CN105615440A - Pillows for babies and/or toddlers - Google Patents

Abstract

A pillow for infants and/or young children, comprising an uneven deformable core to accommodate the shape of the infant's or young child's head, the deformable core comprising a three-dimensional woven layer surrounding a barrier located on the outside, the barrier being impermeable to gas and liquid to prevent the gas and liquid from reaching the interior of the core.

Description

Pillows for babies and/or toddlers

The present invention relates to pillows for infants and/or young children. More specifically, the present invention also relates to ergonomic pillows for the treatment and/or prevention of cranial deformations that may occur during cranial formation and growth. The skull has undergone a process of growth and fixation since birth. Full cranial capacity is reached at five years of age. Thus, during periods of lactation (infants and young children) and infancy, the skull grows.

Skull deformities may be congenital, caused by disease or posture. In the latter case, continuous rest on inappropriate surfaces produces deformation, as the brain and skull grow faster in areas where no pressure is applied.

Various pillows are known in the art, the purpose of which is to exert uniform pressure on the skull of an infant or young child in order to prevent the formation of said cranial deformation. These pillows are made from a deformable core that is uneven and can be surrounded by a fixed or removable textile cover. The deformable core is molded to the shape of an infant or toddler's head. It is known that the core has, in its undeformed state, a specific area for receiving the head of an infant or young child, for example a recessed area or "valley area".

Although the known pillows are intended to exert even pressure on the head of an infant or toddler, and it is readily understood that they exert a more evenly distributed pressure on the head than standard pillows, the known The pillow does not distribute pressure in a completely uniform manner, and it is not known what features must have to form or shape the central depression to achieve the stated purpose.

However, there is an inherent risk of suffocation for infants or young children with the use of deformable pillows. It is known that the material of the pillow must be able to drain liquid quickly to ensure that the products of reflux in the infant or toddler do not cause them to choke on their own saliva or vomit. For example, Japanese patent document JP2006239047A discloses a pillow in which the upper part absorbs moisture and transports it to the lower part, which is why it empties. Materials that are impermeable, or those that present a temporary barrier to the drainage of liquids, are therefore considered completely contraindicated. For this reason, a foam-like deformable material with a high percentage of hollow interior is used, as shown in British patent document GB1299925A, which discloses a ring-shaped pillow filled with air-permeable material. In the described pillow, the liquid is moved towards the lower part of the pillow under the force of gravity, avoiding a tragic end.

However, recent studies have shown that foam-type hollow materials also pose a new danger to infants or young children, namely the inhalation of exhaled CO ₂ . It is one of the leading causes of Sudden Childhood Death Syndrome, which results in the sudden death of an infant or young child.

According to studies carried out by the applicant, the presence of hollow areas within the foam core helps to solve said problems. When an infant or toddler breathes, it draws in air from the pillow, which in turn receives exhaled _CO2 , leaving less oxygen available for each successive breath, as the air in the interior of the core is not replenished at a sufficient rate , causing the level of _CO2 to gradually increase.

An object of the present invention is to disclose a pillow which overcomes the disadvantages mentioned above.

In particular, the present invention discloses a pillow for an infant and/or toddler comprising a deformable core to conform to the shape of the infant's or toddler's head, said deformable core comprising externally located A three-dimensional braid surrounding a barrier that is impermeable to gases and liquids to prevent said gases and liquids from reaching the interior of the core. Preferably, the three-dimensional braided layer and/or the impermeable barrier has a rounded shape without flat areas, in order to make it impossible for liquid to accumulate on it, and therefore it is impossible for an infant or young child to And suffocate.

According to the invention, the deformable core constitutes the area intended to perform the main function of the pillow, the impermeable barrier prevents _CO2 gas from accumulating inside it, and the three-dimensional weave serves to allow the pillow to be free from contamination even when the baby breathes through the pillow. The purpose of transporting air to the baby's lungs. This also allows drool, vomit, etc. to be transported away from the baby's mouth and nasal cavity, which could otherwise suffocate the baby if they remained stagnant.

In one embodiment of the invention, said layer of three-dimensional material has a maximum thickness equal to or less than 8 mm, preferably has a maximum thickness equal to or less than 7 mm, and a minimum thickness equal to or greater than 2 mm, preferably has a thickness equal to or greater than 5 mm minimum thickness.

In a preferred embodiment, said layer of three-dimensional material is hollow in 90% of its internal volume, thus ensuring good permeability to gases and liquids. This permeability, together with the fact that the three-dimensional woven material is open in all dimensions, allows the pillow to be highly breathable even when it has an impermeable core, and thus guarantees without any risk of suffocation.

In particular, preferred embodiments of the invention have a permeability according to DIN EN ISO 9237 of greater than 540 mm/s, and more preferably greater than 800 mm/s. Preferably said barrier against gas and liquid permeation comprises a permeable outer covering which in turn surrounds a core of deformable material.

Alternatively, the barrier may consist of the core itself, which is made of impermeable material. Preferably, the pillow includes a depression for receiving the head of an infant or toddler, the depression comprising a curved and sloped region positioned around the mid-height ( medianheight), wherein the support region comprises a deformable material such that the slope forms an angle greater than 130° with the support region. Preferably, the support region has a thickness between 5mm and 9mm.

More preferably, the support area is flat.

Still more preferably, the pillow has a spacer element that separates the support area from the rest of the pillow. It is also preferred that the spacer element is a suture.

Preferably, the pillow is formed from a core of deformable material within a cover sheet made of a textile material. More preferably, the core is made of a deformable material such as foam.

Still more preferably, the textile material is a three-dimensional textile material, which will additionally contribute to the distribution of pressure. The three-dimensional textile material may be a polyester textile material.

The pillow forming the subject of the invention may be surrounded by a textile cover. Furthermore, the material of the textile sheath may preferably be a porous and permeable fabric.

More preferably, said angle between the ramp and the support area is greater than 135°. Still more preferably, said angle between the slope and the support area is equal to or greater than 140°.

Advantageously, the ramp forms an angle equal to or smaller than 150° with the support region in the region of the separating element.

It is also advantageous if the support region has a circular shape and a diameter equal to or smaller than 50 mm.

Still more advantageously, the invention comprises a pillow characterized in that the support area has a circular shape and a diameter of less than 50 mm and greater than 40 mm.

Preferably, the pillow has a Shore 00 durometer of between 45 and 55.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the pillow has an air permeability exceeding 450 mm/s, and still more preferably exceeding 800 mm/s. Still more preferably, the pillow has an air permeability of over 900 mm/s.

For a clearer understanding, by way of explanatory but not restrictive example, certain figures of embodiments of the pillow forming the subject of the present invention are attached.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a pillow according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section through plane II-II of the embodiment of FIG. 1 .

Figure 3 shows a cross-section through the same plane II-II of a second preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a graph illustrating the temporal variation of _CO2 concentration in different materials comprising pillows of the present invention, wherein the X-axis represents time and the Y-axis represents the concentration of _CO2 in percent.

Figures 1 and 2 show a first preferred embodiment of the invention. The pillow 1 has a central opening 2 covered at a medium height by a breathable fabric layer 21 . The pillow has a deformable core 3 which is uneven and covered by a barrier 7 against the penetration of gases and liquids. A three-dimensional fabric layer 4 surrounds said barrier 7 and on top of said layer 4 a final layer in the form of a fixed or removable sleeve made of textile material 5 , preferably also a three-dimensional weave.

The three-dimensional textile material has different mechanical properties where it passes through the opening 2 than the rest of the sheet 4 covering the barrier 7 due to the seam 6 , which insulates the layer 21 where it passes through the rest of the layer 4 .

As can be seen in FIG. 2 , the core 3 forms a recess with a rounded slope forming an angle A with the fabric layer 21 covering the opening 2 .

The membrane 21 covering the opening 2 is made of a deformable material, for example the same three-dimensional fabric from which the layer 4 is made. This deformable material reduces the pressure on the back part of the baby's skull. This is combined with an angle A between the ramp and the textile sheet 21 equal to or greater than 130°, so that the pressure is more properly distributed on the head.

The deformable core 3 is covered by a barrier 7 made of a sheet impermeable to gases and liquids. The barrier has a rounded shape in order to prevent the accumulation of liquid that may occur in flat areas. Additionally, the airtight barrier prevents the _CO2 exhaled by the infant or toddler from accumulating towards the interior of the pillow.

On the other hand, the layer 4 surrounding the barrier 7 is composed of a three-dimensional structure which is hollow in at least 90% of its internal volume, making it highly porous and permeable.

Preferably, the sheet 4 of deformable material has a thickness equal to or less than 8 mm, more preferably 6 mm, and the minimum thickness of said sheet is equal to or greater than 2 mm, more preferably 5 mm.

Preferably, the opening 2 is circular and measures less than 50mm, more preferably between 40mm and 50mm.

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention, in which parts identical or similar to those of the previous figures have been identified with the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the impermeable barrier is formed by the core 43, 43' itself, wherein said core is made of impermeable material. A sheet of deformable material 4 surrounds the core. In this embodiment, the core can also be made of a surface-polished foam-type material which has no openings and ensures impermeability.

The structure of the pillow that forms the subject of the present invention allows the manufacture of a pillow that has the ability to prevent the capture of CO ₂ inside it and facilitates the immediate emptying of liquids from the pillow surface, thus avoiding suffocation caused by the mechanical blockage of the airways. Said structure also makes it possible to prevent and even correct cranial deformities in infants and young children of different ages.

In order to illustrate the relevant effects of _CO2 , experiments were carried out in which a gas of similar composition to that exhaled by humans was driven against different materials, including the pillow material which forms the subject of the present invention. The material was subjected to expulsion of air at a rate of 25 breaths per minute for one hour. The sensor measures the level of _CO2 accumulated over a period of 10 minutes to make a comparison between the different materials that formed the subject of this experiment. Figure 4 shows the temporal variation of _CO concentration in different materials, where the time axis (X) is seconds and the _CO axis (Y) is percentage. As can be seen, the _CO2 concentration in the pillow 300 of the present invention is close to that of an air mattress with a cotton sheet 400, which is considered a material with a low risk of _CO2 accumulation, and is significantly lower than that of sheepskin 200 or made of Risk of _CO2 build-up from pillows made of polystyrene surrounded by fabric 100, which would cause concentrations of levels known to kill infants and young children from sudden infant death syndrome.

A test of the air permeability of a pillow according to the invention having a layer 4 of three-dimensional material 4 mm thick was also carried out. The test was carried out according to DIN EN ISO 9237 "Determination of the air permeability of fabrics", and values of 946 mm/s and 953 mm/s were obtained after 10 washes.

Although the invention has been described with respect to preferred examples of embodiments, these should not be considered limiting of the invention, which is to be defined by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims (19)

1. the medicated pillow for baby and/or child, including uneven deformable core, to adapt to the profile of the head of baby or child, it is characterized in that, described deformable core includes the externally-located 3 D weaving layer surrounding barrier, described barrier is anti-gas and liquid infiltration, to prevent described gas and liquid from arriving the inside of described core.

2. medicated pillow according to claim 1, it is characterised in that impermeable described barrier is with or without the dome shape of flat site.

3. medicated pillow according to claim 1 and 2, it is characterised in that described layer has the maximum gauge equal to or less than 8mm.

4. medicated pillow according to claim 1 and 2, it is characterised in that described layer has the maximum gauge equal to or less than 7mm.

5. medicated pillow according to claim 1 and 2, it is characterised in that described layer has the minimum thickness equal to or more than 2mm.

6. medicated pillow according to claim 1 and 2, it is characterised in that described layer has the minimum thickness equal to or more than 5mm.

7. medicated pillow according to any one of claim 1 to 6, it is characterised in that be hollow at least the 90% of described three-dimensional material volume therein.

8. medicated pillow according to any one of claim 1 to 7, it is characterised in that the described barrier of anti-gas and liquid infiltration includes impermeable outer housing, described outer housing and then surround the described core of deformable material.

9. medicated pillow according to any one of claim 1 to 7, it is characterised in that the described barrier of anti-gas and liquid infiltration includes the core of barrier material.

10. according to medicated pillow in any one of the preceding claims wherein, it is characterized in that, described medicated pillow includes the depression for receiving head, described depression includes bending and the region tilted, the region of described bending and inclination is arranged around an opening, the intermediate altitude of described medicated pillow, wherein said slope and the angle that in described supporting zone confluence area between described slope and described supporting zone, formation is bigger than 135 �� are filled, are positioned to this opening by the supporting zone of the head for baby or child.

11. medicated pillow according to claim 10, it is characterised in that described supporting zone has the thickness between 5mm and 9mm.

12. the medicated pillow according to claim 10 or 11, it is characterised in that the supporting zone at center is smooth.

13. the medicated pillow according to any one of claim 10 to 11, it is characterised in that described medicated pillow has shielding wire, the supporting zone at center and the remainder of described medicated pillow are kept apart by described shielding wire.

14. the medicated pillow according to any one of claim 10 to 13, it is characterised in that the described angle between described slope and described supporting zone is more than 135 �� and equal to or less than 150 ��.

15. the medicated pillow according to any one of claim 10 to 14, it is characterised in that the supporting zone at center has round-shaped and equal to or less than 50mm diameter.

16. the medicated pillow according to any one of claim 10 to 14, it is characterised in that the supporting zone at center has round-shaped and equal to or less than 40mm diameter.

17. the medicated pillow according to any one of claim 1 to 16, it is characterised in that the woven set of described layer surrounds.

18. according to medicated pillow in any one of the preceding claims wherein, it is characterised in that described medicated pillow has Shore 00 hardness between 45 and 55.

19. the medicated pillow according to any one of claim 1 to 18, it is characterised in that described medicated pillow has the air penetrability of at least 900mm/s.