Patent ID: 7740221

Claim:
A deformable device mountable by suction on a generally smooth mounting surface comprising a body including: an outer surface; a periphery extending around the body surrounding the outer surface; and an inner surface opposite said outer surface, said inner surface having a concave portion opposite said outer surface when the body is undeformed, said concave portion including a suction portion contiguous with suction created to mount the body on said mounting surface during use, said inner surface including a boundary defining said suction portion and an additional portion between said boundary of said suction portion and said periphery of the body, said inner surface including a bend adjacent said boundary at which the inner surface curves away from the mounting surface when the inner surface of the body is positioned on the mounting surface; wherein the body is deformable from an undeformed shape to an actuated shape to mount the body on the mounting surface by positioning the inner surface of the body adjacent the mounting surface when the body is in the undeformed shape thereby forming a cavity between said suction portion and the mounting surface and deforming the body to its actuated shape thereby scaling the body against the mounting surface and forcing fluid out of the cavity to create suction between the body and the mounting surface thereby securing the body to the mounting surface; wherein said bend adjacent the boundary of the suction portion is a first bend and the inner surface further includes a second bend between said first bend and said periphery in which the additional portion of the body curves in a direction that is opposite from a bending direction of the first bend; and wherein the body further comprises a pad between said second bend and said periphery contacting said mounting surface when the device is mounted on the mounting surface.