Pillowcase

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of pillows and pillowcases. An uncomfortable bed pillow can be a significant factor to low-quality sleep. Conventional bed pillows commonly include a fill material encased in a fabric case. The fill material may, for example, be feathers or visco-elastic urethane.

When an individual lies his or her head down on a conventional bed pillow, the fill material is often deflected and displaced within the fabric case in response to the weight of the individual's head. In many instances, conventional pillows are deflected and displaced to an extent that leaves the individual's head and neck inadequately supported. Inadequate support to the individual's head and neck while sleeping results in the individual's neck and spine assuming an unnatural position and redistributing weight to other areas of the individual's body, such as his or her shoulders, straining the individual's neck, back, and/or shoulders.

It is desirable, therefore, to have a pillowcase for adjusting the firmness of a conventional bed pillow to provide adequate support to a particular individual's head and neck. The pillowcase of the present invention solves one or more of the issues set forth above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is directed to a pillowcase which may be used to adjust the firmness of a pillow, such as a conventional bed pillow. The case may define an inner cavity configured to receive a pillow formed of a fill encased in a flexible shell. Each flap may be foldably associated with the case along at least one of the edges of such flap to form a flexible joint along which the flap may be folded with respect to the case. The flaps may be folded along the joints with respect to the case, for example, to attach free ends of the flaps substantially opposite of the joints to the attachment region(s) on the case, thereby manipulating the case by pulling the case inward along the joints toward the attachment region(s), increasing the firmness of the pillow. The flaps may be detached and selectively attached to other locations of the attachment region(s) to increase and decrease the firmness of the pillow according to the user's preference.

In another general aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of using the pillowcase to adjust the firmness of a conventional bed pillow. The method includes inserting a pillow into the pillowcase and attaching the free ends of each of the flaps to attachment region(s) on the case to compact the fill of the conventional bed pillow, adjusting the firmness of the conventional bed pillow. The method may further include detaching at least one flap from the attachment region(s) and reattaching such flap(s) to one or more different location(s) in the attachment region(s) until a firmness of the conventional bed pillow is desirable to the user is attained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing the first face of the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing the second face of the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention with a pillow inside the inner cavity of the pillowcase.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention with the first flap folded along the first joint and attached to the first attachment region on the case.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention with the flaps folded respectively along joints and attached to the attachment region(s) on the case.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a first exemplary method of using the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention to adjust the firmness of a pillow.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a second exemplary method of using the pillowcase of an embodiment of the present invention to adjust the firmness of a pillow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be disclosed herein in detail with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2-6. For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements indicated therein are not necessarily drawn to scale, and reference labels have been repeated thereamong to indicate analogous elements. It is to be understood that such embodiments are merely examples disclosed for the purpose of enabling a person of ordinary skill in the art to appreciate and understand the present invention and shall not limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied with various changes and modifications.

The present invention is directed generally to a pillowcase 1 which may be used to adjust a firmness of a pillow 6. Pillow 6 may generally be embodied by a fill encased in a flexible shell made of any polymer or fabric known in the art to be suitable for use with the fill. The fill of pillow 6 may be made of any matter with suitable deflection properties, such as air, polyurethane, rubber, visco-elastic urethane, polyester, feathers, or other fill materials known in the art). Preferably, pillow 6 is embodied by a conventional bed pillow of queen size. Pillow 6 may be a variety of shapes and sizes, including conventional shapes and sizes, such as a rectangular bed pillow of standard-size, queen-size, king-size, California-king-size, or euro-size.

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2-4 show a pillowcase 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, pillowcase 1 includes a case 2 and a plurality of flaps 3a, 3b (for clarity, flaps 3a, 3b may be referred to collectively as “flaps 3” when unnecessary to distinguish therebetween). Case 2 has a first face 2a and a second face 2b opposite of first face 2a. Case 2 is configured to receive a pillow. For example, case 2 may be formed of one or more rectangular panels each defined by edges and made of a flexible material, such as cotton, canvas, silk, satin, polyester, rayon, chiffon, nylon, spandex, flannel, poplin, gabardine, twill, linen, or any other suitable fabric or blend of fabrics with sufficient tensile stress resistant properties to substantially resist stretching when placed under tension by the displacement of the fill of pillow 6 in response to the weight of a user's head acting on pillow 6. Edges of the one or more panels may be coupled by stitched seam, adhesives, or other suitable coupling means to define an inner cavity 2c with an opening. Pillow 6 may be inserted into inner cavity 2c through the opening. One embodiment of pillowcase 1 includes a case 2 formed of a rectangular panel of fabric folded along its width with the edges thereof coupled by stitched seam to form a rectangular inner cavity 2c measuring 30 inches in length and 20 inches in width. It is contemplated, however, that case 2 may be formed of one or more panels of any of a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate pillows of each of a variety of different shapes and sizes.

Each of flaps 3 may be constituted by at least one panel defined by edges and made of one or more layers of flexible material, such as cotton, canvas, silk, satin, polyester, rayon, nylon, spandex, flannel, poplin, gabardine, twill, linen, or any suitable material or blend of materials with sufficient tensile stress resistant properties to substantially resist stretching when placed under tension by the displacement of the fill of pillow 6 in response to the weight of a user's head acting on pillow. As shown in FIG. 1, each flap 3f may be formed of a rectangular panel, but it is contemplated that flaps 3 may be formed of panels of a variety of other shapes and sizes to be operable with each of a variety of different shapes and sizes of case 2. Flaps 3 may be foldably associated with case 2. Each of flaps 3, for example, may be foldably attached along an edge thereof to case 2 by adhesives, stitched seam, zippers, fasteners, or any other suitable attachment means to respectively form joints 4a, 4b (for clarity, joints 4a, 4b may be referred to collectively as “joints 4” when unnecessary to distinguish therebetween). Joints 4 provide flexible hinge lines that facilitate the folding of flaps 3 with respect to case 2. Flaps 3 are foldable along joints 4 such that free ends of each of flaps 3 respectively opposite of joints 4 may be selectively attached to attachment region(s) 5a1, 5a2, 5a3 on case 2. For clarity, attachment region(s) 5a1, 5a2, 5a3 may be referred to collectively as “attachment region(s) 5a” when unnecessary to distinguish therebetween.

Referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 1A and 1B, for example, a first flap 3a may be foldably attached along an edge thereof by stitched seam to a lower portion L of second face 2b of case 2 to form a first joint 4a extending along the width of case 2 adjacent to the opening, and a second flap 3b may be foldably attached along an edge thereof to a right portion RP of second face 2b of case 2 by stitched seam to form a second joint 4b extending along the length of case 2 adjacent to a right edge of case 2. In at least one embodiment, first flap 3a measures about 20 inches in width and about 8 inches in length, and second flap 3b measures about 20 inches in width and about 30 inches in length. In various embodiments, a third flap may be foldably attached along an edge thereof by stitched seam to an upper portion U of second face 2b of case 2 to form a third joint extending along the width of case 2 adjacent to an upper edge of case 2. Attachment region(s) 5a are provided on first face 2a of case 2 generally at locations a distance sufficiently opposite of joints 4 such that case 2 is pulled inwardly along joints 4 toward attachment region(s) 5a when the free ends of flaps 3 are attached to attachment region(s) 5a. For example, attachment region(s) 5a may be located on first face 2a of case 2 at distance(s) from joints 4 that exceed the distance between complimentary attachment features 5b and respective joints 4 along flaps 3. Attachment region(s) 5a may be constituted by attachment features, such as hook-and-loop material (e.g., VELCRO®), buttons, zippers, buckles, magnetic strips, or any other suitable attachment features known in the art. Attachment region(s) 5a may be formed as several separate regions 5a1, 5a2, 5a3 of attachment features, such as separate panels or strips of one of a hook material and a loop material, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, a first attachment region 5al may be formed of a panel of one of a hook material and a loop material disposed on a lower portion L of first face 2a of case 2, and a second attachment region 5a2 may be formed of several separate regions of attachment features, such as panels or strips of one of the hook material and the loop material, disposed along first face 2a of case 2 at spaced-apart distances. Second attachment region 5a2 may alternatively be formed of a panel of one of a hook material and a loop material disposed on first face 2a of case 2 so as to extend across first face 2a from right portion RP to left portion LP. A third attachment region 5a3 may be formed of a panel made of one of a hook material and a loop material disposed on a top side of first flap 3a. Complementary attachment features 5b formed of panels of the other of the hook material and the loop material may be disposed on an interior surface of flaps 3 generally at free ends thereof respectively opposite of joints 4 such that flaps 3 can be selectively attached to case 2 by engaging complimentary attachment features 5b with the attachment features of attachment regions 5a. Although the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 include attachment region(s) 5a formed of several separate regions 5a1, 5a2, 5a3, it is contemplated that attachment region(s) 5a may alternatively be formed as a single larger region extending substantially across the width of first face 2a of case 2.

Case 2 may be manipulated in response to the free ends of flaps 3 being selectively attached to attachment region(s) 5a to adjust the firmness of pillow 6. Free ends of flaps 3, for example, may be pulled over and selectively attached to attachment region(s) 5a, which in turn pulls case 2 along joints 4 respectively toward attachment region(s) 5a, manipulating case 2. Such manipulation of case 2 induces corresponding manipulation of pillow 6, compacting the fill of pillow 6. Free ends of flaps 3 may be selectively attached to locations of attachment region(s) 5a farther opposite of and closer to respective joints 4, according to the preferences of a particular user, to manipulate case 2 such that the fill of pillow 6 is respectively compacted and decompacted, respectively increasing and decreasing the firmness of pillow 6 according to the particular user's preferences.

A method of using pillowcase 1 to adjust the firmness of a pillow 6 will be described herein with reference to FIGS. 2-6. FIG. 2 illustrates pillowcase 1 as applied to an exemplary pillow 6 of a conventional bed pillow. In a first step S1, pillow 6 is inserted into inner cavity 2c of case 2 by a user through the opening in case 2 as shown in FIG. 2. In a second step S2, case 2 is pulled inward along first joint 4a so as to compact the fill of pillow 6 by attaching the free end of first flap 3a of pillowcase 1 to a first location of first attachment region 5a1. In a third step S3, the firmness of pillow 6 is adjusted by increasing in response to compacting the fill of pillow 6. In a fourth step S4, case 2 is pulled inward along second joint 4b to further compact the fill of pillow 6 by attaching the free end of second flap 3 to a first location of second attachment region 5a2. In a fifth step S5, the firmness of pillow 6 is adjusted by increasing in response to further compacting the fill of pillow 6. Following step S5, if the firmness of the pillow is not sufficient to comfortably support the user's head and neck according to his or her preference, in an optional sixth step S6, the free end of second flap 3b may be detached from the first location of second attachment region 5a2, and, in an optional seventh step S7, the free end of second flap 3b may be attached at a different location of second attachment region 5a2 farther opposite of second joint 4b such that case 2 is pulled further inward toward second attachment region 5a2 along second joint 4b to further compact the fill of pillow 6. Alternatively, in the optional seventh step S7, the different location at which the free end of second flap 3b may be attached to second attachment region 5a2 may be closer to second joint 4b such that case 2 expands outward along second joint 4b to slightly decompact the fill of pillow 6. In an optional eighth step S8, the firmness of the pillow 6 is adjusted by increasing or decreasing respectively in response to one of compacting and decompacting the fill of pillow 6 according to optional step S7. In an optional ninth step S9, steps S6-S8 may be repeated until pillow 6 is sufficiently firm according to the user's preferences to comfortably support his or her head and neck while he or she is lying down. Thereafter, flaps 3 may remain attached to such locations of attachment region(s) 5a on case 2 to maintain the firmness of pillow 6. The firmness of pillow 6 may be maintained while flaps 3 remain attached to attachment region(s) 5a owing to the tensile stress resistant properties of case 2 and flaps 3 resisting the displacement of the fill of pillow 6 in response to the weight of a user's head acting on pillow 6.

The principles, preferred embodiment, and method of using of the present invention have been described in this specification. All references cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference insofar as there is no inconsistency with the disclosure of this specification. In interpreting this specification, all of the terms used to describe the present invention should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the context. For example, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, elements, operations, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or absence of other features, integers, steps, elements, operations, components, and/or groups thereof. The conjunctive term “and/or,” or terms of similar import, shall be understood to be inclusive of any and all combinations of the items listed in connection with such term. Ordinal numbers, such as “first,” “second,” and “third,” are used to distinguish between various constituent elements for convenience and do not denote the order of constituent elements so distinguished. Further, directional terms, such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” “upward,” and “downward,” are used to clarify and describe the relationship between various constituent elements of specific embodiments of the present invention, but do not denote absolute orientation. Therefore, such terms vary according to the orientation of the present invention. In addition to the foregoing terminological considerations, specific embodiments referenced in describing the present invention are not to be regarded as exhaustive or as limiting to the full scope of the present invention. Other persons may modify the disclosed embodiments, or employ equivalents thereof, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.