US 5,749,111 · Granted 1998-05-12
The Gel Cushion That Buckles Like Origami to Fit Your Body
Imagine a gel pillow with tiny columns inside that bend and compress when you sit on it. Instead of pushing back equally everywhere, the columns buckle inward under the bumpy parts of your body, so pressure spreads out evenly and you don't get those uncomfortable hard spots.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a cushioning material made from gel or gel-like material that contains parallel columns inside. What's protected here is specifically how those columns yield in two ways at once: by squishing the gel itself, and by the column walls buckling inward like tiny pillars bending under weight. The innovation is that buckling allows the cushion to mold to an irregular surface (like your spine) while distributing force smoothly instead of creating pressure peaks.
Why it matters
This patent solves a real comfort problem in seating and bedding: how to support an uneven human body without creating painful pressure points. Traditional cushions either sink uniformly or create hard spots under joints. By engineering gel columns that buckle strategically, this design allows cushions to adapt to body contours while maintaining support. The approach has relevance to mattresses, office chairs, automotive seating, and any product where comfort and pressure distribution matter.
Real-world use
You'd encounter this technology in high-end office chairs or mattresses designed to reduce pressure sores, where the gel adjusts to your spine's curves and distributes weight evenly across your whole back instead of digging in at the neck and lower back.
Original USPTO abstract
A cushion that includes a cushioning element. The cushioning element has a number of substantially parallel elongate columns formed in a gelatinous cushioning media. The columns are configured so that when a force is applied to the cushioning element in a direction that is generally parallel to the longitudinal axes of the columns, the cushioning element will yield by a combination of compressability of the cushioning media and bucklability of the walls of the columns. In particular, the walls of columns which are located beneath a protruberance on an object being cushioned tend to buckle, permitting the cushioning element to conform to the shape of the cushioned object while evenly distributing a supporting force across the contact area of the cushioned object and avoiding pressure peaks. The preferred cushioning media is a gelatinous elastomer or gelatinous viscoelastomer. Various configurations of cushioning elements, including sidewall supports, are disclosed.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,749,111
- Filing date
- 1996-02-14
- Grant date
- 1998-05-12
- Assignee
- Teksource, Lc
- Inventor(s)
- PEARCE; TONY M.
- CPC class
- A43B13/04
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