Patent Publication Number: US-11641961-B2

Title: Post-surgical pillow

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/979,061, filed Feb. 20, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This disclosure relates to a protective post-surgical pillow for support and travel, with integrated pockets for cold or warm packs. 
     BACKGROUND 
     After major surgeries, such as mastectomy, patients are anxious to avoid pain or further injury at a surgical site. Such anxiety begins as soon as patients leave the hospital, as patients are often afraid of the shoulder strap on a seatbelt hurting then if they make a sudden stop while in a car on the way home from a hospital. Similar, patients may be worried that family would hug them, inadvertently causing further pain. 
     When coughing or sneezing, patients may need to hold something against their chest for counter-pressure, to limit the associated pain. Further, mastectomy patients may develop severe underarm pain where lymph nodes were removed, and it may be difficult to hold an ice pack against the site. Products exist to protect a patient&#39;s chest, and even to locate ice packs in certain situations, but no device exists that provides adequate protection while locating ice packs adjacent underarm pain sites on both sides. 
     Some pillows exist that provide protection to the chest area, with some underarm support. However, such pillows only stay in place by having the patient hold them against their sides with their arms, or by having a seatbelt hold it in place. In such products, when the patient uses their arms, the pillow may fall. As certain arm movements hurt, if such a pillow slips, retrieving it may be painful. Further, since such a pillow is used constantly, and may be used for several weeks at a time after surgery, it inevitably gets dirty. Though washable, this leaves the patient without my pillow for several hours and, as is often the case, it didn&#39;t feel quite the same after the washing. 
     Finally, when patients need to use an ice pack or a warm pack to help alleviate underarm pain, there was no way to hold it in place without the patient holding their arm tightly against their side. Even slight movements would then cause the icepack to slip. While pillows exist with pockets for ice packs, such small pillows are used for locating a single ice pack. Even underarm pillows of that type are designed for a single underarm location, and do not cover the chest region at all, and they do not stay in place. 
     There is a need for a post-surgical pillow that can protect a user&#39;s chest and underarm area, that can locate ice packs under each of a user&#39;s arms simultaneously and consistently, and that can remain properly positioned even when a user is active. 
     SUMMARY 
     The pillow shown and described is a post-surgical pillow designed to protect the chest after mastectomy, thoracic and/or cardiac surgery. The pillow is shaped to be held comfortably against the chest and underarms, providing both protection from external forces and support or splinting when needed. The pillow may lay comfortably under a vehicle seat belt shoulder strap in order to provide an added layer of protection while in the car. Integrated pockets under arms or in a front panel are designed to hold ice or warm packs against aching body parts, as needed. The pillow has a detachable cover for washing and a detachable and adjustable neck strap to free hands without dropping the pillow. 
     In some embodiments, the pillow comprises an elongated main body having a first end and a second end and a length from the first end to the second end. The pillow may further comprise a first notch at a top edge of the elongated main body adjacent the first end and a second notch at the top edge of the elongated main body adjacent the second end. 
     The pillow may then have a first pocket at an inner surface of the elongated main body between the first notch and a bottom edge of the elongated main body and a second pocket at the inner surface between the second notch and the bottom edge. 
     In some embodiments, the pillow further comprises first and second vertical grooves, each along the inner surface of the elongated main body and extending from the top edge to the bottom edge of the pillow. In such an embodiment, the first vertical groove divides a first side segment of the pillow from a middle segment and the second vertical groove divides a second side segment of the pillow from the middle segment. 
     The first side segment may then have the first notch and the first pocket and the second side segment may then have the second notch and the second pocket, and the pillow may then fold along the first and second vertical grooves such that it can wrap around the user. 
     In some embodiments, the pillow further comprises temperature control elements located in the first and second pockets. Such temperature control elements may be removable, or they may be sealed within the pockets. 
     The temperature control elements may be ice packs, for example. The pillow may further comprise detents adjacent the first and second pockets such that the temperature control elements can be at least partially embedded in the body of the pillow when the temperature control elements are located within their respective pockets. 
     In some embodiments, the first and second notch may each have inner and outer lips, where the inner lips are adjacent a middle section of the pillow and the outer lips are adjacent a corresponding edge of the elongated main body. In some such embodiments, a strap may be provided, where the strap extends from the inner lip of the first notch to the inner lip of the second notch. The strap may then be releasably fixed at each end by, for example, a Velcro connection. 
     In some embodiments, the elongated main body is filled with a granular fill or, alternatively, it may have a single piece or multiple piece foam fill. In some embodiments, the elongated main body has a removable cover that can be washed independently of the pillow. 
     In some embodiments, the elongated main body comprises three discrete pillow chambers, with a first chamber containing the first notch, a second chamber containing the second notch, and a third chamber being a central chamber between the first and second chambers. 
     In some embodiments, the pillow further comprises a third pocket centrally located on an inner surface of the elongated main body. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    provides an inner view of a pillow in accordance with this disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    provides an outer view of the pillow of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    provides an outer view of a second embodiment of a pillow in accordance with this disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    provides an inner view of the pillow of  FIG.  3   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of several illustrative embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits are illustrated by reference to certain exemplified embodiments and may not apply to all embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the claimed invention being defined by the claims appended hereto. 
     This disclosure describes the best mode or modes of practicing the invention as presently contemplated. This description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense, but provides an example of the invention presented solely for illustrative purposes by reference to the accompanying drawings to advise one of ordinary skill in the art of the advantages and construction of the invention. In the various views of the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similar parts. 
     The various embodiments described herein provide a post-surgical pillow.  FIG.  1    provides an inner view of a pillow  100  in accordance with this disclosure.  FIG.  2    provides an outer view of the pillow  100  of  FIG.  1   . 
     As shown, the pillow  100  has an elongated main body  110  which has a first end  120  and a second end  130  and a length  140  extending from the first end to the second end. The pillow then has a first notch  150  at a top edge of the elongated main body  110  adjacent the first end  120  and a second notch  160  at the top edge adjacent the second end  130 . 
     The notches are typically used by a user as arm slots, such that a user may wrap the elongated main body  110  around their own body and then fix the pillow in location by placing their arms through the notches  150 ,  160 . The pillow has an inner surface  170 , shown in  FIG.  1   , and an outer surface  180 , shown in  FIG.  2   . When a user wraps the elongated main body  110  around their own body, they do so with the inner surface  170  facing their own body. In some embodiments, this may be by way of grooves or other fold lines integrated into the elongated body  110 , which allow the components of the elongated body to fold in the direction of the inner surface  170 , as described in more detail below. 
     The pillow  100  is further provided with a first pocket  190  at the inner surface  170  of the elongated main body  110 , located between the first notch  150  and a bottom edge of the elongated main body. 
     The pillow  100  is similarly provided with a second pocket  200  at the inner surface  170  of the elongated main body  110  located between the second notch  160  and the bottom edge of the elongated main body. The first and second pockets  190 ,  200  are typically sized to retain temperature control elements, such as ice packets, heat packs, or personal heating or cooling units. 
     The pockets  190 ,  200  are located under the notches  160 ,  170  so that, during use, temperature control elements located within the pockets are located in the underarm region. The fabric of the pockets  190 ,  200  protects a user&#39;s body from extreme temperatures, and therefore no additional cover for the temperature control element may be necessary. 
     In some embodiments, the pillow  100  includes such temperature control elements in the form of ice packs sized for the pockets  190 ,  200  provided. In some such embodiments, personal heating or cooling units may be permanently embedded into the pillow  100 , and the pockets  190 ,  200  may be sealed. In other such embodiments, ice packs may be provided with the pillow  100 , and the pockets are openable, such that the ice packs may be kept in a freezer independently of the pillow, and such that the ice packs may be changed as needed. In some embodiments, the pockets  190 ,  200  are sized for standard size ice packs, such as 4×6, such that users can easily by extra packs to keep in the freezer. 
     In some embodiments, the pillow may comprise detents adjacent the first and second pockets  190 ,  200 , such that when the temperature control devices, such as the ice packs, are placed in the corresponding pockets, they are at least partially embedded in the elongated body  100  of the pillow  100 . In such embodiments, the detents may be sized such that the temperature control elements do not fit fully within the detents and therefore extend partially out of the elongated main body  110  when located within their respective pockets  190 ,  200 . 
     As discussed above, the elongated main body  110  of the pillow  100  may be provided with fold lines to allow the elongated body to easy wrap around a user. Accordingly, the pillow  100  may further comprise a first vertical groove  210  and a second vertical groove  220 , each along the inner surface  170  of the elongated main body  110  and extending from the top edge to the bottom edge. The first vertical groove  210  would then divide a first side segment of the elongated main body  110 , containing the first notch  150  and the first end  120  from a middle segment. Similarly, the second vertical groove  220  would divide a second side segment of the elongated main body  110 , containing the second notch  160  and the second end  130  from the middle segment of the elongated main body  110 . 
     The pillow  100  would then fold along the first vertical groove  210  and the second vertical groove  220  such that it can comfortably wrap around a user. Typically, such grooves would be provided only at the inner surface  170  of the elongated main body  110 , such that the pillow can fold inward but not outward. It is understood that in some embodiments, no such grooves are provided, or some stitching may be provided in place of the grooves. In any event, when in use, the elongated main body  110  would be folded around a user with the pockets  190 ,  200  on the inner surface  170  adjacent the user&#39;s body. 
     In some embodiments, the elongated main body  110  comprises three discrete pillow chambers, with a first chamber containing the first notch  160 , a second chamber containing the second notch  170 , and a third chamber being a central chamber between the first and second chambers. 
     As shown, each of the first notch  150  and the second notch  160  have an inner lip  230   a, b , and an outer lip  240   a, b . The outer lip  240   a, b  of each notch  150 ,  160  is located adjacent the corresponding edge  120 ,  130  of the elongated main body  110 . The inner lip  230   a, b  of each notch  150 ,  160  is adjacent the middle section of the elongated main body  110 . 
     The pillow  100  further comprises a strap  250  which extends from the inner lip  230   a  of the first notch  150  to the inner lip  230   b  of the second notch  160 . The strap  250  is then releasably fixed to the elongated main body  110  at the inner lips  230   a, b . The strap may be fixed by a variety of releasable structures, such as Velcro, snaps, buttons, or the like. 
       FIG.  3    provides an outer view of a second embodiment of a pillow  100  in accordance with this disclosure.  FIG.  4    provides an inner view of the pillow  100  of  FIG.  3   . As shown, the second embodiment shown in  FIGS.  3  and  4    is very similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS.  1  and  2    and elements of the embodiment are labeled similarly. However, as shown, the second embodiment is provided with a third pocket  300  centrally located on the inner surface  170  of the corresponding elongated main body  110 . 
     In some embodiments, the elongated main body  110  of the pillow  100  is filled with a granular fill, such as a polyfil. In other embodiments, the elongated main body  110  has a single piece foam fill. The elongated main body  110  may be provided with a removable cover that is washable independently of the pillow itself. 
     The removable cover may be provided with a large bottom zipper  310  located for easy removal of the cover and positioned so that it does not touch a user&#39;s body. The removable cover may be made with a variety of materials, including, for example, a soft jersey knit made of 97% cotton and 3% lycra, so that the removable cover can stretch enough to fit back on the elongated main body  110  after washing. Additional covers may be made available as well. Alternatively, polyester/cotton woven fabrics may used. 
     Further, the elongated main body  110  may be covered in cotton ticking, such that it may be washed as well. 
     The strap  250  may be made of the same fabric as the pillow, such that it is soft and comfortable on a user&#39;s neck. The removable closures at each end, such as Velcro closures, may be provided so that the strap  250  can be opened and the pillow  100  removed and repositioned with either arm by the user. The strap  250  may be adjustable, or may be provided with an elongated Velcro section to adjust to accommodate users of different heights. 
     While the present invention has been described at some length and with some particularity with respect to the several described embodiments, it is not intended that it should be limited to any such particulars or embodiments or any particular embodiment, but it is to be construed with references to the appended claims so as to provide the broadest possible interpretation of such claims in view of the prior art and, therefore, to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing describes the invention in terms of embodiments foreseen by the inventor for which an enabling description was available, notwithstanding that insubstantial modifications of the invention, not presently foreseen, may nonetheless represent equivalents thereto.