Patent ID: 8616988

Claim:
An apparatus having a configurable upper surface with a changeable contour, the apparatus comprising: a covering forming the upper surface, the covering being flexible such that the covering is movable between a base condition in which the upper surface has a substantially planar configuration and a contoured condition in which the upper surface has a contoured configuration; and a covering support assembly configured to support the covering in the base condition and the contoured condition, the support assembly comprising: a plurality of movable positioning elements having the covering resting thereon, the plurality of positioning elements being positioned in an array below the covering, the positioning elements each having an upper end contacting a portion of the covering, the positioning elements being movable to adjust a vertical position of the upper end of the positioning element contacting the covering; and a movement actuator configured to move at least one of the positioning elements, one of the movement actuators acting on at least one of the positioning elements such that the positioning elements are movable independently of other positioning elements; wherein the positioning elements each have a neutral position in which the upper end of the positioning element is located in a reference plane, at least some of the positioning elements each being movable upwardly from the neutral position to a plurality of raised positions in which the upper end is located at a plurality of different distances above the neutral position in the reference plane.