Pregnancy Body Pillow

The present invention relates generally to an ergonomic pillow that provides support and comfort for pregnant mothers.

Many pregnant women experience discomfort while sleeping and lying down. This discomfort can be particularly difficult to dispel when lying in the recumbent position. Many current pregnancy and maternity pillows offer wraparound solutions that favor a left or right recumbent position but cannot accommodate both sides without flipping the cumbersome pillow body around. Many pregnancy pillows also include a head pillow portion which makes it difficult or impossible for users to use their favorite head pillow at the same time as the pregnancy pillow for body support. While the pregnancy pillow may offer the desired body support, many users would agree there is no substitute for one's favorite head pillow. Further, most pregnancy body pillows offer tubular or rounded cross-sections and do not provide flat or planar profiles. Planar and flat pillow designs can offer a support profile that is better suited for some lying and sitting positions than the standard rounded shape. Therefore, there exists a need for a body pillow that offers a planar contact surface.

In accordance with some embodiments, the present invention is a rectangular pillow comprising a large cushion and cushion cover having an elongate central opening that accommodates a person.

The images in the drawings are simplified for illustrative purposes and are not depicted to scale. Within the descriptions of the figures, similar elements are provided similar names and reference numerals as those of the previous figure(s). The specific numerals assigned to the elements are provided solely to aid in the description and are not meant to imply any limitations (structural or functional) on the invention.

The appended drawings illustrate exemplary configurations of the invention and, as such, should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention that may admit to other equally effective configurations. It is contemplated that features of one configuration may be beneficially incorporated in other configurations without further recitation.

The embodiments of the disclosure will be best understood by reference to the Figures, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations or be entirely separate. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the device of the disclosure, as represented in the Figures is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of the disclosure.

The following description sets forth numerous embodiments and parameters. It should be recognized, however, that such description is not intended as a limitation on the scope of the present invention but is instead provided as a description of exemplary embodiments. Various modifications to the examples described will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the general principles defined may be applied to other examples and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the examples described herein but is to be accorded a scope consistent with the claims.

The present invention is for a pillow with a shape that is optimized for a pregnant user by providing a planar contact surface along the entire pillow body. The symmetrical shape of the pillow further allows a user to easily switch between the left and right recumbent positions without having to reposition the pillow.

As shown in the embodiments depicted, the pillow devicecomprises a generally rectangular pillow bodywith a lengthwise elongate openingalong a portion of pillow body. Pillow bodycomprises a top surfaceand a bottom surface. Elongate openingpenetrates through pillow bodysuch that two separate pillow body armsandare formed. Elongate openingis located between two lengthwise edgesandof pillow body. The pillow devicefurther comprises an opening at the head of the pillow that allows for the placement of a user's own head pillow. Each separate pillow body armandare wide enough to fit the entire foot and leg of a user on the pillow.

As shown inin some embodiments the top surfaceof pillow bodyis generally planar or flat. Bottom surfaceof pillow bodymay be generally flat. The flat shape of top surfaceprovides more gradual support profile than tube-shaped or rounded profiles. Importantly, the wide planar contact surface of top surfaceallows a user to rest their foot, knee, and upper leg in the same substantially horizontal plane while fully contacting the inner leg of the user. The horizontal plane defined by the body pillow is substantially parallel to the surface it lies on. Comparatively, the common tubular pillow forces the foot, knee or upper leg (or a portion of the foot, knee or upper leg) to be higher or lower relative to one another or that the foot, knee or upper leg is wrapped around the pillow. The positioning naturally forced by tubular-shaped pillows takes the foot, knee, upper leg, or all three out of the horizontal plane and instead places them in a plane that is oblique to a plane defined by the surface the pillow lies upon.

The wide planar contact surface of top surfaceallows for support of every portion of the inner leg and does not force the foot, knee or upper leg (or a portion of the foot, knee or upper leg) of a user to rest off of the pillow contact surface. Having only portions of the inner leg supported by the pillow and other portions removed from the pillow contacts surface, as what occurs in a tubular shaped pillow, creates pressure points at the portions of the inner leg that are in contact with the pillow. This situation, which may create discomfort for users over long periods of time, is cured by the wide planar contact surface of top surfaceof pillow system.

In some embodiments, the pillow may be oval shaped.

In some embodiments, the length of elongate openingis half of the length of the pillow body. In some embodiments, the length of elongate openingis three quarters of the length of the pillow body. In some embodiments, the length of elongate openingis between half and three quarters of the length of the pillow body. In some embodiments, elongate openingis located in between the two lengthwise edgesandof pillow body. In some embodiments, elongate openingis located in the middle of two lengthwise edgesandof pillow body. In some embodiments, the elongate openingis rectangular in shape. In some embodiments, the elongate openingis a slit.

In some embodiments, elongate openingis less than seven inches wide. In some embodiments, elongate openingis less than five inches wide. In some embodiments, elongate openingis less than three inches wide. In some embodiments, elongate openingis less than two inches wide.

Pillow bodyand pillow armsandare configured to allow for the adjustment and reposition of pillow armsandby a user.

The portion of pillow bodythat elongate openingdoes not penetrate defines a basethat is connected to pillow body armsand. In some embodiments, basecomprises a taper or rounded taper along the lower widthwise edge. The lower width edgeof baseis that edge that is opposite the elongate opening sideof pillow body. In some embodiments, the upper sidesandof pillow body armsandcomprise a taper or rounded taper.

The vertexat the baseend of the elongate openingforms a potential weak point in pillow bodythat may crack or split after repeated use and normal wear. Therefore, in some embodiments, a reinforcement patchis attached to vertexin order to mitigate wear in this area. The reinforcement patchmay be attached to pillow bodyby being sewn or stitched into the pillow bodyor attached via any means common in the art. In some embodiments, the reinforcement patchmay be a portion of the pillow bodyitself and may comprise a material that is different than the rest of the pillow body material.

In some embodiments, pillow bodymay comprise an opening that allows access to the interior of the pillow body. This opening allows a user to replace and replenish one or more types of material on the inside of the pillow body. In some embodiments, openingis secured with a zipper, hook and loop material, clasps, buttons, ties or any other suitable means.

The pillowmay further comprise a removable pillow cover. The pillow coveris the same shape as pillow body. The lower edgeof pillow covermay comprise an openingwith means for closing the openingsuch as a zipper, hook and loop material, buttons, clasps, ties or any other suitable means. The pillow covermay be made of bamboo, cotton, polyester or any other suitable material.

In some embodiments, the top surfaceof pillow bodyis angled such that edgesandandare the thickest portions of body pillow. From the outer lengthwise edgesandthe top surfaceslopes downwardly toward elongate opening. The top surfaceof headeris downwardly sloped toward vertexsuch that baseforms a bowl-like shape. Upper edgeandmay follow the downward slope of lengthwise edgesand. In some embodiments, the top surfacefully downwardly slopes to the bottom surface. The bottom surfacemay be generally flat. The gentle downward slope of top surfaceprovides more gradual support profile than tube-shaped or rounded profiles.

In some embodiments, the material for the pillow body may be selected from one or more of the following: foam, memory foam, latex, cotton, down fibers, polyester, wool, microbead or any other suitable material.

As shown in, some embodiments of pillow deviceallow a user to place the basebetween their feet and legs in the recumbent position and rest their torso between armsand. This allows a user to use their own pillow for their head.

As shown in, in some embodiments of pillow deviceprovide wider elongate openingsto accommodate different user sizes or preferences. In some embodiments of pillow deviceprovides an elongated openingthat is seven or more inches wide but less than thirty-six inches wide.

In some embodiments, the pillow devicecan be hinged upward along the length of the main pillow bodyto form an L-shape. The upper portion of the L-shape may be placed against a surface, such as a wall, chair back or headboard. This configuration provides a comfortable support for a user to sit up against in actions like nursing, burping or rocking a child to sleep.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, this specific language intends no limitation of the scope of the invention, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional aspects of the system (and components of the individual operating components of the system) may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.