Abstract:
A pillow/pillow cover combination is transformable between a relatively compact folded configuration where it functions as a comfortable stand-alone pillow for travel situations where personal space may be limited, such as inside a car or plane, and an unfolded configuration where it functions as a padded pillow cover, able to accept a standard pillow inside an attached pouch, thereby making it suitable for use as a personal pillow enhancer for enhancing a pillow provided in a hotel room or other travel lodgings.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of prior co-pending U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/835,459, filed Aug. 4, 2006. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a novel pillow/pillow cover combination that is transformable between two principal configurations that make it well suited and highly beneficial for travelers. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Many travelers desire the use of a personal pillow while en route and/or upon arriving at overnight lodgings. A personal travel pillow can, in general, enhance travel comfort in the many circumstances where a pillow is desired but not typically provided, such as while traveling in an automobile, or waiting for a flight in an airport terminal or for a train at the train station. In addition, the use of a personal pillow can address concerns with the potentially limited comfort and unsanitary conditions of the pillows sometimes made available to travelers, such as those offered on commercial airline flights. The same concerns can also exist with respect to the bed pillows provided in hotels and other overnight lodgings. Even in the case of clean and sanitary hotel bedding, the pillows may not provide the degree of comfort that the traveler desires. 
         [0004]    The carriage of a personal pillow during travel presents practical difficulties, however. A conventional bed pillow is not easily carried on one&#39;s person, and would take up a substantial amount of the very limited space typically available to the traveler in his/her luggage if carried that way. On the other hand, small pillows and cushions of the type which might be easily carried during travel likely provide very limited additional comfort, and generally are not suitable or desirable for use as a bed pillow. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention, exemplary embodiments of which are described herein, can afford the traveler a comfortable personal pillow for travel use, while avoiding much of the practical difficulty traditionally associated with traveling with one&#39;s own comfortable pillow. 
         [0006]    In accordance with the invention, a pillow/pillow cover combination is transformable between a relatively compact folded configuration where it functions as a comfortable stand-alone pillow for travel situations where personal space may be limited, such as inside a car or plane, and an unfolded configuration where it functions as a padded pillow cover, able to accept a standard pillow inside an attached pouch, thereby making it suitable for use as a personal pillow enhancer for enhancing a pillow provided in a hotel room or other travel lodgings. 
         [0007]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent and fully understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, taken in connection with the appended drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an exemplary combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1 , in its unfolded configuration. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer in its unfolded configuration. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer in transition between the unfolded pillow enhancer configuration and the compact travel pillow configuration. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer in its compact travel pillow configuration. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer in its folded-up compact configuration and placed inside a tote bag. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer with a standard pillow in the process of being inserted into the pouch opening. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a view showing the standard bed pillow substantially fully inserted and enveloped within pillow-enhancing structure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view illustrating an exemplary manner of constructing the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an exemplary combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1 , in its unfolded configuration. Three fabric encased rectangular cushion panels  5 ,  7  and  10  of equal size form a tri-panel structure  2 , wherein the middle cushion panel  10  is connected between the side cushion panels  5 ,  7  at joints  15  and  20 . Joints  15 ,  20  are preferably provided by a fabric casing enclosing each of the cushioning panels individually. The joints  15 ,  20  provide flexible hinge lines which allow for the folding of the combination pillow/pillow enhancer  1 , in an accordion-like fashion, to form a relatively compact pillow. In its unfolded condition, the “footprint” of the structure may be approximately equal to or slightly smaller than the 20″×27″ footprint of a standard bed pillow, e.g., 18″×27″. Each of the cushions may have a thickness of approximately 1″, a footprint area of approximately 18″×9″. In another embodiment, the footprint of the structure may be 18″×30″ in order to approximate the footprint of a queen-sized pillow, in which case each of the cushions may have a footprint area of approximately 18″×10″. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1  in its unfolded configuration. It can be seen that the seam that creates joint  15  is formed by pinching a top layer of the fabric casing down to a bottom layer  30  of the casing, thus giving the joint  15  a “v-shaped” appearance. The other joint  20  is formed by pinching the bottom layer  30  upwards to the top surface  25 , forming a similar inverted joint adjacent to the top surface. The configuration of the seams affects how the panels ( 5 , 10 ) will fold up onto each other. Joint  15 , for example, is adjacent to the bottom layer  30  between the left side panel  5  and the middle panel  10 , which results in the left side panel  5  easily folding beneath the middle panel  10 . Conversely, joint  20  is adjacent to the top layer  25  between the right side panel  7  and the middle panel  10  and will allow the right side panel  7  to easily fold on top of the middle panel  10 . 
         [0018]    There is an additional fabric panel  55  that spans the tri-panel structure  2  on its bottom side. This panel is attached, such as by a stitched seam, about the periphery of bottom casing layer  30 . In  FIG. 2 , the length-wise edge of the pouch-forming panel  55  is visible. At the right end is an opening  60  into the pouch, shown collapsed into the form of a slit (see also  FIG. 1 ). As will described in greater detail, the pouch formed by panel  55  serves to receive a standard pillow therein. Without a pillow inserted into the pouch, the attached fabric panel  55  lies flat against the tri-panel pillow structure  2  so as not to interfere with or add significant bulk to the structure when it is folded up into its compact travel configuration. Panel  55  also serves to provide a soft skin contact surface on one side of the travel pillow when in the folded-up configuration. 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1  in transition between the unfolded pillow enhancer configuration and the compact travel pillow configuration. This figure further illustrates the folding of the cushion panels ( 5 ,  7 , 10 ) at joints ( 15 ,  20 ) occuring in an accordion-like fashion where side cushion panel  5  is folding onto one side of middle cushion panel  10 , and side cushion panel  7  is folding onto the other side of the middle cushion panel  10 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1  in its compact travel pillow configuration. The compact travel pillow has a “footprint” one third the size, and a thickness thrice the size, of the unfolded configuration illustrated in  FIGS. 1-2 . As illustrated, the attached pouch-forming fabric panel  55  is folded in between cushion panels  5  and  10  and between panels  7  and  10 , and provides an outer skin contact surface on the topside, when combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1  is folded up into its compact travel configuration. Various known types of garment fasteners may be employed to retain the combination structure in its folded-up compact configuration, if desired. Referring to  FIG. 5 , when the combination pillow is in its folded-up compact configuration, it may be placed inside a vinyl or other type tote bag  80  provided with handles  85  and a zippered closure  87 , for carrying convenience and to maintain cleanliness. 
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1  with a standard pillow  70  in the process of being inserted into the pouch opening  60 . Standard pillow  70  is inserted through the pouch opening  60  into the pouch  75  formed between the tri-panel pillow structure  2  and the attached fabric panel  55 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a view showing standard bed pillow  70  substantially fully inserted and enveloped within pillow-enhancing structure  1 , so as to present an enhanced pillow provided with a soft fabric buffer on both the upper and lower sides, and an added layer of cushioning on one side (the upper side as shown). In particular, pouch forming fabric panel  55  serves to provide on one side a pillow cover fabric layer, while tri-panel pillow structure  2  serves to provide a cushioned comfort enhancing opposite side of the pillow cover. In this manner, a standard bed pillow  70  may be fully enveloped by the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1 , thereby providing a barrier or buffer between the user and the bed pillow. A standard pillow of 20″×27″ will readily collapse in size sufficiently to easily fit inside of a slightly undersized case having dimensions of 18″×27″. Preferably, the fabric forming the foldable casing of the tri-panel pillow structure  2 , and the attached pouch-forming panel  55 , are chosen from known fabrics in order to provide a desirable look and feel to the user, as well as wearability, soiling resistance and machine washability. In one embodiment, the casing fabric comprises a stretchable, forgiving polyester-cotton blended velour fabric (e.g., 75% cotton and 25% polyester). 
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view illustrating an exemplary manner of constructing the combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1 . In the exemplary construction, a single main piece of fabric  35  is cut or otherwise configured to fully encase three foam cushion panels  40  of equal size. Panels  40  are placed next to each other with a small gap between them to allow for the formation of the joints. Main piece of fabric  35  has two primary sections  45 ,  50 , serving respectively as the bottom side  30  and the top side  25 . Section  45  is sized and configured to envelop all but the top surface of the cushion panels  40 , and is formed with notches  46  demarcating the ends of the two hinge lines formed between the three panel sections. The notches provide a tailored edge permitting the fabric to wrap smoothly upwards about the outer peripheral edges of panels  40 . Section  50 , serving as the top side  25 , is wrapped around the cushion panels  40  (as depicted by the dotted arrows) positioned on top of section  45 , so as to cover the same. This places the peripheral edges of section  50  in general overlying registry with the peripheral edges of section  45 , such that the two sections may be joined by conventional means, such as a stitched seam, to form the primary casing enclosure. The individual cushion casings, and hinge lines, would then be formed, such as in the manner previously described. 
         [0024]    The construction of travel pillow/pillow enhancer  1  is completed with the attachment of the second piece of fabric  55  to one side of the tri-panel pillow structure  2 . As previously indicated, fabric panel  55  preferably spans the entire length and width of the tri-panel structure  2 . The attachment may be provided in the form of a conventional stitched seam extending about the periphery of the tri-panel pillow structure  2  along all but one end. As previously explained, one end will be left open to provide an opening  60  permitting insertion of a standard pillow into the pouch, as illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
         [0025]    The cushion panels may be provided in the form of blocks of soft latex foam or polyurethane foam. The foam blocks may have flat surfaces or be provided with surface height variations, such as egg crate shaped crests and valleys. Alternatively, the cushioning material could be any other material suitable as a pillow or cushioning material, including natural materials such as down feather filling and other synthetic materials, such a fiber-fill 
         [0026]    It will be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and details thereof, the foregoing description and examples are intended to illustrate, but not limit the scope of the invention. Numerous other variations and arrangements are within the scope of the invention.