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US 8,534,648 B2Granted
Load bearing surface
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorsTimothy P. Coffield, Daniel S. Sommerfeld, Joseph D. Ward
Life of this patent
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AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorsTimothy P. Coffield, Daniel S. Sommerfeld, Joseph D. Ward
Estimating the term…
An elastomeric load bearing surface with different load support characteristics in different directions. In one embodiment, the surface includes an elastomeric membrane that is oriented in only a single direction, for example, by compression or stretching. In another embodiment, the surface includes mechanical structures, such as connectors, variations in thickness and apertures, that vary the load support characteristics in different directions. In another aspect, the present invention provides a multilayer load bearing surface in which the layers cooperate to provide a controlled force/deflection profile that is variable in different regions of the surface. In one embodiment, the upper layer includes a plurality of loosely connected nodes and a lower layer having a plurality of resilient elements that separately support each node.
A load bearing surface comprising an injection molded elastomeric membrane made of a single material, the material of only a selected portion of said membrane, when in a completed state, being oriented on a molecular level in a first direction to include a crystalline structure having a greater degree of alignment in said first direction than in a second direction, the material of a remaining portion of said membrane, when in the completed state, not being, oriented, whereby said oriented portion of said membrane, in the completed state, provides different load bearing characteristics in said first direction than in said second direction, wherein the material of the selected portion of the membrane is oriented by localized stretching or localized compression of the membrane.
A method for manufacturing a load bearing surface, comprising the steps of:
A load bearing surface comprising an injection molded elastomeric membrane formed from a single material, said membrane molded to include a first portion and a second portion, said first portion being thicker than said second portion, the material of only said second portion of said membrane being oriented by tension cm a molecular level in a first direction to include a crystalline structure, that, when in a completed state, has a greater degree of alignment in said first direction than in a second direction, whereby said second portion of said membrane provides different load bearing characteristics in said first direction than in said second direction, said first portion of said membrane not being oriented.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.