Abstract:
A flexible elongate pillow including a flexible base portion having a cylindrical cross-section and a first and second ends. The pillow is of a length and cross-section and is so stuffed that the pillow is bendable to form a knot or to be knotted or braided together with others of the pillows and such stiffness and resiliency as to at least partially self restore when unknotted.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is based on and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/787,475, filed on Mar. 30, 2006, entitled FLEXIBLE ELONGATED PILLOW, to which a claim of priority is hereby made and the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a pillow and, more particularly, to a pillow which may be manipulated into one of a plurality of desired configurations.  
         [0003]     Prior art pillows are capable of being manipulated into a variety of shapes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,457,195 to Holste shows an elongated tube shaped pillow which may be placed around a user&#39;s neck. In one embodiment, once around the user&#39;s neck, ends of the pillow may be tied around one another to form a knot. However, as most of the base of the pillow is already around the user&#39;s neck, the ends must be sufficiently pliant and lacking resiliency so as to enable sufficient bending to form the knot. U.S. Pat. No. 6,457,195 analogizes the knot formation to that of putting on a scarf. With ends so flexible and lacking resiliency, the prior art pillow would simply fall limp without a user&#39;s neck or some other support.  
         [0004]     Numerous other elongate pillows are disclosed in prior art. But they are not indicated as knottable as is the pillow herein.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     One embodiment of the invention is an elongate pillow comprising a flexible base having a cylindrical cross-section, the base having a first and a second end. The first end, the second end, and the base all have substantially the same flexibility and resiliency. The material stuffing the pillow is thick and stiff enough that when the pillow is folded or bent and knotted, the pillow retains a thickness and may remain at least somewhat rounded in cross-section where it is bent. Also, the stuffing and pillow are stiff and resilient enough that it can at least partially self restore to an unbent condition when a bending force is released or it is unknotted. The pillow has such length relative to its thickness in cross-section and is stuffed with such material of such stiffness, flexibility and resiliency, that the base can be bent, wherein the first end is wrapped around the second end and is tucked under the base so that the pillow forms a knotted configuration.  
         [0006]     The pillow characteristics permit two or even more of the pillows to be assembled together, e.g., by braiding or knotting one with or into a bent loop form of the other pillow or pillows.  
         [0007]     The invention concerns an elongated tubular pillow of a length selected so that it can be folded on itself and even can be knotted, or it can be knotted together with or wrapped together with another pillow of the same or possibly even of a different type, or braided together with another pillow of the same or possibly even of a different type, or knotted together with other pillows, etc. The pillow may be stuffed with any type of conventional pillow stuffing, including without limitation loose feathers or other standard particulate filling for a pillow, or flexible and crushable foam like material, etc., that is, almost any conventional pillow filling. The pillow may be bent as far as to be folded on itself into a “U” shape with the two legs of the U even contacting or the legs may be knotted together or may be knotted or braided together with other pillows, etc. The pillow retains a generally rounded cross section at the bends and does not lose the stuffing therein at the bends or develop a sharp point on the outside of a bend. Instead, the pillow retains a generally rounded shape.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pillow in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a pillow in a knot configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is a front view of two pillows in a knot configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of three pillows in a braided configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , pillow  10  is an elongated tube  12 , and may be of any length L, between its ends  14  and  16  but the length is so related to the diameter D or cross section of the pillow and the length is great enough that the pillow may be bent upon itself, or may be twisted to form at least a single knot, with the opposite ends of the pillow  14 ,  16  projecting out of a knot  20  e.g., as shown in  FIG. 2 . For example, a diameter D of the pillow is about 4 inches. To form the knot  20 , for example, end  14  is wrapped around end  16  and tucked under base  12 .  
         [0013]     Pillow  10  is also preferably long enough that two of the pillows  10  and  20  may by knotted together and the ends of the knots of the pillow will again project out of the knots, as shown in  FIG. 3 . Each pillow  10  and  20  is long enough that the pillow may be twisted together with, or braided together with, two other pillows  10 ,  20  and  30  according to the invention, producing an elongated twisted together or braided appearing structure, as in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , ends  14  and  16  of all of the pillows may be tied together with a tie  36  to maintain the braid.  
         [0014]     No matter how the pillow  10  is bent, knotted, etc., the pillow is so stuffed and has such self supporting stiffness or resiliency that it is not crushed or flattened at the area where it is bent, but there retains at least generally roundness. Moreover, the pillow is resilient so that it may assume a shape, such as a knot-shape, when the ends  14 ,  16  are tied together, and will not fall limp when it is subsequently unknotted as may occur with pillows in the prior art. Pillow  10 , or a combination of pillows  10 ,  20  and  30 , may be used for decorative purposes.  
         [0015]     Pillow  10  might deform slightly when it bends. In  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the roundness of the pillows gives them a pleasant appearance, which each pillow would not have if the pillow was flattened at areas where it is bent or knotted.  
         [0016]     The filling material of the pillow is a matter of choice, as discussed above, sufficient to have the pillow maintain its rounded plumped out, not crushed or bent sharply, cross section.  
         [0017]     The external covering of the pillow is like that for any pillow, of a conventional soft fabric, sufficiently strong to enable the pillow to maintain its shape as it is bent and to retain its stuffing at any bent area. Any suitable pillow fabric can be used as the covering, including a smooth fabric, textile, corduroy material, terrycloth, or almost any material from which a pillow covering might be constructed. Although, the ends of the pillow are shown as generally flat, the pillow may have other shaped ends.  
         [0018]     The invention concerns a single pillow by itself, a single knotted pillow, a plurality of the pillows knotted together, a plurality of the pillows braided together or twisted together, and any combination of the foregoing, and includes multiple knots, second, third or more pillows each knotted together with the same first pillow, and at spaced intervals, etc. The combinations of two or more of the pillows is limited only by the imagination of the person holding the pillows in hand and envisioning different designs that may be created. Even representational figures of animals, birds, and etc. might be created with several pillows twisted together in an appropriate configuration, so long as the pillow lengths are adequate for the knotting or twisting together that produces the selected figure or design.  
         [0019]     Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.