Patent ID: 7861335

Claim:
A patient air bearing pallet adapted for connection to an air source, said air bearing pallet comprising: an air bearing plenum chamber having an upper sheet and a bottom sheet; a plurality of tethers connected between the upper sheet and the bottom sheet, and the tethers being arranged in a geometric pattern or a random arrangement and defining a plurality of spaced apart indentations at the bottom sheet upon inflation of the air bearing plenum chamber, wherein a lower end of each tether forms a cross-section shape in the bottom sheet enclosing only one of said indentations; and wherein the bottom sheet includes a plurality of perforations there through at least within the indentations, and the perforations being arranged into a plurality of groups of perforations, each group of perforations forming an air bearing, each air bearing being discrete and spaced from each of the other air bearings, and the air bearings forming an air film between the air bearing pallet and a support surface.