Patent ID: 7409735

Claim:
A person support surface comprising a plurality of inflatable cells, each cell having a height and a width with the height of each cell being greater than the cell width, each inflatable cell having at least one side wall and a top wall such that an interior region of said inflatable cell is defined by the associated at least one side wall and by the associated top wall, a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor being associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of inflatable cells and sensing a pressure at which the corresponding inflatable cell is inflated, and a plurality of drivers, each driver being associated with only a single corresponding one of the plurality of inflatable cells, each driver being operable to pump pressurized air into the interior region of the corresponding cell to individually inflate the corresponding inflatable cell without inflating any of the other inflatable cells of the plurality of inflatable cells, the plurality of inflatable cells including at least three inflatable cells, the plurality of pressure sensors including at least three pressure sensors, and the plurality of drivers comprising at least three drivers, each driver comprising at least one of a pump, a compressor, a blower, or a fan that is situated within the interior region of the corresponding inflatable cell such that the top wall of the inflatable cell overlies the at least one pump, compressor, blower, or fan and such that the at least one side wall surrounds the at least one pump, compressor, blower, or fan.