A soliton air mattress includes an array of air bladder cells that areindividually inflatable to quiescent pressure levels which provide comfortablesupportfor a human body, and a soliton wave generator including an air pressure-pulsegenerator controlled by a wave sequence generator for introducing into orderedsequences of air bladder cells a wave-like time sequence of air pressurepulses whichvary quiescent pressure levels in the cells, the pressure wave resulting in asolitontraveling wave of body support force reduction which traverses surfaces of theairbladder cells, thus reducing normal forces exerted on a body and minimizingtheoccurrence rate of shear forces exerted on the body, thereby inhibitingformation ofbedsores. The soliton wave patterns may optionally simulate water waves and/orrocking motions of a boat to produce relaxing effects.
