ELASTIC PILLOW BODY

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a pillow body for improving the health of the cervical vertebrae while asleep, and more particularly to an elastic pillow body, which has improved structure and external appearance so as to produce an orthopedic effect for the cervical vertebrae of a user's neck as well as to keep the comfortable position of the cervical vertebrae according to variation of a user's sleeping posture.

[Background Art]

As computers are indispensably used now in offices as well as at homes, the time for users to sit opposite computers is lengthened and stress is applied to user's cervical vertebrae. Thereby, many computer users feel a pain in the neck or suffer from hernia of an intervertebral disk.

In general, the neck bone, i.e., the cervical vertebrae, becomes the normal condition only when it forms a C shape such that the rear surface thereof is concave. When a person sits for a long time with his/her head down, his/her cervical vertebrae are spread in a straight line and are deformed, and nerves in the spinal cord are damaged, thus generating a pain.

In case that the height of a pillow while asleep is excessively high or low, stress applied to the cervical vertebrae is increased, and a user cannot comfortably rest or regain the health of the cervical vertebrae but gets worse. Then, the user may suffer from a ruptured cervical disk and undergo a traction treatment, such as physical therapy, and an operation in a hospital.

Accordingly, in order to cure the straightly spread cervical vertebrae, a rod- shaped pillow having a circular section for a traction treatment came onto the market and has been used now. While a user lies on his/her back under the condition that the

cervical vertebrae of the neck is supported by the above pillow, the cervical vertebrae is bent in a C shape due to the weight of the head.

However, since such a pillow has a diameter of only 7~8cm, the height of the pillow is excessively low when a user lies on his/her side. Further, since a contact surface of the pillow with the head of the human body is excessively narrow, a user feels hard pressure on the head. Accordingly, the above pillow is inconvenient when it is used to allow the user to rest for a long time or to sleep.

In order to solve the above problem, a trisection-type pillow, as shown in FIG.

1, in which a middle part is low and both right and left parts are high so that the cervical vertebrae of a user's neck is located in the low middle part when a user lies on his/her back and located in the high right or left part when the user lies on his/her side, has been proposed.

Since the upper surface of the above trisection-type pillow is bent and trisected into three parts by stepwise portions, and contact areas, which are divided according to sleeping postures, are limited, the trisection-type pillow has disadvantages, such as an untidy and unnatural external appearance and a difficulty in changing the sleeping posture due to the stepwise portions. Further, in order to support and compress the cervical vertebrae to produce an orthopedic or restoration effect, a rear tilt angle enough to throw the neck back somewhat is secured. Accordingly, a depressed portion, which is formed in the rear of a cervical vertebrae support portion, is more deeply sunk, and thus the upper surface of the pillow is severely bent.

Further, many kinds of pillow, which are commonly called memoiy foam pillows, are put on the market nowadays. The above pillows are made of a soft material, thus being pressed in shapes of user's neck and head due to loads of the user's neck and head applied thereto. However, the pillows cannot include a support portion for firmly supporting the cervical vertebrae from the viewpoint of characteristics of the soft material, thus not providing an orthopedic effect for the cervical vertebrae.

[Disclosure]

[Technical Problem]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an elastic pillow body, which has an improved structure so as to functionally overcomes a difference of the heights of the cervical vertebrae according to the change of a user's posture while asleep, to provide an orthopedic effect for the cervical vertebrae and to be comfortably used for sleep to improve the health of the cervical vertebrae, and has a comparatively even upper surface and a natural external appearance.

[Technical Solution]

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an elastic pillow body having a trisection-type structure including a middle part, in which the cervical vertebrae and the head are located when a user lies on his/her back, and right and left parts, in which the cheek is located when the user lies on his/her side. The elastic pillow body has following several structural characteristics, which are independently obtained and mutually related to each other.

A concave space is formed in the lower surface of the middle part across the entire width of the middle part so that the middle part is downwardly deformed by applying a load thereto and is elastically restored to its original state by releasing the load therefrom. The concave space may have a regular structure such that the width and height of the concave space are uniform, or an expanded structure such that the width and height of the concave space are gradually increased from the front portion thereof to the rear portion thereof.

Further, a head holding portion may be depressed in the upper surface of the middle part in the rear of a cervical vertebrae support portion formed on the upper surface of the middle part. An opening to be expanded may be formed through a rear

depressed region of the head holding portion, thereby adjusting the rear tilt angle of the head holding portion.

Moreover, weight decreasing spaces may be respectively formed in the right and left parts so as to decrease the weights of the right and left parts, thus keeping the weight balance between the middle part, having a heavy loss of section, and the right and left parts.

[Advantageous Effects]

The elastic pillow body of the present invention has an upper surface, which is relatively even, compared to a conventional trisection-type pillow having stepwise portions, thus eliminating inconvenience due to change of a user's posture and forming a natural external appearance.

Further, the elastic pillow body of the present invention allows a user to lead a healthy life through comfortable sleep and rest, and provides remedial value due to an orthopedic or restoration effect for the cervical vertebrae, thus contributing to the improvement of health of users.

[Description of Drawings)

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional trisection-type pillow;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pillow body in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views in the lengthwise direction illustrating an elastic restoration mechanism of the pillow body of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the pillow body of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 5, illustrating sectional characteristics of a middle part of a pillow body of in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating the middle part of FIG. 6 in a deformed state due to the load of a user's head;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating sectional characteristics of a middle part of a pillow body in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating the middle part of FIG. 8 in a deformed state;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 5, illustrating formation of weight decreasing spaces in right and left parts of a pillow body in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal-sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 5, illustrating formation of weight decreasing spaces in right and left parts of the pillow body of yet another embodiment of the present invention.

[Best Mode]

Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pillow body in accordance with the present invention. FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views in the lengthwise direction illustrating an elastic restoration mechanism of the pillow body of the present invention, and more specifically, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a front portion of the pillow body, in which a cervical vertebrae support portion is located, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a rear portion of the pillow body, in which a head holding portion is located.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pillow body of the present invention includes a middle part 10, in which the cervical vertebrae of a user's neck when a user lies on his/her back (hereinafter, referred to as a back-lying posture) is located, formed at the central area, and right and left parts 20, which the cheek of a user's face when the user lies on his/her side (hereinafter, referred to as a side-lying posture) contacts, formed at both sides of the middle part 10, so as to overcome a difference of heights of the cervical vertebrae between the postures. The upper surfaces of the right and left parts 20 are coplanar with the upper surface of a cervical vertebrae support portion 30 formed on the front portion of the middle part 10, and a head holding portion 50 connected to the cervical vertebrae support portion 30 is depressed to be lower than the upper surface of the cervical vertebrae support portion 30. A concave space 40 having an arc shape is formed in the lower surface of the middle part 10 across the entire width of the middle part 10, and has a structure allowing the middle part 10 to be downwardly deformed as much as the height (H) of the concave space 40 when load is applied to the middle part 10.

When a user lies on his/her back under the condition that the cervical vertebrae of his/her neck is put on the cervical vertebrae support portion 30 of the middle part 10, the middle part 10 is sunk due to the load of the head, thus being lower than the right and left parts 20 by the height (H) of the concave space 40. Then, as shown by the dotted line of FIG. 3, the middle part 10 is downwardly deformed so that the upper surface of the pillow body forms a gently concave curve, thereby lowering the height of the cervical vertebrae of the user's neck and allowing the cervical vertebrae of the user's neck to take a comfortable position.

When the user changes his/her posture and lies on his/her side, the user's head is turned to the right or the left, and the right or left cheek of the user's face is located on the right or left part 20 and the load of the head is released from the middle part 10 so that the middle part 10 ascends to the height (H) of the concave space 40 and is restored to its original position. Then, the cervical vertebrae of the user's neck is located at a comfortable height in the flat lying posture.

Hereinafter, the deformed state of the head holding portion 50, which the rear part of the user's head contacts, during the above downwardly deforming process of the middle part 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface of the head holding portion 50 forms a gently concave curve as shown by the solid line before the deformation of the middle part 10, and is changed into a deeply concave curve as shown by the dotted line after the deformation of the middle part 10. It means that although the head holding portion 50 is low when the pillow body is produced, the rear tilt angle enough to throw the user's neck back is secured, when the pillow body is really used.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the pillow body of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, a front inclined plane 12 having a relatively steep gradient is formed on the front surface of the cervical vertebrae support portion 30 located on the middle part 30, and the head holding portion 50 is formed on the rear surface of the cervical vertebrae support portion 40. The head holding portion 50 includes a rear curved plane 13 having a relatively gentle gradient, and right and left curved planes 14. An opening 60 to be expanded is formed through the depressed region of the head holding portion 50. Thus, the rear tilt angle of the head holding portion 50 for throwing the user's head back is adjusted according to the expanded extent of the opening 60. Preferably, the opening 60 has the shape of a keyhole having a circular head part.

Accordingly, when the user lies on his/her back under the condition that the cervical vertebrae of his/her neck is put on the cervical vertebrae support portion 30, the user can adjust the extent of throwing his/her head back by pulling the right and left parts 20 forwardly. Thus, the pillow body of the present invention is selectively used to provide an orthopedic effect for the cervical vertebrae to the user as well as to allow the user to comfortably rest or sleep. Particularly, the above-described sectional structure of the pillow body of the present invention provides a further improved effect.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the user lies on his/her back under the condition that the cervical vertebrae of his/her neck is put on the cervical vertebrae support portion 30, the middle part 10 descends to the height (H) of the concave space

40 due to the load of the head. Then, the cervical vertebrae is comfortably located at a

comfortably low height and the rear part of the head is seated on the right and left curved planes 14 of the head holding portion 50, which contracts during the descent of the middle part 10, as shown in FIG. 7. Thereby, it is possible to allow the user to sleep and rest in a comfortable posture at a height slightly higher than the ground under the condition that the rear part of the top of the user's head does not contact the ground, thus providing an additional effect, such as prevention of the falling-off of hair.

When the user pulls the rear ends of the right and left parts 20 of the pillow body forwardly under the above sleeping posture, the opening 60 of the head holding portion 50 is expanded and the user's head held on the head holding portion 50 descends more downwardly. Then, the cervical vertebrae supported by the cervical vertebrae support portion 30 is more bent in a C shape, thus undergoing a traction treatment. Thereby, the orthopedic effect for the cervical vertebrae is more increased.

When the user turns and lies on his/her side, the cheek of the user's face is located on the upper surface of the right or left part 20 and the cervical vertebrae of the user's neck is changed to a high height, thereby allowing the user to sleep and rest in a comfortable posture.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are longitudinal-sectional views of a pillow body having an expanded concave space in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In case that the pillow body has the expanded concave space 40, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, although the depression depth of the head holding portion 50 is low, the rear tilt angle is more increased as much as the expanded height (h) of the expanded concave space 40. Thus, the evenness of the upper surface of the pillow body can be decreased. However, when the expanded concave space 40 is excessively expanded upwardly, the sectional distribution of the pillow body excessively leans to one side, and the pillow body may lose the balance. Accordingly, it is necessary to properly adjust the expanding degree of the expanded concave space 40 during the design of a pillow product.

In case that the rear portion of the concave space 40 is not expanded to the upper part but is expanded to the right and left parts, the rear end of the head holding

portion 50 is downwardly deformed in a relatively gentle curve. Thus, a pillow body having the concave space 40, the rear portion of which is expanded to the right and left parts, is suitable to a user sleeping in a prone posture.

That is, in order to apply the pillow body to a user sleeping in the prone posture, the pillow body must have a low height. Particularly, in order to allow the user's face to comfortably contact the pillow body, the front part of the pillow body must be lower than the rear part of the pillow body. Accordingly, when the pillow body of the present invention is reversely turned such that the head holding portion 50 is located at the front, the pillow body has an ideal structure suitable to the user sleeping in the prone posture. Thus, the pillow body of the present invention may be comfortably applied to users sleeping in all postures.

Finally, the present invention describes a pillow body having weight decreasing spaces 70, each of which is provided with an opened lower surface portion, formed in the right and left parts 20 in accordance another embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 5, and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal- sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 5.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the weight decreasing spaces 70, which are formed in the right and left parts 20, prevent contact portions between the middle part 10 and the right and left parts 20 from being folded due to imbalance therebetween caused by a heavy loss of section of the middle part 10 through the concave space 40 and the depressed space and the opening 60 of the head holding portion 50 compared to the right and left parts 20. Further, the weight decreasing spaces 70 provide a raw material reduction effect, and allow the central region of the upper surface of the right or left part 20, in which the user's ear part is located, to be depressed due to the load of the head when a user lies on his/her side, so that the user's ear part is comfortably received in the right or left part 20.

The weight decreasing spaces 70 formed in the pillow body of the present invention may be filled with ultrasoft elastic foam so as to have a more flat external surface, thus improving the physical beauty of the pillow body in a state that the pillow

body is coated with a pillow slip.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, the weight decreasing spaces 70 are replaced with split-type weight decreasing spaces, each of which includes a plurality of cylindrical cavities formed in the vertical direction or provided with the closed upper surfaces, respectively formed in the right and left parts 20. This substitution is only a simple matter of design.

As described above, the pillow body of the present invention is elastically deformed, and supports and compresses the cervical vertebrae of a user's neck in some degree so as to assist an orthopedic effect for the cervical vertebrae. For this reason, it is preferable that the pillow body of the present invention is molded out of elastic foam having a middle specific cavity.

[Industrial Applicability]

The present invention is applied to a pillow, which is one of bedclothes for home. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.