US 4,713,854 · Granted 1987-12-22
The Arched Foam Patent That Makes Cushions Feel the Same No Matter How You Sit
Imagine a cushion that pushes back with exactly the same force whether you sink into it a little or a lot. This patent describes foam strips with wavy, arch-like bumps that keep pressure even and comfortable across your whole body, solving the problem of squishy spots that disappear when you move around.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a cushion design made from resilient foam strips arranged with offset arch-like segments. What's protected here is the specific way these segments are stacked and positioned so that when the foam compresses unevenly—like when an irregular body shape presses down—the restoring force stays constant across the entire surface. Someone copying this offset-arch geometry in a foam cushion would infringe on the patent.
Why it matters
This patent solves a real comfort problem: ordinary cushions compress more in some spots than others, creating pressure points and sagging areas. By maintaining constant force across the surface, this design could improve comfort in furniture, medical cushions, or seating where uneven support causes fatigue or injury. The offset-arch approach is mechanically clever—it spreads load distribution in a way that's hard to achieve with solid foam.
Real-world use
You'd experience this technology in specialty mattresses, high-end office chairs, or medical cushions designed to prevent pressure sores by distributing your weight evenly no matter how you move around.
Original USPTO abstract
A cushion is composed of strips formed from resilient foam material, and these strips provide a displaceable surface which, when deformed, exerts a restoring force that is generally constant irrespective of the extent of the deformation. Thus, the cushion will apply a generally uniform supporting pressure against an irregularly contoured body that is supported on it. Each strip is composed of a succession of arch-like segments. Moreover, the strips are arranged side-by-side with the arch-like segments of any strip being offset from the arch-like segments of the strips adjacent to it.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,713,854
- Filing date
- 1985-03-29
- Grant date
- 1987-12-22
- Assignee
- Graebe Robert H
- Inventor(s)
- GRAEBE; ROBERT H.
- CPC class
- A47C27/15
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