Patent Publication Number: US-7584516-B1

Title: Knee pillow

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates in general to health aids and more particularly to an apparatus used to assist in sleeping comfortably. The invention relates to a pillow assembly that is adapted to prevent chafing between portions of adjacent limbs. 
   Many people have painful arthritis and knee conditions which results in discomfort that can interfere with sleep. Prolonged contact of the knees and ankles can lead to bruising or chafing, which can also result in discomfort that interferes with sleep. Additionally, persons recovering from certain medical procedures, or pregnant women, are often required to rest or sleep in positions that result in prolonged contact of the knees, resulting in discomfort and sleep interference. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a knee pillow assembly, which can be positioned between a person&#39;s legs to reduce the risk of the knees coming into contact, and thus facilitate comfortable and restful sleep. The assembly comprises a pillow and a tether assembly. The tether assembly comprises a tether and a waistband. The tether is supported in relation to the pillow at a first end and in relation to the waistband at a second end. The waistband is structured for attachment about a person&#39;s waist. The tether is adjustable in relation to the pillow so that the pillow may be positioned in relation to the waistband and between the person&#39;s knees to reduce the risk of the knees coming into contact. 
   The invention also relates to a method for positioning a pillow between a person&#39;s knees. The method comprises the steps of attaching the waistband to the person&#39;s waist by forming a first releasable knot with the waistband and attaching the tether in relation to the pillow by forming a second releasable knot between a free end of the tether and a loop supported in relation to the pillow. 
   Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a partially exploded perspective view of an exemplary knee pillow assembly. 
       FIG. 2  is an environment perspective view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIGS. 3-5  are perspective views of a manner in which a waistband of the pillow assembly is attached about a person&#39;s waist. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in  FIG. 1  a knee pillow assembly, generally indicated at  10 , which may comprise a pillow  12  and a tether assembly  14 . The pillow  12  may comprise a core  16  and a cover  18  about the core  16 . The pillow  12  is adapted to be positioned between a person&#39;s knees to reduce the risk of the knees coming into contact, and thus facilitate comfortable and restful sleep to prevent chafing between portions of the person. 
   The core  16  may be of any suitable construction. For example, the core  16  may comprise materials, such as a synthetic material (for example, polyester or polyurethane), a non-synthetic material (for example, cotton, feathers, down) or a combination thereof, or comprise a bladder (i.e., an inflatable volume) and an inflating fluid (for example, a liquid or a gas). The core  16  may include a block, or batting or filling, or other suitable structure. A firm density polyurethane foam block, such as an H45 polyurethane foam block, may form a suitable core. Although the core  16  may be any suitable size, a H45 polyurethane foam block having a thickness T of about 1-3 inches (7.5 cm) and length and width L, W that are about 10 inches (25.4 cm), when positioned between a person&#39;s legs, reduces the risk of the knees coming into contact, and thus facilitates comfortable and restful sleep for the user. 
   The cover  18  may be a fabric in the form of cotton, polyester, or a combination thereof, which may be machine washable and provide breathable, comfortable protection. The cover  18  may comprise a moisture wicking fabric, which pulls moisture away from the person&#39;s skin to keep the person dry. The cover  18  may fit tightly about the core  16 . The cover  18  may be formed from two cotton polyester blend sheets  20 ,  22 , which may be 11 inches (27.9 cm) square, and which may be stitched or otherwise fastened together about the perimeter of the sheets  20 ,  22 . Such a cover may fit tightly about the H45 polyurethane foam block described above. 
   The tether assembly  14  may be attached to, or otherwise supported in relation to the cover  18 . This may be accomplished in any suitable matter. For example, the illustrated pillow  12  has a loop  24  attached to a corner thereof, although the loop  24  may be attached at other suitable locations. The tether assembly  14  may in turn be attached to the loop  24 . 
   The tether assembly  14  and the loop  24  may be in any suitable form and be constructed in any suitable matter. For example, the tether assembly  14  and the loop  24  may be in the form of a flat tie string, which may be cotton, polyester or a blend thereof, similar to the cotton twill tape used to tie hospital gowns and tie string scrub pants. Such a tape having a width D of about ½ inch (1.3 cm) may form a suitable material for the tether assembly  14  and loop  24 , providing the tape is sufficiently strong and durable, yet comfortable and machine washable. 
   An exemplary tether assembly  14  may be substantially T-shaped, having a first leg, or a tether  26 , and a second leg, or waistband  28 , which may be transverse or perpendicular to the tether  26 . The tether  26  may be structured for supporting the pillow  12  in relation to the waistband  28 . The waistband  28  may be structured for attachment about the person&#39;s waist. The tether  26  may have a free, or first end  30 , which may be attached in relation to the pillow  12 , and a second end  32 , which may be attached to, or in relation to the waistband  28 . Although the tether  26  may be any suitable length, a tether that is about 32 inches (81.3 cm) long may be a suitable length to support the pillow  14  between the person&#39;s knees when the waistband  28  is attached about the person&#39;s waist. Although the waistband  28  may be any suitable length, a waistband that is about 70 inches (177.8 cm) long may be a suitable length for most users. 
   As shown in the drawings, the tether  26  may be attached to the waistband  28  at a point along the waistband  28  that is closer to a first end  34  of the waistband  28 . Although other points of attachment may be suitable, attachment of the tether  26  at a point that is about 5 inches (12.7 cm) from the first end  34  of the waistband  28  may facilitate in the placement of the tether  26  in front of the person, providing that the first end  34  is structured to facilitate the attachment of the waistband  28  about the person&#39;s waist. Although any suitable structure may facilitate the attachment of the waistband  28  about the person&#39;s waist, such structure may include a loop  36  provided at the first end  34  of the waistband  28  which may cooperate with the second end  40 , as will become more apparent in the description that follows. 
   The operation of the assembly  10  is best understood with reference to  FIGS. 2-5 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the waistband  28  may be passed about the person&#39;s waist. The second end  40  may be passed completely through the loop  36  at the first end  34  of the waistband  28  in the direction of arrow A in  FIG. 3 , with the loop  36  being positioned in front of the person. Now, the second end  40  may be doubled back in the direction of Arrow B shown in  FIG. 4  and passed over the waistband  28 . Next, the second end  40  may be passed in the direction of Arrow C under the waistband  28 , doubled back, and then partially passed through a loop  42  just formed, so as to form a third loop  44 . The third loop  44  may be pulled in the direction of Arrow D until the loop  42  just formed closes and tightens up, thus forming a first releasable knot. This attaches the waistband  28  about the person&#39;s waist, as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   With the waistband  28  attached about the person&#39;s waist, the pillow  12  may be positioned between the person&#39;s knees. Once positioned as desired, the first end  30  of the tether  14  may be attached, via a second releasable knot, to the loop  24 , which is attached to a corner of the pillow  12 , in a manner similar to the manner in which the second end  40  of the waistband  28  is attached to the loop  36  at the first end  34  of the waistband  28 , as described in the paragraph above with reference to  FIGS. 3-5 . 
   With the waistband  28  attached about the person&#39;s waist, and the tether  26  attached to a corner of the pillow  12 , the pillow  12  may be held in the desired positioned between the person&#39;s knees. The tether is easily adjustable by loosening and adjusting the tether  26  in relation to the loop  24 , and then re-attaching the tether in relation to the loop  24 . The waistband  28  may be similarly adjustable. It should be appreciated that the waistband and tether described above may be attached without the need of mechanical fasteners, such as buckles, buttons, snaps, zippers, or hook-and-loop type fasteners. Hence, the person using the assembly  10  does not encounter discomfort associated with such fasteners. 
   It should be appreciated that the pillow  12  is not intended to be limited by the description above. For example, the pillow  12  may be other shapes or sizes, including square, rectangular, round, cubical, spherical, tapered, or hour glass-shaped pillows of varying sizes. The pillow  12 , including the core  16  and cover  18 , may be formed on varying compositions. For example, the core  16  may be formed of foam, fiber batting, down, or other suitable materials or a combination thereof, and the cover  18  may be formed from cotton, wool, polyester, damask, silk, shantung, lightweight home decor fabrics, lightweight jacquards, or other suitable fabrics or blends thereof. 
   It should also be appreciated that the tether assembly  14  is not intended to be limited by the description above. For example, the tether  26  may be in the form of string, rope, cord, strap, or other suitable structure formed from natural or synthetic materials, and waistband  28  may be in the form of a belt, strap or the like formed from natural or synthetic materials, and may be provided with any suitable fastener, including, for example, buckles, buttons, snaps, zippers, or hook-and-loop type fasteners. 
   In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.