Head Stabilizing Pillow

Abstract

A pillow for supporting a user's head having comprising a pair of framing portions on opposite ends of a connecting portion to form a pillow body. The pillow body is made of a compressible material that conforms to applied pressure while supporting a user's head. A pair of shell structures fit into the corresponding framing portions. An adjustment strap is affixed at a fixed strap end to a rear end of one of the shell structures and extends along the connecting portion to an adjustable end to adjustably connect to the other shell structure to enable the user to adjust the circumference of the pillow around the user's head. A front closure mechanism attachs to front ends of the shell structures to connect one of the framing portions to the other framing portion.

1 . A pillow comprising:
 a pair of framing portions on opposite sides of a connecting portion, where the pair of framing portions and the connecting portion form a pillow body made of a compressible material that conforms to applied pressure while supporting a user's head,   where the pair of framing portions and connecting portion are configured to surround a user's head substantially along a circumference around the user's head to position the framing portions towards the front of and on opposite sides of the user's head,   a pair of shell structures configured to fit in a space formed in corresponding framing portions, each shell structure having a front end and a rear end, where the pair of shell structures is made of a strong flexible material;   an adjustment strap affixed at a fixed strap end to a rear end of one of the shell structures and extending along the connecting portion to an adjustable end to adjustably connect to the other shell structure to enable the user to adjust the circumference of the pillow around the user's head; and   a front closure mechanism attached to front ends of the shell structures to connect one of the framing portions to the other framing portion.   
     
     
         2 . The pillow of  claim 1  further comprising a vent opening in each of the two framing portions. 
     
     
         3 . The pillow of  claim 2  where the space in each framing portion surrounds the vent opening. 
     
     
         4 . The pillow of  claim 3  where the adjustable end of the adjustment strap is configured to slip into a loop on the shell structure that receives the adjustable end of the adjustment strap. 
     
     
         5 . The pillow of  claim 4  where the shell structures include an inner shell insert molded to fit in the space in each framing portion, and an outer shell configured to fit into the inner shell. 
     
     
         6 . The pillow of  claim 5  where the shell structure is made of a suitable rigid or semi-rigid material including a material selected from a group consisting of plastic, polyurethane, polycarbonate, and ABS. 
     
     
         7 . The pillow of  claim 5  where the loop on the shell structure configured to receive the adjustable end of the adjustment strap includes a loop strap affixed to the rear end of the shell structure and an o-ring surrounding the loop strap, where the adjustable end of the adjustment strap inserts into the o-ring and loops back to attach to the adjustment strap. 
     
     
         8 . The pillow of  claim 7  where a first area of the adjustable end of the adjustment strap facing the user's head when the adjustable end extends from the loop includes a hook-or-loop surface, and a second area of the adjustment strap facing away from the user's head on a proximal side of the loop includes a loop-or-hook surface for attachment of the adjustable end of the adjustment strap to the adjustment strap. 
     
     
         9 . The pillow of  claim 1  where the front closure mechanism includes a front closure loop attached to the front of one of the shell structures and a cord having a cord locking mechanism, where the cord is configured to slid in the front closure loop, and where a tension of the pillow around the user's head is adjusted using the cord locking mechanism. 
     
     
         10 . The pillow of  claim 1  where the pillow body is made of memory foam. 
     
     
         11 . The pillow of  claim 1  further comprising a fabric cover over a surface of the pillow body where the fabric cover surrounds the pillow body to cover the adjustment strap extending around the connecting portion. 
     
     
         12 . The pillow of  claim 11  where the fabric is made of a material selected from a group consisting of a jersey material, nylon, lycra, polyester, cotton polyester blend, and a mesh material. 
     
     
         13 . The pillow of  claim 11  where the fabric cover includes an opening extending over the adjustment strap extending around the connecting portion to enable adjustment of the adjustment strap without removing the fabric over. 
     
     
         14 . The pillow of  claim 13  where the opening in the fabric cover includes a closure mechanism. 
     
     
         15 . The pillow of  claim 14  where the closure mechanism is a zipper.