Shock attenuating devices

Claim 1

A COMPRESSIBLE SHOCK ATTENUATING UNIT COMPRISING, A UNITARY RESILIENT MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSITE AND PARALLEL FORCE-RECEIVING SURFACES AND A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CENTRAL OPENING EXTENDING THERETHROUGH BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF FORCE-RECEIVING SURFACES, A PAIR OF NON-EXTENSIBLE SUPPORT ELEMENTS EACH BONDED TO ONE OF SAID FORCE-RECEIVING SURFACES AND OVERLYING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID CENTRAL OPENING TO PROVIDE A CLOSED CHAMBER, THE WALL PORTION OF SAID RESILIENT MEMBER INTERMEDIATE SAID BONDED FORCE-RECEIVING SURFACES BEING DISTOROTABLE RADIALLY OUTWARDLY UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID NON-EXTENSIBLE SUPPORT ELEMENTS TOWARD ONE ANOTHER UPON THE APPLICATION OF COMPRESSION FORCES TO THE UNIT, SEPARATE MEANS FIXEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ONE OF SAID PAIR OF SUPPORT ELEMENTS AND EXTENDING INWARDLY OF SAID CHAMBER WITH SAID MEANS SERVING TO DIVIDE SAID CHAMBER INTO AT LEAST TWO PARTS, A FLOWABLE DAMPENING MEDIUM FILLING BOTH PARTS OF SAID CHAMBER, AND ORIFICE MEANS DEFINED BETWEEN SAID TWO PARTS OF SID CHAMBER BY SAID SEPARATE MEANS FIXEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SUPPORT ELEMENTS, THE VOLUMES OF SAID TWO PARTS OF SAID CHAMBER BEING VARIED DURING COMPRESSION OF SIAD UNIT AND MOVEMENT OF SAID SEPARATE MEANS FIXEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SUPPORT ELEMENTS TOWARD ONE ANOTHER WITH ONE PART OF SEAID CHAMBER DECREASING IN VOLUME AND THE OTHER PART INCREASING IN VOLUME AND WITH SAID DAMPENING MEDIUM BEING METERED THROUGH SAID ORIFICE MEANS BETWEEN SAID TWO PARTS OF SAID CHAMBER FROM THE PART WHICH DECREASES IN VOLUME TO THE PART WHICH INCREASES IN VOLUME, WHEREBY TO ATTENUATE COMPRESSIVE SHOCK FORCES APPLIED TO SAID UNIT.