Patent ID: 7909403

Claim:
A manipulable seat bolster adapted for use with a seat defining an exterior surface presenting a condition, and for autonomously changing the condition, said bolster comprising: an actuator communicatively coupled to the surface, and including an active material element operable to undergo a reversible change in fundamental property when exposed to or occluded from an activation signal; a signal source communicatively coupled to the element and operable to generate the signal, so as to activate the element, said actuator being configured to cause or enable the condition of the surface to be modified, when the element is activated; and a reconfigurable structure disposed within the seat, and modifiable between a plurality of structure configurations relative to the surface, wherein the condition is the geometric configuration of the surface, and each of the structure configurations causes the surface to present a different geometric configuration; said actuator being drivenly coupled to the structure, and operable to modify the structure so as to achieve one of the configurations, when the element is activated, wherein the actuator further includes an overload protector connected to the element opposite the structure, and configured to present a secondary work output path, when the element is activated and the structure is unable to be moved.