Beds – Invalid bed or surgical support – Sectional user supporting surface
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-10
2001-04-17
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Beds
Invalid bed or surgical support
Sectional user supporting surface
C005S613000, C005S616000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216295
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to an adjustable bed. Such beds are used in hospitals, and are also used in domestic situations and in homes for the elderly and infirm, where it is necessary to have a bed which can be adjusted to suit a particular individual.
In such beds the mattress rests on a supporting surface which normally consists of three or four sections pivotally connected to one another. In the case of a four-section supporting surface these are, starting from the head end of the bed, a back section, a buttocks section, a thigh section and a calf section. In the case of a three-section supporting surface the thigh and calf sections are replaced by a single section, or the buttocks section is omitted. The sections are connected to one another in such a way as to allow pivotal movement between adjacent sections about parallel axes transverse to the length of the bed.
One problem which exists with many types of adjustable beds is that as the back section of the supporting surface is pivoted from a horizontal orientation to an inclined position, the upper portion of the user's body, and, therefore, the user's arms, are moved longitudinally in a direction away from the head end of the bed. Commonly, the user will have a bedside cabinet or other surface on which the user's requirements while in bed can be placed, and if this is positioned so that it is convenient for the user to reach when lying flat, it may be rearwardly of the user when the user is sitting up and therefore inconvenient, or even impossible, to reach.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bed in which, by means of a simple mechanism, the upper portion of the user's body can be kept at least approximately at the same position during pivoting movement of the back section of the supporting surface, so that the aforementioned problem does not arise.
According to the present invention there is provided an adjustable bed having a head end and a foot end, comprising a lower frame, an upper frame mounted on the lower frame for longitudinal movement with respect thereto; a supporting surface defined by a plurality of support members including at least a back support member adjacent the head end of the bed and connected to the upper frame for pivotal movement about a transverse axis; and back support adjustment means comprising:
at least one first arm pivotally connected to the lower frame at a first pivotal connection adjacent the head end thereof;
at least one second arm pivotally connected to the upper frame at a second pivotal connection adjacent the said transverse axis;
means pivotally connecting the first and second arms to one another at a third pivotal connection intermediate the said first and second pivotal connections;
support means, carried by the said third pivotal connection, arranged to support the back support member;
and drive means, preferably connected between the upper frame and the said second pivotal connection, for producing longitudinal movement of the upper frame with respect to the lower frame and, simultaneously, vertical movement of the third pivotal connection and, thereby, upward pivotal movement of the back support member, movement of the upper frame towards the head end occurring when the third pivotal connection moves upwards, and movement of the upper frame towards the foot end occurring when the third pivotal connection moves downwards.
Preferably, the drive means comprises a motor mounted on the upper frame at a location nearer the foot end of the bed than the second pivotal connection, the motor serving to cause movement in a generally longitudinal direction of an actuator member the distal end of which is connected to the second pivotal connection in such a way as to cause the second arm to pivot and the upper frame to move longitudinally.
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L & P Property Management Company
Melius Terry Lee
Santos Robert G.
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
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