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:
Oct. 06, 1998
Filed:
Mar. 17, 1997
Joseph Benson, South Lyon, MI (US);
Schukra of North America Ltd., Windsor, CA;
Abstract
The apparatus stimulates the muscles of the a seat occupant. The apparatus includes a flexible supporting element adapted to be coupled to a seat for movement relative thereto and driving means for automatically and repeatedly moving the flexible supporting element through an adjustment cycle. The adjustment cycle includes a plurality of first incremental movements in a first direction followed by a plurality of second incremental movements in a second direction. Each of the first and second incremental movements are separated by a first time interval. The method relieves muscle fatigue in a seat occupant by incrementally adjusting the curvature of the supporting element and generally includes the steps of placing a supporting element in a first position operatively engaging a muscle of the seat occupant wherein the first position defines a first degree of curvature of the supporting element. The method further includes automatically adjusting the curvature of the supporting element according to an adjustment cycle that includes maintaining the first degree of curvature for a first time period, increasing the degree of curvature a first amount after the first time period to define a second degree of curvature, maintaining the second degree of curvature for a second time period, and decreasing the degree of curvature of the supporting element a second amount after the second time period to define a third degree of curvature wherein the first time period is equal to the second time period.