ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,496,496, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to Sciency Products Inc. (Frankfort, Mich.).
"Fluid inflatable member" was invented by Charles William Olsen Jr. (Mount Pleasant, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A fluid inflatable member includes a pliable body having a membrane defining an expandable interior space and including an edge defining an opening through the pliable body and an expandable and compressible porous material enclosed within the expandable interior space of the pliable body. The porous material is configured to receive an amount of fluid and distribute the fluid throughout the interior space to increase a rigidity of t...