Patent Publication Number: US-8990980-B1

Title: Pillowcase with integral secondary hood structure

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the priority of provisional Patent Application No. 61/673,808, filed Jul. 20, 2012. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     In general, the present invention relates to the structure of pillowcases or pillows that are retained within pillowcases. More particularly, the present invention relates to pillowcases and pillows that contain a secondary hood that can be worn about the head. 
     2. Prior Art Description 
     By nature of human physiology, it is difficult for a person to sleep comfortably when seated upright in a chair. As a person falls asleep in a sitting position, the body initially holds the head straight and upright. However, as the body falls into a deeper sleep, the muscles of the head and neck involuntarily relax. This causes the head to tilt to the side or fall forward. Often this tilting of the head to the front or side occurs rapidly. Consequently, as the head tilts, it jerks to a stop as it reaches the anatomical limits of movement. The jerk often momentarily wakes the person, causing the person to again straighten their head and neck as they quickly fall back to sleep. The cycle of falling asleep, having the head fall to a jerk, and correcting the position of the head, can occur multiple times in a short period of time. 
     If a person sleeps with their head titled or fallen forward, or if a person sleeps and experiences multiple jerks, then that person has a significant likelihood of developing a neck strain or pinched nerve in the neck. This causes pain in the neck when a person wakes and tries to turn his/her head. The pain can last for days. 
     Healthy people are usually only forced to sleep in a sitting position due to environmental circumstances. For example, a person may be required to sleep on a long airplane flight or on a long car ride. People also commonly fall asleep in a sitting position by accident, such as when they fall asleep sitting on a couch watching television. However, some people have medical conditions that require them to sleep in a sitting position. Such medical conditions include people with severe sleep apnea, people with digestive track diseases, and the like. 
     Traditional pillows are designed to support the head of a person when that person is sleeping while lying flat in a bed. If such a pillow is used by a person sleeping in a sitting position, then the traditional pillow would only increase the likelihood that a person&#39;s head would tilt to the side or fall forward. 
     Neck pillows are often used to support a person&#39;s neck as they sleep in a sitting position. However, traditional neck pillows are typically U-shaped and support only the back and sides of the neck. Traditional neck pillows provide no support in front of the head. Consequently, the use of a traditional neck pillow does not prevent a person&#39;s head from falling forward as they sleep. In fact, due to the presence of a pillow behind the user&#39;s neck, the use of a neck pillow may actually increase the likelihood that a person&#39;s head will fall forward and a neck injury will occur. 
     The present invention attempts to create a better pillow for those who sleep in a sitting position by connecting a unique hood structure to the pillow. In the prior art, pillows have been invented that include hoods. Consider the traditional pillow types shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,554 to Brown, and U.S. Pat. No. D270,320 to Smith. Also consider the neck pillow shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,954 to Bunkers. 
     In the prior art pillow systems that are cited, hoods are connected to pillows. However, the purpose of the hood is merely to cover the eyes and/or ears of a sleeping person so they can sleep better in a loud or bright environment. The hoods used in such prior art systems are not designed to stabilize the user&#39;s head and physically inhibit the user&#39;s head from either tilting to the side or falling forward. As such, the prior art pillows that have hoods, if used, would not prevent the neck injuries that commonly afflict people who sleep in sitting positions. 
     A need therefore exists for a pillow and hood assembly that can be comfortably borne by a person sleeping in a sitting position, wherein the pillow and hood are specifically designed to deter movement of the head and neck during sleep. In this manner, a person can sleep more comfortably in a sitting position without having their heads tilt to the sides or fall forward during sleep. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a pillow assembly that utilizes a hood to inhibit the sudden jerking of the head that often occurs when a person falls asleep upright. 
     The pillow assembly utilizes a pillowcase having a top surface and a bottom surface. The pillowcase can be stuffed to become a pillow or can be used to cover a preexisting pillow. 
     A hood structure is sewn onto the pillowcase. The hood structure is sewn onto the pillowcase along a single main seam. The sewing of the hood to the pillowcase along a single seam creates features in the hood structure that are beneficial to the comfortable restraint of the user&#39;s head. Furthermore, the hood structure has a forward opening, a hood apex, and a rear seam that extends from the apex down to the single main seam. The rear seam also helps to reinforce the hood structure so it can better prevent unintentional movements of the user&#39;s head. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a pillow assembly containing a pillow covered by a pillowcase and hood assembly; 
         FIG. 2  is a exploded view of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1  showing the hood structure separated from the pillowcase; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-section view of the hood structure taken along section line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  shown with the hood structure drawn over the head of a person resting upon the pillow assembly; 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  shown with the hood structure drawn over the head of a person seated upright in a chair; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Although the present invention pillowcase can be embodied in many ways, the embodiments illustrated show the pillowcase formed both as a rectangular pillowcase for a bed pillow and as a U-shaped pillowcase for a neck pillow. These embodiments are selected in order to set forth the two best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered a limitation when interpreting the scope of the appended claims. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  in conjunction with  FIG. 2 , a pillow assembly  10  is shown. The pillow assembly  10  includes a pillowcase  12  surrounding a traditional rectangular bed pillow (not shown). The pillowcase  10  has a top surface  14 . A hood structure  16  is affixed to the top surface  14  of the pillowcase assembly  10 . The hood structure  16  has a forward opening  18  that enables a person&#39;s head to enter an interior region  20  of the hood structure  16  while that person&#39;s head is also resting upon the pillow assembly  12  under the hood structure  16 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  in conjunction with  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , it will be understood that the forward opening  18  of the hood structure  16  opens to the interior region  20  that is defined by the fabric of the hood structure  16 . The interior region  20  of the hood structure  16  is large enough to receive the head of the average sized adult. The hood structure  16  is preferably made from a single piece of fabric that curves about a person&#39;s head. However, the fabric is partially slit and sewn back together along a vertical seam  22  in the rear surface of the hood structure  16 , to tailor a curved shape to the rear surface of the hood structure  16 . The vertical seam  22  serves an important purpose that will later be explained. 
     The hood structure  16  is affixed to the top surface  14  of the pillowcase  12  in a unique manner. The hood structure  16  has a long bottom edge  24 . The entire bottom edge  24  of the hood structure  16  is gathered and sewn to the underlying pillowcase  12  along a single straight main seam  26 . In order to gather the entire bottom edge  24  of the hood structure  16  into a single seam, two large folded pleats  28 ,  29  must be formed in the fabric of the hood structure  16 , one on either side of the forward opening  18 . The main seam  26  has an overall length L1. The forward opening  18  of the hood structure  16  is centered in the middle of the main seam  26 . The forward opening  18  has a length along the main seam  26  that is about half the length L1 of the overall main seam  26 . It will therefore be understood that the bottoms of the two large pleats  28 ,  29  within the main seam  26  are significant and account for the remaining half the length L1 of the main seam  26 . 
     The large folded pleats  28 ,  29  extend on either side of the forward opening  18 . The folded pleats  28 ,  29  serve as structure reinforcement and inhibit the hood structure  16  from moving side to side while supporting a person&#39;s head. The hood structure  16  is further reinforced by the presence of a drawstring hem  30 . A drawstring hem  30  is sewn long the edge of the forward opening  18 . The drawstring hem  30  holds a drawstring  32 . When the drawstring  32  is pulled, the size of the forward opening  18  can be selectively decreased. Furthermore, the drawstring hem  30  extends into the main seam  26  at both ends of the drawstring hem  30 . This creates another structural reinforcement that surrounds the periphery of the forward opening  18 . 
     As has been previously mentioned, there is a vertical seam  22  in the rear of the hood structure  16 . The vertical seam  22  extends upwardly from the main seam  26 . However, the vertical seam  22  does not extend all the way to the forward opening  18 . Rather, the vertical seam  22  is the result of a tailored taper that provides the hood structure  16  with a curved shape. The vertical seam  22  extends from the maim seam  26 , up the rear of the hood structure  16 , to the apex  23  of the hood structure  16 . The vertical seam  22  is a double sewn seam that provides structural integrity to the rear of the hood structure  16 . This prevents the rear of the hood structure  16  from stretching when it is supporting a person&#39;s head. 
     A pocket  34  is formed in the pillowcase  12  at a position to one side of the hood structure  16 . Inside the pocket  34  is a first buttonhole  36  that passes through the top surface  14  of the pillowcase  12 . Additionally, a second buttonhole  38  is formed in the top surface  14  of the pillowcase  12  just below the center of the main seam  26 . The two buttonholes  36 ,  38  enable wires to extend from inside the pocket  34  to the hood structure  16  inside the pillowcase  12 . In this manner, a person can place an electronic music player within the pocket  34  and listen to the music using headphones with the headphone wires extending from the first buttonhole  36  to the second buttonhole  38  inside the pillowcase  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5  in conjunction with  FIG. 1 , it will be understood that the hood structure  16  is sized to cover the head of an individual, down to the eyes of that individual. When a person is resting upon the pillow assembly  10  and that person&#39;s head is in the hood structure  16 , the drawstring  32  can be pulled. When the drawstring  32  is pulled, the hood structure  16  tightens over the head of the resting person and covers the eyes and ears of that resting person. The hood structure  16  does not cover the nose or mouth of the resting person and therefore does not obstruct breathing. However, by conforming to the head, the folded pleats  28 ,  29  on the sides of the hood structure  16  pull taut. This inhibits a person from moving their head from side to side when laying flat. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the pillow assembly  10  is shown covering and supporting the head of a person sitting upright in a seat. Since the hood structure  16  attaches to the pillowcase  12  with only one straight main seam  26 , the main seam  26  can be used as a hinge joint. This enables the pillowcase  12  to be rotated away from the hood structure  16 . The pillowcase  12  and the pillow it supports can therefore be positioned behind the back of a person sitting upright. With the pillowcase  12  in this position, the hood structure  16  can be rotated to a position where it covers the person&#39;s head. When in this position, the side folded pleats  28 ,  29  and the rear vertical seam  22  are pulled taut. Thus, once the hood structure  16  is tightened around the head with a drawstring  32 , the folded pleats  28 ,  29  prevent the head from falling to the side. Likewise, the vertical seam  22  prevents the head from falling forward. A person can therefore rest comfortably, with the head secured, and both his/her neck and back properly supported. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 through 6 , the pillowcase  12  is for use with a simple square bed pillow. It will be understood that few people will travel on airplanes, trains and the like with bed pillows. Rather, neck pillows are used. The technical improvements previously described for use with a cover for a rectangular pillow can be adapted for use with a cover for a neck pillow, as is explained below. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a neck pillow assembly  40  is shown. The neck pillow assembly  40  includes a U-shaped pillowcase  42  in which a U-shaped pillow or padding is held. The pillowcase  42  has a top surface  44  and a bottom surface  46 . A central seam  48  is formed around the periphery of the pillowcase  42  halfway between the top surface  44  and the bottom surface  46 . Since the pillowcase  42  is U-shaped, it defines a central area  50  between the opposing arms  51 ,  52 . 
     A hood structure  54  is sewn to the central seam  48  around the central area  50 . The hood structure  54  is the same as was previously described. The hood structure  54  includes a forward opening  56 , side pleats  58  and a vertical rear seam  60 . A drawstring hem  62  extends around the forward opening  56 . The drawstring hem  62 , the side pleats  58 , and the vertical rear seam  60  all have bottom edges that are sewn directly to the pillowcase  42  along the central seam  48 . 
     A drawstring  64  is present within the drawstring hem  62 . The drawstring  64  exits the drawstring hem  62  at two holes  66  on opposite sides of the forward opening  56 . Since the hood structure  54  is sewn to the central seam  48 , the U-shaped pillow or padding within the U-shaped pillowcase  42  extends partially up the hood structure  54 . This prevents a person&#39;s head inside the hood structure  54  from tilting to the side or backwards. A person&#39;s head is prevented from tilting forward primarily by two features. First, the vertical rear seam  60  reinforces the rear of the hood structure  54  and prevents the hood structure  54  from stretching forward. Second, the placement of the drawstring holes  66  in the drawstring hem  62  is such that the arms  51 ,  52  of the U-shaped pillowcase  42  are pulled toward each other as the drawstring  64  is pulled taut. As the ends of the pillowcase  42  move toward each other, they converge toward the chin of any person resting in the neck pillow assembly  40 . Thus, a person&#39;s head is inhibited from falling forward, should that person fall asleep. 
     It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.