Body support system

A body support system comprising:

• a) a foam body;
• b) a plurality of resilient vertical members having air spaces therebetween, said resilient vertical members each being independently deformable;
• c) an elastomeric member disposed over said resilient vertical members and in contact therewith,
• d) an air-permeable layer disposed over said elastomeric member, and
• e) a cover providing an interface between said body support member and a user;
• said foam body, plurality of vertical members, elastomeric member, air-permeable and cover being in cooperative assembly such that when a user exerts a force on said body support member, the force causes air to flow from said air spaces between said resilient vertical members to a region above said elastomeric layer and through said air-permeable layer to said interface with the user.

A body support system comprising:

• a first layer having resilience and flow properties for damping and distributing applied forces from the weight of a user's body and to reduce shear on said body;
• and
• a second layer located beneath said first layer and in operative communication therewith, said second layer having a region with a boundary, a plurality of structures deformable and responsive to compressive forces spaced about in said region, said region also forming a fluid reservoir, and a plurality of fluid passages communicating said fluid reservoir beyond said boundary and beyond said first layer for thermal effects;
• and
• wherein structures of said plurality of structures are each generally independent of one another and are responsive to localized forces when applied forces on said first layer are absent, and when applied forces are present on said first layer, said first layer distributes said applied forces such that structures under said applied forces as well as neighboring structures are exposed to compressive forces.