WO2024115947A1

WO2024115947A1 - Inflatable foldable rigid furniture objects enveloped with removable upholstery covers

Info

Publication number: WO2024115947A1
Application number: PCT/IB2022/061546
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ibrahim Farid Cherradi El Fadili; Rita Laziza CHERRADI EL FADILI; Sara Salma CHERRADI EL FADILI
Original assignee: Ibrahim Farid Cherradi El Fadili; Cherradi El Fadili Rita Laziza; Cherradi El Fadili Sara Salma
Priority date: 2022-11-29
Filing date: 2022-11-29
Publication date: 2024-06-06

Abstract

The present invention provides the main elements and the essential description of inflatable foldable rigid framework furniture objects that are comfortable, aesthetic, modular, sustainable, easy to use and to maintain. Based on Double Wall Fabric (DWF) drop stitch material these furniture objects can be inflated for use or deflated and folded for convenient packing, storage and transport. The furniture DWF framework is covered with textile or other upholstery material envelopes. The furniture object parts are totally washable and are highly recommended for sanitary and health reasons in private and public use. Their assembly does not require the use of other tools or parts such as classical furniture fixation accessories making it one of the easiest and fastest ways to build pieces of furniture. The present invention discloses innovative methods and techniques for assembling strongly and easily the furniture elements taking advantage judiciously of handy internal and external forces.

Description

INFLATABLE FOLDABLE RIGID FURNITURE OBJECTS ENVELOPED WITH REMOVABLE UPHOLSTERY COVERS

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Roberto Felicissimo. (2015) “Exploration of the Mechanical Properties of both Ridged and Inflated Drop Stitch Fabric Material” Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree. Master of Engineering (Mechanical) at The City College of New York of the City University of New York

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. In the early 1970 designer like Quasar Khanh considered as the inventor of inflatable furnitures created the first colourful, pool side type of sofa made of transparent plastic bubbles full of air. Most of the existing inflatable furniture items such as sofas and armchairs are formed of chambers made of shaped plastic or rubber sheets that can be simply filled with air like balloons are; these chambers are empty and without any internal structure. Such furniture items are soft and not rigid, they withstand only low internal pressure and are therefore generally wobbly, they mostly have rounded shapes, are generally not steady and without additional rigid structure are generally not stable and not durable.

2. Classical pieces of furniture have a framework made of rigid or hard materials (wood, steal, hard plastic or a combination of them) but are bulky and heavy, require technical assembly expertise and often transportation services. They often occupy fixed space and cannot be easily moved due to their volume and weight. In addition, their upholstery covers cannot be easily removed or cannot be removed without being damaged.

3. Most popular furniture objects, including off-the shelf solid furniture pieces cannot be mounted without the need of various assembling parts or fixtures such as for example screws, connector bolts, knock down cams, furniture brackets, etc. Typically, they also require various working tools such as: screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Moreover, for more elaborate furniture objects, endusers need to hire professional furniture assembly services, and upholstery manufacturers at extra cost.

1

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Popular classical pieces of furniture that can be assembled from off-the-shelf kits are, if there is a need to store or transport them, generally not easy and straightforward to disassemble and when disassembled their disassembled parts are generally heavy and bulky and still occupy important space. There are several applications to DWF drop stitch materials; the most frequent applications are for water sport or camping including Stand-Up Paddle boards (SUP boards), kayaks, yoga pads, mattresses or air tracks. These applications consist generally of simple flat 2-dimensional boards used as single boards like the paddle board or the yoga pads are or separated 2-dimensional boards that are attached together to form 3 -dimensional structures used in applications like kayaks, shelters or tents constructions. This invention introduces inflatable (pneumatic) furniture objects that alleviate the drawbacks and disadvantages of both classical non-pneumatic and existing inflatable furniture items while retaining their advantages and conveniences. The inflatable furniture objects introduced here are designed to have a rigid and steady framework; their structures are made from DWF drop stitch materials similar to those used in popular SUP boards; they also can be filled with high pressure air; which makes them strong and rigid. They can be easily and quickly inflated and do not require transportation or assembly assistance. They can be easily deflated for convenient maintenance, transportation or storage. They are light; generally, one single person can move them without huge efforts for relocation or for simply cleaning under them. They are versatile and can be used indoors or outdoors. Typically an armchair object of the inflatable furniture objects of this invention would fit with together its upholstery covers in a medium size travel case that would weight 15 to 20 kg. The present invention discloses innovative methods to manufacture single valve air chambers with 3D geometrical shapes made of drop stitch materials that can be inflated from a single valve unlike the existing 3D structures that are made of separated 2D boards which need to be inflated one by one. Among the other particularities of the inflatable furniture objects of the current innovation is that they can be covered with textile, leather, neoprene, or other form of upholstery material to give them similar look and finish to classical furniture pieces. The furniture covers can be manufactured to fit tightly above the inflatable structure and yet they are designed to be easy to remove and replace. To replace the covers or change them in case of stains or need of different colour, different fabrics, or different look and feel, deflating the furniture framework makes the cover easy to remove and replace. Inflating the framework again allows to quickly and easily obtain a very close and tight fitting contributing to obtaining a smooth finish and line aesthetics. The process of deflating and re-inflating the DWF framework can be done a quite large number of times without damaging the parts of the DWF inflatable structure whereas the process of dismantling and assembling a classical dismountable pieces of furniture will eventually, in most cases, result in damages that would make the process difficult to repeat after a limited number of iterations. In the present invention, the upholstery covers can include internal layers of foam, padding material or equivalent to provide additional comfort and elaborated optical look by giving the foam padding layer 3D embossed designs or the like. If needed the furniture objects of the invention may have feet that can be easily removed; they can be mounted onto a reinforcing system attached to the furniture framework. Classical pieces of furniture are in most cases not totally washable because they are in general made of material that cannot be easily washed like foam, animal and vegetal wool, wood and other non-washable materials. The furniture objects of this invention are totally washable; the DWF material structure as well as the upholstery covers are perfectly and entirely suitable for washing with or without detergents. Classical pieces of furniture, as they are in general permeable to liquids and gases with materials that retain moisture and air by acting like a sponge, are for most of them perfect nests and excellent biological culture and growth media very suitable for the development and proliferation of bacteria, parasitic insects and bugs like acarines, mites, ticks as well as fungal and mold spores responsible for health and sanitary issues. As the DWF materials are perfectly water and air tight they are perfectly impermeable and resistant to the development and proliferation of all known bedding microbes, parasitic bugs, and fungal spores. Therefore for sanitary and health reasons the furniture objects of this invention are highly recommended for private use as well as for public use in hotels, hospitals, restaurants, beach club, etc; particularly for persons with weak immune systems and persons prone to allergies and histaminic reactions when in contact with these parasites. The furniture objects of this invention are also highly recommended for use in hospitals to reduce the risks of nosocomial infections also referred to as healthcare-associated infections (HAI), or infection(s) acquired during the process of receiving health care that was not present during the time of admission to the hospital.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aim of the present invention is to provide the know-how for manufacturing pneumatic furniture items that have rigid and strong framework and yet can be quickly and strongly assembled for comfortable use indoors or outdoors or be deflated and folded for convenient storage. Their lightweight nature coupled with minimal packing size makes transportation easy. The possibility to fold and unfold them repeatedly without any damage makes them easy to pack and unpack in suitcases or travel bags for easy transportation and practical storage. The furniture framework includes at least one inflatable chamber of pressurized DWF drop stitch material. The furniture drop stitch framework is covered with textile, leather, neoprene, rubber, foam or other upholstery material. For close fitting, the furniture cover is manufactured very tight to fit like a glove and yet it is very easy to remove and replace. To remove the furniture cover to change it in case of stains or need of a different colour, a different fabrics material, or a different look and feel, the furniture framework is simply deflated. Deflating it makes the cover easy to remove and replace, and inflating the framework again allows to obtain quickly and easily a very close and tight fitting of the cover. Inflation can be done with a simple manual pump, there are also small low-cost electrical pumps that can be used to inflate and also deflate quickly the furniture structure. The present invention discloses other techniques showing how to combine also other hard materials like steel or wood to strengthen the rigidity and the stability of the furniture unit. Removable feet can be mounted directly to the structure of the furniture object or to a reinforcing rigid system attached onto the furniture object. The furniture framework DWF air chambers can be glued or welded for fix attachment or to facilitate disassembling, folding, and packing the chambers can be assembled with detachable fixture systems like zip bands, Velcro sheets, nylon textile or other material straps with plastic side release buckles or other strong and easily detachable fixtures. The present invention gives a particular insight on how the assembly and the cohesion of the furniture framework DWF air chambers can be judiciously achieved by the upholstery covers. The present invention discloses innovative methods to manufacture single valve air chambers with 3D geometrical shapes made of DWF material also called drop stitch materials that can be inflated from a single valve unlike the existing 3D structures that are made of separated 2D boards requiring separated inflation valves. Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Fig. 1 shows a view of an inflatable piece of furniture made of upholstered DWF framework. Fig. 2 shows a view of an inflatable piece of furniture with DWF framework being inflated with an air pump to reach a rigid form. Fig. 3 illustrates a piece of DWF (Double Wall Fabric) material also known as Drop Stitch Fabric. Fig. 4 illustrates how 2-dimensional single valve air chambers are manufactured. Fig. 5 illustrates the method to cut one wall of a DWF board leaving the other wall intact to obtain two DWF boards with a given angle in between. Fig. 6 shows that the angle between two DWF boards with one common wall depends on the width of the rubber sealing band at the “elbow” between the two boards. Fig. 7 shows that the curvatures (the belly effects) of a rubber sealing band at the “elbow” between two DWF boards depends on the angle between the two DWF boards. Fig. 8 shows how to manufacture 3-dimensional single valve air chambers from multiple boards to obtain curved shapes like “s” or “u” shapes. Fig. 9 shows how to manufacture 3 -dimensional single valve air chambers from multiple boards to obtain an “x” or a shape. Fig. 10 shows how to manufacture 3-dimensional single valve air chambers from multiple boards to obtain closed shapes like square or hexagon. Fig. 11 shows how to form 3-dimensional single valve air chamber from a plurality of 2- dimensional boards by piercing them with holes on the walls facing each other and gluing them together so that the two holes are merged in one hole. Fig. 12 shows how to form 3-dimensional single valve air chamber from a plurality of 2- dimensional boards by piercing holes on a wall of one of the DWF boards and attaching a second DWF board on the holes perpendicular to the first board. Fig. 13 shows how textile or other material covers are manufactured as closable envelopes with a zip band to fit like a glove on the 2-dimensional or 3 -dimensional air chamber once inflated. Fig. 14 Illustrates the way to insert two deflated and detached single valve DWF air chambers inside their attached textile or other material covers, inflate them, and close the zip bands to form one assembled and cohesive part of the furniture object. Fig. 15 illustrates two pairs of 2-dimensional DWF boards assembled into two pairs of attached fabric or other material covers and the two pairs of upholstery covers being connected by textile or other material straps on which is placed a separate middle DWF board, and how a person sitting on the middle board causes lateral forces squeezing the middle board and giving good stability to the entire furniture object. Fig. 16 illustrates examples of how a stack of DWF inflatable boards enveloped with textile or other material pockets combined with rigid structure can be assembled in a cohesive, stable and balanced manner by taking advantage of at hand internal and external forces. Fig. 17 illustrates how stacked DWF boards that have concave 2D shapes can be firmly and nicely assembled by the use of together attached fabric or other material envelopes that fit like a glove. Fig. 18 shows that even complex curved forms of single valve 3-dimensional DWF air chambers can be manufactured based on the techniques of this invention. Fig. 19 shows for example how a long chair with complex curved shapes can be manufactured based on the techniques of this invention. Fig. 20 shows how two modules of a DWF inflatable furniture object can be strongly fixed to each other taking advantage of at hand internal and external forces. Fig. 21 shows how feet can be attached to a DWF inflatable furniture object. Fig. 22 illustrates dedicated inflation openings on the upholstery covers. Fig. 23 illustrates the effect of changing the length of drop stitch threads inside a 2-dimensional DWF air chamber. Fig. 24 illustrates the effect of the width of the rubber sealing band on the curvature of the sealed side and the length of drop stitch wires next to the sealed side. Fig. 25 shows how “C” shaped pieces of metal or other rigid material can be firmly attached to inflated DWF air chamber. Fig. 26 shows how “C” shaped attached pliers can be used to assemble a plurality of DWF air chambers. Fig. 27 illustrates other ways to assemble a plurality of DWF air chambers using “C” shaped attached pliers that are firmly attached together or have pivoting parts. Fig. 28 illustrates possible usage of areas cut through DWF air chambers. Fig. 29 illustrates other ways to create single valve DWF air chambers with diverse and creative shapes. Fig. 30 illustrates how different shapes can be obtained by making use of forces and/or spacing objects. Note that the side views on these graphic images contain cross section views of the DWF air chambers where cross section representations of the walls, the drop stitch threads and the sealing bands are visualized. For example a side cross section view of a 2-dimensional DWF air chamber is a side view as if the chamber is crossed by an invisible plane perpendicular to the chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is important to note that in this description, specific details and examples are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. These details are provided for purposes of explanation, the scope of this invention should not be considered as limited to these detailed examples. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. On the other hand, in certain instances, detailed descriptions of well-known or conventional techniques, materials, concepts, etc., are omitted to not obscure the description of the invention with unnecessary details. The present invention discloses pneumatic furniture items made of material including Double Wall Fabric (DWF) also called Drop Stitch Fabrics that can be inflated to become hard-shell rigid and stable for comfortable and easy use and that can be deflated and folded for practical storage, maintenance and transport. Furniture units including objects such as chairs, sofas, beds, tables, armchairs, sun-beds, lounge beds or other moveable furniture objects that can be used indoor or outdoor for sitting or lying on or for putting things on, under or in. The furniture objects of this invention do not require complicated user manuals or special assistance for mounting or dismounting, they are simply inflated or deflated with a pump. There is no need of screws, bolts, or other special tools and supplies to assemble them, their elements and components make use of internal forces and external forces to hold firmly and rigidly together. In Fig. 1 is shown a pump 102 inflating an element (part) 103 of an inflatable furniture object 101 made of DWF material. The pump 102 can be manual or electrical. Electrical pumps can be used to inflate or delate the air chambers of the furniture object. As illustrated in Fig. 2 to inflate an air chamber 201 of the furniture unit, the pump tip 204 is connected to a valve 205 that is fixed in air tight manner on the air chamber 201. As shown in Fig. 2 interchangeable upholstery coverings 202 fit closely to the part 201 of the furniture structure when inflated. Such structure element 201 of the furniture can be composed of one or more air chambers that can be blown up from one or more air valves 204. These covers can be removed in case of stains or wish of a different color, to do so the furniture framework is deflated. Deflating the framework makes the cover easy to remove and replace, and inflating the framework again allows obtaining quickly and easily a close and tight fitting of the covers on the framework. DOUBLE WALL FABRIC OR DROP STITCH MATERIAL As illustrated in Fig. 3 the DWF (Double Wall Fabric) material 301 also known as Drop Stitch Fabric, consists of two textile layers 305 coated (lined) with air tight rubber topcoat (skin) 306 made for example of PVC or TPU. These two textile layers (sheets) 305 coated (laminated) with rubber 306 constitute the two walls, perfectly air tight, of the DWF material; the upper wall 302 and the lower wall 303 are attached together by a system of woven-in threads (wires) 304 called drop stitch threads. The system of threads 304 holds parallel the upper and the lower plane sides (walls) 302 and 303 of the DWF material when the air chamber 301 is blown up and produces a strong connection keeping the two walls perfectly equidistant, parallel and capable to withstand substantial strain due to the air pressure typically 20 PSI or more. The higher the gas (air) pressure the more rigid and tight is the inflated air chamber 301. DWF DROP STITCH SINGLE VALVE AIR CHAMBER DWF material is usually used to manufacture air chambers (boards) for sport or camping applications including i.e. SUP boards, mattresses, yoga mats, air tracks, etc. Such air chambers consist typically of one single valve 2-dimensional air chamber (board) with two parallel walls; such boards can have any plane 2-dimensional shape; they can be square, round, in the form of a surfboard, or any plane surface shape. In the present invention parts of the inflatable furniture structure like 201 in Fig. 2 can be composed of one or more air chambers that can be, 2-dimensional like 1100 in Fig. 11 or 3- dimensional as illustrated by the examples of Fig. 8, Fig. 9 or Fig. 10. The present invention discloses new methods to manufacture 3-dimensional DWF single valve air chambers; what is meant by a “single valve air chamber ” is an air chamber that can be inflated and deflated from one single valve. For example Fig. 8 shows examples of 3 -dimensional DWF single valve air chambers like 802 or 803 that can be inflated from one single air valve 804. MANUFACTURING 2-DIMENSIONAL DWF SINGLE VALVE AIR CHAMBERS Usually 2-dimensional single valve air chambers are used for SUP boards, mattresses, yoga pads, air tracks, etc. In general, they are manufactured as illustrated in Fig. 4 where 402 is a top view, 403 a side view and 401 a camera view. At least the following components are needed to manufacture such DWF air chambers:

• a DWF piece of a given surface 404 consisting of two walls 405 and 406 (the upper wall and the lower wall) and a system of drop stitch threads 407; the two walls 405 and 406 are of exactly the same shape and area and are connected by their drop stitch threads 407 as described in [56] and [57], The typical distance between the walls of the DWF piece ranges from a few centimetres to a few decimetres and is equal to the length of the drop stitch wires 407; this distance is also called the height of the DWF material.

• an air tight band (strap) 408 made of fabric coated with rubber like PVC or TPU; this band is used to seal the sides of the DWF piece 404. The width of this sealing band 408 is generally a few centimetres more that the height of the DWF piece 404. This sealing band 408 is long enough to wrap around the sides of the DWF piece 404.

• one air valve 409 to inflate and deflate the resulting air chamber. The extra centimetres in the width of the sealing strap are used to glue or weld the band 408 on the DWF upper and lower walls 405 and 406. The valve 409 can be fixed on any location judged appropriate by the manufacturer on the seal band or on one of the walls of the DWF piece, in Fig. 4 the valve 409 is placed on the sealing band 408. This is how in principle 2-dimensional single valve air chambers are manufactured, there are indeed variations where additional layers of rubber or foam are added for more strength, more secure air tightness or improved comfort and convenience. There are also instances where other fixtures are attached to the air chambers like lifting and pulling handles or hooks. Note that the side cross section views in the graphic images in this description illustrate cross section views of the DWF air chambers as if the walls, the drop stitch threads and the sealing bands where cut by an invisible plan perpendicular to the walls of the DWF air chambers. MANUFACTURING 3 -DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES TO FORM A SINGLE VALVE AIR CHAMBER The present invention discloses numerous innovative methods to manufacture 3-dimensional DWF single valve air chambers (air chambers that can be inflated from a single valve) including as illustrated in Fig. 5 the technique of cutting one wall 502 without cutting the other wall 503 of a Double Wall Fabric piece 501. Cutting the wall 502 is done along a line 505 in the “corridor” space between two adjacent parallel rows of internal drop stitch wires while avoiding to cut any of these wires. Cutting so the wall 502 and leaving the other wall 503 intact allows folding this wall 503 along the line that is vis-a-vis and parallel to the cutting line 505. This is an elegant and efficient way to obtain a desired angle b (labeled 506) between two boards in the same air chamber without having to glue or weld together two separate pieces of DWF avoiding so a messy and time consuming unnecessary work. As shown in Fig. 6 the angle b (labeled 602) depends on the distance d that corresponds in fact to the width of the rubber sealing band 601 e.g. the larger the width d of the sealing band 601, the smaller will be angle b once the air chamber is blown up. Fig. 6 shows also the sealing bands at the “elbow” 603 between the 2 resulting DWF boards as well as the sealing bands at the ends sides 604 of the DWF. Also the graphics in Fig. 6 illustrate side cross section views corresponding in fact to perpendicular section views of the DWF air chambers where the walls, the drop stitch threads and the sealing bands at the “elbows” 603 as well as the extremities sides 604 appear from their side view as sectioned along a perpendicular invisible plane. Note that when inflated the rubber sealing band is not flat but round with the “belly” sticking out, this is due to the fact that there is no drop stitch wires that would hold the band and prevent it from becoming round. In other words, when inflated the rubber sealing band is getting round like a balloon does. As shown in Fig. 7 the curvatures (the belly effects) cl, c2 and c3 of a sealing band with the same elasticity and the same width d at the elbows 701, 702 and 703 depend on the angles bl, b2 and b3 between the two DWF boards e.g. the smaller the angle b, the larger is the curvature c. Also it should be noted that for the same width d of the rubber sealing band and for the same angle b between the two DWF boards, the “belly” effect or the curvature of the sealing band increases if the elasticity of the sealing band increases. A picture is worth a thousand words; following are some 3-dimensional DWF single valve air chamber architectural designs made on the basis of 2-dimensional DWF single valve air boards. Fig. 7 shows how to manufacture simply, elegantly, and efficiently a 3 -dimensional single valve air chamber with 2 boards forming an angle. Fig. 8 shows how to manufacture 3 -dimensional single valve air chambers from multiple boards to obtain curved shapes like “s” or “u” shapes. Fig. 9 shows how to manufacture 3 -dimensional single valve air chambers from multiple boards to obtain an “x” or a shape. Fig. 10 shows how the manufacture 3-dimensional single valve air chambers with multiple boards to obtain closed shapes like square or hexagon. There is another innovative technique to produce 3-dimensional single valve air chambers from a plurality of 2-dimensional single valve air chambers (boards) disclosed in this invention. Fig. 11 shows how a plurality of 2-dimensional DWF boards can be attached to form 3 -dimensional single valve air chambers. To demonstrate the technique, two 2-dimensional boards 1102 and 1103 are pierced with holes 1101 on the walls facing each other. The two boards 1102 and 1103 are glued or welded together 1104 so that the two holes 1101 are merged in one hole 1105. Consequently the resulting 3-dimensional single valve air chamber from this set up can be inflated and deflated from a single valve 1106. As an alternative to the holes 1101 linear slits (incision) can be cut, as described on paragraph [64], exactly in the “corridor” space between two parallel adjacent rows of drop stitch wires attached internally to the walls of the boards facing each other. The advantage of the slits in comparison to the holes is related to the fact that the slits if made properly they do not cut any internal drop stitch wires which keeps the walls perfectly parallel and strong on all the surface of the walls. Whereas making holes cuts some of the drop stitch wires making the DWF wall loose their equidistance and strength locally around the holes. Of course to speed up the inflation and the deflation there could be more that one hole and more that one slit on the walls. Also the slits can be cut in parallel or in the form of a cross. This invention discloses also other innovative techniques to produce a 3-dimensional DWF single valve air chambers from a plurality of 2-dimensional single valve air chambers (boards). As shown in Fig. 12 at least one hole 1202 is pierced on one of the two walls of 2-dimensional DWF board 1201, then an open (not sealed) side 1206 of the second DWF board 1203 is placed on the hole(s) 1202, with the board 1203 being perpendicular to the board 1201. In this position the board 1203 is glued or welded 1205 in and air tight manner on the board 1201. Consequently the resulting 3-dimensional single valve air chamber from this set up can be inflated and deflated from a single valve 1204. Here also as an alternative to the holes 1202, linear slits (incisions) can be cut similarly to what is described in paragraph [64] i.e. exactly in the “corridor” space between two parallel adjacent rows of drop stitch wires attached internally to the wall. And again, the advantage of the slits in comparison to the holes is related to the fact that the slits if made properly they do not cut any internal drop stitch wires which keeps the walls perfectly parallel on all the surface of the walls. Of course here also to speed up the inflation and the deflation there could be more that one hole and more that one slit on the wall. Also the slits can be cut in parallel or in the form of a cross. THE ESSENTIAL PURPOSES OF THE UPHOLSTERY COVERING OF THE INFLATABLE FURNITURE IN THIS INVENTION In addition to the usual roles that the upholstery covers play like the aesthetic, the comfort and the protection from stains, corrosive liquids, sun, fire etc that they provide to usual pieces of furniture, in this invention these textile or other material coverings play additional crucial roles, for DWF inflatable furniture objects, like:

• protecting against accidental piercing of the inflatable elements,

• masking of imperfections of manufacturing of the inflatable structure,

• making the inflatable furniture look more like classical furniture objects people are used to, and

• most importantly serving as mechanical means of assembly and cohesion by holding tightly and firmly the different DWF air chambers (boards) constituting the inflatable elements of the furniture part. This is achieved by the handy internal forces resulting from the internal pressure forces applied by the pressurised DWF air chambers on the upholstery covers as explained in paragraphs [77] to [83], This consequently makes the assembly (mounting) of the furniture much easier by merely inflating the different air chambers inside the fabrics or other material coverings. COVERING THE INFLATABLE FURNITURE STRUCTURE WITH TEXTILE OR OTHER MATERIAL UPHOLSTERY This invention describes how to place and remove the textile or other material covers of a DWF inflatable structure. As shown in Fig. 13, the covers are manufactured as closable pockets (envelopes) 1301 with a zip band 1303 or other appropriate closing means. The closed cover fits like a glove on the 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional air chamber once blown up 1301. To cover the DWF air chamber 1302 these steps are followed: (1) the air chamber 1302 is deflated using an electrical pump 1305 or other way, (2) the air chamber 1302 is folded to facilitate its insertion in the cover pocket 1301 through its aperture 1304, (3) the deflated air chamber is then unfolded and placed correctly inside the cover bag 1301 to ease the fitting of the cover once the chamber 1302 is inflated, (4) the air chamber is blown up with the pump 1305 to reach the desired rigidity of the furniture element, and (5) the cover pocket is closed by the zip band 1303 or other closing means used to obtain a nicely an perfectly covered inflated air chamber 1306. Note that depending on the user desire to balance the rigidity and the softness, the air chamber can be inflated fully or partially, a typical air pressure is about 20 PSI. For reference, the air pressure inside a well manufactured DWF air chamber can be up to a maximum of 30 PSI. ASSEMBLY AND SELF STRENGTHENING DWF INFLATABLE STRUCTURE MAKING USE OF AT HAND EXISTING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FORCES The present invention describes how to use readily present internal and external forces generated by internal or external effects on the inflatable furniture objects elements in order to assemble or to strengthen the cohesion, the rigidity and the solidity of said inflatable furniture objects. These effects can include for example, the air pressure in the DWF air chambers for the internal effects and the weight of persons or objects for the external effects. In this regard, other innovations are disclosed in this invention characterised by novel engineering techniques, making use of internal forces effects, as assembly or self strengthening means of the inflatable DWF based furniture objects like for example a simple and judicious combination of upholstery covers and DWF inflatable structure. As illustrated in Fig. 14, two separated 2-dimensional DWF boards 1401 and 1402 are inserted in two upholstery bags 1403 and 1404 following the process described in paragraphs [73] and [74] with the particularity that these two bags are firmly attached together by sewing, gluing, or other way of fixing, close to the edges, the top face of one bag 1404 to the bottom face of the second bag 1403. In addition, to the aesthetics and protection rationals of using upholstery covers, there are technical innovative aspects resulting from the covers being manufactured tightly close on the inflated DWF boards so that once, as described in paragraph [75], the two DWF boards 1406 and 1407 are blown up to reach the desired rigidity using a pump 1405, the internal forces resulting from the pressures applied by the air chambers on the upholstery covers create a cohesive and firmly assembled pair of DWF boards making thereby obsolete the classical means of assembly of classical furniture objects. In addition to these facts, the process of deflating and re-inflating the DWF framework can be done a quite large number of times without damaging the parts of the DWF inflatable structure. Whereas, the process of dismantling and reassembling classical dismountable pieces of furniture will in most cases result in damages that would make the process difficult to repeat after a number of iterations and could even result in irreversible damages. Another simple and judicious combination of upholstery covers and DWF inflatable structure makes use of external forces resulting from the use of the weight of persons or objects placed on the DWF furniture structures as leverage to strengthen the rigidity and the solidity of said inflatable furniture based on DWF framework. Fig. 15 illustrates two pairs of 2-dimensional DWF boards; as described in paragraph [78], the left pair 1501 + 1502 is assembled into a pair of attached fabric or other material envelopes and the right pair 1503 + 1504 is also assembled in the same way into another attached pair of fabric or other material envelopes. In addition these two pairs of upholstery covers, the left one and the right one, are connected by a plurality of strong non-elastic textile or other material straps (or equivalent) 1507 upon which is placed a middle DWF board separately covered with textile or other material envelope 1505. As a direct consequence of this judicious setup, the weight W of a person or an object 1506 resting on the middle board 1505 pulls down on the straps 1507 resulting in lateral forces F pulling together the two pairs of attached boards 1501 + 1502 and 1503 + 1504 towards the interior of the furniture object and therefore squeezing the middle board 1505 and causing the entire furniture setup to be more rigid, firm and stable. In another example setup disclosed in this invention, illustrated in a side view in Fig. 16 a stack of DWF inflatable boards 1601 covered tightly with, separate or attached together pockets made of fabric or other material as described in paragraph [78], This assembly is combined with frames made of metal or other rigid material 1603. These frames are mounted with the stack of DWF boards when deflated by (1) inserting the structures 1603 through textile or other material sleeves 1604 attached to the said pocket covers and/or (2) inserting the structures 1603 through textile or other material sleeves 1605 attached to strong non-elastic tight textile or other material straps 1602. When the boards are inflated the straps 1602 pull the rigid structures 1603 against the stack of DWF boards making the entire assembly more solid and stable without the use of any screw, bolts or equivalent. In addition, as the feet 1607 of the rigid frames 1603 can be manufactured such as they constitute an angle a with the vertical, when an external force corresponding to the weigh 1605 of a person or an object is placed on the DWF board, the centre of gravity of the weight W combined with the furniture object weight causes the frames 1603 to lean towards the interior of the furniture object and press against the stack of DWF boards making the entire assembly even more strong and stable without the use of any screw, bolts or equivalent. In yet another example setup disclosed in this invention; illustrated in a front view in Fig. 16 a stack of DWF inflatable boards 1601 covered tightly with, separate or together attached pockets made of fabric or other material as described in paragraph [78], This assembly is combined with structures 1603 made of metal or other rigid material. These structures are mounted with the stack of DWF boards by (1) inserting the frames 1603 through textile or other material sleeves 1604 attached to the upholstery covers and/or (2) fixing the frames 1603 onto fixation points

1609 to a plurality of strong non-elastic textile or other material straps (or equivalent) 1608. These straps 1608 are given an optimal length so that placing a weight 1606 of a person or an object on the furniture applies a force W that is transferred by the means of the straps 1608 to the rigid frames 1603 through a judiciously defined path, generating lateral forces F pulling together the rigid frames 1606 and squeezing therefore the stack of DWF inflatable boards 1601 which results in a strong, stable and balanced assembly of the furniture object without the use of any screw, bolts or equivalent. Also in another example setup disclosed in this invention, also illustrated in a front view in Fig. 16 a stack of DWF inflatable boards 1601 covered tightly with, separate or together attached pockets made of fabric or other material as described in paragraph [78], This assembly is combined with frames of metal or other rigid material 1612. These frames are mounted with the stack of DWF boards by inserting the structures 1612 through textile or other material sleeves 1604 and 1611 attached to the upholstery covers. These rigid structures 1612 have the particularly of being properly curved towards the exterior 1609. By giving the optimal curvatures

1610 to these rigid frames 1612, the pressures and tensions applied on the rigid frames 1612 by the stack of air chambers 1601 when inflated, generate tension forces F, directed towards the interior of the furniture structure, that pull together the frames 1612 at the attachment points 1611. Consequently, the curved rigid frames 1612 squeeze therefore the stack of DWF inflatable boards 1601 which results in a strong, stable and balanced assembly of the furniture object without the use of any screw, bolts or equivalent. ASSEMBLING DWF BOARDS THAT HAVE COMPLEX 2D SHAPES This invention also discloses a way to assemble, without gluing them or welding them together, DWF boards that are designed to be superposable and that have entire or partial concave (incurved) 2D shapes. The way to cover a stack 1701 of two (or more) DWF boards 1702 and

1703 in Fig. 17 that have concave 2D shapes with upholstery envelopes that fit like a glove, is to manufacture textile or other material envelopes that fits closely and separately each of the incurved boards 1702 and 1703 when inflated. Then the separate textile or other material envelopes are attached together by sewing the top side of the lower pocket to the lower side of the top pocket as described in paragraph [78], The deflated boards are inserted in their respective pocket as described in paragraphs [73] to [75], Then inflating them will assemble them in strong and stable manner and will look perfectly tight and nicely covered like a glove by the textile or other material envelop 1704. This demonstrates the importance of the textile or other material covers in the assembly process of DWF boards with complex shapes. MANUFACTURING COMPLEX 3D SINGLE VALVE AIR CHAMBERS OUT OF 2D DWF BOARDS This description emphasises the fact that the exiting DWF applications are mostly simple 2D shapes and this is obviously due the fact that DWF objects are flat objects with parallel plane walls, however on the basis of the innovative techniques and notions disclosed in this invention, complex inflatable furniture objects that have non-flat shapes, can be formed from one or more single valve air chambers. The perfectly curved furniture object of Fig. 18 shows that rather complex curved forms can be manufactured on the basis of this invention as described in paragraphs [64] to [69], For example the long chair of Fig. 19 can be manufactured as a single valve air chamber or limited number of single valve air chambers. In other words, the techniques disclosed in this invention show how to manufacture an inflatable furniture object such the long chair of Fig. 19 so that it is inflatable from a single valve or from a limited number of valves despite the complexity of its design. INFLATABLE FURNITURE OBJECTS THAT CAN BE MODULAR Modularity and transformability in furniture design can be rather attractive, however an efficient and easy way to attach and detach modules of inflatable furniture objects is not a straightforward task, in particular because it is preferable to not deflate the modules completely to detach them. A number of techniques can be used to attach and detach modules of inflatable furniture objects including ways that can be fixed directly to the bare DWF air chambers, directly to the envelopes covering the DWF air chambers or to both; these means can include the use of zip bands, magnets, snap fasteners, hook-and-loop fastener, Velcro sheets, nylon textile or other material straps with plastic side release buckles or other appropriate detachable fixations. However these fixations could be complex in design and may not be sufficiently strong and stable. The present invention describes how here also use can be made of readily present internal and external forces like those generated by the pressure in the DWF air chambers and/or by the weight of persons or objects in order to manufacture DWF furniture modules that can be attachable in a strong and stable manner while easily detachable without having to deflate the modules entirely. Fig. 20 shows two separate modules 2001 and 2002 of a DWF inflatable furniture object each of them consisting of a separate stack of air chambers assembled together following the technique described in paragraph [78], Module 2001 can be anchored on the module 2002 in a firm and cohesive manner, taking advantage of internal and external forces generated by the air pressure in the DWF air chambers and/or by the weight of persons or objects placed on the DWF furniture structure. Module 2001 and module 2002 are fastened together by a plurality of detachable strong nonelastic textile or other material straps (or equivalent) 2003. By giving the optimal length to these detachable straps 2003, the internal forces resulting from the pressures applied by the air chambers when inflated result in pulling together the two modules 2001 + 2002 and causing a strong and efficient anchoring. To detach the two modules, the pressure is reduced in one of the modules by deflating partially one of the air chambers in the module, then the straps 2003 are opened using their detachable fixations 2006 like plastic side release buckles or other appropriate detachable fixations. Fig. 20 shows another setup where the modules 2001 and 2002 are fastened together by a plurality of detachable strong non-elastic textile or other material straps (or equivalent) 2005. Here also these detachable straps 2005 are given an optimal length so that placing the weight 2004 of a person or an object on the furniture applies a force W that is transferred by the means of the straps 2005 to the module 2001 through a judiciously defined track, generating forces F pulling together the two modules 2001 + 2002 and causing a strong and balanced anchoring. When the weight 2004 is removed, to detach the two modules, the straps 2005 are simply opened using their detachable fixations 2007 like for example here also plastic side release buckles or other appropriate detachable fixations. It is remarkable to note that the use of the forces generated by the internal pressures in the DWF inflatable furniture object cause well balanced, uniformly distributed forces of cohesion, strength, stability and anchoring that are proportional and well fitting the mechanical properties of the object thanks to the judicious techniques and notions disclosed in this innovation. It is also remarkable to note that the use of the external forces generated by for example the weight of a person sitting on the DWF inflatable object causes well balanced, well distributed forces of cohesion, stability and anchoring requirements that are proportional and fitting the size and the weight of the person or the object placed on the DWF inflatable furniture piece. In summary thanks to the judicious techniques and notions disclosed in this innovation the inflatable DWF object reacts dynamically and proportionally to the physical dimensions of each person. . INFLATABLE DWF FURNITURE OBJECTS WITH FEET . Like any other classical furniture piece, the inflatable DWF furniture objects of the present invention can have a plurality of fixed or removable feet made of metal, wood, plastic, rubber or other suitable material; Fig. 21 shows examples of these feet including:

• A plurality of feet 2101 attached to or extending a plurality of metallic or hard material reinforcing frames 2102 or structures attached to the sides of the inflatable DWF furniture object.

• A plurality of feet 2103 made of metal, wood, plastic, rubber or other suitable material attached to or extending a plurality metallic or hard material frames or base structures 2104 attached to the bottom of the inflatable DWF furniture object.

• A plurality of feet 2105 made of metal, wood, plastic, rubber or other suitable material attached directly to the material of the DWF air chambers, to the upholstery covers of the inflatable DWF furniture object, or to both. . DEDICATED INFLATION OPENINGS ON THE UPHOLSTERY COVERS 0. As in this invention one of the main functions of the upholstery covers is to assemble in a cohesive and strong manner separate DWF air chambers, these covers can be manufactured on purpose to fit quite tightly on the inflated air chambers they cover. Therefore, it might become difficult to close the covers with a zip band or equivalent once the chambers are inflated. LAs shown in Fig. 22 it could become difficult to close the zip band (or other closing mean) 2206 after inserting the air chamber 2201 and inflating it since the insertion aperture 2205 could become too wide under to the effect of the DWF chamber air pressure. Consequently this invention describes the solution of having on the upholstery envelopes dedicated openings 2204 for the DWF air chambers valve 2202. This way after inserting the deflated air chamber 2201 in the upholstery pocket 2203, the insertion aperture 2205 is closed with a zip band or equivalent 2206. Inflating the air chamber from its dedicated opening 2204 while the upholstery cover is closed with its zip band or equivalent 2206 makes the process much easier, faster and more comfortable. Then the valve is locked with its securing lid 2211 after which the valve and its inflation opening 2211 on the upholstery pocket could be further covered with a cache 2212 for aesthetics, protection of the valve, or other reasons. The cache 2212 can be made of the same material as the upholstery pocket or any other suitable material. . CHANGING THE LENGTH OF DROP STITCH THREADS . Usually the length of the drop stitch wires inside a DWF piece is constant and is exactly the same for all the wires, this is what keeps the two walls perfectly parallel and equidistant in an inflated 2-dimensional DWF air chamber. Changing the length of these wires like for example making them shorter locally would make the walls closer in that location. . Fig. 23 shows the cross section of a DWF air chamber with two areas; one area 2301 where all the drop stitch wires 2305 are all equal and another area 2302 where the lengths of the wires 2304 are getting progressively shorter when moving towards the exterior of the chamber. Therefore in area 2302 the walls of the inflated DWF air chamber are not parallel but form an angle a. Fig. 23 shows also the cross section of another DWF air chamber with an area 2303 where the wires 2306 are locally shorter than the rest of the wires, this causes local dips on the walls of the inflated DWF air chamber, as the locally shorter wires pull the walls closer to each other in comparison to the rest of the surface of the walls. . Taking this effect into consideration, the present invention describes a way to reduce the “belly” effect or the curvature of the of the sealed side of a piece of DWF material when sealing it as described in paragraph [66], This by shortening the drop stitch wires from length hl length to h2 by the means of nots 2308 or other suitable way. This in turn, makes the width of the sealing band 2309 smaller; as the sealing band described in paragraphs [59] to [64], . EFFECT OF THE WIDTH OF A SEALING BAND . As shown in Fig. 24 usually the width wl of a rubber sealing band (PVC, TPU or the like) 2402 is more than the height h of a 2-dimensional piece of DWF material 2401 which corresponds to the length of the drop stitch wires inside, as described in paragraph [59], Once the DWF sealed air chamber 2401 is inflated, the resulting curvature c of the rubber sealing band 2403 will increase if the width wl of sealing band increases. Note that this curvature c increases also if the surface tension t of the sealing band is lower i.e. if the sealing band is more elastic which makes it more prone to ballooning effect. . This invention shows that using a rubber sealing band 2404 with a width w2 smaller than the height h of a 2-dimensional DWF piece 2401 results in making obsolete the drop stitch threads 2405 next to the sealing band 2406, and if the sealing band surface tension t is the same as the surface tension of the walls of the sealed piece of DWF material then the resulting curvature c in the sealed side is the same as the curvature of a sealing band with a width equal to the height h of the DWF piece. Note that what is meant by the drop stitch threads becoming obsolete is that they do not anymore hold parallel the 2 walls of the DWF piece because the surface tension pulls locally the walls closer to each other making their distance less than the length h of the drop stitch wires. . INNOVATIVE MECHANICAL MODULAR ASSEMBLY TECHNIQUES OF DWF AIR CHAMBERS MAKING USE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FORCES . This invention discloses other innovative techniques to build modular constructions of DWF air chambers based on judicious mechanical setups. Here also, advantage is taken of internal forces as well as external forces to build rigid, cohesive and stable modular objects made of DWF air chambers. . Fig. 25 shows a “C” shaped piece of metal or other rigid material with a form similar to a “Horseshoe” when seen from the side 2501 comprising two flat surfaces at the extremities 2502 that can be round 2503 (as seen from the top) square or other appropriate flat shape. A deflated air chamber 2504 inside its upholstery envelop is placed 2505 in one or more “C” shaped rigid pieces 2501, and this before it is inflated. Note that as described in paragraphs [100] and [101] for convenience reasons, on the upholstery cover a dedicated inflation valve aperture can be made separated from the opening where the air chamber can be inserted. This opening where the air chamber can be inserted can be closed by a zip band 2508 or equivalent before the air chamber is inflated. Then the covered air chamber 2504 is inflated with a pump 2506 thought its air valve 2507. When the chamber 2504 is inflated, the “C” shaped rigid pieces 2501 act as vises (or pliers) by pressing their flat extremities 2502 (side view) / 2503 (top view) on the walls of the air chamber 2504. Consequently, the “C” shaped pliers 2501 and the inflated air chamber 2504 become united, and the strength of this union depends on the magnitude of the forces applied by the inflated air chamber on the flat extremities 2502/2503 of the pliers 2501; and of course the magnitude of these forces depends on the air pressure in the chamber 2504. . As shown Fig. 26, two or more pliers 2601 are rigidly attached together by welding or by other means forming together an angle of 180 degree 2602, an angle of 90 degrees 2603 or other angle 2604. These together attached pliers 2602, 2603 or 2604 can be used to unite (assemble), as described in the previous paragraph, a plurality of DWF air chambers to form together an angle of 180 degree 2605, an angle of 90 degrees 2606 or other angles like in the so build up object 2701 and 2702 of Fig. 27. This illustrates another example for how use can be made judiciously of readily available internal forces like those generated by the pressures inside the DWF air chambers. . Fig. 26 shows in another example, two parts (upper one and lower one) 2607 of pliers made of metal or other rigid material that can be connected together, by screws 2610 or other appropriate means, to form the pair of attached pliers 2608. Note that the two parts (upper one and lower one) 2607 of the pair of attached pliers 2608 can pivot as in 2609 around the axis 2610. Consequently the pair of pivoting pliers 2609 have the particularity that when the distance between the flat surfaces 2611 at the extremities on the right side is increased, the distance between the flat surfaces 2611 at the extremities on the left side is forcibly decreased. . Considering as shown in 2703 in Fig. 27, the setup where a plurality of DWF air chambers 2704 are assembled by the means of a plurality of pivoting players 2705 as described in paragraphs [112] and [113], the weight W of a person or an object placed on one of the air chamber 2704 tends to increase the pressure inside that air chamber that will increase the magnitude of the forces Fl and F2 applied by the air chamber on the flat shapes on extremities 2707. Consequently the pair of pliers 2705 will pivot such as the distance between the flat surfaces 2707 at the extremities on the left side will increase, decreasing forcibly the distance between the flat surfaces 2708 at the extremities on the right side of the pivoting pliers 2705. This causes the flat shapes at the extremities on the right side to apply forces F3 and F4 on the walls of the inflated DWF board on the right side. The outcome of this process is an even stronger and more cohesive and balanced assembly of the entire setup 2703. This is yet another example for how use can be made of readily available external forces like those generated by the weight of persons or objects in order to further strengthen the assembly and the cohesion of DWF furniture modules. . CUTTING OPENINGS THROUGH DWF AIR CHAMBERS . As illustrated in Fig. 28 one or more openings, of given shapes as rectangular 2802, round 2803 or other shapes, are cut throughout a 2-dimensional DWF air chamber 2801. This is done by cutting exactly the same shapes of the openings on the two walls of the DWF board removing by the same way the drop stitch wires between the two walls in that area. The remaining of the DWF chamber is sealed in air tight manner including the internal sides of the openings 2802 and 2803 resulting in a sealed air chamber 2804. The resulting sealed air chamber 2804 is covered by an upholstery envelope including the internal sides of the openings 2802 and 2803 resulting in a sealed and covered air chamber 2805. The raisons of the such openings 2802 and 2803 in such air chamber 2805 can be motivated by aesthetics or other purposes. Thought such openings other objects can be introduced for various reasons like assembly or strength raisons. Indeed, for example another air chamber 2806 can be inserted in one of the openings 2802 or for example a metallic or rigid tube 2807 of round or of other shape can be introduced in the another opening 2803, and this before the chambers are inflated. Then the DWF air chamber(s) are inflated to reach the desired rigidity. Consequently, the internal forces resulting from the pressures applied by the DWF air chamber 2801 and 2806 on each or by the DWF air chamber 2801 on the rigid object 2807 create a cohesive and firm assembly of the DWF air boards 2801 and 2806 together or of the DWF air board 2801 and the rigid object 2807. . MANUFACTURING DIVERSE SHAPES OF SINGLE VALVE DWF AIR CHAMBERS. This invention discloses other ways to create 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional single valve DWF air chambers with diverse and creative shapes. For example Fig. 29 shows a double sheet of DWF material, here of rectangular shape 2901 but it can be a surface of any desired shape. The two sheets of DWF material surface 2901 are cut along a simple line 2902, cut and a rectangular area 2903 is removed, or cut and other shaped area 2904 is removed. Then the resulting DWF material surface is sealed 2905 in a air tight manner including between the areas 2902, 2903, or 2904, and a single inflation valve 2906 is placed on the resulting chamber. The sealed DWF air chamber 2905 is inflated through the valve 2906. Then the obtained sealed DWF air chamber is covered 2907 with an upholstery envelop fitting like a glove including between the areas 2902, 2903, or 2904, and the upholstery cover is closed with a zip band 2908 or the like. . Fig. 30 shows how from a DWF material serpentine shaped air chamber 3001, different shapes can be obtained by making use of forces and/or spacing objects. For example different 2- dimensional shapes can be obtained by applying a force Fl on a part of the serpentine shaped air chamber 3001 or by inserting a spacer as a tube or other form object made of metal or other appropriate material 3004 between parts of the DWF air chamber 3001. Another example leading to 3 -dimensional shapes 3002 can be obtained by applying a force F2 on a part of the serpentine shaped air chamber 3001 or by inserting a spacer as a tube or other form object made of metal or other appropriate material 3005 between parts of the DWF air chamber 3001.

Claims

An inflatable furniture object that has the particularity of having, when inflated, a rigid and cohesive framework. Said framework comprises at least one chamber made of double wall fabrics enveloped with removable upholstery covers and wherein the assembly, the cohesion and the stability of said inflatable furniture are insured by taking advantage of internal and external forces applied on said framework. The inflatable furniture object of claim 1 wherein said internal forces are generated by the internal air pressures within said furniture object. The inflatable furniture object of claim 1 wherein said external forces are generated by the weight of persons or objets placed on said furniture object. The inflatable furniture object of claim 1 wherein elements of said furniture object consist of one or more single valve DWF air chambers that can be inflated and deflated from one single valve. The DWF air chambers of claim 4 wherein said air chambers can be of 2-dimensional or 3- dimensional shapes inflatable from one single air valve. The inflatable furniture object of claim 1 wherein said upholstery covers are made of materials including, textile, leather, neoprene, rubber, and foam. The inflatable furniture object of claim 1 wherein said upholstery covers are also used to assemble separate DWF air chambers. The upholstery covers of claim 7 that can fit like a glove on one or more DWF air chambers of complex shapes. The DWF air chambers of claim 4 wherein said air chambers can be assembled in combination with structures of metal or other rigid material. The 3-dimensional DWF air chambers of claim 5 that can be manufactured by cutting between two adjacent rows of drop stitch threads one of the two walls of a 2-dimensional DWF piece. The 3-dimensional DWF air chambers of claim 5 that can be manufactured by making holes or cutting slits one wall of a 2-dimensional DWF piece and gluing or welding another 2- dimensional DWF piece on the holes or slits.