Patent Document

This application is based on provisional application Ser. No. 60/652,131, filed Feb. 11, 2005 now abandoned, for which priority is claimed and is a division of application Ser. No. 11/353,801, filed Feb. 13, 2006. 

   This invention relates to a method of using a pillow designed to keep an individual from sleeping on the back, i.e. it is designed to keep an individual sleeping on one side or the other. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Many individuals experience sleeping disorders and one in particular is a snoring condition known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). OSA has been reported by the National Sleep Foundation to affect approximately 71 million people at least a few times a week. It is caused usually by the person&#39;s airway narrowing in the upper track. Many factors can contribute to this problem, but generally decreased muscle tone and fatty deposits in the throat are blamed. It is generally believed that elevating a person&#39;s head and sleeping on the side can reduce or eliminate this snoring problem, hence a better night&#39;s sleep. 
   One archaic treatment is for the snorer to wear a tee shirt having a tennis ball sewn in the back, the idea being that when the sleeper is on the back, the tennis ball will ultimately cause discomfort whereupon the sleeper will roll onto the side. This is supposed to keep the sleeper on the side but being awaken in order to roll onto the side is not very restful. 
   Disclosures relevant to this invention are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,850,067; 5,479,667 and 6,226,817. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In this invention, a pillow is provided that encourages a sleeper to stay on one side by making it difficult to roll over onto the back. Thus, this pillow construction does what medical professionals desire but with a more comfortable result and minimum disturbance to the sleeper and a happier bedmate. 
   This is accomplished by providing a pillow that is too narrow for the user to sleep on their back and is based on the observation that most people are wider from side-to-side than from front-to-back. The pillow accordingly has arms, abutments or side panels that are narrower than the sleeper&#39;s back. Thus, the only position the sleeper can normally assume is on one side. 
   In one embodiment, the pillow has a wedge shaped design providing a center section to receive an individual in a side sleeping position and two spaced arms or fixed blocks not permitting the individual to move onto their back. The sleeper&#39;s head rests on an elevated portion thereby allowing the shoulder to be received in a comfortable manner in a slot formed by the pillow of this invention. The sleeper&#39;s face is supported either with the elevated head rest or on the arm/block extension area, depending on the sleeper&#39;s preference, as when the user sleeps in a curled side position. Preferably, both sides of the pillow of this invention provides a side ramp to allow an arm to rest in a side sleeping position without interfering with the torso. 
   For a greater elevation or angle, one or more additional wedges may be provided, to be added underneath the main center section of the pillow. In the alternative, a mechanical arrangement may be provided to increase the inclination of the pillow. 
   It is an object of this invention to provide an improved pillow promoting a user to sleep on a side and method of using the same. 
   Another object of this invention is to provide a side sleeping pillow including a side ramp for receiving the arm of the sleeper and method of using the same. 
   These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent as this description proceeds, reference being made to the accompanying drawings and appended claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the pillow of this invention, illustrated without an overlying cover in order to show its internal construction; 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the inner core of the pillow of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the pillow of  FIG. 1  to which has been added an external cover. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is illustrated a pillow  10  having an internal core  12  which may be slightly compressible foam, an inflatable member or the like, and a cover  14  of a suitable finish material, such as a soft foam sheet. The core  12  includes a generally horizontal planar rectangular base  16  which provides a waist and lumbar support assembly  18  and a thoracic support assembly  20 . The waist and lumbar support assembly  18  includes a leading edge  21  of elongate wedge shape to merge smoothly with an underlying bed surface. 
   A head support assembly  22  extends generally perpendicularly upwardly from the base  16  and extends laterally to adjacent the sides  24 ,  26  of the base  16 . Although the base  16  is illustrated as extending under the head support assembly  22 , it will be apparent it may terminate at a front face  28  of the head support assembly  22  provided the assembly  22  is suitably thickened, i.e. the junction between the base  16  and the head support assembly  22  may be vertical rather than horizontal as illustrated. 
   The upper surface  30  of the head support assembly  22  is preferably horizontal but may tilt slightly to the rear and provides a pair of inclined sections  32 ,  34  adjacent the sides of the pillow  10  for purposes more fully apparent hereinafter. 
   The pillow  10  manifestly can be made of different size to accommodate larger or smaller individuals. An additional technique to this end is to provide a removable block  36  in the head support assembly  22 . With the block  36  removed, there is a much shorter distance between the thoracic support assembly  20  and the surface that effectively supports the sleeper&#39;s head thereby providing a simple means to adjust the core  12  to accommodate smaller individuals. 
   Extending forwardly from the head support assembly  22  are a pair of arms or panels  38 ,  40  that merge with the base  16  or, more specifically, with the thoracic support assembly  20  and/or the waist and lumbar support assembly  18 . The arms  38 ,  40  are spaced apart a distance smaller than the width of the sleeper&#39;s shoulders and larger than the thickness of the sleeper&#39;s torso, i.e. the distance from the inside faces of the arms  38 ,  40  are less than the width of the sleeper&#39;s shoulders and larger than the thickness of the sleeper&#39;s torso. Although the distance between the arms  38 ,  40  may vary somewhat, this distance is almost always eighteen inches or less. For a child&#39;s size pillow of this invention, the distance between the arms  38 ,  40  is typically less than one foot. 
   The arms  38 ,  40  may extend toward the waist and lumbar support assembly  18  for a suitable distance, which may vary considerably. It is preferred that the arms  38 ,  40  not be very long in order to minimize any claustrophobic sensations by the sleeper. The arms  38 ,  40  taper toward the waist and lumbar support assembly  18  as shown best in  FIG. 1  and taper downwardly toward the thoracic support assembly  20  as shown best in  FIG. 2 . 
   Although the pillow  10  may be made with one arm  38 ,  40  on an edge of the pillow,  FIG. 1  shows a preferred embodiment where both arms  38 ,  40  are spaced from the edges of the pillow  10  in order so the user can sleep on either side. Spacing the arms  38 ,  40  from the edges of the pillow  10  creates an area between the outside of the arm and the face  28  for the sleeper&#39;s arm to fit. A side ramp  42 ,  44  is placed between the outside of each arm  38 ,  40  and the face  28  to provide a rest for the forearm of the user. This is much more comfortable for the sleeper when compared to the situation where the forearm rests horizontally on the base  16 . Each side ramp  42 ,  44  merges with the inclined sections  32 ,  34  of the head support assembly  22  thereby providing a long support section for the forearm and hand of the sleeper. The angle of the side ramps  42 ,  44  and the inclined sections  32 ,  34  are preferably equal to provide a long more-or-less continuous inclined section for receiving the forearm and hand of the sleeper. 
   In small batches, the pillow  10  is made by cutting and gluing blocks of foam material to provide the core  12  which is then covered with a soft foam cover  14 . This approach is very similar to the manufacture of the pillow shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,817, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. When larger production runs are feasible, a mold may be made in which to cast a complete pillow. In the alternative, the pillow  10  may be of an inflatable member which also provides a number of advantages. It will be seen that the foam cover  14  not only provides a desirable surface texture, it also modifies the shape of the underlying core  12  to the extent of providing a rounded pillow  10  as shown in  FIG. 3  rather than the angular appearing core  12  as shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , if it is desirable to make a wedge shaped pillow in order to elevate the sleeper&#39;s head, a convenient technique is to make the base  16  of wedge shape or add one or more wedges  46  below the base  16 . In the alternative, a mechanical adjustment may be provided on an underlying chaise lounge type support, as is common in outdoor furniture. 
   Use of the pillow  10  should now be apparent. The pillow  10  is typically covered with a pillow case. The sleeper lies on one side, e.g. the right side for purposes of illustration, with the head on the head support assembly  22  in the area of the block  36 . It will be appreciated that the face of the sleeper, or rather the side of the face, is supported either on the top surface  30  of the head support assembly  22  or on a top surface  48 ,  50  of the arms  38 ,  40 , depending on whether the sleeper is more-or-less straight or is somewhat curled. The sleeper&#39;s right shoulder lies in the corner between the thoracic support assembly  20  and the face  28  of the head support assembly  22 . The sleeper&#39;s right arm, from the shoulder to the elbow, lies adjacent the sleeper&#39;s torso. The right arm of the sleeper can either be straight at the side of the sleeper or can bend at the elbow so the forearm lies on the side ramp  42  with the sleeper&#39;s right hand on the inclined section  32 . Thus, the length of the arms  38 ,  40  is roughly the length of a sleeper&#39;s arm from the shoulder to the elbow, or shorter. 
   Although this invention has been disclosed and described in its preferred forms with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred forms is only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of operation and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

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