Patent ID: 7076822

Claim:
A stacked cushion comprising: (a) a first cushioning element and a second cushioning element stacked together in sequence to form a stacked cushion, (b) said stacked cushion having a stacked cushion bottom; (c) said first cushioning element including (i) a quantity of first gel cushioning medium formed to have a first cushioning element top, a first cushioning element bottom, and a first outer periphery, said first gel cushioning medium being compressible so that it will deform under the compressive force of a cushioned object; (ii) wherein said first gel cushioning media is flexible and resilient, having shape memory and being substantially solid and non-flowable at temperatures below 130 degrees Fahrenheit; (iii) a plurality of first hollow columns formed in said first gel cushioning medium, each of said first hollow columns having a first longitudinal axis along its length, each of said first hollow columns having a first column wall which defines a first hollow column interior, and each of said first hollow columns having two ends; (iv) wherein each of said first column ends is positioned at two different points of said first longitudinal axis; (v) wherein at least one of said first hollow columns of said first cushioning element is positioned within said first gel cushioning medium such that said first longitudinal axis is positioned generally parallel to the direction of a compressive force exerted on the stacked cushion by a cushioned object in contact with the stacked cushion; (c) wherein the stacked cushion is adapted to have a cushioned object placed in contact with said stacked cushion top; and (d) wherein at least one of said first column walls of said first cushioning element is capable of buckling beneath a protuberance that is located on the cushioned object.