(12) United States Patent
`Comfort
`
`US006408468B1
`(10) Patent N0.:
`US 6,408,468 B1
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Jun. 25, 2002
`
`(54) PILLOW TO FACILITATE HEARING
`
`3,141,179 A * 7/1964 McLean ...................... .. 5/636
`
`(76) Inventor; Kristen Comfort, 816 Placek Dr”
`Johnson City, NY (US) 13790
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U'S'C' 154(k)) by 0 days'
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/907,865
`(22) Filed:
`Jul. 19, 2001
`
`7
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................ .. A47G 9/10
`(52) US Cl- ---------------------- -- 5/636; 5/638; 5/639; 5/498
`(58) Field of Search .......................... .. 5/636, 638, 639,
`5/490
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`Us‘ PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,375,112 A * 3/1983 Leonhart . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 5/490
`
`5,095,569 A * 3/1992 Glenn ......................... .. 5/482
`5,848,448 A 12/1998 Boyd
`6,006,380 A 12/1999 Sramek
`6230350 B1
`5/2001 Goldstem
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner—Michael F. Trettel
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—SalZman & Levy
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`
`ApilloW that has an upper and a lower major surface and at
`least one hole for receiving a user’s ear_ The hole extends
`through the entire thickness of the pilloW from the upper to
`the lower surface of the pilloW. The pilloW can be ?lled With
`conventional, resilient materials, or it can be an in?atable
`pilloW ?lled With air. A pilloWcase ?ts over the pilloW With
`holes corresponding to the holes in the pilloW. The pilloW
`case can also have a soft mesh material Within the hole,‘ or
`the entire p1lloWcase can be made of a soft mesh material.
`
`1,580,210 A * 4/1926 McCulloch .................. .. 5/636
`2,295,906 A * 9/1942 Lacour ................... .. 310/68 D
`
`5 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
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`US 6,408,468 B1
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`PILLOW TO FACILITATE HEARING
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`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to a pillow for the hard of
`hearing and, more particularly, to a pillow having holes that
`form channels going through the entire thickness of the
`pilloW.
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Hearing impaired individuals obviously endure the trials
`and tribulations of daily life With more difficulty than do
`people With better hearing. With exception of hearing aids,
`not many products are available that are designed speci?
`cally for those Who are hard of hearing. These groups of
`people face challenges in their daily life due to numerous
`loW sound level and/or cacophonous circumstances. In addi
`tion to people Who are hearing impaired in both ears, many
`individuals are hard of hearing in only one ear. Since many
`of these people do not Wear any type of hearing aid, they are
`limited to hearing accurately from only one ear.
`A major problem for people Who are hard of hearing in
`one ear occurs When they use pilloWs. In particular, When a
`person lies on his or her side With the less functional ear
`faced upWard, the properly functioning ear is in contact With
`the pilloW. Due to the seal the good ear makes With the
`pilloW or pilloWcase, air is not able to carry sound Waves to
`that ear. In this position, the person has dif?culty hearing at
`all because the less functional ear is exposed to sound Waves
`that it cannot hear, While the ear that functions properly is
`not exposed to sound Waves.
`Even people With no hearing handicap can bene?t from
`using both of their ears. This invention, therefore, is not
`limited to the hard of hearing, as any person can use and gain
`a hearing advantage from the inventive pilloW. The use of
`the term “hard of hearing” is intended herein to mean both
`individuals Who are in fact hard of hearing, and those Who
`have no hearing handicap.
`There are numerous circumstances Where lack of hearing
`While lying doWn can inconvenience the person or cause
`serious and dangerous problems. Oftentimes, for example,
`only one side of the head is placed on a pilloW While
`Watching television or listening to music from a bed or a
`couch. This situation requires the hard of hearing individual
`to sacri?ce either comfort, or the ability to hear the televi
`sion program or musical piece.
`Another instance When a hard of hearing person can
`experience dif?culty hearing While lying doWn occurs When
`a telephone rings. Most hearing-impaired individuals have
`telephones that alert the person being called by producing a
`sound and not by visual means. This can cause hard of
`hearing people not to knoW When their telephone is ringing,
`and thus miss a phone call.
`A more serious and potential dangerous problem occurs
`While a hard of hearing person is lying doWn and a smoke
`or carbon monoxide alarm sounds. Even the high-pitched
`sound of a smoke alarm can go unheard by someone Whose
`properly functioning ear is ?ush against a pilloW or pilloW
`case. The sound Waves that are produced by the alarm travel
`through the air and are received by the ear, if the ear is
`functioning properly. When someone is hard of hearing, of
`course, the sound may not be heard. The purpose of any
`audible alarm is lost When the sound it produces cannot be
`heard by the people that it is attempting to alert.
`It is also extremely common for all types of individuals to
`set an alarm clock in order to Wake themselves. People are
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`generally not concerned about the orientation in Which they
`sleep because, almost Without fail, their alarm clock Wakes
`them up at a pre selected time. Their ability to hear the alarm
`clock thus enables them to aWaken. Waking up to the sound
`of an alarm clock is often a dif?cult task to ask of hard of
`hearing people. For these people to be able to hear their
`alarm clocks, they must sleep With their properly function
`ing ear upWard, While their loW functioning ear faces the
`opposite horiZontal direction (sleeping on their stomach or
`back), or in contact With the pilloW (sleeping on their side).
`As aforementioned, even those With so-called normal
`hearing in both ears are reduced to hearing sounds received
`by only one ear When the other is covered. Thus, there Would
`be an advantage to all people to hear With both ears When
`reclining on a pilloW.
`
`DISCUSSION OF RELEVANT ART
`
`US. Pat. No. 6,006,380, issued to Shame on Dec. 28,
`1999 for ADJUSTABLE CERVICAL PILLOW WITH
`DEPRESSIONS FOR A USER’S EAR, discloses an adjust
`able cervical pilloW, With beauti?cation properties, for sup
`porting the head and neck of a person. An upper portion
`includes a central depression for accepting the back or side
`of the person’s head, and a plurality of depressions for
`accepting the person’s ear during use. The depressions for
`accepting an ear are disposed only in the upper portion, and
`do not penetrate the loWer portion of the pilloW.
`In US. Pat. No. 5,848,448, issued to Body on Dec. 15,
`1998 for PILLOW WITH CUTOUTS ADAPTED TO
`ACCOMMODATE THE EAR, NOSE, AND CHEEK OF A
`USER, a pilloW that does not promote facial Wrinkling or
`earaches has cutouts or Wells positioned and shaped for
`receiving the facial tissue of a user so as to prevent Wrinkles
`to the facial tissue. One cutout is designed to accept the ear
`of a person, another cutout is for accepting the nose and
`cheek, While another cutout is designed to receive the back
`of the user’s head.
`US. Pat. No. 6,230,350, issued to Gold stein on May 15,
`2001 for HEAD SUPPORT PAD WITH AIR ACCESS
`CONDUIT, discloses a pilloW for supporting the head in a
`face doWn position. A recess or Wall provides a breathing
`void and at least one air ?oW conduit extends from the void
`to the ambient air. The recess and air ?oW conduits in the
`pilloW provide air to the user to aid in breathing, While only
`the conduits extend through the pilloW to supply the air. The
`recess does not extend entirely through the pilloW.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In accordance With the present invention, there is pro
`vided a pilloW With at least one hole for accepting a user’s
`ear. The holes in the pilloW extend through the entire
`thickness of the pilloW With openings on both major surfaces
`thereof. The pilloW can be ?lled using conventional pilloW
`?lling, or it can be an in?atable pilloW With air used as the
`?ller.
`The present invention also provides a pilloWcase that ?ts
`over the inventive pilloW. While a typical pilloWcase can
`also be used, the effectiveness of the pilloW Will be sacri
`?ced. Thus, the pilloWcase of the invention can have either
`an opening, or an opening ?lled With a type of mesh material
`that aligns With to the holes in the pilloW. The pilloWcase can
`also be made entirely of a mesh material.
`When in use, the user places his or her ear over the
`opening of the pilloWcase or over the hole in the pilloW.
`While in this embodiment, an opening is adjacent to the
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`user’s ear that is ?lled With air. Since the pillow and
`pilloWcase do not form a perfect seal With the top of the bed
`or sheet, no vacuum is formed; thus, air is capable of
`travelling into the hole in the pillow. The air Within the
`pillow provides a means for sound Waves to travel from their
`source to the user’s ear. Therefore, the hard of hearing user
`can relaX With either ear, either the normally functioning ear
`or the loWer functioning ear, over the hole in the pilloW or
`the opening in the pilloWcase and still be able to Watch
`television and hear a phone ringing.
`To increase the effectiveness of the inventive pilloW, the
`user can place his or her arm under the pilloW, creating a gap
`betWeen the pilloW and the couch or bedding. This embodi
`ment produces a large area of air for sound Waves to freely
`?oW through the hole in the pilloW and to the user’s ear.
`The inventive pilloW can also be used in order to relieve
`pressure from a user’s ear While the person reclines. People
`Who have undergone ear surgery are often limited to the
`orientation in Which they lie because they do not Want to put
`pressure on their ear. The inventive pilloW alloWs them to lay
`comfortably on their side With their ear in the pilloW’s hole.
`People Wearing hearing aids or earrings also reap similar
`bene?ts from using the inventive pilloW. Since no additional
`pressure is put on their ear, the user of the inventive pilloW
`does not eXperience the pain that Would typically be felt
`using a standard pilloW.
`It is an object of this invention to provide a pilloW that a
`person can use While still being able to hear from the ear in
`contact With the pilloW.
`It is another object of this invention to provide a pilloW for
`a person Without the use of an alternate mechanical and/or
`electrical device to enhance hearing.
`It is another object of this invention to provide a pilloW for
`a person Who desires to have less pressure on their ear.
`It is another object of this invention to provide a pilloW
`case containing holes or mesh that can be placed over the
`pilloW, alloWing air to pass through the pilloWcase into the
`hole in the pilloW.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`Acomplete understanding of the present invention may be
`obtained by reference to the accompanying draWings, When
`considered in conjunction With the subsequent detailed
`description, in Which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates a top vieW of a pilloW containing tWo
`holes in accordance With the present invention;
`FIG. 2 illustrates a front vieW of the pilloW shoWn in FIG.
`1;
`FIG. 3 illustrates a side vieW of the pilloW shoWn in FIGS.
`1 and 2;
`FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective vieW of a pilloWcase
`containing tWo holes in accordance With the present inven
`tion;
`FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective vieW of an alternate
`embodiment of a pilloWcase containing tWo mesh ?lled
`holes;
`FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective vieW of yet another,
`alternate embodiment of a pilloWcase made entirely of
`mesh;
`FIG. 7 illustrates a top, in situ vieW of the inventive
`pilloW; and
`FIG. 8 illustrates an in situ vieW of the pilloW shoWn in
`cross section.
`For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and
`components Will bear the same designation and numbering
`throughout all ?gures.
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`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`Generally speaking, the invention is a pilloW With one or
`more holes extending through its entire thickness for accept
`ing a user’s ear and a pilloWcase for ?tting over the pilloW
`for alloWing air to pass through the holes in the pilloW.
`NoW referring to FIGS. 1—3, different vieWs of a pilloW
`are illustrated. The pilloW, shoWn generally at reference
`numeral 20, contains at least one hole 22 extending through
`its entire thickness 24. For purposes of description, tWo
`holes 22 are depicted. The pilloW 20 has substantially the
`same rectangular shape as a typical pilloW, but need not be
`limited to that shape. Each hole 22 in pilloW 20 has a general
`oval shape and is large enough for accepting a person’s ear,
`as shoWn more clearly in FIGS. 7 and 8. Of course, the shape
`of the holes 22 need not be oval or elliptical, but may be any
`other shape selected to accommodate user preference and/or
`manufacturing convenience. The holes 22 are disposed
`betWeen an opening 30 on the top major surface or face 26
`of pilloW 20 and a substantially equally siZed opening 32 on
`the bottom face 28 thereof. The dimensions of the cross
`section of holes 22 are substantially consistent throughout
`the entire thickness 24 of pilloW 20. The pilloW 20 is ?lled
`either by conventional ?lling (foam, feathers, polyethylene,
`etc.), not shoWn, or With air.
`NoW referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, alternate embodiments of
`a pilloWcase 34 are illustrated. The pilloWcase 34 ?ts over
`the pilloW 20 (FIGS. 1—3) in a conventional manner. An
`opening 40 is provided on one end of pilloWcase 34, While
`the other end 42 is seWn shut or sealed. The pilloWcase 34
`contains tWo openings 36 on respective top surface 35 and
`the bottom surface (not shoWn) that correspond to the holes
`22 in pilloW 20 When pilloW 20 is properly encased (not
`shoWn). An area 38 is de?ned by openings 36. Air is able to
`pass through these areas 38 and then continue through the
`holes 22 in pilloW 20.
`The pilloWcase 34 in FIG. 5 includes an oval area of soft
`mesh 44 that ?lls the holes 36 on both the top surface 35 and
`bottom surface of pilloWcase 34. Air is able to pass through
`mesh area 44 and continue through the holes 22 in pilloW 20.
`A reason for using soft mesh 44 to cover the openings 36 of
`the pilloWcase 34 is to accommodate a person’s typical
`desire not to sleep on holes.
`The pilloWcase 34 in FIG. 6 is made entirely of soft mesh
`46. Both the top surface 35 and the bottom major surface of
`the pilloWcase 34 are therefore covered by mesh 46, Which
`provides a manufacturing advantage. Moreover, the mesh 46
`ensures that Wherever holes 22 are With respect to the pilloW
`20, air Will be able to pass through these holes 22.
`NoW referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the pilloW 20 Without
`pilloWcase is shoWn in use. A hole 22 in pilloW 20 receives
`the ear 50 of the head of a person 48 lying thereon, While the
`other, eXposed ear 52 is not in contact With the pilloW 20.
`The top major surface 26 of pilloW 20 is generally above the
`level of the ear 50 and is in contact With the user’s face 48,
`While the bottom surface 28 is in contact With the bed or
`bedding material 54. When the person props the pilloW 20
`over his arm 60 (FIG. 8), the bottom surface 28 of pilloW 20
`does not make a tight seal With bed 54.
`A sound source 56, such as a smoke alarm, telephone,
`stereo, television, etc., produces sound Waves 58 that are
`able to travel to both of the user’s ears 50, 52. Sound Waves
`58 travel through the crevices formed by the bedding 54 and
`the bottom surface 28 of the pilloW 20, to the loWer opening
`32 thereof, up hole 22, and into the ear 50 of the user 48.
`When the user’s arm 60 is underneath pilloW 20, a larger
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`area is created for sound Waves 58 to travel and reach his or
`her ear 50 more directly.
`Since other modi?cations and changes varied to ?t par
`ticular operating requirements and environments Will be
`apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not
`considered limited to the eXample chosen for purposes of
`disclosure, and covers all changes and modi?cations Which
`do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of
`the invention.
`Having thus described the invention, What is desired to be
`protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently
`appended claims.
`What is claimed is:
`1. ApilloW for permitting a reclining user to hear sounds,
`comprising an upper major surface and a loWer major
`surface and having at least one hole extending through the
`entire thickness of said pilloW, from said upper major
`surface to said loWer major surface thereof Wherein said at
`least one hole has dimensions large enough to receive a
`user’s ear, and Wherein said at least one hole is ?lled With
`sound transmitting material.
`2. ApilloW for permitting a reclining user to hear sounds,
`comprising an upper major surface and a loWer major
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`surface and having at least one hole extending through the
`entire thickness of said pilloW, from said upper major
`surface to said loWer major surface thereof Wherein said at
`least one hole has dimensions large enough to receive a
`user’s ear, further comprising a pilloWcase having at least
`one hole on the major surface thereof corresponding to said
`hole of said upper and loWer major surfaces of said pilloW,
`and Wherein said at least one pilloWcase hole is ?lled With
`a soft mesh material.
`3. The pilloW in accordance With claim 2, Wherein said
`pilloWcase is open at one end.
`4. The pilloW in accordance With claim 2, Wherein said
`pilloWcase comprises a soft mesh material.
`5. ApilloW for permitting a reclining user to hear sounds,
`comprising an upper major surface and a loWer major
`surface and having a plurality of holes eXtending through the
`entire thickness of said pilloW, from said upper major
`surface to said loWer major surface thereof, Wherein said
`plurality of holes has dimensions large enough to receive a
`user’s ear, and said plurality of holes is ?lled With sound
`transmitting material.
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