Apertured orthopedic head pillow

Claim 2

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the aperture being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and aperture which conforms to the length of the user's neck; and the body having a generally circular periphery with a center and the aperture having a center which is spaced from the center of the body.

Claim 3

An orthopedic head pillow according to claim 1 in which the body has first and second slit bounding walls which bound a slit extending from a location at the periphery of the body to the aperture, the spacing between the first and second slit bounding walls being adjustable to vary the width of the slit and thereby the size of the aperture, such slit bounding walls being spread further apart to increase the size of the aperture and moved closer together to decrease the size of the aperture, the pillow also including aperture size retaining means for selectively holding the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted.

Claim 4

An orthopedic pillow according to claim 1 in which the upper and base surfaces are generally planar and the body is tapered outwardly from the upper surface to the base surface at the periphery.

Claim 5

An orthodedic pillow according to claim 1 in which the distance between the upper and base surfaces is in the range of from one inch to two inches.

Claim 6

An orthopedic pillow according to claim 1 in which the distance between the upper and base surfaces is in the range of from one and three-eights inches to one and three-fourths inches.

Claim 7

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the aperture being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and aperture which conforms to the length of the user's neck; and the body having a generally elliptical periphery and the aperture being positioned at a location spaced from the center of the body.

Claim 8

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the aperture being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and aperture which conforms to the length of the user's neck; and the body having a generally elliptical periphery and the aperture being positioned at a location spaced from the center of the body.

Claim 9

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the aperture being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and aperture which conforms to the length of the user's neck; the body having first and second slit bounding walls which bound a slit extending from a location at the periphery of the body to the aperture, the spacing between the first and second slit bounding walls being adjustable to vary the width of the slit and thereby the size of the aperture, such slit bounding walls being spread further apart to increase the size of the aperture and moved closer together to decrease the size of the aperture, the pillow also including aperture size retaining means for selectively holding the slit bounding walls in a position to which they are adjusted; and the aperture size retaining means comprising a first hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the first slit bounding wall, a second hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the second slit bounding wall, a slit spreader means having hook and eye fabric on an upper surface thereof for cooperatively engaging the first and second patches to selectively hold the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted.

Claim 10

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the aperture being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and aperture which conforms to the length of the user's neck; the body having first and second slit bounding walls which bound a slit extending from a location at the periphery of the body to the aperture, the spacing between the first and second slit bounding walls being adjustable to vary the width of the slit and thereby the size of the aperture, such slit bounding walls being spread further apart to increase the size of the aperture and moved closer together to decrease the size of the aperture, the pillow also including aperture size retaining means for selectively holding the slit bounding walls in a position to which they are adjusted; and the aperture size retaining means comprising a first hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the first slit bounding wall, a second hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the second slit bounding wall, a slit spreader means having hook and eye fabric on an upper surface thereof for cooperatively engaging the first and second patches to selectively hold the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted.

Claim 11

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the upper and base surfaces being generally planar and the body being tapered outwardly from the upper surface to the base surface at the periphery; and the body having a vertical section which is generally trapezoidal.

Claim 12

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a generally hemispherical head receiving aperture spaced from the peripheral edge and extending through the body between the upper and base surfaces, the aperture permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the upper and base surfaces being generally planar and the body being tapered outwardly from the upper surface to the base surface at the periphery; and the body having a vertical section which is generally trapezoidal.

Claim 13

An orthopedic pillow according to claim 8 in which the aperture has a vertical section which is generally an inverted trapezoid.

Claim 14

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a head receiving depression spaced from the peripheral edge and permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the depression being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and depression which conforms to the length of the user's neck; the depression comprising an aperture extending between the upper and base surfaces, the body also having first and second slit bounding walls which bound a slit extending from a location at the periphery of the body to the aperture, the spacing between the first and second slit bounding walls being adjustable to vary the width of the slit and thereby the size of the aperture, such slit bounding walls being spread further apart to increase the size of the aperture and moved closer together to decrease the size of the aperture, the pillow also including aperture size retaining means for selectively holding the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted; and the aperture size retaining means comprising a first hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the first slit bounding wall, a second hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the second slit bounding wall, a slit spreader means having hook and eye fabric on an upper surface thereof for cooperatively engaging the first and second patches to selectively hold the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted.

Claim 15

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a head receiving depression spaced from the peripheral edge and permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the depression being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and depression which conforms to the length of the user's neck; the depression comprising an aperture extending between the upper and base surfaces, the body also having first and second slit bounding walls which bound a slit extending from a location at the periphery of the body to the aperture, the spacing between the first and second slit bounding walls being adjustable to vary the width of the slit and thereby the size of the aperture, such slit bounding walls being spread further apart to increase the size of the aperture and moved closer together to decrease the size of the aperture, the pillow also including aperture size retaining means for selectively holding the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted; and the aperture size retaining means comprising a first hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the first slit bounding wall, a second hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the second slit bounding wall, a slit spreader means having hook and eye fabric on an upper surface thereof for cooperatively engaging the first and second patches to selectively hold the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted.

Claim 16

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a head receiving depression spaced from the peripheral edge and permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the depression being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and depression which conforms to the length of the user's neck; and the upper and base surfaces being generally planar and the body being tapered outwardly from the upper surface to the base surface at the periphery, the body having a vertical section which is generally trapezoidal, and the aperture having a vertical section which is generally an inverted trapezoid.

Claim 17

An orthopedic head pillow for supporting a user's head while the user is supported by a mattress or other support surface comprising: a body of a resilient material; the body having an upper surface and a base surface for resting on the support surface; the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an the body having a peripheral edge or boundary and an interior wall surface defining a head receiving depression spaced from the peripheral edge and permitting the back of the user's head to rest substantially in the plane of the support surface with the wall surfaces supporting the sides of the user's head when the user is lying on the support surface and the user's head is positioned within the aperture; the depression being positioned at a location within the body so as to provide differing distances from plural locations along the peripheral edge to the aperture, whereby a user may orient the pillow to select the distance between the peripheral edge and depression which conforms to the length of the user's neck; and the upper and base surfaces being generally planar and the body being tapered outwardly from the upper surface to the base surface at the periphery, the body having a vertical section which is generally trapezoidal, and the aperture having a vertical section which is generally an inverted trapezoid.

Claim 18

An orthopedic head pillow according to claim 11 in which the depression comprises an aperture extending between the upper and base surfaces, the body also having first and second slit bounding walls which bound a slit extending from a location at the periphery of the body to the aperture, the spacing between the first and second slit bounding walls being adjustable to vary the width of the slit and thereby the size of the aperture, such slit bounding walls being spread further apart to increase the size of the aperture and moved closer together to decrease the size of the aperture, the pillow also including aperture size retaining means for selectively holding the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted, the aperture size retaining means comprising a first hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the first slit bounding wall, a second hook and eye fabric patch mounted to the base surface adjacent the second slit bounding wall, a slit spreader means having hook and eye fabric on an upper surface thereof for cooperatively engaging the first and second patches to selectively hold the slit bounding walls in the position to which they are adjusted.