US2500974A - Adjustable pillow - Google Patents

Description

W65 3950 R. w. ANGERT ADJUSTABLE PILLOW Filed Feb. 5, 1 946 1 N VEN TOR.

Patented Mar. Zl, 1950 'E'ES T FFHCE '7 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful adjustable pillow.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a pillow the filling of which can be adjusted to suit the comfort or requirements of the user.

Another object i to provide an adjustable plllow that will maintain its feathers or other filling in any desired density without the possibility of the filling shifting from the center to the outer edges or vice versa.

Another object is to provide a pillow or cushion of the character stated, which is highly serviceable, and which may be produced at a reasonable cost.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of an adjustable pillow with a plurality of compartments, the divisions of which are shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l, with a section of one division flap removed to show more clearly the arrangement of the second of two flaps forming a complete division or partition.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pillow showing the overlying division flaps separated for the shifting of feathers or other filling from one compartment to an adjacent compartment.

Fig. 5 is a view in cross section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

A pillow of ordinary construction very easily loses its shape because of the feathers or other filling material being forced to the outer ends of the pillow through use, with the result that the center offers little or no support for the head of the person using the pillow, generally to the discomfort of the user. Such pillows of single-compartment construction, especially when filled with a soft material such as down, cave in quite readily from the weight of the head, such cavingin constituting a discomfort to many persons, especially in warm weather, when the walls of a caved-in pillow prevent a free circulation of air around the face.

The present invention distinguishes itself in that the pillow may be adjusted to suit the comfort or personal taste of the user, whether that person prefers a pillow that is relatively solid yet soft, or one that allows the head to sink into the pillow.

This object is achieved by means of a series of compartments separated by parallel walls or divi sions composed of overlying flaps sewed or otherwise fastened to the inside of the pillow covering, transversely of its length. These flaps are arranged in such a manner that they constitute a valve which, when opened, permits the filling material to be shifted from one compartment to an adjacent compartment and, when closed, precludes the further shifting of said filling material.

The compartments may be two or more in number, three being preferred, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which 8 represents the top of the pillow casing and 9 the bottom. Transversely of the length of the casing, there is sewed or otherwise fastened inside of it a series of parallel divisions or walls, H] and l l, each wall consisting of a pair of flaps l2 and i3, resting in a common vertical plane, with the edge it of flap l2 overlying edge E5 of flap 13. With the flaps in overlapping position as illustrated by Figs. 2 and 3, the feathers or other filling material It, cannot be shifted from one compartment to another.

The flaps I2 and I3 are elliptical in shape, conforming substantially to the contour of a normally stulfed pillow, and may consist of cambric, ticking or other suitable material. One edge of each fla may be straight, as shown at M and i 5 on Fig. 2. Flap i2 is sewed or otherwise fastened to the upper pillow casing section '8 along the dotted line ll, and the sewing extends at each end over onto the lower casing section 9, as indicated by I8 in Figs. 2 and 3. Similarly the flap I3 is sewed or otherwise fastened to the lower section of the casing 9 along the dotted line l9, and the sewing extends at each end over onto the upper casing section 8, as indicated by 20 in Figs. 2 and 3. The pillow casing itself may be of one piece, folded on its median as at 2!, Fig. 2, and sewed or otherwise fastened at its edges as at 22, or it may consist of two pieces sewed or otherwise fastened together as at 23-43, Fig. 4.

When it is desirable to shift the feathers or other filling material from one compartment to another, as in the case of a person who wants a relatively solid center portion of a pillow on which to rest his head without having the center cave in too deeply for his comfort, it is necessary only to compress the sides of the pillow, as illustrated by Fig. 4, to separate the overlying portions of the flaps l2 and I3, thereby creating a spacious opening 24, through which the feathers or other filling material may be shifted, for instance, from the end compartments to the center compartment, to produce the effect described above. After the feathers have been shifted from one compartment to another, the pillow may be 3 flattened to the condition illustrated by Fig. 2, at which the edges l4 and 15 will again overlap, precluding the further shifting of the feathers.

To effect the opening of the valve-like walls or divisions I and I l for the shifting of the feathers, it is necessary only to grasp the pillow casing with the fingers above the wall to be opened and pull up while patting with the other hand the compartment containing the feathers to be shifted through the open wall or division. If desired, a lifting means in the form of tabs, loops, or seals 24 and 25, may be attached to the pillow casing sections 8 and 9, said lifting means to be immediately above and below the compartment walls or divisions Hi and H, as shown in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing description it is plainly evident that the present invention is superior to other pillows in that the pillow described herein is capable of adjustment to suit the comfort or requirements of the user. The present invention is especially desirable for use in hospitals where the requirements of patients vary, being adjustable to individual requirements. When adjusted to the desired density, there is no possibility of the feathers or other filling shifting out of place. When the pillow is used by babies, the present invention permits adjustment to ensure an even distribution of feathers, thus obviating the danger of suffocation caused by the center of the pillow caving in from the weight of the head, a danger ever present in single-compartment pillows. It is also evident from the foregoing description that the cost of fabricating this pillow will be little more than the cost of a standard single-compartment pillow.

It is to be appreciated that the present invention may be used as a bed-pillow, chair-pillow, sofa cushion, etc., as described herein, or the pillow as described may be encased in an ornamental covering and used in any way desired.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in structural details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, the pillow and the flaps forming the compartment divisions may be rectangular in shape instead of elliptical, as described in the foregoing specifications.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable pillow comprisin in combination, a pair of panels forming an outer casing, and a quantity of loose and shiftable filling material therein, overlapped division walls substantially disconnected within the casing providing compartments, said walls being separable, by enlarging the distance between the panels, to permit the shifting of the filling material from one compartment to an adjacent compartment.

2. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination, an outer casing, and a quantity of loose and shiftable filling material therein, division walls in the casing providing compartments, said walls being separable, upon distorting the casin to increase its thickness, to permit the shifting of the filling material from one compartment to an adjacent compartment, said walls, when closed, acting to maintain the filling in the adjusted position.

3. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination, a pair of panels forming an outer casing, and a quantity of loose and shiftable filling material therein, division walls in the casing providing compartments, said walls being separable to permit the shifting of the filling material from one compartment to an adjacent compartment,

upon distortion of the casing by increasing the distance between the panels, each of said walls consisting of a pair of overlapping fiaps of flexible material free to move independently of one another throughout the major portion of their length.

4. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination, an outer casing and a quantity of loose and shiftable filling material therein, flexible division walls in the casing having margins normally overlapped for providing compartments, said walls being free of connection along their overlapped margins to permit the shifting of the filling material from one compartment to an adjacent compartment upon distortion of the outer casing, said walls, when closed, acting to maintain the filling in the adjusted position and means fixing opposite margins of said walls to opposite inner faces of the casing.

5. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination, a flexible closed casing including a top panel and an opposed bottom panel joined together along corresponding edges, a quantity of shiftable filling material in the casing, and transverse partition means within the casing for dividing the easing into a plurality of compartments, said partition means each comprising a plurality of flaps each having an edge fixed to one of the panels and each having an opposite edge, the latter edges being normally overlapped but free to separate, to render the compartments intercommunicating for the shifting of filling material from one compartment to another, upon increasing the distance between the panels.

6. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination, a flexible closed casing including a top panel and an opposed bottom panel forming a chamber to accommodate a quantity of shiftable filling material in the casing, a pai of flexible transverse flaps in the casing separating the interior into adjacent compartments, means securing one flap in depending relationship to the top panel, and means securing the other flap in upstanding relationship to the bottom panel, said flaps including free marginal edges normally overlapping within the casing to ensure separation of the compartments and isolation of the filling material in each of said compartments, the flaps by reason of their attachment to the panels being distortable therewith, to separate the normally overlapping edges and place the compartments in communicating relationship for the deliberate shifting of filling material past the flaps from one compartment to another.

'7. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination, a flexible closed casing including a top panel and an opposed bottom panel formin a chamber to accommodate a quantity of shiftable filling material in the casing, a pair of flexible transverse flaps in the casing separating the interior into adjacent compartments, means securing one flap in depending relationship to the top panel, and means securing the other flap in upstanding relationship to the bottom panel, said flaps in cluding free marginal edges normally overlapping within the casing to ensure separation of the compartments and isolation of the filling material in each of said compartments, the flaps by reason of their attachment to the panels being distortable therewith, to separate the normally overlapping edges and place the compartments in communicating relationship for the deliberate shifting of filling material past the flaps from one compartment to another, and finger grip means fixed to the exterior of the panels in close proximity to the flap securing means, to facilitate distortion of the panels and concurrent separa- UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date tlon of the normally overlapped flap edges. 168,126 Barker Sept 28, 1875 395,043 Doremus Dec. 25, 1888 RICHARD ANGERT' 5 853,049 Weston May 7, 1907 REFERENCES CITED 1,068,355 MCCOmb July 22, 1913 Th f n f f d t 1,447,288 Emmerich Mar. 6, 1923 e o owmg re erences are 0 recor 1n e file of this atent: FOREIGN PATENTS 10 Number Country Date Germany Mar. 18, 1907

Images