US20090038077A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20090038077A1
Application number: US12/131,121
Authority: US
Inventors: Jin Kyu Han; Il Hee Hong
Original assignee: EVEZARY Co Ltd
Current assignee: EVEZARY Co Ltd
Priority date: 2007-08-06
Filing date: 2008-06-02
Publication date: 2009-02-12
Also published as: KR100913350B1; KR20090014645A

Abstract

Provided is a sleeping posture supporting apparatus for supporting and maintaining a person's entire body lying at full length (lying on one side) and increasing breathing capacity while sleeping so as to prevent the person from snoring, thus allowing the person to have a good sleep.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0078731, filed on Aug. 6, 2007, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sleeping posture supporting apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus for supporting and maintaining a person's entire body lying at full length (a person lying on one side) and increasing a person's breathing capacity during sleep so as to prevent the person from snoring and thus allowing him or her to have a good sleep.

2. Description of the Related Art

Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping, and thus it may be a symptom indicating a difficulty in breathing while sleeping.

Air flows over soft structures such as the palate, the uvula, the tonsils, the tongue, etc. during breathing. However, the airflow is not obstructed when the person is awake since these soft structures are supported by the muscles around them.

However, during sleep, the muscles are relaxed, the airway partially narrows, soft structures vibrate when air flows through the airway, and thus snoring occurs.

When the airway is completely obstructed due to serious muscle relaxation or due to the accumulation of fat, air does not flow to the lungs, resulting in sleep apnea.

In particular, fat male adults or persons who have small jaws that are positioned back or who have short thick necks tend to snore excessively. In this case, the uvula is narrow and it is difficult to open the airway. Such severe snoring is accompanied by loud noise and sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, and lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed. In particular, a drunk person can die from suffocation since the speed of autonomic nerve reflex responses are reduced and the airway may be obstructed for a long time.

Sleep apnea causes a loud snoring sound and a reduction in sound sleep, is accompanied by daytime sleepiness and drastic fatigue in spite of a sufficient sleep time, and involves memory loss and lack of concentration due to a lack of oxygen while sleeping.

Sufferers may experience severe daytime sleepiness and fatigue, which causes car accidents. Furthermore, a long period of sleep apnea increases the burden on the heart or lungs, and may cause serious complications such as hypertension, a heart attack, or a stroke.

Snoring prevention pillows are used to prevent snoring or sleep apnea, which does not work since the pillows are not used correctly during sleep.

Furthermore, although a nose pendant or an oral closing tool induces nose breathing so as to prevent snoring, persons are reluctant to wearing such tools or a cold or a blockage in the nose makes it difficult to use such tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a sleeping posture supporting apparatus for maintaining a person's entire body lying at full length and for increasing breathing capacity and oxygen supply during sleep, thereby preventing a person from snoring or experiencing sleep apnea, thus allowing the person to have a good sleep.

The present invention also provides a sleeping posture supporting apparatus for controlling an angle of the chest in order to ensure comfort, according to a user's body size.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a sleeping posture supporting apparatus applied to a user according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a pillow of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a long cushion of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an inclination support of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.
According to the sleeping posture supporting apparatus of the present invention, a person's entire body can be supported and maintained lying at full length and the person's chest is positioned to face upward during sleep so as to expand the lungs, so that breathing capacity and oxygen supply can increase, thereby preventing a person from snoring or experiencing sleep apnea, thus allowing the person to have a good sleep.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2 illustrates the sleeping posture supporting apparatus applied to a user according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring toFIGS. 1 and 2, the sleeping posture supporting apparatus comprises aninclination support10 that is disposed on the floor and includes aninclination unit12 and ahorizontal unit11, apillow40 that is placed on thehorizontal unit11, and a pair of first and secondlong cushions20 and30 that are disposed on theinclination unit12.
Theinclination unit12 of the inclination support10 supports a user's shoulders so as to support the user's chest at a predetermined angle with respect to a bottom surface.
The first and secondlong cushions20 and30 are spaced apart from each other by theinclination unit12 so that a lower surface of each cushion is fixed byfixing units27 and37. A firstconcave unit21 and a secondconcave unit31 are formed in a surface where the first and secondlong cushions20 and30 face each other so that a user's body can lie at full length and a user's back can be supported.
A space is formed between the first and secondconcave units21 and31 so that the user's body can lie at full length when lying on one side. A gap between the first and secondlong cushions20 and30 may be adjusted according to a user's body size. Thus, thefixing units27 and37 may use a “Velcro tape”50 so as to easily fix the first and secondlong cushions20 and30.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of thepillow40 of the sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring toFIG. 3, thepillow40 is adhered to thehorizontal unit11 by using the Velcro tape in the same manner as thefixing units27 and37.
Thepillow40 comprises acover41 that can be opened and closed by azipper41 a andpillow stuffing42 included in thecover41.
An example of the pillow stuffing42 can be a wooden pillow or cushion.
Meanwhile,FIG. 4 is a diagram of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring toFIG. 4, the sleeping posture supporting apparatus comprises aframe35 that forms an inner space of the first and secondlong cushions20 and30, and is in the shape of a net with a cushion (not shown), aventilation cover36 that surrounds theframe35 and can be ventilated, and anair blower50 that sends air to theframe35. For example, theframe35 can be made of bamboo.
In the present embodiment, theair blower50 sends air to the first and secondlong cushions20 and30 and theventilation cover36 ventilates wind to the outside so that a user can lie at full length and can have a cool sleep in summer.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an inclination support of a sleeping posture supporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring toFIG. 5, an adjusting unit capable of adjusting an inclination angle of theinclination unit12 comprises abase plate13 that forms a bottom surface of theinclination support10, amovable plate14 that moves up and down with respect to thebase plate13 by ahinge15 and corresponds to theinclination unit12, amotor17 that is fixed to thebase plate13 and includes ascrew rod17athat can appear according to power, and ahollow pipe18 having one end rotatably connected to themovable plate14 and another end screwed to thescrew rod17a.
The adjusting unit adjusts an inclination angle by moving themovable plate14 up or down with respect to thehinge15 when the screw rod16aturns according to a rotation direction of themotor17 and thehollow pipe18 is elevated.
A method of using the sleeping posture supporting apparatus having the above structure will now be described.
A gap between the first andsecond cushions20 and30 and the position of thepillow40 are adjusted according to a user's body size and are fixed.
The gap between the first andsecond cushions20 and30 can allow a user's back to be supported by thefirst cushion20 or thesecond cushion30 when the user lies on one side.
Referring toFIG. 2, the user's body is placed between the first andsecond cushions20 and30 so as to lie on one side with a lower arm placed under thesecond cushion30 and an upper arm placed above thesecond cushion30 so as to hold the user's body in a user's arms.
While lying on one side, a user's upper leg is above thesecond cushion30 to be supported by thesecond cushion30 and a lower leg is under thesecond cushion30 to surround thesecond cushion30 or to stretch straight.
Power is applied to themotor17 to make thescrew rod17aturn so that the inclination angle of theinclination unit12 is adjusted for the user's convenience.
When the user lies on one side, the user's chest is inclined upward by theinclination unit12, the user's head is placed on thepillow40, and the user's back is supported by thefirst cushion10.
In this case, since the user's chest is inclined upward, the user's lungs are expanded so that breathing capacity increases and oxygen is smoothly supplied, thereby preventing the user from experiencing sleep apnea.
The user's arms and legs are naturally induced to hold thesecond cushion30 so as to naturally lie on a user's side.
The first andsecond cushions20 and30 make it possible to position the user in an opposite manner to that shown inFIG. 2, i.e., the user may lie on his or her other side instead of that shown inFIG. 2.
On the other hand, referring toFIG. 3, in summer, a wooden pillow can be used as the pillow stuffing42 in thecover41 of thepillow40. Referring toFIG. 4, theair blower50 sends air into the first and secondlong cushions20 and30 so as to enable the user have a cool sleep.
The advantages of the sleeping posture supporting apparatus of the present invention are described below.
First, the first and secondlong cushions20 and30 that are spaced apart from each other according to a user's body size can maintain a user's position lying on one side during sleep, thereby preventing the user from snoring. Theinclination support10 makes the user's chest lean upward, which increases breathing capacity and oxygen supply, thereby preventing the user from experiencing sleep apnea. Thus, the user can sleep well.
Second, an adjusting unit capable of adjusting the inclination of theinclination support10 can adjust an angle of the user's chest in order to ensure comfort, according to the user's body size.
Third, the first and secondlong cushions20 and30 can be ventilated by air flow, so that the user can have a cool sleep in summer.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The exemplary embodiments should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims

1-5. (canceled)

6. A sleeping posture support apparatus comprising:

an inclination support comprising an inclination unit supporting a person's shoulders and supporting the person's chest at a predetermined angle with respect to a bottom surface, and a horizontal unit horizontally extending from an upper portion of the inclination unit;

first and second long cushions spaced apart from each other in the inclination unit (12), each including a fixing unit that is partially fixed to a lower surface, the fixing units being spaced apart from each other from upper ends of the first and second long cushions, forming first and second concave units in a surface where the first and second long cushions face each other so that the user can be placed on one side, and supporting the user's back; and

a pillow supported by the horizontal unit (11) and supporting the user's head.

7. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the pillow comprises a cover that can be opened and closed, and a pillow stuffing that is included in the cover.

8. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 7, further comprising: an adjusting unit adjusting an inclination angle of the inclination unit.

9. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the adjusting unit comprises a base plate forming a bottom surface of the inclination support, a movable plate connected to a hinge with respect to the base plate and corresponding to the inclination unit (12), a motor fixed to the base plate and having a screw rod that can turn by generated power, and a hollow pipe having one end rotatably connected to the rotation plate (14) and another end screwed to the screw rod.

10. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein at least one of the first and second long cushions comprises a frame maintaining an inner space and is in the shape of a net with a cushion, a ventilation cover surrounding the frame and being ventilated, and an air blower sending air into the frame.

11. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 10, further comprising: an adjusting unit adjusting an inclination angle of the inclination unit.

12. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the adjusting unit comprises a base plate forming a bottom surface of the inclination support, a movable plate connected to a hinge with respect to the base plate and corresponding to the inclination unit (12), a motor fixed to the base plate and having a screw rod that can turn by generated power, and a hollow pipe having one end rotatably connected to the rotation plate (14) and another end screwed to the screw rod.

13. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 6, further comprising: an adjusting unit adjusting an inclination angle of the inclination unit.

14. The sleeping posture support apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the adjusting unit comprises a base plate forming a bottom surface of the inclination support, a movable plate connected to a hinge with respect to the base plate and corresponding to the inclination unit (12), a motor fixed to the base plate and having a screw rod that can turn by generated power, and a hollow pipe having one end rotatably connected to the rotation plate (14) and another end screwed to the screw rod.