5237 results about "Air cushion" patented technology

A multi-layer cushion having a shaped base on which is positioned a resilient, cushioning layer. The shaped base is constructed from a supportive foam and has front and lateral bolsters. The cushioning layer is an inflatable air cell cushion having a flexible base and an array of individual air cells arranged in rows across the flexible base. Rows of cells around the perimeter of the air cell cushion are configured to provide comfortable transition areas between the bolsters and the air cell cushion. The cushion includes a cover that has a lower compartment for the foam base and an upper compartment for the air cell layer. The cover functions to keep the air cell layer in place on the foam layer.

An apparatus and method to position a wafer onto a wafer holder and to maintain a uniform wafer temperature is disclosed. The wafer holder or susceptor comprises a recess or pocket whose surface includes a grid containing a plurality of grid grooves that separate protrusions. A plurality of gas passages is provided in the susceptor to enable an upward flow of gas toward the bottom surface of the substrate. During drop-off of the substrate, a cushion gas flow is provided to substantially slow the rate of descent of the substrate onto the susceptor and to gradually heat the substrate before it makes contact with the susceptor. Optionally, a trickle gas flow may be provided through the aforementioned passages during processing of the substrate to prevent deposition of reactant gases onto the bottom surface of the substrate. A liftoff gas flow may then be provided through the passages to help lift the substrate off of the susceptor after processing is completed and thus aid in removing the substrate from the process chamber. These features help to achieve temperature uniformity and thus quality of deposited films onto the substrate.

Embodiments of the invention provide a perpendicular magnetic writing head with a suppressed effective track width to be written on a magnetic medium while increasing writing magnetic field gradient. In one embodiment a trailing side shield is disposed by way of a gap film to a main pole of a perpendicular writing magnetic head. A gap distance (Gt) on a trailing side of the main pole and a gap distance (Gs) on a lateral side of the main pole is defined as Gt<Gt, and a thickness (Gd) from an air bearing surface of the shield is made equal to or less than a throat height. Alternatively, the thickness of Gd on the side of the main pole is reduced to less than that on the trailing side of the main pole. Further, for preventing defoliation of the shield upon fabrication of the air bearing surface, a thickness for a portion away from the main pole is increased.

Footwear providing enhanced protection against extreme landing impacts includes a sole having an elastomeric mid-sole with elastomeric pads combined in a heel recess thereof such that the pads act in series with each other and in parallel with the mid-sole during conjoint compression thereof. At least one of the pads includes a solid gel having a relatively high damping coefficient. In another embodiment, the heel of the mid-sole is replaced by a toroidal gas cushion and an elastomeric pad including a solid gel having a relatively high damping coefficient disposed in a central recess of the cushion such that the pad is recessed a selected distance below the upper surface of the cushion. The resilient pads may advantageously incorporate a plurality of gas-filled cells, and a solid gel pad may also be disposed in the mid-sole of the footwear below the ball of the wearer's foot for increased protection.

A non-contact support platform for supporting without contact a stationary or traveling object by air-cushion induced forces, the platform comprising at least one of two substantially opposite support surfaces, each support surfaces comprising at least one of a plurality of basic cells each having at least one of a plurality of pressure outlets and at least one of a plurality of air-evacuation channels at least one of a plurality of outlets, and one of a plurality of air-evacuation channels, each of the pressure outlets fluidically connected through a pressure flow restrictor to a high-pressure reservoir, the pressure outlets providing pressurized air for generating pressure induced forces, maintaining an air-cushion between the object and the support surface, the pressure flow restrictor characteristically exhibiting fluidic return spring behavior; each of said at least one of a plurality of air-evacuation channels having an inlet and outlet, the inlet kept at an ambient pressure or lower, under vacuum condition, for locally discharging mass flow, thus obtaining uniform support and local nature response.

A method for adjusting pressure within an air bed comprises providing an air bed that includes an air chamber and a pump having a pump housing, selecting a desired pressure setpoint for the air chamber, calculating a pressure target, adjusting pressure within the air chamber until a pressure within the pump housing is substantially equal to the pressure target, determining an actual chamber pressure within the air chamber, and comparing the actual chamber pressure to the desired pressure setpoint to determine an adjustment factor error. The pressure target may be calculated based upon the desired pressure setpoint and a pressure adjustment factor. Furthermore, the pressure adjustment factor may be modified based upon the adjustment factor error determined by comparing the actual chamber pressure to the desired pressure setpoint.

A non-contact support platform for supporting without contact a stationary or traveling object by air-cushion induced forces, the platform comprising at least one of two substantially opposite support surfaces, each support surface comprising at least one of a plurality of basic cells each having at least one of a plurality of pressure outlets and at least one of a plurality of air-evacuation channels at least one of a plurality of outlets, and one of a plurality of air-evacuation channels, each of the pressure outlets fluidically connected through a pressure flow restrictor to a high-pressure reservoir, the pressure outlets providing pressurized air for generating pressure induced forces, maintaining an air-cushion between the object and the support surface, the pressure flow restrictor characteristically exhibiting fluidic return spring behavior; each of said at least one of a plurality of air-evacuation channels having an inlet and outlet, the inlet kept at an ambient pressure or lower, under vacuum condition, for locally discharging mass flow, thus obtaining uniform support and local nature response.

Disclosed is an air cushion having a support pin structure for absorbing shock, a method for manufacturing the air cushion, and footgear comprising the air cushion which does not exhibit any bulging effect, even upon application of an external pressure, to thereby improve the stability thereof. The air cushion includes: an upper plate having a plurality of support pins arranged at the same height or different height in a downward direction on the bottom surface thereof; a lower plate having a plurality of pin receiving bodies on the top surface thereof opposite to the upper plate, each of the pin receiving bodies having a groove into which each of the support pins is inserted; and a cushion body adapted to surround the coupled state of the upper plate with the lower plate where the support pins are received and fixed into the pin receiving bodies, thereby maintaining the air-tightness therein.

A plastic film bag with an air cushion has a bag body (14) composed of a front side (17a) and a back side (17b) made by folding a tubular material (11) which has a plurality of plastic film long cells (12) which are arranged and connected in parallel at substantially a center with respect to a direction of longer dimensions of the cells (12) and by fusing the folded portion at both sides (16), a flap (20) which is extended from an open end (18) of the back side of the bag body and which comprises a plurality of cells (21) which communicate with the cells (12) formed in the bag body, and air injection means (31, 32, 33) which is provided for the bag body to inject air into the cells (12, 21). When the cells are filled with air after an item (A) is contained in the bag body, the flap is pressed between the item contained in the bag body and the front side swollen with air, and the flap does not come out easily.

An adjustable air cushion bicycle seat hydraulic ram system mounted within the seat post of a bicycle with one end of the ram attached to the bicycle seat, and the other end of the ram in communication with an internal reservoir associated with an adjustable pressurized air / oil reservoir to selectively fill the internal reservoir with a pressurized air column to form an air cushion within the ram to provide the desired ride cushion.

The invention relates to a device for mounting a needle guard (4) onto a syringe body (2) that is provided with a needle (3), comprising a retaining device (5) for retaining the syringe body (2), a needle guard receptacle (6) for receiving the needle guard (4), a compressed air system (7) for providing compressed air, a first displacement device (8) for displacing the needle guard receptacle (6) in a vertical direction (A), and a rotation device (9) for at least partially rotating the needle guard receptacle (6), wherein the needle guard receptacle (6) is disposed beneath the retaining device (5), the compressed air being fed to the needle guard receptacle (6) such that the needle guard (4) is suspended on an air cushion (60) in a floating manner, and wherein the needle guard receptacle (6) can be displaced in a vertical direction (A) by means of the first displacement device (8). The invention further relates to a method for mounting the needle guard (4) onto the syringe body (2).

A water trampoline includes an air cushion having predetermined size and buoyancy; a supporting ring detachably connected to a top surface of the air cushion, and including a lower ring having a diameter corresponding to that of the top surface of the air cushion, and an upper ring located above the lower ring by a predetermined height; and a jumping bed tightly stretched over the upper ring by a plurality of radially extended elastic elements. The jumping bed is located above the air cushion instead of in a central open space thereof, and therefore has effectively increased surface area and largely enhanced bearing strength to enable safer and more durable use of the water trampoline.

A modular split-axis stage is used to inspect and / or repair large flat glass media suitable for LCD / TFT applications. Low-precision air table sections are detachably mounted to a centrally located, high-precision granite inspection / repair section. Glass media held by a vacuum contact is transported on air cushions from the up-web air table to the central inspection / repair section. Vacuum nozzles integrated with porous medium pads precisely control the height of the flexible media above the central section during inspection or repair. Embodiments includes structures in which the media is either stationary or moving during inspection / repair. A first media can be loaded / unloaded while a second media is undergoing inspection or repair in a pipelined operational mode.

A modular split-axis stage is used to inspect and / or repair large flat glass media suitable for LCD / TFT applications. Low-precision air table sections are detachably mounted to a centrally located, high-precision granite inspection / repair section. Glass media held by a vacuum contact is transported on air cushions from the up-web air table to the central inspection / repair section. Vacuum nozzles integrated with porous medium pads precisely control the height of the flexible media above the central section during inspection or repair. Embodiments includes structures in which the media is either stationary or moving during inspection / repair. A first media can be loaded / unloaded while a second media is undergoing inspection or repair in a pipelined operational mode.

Disclosed is an air-circulating and shock-absorbing shoe that protects the backbone and knee joints and provides smooth air circulation for pleasant wearing of shoes for a long time. The shoe includes an outsole formed with the firstfirst and secondsecond air chambers, a midsole and an insole formed with multiple air suction holes connected with the firstfirst air chamber, and a check valve formed in the secondsecond air chamber of the outsole. The shoe is formed with multiple concaved holes on the bottoms of the firstfirst and secondsecond air chambers, multiple air cushion projections formed on the bottom of the midsole and inserted into the concaved holes, and shock-absorbing holes formed on the top of the air cushion projections.

An article of footwear includes an air cushion sandwiched between an upper and an outsole. The air cushion confines an air chamber and has a bottom wall formed with a plurality of grooves that are respectively confined by groove-confining walls and that extend inwardly of the air chamber. The outsole includes a plurality of studs that respectively extend into the grooves and that are respectively bonded to the groove-confining walls.

Support is provided to the foot of a shoe wearer by an air cushion that includes a support chamber surrounding a collapsible pump operable by the foot of the wearer for directing compressed air into the support chamber and varying the firmness of the chamber. The support chamber is of a preformed three-dimensional configuration of sufficient rigidity to provide stable support to the foot prior to receiving compressed air from the pump.

A method and apparatus for providing a topographical map of the bottom of a patient's rear foot with the foot in a semi-weight bearing condition and in the neutral position. A flexible membrane defines the top of an air cushion that captures the patient's foot in the neutral position when the air pillow is inflated. The membrane also conforms to the bottom of the foot. A three-dimensional scanner located below the membrane measures the distances to the bottom of the membrane over an array of positions. A manufacturing facility converts these measurements into information by which computer numerical controlled equipment machines an orthotic insert for the patient's footwear.

The invention relates to an air buffer having an automatic seal body air shutting-off and locking device and a making method thereof. The air buffer comprises a seal body composed of a continuous film coil and comprising two pieces of external film and two pieces of internal film, a plurality of equidistant heat-resistant nodes made from heat-resistant material are coated on the top of the internal surface of one internal film, and hot seal nodes are arranged at the positions at the same height as the heat-resistant nodes of one external film, and hot seal transversal lines are employed to divide the seal body into aerating channel regions and air storing columns, the aerating channels join the air storing columns through the hot seal lines, an internal film with heat-resistant nodes is arranged on the external film to make the internal film and the external film unjoined to form a sole channel air inlet. When aerating, the air channel portions of the two pieces of external films will expand to draw the internal films joined therewith, thus to allow all the air inlets along the air channels to open indirectly. In this way, a plurality of seal bodies are needed to be aerated, the air inlets are shut off and the air inlet paths are locked after aerating, thereby the air buffer having dual air shutting-off functions and durable seal performance.

An aircraft seat assembly configured in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention utilizes composite materials to achieve significant weight savings relative to conventional seat designs. The seat assembly includes a lightweight composite support structure, a lightweight composite seat base, and a seat back assembly that employs a lightweight inner frame. The seat cushion and the seat back cushion may utilize a sealed pneumatic element that self-inflates to provide increased air cushioning during flight. The seat assembly can leverage inexpensive manufacturing techniques such that the seat assembly can be economically produced for use as an economy class seat.

The invention discloses a butt joint type operation patient transfer trolley and belongs to the technical field of medical apparatus. The butt joint type operation patient transfer trolley comprises a transverse moving bed and a transfer trolley. The transverse moving bed with a tiltable bed top is disposed on a transfer trolley plate of the transfer trolley and locked by a bed locking device. The transfer trolley comprises a transfer trolley body, a transfer trolley base and a lifting device. The transfer trolley body is supported on the transfer trolley base through the lifting device. The transverse moving bed mainly comprises a transverse moving bed frame, a bed board, an air cushion and rollers. Inflation of the air cushion enables the bed board to tilt. By the butt joint technology, an operation patient along with the moving bed is transferred from the transfer trolley outside an operating room to the transfer trolley in the operating room, cross infection is avoided, operating environments are kept clean, and operating safety is increased. By the moving bed with the tiltable bed top, the patient can be transferred from the operation patient transfer trolley to an operating table conveniently and time- and labor-savingly. The butt joint type operation patient transfer trolley is suitable for transferring seriously-injured patients from ambulances to operating rooms of hospitals.

PCT No. PCT / FR98 / 01582 Sec. 371 Date Mar. 8, 1999 Sec. 102(e) Date Mar. 8, 1999 PCT Filed Jul. 20, 1998 PCT Pub. No. WO99 / 04673 PCT Pub. Date Feb. 4, 1999The invention relates to a pneumatic cushion (1) having a base sheet (2) from which there project a plurality of adjacent inflatable cells (3) that are individually deformable in height. At least some of the cells (3) are internally fitted with respective individual sensors of cell deformation that deliver electrical signals indicating that a determined threshold of deformation of a cell (3) has been crossed.

Disclosed is an air cushion shoe with various kinds of air chambers capable of absorbing the shocks generated by the application of the weight of a wearer in a vertical direction and distributing the absorbed shocks in a horizontal direction. The air cushion shoe of this invention has an upper and a sole, including a group of air chambers protrudedly exposed on the bottom surface of the sole of the shoe, the group of air chambers having a single air chamber that is located on the heel portion of the sole and divided into a first single air chamber and a second single air chamber by means of a partition and having plural kinds of communicating air chambers that are located on the whole portion except the heel portion of the sole, wherein the single air chamber is separated from the plural kinds of communicating air chambers.

The current invention provides significant performance improvements or significant energy savings for fans used in these applications: personal, industrial and automotive cooling, ventilation, vacuuming and dust removal, inflating, computer component cooling, propulsors for unmanned and manned air vehicles, propulsors for airboats, air-cushion vehicles, airships and model aircraft. Additionally, the invention provides higher performance such as higher lift and higher lift efficiency to small air vehicles. These advantages are achieved by using plasma actuators to provide active flow control effectors into thin fan blades and wing.

The invention provides a high-elasticity sneaker air cushion sole and a production method thereof and researches a sneaker sole with high elasticity, high wear resistance and low hardness. The high-elasticity sneaker air cushion sole comprises a phylon (MD) midsole, an air cushion and a large sole which are sequentially and fixedly connected with one another from top to bottom, wherein an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) cushion piece is assembled on a heel part of the air cushion; and the material formula of the MD midsole comprises the following components in parts by weight: 40-60 parts of EVA, 0-20 parts of ethylene propylene ternary gel, 0-30 parts of polyolefin elastomer (POE), 0-10 parts of talcum powder, 2.0-4.0 parts of a foaming agent, 0.6-1.0 part of a bridging agent, 1.0-2.0 part of a zinc oxide desulfurizing agent, 0.6-1.2 parts of stearic acid, 0.5-1.0 part of zinc stearate, 0.8-1.5 parts of a flow promotor and 0.3-0.8 part of a bridging addition agent.

An air cushion shoe has an air chamber at an upper surface of a front side of a main body. An air passageway extends from the air chamber to an air inlet. Air pockets are formed in the main body at predetermined positions below the air passageway. First air vents are formed at a front side of the hardened reinforcement sheet positioned onto the main body to cover the open upper portions of the air passageway and the air pockets. Second air vents are formed at a front side of a main body of a shoe liner. A cushioning material having a honeycomb structured body is formed at the bottom surface of the main body.

A height adjustable pillow includes an extendable and resilient pillow body and an air cushion installed in a chamber inside the pillow body. The pillow body is made of soft plastic, rubber or foam products of plastic and rubber. The air cushion can be charged or discharged to adjust the thickness of the pillow, providing comfort with firm support and enhancing sleep quality.

Streamlined, towable, marine seismic energy vibrator for creating intense swept-frequency and pulse-coded seismic signals in a body of water has a sleek, fish-like configuration designed for towing with minimum drag. The vibrator has a streamlined hollow towing head and a streamlined hollow tail head mounted onto front and rear of a long cylindrical tubular wall which is modular, comprising cylinder sections joined in end-to-end axial alignment. Within this long tubular cylinder wall is an axially vibratable multi-piston assembly having a plurality of pistons on a long piston rod. One piston is positioned in each of the cylinder chambers. These chambers hive multiple ports opening out through the long cylindrical wall. An elongated circular cylindrical elastomeric bladder forms a water-filled bladder chamber encircling the wall. An actuator piston is vibrated by a remotely controllably hydraulic circuit, thereby vibrating the multi-piston assembly for vibrating water out and in through multiple ports communicating with the water-filled bladder chamber for vibrating the exterior of the bladder shown having diameter "D" of 18 inches and length "L" of 118.5 inches, providing a 6,700 square inch vibration area contacting the ambient water. A multi-piston position sensor enables synchronization of the vibrator with companion sources being towed. An axial passage in the long piston rod feeds low-pressure compressed air into the cylinder chambers forming air cushions behind the pistons vibrating water in these cylinder chambers.

A foldable air cushion includes a main air tube piece composed by a main body and buffer walls; and side air tube pieces configured adjacent to the main air tube piece and each composed by a side body and folding portions. A bending line is configured between the main body and the buffer walls, and the side body and the folding portions. A folding line is configured between the main air tube piece and the side air tube pieces, while the folding areas are configured on the side air tube piece adjacent to the intersection of the bending line and the folding line. When the main air tube piece is bended along the bending line, the side bodies of the side air tube pieces are folding along the folding areas, and the side air tube pieces are folded along the folding line, a containing space will be formed between the main air tube piece and the side air tube pieces. Therefore, the foldable air cushion has the protection effect of six-side buffering for the article held in the containing space, and effectively reduces the manufacturing cost.