Adjustable seat cushion with tension limiting means
AssigneeSimula, Inc.
InventorJames C. Warrick
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bottom cushion for use in a seat of the type used in situations where an occupant could be subjected to spine damaging injury resulting from rapid vertical acceleration or deceleration. The seat cushion includes a frame mounted above the rigid seat pan of the seat with an air-permeable, flexible membrane suspendingly carried in the frame. The seat cushion is provided with a membrane adjusting mechanism by which an occupant applies tension to the membrane to lift his or her posterior above the seat pan for comfort reasons, and has a vertical displacement limiting mechanism which for safety reasons prevents the occupant from lifting the membrane and his or her posterior an excessive distance above the set pan.
Claims20
A bottom cushion for use in a seat of the type used when rapid vertical acceleration or deceleration could occur, said seat having a rigid seat pan, said seat cushion comprising:
- (a) a frame defining an opening;
- (b) subframe means below said frame and defining a plane below said frame which is coextensive with the seat pan of the seat when said bottom cushion is used therein;
- (c) a flexible membrane mounted in said frame to span the opening thereof and having a preloaded tension so that it will be deflected downwardly toward the plane of said subframe when an occupant sits on said bottom cushion;
- (d) adjustable tensioning means mounted in said subframe and connected to said membrane, said tensioning means having a latched state wherein it is operable for adjustably increasing the tension on said membrane to vertically and upwardly displace said membrane relative to the plane of said subframe and having a released state wherein any tension applied to said membrane by said tensioning means is removed;
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- (e) vertical displacement limiting means mounted in said subframe and interacting with said membrane and said tensioning means for placing said tensioning means in its latched state when said membrane is below a predetermined distance above the plane of said subframe and for placing said tensioning means in its release state when said membrane is above said predetermined distance.
A seating system for use whenever rapid vertical acceleration or deceleration could occur, said seating system comprising:
- (a) a seat structure having a rigid seat pan;
- (b) an open frame mounted in said seat structure in elevated relationship relative to the pan of said seat;
- (c) a flexible membrane mounted on said frame with a preloaded tension so that said membrane will be deflected downwardly toward the pan of said seat when an occupant sits on said membrane;
- (d) adjustable tensioning means interposed between said frame and the pan of said seat and connected to said membrane, said tensioning means having a latched state wherein it is operable for adjustably increasing the tension on said membrane to vertically and upwardly displace said membrane relative to the pan of said seat and having a released state wherein any tension applied to said membrane by said tensioning means is removed;
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- (e) vertical displacement limiting means interposed between said membrane and the pan of said seat and interacting with said membrane and said tensioning means for placing said tensioning means in it's latched state when said membrane is below a predetermined distance above the pan of said seat and for placing said tensioning means in its released state when said membrane is above said predetermined distance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.