Abstract:
A cervical collar that will hold the chin, neck and head of the wearer in an anatomically neutral position when the wearer is in an upright or nearly upright position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The field of this invention is cervical collars.  
           [0003]    Specifically, this invention pertains to a cervical collar that is designed for use by travelers or others who want to be able to sleep while sitting up.  
           [0004]    2. Background  
           [0005]    Even the infrequent flyer has experienced the following situation. After a long day in an unfamiliar time zone, she has to rush to the airport to make the last flight home. Tired, harried and stressed out, she finally makes her way through the rush hour traffic, through the long lines at check-in and baggage inspection, through the crowds of people coming and going, and finally gets on the plane. The plane is full, and she has a center seat in coach class. Shortly after the plane lifts off, she reclines her seat but finds it doesn&#39;t recline very far, certainly not far enough to be really comfortable, and she can&#39;t lean to one side or the other without bumping into the stranger next to her. Still, she is so tired that puts her head back as far as she can and falls fast asleep. One of two things typically happens at this point. Once she falls deeply asleep, her neck no longer holds the heavy weight of her head up, so she either awakens when her head slumps forward or to the side, or, she is so tired and falls so deeply asleep that she doesn&#39;t awaken when her head slumps, but awakens some time later with a severely stiff neck (or even worse, a strained neck). Neither situation is enjoyable.  
           [0006]    This situation is not restricted to airplanes and airplane travel. The fact is that the human head is heavy, and holding it erect requires much more neck muscle strength that healthy people realize. But in hospitals and convalescent hospitals, it is common to see people who are sitting up but cannot keep their heads erect, even if they are awake. People in convalescent hospitals often spend most of their days sitting in wheel chairs, alternatively dozing. Just like the airplane traveler described above, their heads droop, sometimes to a dangerous degree, when they do sleep.  
           [0007]    For these reasons, small, usually inflatable travel pillows are a staple in catalogs directed to the frequent traveler. These are invariably horseshoe-shaped pillows that provide some cushioning on the sides and in the back, but not in the front. However, once the person falls asleep the head is as likely to slump forward as to the side, particularly in situations where the person cannot recline very far. Moreover, when that happens, the person&#39;s cervical spine is placed in a potentially harmful state of hyperflexion.  
           [0008]    Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved cervical collar than can be used by those people who want to, or need to, sleep while in a substantially upright position, that will keep the person&#39;s head “floating” in an anatomically neutral position above the neck while they sleep.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    The collar herein disclosed is designed to fit entirely around the persons head and neck—the back, both sides and under the chin—and includes an elongated portion in the front (that is, the portion that will be under the person&#39;s chin) that in use extends from the underside of the person&#39;s chin to the person&#39;s chest so that the chin is maintained during sleep in the anatomically neutral position.  
           [0010]    In the preferred embodiment, the sides and back of the collar are substantially rectangular in cross section. In another embodiment, the rear of the collar (that is, the portion that will be under the back of the person&#39;s head) is also elongated so as to rest against the person&#39;s back during use.  
           [0011]    In another embodiment, the collar is openable in the front, and has a Velcro® type attachment to secure the device in place during use.  
           [0012]    In another embodiment, the center opening of the device is somewhat angled, being narrower at the bottom and larger at the top, to more closely fit the contour of the person&#39;s neck and lower head.  
           [0013]    Therefore, an improved cervical collar for use during sleep in a substantially upright position is disclosed.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the device in its closed position, as it would be when worn by the user, also showing the closure device on its front.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a side perspective view showing the device in the opened position before being inserted around the user&#39;s neck.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a cross-section (taken along line  3 - 3  in FIG. 1) showing the substantially rectangular cross sectional construction of the back (and sides) of the device, and how the rear portion of the device extends slightly down to contact the user&#39;s back in one embodiment.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a cross-section (taken along line  4 - 4  in FIG. 1)showing the slightly tapered interior opening of the device in one embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    Referring to FIG. 1, the device is shown in its closed position as it would be during use. In this preferred embodiment, the device is almost entirely of one-piece construction, comprising the body  10  and the closure device  12  attached thereto. The body  10  can be manufactured as an inflatable device, that is an air bladder having a selectively openable and closable air tube (not shown) for inflating and deflating the device to the desired firmness, and for entirely deflating the device for storage. Or it can be manufactured from conventional soft material such as foam rubber or other suitably soft, non-toxic and durable material. Or it can be manufactured like a conventional pillow having an outer fabric or plastic material stuffed with any conventional material from feathers to beans to rice hulls. The device can also be fitted with a removable outer cover (not shown) that could be removed for washing, then refitted over the body  10 . In that case, of course, the closure device  12  would have to be attached to the cover rather than to the body  10  itself.  
         [0019]    The body  10  in the preferred embodiment is in a substantially round, donut-like configuration, having a central aperture  14 , an interior surface  16 , a bottom surface  18 , a back section  20 , two side sections  22   a  and  22   b , upper section  24 , and a front section  26  that is split down the middle thereof to form centered opening  28 . In this embodiment, the upper section  24  is shown as being substantially flat. That, of course, is a matter of design choice. It could also be slightly or substantially rounded, for example. Also, the exterior configuration of the preferred embodiment is substantially circular in shape. The exterior configuration could be of other shapes as well, such as squared, rectangular, triangular, hexangonal, etc.  
         [0020]    As seen in FIG. 1, the front section  26  has an elongated portion  30  that extends downwardly a sufficient distance so that the upper portion  32  of the front section  26  will contact the underside of the user&#39;s chin and the lower end of the elongated portion  30  will rest on the user&#39;s chest so as to hold the person&#39;s chin and head in the anatomically neutral position. For most people, the desired distance between the upper portion  32  and the lower end of the elongated portion  30  will be between 6 and 7 inches.  
         [0021]    In this embodiment, the rear portion  20  and the side portions  22   a  and  22   b  are of substantially the same dimensions. For most people, the preferred dimensions are about 3 inches wide (that is, the width of the upper section  24 ) and about 4 inches top to bottom (that is, from upper section  24  to bottom section  18 ). The central aperture  14  is preferably about 5 to 6 inches in diameter, and the overall width of the device, front to back is about 12 inches. The elongated front portion  30  tapers down from the side portion  22   a  and  22   b  over a distance of about 3 to 4 inches in the preferred embodiment.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention in which the rear portion  20  has a downwardly extending section  40  that is designed and constructed so that the top or rear portion  20  contacts the back of the user&#39;s head and neck area, and the downwardly extending section  40  will contact the user&#39;s back so as to maintain the head and neck in the anatomically neutral position during use. This embodiment is shown in cross-section in FIG. 3. Alternatively or in addition, the upper portion of the rear section  20  could be elevated slightly (not shown).  
         [0023]    In yet another embodiment, shown in cross-section in FIG. 4, the interior surface  16  is slightly contoured or tapered so as to conform more closely to the shape of the transitional area between the users head and neck.  
         [0024]    Any and all of these aspects of the different embodiments shown can be included in the device as ultimately constructed and used.  
         [0025]    The preferred embodiment of the closure device  12  is a stap that is sewn (or attached by other conventional means) at one end to one side of the front portion  26 , and is attachable at its other end to the other side of front portion  26  by any conventional means (such as Velcro®, a button and button hole, a snap or a magnet, for example) so as to hold the two sides of front portion  26  together during use.  
         [0026]    While different embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the specific devices shown, but is of the full breadth and scope of the following claims.