Supporting device such as for instance a cushion

A supporting device comprising a space formed by a flexible envelope and filled with a plurality of elements, the elements in the space being movable relative to each other and each consisting of a gas-filled, flexible and thin-walled covering of gastight design, so that the elements are deformable for distributing a load over the supporting device, characterized in that the covering of a number of elements is manufactured from at least substantially nonelastic material, each of said elements being filled with the gas for 50-98 percent of its maximum volume and having a volume of from 10 cm3 to 100 cm3, and further characterized in that the thin-walled covering of an element comprises a heat-sealable inner layer, a wear-resistant outer layer having a relatively low friction coefficient relative to the material itself and the inner side of the envelope, and at least one intermediate layer which is at least substantially impermeable to said gas.

A supporting device comprising a space formed by a flexible envelope and filled with a plurality of elements, the elements in the space being movable relative to each other and each consisting of a gas-filled, flexible and thin-walled covering of gastight design, so that the elements are deformable for distributing a load over the supporting device, a lubricant being present in the space between the elements for facilitating a redistribution of the elements in the space through relative movement in the envelope in reaction to a load on the supporting device, and the envelope being impermeable to the lubricant, characterized in that the covering of a number of elements is manufactured from material which is at least substantially nonelastic and non-stretchable at ambient temperature of use and under a user's body weight so a maximum volume of each of said elements is well defined, and in that a free amount of gas is present in the space between the elements, allowing a minimum amount of lubricant to be present, whilst the gas facilitates a form restoration of the supporting device after the removal of a load on the supporting device.

A supporting device according claim to 16, characterized in that the buffer reservoir extends adjacent an edge of the supporting device and is of a ring-shaped design, whilst via the center of the ring an open passage is present from a first outer side of the supporting device to a second outer side of the supporting device, which passage can act as a handgrip for carrying the suppoprting device.