Patent ID: 7225486

Claim:
A seat cushion for supporting a person remaining in a sitting position for a prolonged period of time, comprising: flexible sheets of material secured together to define a generally rectangularly shaped inflatable body having a forward edge, a rearward edge, opposite side edges, a recessed central portion, and a hollow interior, said body being incapable of supporting the weight of a person when the body is not inflated; a plurality of partitions extending across the interior of the body in a direction from said central portion thereof to an adjacent edge, dividing the body into a plurality of individual generally pie-shaped chambers spaced sequentially around the body, with two chambers at each of the forward, rearward and side edges, and each chamber extending completely across the width of the body from an outer edge to the central portion thereof; and means connected with the chambers to sequentially inflate and deflate them in an alternating cyclic pattern so that some of the chambers are expanded to contact and support the buttocks of the person while other chambers are contracted to relieve the pressure exerted against the buttocks by said other chambers, each of said chambers being alternately inflated and deflated, whereby the formation of pressure sores and other deleterious effects are avoided by periodically and temporarily relieving pressure exerted by each of the chambers against respective different areas of the buttocks, and at least one chamber at each of the forward edge, rearward edge, and opposite side edges is inflated at all times to provide stable support to a person sitting on the cushion.