OREANDA-NEWS. October 12, 2012. The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that its air-cell cushion for wheelchairs, the "Medi-Air Sky," have received the Good Design Award 2012 in Japan. Over seven consecutive years starting in 2006, YOKOHAMA has received Good Design Awards for nine of its tire, golf and nursing-care products, and also for its "BluEarth concept," an engineering philosophy for Environmental, Human and Socially Friendly tires.

 The "Medi-Air Sky" is an air-cell cushion for wheelchairs with easy air adjustment, assuring safety, comfort and confidence. A built-in sensor detects that the cushion is almost completely compressed and the user is alerted to inflate the air manually. In addition, air cells are controlled in two groups, right and left, along with larger cells positioned at the edges to ensure a stable sitting position. This facilitates individual adjustment for maximum stability. The result is comfortable sitting in a stable position. Improvements to the already established advantages of using air cells include enhanced body stability, precise adjustment of amount of air by a manual pump, and alerts to prevent bottoming out, and all have been highly evaluated. Medi-Air Sky is currently sold in the Japanese market only.

 YOKOHAMA has received Good Design Awards in multiple areas. Recognized tires are the eco "DNA series," which received the first ecology design award in the tire industry, in 2002; the "ADVAN dB" premium comfort tire, in 2009; the "BluEarth AE-01" standard fuel-efficient tire, in 2010; and the "ZEN 903ZW" studless tire for trucks and buses, in 2011. In addition to tire products, the "BluEarth concept" and the company’s tire pressure monitoring system, golf products (set of clubs, balls and bag) and the nursing-care product the "Medi-Air," an air-cell cushion for wheelchairs with an automatic pressure-relief function, were previously given awards.

 Sponsored by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion, the Good Design Award is a comprehensive program of evaluating and advocating design. Many overseas as well as domestic companies and organizations now participate in the program. The award-winning products are entitled to use the "G Mark" as a symbol of excellent design.