US20020163240A1

US20020163240A1 - Cushioning device

Info

Publication number: US20020163240A1
Application number: US09/848,039
Authority: US
Inventors: Chien-I Cheng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-05-03
Filing date: 2001-05-03
Publication date: 2002-11-07

Abstract

A cushioning device includes a cushioning member adapted to permit the head or the neck of a user to rest thereon, and a rear wall surface. A guiding member is disposed on the rear wall surface proximate to an upper edge thereof, and has a first end, a strapped portion, and a second end. The strapped portion has an inner frictional surface spaced apart from the rear wall surface to define a passage therebetween. A strap member includes leading and tailing ends which are detachably interconnected by a fastening member, and a flexible elongated portion interposed therebetween and insertable into the passage. When the leading and tailing ends are wrapped around an upright support so as to be pulled towards each other, the elongated portion will be brought into frictional contact with, and will be retainingly slidable relative to the inner frictional surface.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a cushioning device, more particularly to a cushioning device adapted to be tied around a headrest of a passenger seat so as to support a passenger's neck.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a

front passenger seat

100 generally includes a seat member 11, a backrest member 13 pivotally connected to the seat member 11, and a headrest member 15. As it is not feasible to have the height of the headrest member 15 relative to the backrest member 13 tailored to meet each passenger's stature during manufacture, two height adjustable support rods 17 are disposed between the backrest member 13 and the headrest member 15 to permit multi-stage adjustment of the height of the headrest member 15 relative to the backrest member 13. However, since such an arrangement can at most permit four- or five-stage adjustment of the headrest member 15 within a certain range, the headrest member 15 cannot be freely adjusted to a most comfortable position to meet each passenger's need. Another drawback with the conventional passenger seat 100 resides in the absence of a means to support the passenger's neck, which may become sore after long driving and which may be hurt if the car is abruptly stopped or collides into something.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning device adapted to be tied around a headrest of a passenger seat so as to support a passenger's neck.

Accordingly, a cushioning device of this invention includes a cushioning member, a guiding member, a strap member and a fastening member. The cushioning member has a front wall surface adapted to permit the head or the neck of a user to rest thereon, and a rear wall surface opposite to the front wall surface in a first transverse direction and adapted to face an upright support. The rear wall surface has upper and lower edges opposite to each other in a second transverse direction which is transverse to the first transverse direction. The guiding member is disposed proximate to the upper edge of the rear wall surface, and has a first end disposed on the rear wall surface, and a strapped portion extending from the first end in a longitudinal direction transverse to both the first transverse direction and the second transverse direction and terminating at a second end which is distal to the first end. The strapped portion has an inner frictional surface disposed to be spaced apart from the rear wall surface in the first transverse direction to define a passage therebetween. The strap member includes leading and tailing ends and a flexible elongated portion interposed therebetween. The flexible elongated portion is of a dimension such that the flexible elongated portion is insertable into the passage and such that when the leading and tailing ends are adapted to wrap around the upright support about an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal direction so as to be pulled towards each other, the flexible elongated portion will be brought into frictional contact with, and will be retainingly slidable relative to the inner frictional surface. The fastening member is disposed to detachably interconnect the leading and tailing ends when the leading and tailing ends are pulled towards each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: [0007]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional passenger seat; [0008]
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a cushioning device according to the present invention; [0009]
FIG. 3 is a rear schematic view of the first preferred embodiment in an assembled state; [0010]
FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic side views illustrating the preferred embodiment in a state of use; [0011]
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of a cushioning device of the present invention; [0012]
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of a cushioning device of the present invention; and [0013]
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a guiding member and a strap member of the fourth preferred embodiment of a cushioning device of the present invention.[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure. [0015]
Referring to FIGS. [0016] 2 to 5, the first preferred embodiment of a cushioning device 300 according to the present invention is shown to include a cushioning member, a guiding member 51, a strap member 41 and a fastening member 43.
In this embodiment, the cushioning member includes a [0017] cushioning body 3 and a cushion cover 4. The cushioning body 3 has a front wall surface adapted to permit the head or the neck of a user to rest thereon, and a rear wall surface 31 opposite to the front wall surface in a first transverse direction. The cushioning body 3 is formed from a soft material, such as sponge, and is adapted to face an upright support, such as a headrest 23 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). In this embodiment, the cushioning body 3 is substantially rectangular, and has a centrally depressed curved upper wall surface 33 with slightly raised lateral side walls so that it is comfortable to rest thereupon. The cushion cover 4 is formed from pieces of fabric sewn together to constitute a rectangular shape confining a receiving space with an upper opening, which is closed by sewing after insertion of the cushioning body 3 into the receiving space. As the cushion cover 4 is configured to fully match the cushioning body 3, the cushioning body 3 can be snugly accommodated within the cushion cover 4.
The guiding [0018] member 5 has a first end disposed on a rear wall surface 40 of the cushion cover 4, and a strapped portion 51 extending from the first end in a longitudinal direction transverse to the first transverse direction and terminating at a second end which is distal to the first end. The rear wall surface 40 has upper and lower edges opposite to each other in a second transverse direction which is transverse to both the first transverse direction and the longitudinal direction. The guiding member 5 is disposed proximate to the upper edge of the rear wall surface 40. The strapped portion 51 has an inner frictional surface disposed to be spaced apart from the rear wall surface 40 in the first transverse direction to define a passage 511 therebetween. In this embodiment, two pairs of longitudinally aligned guiding members 5 are respectively provided on left and right sides of the rear wall surface 40, and the second end of each guiding member 5 is fixed to the rear wall surface 40.
The [0019] strap member 41 includes leading and tailing ends and a flexible elongated portion interposed therebetween. The flexible elongated portion is of a dimension such that the flexible elongated portion is insertable into the passage 511. When the leading and tailing ends are wrapped around the upright support 23 about an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal direction so as to be pulled towards each other, the flexible elongated portion will be brought into frictional contact with, and will be retainingly slidable relative to the inner frictional surface. In this embodiment, two strap members 41 are provided to match the two pairs of guiding members 5.
The fastening member is disposed to detachably interconnect the leading and tailing ends when the leading and tailing ends are pulled towards each other, and include two [0020] fastening units 43 disposed on the leading and tailing ends, respectively. The fastening member may be hook-and-loop fasteners, snap buttons, or equivalents.
In use, with further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the [0021] strap members 41 are wrapped around the headrest 23, with the fastening units 43 fastened in place, thereby positioning the cushioning member on the headrest 23. The position of the cushioning member can be adjusted by sliding the guiding members 5 relative to the strap members 41. By virtue of the inner frictional surface of the strapped portions 51, the guiding members 5, hence the cushioning member, can be positioned at any desirable position to support the neck of the user.
FIG. 6 shows the second preferred embodiment of this invention. The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment resides in that the guiding [0022] member 5 is in the form of a band 53 of a larger width than that in the previous embodiment to receive a wider strap member 45, and is disposed substantially at the center of the rear wall surface 40 of the cushion cover 4 so as to more stably secure the cushioning member on the headrest 23.
FIG. 7 shows the third preferred embodiment of a cushioning device of this invention. The difference between this embodiment and the second preferred embodiment is that two longitudinally aligned guiding [0023] members 55 of a smaller width are disposed substantially at the center of the rear wall surface 40 of the cushion cover 4.
With reference to FIG. 8, the fourth preferred embodiment of this invention differs from the previous preferred embodiments in that the guiding [0024] member 5 is in the form of a rectangular retaining plate 57 with two longer lateral edges 571, and includes a plurality of alternately arranged and spaced-apart guiding plates 581 of a stiff material. Each of the guiding plates 581 has a first end fixed to and extending outwardly from one of the lateral edges 571 and a transversely extending guiding portion connected to the first end to define a passage between the guiding portion and the retaining plate 57. The strap member 41 passes through the passages defined by the guiding plates 581 and is limited on both sides by the first ends of the guiding plates 581.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. [0025]

Claims

I claim:

1. A cushioning device comprising: a cushioning member having a front wall surface adapted to permit the head or the neck of a user to rest thereon, and a rear wall surface opposite to said front wall surface in a first transverse direction and adapted to face an upright support, said rear wall surface having upper and lower edges opposite to each other in a second transverse direction which is transverse to the first transverse direction; a guiding member disposed proximate to said upper edge and having a first end disposed on said rear wall surface and a strapped portion extending from said first end in a longitudinal direction transverse to both the first transverse direction and the second transverse direction and terminating at a second end which is distal to said first end, said strapped portion having an inner frictional surface disposed to be spaced apart from said rear wall surface in the first transverse direction to define a passage therebetween;

a strap member including leading and tailing ends and a flexible elongated portion interposed therebetween, said flexible elongated portion being of a dimension such that said flexible elongated portion is insertable into said passage and such that when said leading and tailing ends are adapted to wrap around the upright support about an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal direction so as to be pulled towards each other, said flexible elongated portion will be brought into frictional contact with, and will be retainingly slidable relative to said inner frictional surface; and a fastening member disposed to detachably interconnect said leading and tailing ends when said leading and tailing ends are pulled towards each other.

2. The cushioning device of claim 1, wherein said second end of said guiding member is fixed to said rear wall surface of said cushioning body.

3. The cushioning device of claim 1, wherein said guiding member is made of a stiff material.

4. The cushioning device of claim 1, wherein said cushioning member includes a cushioning body and a cushion cover for enclosing said cushioning body, said rear wall surface being disposed on said cushion cover.