Porous body, additive manufacturing method for the body and apparatus for supporting and/or bearing a person

US11910931B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Stratasys Ltd. · US

Inventors

• Dirk Achten · Leverkusen, DE
• Thomas Büsgen · Leverkusen, DE
• Dirk Dijkstra · Odenthal, DE
• Nicolas Degiorgio · Krefeld, DE
• Roland Wagner · Feldkirchen-Westerham, DE
• Levent Akbas · Witten, DE
• Peter Reichert · Thousand Oaks, US
• Jurgen Hattig · Odenthal, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 8, 2017
• Grant date: Feb 27, 2024
• Expiry date: Jan 13, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B29L2031/751
• WIPO field: Other special machines
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

It is a feature of a porous body (10, 20) comprising a three-dimensional network of node points (200) joined to one another by struts (100), and a void volume (300) present between the struts (100), that the struts (100) have an average length of ≥200 to ≤50 mm, the struts (100) have an average thickness of ≥100 μm to ≤5 mm, and that the porous body has a compression hardness (40% compression, DIN EN ISO 3386-1: 2010-09) in at least one spatial direction of ≥10 to ≤100 kPa. The porous body according to the invention combines the advantages of a conventional mattress or cushion with ventilatability which results from its porous structure and is not achievable in conventional foams. The invention further relates to a method of producing such a porous body (10, 20) and to an apparatus comprising said body (10, 20) for supporting and/or bearing a person.