The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 24, 1996
Filed:
Nov. 08, 1993
James P Santos, Stowe, VT (US);
Other;
Abstract
A seat back for a seating system wherein the contour of the seat back is automatically adjusted to the spinal curvature of an occupant by a multiplicity of compressible interconnected plenum chambers which project horizontally forward from the seat back and are connected to a source of air under sufficient pressure to inflate and maintain the plenum chambers fully extended when the seat is unoccupied. The plenum chambers are interconnected by either very small-diameter tubing, or tubing having small-orificed restrictors therein for reducing the rate of flow of air from one chamber to another for introducing a time delay between movement of the occupant and inflation and deflation of the chambers affected by such movement. The plenum chambers are arranged in one or more arrays each consisting of vertically-separated pairs, the chamber of each pair being equally spaced from a vertical center-line. When an occupant is seated, or shifts position while seated, air is automatically distributed among the plenums, at a controlled rate, so as to alter the horizontal extension of the plenum chambers and, accordingly, the contour of the array(s) to the spinal contour of the occupant.