Abstract:
A headrest removably engageable with the seat back includes a seat back mounting member adapted to encircle a seat back headrest which has side portions engageable with end portions of a cushion configured to surround at least a portion of the user&#39;s head. A support is carried on the seat back mounting member to engage the seat back to assist in supporting the headrest on the seat back.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority benefit to the Dec. 11, 2012 filing date of co-pending U.S. provisional patent application, filed in the name of Sami Maassarani, and entitled, SEAT BACK HEADREST, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In order to alleviate the neck strain associated with a person trying to sleep while seated in a seat, such as a vehicle seat, airplane seat, train seat, etc., and maintaining his or her head in a generally upright, vertical position, a variety of different headrests have been devised for supporting a portion of the user&#39;s head, such as each cheek or in a fully face encircling manner. 
         [0003]    Maintaining a sleeping person&#39;s head in a generally upright position while the person is sleeping in a seat is particularly desirable from a safety standpoint for small children who frequently fall asleep while riding in a vehicle, airplane, or train. 
         [0004]    The various devised headrests are either designed as part of the vehicle head restraint or are portable and removably attachable to the seatback for deployment and use. However, the previously devised headrests are either cumbersome or unsightly to deploy and attach to a seat back or, do not have easily adjustable positions to enable use of the headrest with different sized individuals or with children as the children grow. 
         [0005]    It would be desirable to provide a seat headrest which overcomes these difficulties and provides ease of attachment and ease of adjustability. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    A headrest removably engageable with a seat back includes a seat back mounting member having a leg and opposed side portions extending from the leg adapted to encircle a seat back headrest, and a cushion configured to engage one of a front and a side of a user&#39;s head. The ends of the side portions of the seat back mounting member and opposed ends of the cushion are configured for complimentary engagement. A support is carried on at least one or both of the side portions of the seat back mounting member and configured to engage the seat back to assist in supporting the headrest on the seat back. 
         [0007]    The leg and the side portions of the headrest can be formed as an integral one-piece member. 
         [0008]    The support can be integrally formed as unitary part of the seat back mounting member. 
         [0009]    The support can include a flat pad extending from the at least one of the side portions of the seat back mounting member. 
         [0010]    The support can include two supports, one support mounted on each of the side portions of the seatback mounting member. 
         [0011]    The seat back mounting member can be formed of a moldable plastic material. 
         [0012]    The ends of the seatback mounting member and the opposed ends of the cushion can be telescopingly engageable. The telescoping engagement of the end portions of the seatback mounting member and the opposed ends of the cushion can include one of the ends of the side portions of the seat back mounting member and the opposed ends of the cushion having a complementary projection and recess. 
         [0013]    The cushion can define a U-shape including a center portion and two opposed end portions. 
         [0014]    The leg of the seat back mounting portion can define a block polygonal member. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0015]    The various features, advantages and other use of the present seat back headrest will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description and drawing in which: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one aspect of a seat back headrest mounted on a vehicle seat; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the seat back headrest shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a left side perspective view of the seat back headrest shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is an end perspective view of the seat back headrest shown in  FIG. 2 , without the cushion; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of one portion of the seat back and the connection between the mounting member and cushion. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1-5  of the drawing, there is depicted one aspect of a headrest usable on a seat  20 . By way of example, the seat  20  may be any type of seat, such as a vehicle seat, an airplane seat, a train seat, a seat use in an office, workspace or home, or a portable child car seat. The seat  20  has a seat back  22  and a seat bottom  24 . Depending upon the application, the seat back  22  may be rigidly fixed to the seat bottom  24 , such as a rear seat, or may be pivotal from a more generally upright position shown in  FIG. 1  to an angled position over the seat bottom  24  as in a front seat or a rear fold down seat. 
         [0022]    For purposes of the following description, the seat back  22  includes a top edge  26 , opposed side edges  28  and  30 , a front surface  32  and an opposed new surface  34 . 
         [0023]    A vehicle seat back headrest  40  may be integrally formed as part of an upper portion of the seat back  22  extending as an integral part and defining a portion of the top edge  26  of the seat back  22 , or as a separate attachment mountable by one or two slidable posts into apertures formed in the top edge  26  of the seat back  22 . 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , a portable seat back headrest  50  is removably mountable on the seat back  22  and encircles the seat back headrest  40 . The headrest  50  includes a seat back mounting member  52  which may be formed of one or more pieces that are individually joined together into an integral, unitary assembly, and at least one cushion  54 . 
         [0025]    The cushion  54  may be formed of a number of different soft, compliant materials suitable for safely contacting a user&#39;s head, particularly, a child&#39;s head. For example, foam or other soft compliant material, such as SANOPRENE, a thermo-plastic elastomer; may be molded, extruded, or otherwise formed in the shape of the cushion  54 . Alternately, a different and more rigid foam or other material, such as self-skinning foam, may be used to form an inner core of the cushion  54 , which is then covered with an outer decorative, softer, more compliant layer of leather, plastic, fabric, etc., which can be complimentary to the material used in vehicles, airplanes, train or home seats, child car seats, etc. 
         [0026]    The cushion  54 , although shown as having a generally semi-circular or U-shape with two ends, can also be constructed of two individual J-shaped portions, where one end of each J-shaped portion connects to one end of the mounting member  52 . The opposite ends of each J-shaped cushion member may be disposed in close proximity to each other to substantially encircle the front portion of the head of the seat user or be slightly spaced apart. Alternately, Velcro, snaps or other releasable fasteners, may releasibly join the outer ends of the J-shaped cushions together. The use of individual J-shaped cushions would enable, for example, only a single J-shaped cushion employed as part of the headrest  50  on either side of a user&#39;s head. 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , each end  60  of the cushion  54  has an interior opening  62  extending for a distance into the interior of the cushion  54  and sized to receive an end  64  of the side portions  66 ,  68  of the mounting member  52  in a releasable plug-in or telescoping connection. 
         [0028]    The cushion  54  is illustrated as having a generally circular cross-section. It will be understood that the cushion  54  can have other cross-sectional shapes, such as oval, polygonal, including square, rectangular, etc., and combinations thereof. 
         [0029]    The mounting member  52 , as shown in detail in  FIGS. 2-5 , is illustrated, by example, as being formed of an integral one-piece member constructed of any moldable plastic, rubber, or other suitable material, such as metal, foam composite or combinations thereof. It will be understood that the mounting member  52  may be constructed of multiple, individual pieces or sections which are joined together by adhesive, fasteners, sonic welding, etc., into a unitary structure. 
         [0030]    The mounting member  52  has generally U-shape with first and second opposed side portions  66  and  68  serving the dual function of a cushion connector and a seat support. The side portions  66  and  68  are mirror images of each other. Each side portion  66  and  68  includes a linear portion  70  extending between the end  64  to an opposite end  72 . By example only, each side portion  66  and  68  gradually transitions from a circular shape extending from a circular disc  63  dividing the end  64  from the linear portion  70  and servicing as a connection limiter between the cushion  54  and the mounting member  52  to a rectangular cross section along the linear portion  70  which then smoothly transitions into a 90° turned seat back encircling member or central leg  76 . The central leg  76  can be any other shape, such as circular, oval, polygonal, etc. 
         [0031]    In one aspect, the cushion  54  may have a circular cross-section that can be hollow or solid. The end  60  of the cushion  54  may have a hollow interior for telescopingly receiving the end  64  of the seat back mounting member  54  in a slide a fit. The solid portion and hollow interior of the connection between the ends  60  of the cushion  54  and the ends  64  of the seat back mounting member  72  may also be reversed. 
         [0032]    Alternately, the end portion  70  of each side portion  66  and  68  of the mounting member  52  may have a gradually increasing tapered cylindrical shape extending from the end  64  to create a press or friction fit when each end portion  70  of the mounting member  52  is inserted into the hollow end  60  of the cushion  54 . 
         [0033]    In another aspect, shown by example in  FIG. 5 , the ends  64  of the seat back mounting member  52  have a generally M shape formed of first and second outer linear legs  100  and  102  which extend from a semi-circular or arcuate upper portion  104 . A center linear leg  106 , which may have a greater length than the length of the side legs  100  and  102  from the ends of the upper portion  104 , is disposed centrally or intermediately between the spaced legs  100  and  102 . 
         [0034]    The recess  62  in each end  60  of the cushion  54  has a complimentary shape formed of a slightly curved upper recess  110  from which depend a pair of spaced outer recesses  112  and  114  having a length complimentary to the length of the side legs  100  and  102 , and an intermediate or centrally disposed recess  116  having a length from the upper leg  110  substantially equal to the length of the intermediate central leg  106 . This complimentary arrangement of the shape of the ends  64  of the seat back mounting member  52  and the recess  62  in each end  60  of the cushion  54  allows for secure telescoping engagement of the ends  60  of the cushion  54  onto the ends  64  of the seat back mounting member. 
         [0035]    For rigidity, a narrow cross-section lip  120  is formed along and extends along a lower edge and extends inwardly from the side portions  66  and  68 , and the central leg  76  of the seat back mounting member  52 . The edge  120  extends to the circular disc  63  on the side portions  66  and  68 . 
         [0036]    An inner flange  90  is mounted along the lower edge  120  of the encircling leg  76  of the mounting member  52 . The flange  90  can slip underneath the vehicle seat back headrest  40 , when the seat back headrest  40  is a separate component from the seat back  22 , to aid in stabilizing the mounting position of the headrest  50  on the seat back  22 . 
         [0037]    Each side portion  66  and  68  of the mounting member  52  includes a seat back support, such as the support  92  on the side section  66  shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The supports  92  include a horizontal portion  94  extending from the lower edge  120  on the side portions  66  or  68  which transitions into an angularly downward extending pad  96 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the horizontal portion  94  and the pad  96  of each support  92  are disposed and extend angularly inward from the generally linear side portions  66  and  68  and the end  64  of the side portions  66  and  68 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the horizontal extending portions  94  are configured to lie on the top edge  26  of the seat back  22 . The pads  96  extend angularly downward from each horizontal extending portion  94  to rest on the front surface  32  of the seat back  22  to support the headrest  50  on the seat back  22 . 
         [0038]    A breakaway connector, such as a pin, not shown, can be mounted through aligned apertures in each end of the cushion  54  and complimentary apertures in the end portion  70  of each side portions  66 ,  68  of the mounting member  52 . The pin can be formed of plastic or other suitable material with a predetermined, defined break strength so as to break at a predetermined force exerted on the cushion  54  relative to the mounting member  52 , such as during a vehicle collision when the cushion  54  is impacted by the user&#39;s head. The pin breaks thereby allowing the cushion  54  to separate from the mounting member  52  to minimize the potential for injury to the user&#39;s head.