Abstract:
An inflatable beach pillow with a pocket to slip over a beach chair and having both water and air compartments is furnished with suction for supporting the pillow from the side of a tub so that it will serve as a combination chair pillow and tub pillow. The suction cups are disposed either on the air compartment side or on the water compartment side.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority of my pending provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/547,233 filed Feb. 24, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to an inflatable pillow. More particularly, it relates to an inflatable pillow incorporating a water compartment that can either be used over the back of a chair, or can be used in a tub in the bath or at a spa.  
         [0003]     An inflatable beach pillow having a pocket adapted to be filled with sand and having straps to attach it to a chair is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,154 issued Mar. 28, 1989 to Grimes. The Grimes patent uses sand as a weighting material and therefore would be of limited use in a swimming pool where there is no sand.  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,116 issued Apr, 17, 2001 to Sloot discloses an inflexible pillow attached to a pocket-shaped slipcover designed to fit over the back of a chair, but having no means to use it as a weighted beach pillow.  
         [0005]     My U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,429 issued Feb. 3, 2004 describes a beach pillow with an inflatable air compartment and a fillable water compartment on a flexible base sheet. The base sheet and sheet or sheets forming the compartments can be either permanently or temporarily connected on their sides to form a pocket. The pocket can be slipped over the back of the chair to allow the inflatable pillow to serve as a head rest. However, the pillow is not easily used in a tub or at the spa, because the walls of the tub are inclined and there is no means to hold it in place. If the pillow is used on a smooth surface, where there is high wind or on a moving object, such as the deck or bow of a boat, there is danger of it blowing away, even when the water compartment is used to add weight.  
         [0006]     It would be desirable to extend the use of such an inflatable pillow so that it can serve as a headrest while using a tub in a bath or spa or on smooth surfaces in windy locations.  
         [0007]     It would also be desirable to allow the user to adjust the cushioning effect of an inflatable pillow having both a water compartment and an air compartment when such a pillow is used in a tub or on the bow of a moving boat . . .  
         [0008]     It would also be desirable to be able to adjust the temperature of the pillow by adding water of a desired temperature.  
         [0009]     Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved inflatable pillow that can be used either over the back of a chair or on smooth surfaces, such as a tub, or in a spa, or on the deck or bow of a boat.  
         [0010]     Another object of the invention is to enhance the performance of an inflatable pillow especially adapted for use in a tub or at a spa by adding a water compartment for adjustable support and temperature control.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     Briefly stated, the invention comprises an improvement to an inflatable pillow comprising a generally rectangular flexible base sheet arranged to be folded about a fold line extending between its side edges, a first flexible sheet section sealed about its periphery to the base sheet on one side of the fold line to define an inflatable air compartment, a second flexible sheet section sealed about its periphery to the base sheet on the other side of the fold line to provide a fillable water compartment, an air valve communicating with the air compartment for inflating and deflating it, a closure valve communicating with the water compartment for filling and draining it and connection means to permanently or temporarily connect the folded base sheet along the side edges to form a pocket that may be slipped over the back of a chair and used to retain the inflatable pillow on the chair back, said improvement comprising one or more suction cups attached to a said sheet section so that the inflatable pillow may optionally be attached to a smooth surface, so as to serve as a combination chair pillow and a pillow for an inclined or moving smooth surface. The suction cups may be attached either to the first sheet section or to the second sheet section. 
     
    
     DRAWING  
       [0012]     Other objects and advantages of the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of the inflatable pillow, looking at the air compartment side,  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a bottom plan view of the inflatable pillow, looking at the water compartment side,  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a side elevation view, taken in cross section, showing the inflatable pillow being held on the back of a chair, and  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a side elevation view, also in cross section, showing the inflatable pillow attached to the wall of a tub. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0017]     An inflatable pillow embodying the invention is shown designated generally at  10 . The inflatable pillow  10  is constructed according to the teaching of my U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,429, issued Feb. 3, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference. Referring to the plan views of  FIGS. 1 and 2  and to the cross sections of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the inflatable pillow  10  comprises a base sheet  12  of plastic on which a similar sized pocket sheet  14  of plastic is superposed. An air confining sheet section  15  of pocket sheet  14  is heat sealed as shown at  16  to the base sheet  12  around the margins to form an air tight inflatable air compartment  17 . A water-containing sheet section  22  is sealed to the base sheet  12 , along its peripheral edges  24  to define a water compartment  28 .  
         [0018]     The air confining sheet section  15  and the water-containing sheet section  22  are preferably part of a single pocket sheet  14 , as shown, but could also be separate sheet sections and separately attached to base sheet  12  in the same manner. Both the base sheet  12  and the pocket sheet  14  are folded up around a lateral fold line  18  of the sheets. The side edges  25 ,  27  are connected together to form a pocket  26  between the folded sheet members. The connections on the side edges  25 ,  27  may be permanent or temporary. Preferably the side edges are sealed at  25 ,  27 , but temporary fasteners such as snap fasteners or Velcro could also be used as more fully described in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,429.  
         [0019]     A removable plug  30  provides a means to fill or drain the water compartment  28 . An air fill port  32  is provided to inflate the air compartment  17  to a desired comfortable inflation level, and is closed by a removable plug.  
         [0020]     In accordance with the present invention, suction cups  34 ,  36  are attached to the water-containing sheet section  22  of the pocket sheet  14  on the water compartment side below and substantially equidistant from fold line  18 . The suction cups are attached by any in a suitable means, such as, gluing, heat sealing, or by mechanical connection. Any suitable number of suction cups may be employed, but I have found that two are sufficient in most cases.  
         [0021]     Suction cups  34 ,  36  are designed to adhere to a smooth surface such as the back of a tub, Jacuzzi, or the like so as to support the inflatable pillow. They are preferably attached to sheet section  22  on the water compartment side, but could also be attached to sheet section  15  on the air compartment side. In this case the pillow is reversed from the position shown in  FIG. 4  so that the water compartment faces outwardly.  
       OPERATION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]     The operation of the invention will be made clearer by reference to the cross sectional views of  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In  FIG. 3 , a portion of the back of a beach chair or reclining lounge chair is shown and designated by reference number  38 . The inflatable pillow  10  is dimensioned so that pocket  26  will accommodate the back of a beach chair or lounging chair of the type found around swimming pools or on beaches. The air compartment is inflated by blowing through air port  32  in the conventional way until the compartment  17  provides a comfortable pillow and then closed off.  
         [0023]     Reference to  FIG. 4  of the drawing illustrates the expanded use of the inflatable pillow provided by the present invention. A portion of the back of a tub is indicated by reference numeral  40 . Suction cup  36  is attached to the surface of a tub  40  in the conventional way, wetting it if necessary to obtain a better grip. In lieu of a tub, the suction cups may be attached to the deck or bow of a boat.  
         [0024]     In accordance with the improvement of the present invention, the resilience and comfort of the inflatable pillow may be enhanced by partially filling the water compartment  28 . The partially filled water compartment supports and improves the comfort of the outwardly facing air compartment of the inflatable pillow  10 . If desired the water compartment may be filled or partially filled with hot water from the tub to provide additional warmth in cold weather, or it may be filled or partially filled with cold water to provide cooling in hot weather.  
         [0025]     If the suction cups are optionally attached on the air compartment side to the air confining sheet section  15 , then the air compartment supports the outwardly facing water compartment.  
         [0026]     While there has been described what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, other modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is desired to secure in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.