Patent Publication Number: US-6981288-B1

Title: Structure of a pillow

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a pillow, more particularly one, which can be adjusted in height such that the user&#39;s head and neck can be comfortably supported in proper position thereon, protecting the user from having a stiff neck. 
   2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
   The shape of a pillow is one of the factors in sleep quality. Manufacturers have been working to develop various forms of pillows, taking into consideration the relative position between the head and the neck as well as the length of one shoulder, such that the pillows can that fit ergonomics, capable of supporting a user&#39;s head and neck in proper position not only when the user is sleeping on one side, but also when the user is sleeping on the back. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional pillow  1  includes a main support portion  11 , and secondary support portions  12  on two sides of the main support portion  11 . The main support portion  11  has a convex protrusion  111 , and a lower portion  112  next to the convex protrusion  111 , which are respectively used for supporting the neck and the head of a user on who is sleeping on the back. The secondary support portions  12  are used when the user is sleeping on one side, and they are made such that their height is equal to the average length of people&#39;s shoulders for the user&#39;s neck and head to be comfortably supported in proper position. 
   The above pillow has disadvantages as followings: 
   1. Because people have different body sizes, and the pillow can&#39;t be adjusted in the height, the pillow can&#39;t suit all consumers. 
   2. The pillow can&#39;t be restored to the original height after it becomes thin because of use for a certain period of time, incapable of supporting the user&#39;s head and neck thereon in the proper position any more. Consequently, the pillow has to be discarded. In other words, the pillow isn&#39;t economical to use. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide an improvement on a pillow to overcome the above disadvantages. 
   The pillow of the present invention includes a main support part, two secondary support parts, several mats, and a bag for housing the supports and the mats therein. The main support part is used for supporting the neck and the head of a user who is sleeping on the back. The secondary support parts are positioned on two sides of the main support part, used for supporting the neck and the head of a user who is sleeping on one side. The mats are positioned under the support parts for adjusting the heights of the support parts with; thus, the user can have his neck and head supported in proper position, protected from having a stiff neck. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the conventional pillow, 
       FIG. 2  is a partial exploded perspective view of a first a single bag and a pillow of embodiment of a pillow in the present invention, 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the first embodiment, 
       FIG. 4  is a view of the first embodiment in use, 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of a pillow in the present invention, and 
       FIG. 6  is a view of the second embodiment in use. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a first embodiment of a pillow includes a main support part  2 , two secondary support parts  3 , several mats, and a bag  5 . 
   The main support part  2  has a convexly curved portion  21 , and a lower portion  22  adjacent to the convexly curved portion  21 , which portions  21  and  22  are respectively used for supporting the neck and the head of a person on. 
   Each of the secondary support parts  3  has a convexly curved portion  31 , and a lower portion  32  adjacent to the convexly curved portion  31 , which portions  31  and  32  are respectively used for supporting the neck and the head of a person on. And, the height of the secondary support parts  3  is greater than that of the main support part  2 . 
   The mats  4  have the same width and length as the main support part  2 . The mats  4  are to be positioned under the main support part  2  for raising the part  2  to a desired height according to the user&#39;s need when the main support part  2  isn&#39;t high enough. 
   The bag  5  has an opening  51 , and a closing element  52  around the opening  51  for closing the bag  5  with. The main and the secondary support parts  2  and  3  are held in the bag  5  with the main part  2  being arranged between the secondary parts  3 . 
   If one wants to sleep on the back, he/she should have the neck and the head respectively supported on the convexly curved portion  21  and the lower portion  32  of the main support part  2 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . And, if one wants to sleep on one side of the body, he/she should have the neck and the head respectively supported on the convexly curved portion  31  and the lower portion  32  of one of the secondary support parts  3 . Thus, the neck and the head of the user can be supported in proper position, preventing the user from having a stiff neck. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , in a second embodiment, mats  6  are provided, which are used for increasing the height of secondary support parts  3 , and have the same width and length as the parts  3 . Thus, when the secondary support parts  3  don&#39;t have such a height as to suit the user, they can be changed to a suitable height by means of positioning a suitable number of mats  6  under them, and changing the number of mats  6  under them. 
   As seen in the figures, the support parts are generally rectangularly shaped, with the convex portions adjacent one of the sides of the support parts, and disposed in a linearly aligned relationship. 
   From the above description, it can be easily understood that the pillow of the present invention has the following advantages: 
   1. The pillow has the secondary support parts besides the main support part therefore a user can have the neck and the head supported in proper position not only when he/she sleeps on the back, but also when he/she sleeps on one side. And, the user can adjust the heights of the main and the secondary support parts according to the body size, thus having good quality sleep. 
   2. The pillow can be restored to the suitable height by means of the mats when the main and the secondary support parts become thin because of use for a period of time. Therefore, the pillow has long service life, economical to use. 
   3. The mats can be easily positioned into the bag, and the pillow is convenient to use.