Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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NECK SUPPORT PILLOW
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial Number
61/388502
filed on September 30, 2010, and included herein in its entirety by reference.
The present invention relates to pillows. More particularly, it relates to a
pillow configured
with a central relief area and improved neck support component configured to
appear as a normal
pillow and provide a person who is laying prone or supine, greatly improved
neck support.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, pillows consist of a top and bottom surface sewn together at
the perimeter
edges to form an interior cavity which holds stuffing or padding. This single
sewn seam central
engagement structurally causes the top and bottom surfaces to slope alongside
edges toward the
circumferentially located seam. The slope is somewhat of an arc from the
widest point of the pillow
at a mid section toward the seam from the top and bottom surfaces.
The padding-stuffed central portion of the pillow, even without the sloping
surfaces, support
the user's head laying upon it, in such a fashion that the user's neck is
angled upward from the axis
of their spine in the prone position on a bed or support surface. In addition
to a straining neck
posture, this sloping reduces the support given to the neck and can be
uncomfortable and even cause
permanent damage over time.
One solution tried is to simply replace the filler material such as cotton,
feathers, or similar
pillow stuffing, with a stuffing which conforms and contours more accurately
with the anatomy of a
human individual's neck and head shape. This contour of course will vary
widely from person to
person due to height, neck length, and other reasons related to body size and
structure, and is
therefor not adequate for solving the big picture problem. Many more attempts
at the perfect pillow
have been made and are seen in prior art.
US Pat. No. 5,016,303 to Tanaka et al. teaches a cervical and head support
pillow consisting
of a pillow casing with a plurality of foam inserts inserted within the
casing. Inserts are combined
in a variety of manners to allow the user to obtain many types of support on
the neck and head. A
vexing problem with pillows, with such inserts, is that a user may, on
accident, lose or misplace any
or all of the inserts and deem the device useless. Similarly, if the inserts
are positioned incorrectly,
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or have a foam density that is too high or too low, the device in question may
only further
complicate neck or head discomfort experienced by the user.
Various other support devices have been proposed and are shown in US Pat. Nos.
5,020,174
to Sarkozi, D582,045S to James, and 5,123,132 to Dixon, all of which require
user aided
adjustability and do not provide universal comfort and support. However, such
pillows follow the
same general scheme of prior art of changing foam stiffness and forming
contours to adapt to the
neck and head which do not adapt well to most users.
Still further, conventionally employed bed pillows as a rule are filled with
stuffing material
such as polyester, or feathers, or down, or foam, or even the new memory
foams. All these
materials retain the heat produced by a user's head while laying upon it.
Humans radiate more heat
through their head than any other part of their body, and for a person
sleeping for the night, or even
for a nap on a hot day, the laying of their head on a heat retaining
conventional pillow can become
uncomfortable and may interrupt a good nights sleep. A simple solution is to
merely flip the pillow
over, but this of course inhibits the sleeping pattern of the user who must
awaken heated, and flip
their pillow.
As a consequence, conventional pillow users continue to suffer from this
vexing
combination of lack of support to their neck, terrible angled posture which
can cause injury over
time, and overheating from the pillow stuffing heat retention characteristics.
Further, many
individuals suffer irritation and sleeplessness from the long period of time
sleeping will put pressure
on their ear. When user's sleep on their side, with an ear against a pillow,
the weight of their head
causes pressure to sandwich their ear between their head and the stuffing in
the pillow. This, as
noted, is uncomfortable and undesirable. This pressure can build and cause the
user to wake and
once again interrupt a good nights sleep. Similarly, when positioned with an
ear against the pillow,
it is often difficult to hear from the ear contacting the pillow due to the
pressure of the surface of the
pillow from the interior stuffing against the ear which causes a muffling of
sound around the user.
For users hard of hearing in their other ear, this is dangerous. For other
users, it may be desired to
retain adequate hearing from both ears independent of sleeping position on the
pillow.
Still further, the many support pillows seen on television and advertised in
photographs
generally have an appearance that is unconventional and are sized
unconventionally. Rather than
appearing as large rectangular pillows with smooth top and bottom surfaces,
most support pillows
are smaller than a conventional pillow and have humps on the edge, or other
odd contours. These
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unconventional shapes are a problem for users who may have spent hundreds of
dollars on bedding
since they will not fit and fill out a conventional pillow case in an
aesthetic manner. This is
especially true where the bedding is on a double bed and a conventional pillow
is located adjacent
to a current mode of support pillow. As a consequence, many potential users of
neck support
pillows avoid using them and continue to suffer, rather than have bedding that
appears odd or
damaged from the odd and unconventional shape of available neck support
pillows.
As such, there is a continuing unmet need for an improved pillow head support
device and
system which provides a pillow which will provide even neck support to the
user no matter the
sleeping position. Such a pillow head support should also provided substantial
alignment of their
neck with the axis of their spine for both side and back sleeping users. This
alignment is most
important to prevent injury over the long term. Still further, such a pillow
should employ interior
support components and a structure internally which will self-conform the neck
support and
alignment of the neck to a wide variety of the shapes and contours of user's
heads and necks. Still
further, such a pillow should provide this improved support while concurrently
eliminating or
reducing the body heat build up in the pillow over short or long sleeping
periods.
Still further, to allow widespread use and employment in venues and homes
which will not
use unconventional appearing support pillows, such a neck supporting pillow
should appear to
viewers as a conventional pillow and be conventionally engageable with
conventional pillow cases
such that the cased pillow appears normal or the same as a cased conventional
pillow in the same
bed. Such a pillow should have this conventional rectangular pillow appearance
while still
providing the benefits of support and adaptability to user body shapes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device, herein disclosed and described, achieves the above-mentioned
objects and
goals, through the provision of a pillow having a gusseted exterior cover
configured to form a
pillow cavity for housing a support pillow within. While a non-gusseted cover
with the interior
support pillow of this invention would still be an improvement, in the
preferred mode of the device,
the cover for the interior housed support pillow is gusseted so as to provide
a more even side
surface and two substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces.
The pillow cover forming the interior cavity for the support pillow is formed
of top and
bottom fabric walls providing exterior and interior surfaces of substantially
a rectangular shape. A
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sidewall gusset panel communicates between the perimeter edges of both the top
and bottom
surfaces and is engaged thereto in a conventional fashion such as sewing. The
interior cavity can be
sealed by complexly sewing the gusset for the perimeter of the pillow or a
means to access the
interior cavity can be provided in the form of an elongated opening which may
be closed by a
zipper, buttons, or other conventional means of closure.
The interior cavity is defined by the sidewalls and engaged gusset. The cavity
is configured
to hold the support pillow therein. With the support pillow inserted, the
exterior of the pillow cover
appears as a normal pillow to viewers and will engage within conventional
pillow cases and provide
a normal appearing pillow when placed with other bedding.
The support pillow insert is positioned within the interior cavity formed
within the gusseted
pillow cover. The support pillow insert features a top surface, bottom
surface, and a side surface
extending therebetween. This renders the shape and dimension of the support
pillow insert
substantially a cooperating shape to the interior cavity and adapted to engage
within the similarly
shaped interior cavity formed by the pillow cover.
The sidewalls of the formed support pillow and overlain pillow cover are
substantially
vertical to the support surface the pillow rests upon such as a bed. This
provides a step of sorts
from the top surface of the pillow supported on the bed or other surface, to
the support surface. For
a side sleeping user, the height of this step can be chosen to maintain their
neck substantially
aligned with their spine. A plurality of different sized pillows with
different height side surfaces
can be made available for users to choose the most comfortable. Alternatively,
the gusset may be
formed of slightly elastic material and planar support pillow inserts provided
in a kit to allow users
to adjust the height of the top surface above the support surface to their
liking and comfort.
In a substantially central area of the support pillow, between the
circumferential gusset
sidewall, there is formed a void. The void may be circular, oval, square,
rectangle, or other shapes.
However, the current preferred shape is circular or oval due to the even
stress this provides on the
fabric communicating therethrough. It is anticipated that the void can be
square, rectangular or oval
in shape and the application is considered to include these other shapes
within the scope of the use
of the term void herein.
This void communicates substantially between the top and bottom surfaces of
the support
pillow engaged in the interior cavity. This aperture may communicate entirely
through the support
pillow or may be covered on the top and bottom surface by a very thin layer of
stretch fabric and
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communicate therebetween. Consequently, unlike other support pillows which
attempt to use
different fillings, different shapes, and different contours of the support
pillow, the device herein
employs a void of support in this center area of the support pillow which is
hidden by the overlain
pillow cover when the support pillow is engaged within the interior cavity of
the pillow cover.
The inserted support pillow interior cavity surrounding this void is filled
with support
material. It may be filled with one, or a combination of, filler material from
a group consisting of
down, down substitute, polyester, Dacron, feathers, micro-beads, foam, gel,
beans, buckwheat,
water, or any other filler material that will fill the internal cavity of the
insert. When properly
filled, the inserted support pillow, will have the void in the support
provided by the filler, in the
area of the aperture.
In use, the pillow, with the inserted support pillow engaged within the
interior cavity of the
pillow cover, looks like a normal pillow. This is especially preferred in that
the formed pillow may
be engaged in conventional bed linens, and the pillow can be sized in
conventional pillow sizes to
fit twin, full, queen, and king beds and linens in a fashion where the linen
pillow case covered
pillow will appear as a normal pillow even if positioned next to a non-support
pillow. However, the
pillow device herein employs the void to allow the projecting portions of a
user's head to settle into
the aperture. This is true whether the projecting portion is the ear of a side-
sleeper or the back rear
of the head of a back sleeper, or the nose and face of a face-sleeper. With
the projecting portions of
the head settling into the void, in virtually all positions the side of the
pillow is of a height to allow
the neck of the user to stay aligned with their spine, while laying down.
Additionally, a shoulder portion of the support pillow insert, formed between
the sidewall of
the support pillow and the void formed by the aperture, is positioned
perfectly to support the user's
neck. This shoulder support portion also supports the neck in alignment with
the spine of the user
during their prone position in bed. Further, for even more enhanced support,
this shoulder portion
can be filled with viscoelastic polymer gel infused memory foam, such as visco-
elastic polyurethane
foam with viscoelastic polymer gel beads infused. Unlike conventional memory
foams which
collapse over time during sleeping, the gel beads infused in the solid
solution of memory foam
maintain the vertical support ability of the formed foam. While a center
portion of harder foam
sandwiched between memory foam might work, it has been found that the even
support provided by
infusing gel beads into the memory foam during manufacture evenly distributes
the gel beads
throughout the entire shoulder support providing more even support. Further,
unlike normal foam
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and memory foams, which are hot and tend to retain heat, the gel infused foam
transmits heat and
does not retain it, providing cooler support.
Similarly, since the void is filled with air, this also provides a means to
dissipate heat from
the user's head and allows the user's head to be maintained at a cooler
temperature when laying
upon the pillow herein. This is due to the fact that air in the void will not
retain heat as well as the
conventional foam or down or feather pillow filler material.
Furthermore, the void provides a means to reduce pressure on the ear when the
user is
positioned on their side, greatly increasing comfort. When positioned on their
back, the projecting
portion of the rear of the user's head, will comfortably engage within the
void and align the neck
while so positioned. Finally, the reduced pressure of the pillow cover against
the ear, due to the
void in support, helps to alleviate any muffling of some sounds that would
normally occur from the
user's ear contacting the surface of a conventional pillow.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one
preferred embodiment
of the herein disclosed invention in detail, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited in
its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the
components in the
following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention herein
described is capable of
other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which
will be obvious to
those skilled in the art. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology
and terminology employed
herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as
limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon
which this
disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other
structures, methods and
systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device.
It is important,
therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent
construction and methodology
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present
invention.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved means for neck
support on a pillow
through the provision of a pillow insert configured with a void in support and
which is engaged to a
support pillow cover which when can be employed with a pillow case of
conventional linens.
It is another object of this invention to provide such a support system which
forms a planar
support surface for the head by employing a gusset style sidewall engaging the
top and bottom
surfaces of both casing and insert.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a void in support,
centrally located on
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the support pillow insert, to provide an area to position projecting parts of
the user's head within,
whether the user is on their back or side.
Still yet another object of the invention is the support shoulder portion
formed between the
aperture and the sidewall providing superior neck support.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a reduction of pressure on
the ear or face
when positioned as such through the provision of the void described above.
An additional object of this invention is the provision of a support pillow
that is adjustable
for users with especially large or small body frames.
These together with other objects and advantages which become subsequently
apparent
reside in the details of the construction and operation as more fully
hereinafter described and
claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part
thereof, wherein like
numerals refer to like parts throughout.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES
Figure 1 depicts a top view of the assembled device showing the support pillow
insert
engaged within the interior cavity of the pillow casing, and depicting in
dotted line, a centrally
located void in the support pillow insert providing a centrally located relief
and substantially equal
sized shoulders for user neck support.
Figure 2 depicts a top view of the device of figure 1, shown with the void
located off center
slightly to provide shoulder sections for neck support of different sizes.
Figure 3 shows a top plan view of the support pillow casing covering the
internally housed
support pillow.
Figure 4 depicts a side view of the support pillow casing, showing the
gusseted construction
of the sidewall thereby forming a substantially planar head support surface.
Figure 5 depicts a perspective view of the support pillow casing and showing
an opening on
the sidewall for insertion of the support pillow insert within the interior
cavity of the support pillow
casing.
Figure 6 shows a top view of the support pillow insert depicting the central
position of the
formed void communicating between the top and bottom surfaces.
Figure 7 depicts a side view of the support pillow insert showing the
preferred substantially
planar sidewalls and the void providing means for pressure relief provided by
the void (in dotted
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line).
Figure 8 shows the device herein assembled with the support pillow insert
inside the support
pillow casing and inserted within a conventional linen set pillow case to
achieve a normal
appearance thereof.
Figure 9 depicts an exploded view of a height-adjustable and firmness
adjustable mode of
the device with an insertable center portion engageable between two engageable
half sections.
Figure 10 shows a slice through a shoulder portion of the device showing foam
material
forming the shoulder and which may also form the remainder of the support
pillow.
Figure 11 depicts another slice view through a shoulder depicting a mode of
the device
having a center portion of the shoulder formed of a harder material such as a
viscoelastic polymer
gel foam and the opposing sides formed of softer material such as visco-
elastic memory foam and
which may also form the remainder of the support pillow.
Figure 12 depicts another preferred mode of the device wherein the shoulder
portion is
formed of a foam material such as visco elastic memory foam which has gel foam
beads disbursed
in the solid solution of foam material and which may also form the remainder
of the support pillow.
Figure 13 shows the support insert of the device herein wherein the void is
oval in shape.
Figure 14 shows the support insert of the device herein wherein the void is
rectangular in
shape.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings of figures 1-14, wherein like numerals refer to
like parts there
is seen in figures 1 and 2 a top view depiction of the as-used position of the
device 10 wherein a
user would lay their head upon the upper facing surface 11. Of course the
device 10 can be inserted
within a conventional linen set pillow case 13 as in figure 8, and appear like
a normal down or
feather stuffed pillow making the device 10 employable by those who will not
use other support
pillows which appear contoured or do not fill out the pillow case 13 properly.
The position of a void 22 formed into the support insert 20 contained within
the pillow
casing 12, is depicted by the dashed line. The void 22 in figure 1, is seen
centrally located relative
to the length and width of the insert 20 and when in the as-used position
shown, remains in a
substantially central location on the device 10. This positioning forms
shoulders 30 or neck support
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portions, extending between the edge of the insert 20 to the circumference of
the void 22 which are
substantially equal. The void so positioned provides means to dissipate heat
from the user's head
during use and additionally a relief when supporting the ear overhead to allow
for less muffling of
surrounding sounds.
In figure 2, the void 22 is shown closer to one side edge of the insert 20
than the other side
edge. In this mode of the device 10 the shoulders 30 are formed in unequal
sizes which allows a
user to choose the shoulder 30 having the width between the side edge 26 and
the circumference of
the void 22 which is most comfortable supporting their neck.
The neck support provided by the shoulder 30 positioned between the void 22
and side edge
26 of the insert 20 provides improved neck support when the user settles their
head on to the upper
facing surface 11 and places one side of their head over the void 22 which is
covered by the
sidewall of the casing 12. Such neck support is provided independent of the
user's body position,
whether laying on their back or side. Further, since projecting portions of
the user's head are
accommodated by the void 22, the user's neck remains in proper alignment
whether sleeping on a
side or their back.
The material forming the shoulder 30 of the support insert 20 (figure 6) can
be the same
material as the rest of the support insert 20 or can be customized in the area
of the shoulder 30 for
increased support or lessened support as the case may be and as depicted in
figures 10-12.
Currently, a mixture of more supportive and compressive foams as in figures 11
and 12 are
preferred since the user sleeping on the device 10 for many hours a day, for
many months, will have
a tendency to wear in the softer material and support for the neck can
decrease.
Figure 3 shows the top view of the casing 12 in the as used position with the
support insert
20 housed in an internal cavity formed by the upper and lower wall of the
casing 12 which is
connected by a gusseted sidewall. As can be seen the side view of figure 4,
the casing 12 employs a
gusset sidewall 16 communicating between the top surface 14 and bottom surface
18. The gusset
sidewall 16 provides a means to remove the arc normal pillow surface's have
when simply joined at
a central seam. It thus allows a construction which provides a substantially
planar top surface 14
and bottom surface 18 of the formed support insert 20. This also establishes a
substantially stable
sidewall width and thereby maintains the support of the shoulder 30 constant
when the top surface
14 supports the weight of the user's head and the shoulder 30 supports their
neck.
Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the casing 12 showing an optional but
preferred
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opening 19 at one end of the gusset circumferential sidewall 16. The opening
19 is of such a
configuration to allow the insertion of the support insert 20 into the
internal cavity of the casing 12.
The opening 19 may be sewn shut but if not required is preferred as it allows
for a washing of the
casing 12. The opening 19 may remain open in the as-used position but may also
close by means of
hook and loop fasteners, zipper, or other cooperating fasteners of the like.
The support insert 20 can be seen in the top view of Figure 6 with centrally
located void 22.
As noted, the favored mode of the void 22 is circular in shape as it allows
for even stretching and
contraction of the foam or other material forming the body of the insert 20.
However, as noted, and
shown in figures 13 and 14, the void can be oval or rectangular or other
shapes.
Additionally, the void 22 may be configured in different sizes to increase the
area of non
support and decrease the shoulder 30 size, to accommodate different sized
users and it is anticipated
the device 10 will be sold in such different sizes to accommodate various head
sizes. Consequently,
it should be noted that the relative void 22 size depicted in the figure is
merely there for
demonstrative purposes.
The dimensions of the insert 20 are configured to cooperatively engage for an
easy insertion
and removal with the interior cavity 27 of the casing 12. Again, the means for
neck support of the
user in the as-used position with their head laying upon an upper facing
surface 11, is provided by
the shoulder 30. This shoulder 30 is defined by the area of the support insert
20 between the
circumference of the void 22 and the sidewalls 26 closest to the void 22. As
noted and shown in
figure 2, the position of the void 22 may be varied to produce substantially
equal dimensioned
shoulders 30 or two different sized shoulders 30 allowing a user to choose for
comfort.
Figure 7 shows the substantially planar shape of the sidewall 26 of the insert
20 extending
from the top surface 24 to the bottom surface 28. This shape conforms to the
shape of the internal
cavity 29 of the casing 12 and provides for a good cooperative engagement
therein and the
substantially planar sleeping surfaces for the user.
While experimentation has shown that the void communicating through the
support insert 20
is favored by users, it should be noted that the void 22 might also be
provided with inserts 23
(figure 9) adapted to engage the void 22. These inserts 23 may be provided
with support material
such as memory or other foam of varying hardness such that the void 22 can be
adjustable for
support. Or, the void 22 may be provided with fluid filled or gel filled
inserts 23 which may be
chilled or heated to provide temperature therapy to the user, such as in a
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setting.
As noted above, there is seen in Figure 8 the device 10 herein assembled with
the support
pillow insert 20 inside the support pillow casing 12, inserted within a
conventional linen set pillow
case 13. As noted, this is a substantial consideration because many users
spend hundreds of dollars
on linen for bedrooms and are hesitant to use or employ strangely configured
or contoured pillows
in combination with their linens. The device 10 herein, by providing a support
pillow which
appears substantially conventional prior to and in an engagement with a
conventional pillow case
13, will encourage more widespread use for users formerly recalcitrant to do
so with oddly
configured support pillows.
Figure 9 depicts an exploded view of a mode of the device 10 wherein the
support insert 20
is formed in assembleable components. The support insert 20, in this mode, is
provided with a
planar first half 33 engageable to either one of a planar second half 35 or a
center section 37.
The insertable center section 37, provides two means of adjustment to the
device 10. First a
means for height adjustment of the upper facing surface 11 above the bed or
other support surface.
Varying the thickness of the center section 37 varies the height of the upper
facing surface 11 and
the shoulder 30.
Additionally, means of adjustment of the firmness of the assembled support
insert 20 is provided by varying the firmness of the material used for the
center section 37. For
instance, the center section 37 may be formed of closed cell foam or gel style
foam and render the
insert firmer to the user in the as-used position. Or, more compressible
material such as memory
foam can be employed to render the insert 20 softer. Further, the center
section 37 can be removed
to lower the height of the upper facing surface 11 as an adjustment for
smaller users such as
children.
In the mode of the device 10 employing assembleable support inserts 20, the
support insert
20 can be provided as a kit with the first half 33 engaged either one of a
planar second half 35 or a
center section 37, and with a plurality of center sections 37 available in
different heights and
different density materials to make the assembled support insert harder or
softer as well as taller or
shorter.
Figure 10 shows a slice through the support shoulder 30 of the device 10
showing material
forming the shoulder portion 30 to be of one material which can be the same
material the remainder
of the support insert 20 is formed, or could be different such as firmer
material such as a denser
Visco elastic memory foam style material.
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Figure 11 depicts a slice through the support shoulder 30 of the support
insert 20 formed of
two different materials. A central portion 41 is formed of one material which
is sandwiched
between adjoining portions 43. This is one particularly favored mode of the
device 10 to provide
better neck support to the users. A favored construction is forming the
adjoining portions 43 from
visco-elastic memory foam of three to six pound density, since it softens when
it comes in contact
with heat from the user's neck and conforms to shape for even support. The
central section 41
would be formed of the denser memory foam, or more preferably of a gel foam,
or a memory foam
with disbursed gel beads as in figure 12, both of which provides more support
at higher
compression levels and long durations which collapses the softer memory foam.
Figure 12 depicts another particularly preferred mode of the device 10 wherein
the shoulder
30 is formed of a visco-elastic memory foam 47 with gel foam beads 49
disbursed in the solid
solution of memory foam 47. This mode performs especially well to provide
contoured support of
the neck, and firmer support under the higher compression levels the weight of
the head and neck
impart.
As noted above, the void 22 is currently preferred in a substantially circular
shape or the
oval shape shown in Figure 13 shows the support insert 20 of the device 10
herein wherein the void
22 is oval. Additional shapes are anticipated such as that of Figure 14 which
shows the support
insert 20 having a rectangular in shape.
While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the disclosed
head and neck
support pillow device have been shown and described herein, with reference to
particular
embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and
substitutions are intended in
the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some
features of the
invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features
without departing from
the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that
various substitutions,
modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without
departing from the
spirit or scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and
variations and
substitutions, as would occur to those skilled in the art, are considered
included within the scope of
the invention as defined by the following claims.
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