Combination travel pillow/pillow enhancer

Abstract

A pillow/pillow cover combination is transformable between a relatively compact folded configuration where it functions as a comfortable stand-alone pillow for travel situations where personal space may be limited, such as inside a car or plane, and an unfolded configuration where it functions as a padded pillow cover, able to accept a standard pillow inside an attached pouch, thereby making it suitable for use as a personal pillow enhancer for enhancing a pillow provided in a hotel room or other travel lodgings.

1 . A pillow/pillow cover combination which is transformable between a relatively small footprint stand-alone pillow configuration and a relatively large footprint padded pillow cover configuration, comprising:
 a plurality of cushion panels hingedly attached to each other by hinge joints so as to allow the cushion panels to fold onto each other and thereby provide said stand-alone pillow configuration, and to unfold from each other so as to provide said padded pillow cover configuration; and   a panel of material that spans a substantial portion of the plurality of cushion panels on a side thereof and is attached thereto so as to form a pouch for receipt of a separate pillow when said pillow/pillow cover combination is in said padded pillow cover configuration.   
   
   
       2 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cushion panels comprise fabric encased generally rectangular cushion panels. 
   
   
       3 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 2 , wherein said cushion panels comprise fabric encased blocks of soft foam material. 
   
   
       4 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 2 , wherein there are exactly three fabric encased rectangular cushion panels of approximately equal size, including a pair of side cushion panels and a middle cushion panel connected between the side cushion panels so as to form a tri-panel pillow structure. 
   
   
       5 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 2 , wherein said hinge joints are provided by a fabric casing enclosing each of the cushioning panels individually, said joints providing flexible hinge lines which allow for the folding of the combination pillow/pillow cover combination in an accordion-like fashion to place the combination in said stand-alone pillow configuration. 
   
   
       6 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of said hinge joints is formed by an attachment of a top layer of the fabric casing to a bottom layer of the casing in such a manner as to give the joint a general “v-shaped” appearance. 
   
   
       7 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 6 , wherein said at least one joint is located adjacent a bottom layer of the fabric casing between one of the side panels and the middle panel, to thereby facilitate a folding of the side panel beneath the middle panel. 
   
   
       8 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 7 , wherein a second hinge joint is located adjacent a top layer of the fabric casing between one of the side panels and the middle panel, to thereby facilitate a folding of the side panel on top of the middle panel. 
   
   
       9 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 5 , wherein the casing fabric comprises a stretchable, forgiving polyester-cotton blended velour fabric. 
   
   
       10 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 4 , wherein said panel of material substantially spans the tri-panel pillow structure on its bottom side. 
   
   
       11 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 10 , wherein said panel of material is attached by a stitched seam about the periphery of a bottom casing layer of the tri-panel pillow structure, whereby said pouch is formed between the tri-panel pillow structure and the attached panel of material. 
   
   
       12 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 10 , wherein without a separate pillow inserted into the pouch, the attached panel of material lies generally flat against the tri-panel pillow structure so as not to interfere with or add significant bulk to the structure when it is folded up into said stand-alone pillow configuration. 
   
   
       13 . The pillow/pillow cover combination of  claim 1 , in further combination with a tote bag into which the pillow/pillow cover combination may be placed when in its stand-alone pillow configuration.