WO2015128292A1

WO2015128292A1 - Seat for vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like

Info

Publication number: WO2015128292A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/053742
Authority: WO
Inventors: Federico RIGHETTI; Stefano CHECCACCI CARBONI
Original assignee: Sim Italia S.R.L.
Priority date: 2014-02-26
Filing date: 2015-02-23
Publication date: 2015-09-03

Abstract

A seat for vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like, which comprises a main body (2), which can be associated with the chassis of a vehicle (A) and defines at least one resting and supporting surface for a user and/or a passenger; the main body (2) has at least one pad (3a, 3b) that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

Description

SEAT FOR VEHICLES, SUCH AS CARS, MOTORCYCLES, BICYCLES, AND THE LIKE

The present invention relates to a seat for vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like.

As is known, means of transport such as cars, bicycles and motorcycles are frequently used, not only for practically and quickly getting to a predefined place (the office, school, etc.), but also for sport, competitions, amusement, tourism, etc.

In all the contexts mentioned above, and especially when they determine a prolonged use of the vehicle, for evident reasons great importance is accorded to the comfort that the vehicle is capable of ensuring for the user.

To this end, car makers devote great attention to the design of seats and saddles, in order to identify the contours and materials that are best adapted to offer the user a seating experience that is functional and at the same time comfortable, in order to not make of the occasion of entertainment or amusement (or indeed mere transit) an unpleasant experience or in any case a potential cause of tedium and nuisance.

Such implementation solutions are not devoid of drawbacks, however. In fact, and not least in view of the strenuous efforts of the user, seats and saddles are occasionally found to be uncomfortable and a source of annoyance for the user, owing to their rigidity or hardness.

It should likewise be noted that an excessive hardness of the seating experience, associated with a prolonged use of the means of transport (think for example of people who travel for work reasons, of the long journeys that motorcyclists make in motorcycle touring, or of the long stages faced by cyclists during professional races, and more besides), can favor the onset of blisters or lacerations, for example of the type of pressure sores, and other conditions as well.

Finally, it should be noted that, in addition to the problems mentioned above, which can be immediately detected during and/or after use, increasingly often diseases and problems are observed which are due to the repeated use, over years, of motorcycles and bicycles (and other means of transport). It has been observed for example that many former professional cyclists display disorders of the prostate, precisely because of the long periods spent on rigid saddles, and the pressure exerted by the latter on the body tissues in contact with them.

The aim of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned problems, by providing a seat that enables a practical and easy use of vehicles of the type of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a seat that allows a prolonged use of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, etc., while guarding against, or at least reducing, the danger of the formation of sores, blisters, injuries and lacerations of the body tissues that are brought into contact with the seat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat that can be installed on vehicles, of the type of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like, in order to guard against, or at least reduce, the onset of diseases and problems associated with repeated use of the vehicle over years.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat that ensures a high reliability of operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat that can be easily implemented using elements and materials that are readily available on the market.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat that is low cost and safely applied.

This aim and these objects are achieved by a seat for vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like, which comprises a main body that can be associated with the chassis of the vehicle and defines at least one resting and supporting surface for a user and/or a passenger, characterized in that said main body has at least one pad that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

This aim and these objects are also achieved by an accessory for seats of vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles and the like, which comprises a main body that can be associated with a resting and supporting surface of the seat of the vehicle, characterized in that said main body is provided with at least one pad that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of three preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the seat according to the invention, which are illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figures 1 to 4 show the seat according to the invention, in the first embodiment, and more specifically:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the seat according to the invention, installed on a motorcycle;

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged detail of Figure 1 , and shows the seat partially deprived of a covering element;

Figure 3 is a view from above of the seat according to the invention, installed on the motorcycle;

Figure 4 is a greatly enlarged detail of Figure 3, and shows the seat partially deprived of a covering element;

Figures 5 and 6 show the seat according to the invention, in the second embodiment, and more specifically:

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the seat according to the invention, installed on a motorcycle;

Figure 6 is a view from above of the seat according to the invention, installed on the motorcycle; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the seat according to the invention, in the third embodiment.

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a seat for vehicles A, such as for example cars, motorcycles, bicycles and the like.

It should be noted from this point onward that in a first application of significant practical interest, to which reference will occasionally be made in the following pages, the seat 1 is substantially a saddle, and the vehicle A can thus be a motorcycle for road use (as in the examples in Figures 1 to 6), or a motocross bike, an enduro bike, a custom bike, a moped, a scooter, or another motorcycle-like vehicle.

Or the vehicle A can be a bicycle (racing, road, of the mountain-bike type, etc.), and in this case the seat 1 is substantially a bicycle saddle.

Furthermore, and evidently without extending beyond the scope of protection claimed herein, the seat 1 (of the type for example in Figure 7) can be intended to be installed on motor vehicles of any type (automobiles, lorries, buses, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, tractors, motor homes, camper vans etc.) and thus be a form of driving/passenger seat, according to shape and dimensions of well-known type.

In addition, although in the preferred application the seat 1 is intended for installation on a vehicle A, it should be made clear that the possibility is not ruled out of using it in different contexts, according to specific requirements, while remaining within the scope of protection claimed herein.

The seat 1 thus comprises a main body 2 that can be associated with the chassis of the vehicle A and which defines a resting and supporting surface for a user and/or a passenger.

According to conventional methods, in fact, the seat 1 is stably arranged on the chassis of the vehicle A and offers the user (the driver, the motorcyclist, the cyclist, etc.) and/or a passenger the ability to sit down during the drive.

According to the invention, the main body 2 has at least one pad 3 a, 3b that can be filled with a fluid (air, water, or other), which is kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

The first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure, at which the pad 3a, 3b is kept, can be any, according to specific requirements, and to the greater or lesser rigidity (or "solidity") that it is desired to give the seat 1 , on which the user has to sit.

In particular, such first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected from the range of 10 mm/Hg to 50 mm/Hg, and preferably is equal to 19 mm/Hg.

The filling of at least one pad 3a, 3b with a fluid kept at the above mentioned predefined pressure value makes it possible to determine an optimal value of the pressure exerted on the body tissues of the user, which are brought into contact with the seat 1 , such value being appreciably lower than the value that can be perceived by resorting to saddles and other conventional seats.

This makes it possible to considerably reduce (or even completely eliminate) the risk of the onset of sores, injuries, lacerations, owing to the constant pressure, exerted on the buttocks and the other adjacent body regions of the user, from the resting and supporting surface.

In a first possible embodiment, the pad 3 a, 3b can be simply filled with air (or with water, or with another fluid) manually, basically behaving as a static air support.

In the preferred embodiment, to which reference will often be made in the following pages, the seat 1 comprises at least one device for adjusting the internal pressure of the pad 3 a, 3b. The adjustment device, manual or automatic, of which some possible implementation details will be given in the following pages, thus makes it possible to maintain an internal compartment of the pad 3a, 3b at the first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

In the preferred embodiment, which is proposed by way of non- limiting example of application of the invention, the main body 2 comprises at least two contiguous pads 3a, 3b, which obviously define respective compartments within them.

The pads 3 a, 3b (the compartments inside them) are independently associated respectively with a first adjustment device and with a second adjustment device, so as to maintain the internal compartment of at least one pad 3a at the first predefined differential pressure value (for example equal to 19 mm/Hg), with respect to atmospheric pressure, and the internal compartment of at least another pad 3b at least at a second differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

The second differential pressure value can optionally be selected to be equal to the first value, if the specific requirements suggest it, but preferably the second differential pressure value is selected to be different from the first value.

More specifically, the second predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected from the range of 0 mm/Hg to 20 mm/Hg (while not excluding different values, even outside such range), and preferably the second predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected to be equal to 0 mm/Hg.

In an embodiment of significant practical interest, but not limiting of the application of the invention, the main body 2 comprises a plurality of pads 3a, 3b, which are arranged in series and mutually contiguous.

The pads 3a, 3b (which are made of a material at will, for example a polyvinyl material or the like and which define, inside them, respective compartments which are arranged in series) are connected alternately and associated respectively with the first adjustment device and with the second adjustment device (and thus respectively are kept at the first predefined differential pressure value and at the second predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure).

In the example in Figures 1 to 4 or in that in Figure 7, which involves the use of four pads 3a, 3b, the first pad 3a of the series is for this reason associated with the third pad 3a (by way of for example a respective first canalization 4a) and kept at the first preset pressure value (for example 19 mm/Hg) by way of the first adjustment device.

Likewise, and with further reference to the solution proposed merely for the purposes of example in the figures just cited, the second pad 3b of the series is associated with the fourth pad 3b (for example by way of a respective second canalization 4b) and is kept at the second predefined pressure value (for example 0 mm/Hg) by way of the second adjustment device.

Obviously, the choice to alternately connect together the pads 3a, 3b can be adopted, while remaining within the scope of protection claimed herein, even if the seat 1 has a greater number of pads 3a, 3b, so as to associate a first adjustment device with the first, the third, the fifth pad 3a, and so on, while the second adjustment device will be connected to the second, the fourth, the sixth pad 3b, etc.

It should be noted in fact that preferably the overall number of pads

3a, 3b that are accommodated in the body 2 will be very high, in order to keep to a minimum the dimensions of each portion of the resting and supporting surface overlying a respective pad 3a, 3b. Preferably, in fact, each portion will be constituted by a strip of width equal to 3 cm and the number of pads 3 a, 3b will be selected as a consequence.

Precisely in order to highlight the possibility of adopting different implementation configurations, Figures 5 and 6 show a further practical solution, in which the main body 2 is divided into six pads 3a, 3b. More precisely, the first, the third and the fifth pad 3a, are mutually connected (by way of the first canalization 4a) and are associated with the first adjustment device, while the second, the fourth and the sixth pad 3b, are mutually connected (by way of the second canalization 4b) and are associated with the second adjustment device.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of protection claimed herein covers the possibility of orienting the pads 3a, 3b along a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the advancement direction (as in the embodiment in Figures 1 to 4) or according to a vertical advancement direction (as in the embodiment in Figures 5 and 6 or in that in Figure 7).

Moreover the scope of protection claimed herein does not exclude different implementation configurations of the pads 3a, 3b, even according to different angles and/or on multiple lines or columns.

It should be noted that the choice to offer the user a seat surface that is defined by a resting and supporting surface in which different portions have different softness or hardness, by way of the different differential pressure at which the underlying pads 3a, 3b are kept, ensures optimal conditions for the comfort and health of the user.

In fact, by subjecting contiguous portions of the body tissues in contact with the seat 1 to different pressures, as occurs when using the seat 1 according to the invention, both the blood supply to the tissues and the circulation of blood are favored and stimulated, these being essential conditions for reducing (to the point of even eliminating) the risk of onset of pressure sores.

The choice to use a high number of pads 3 a, 3b, and as a consequence to divide the resting and supporting surface into small portions that are subjected to alternating pressure values further increases the above mentioned beneficial effects.

If it is deemed appropriate for the blood circulation and/or the bloody supply to the tissues, it is also possible to provide seats 1 in which three or more adjustment devices operate, thus capable of maintaining the mutually alternate pads 3a, 3b at three or more corresponding (and different) predefined differential pressure values with respect to atmospheric pressure.

In a possible embodiment, the adjustment device is constituted simply by a small portable apparatus for maintaining the pressure. Preferably however, the adjustment device comprises at least one control and management unit (an electronic controller for example), of means for the controlled variation of the value of the internal pressure of at least one pad 3a, 3b.

In particular, in an embodiment of significant practical interest, cited by way of non-limiting example, the means of variation comprise at least one compressor and at least one valve.

The compressor is associated with the respective pad 3a, 3b and can be actuated on command (by the controller for example, or even directly by the user) in order to raise the pressure value in a controlled manner. In turn the valve is usually arranged in a configuration for closing the respective pad 3 a, 3b and can be actuated on command (again, by the controller or even by the user for example) in order to pass from the closed configuration to an open configuration, in which it allows the outflow of fluids from the compartment and the consequent lowering of the pressure value, and vice versa.

It should be noted that if the seat 1 according to the invention is provided with two or more pads 3a, 3b, and with at least two adjustment devices, each one of these latter items will have a respective compressor and a respective valve, which are controlled by a corresponding control and management unit (although the possibility is not ruled out of using a single controller, conveniently adapted, and a single compressor, which can be alternately connected to the pads 3 a, 3 b).

Conveniently, the control and management unit (the controller) comprises an interface for selection of the respective predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure, at which it is desired to maintain the respective compartment. Such predefined value can thus be freely set by the user, so as to allow the latter the possibility of configuring at will the hardness or the softness of his/her seat 1 according to the invention, according to specific requirements and to the driving experience that he/she wishes to ensure.

Obviously, by way of adapted buttons or commands the interface can allow the choice and variation, mutually independently, of each predefined differential pressure value at which it is desired to keep one or more mutually connected compartments.

Furthermore, the control and management unit is functionally associated with at least one sensor for detecting the internal pressure of the corresponding compartment of the corresponding pad 3a, 3b, which can be displayed on the interface.

Evidently, the possibility is not excluded of providing the seat 1 with two or more sensors, so as to be able to monitor the respective differential pressure values in different points of the seat 1, and at least at the first canalization 4a and at the second canalization 4b, so as to have information about the two different thrust conditions exerted by the pads 3 a, 3b on the body tissues of the user.

The acquisition of the information about the differential pressure values present in the compartments makes it possible to correct or modify the values as a function of the different working conditions (and/or of the weight of the motorcyclist/cyclist), both automatically by way of the controller and manually by way of a button that can be actuated by a user.

Advantageously, the main body 2 comprises a covering case 5 for the pads 3a, 3b, in order to give first of all a more pleasing appearance to the seat 1 according to the invention, and greater practicality of use.

Furthermore, at least a portion of the case 5, which defines the resting and supporting surface (and for example thus the upper face of the case 5), is made of a breathable material, again to ensure the best conditions of contact with the body tissues that rest on the seat 1 according to the invention.

It should thus be noted that the controller can in turn be arranged inside the case 5, with the interface kept accessible from the outside (directly or because, for example, it is contained in a pocket or in an easily- accessible sheath).

Positively, the seat 1 according to the invention also comprises an element for the forced circulation of air, facing the gaps defined between the pads 3 a, 3b and the resting and supporting surface, in order to expose the latter, and the body tissues of the user in contact, to a beneficial flow of air, which increases transpiration and reduces the risk of the formation of mildew or bacteria.

Such forced circulation element can thus be a fan, conveniently arranged inside the case 5, but the possibility is not excluded of providing a corresponding operating mode of the compressor of each adjustment device, so that it can be the latter that acts as a circulation element, when it is not operating to raise the differential pressure inside the respective compartment (or of the respective compartments).

Advantageously, the seat 1 comprises at least one device for adjusting the temperature of the fluid, inside the respective internal compartment of at least one corresponding pad 3a, 3b.

The device (which can naturally act on each canalization 4a, 4b and/or on each pad 3a, 3b, jointly or separately) can thus raise (in such case the device can be an electric resistance) and/or lower the temperature value of the fluid (air, water or other) in a controlled manner in order to ensure greater comfort for the user.

Thus the present discussion also relates to an accessory for seats 1 of vehicles A, of the type of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like, which can be subsequently fitted on top of seats 1 that are already installed on the vehicle A, or which in any case are sold separately from the accessory proper. The accessory (which during the driving of the vehicle A is thus located between the seat 1 and the user), comprises a main body 2 that can be associated with the resting and supporting surface of the seat 1 of the vehicle A.

According to the invention, the main body 2 of the seat 1 has at least one pad 3a, 3b that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

The accessory can further have all the peculiarities illustrated in the foregoing pages, with reference to the seat 1 , in that they evidently can also be adopted on a main body 2 to be mounted on top of the seat 1 , and not being part thereof.

Operation of the seat (and of the accessory) according to the invention is thus evident from the foregoing description: the user can gain evident benefit from the use of the seat 1 according to the invention, installed on the chassis of vehicles A of the type of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.

In fact, when, during transfers or trips, the motorist, the cyclist, the motorcyclist, the passenger, or other users, sit down on the seat 1 , the latter offers support and rest that are utterly comfortable, thanks to the peculiar embodiment of the main body 2.

The seat 1 determines a practical and easy use of the vehicle A on which it is installed, in that, in addition to the greater comfort ensured by the softness of the pads 3a, 3b, which is adjustable at will by way of the interface associated with the control and management unit of the compressors, guards against (or at least reduces) the danger of the onset of sores, blisters, injuries and lacerations of the body tissues that are brought into contact with the seat 1.

As has been seen in fact, the greater softness of the seat 1 according to the invention, with respect to conventional seats and saddles, appreciably reduces the pressure exerted on the body tissues of the user, and in this sense the choice is particularly advantageous to maintain at least one compartment at a first predefined differential pressure value equal to 19 mm/Hg, which ensures a minimal pressure on the skin of the driver and/or of the passenger of the vehicle A.

The beneficial effect explained above is amply increased with the adoption of (at least) two different adjustment devices, which maintain respective sequences of pads 3a, 3b (and corresponding compartments) at different predefined differential pressure values. It has in fact already been observed that such choice subjects the corresponding regions of the skin of the user to different pressures: this determines an increase in the blood supply to the body tissues and in the blood circulation, effects that effectively hinder the formation of pressure sores and other lesions.

In addition it must be noted that the lower thrust exerted by the seat 1 on the buttocks and in general on the tissues of the user determines further benefits, which can be appreciated with prolonged use, over years, of the vehicle A that offers the seat 1.

In fact, diseases and problems associated with a repeated use of vehicles that have conventional seats or saddles (such as for example disorders of the prostate which are frequently observed in former professional cyclists, owing to the use of rigid saddles), will certainly have a lower incidence with the prolonged use of the seat 1 according to the invention (substituting traditional seats and saddles), thanks to the softness of the latter.

Finally, it must be noted that the presence of a control and management unit associated with an interface (and with sensors for detecting) offers great versatility of use, in that it enables the free reconfiguration of the operating parameters of the seat 1 according to the invention (and especially of the predefined differential pressure values), in light of the requirements and of the driving tastes of the user.

In practice it has been found that the seat (and the accessory) according to the invention fully achieves the set aim, in that the use of a main body of the seat, which can be associated with the chassis of the vehicle and defines at least one resting and supporting surface, which is provided with at least one pad that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure, makes it possible to provide a seat that enables a practical and easy use of vehicles of the type of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In the embodiments illustrated, individual characteristics shown in relation to specific examples may in reality be interchanged with other, different characteristics, existing in other embodiments.

In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. BO2014A000090 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A seat for vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and the like, which comprises a main body (2) that can be associated with the chassis of the vehicle (A) and defines at least one resting and supporting surface for a user and/or a passenger, characterized in that said main body (2) has at least one pad (3a, 3b) that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

2. The seat according to claim 1, characterized in that said first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected from the range of 10 mm/Hg to 50 mm/Hg and preferably said first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected to be equal to 19 mm/Hg.

3. The seat according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one device for adjusting the internal pressure of said at least one pad

(3a, 3b), in order to maintain an internal compartment of said at least one pad (3a, 3b) at said first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.

4. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main body (2) comprises at least two of said pads

(3a, 3b) which are contiguous and associated independently respectively with a first said adjustment device and with a second said adjustment device, in order to keep the internal compartment of at least one of said pads (3a) at said at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure, and in order to maintain the internal compartment of at least one other of said pads (3 b) at at least one second differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure, said second value being selected to be preferably different from said first value.

5. The seat according to claim 4, characterized in that said second predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected from the range of 0 mm/Hg to 20 mm/Hg, and preferably said second predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure is selected to be equal to 0 mm/Hg.

6. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main body (2) comprises a plurality of said pads

(3a, 3b) which are arranged in series and mutually contiguous, said pads (3a, 3b) being connected alternately and associated respectively with said first adjustment device and with said second adjustment device.

7. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one adjustment device comprises at least one unit for controlling and managing means for the controlled variation of the value of the internal pressure of said at least one pad (3 a, 3b).

8. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said means comprise at least one compressor, which is associated with said at least one pad (3 a, 3b) and can be actuated on command for the controlled increase of the pressure value, and at least one valve, which is usually arranged in a configuration for closing said at least one pad (3a, 3b) and can be actuated on command for the transition from said closed configuration to an open configuration, in which it allows the outflow of fluids from said internal compartment of said at least one pad (3a, 3b) and the lowering of the pressure value, and vice versa.

9. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said control and management unit comprises an interface for selection of the respective said predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure, said predefined value being freely settable by a user, said unit being functionally associated with at least one sensor for detecting the internal pressure of the corresponding said internal compartment of the corresponding said pad (3a, 3b), which can be displayed on said interface.

10. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main body (2) comprises a covering case (5) for said pads (3a, 3b), at least one portion of said case (5), which defines said resting and supporting surface, being made of a breathable material.

11. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an element for the forced circulation of air, which faces the gaps defined between said pads (3a, 3b) and said resting and supporting surface.

12. The seat according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one device for adjusting the temperature of the fluid inside the respective internal compartment of at least one corresponding said pad (3a, 3b), for the controlled raising and/or lowering of the value of the temperature of the fluid.

13. An accessory for seats of vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, bicycles and the like, which comprises a main body (2) that can be associated with a resting and supporting surface of the seat (1) of the vehicle (A), characterized in that said main body (2) is provided with at least one pad (3a, 3b) that can be filled with a fluid kept at at least one first predefined differential pressure value with respect to atmospheric pressure.