical spine, but can promote backward curvature of the lower spine which can stress the lumbar area as well. Accordingly, it is a specific object of the invention to provide enhanced head, neck and spinal stabilization for the sleeping or resting passenger. It is a further object of the invention to provide stabilization of the user's head and neck as well as support of the user's shoulders and upper torso. It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved stabilization of the user's head, neck and upper torso as well as the stabilization of the user's arms. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a resting device that stabilizes the head, neck, upper torso and arms of the user, while also providing limitations of exposure of the eyes of the user to ambient light, thereby enhancing the sleeping experience. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, are achieved in part by the user's body leaning only slightly forward, with the the chest and forearms supporting the upper arms, shoulders and upper torso; while the head of the user is supported upright in the upper opening of the pillow in a full face plant disposition, thereby gaining lateral stabilization for all sides of the head. Support of the chin and forehead stabilizes the neck of the user, gaining substantially increased comfort and support. Positioning the entire upper body leaning slightly forward, but upright, and with the head tilted slightly backward, diminishes stress on the cervical spine (around the neck area), and reduces stress on the lower spine or lumbar area as well. These and other objects, features and advantages of at least one embodiment of the present invention will be more distinctly set forth and described in the ensuing specification and drawings; and delineated in the accompanying claims.
In all the drawing Figures, where like numerals refer to the same item, the pillow generally designated 10 consists primarily of two compartments, an upper compartment 12 and a lower compartment 14. The two compartments are fastened together by any suitable means and each is air inflatable by means of air valves 13 and 15 respectively. These air valves are of a conventional design which can allow the user to inflate each compartment and close off the valve in well-known fashion. The upper and lower compartments are separately inflatable so that a different degree of firmness may be obtained for each. For example, greater air pressure may be desired in lower compartment 14 so as to provide a more stable support base for the entire device, while the pressure in the upper compartment 12 can be selected to be softer or more firm according to the desired comfort of the user. The construction of the pillow employs a flexible, air-retentive material and the outer surfaces of compartments 12 and 14 are preferably covered by a fabric covering (not specifically shown) so as to absorb body moisture. In The lateral passageways 18 in the lower half of upper compartment 12 are provided to accommodate the arms of the user. By extending forearms 19 through passageways 18, the user can embrace the pillow to keep it close to the user's torso thus providing a stable relationship between the user and the pillow. In a similar manner, the user's arms 19 while extending through passageways 18 provide the user with the ability to lean on the forearms in the resting position so as to provide added support for the shoulders and upper torso of the user. The upper portion of compartment 12 has lateral passageway 20 open to each side and a third passageway 22 open from the backside of the pillow extending through the pillow and away from the face of the user. Passageways 20 and 22 provide the user with airflow access when the head is in place. As may best be seen in Turning again to Turning next to The arms 19 of the user shown in dotted lines in It will be seen in Referring again to A person using the resting pillow will first inflate the upper and lower compartments through the air valves until the desired degree of inflation is obtained in each compartment. The pillow is then placed upon the user's lap and lateral passageways 18 and 20 are preferably dimensioned to adequately span the vertical space between the person's lap and head. The person using the device then leans forward as shown in As is clear from the foregoing description, the pillow will readily assist a person using it to comfortably rest or sleep while sitting in an upright, forward leaning position. When it is desired to terminate use and store the resting pillow, air valves 13 and 15 may be opened to exhaust the air so that the pillow may be folded up and stored in a compact condition. In summary there is disclosed resting device including an inflatable structure, in particular a resting pillow 10 comprising two inflatable compartments, the lower compartment 14 providing a base to support the attached upper compartment; both compartments being separately inflatable. The upper compartment 12 provides an opening facing the user for receiving the user's head with a number of inner support surfaces providing lateral, longitudinal and vertical stability. The upper compartment also includes lateral passageways 20, 22 allowing air circulation to the implanted face of the user, and other passageways 18 for the user's arms by which to keep the device in stable contact with the user's body and to also provide means for the user to rest on the forearms to provide a stable and comfortable resting position with the person's head and upper body leaning forward upon the upper compartment; the combination of support structures designed to render stable support of the reposing user while achieving and maintaining optimum spinal alignment. While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described in some detail, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to employ alterations or variations of the design without departing from the inventive concepts; hence, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the single embodiment or features thereof as shown and described above, rather that the invention enjoy the full scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims. |