HOTEL BED PILLOW SET

Abstract

A set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows sold as a bundle for use in locations that accommodate a periodic changing or replacement of clientele, such as hotels, motels, hospitals, military barracks, college dormitories, and the like. A first substantially rectangular pillow has a longitudinal upper border having a proximal end and a distal end and a longitudinal lower border parallel to the longitudinal upper border, the longitudinal lower border having a proximal end and a distal end, each of the ends being oppositely disposed to the longitudinal upper border proximal end and the longitudinal upper border distal end, respectively. A first side border is connected to the proximal ends of the longitudinal upper border and the longitudinal lower border. A second side border is connected to the distal ends of the longitudinal upper border and the longitudinal lower border. A longitudinal partition is disposed parallel to the longitudinal upper border and the longitudinal lower border extending between the first and second side borders and extends entirely through the thickness of the first pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of the first pillow. A first quantity of material fills the upper portion of the first pillow and a second quantity of material fills the lower portion of the first pillow, so that the upper portion of the first pillow has a first thickness, and the lower portion of the first pillow has a second thickness. A second substantially rectangular pillow is substantially identical to the first pillow, but the upper portion of the second pillow has a third thickness and the lower portion of said second pillow has a fourth thickness, the first thickness being less than the third thickness and the second thickness being less than the fourth thickness.

Description

RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

[0001] The present patent application is a continuation-in-part application of pending patent application Ser. No. 16/358,696 filed Mar. 20, 2019 for HOTEL BED PILLOW and incorporates the teachings therein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention pertains to bed pillows and, more particularly, to a set of bed pillows, each of the pillows having two sections with different thicknesses.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Most people sleep on their side, known as the lateral sleeping position. This position is used more often by sleepers than sleeping on the back or stomach. Sleeping in certain positions, especially sleeping on one's back or stomach, can cause neck or back pain, whereas the side sleeping posture puts the least pressure on the sleeper's neck and lower back.

[0004] Sleeping on one's back or stomach may also obstruct airways to the sleeper's lungs, leading to problems like snoring, which may be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes a person to stop and start breathing while sleeping due to airway obstructions. Sleep apnea is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Sleep apnea can influence how sleepy the person feels throughout the next day. Most patients with obstructive sleep apnea who sleep on their side experience less interrupted sleep and are more wakeful the next day.

[0005] The wrong sleeping position may even cause toxins to filter out of the brain more slowly. The side sleeping position, however, can result in clearing waste from the brain more quickly.

[0006] Sleeping on the right side can cause acid to leak through the esophagus. Sleeping on the stomach or back can also exacerbate acid reflux. Accordingly, patients with acid reflux usually sleep best on their left sides.

[0007] Sleeping on one's side leaves airways open and aligns one's head and neck slightly elevating the esophagus. This all creates an atmosphere that prevents snoring, sleep apnea, and acid reflux while ensuring comfort. In fact, one of the first lines of treatment for snoring and mild cases of sleep apnea is to start sleeping on the side.

[0008] Neck pain is commonly the cause for people having trouble falling asleep. A pillow that is the appropriate height will keep the neck in a neutral position. If the pillow is too high, the neck will be bent too far forward. Too low and the neck will be bent too far backward.

[0009] Finally, side sleeping is most often prescribed for pregnant women.

[0010] Conventional bed pillows to support a person's head when lying on a bed are uniformly filled with soft materials such as feathers, synthetic foam, plastic fibers, or rubber to provide uniform thickness. In private homes, such pillows are commonplace. The user selects one of a great variety of shapes, sizes, and textures of pillows and adjusts it to his or her sleeping support or comfort with varying degrees of success.

[0011] In certain situations, however, a given pillow may be used for a number of people over a period of time. This is the situation in hotels, motels, convalescent homes, and hospitals, for example. The pillow case is replaced from one person's use to another's in those facilities. The pillow itself is used over and over, regardless of the size or gender of the user.

[0012] The present invention reflects the discovery that men's shoulder, neck, and head dimensions differ from women's dimensions. In other words, men and women have different body frames. Moreover, such dimensions vary among men and among women depending on their individual physical dimensions. Therefore, a uniformly thick pillow of a predetermined thickness and stiffness is most often not the most desirable solution for every person's sleeping condition.

DESCRIPTION OF RELEVANT ART

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,248, issued to O'Sullivan on Sep. 6, 1988 for HEALTH PILLOW CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD THEREFOR, discloses a health pillow construction for receiving the head and neck of the user in a resting position. A cover has a first and second wall and a partition interposed between the first and second walls so as to define a first and second chamber, respectively. Soft filler material is enclosed within the first chamber for supporting the head. Enclosed within the second chamber is a firm neck support member which is slidably moveable within the second chamber, so that the neck support member can easily be shifted from one position to another within the chamber. This enables the user to adapt the pillow to provide firm support for the neck while providing satisfactory head support. The neck support member is preferably in a cylindrical roll shape and is of a firm material, such as hard latex, or polyester fiber tightly packed within a covered fabric. The neck roll preferably has a diameter approximately in the range of 20 to 30 percent of its height.

[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 8,650,683, issued to Parnham on Feb. 18, 2014 for PILLOW, discloses a pillow having an outer cover having a first side and a second side that define therebetween a space for receiving pillow filling. First and second partition walls extend between the first side and the second side to divide the space into first, second, and third chambers, respectively. A closable access mechanism provides access to the first, second, and third chambers so that pillow filling can be selectively added to or removed from any of the chambers to adjust the firmness of portions of the pillow.

[0015] United States Published Patent Application No. 2020/0107657 for DUAL-SIDED HYBRID MATERIAL PILLOW, published Apr. 9, 2020 on application by Kautz, et al. discloses a dual-sided pillow with an outer case, a semi-permeable barrier, a first fill compartment, and a second fill compartment. Said first fill compartment is preferably filled with a first fill material preferably being a polyester fiber faux down and said second fill compartment filled with a second fill material preferably being a polyester memory foam. The preferred embodiment utilizes a serged stitching, along its outer perimeter. The dual-sided pillow provides pressure relief for the cervical spine. The dual-sided pillow enables a user to attain a neutrally aligned spinal position and comfort while the user sleeps on his or her back and allows a user to immediately convert his or her pillow to enable a user to alleviate medical problems by sleeping on his or her side.

[0016] United States Published Patent Application No. 2016/0260362 for SYSTEMS AND METHODS IN SUPPORT OF BEDDING SELECTION AT A RETAIL LOCATION, published Sep. 8, 2016 on application by Alletto discloses a system and method that includes a plurality of differently configured pillows; and a plurality of pillow cover napkins each configured to rest upon one of the pillows in acting as a cleanliness barrier for a person's head resting on the pillow. The napkin is placed by the user atop the selected pillow in sampling mattresses. The napkin acts as a cleanliness barrier between the user's head and the sampled bedding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0017] In accordance with the invention, there is provided a set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows sold as a bundle for use in locations that accommodate a periodic changing or replacement of clientele, such as hotels, motels, hospitals, military barracks, college dormitories, and the like. A first substantially rectangular pillow has upper and lower borders as well as two side borders. A longitudinal partition is disposed parallel to the upper border and the lower border extending between side borders and extends entirely through the thickness of the first pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of the first pillow. A first quantity of material fills the upper portion of the first pillow and a second quantity of material fills the lower portion of the first pillow, so that the upper portion of the first pillow has a first thickness, and the lower portion of the first pillow has a second thickness. A second substantially rectangular pillow is substantially identical to the first pillow, but the upper portion of the second pillow has a third thickness and the lower portion of said second pillow has a fourth thickness, the first thickness being less than the third thickness and the second thickness being less than the fourth thickness.

[0018] Labels are provided in different colors, blue for men and pink for women. A tag is sewn onto one end of the upper portion of the pillow to indicate S (small) and M (medium) and onto one end of the lower portion to indicate L (large) and XL (extra-large). Alternatively, other captions can be used, such as "Comfort Level 1," "Comfort Level 2," "Comfort Level 3," etc. to identify different sizes. These labels match standard shirt sizes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0019] A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawing, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent detailed description, in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a person's head, neck, and shoulders;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a pillow in accordance with the invention; and

[0022] FIG. 3 is an end view of two pillows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023] Although the following detailed description contains specific details for the purposes of illustration, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention described below are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention.

[0024] A set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows is provided. A first substantially rectangular pillow has upper and lower borders as well as two side borders. A longitudinal partition is disposed parallel to the upper border and the lower border extending between side borders and extends entirely through the thickness of the first pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of the first pillow. A first quantity of material fills the upper portion of the first pillow and a second quantity of material fills the lower portion of the first pillow, so that the upper portion of the first pillow has a first thickness, and the lower portion of the first pillow has a second thickness. A second substantially rectangular pillow is substantially identical to the first pillow, but the upper portion of the second pillow has a third thickness and the lower portion of said second pillow has a fourth thickness, the first thickness being less than the third thickness and the second thickness being less than the fourth thickness.

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic view of a person's head, neck, and shoulders is shown at reference numeral 10. Head 12, neck 14, and shoulder 16 are depicted in silhouette. The approximate distance between the person's neck 14 and shoulder 16, measured from the base of the neck 14 to the outside tip of the humerus bone is indicated by the dimension SS. The approximate, average dimension SS for women and men is shown in the Table, below, correlating to small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes, as are typically found in shirts.

TABLE-US-00001 Table of Neck-to-Shoulder Dimensions (SS) and Shirt Sizes Women Men XL L M S XL L M S 6.25'' 5.25'' 4.25'' 3.25'' 7.25'' 6.25'' 5.25'' 4.25''

[0026] It should be understood, however, that not all men have larger neck-to-shoulder dimensions than all women. Accordingly, the depiction shown in the Table above need not be limited to smaller women and larger men. The dimensions be applied to smaller and larger women and smaller and larger men, as appropriate. Comfort levels, discussed hereinbelow, can also be used to distinguish the size of pillows based on the dimensions shown in the Table.

[0027] Referring now also to FIG. 2, a plan view of one of the inventive bed pillows is identified generally by reference numeral 20. In the preferred embodiment, pillow 20 is substantially rectangular, having an upper border 22 and lower border 24 parallel to each other. Other boundary configurations and shapes can also be provided without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0028] Pillow 20 can be sized for single-, full-, queen-, and king-sized beds, not shown, on which the pillow 20 is to be placed.

[0029] Proximal side border 26 is attached to upper and lower borders 22, 24, as is distal side border 28. Bisecting the region between upper and lower borders 22, 24 is a fabric partition 30 that extends between proximal and distal side borders 26, 28. Partition 30 is sewn entirely through the thickness of pillow 20, forming an upper and a lower portion thereof.

[0030] A first quantity of fibrous down feathers, not shown, fills the upper portion of the pillow and a second quantity of fibrous down feathers or other conventional material, such as polyester, synthetic foam, memory foam, or combinations thereof, fills the lower portion of pillow 20, so the upper portion of pillow 20 has a first thickness and stiffness and the lower portion of pillow 20 has a second thickness and/or stiffness.

[0031] Referring now to FIG. 3, an end view of two pillows is shown. Because a woman's distance from neck to shoulder is usually less than the equivalent distance for a man, end view of the left pillow shown in this FIG. 3 is assumed to be a woman's pillow and end view of the right pillow is assumed to be a man's pillow. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, woman's pillow is dyed pink and man's pillow is dyed blue or tags 33, 37 can be attached, including women's and men's specific shirt sizes or relative sizes, respectively, and being colored as aforementioned. Of course, other colors can be chosen to differentiate the man's pillow from the woman's.

[0032] Alternatively, or in addition, labels 32 and 34 attached to proximal side border of woman's pillow can represent the thickness of the upper portion and lower portion of pillow, such as S and M or L and XL, respectively. Similarly, labels 36 and 38 attached to proximal side border of man's pillow can indicate the thickness of the upper portion and lower portion of pillow, such as S and M or L and XL. Alternatively, other captions can be used, such as "Comfort Level 1," "Comfort Level 2," "Comfort Level 3," etc. to identify different sizes for different body types based on frame size regardless of the user's gender. The proximal side borders of woman's and man's pillow, not shown, can also be consistently labeled.

[0033] Accordingly, in a typical motel bedroom, four pillows would be provided on a single-, double-, queen-, or king-sized bed: two to accommodate a woman and two to accommodate a man.

[0034] Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, this invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of this disclosure and covers all changes and modifications which does not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

[0035] Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

Claims

1. A set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows provided as a single bundle for use in a location that accommodates a periodic changing or replacement of clientele chosen from a set of locations consisting of: hotels, motels, hospitals, military barracks, and college dormitories, the set comprising: a) a first substantially rectangular pillow having a longitudinal upper border having a proximal end and a distal end; b) a longitudinal lower border parallel to said longitudinal upper border, said longitudinal lower border having a proximal end and a distal end, each of said ends being oppositely disposed to said longitudinal upper border proximal end and said longitudinal upper border distal end, respectively: c) a first side border connected to said proximal ends of said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border; d) a second side border connected to said distal ends of said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border; e) a longitudinal partition parallel to said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border extending between said first and second side borders and extending entirely through the thickness of the first pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of said first pillow; and f) a first quantity of material filling said upper portion of said first pillow and a second quantity of material filling said lower portion of said first pillow; whereby said upper portion of said first pillow has a first thickness and said lower portion of said first pillow has a second thickness; g) a second substantially rectangular pillow having a longitudinal upper border having a proximal end and a distal end, a longitudinal lower border parallel to said longitudinal upper border, said longitudinal lower border having a proximal end and a distal end, each of said ends being oppositely disposed to said longitudinal upper border proximal end and said longitudinal upper border distal end, respectively, a first side border connected to said proximal ends of said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border, a second side border connected to said distal ends of said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border, a longitudinal partition parallel to said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border extending between said first and second side borders and extending entirely through the thickness of the second pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of said second pillow; and h) a first quantity of material filling said upper portion of said second pillow and a second quantity of material filling said lower portion of said second pillow; whereby said upper portion of said second pillow has a third thickness and said lower portion of said second pillow has a fourth thickness, and wherein said first thickness is less than said third thickness and said second thickness is less than said fourth thickness.

2. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first and third quantities of material have a greater durometer than said second and fourth quantities of material, respectively.

3. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 1, wherein said first thickness is approximately 3'' and said third thickness is approximately 7''.

4. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 1, wherein said second thickness is approximately 3'' and said fourth thickness is approximately 7''.

5. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 1, wherein said materials are chosen from a set of materials consisting of: fibrous down feathers; polyester, synthetic foam; memory foam; and combinations thereof.

6. A set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows comprising: a) a first substantially rectangular pillow having an upper border having a proximal end and a distal end; b) a lower border having a proximal end and a distal end, each of said ends being oppositely disposed to said upper border proximal end and said upper border distal end, respectively; c) a first side border connected to said proximal ends of said upper border and said lower border; d) a second side border connected to said distal ends of said upper border and said lower border; e) a partition extending between said first and second side borders and extending entirely through the thickness of the pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of said pillow; f) a first quantity of material filling said upper portion of said first pillow and a second quantity of material filling said lower portion of said first pillow; whereby said upper portion of said first pillow has a first thickness and said lower portion of said first pillow has a second thickness; g) a second substantially rectangular pillow having a longitudinal upper border having a proximal end and a distal end, a longitudinal lower border parallel to said longitudinal upper border, said longitudinal lower border having a proximal end and a distal end, each of said ends being oppositely disposed to said longitudinal upper border proximal end and said longitudinal upper border distal end, respectively, a first side border connected to said proximal ends of said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border, a second side border connected to said distal ends of said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border, a longitudinal partition parallel to said longitudinal upper border and said longitudinal lower border extending between said first and second side borders and extending entirely through the thickness of the second pillow, forming an upper portion and a lower portion of said second pillow; and h) a first quantity of material filling said upper portion of said second pillow and a second quantity of material filling said lower portion of said second pillow; whereby said upper portion of said second pillow has a third thickness and said lower portion of said second pillow has a fourth thickness, and wherein said first thickness is less than said third thickness and said second thickness is less than said fourth thickness.

7. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 6, wherein said first and third quantities of material have a greater durometer than said second and fourth quantities of material, respectively.

8. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 6, wherein said first thickness is approximately 3'' and said third thickness is approximately 7''.

9. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 6, wherein said second thickness is approximately 3'' and said fourth thickness is approximately 7''.

10. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 6, wherein said materials are chosen from a set of materials consisting of: fibrous down feathers; polyester synthetic foam; memory foam; and combinations thereof.

11. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 6, further comprising at least one label affixed to each of said portions of said pillows, said at least one label having at least one characteristic chosen from a set of characteristics consisting of: S (small); M (medium); L (large); XL (extra-large); Comfort Level 1; Comfort Level 2; Comfort Level 3; blue; pink; and a shirt size.

12. The set of at least two substantially rectangular pillows in accordance with claim 6, wherein said first and second pillows are provided as a single bundle for use in a location that accommodates a periodic changing or replacement of clientele chosen from a set of locations consisting of: hotels, motels, hospitals, military barracks, and college dormitories.