Patent Publication Number: US-7594289-B1

Title: Pillow

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to a pillow and more particularly to a pillow which is designed to prevent undue pressures onto the facial area of a person sleeping on his/her side. More particularly, the instant invention relates to a pillow which may be used for persons sleeping on their right side or their left side to reduce pressures on the facial area of the person. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Applicant believes that facial wrinkles may be caused by pressures exerted by a pillow against a sleeping person&#39;s facial area. Many attempts have been made to relieve those facial pressures but it is believed that none of the prior art devices function to reduce the formation of facial wrinkles or are inconvenient to use or are uncomfortable to use. 
   As a person ages, the person&#39;s facial skin begins to thin out and lose elasticity, which creates less ability for the facial skin to “undo” sleeping hours of frequent “scrunching” of the facial skin. Using a common pillow, people experience facial “scrunching” in the same areas of the face, repeatedly and consistently during sleep. Gravity, combined with pressure from the pillow contact, creates a regular routine of “scrunching” of the facial skin, causing wrinkles. 
   Further, many persons who use conventional pillows experience facial pain associated with the jaw from TMJ pain due to the person&#39;s face being subjected to habitual facial pressure during sleep. 
   The skull, being solid, provides a stronger base for distributing the weight of the head; whereas the facial bone structure having holes, results in the head weight resting on localized pressure points, which contributes to jaw and facial pain. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
   The pillow of this invention comprises a body portion having a top surface, a bottom surface, an upper end, a lower end, a left side and a right side. A pad or layer of material is positioned on the top surface of the body portion and preferably has a thickness of approximately one inch and has a firmness which is greater than the firmness of the body portion. The layer has an upper end spaced from the upper end of the body portion, a lower end spaced from the lower end of the body portion, a left end spaced from the left side of the body portion, and a right end spaced from the right side of the body portion. 
   The left end of the layer has a recessed area formed therein between its upper and lower ends. The right end of the layer also has a recessed area formed between the upper and lower ends thereof. The upper and lower ends of the layer adjacent the left side of the layer support the person&#39;s head who is sleeping on his/her right side with the recessed area and the left end of the layer receiving the person&#39;s face thereby reducing the pressure on the person&#39;s face. The upper and lower ends of the layer adjacent the right side thereof for a person&#39;s head who is sleeping on his/her left side with the recessed area at the right end of the layer receiving the person&#39;s face thereby reducing pressure on the person&#39;s face. 
   In the preferred embodiment, the pad or layer of material has a thickness of approximately one inch. In the preferred embodiment, the layer has a hardness which is greater than the hardness of the body portion. 
   A modified form of the invention is disclosed which is provided for a person who only sleeps on his/her left side. A further embodiment of the invention is provided which provides a pillow for a person who only sleeps on his/her right side. 
   A principal object of the invention is to provide a pillow which reduces pressures exerted on the face of a sleeping person so as to reduce the likelihood of facial wrinkles being created by the pressures exerted by the pillow. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide a pillow of the type described which is convenient to use. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide a pillow of the type described which is comfortable to use. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide embodiments of the pillow for those persons who sleep only on their right side or for persons who only sleep on their left side. 
   A further object of the invention is to provide a pillow of the type described which will fit in conventional pillow cases. 
   These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. 
       FIG. 1  is a top view of the preferred embodiment of this invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a modified form of the pillow for those persons who only sleep on their left side; 
       FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a further modified form of the pillow for those persons who sleep only on their right side; and 
       FIG. 5  is a partial top view of the pillow of  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrating the manner in which a person&#39;s head is supported by the pillow. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense in that the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims. 
   The numeral  10  refers to one embodiment of this invention while the numerals  10 ′ and  10 ″ refer to further embodiments of the pillow. Pillow  10  includes a generally rectangular body or body portion  11  although body  11  could be square, oval or any other shape. Body  11  of pillow  10  includes a top surface, a bottom surface, an upper end  16 , a lower end  18 , and opposite sides  20  and  22 . The body  11  of pillow  10  is preferably constructed of foam but may be comprised of any other suitable material. Further, the body  11  may have a soft, medium or hard firmness. 
   The numeral  24  refers to a raised layer or pad comprised of foam or other suitable material which is positioned on and secured to the top surface of body  11  by any convenient means such as sewing or the like. As best seen in the figures, the head-supporting member is located generally centrally on the top surface of the body portion. Layer  24  preferably has a thickness of approximately one inch and has a firmness greater than that of body  11 . Layer  24  includes an upper end  26 , a lower end  28 , and ends  30  and  32  which define recessed portions  34  and  36  respectively. Layer  24  has a size which permits it to support the head of an average adult when a person is sleeping on his/her right or left side. Regardless of whether the person is sleeping on his/her right or left side, layer  24  supports the head of the individual so as to prevent the face of the person from supporting the weight of the person&#39;s head. When the person is sleeping on his/her left side as seen in  FIG. 5 , the area A of layer  24  will support the person&#39;s forehead while the area B will support the person&#39;s head behind the person&#39;s ear. The left side of the person&#39;s face will be positioned to the right of side  32  with the recessed area  36  receiving the left side of the person&#39;s face. 
   When the person is sleeping on his/her right side, the area C of layer  24  will support the person&#39;s forehead while the area D will support the person&#39;s head behind the person&#39;s ear. The right side of the person&#39;s face will be positioned to the right of side  30  with the recessed area  34  receiving the right side of the person&#39;s face. 
   In the embodiment  10 ′ of  FIG. 3 , the layer  24 ′ is designed for those people who only sleep on their left side. Layer  24 ′ has a shape which is approximately the right half of layer  24  of pillow  10 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the layer  24 ″ is designed for those people who only sleep on their right side. As seen in  FIG. 4 , layer  24 ″ has a shape which is approximately the left half of layer  24  of pillow  10 . 
   The pillow of this invention enables the weight of a sleeping person&#39;s head to be supported by the layer  24 , layer  24 ′ or layer  24 ″ without any undue pressure being exerted on the facial area of the sleeping person so as to prevent the formation of wrinkles on the facial area of the person utilizing the pillow. It can therefore be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives. 
   Although the invention has been described in language that is specific to certain structures and methodological steps, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures and/or steps described. Rather, the specific aspects and steps are described as forms of implementing the claimed invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.