Sliding leg pillow

Abstract

A thigh supporting pillow includes a thigh sleeve, a wedge-shaped pillow, and one or more attachments for securing the pillow to the sleeve. The sleeve may be a continuous band or a sheet that may be rolled around a thigh. The pillow may be a foam pillow, inflatable pillow or a pillow slip encasing supportive filler material (e.g., down, polyester, buckwheat or plastic particles). The wedge shaped pillow fits between a wearer's crotch and thigh without reaching the knees. The pillow maintains proper alignment of the hips while side-sleeping.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A thigh supporting pillow assembly comprising
 a sleeve sized to receive a thigh of a wearer, said sleeve having a hollow frustum shape with a distal opening, a proximal opening opposite the distal opening, and a central longitudinal axis extending from said proximal opening to said distal opening, said distal opening having a first diameter and said proximal opening having a second diameter, the second diameter being greater than the first diameter, a length of the sleeve measured from the center of the proximal opening to the center of the distal opening being less than a distance from a crotch of the wearer to a knee of the wearer, and   a thigh supporting pillow attached to the sleeve, said pillow being a hexahedron with a distal end, a proximal end and a longitudinal axis extending from said proximal end to said distal end, the longitudinal axis of the thigh supporting pillow being coplanar with the central longitudinal axis of the sleeve, the distal end of the thigh supporting pillow being adjacent to the distal opening of the sleeve, and the proximal end of the thigh supporting pillow being adjacent to the proximal opening of the sleeve, and the distal end having a first width and the proximal end having a second width, and said second width being less than the first width, and a length of the thigh supporting pillow measured from the distal end to the proximal end being less than the length of the sleeve, and   an attachment attaching the thigh supporting pillow to the sleeve.   
     
     
         2 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , said sleeve comprising a continuous band. 
     
     
         3 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , said sleeve comprising a resilient material that is stretchable circumferentially. 
     
     
         4 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , said first diameter being about 0.6 to 0.9 times the second diameter. 
     
     
         5 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , said sleeve further comprising an inner surface, an outer surface and a continuous nonslip band attached to the inner surface of said sleeve, said nonslip band comprising a resilient elastomer. 
     
     
         6 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , said sleeve comprising a sheet of flexible textile fabric wrapped into a hollow frustum shape, a plurality of straps extending from the sheet and a plurality of hook and loop fastening elements attached to said straps, said hook and loop fastening elements releasably coupling the plurality of straps to maintain the sheet in the hollow frustum shape. 
     
     
         7 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the attachment comprising a pillowcase attached to the sleeve and configured to receive the thigh supporting pillow, said pillowcase including an opening through which the thigh supporting pillow is received in the pillowcase. 
     
     
         8 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the attachment comprising a pillowcase attached to the sleeve and configured to receive the thigh supporting pillow, said pillowcase including an opening through which the thigh supporting pillow is received in the pillowcase. 
     
     
         9 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 8 , the pillowcase further including a closure over the opening through which the thigh supporting pillow is received in the pillowcase. 
     
     
         10 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 8 , the thigh supporting pillow including a first hook and loop fastener strip, and the pillowcase including an interior surface with a second hook and loop fastener strip configured to releasably engage the first hook and loop fastener strip when the thigh supporting pillow is received in the pillowcase. 
     
     
         11 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the attachment comprising a first hook and loop fastener strip attached to the sleeve and a second hook and loop fastener strip attached to the thigh supporting pillow and configured to releasably engage the first hook and loop fastener strip when the thigh supporting pillow is placed upon the sleeve with the first hook and loop fastener strip pressed against the second hook and loop fastener strip. 
     
     
         12 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the thigh supporting pillow comprising a foam cushion. 
     
     
         13 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the thigh supporting pillow comprising an inflatable bladder and an oral inflation valve fluidly coupled to the inflatable bladder. 
     
     
         14 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 13 , the oral inflation valve including a valve stem, a resilient flap valve, a cap, and a hinge connecting the cap to the valve stem. 
     
     
         15 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 13 , further comprising a pillowcase containing the inflatable bladder. 
     
     
         16 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 13 , the inflatable bladder comprising a plurality of air impermeable panels joined together to form a hexahedron shape when inflated, with six side panels and rounded corners between abutting side panels. 
     
     
         17 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the first width being about 1.5 to 3.0 times the second width. 
     
     
         18 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 17 , the first width being about 3 to 5 inches. 
     
     
         19 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 18 , the length of the thigh supporting pillow being about 7 to 10 inches. 
     
     
         20 . The thigh supporting pillow assembly according to  claim 1 , the attachment comprising
 a pillowcase attached to the sleeve and configured to receive the thigh supporting pillow, said pillowcase including an opening through which the thigh supporting pillow is received in the pillowcase;   a first magnet attached to the thigh supporting pillow, and the pillowcase including an interior surface with a magnetically attracted element configured to releasably engage the first magnet when the thigh supporting pillow is received in the pillowcase.