Patent ID: 6990744

Claim:
A method of evaluating clearance between a support contour of a seat cushion and an adjacent pelvic and proximal thigh anatomical portion of a person sitting on the cushion, comprising: selecting a piece of impression foam as a clearance measurement device, the impression foam having a crush characteristic which collapses the impression foam upon the application of force to the impression foam; locating the clearance measurement device on the support contour at a predetermined location where the clearance is to be evaluated; sitting the person on the cushion with the clearance measurement device located between the anatomical portion and the support contour at the predetermined location where the clearance is to be evaluated; evaluating the clearance at the predetermined location by determining the extent of collapse of the impression foam as a result of the person sitting on the cushion with the anatomical portion adjacent to the support contour while the impression foam was located at the predetermined location; and evaluating the clearance by attempting to collapse the impression foam to a greater extent than the impression foam was collapsed by sitting the person on the cushion with the anatomical portion adjacent to the support contour.