Beds – Having safety device – Side guard
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-12
2001-02-06
Melius, Terry Lee (Department: 3628)
Beds
Having safety device
Side guard
C005S424000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182310
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to bed side rails, and particularly to side rails for a hospital bed or a patient-care bed. More particularly, the present invention relates to side rails for a hospital bed or a patient-care bed which is convertible to a chair so that the bed can be manipulated to achieve both a conventional bed position having a horizontal sleeping surface and a sitting position having the feet of the person on or adjacent to the floor and the head and back of the person supported above a seat formed by the bed.
Many hospital beds are positionable to a configuration having the sleeping surface of the bed at a predetermined height above the floor and having side rails positioned to restrain the movement of a person lying on the sleeping surface past sides of the sleeping surface and off of the bed. The sleeping surfaces of many such hospital beds can typically be lowered to reduce the distance between the sleeping surface and the floor, and the sleeping surfaces of such beds can often be manipulated to adjust the position of the person on the sleeping surface. In addition, the side rails of these hospital beds can typically be moved to a position away from the sleeping surface to facilitate movement of the person on the sleeping surface from the supine position on the sleeping surface to a standing position on the floor near the bed.
Beds and examination tables having side rails to restrain the movement of the person on the support surfaces thereof past the sides of the support surfaces are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,843 to Foster L. Dale et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,800 to Borders, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,177 to Celestina et al., all of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,010 to Ferrand et al. Each of these references discloses a bed or an examination table having side rails. See also U.S. Patent Application Serial No. unknown, filed herewith, to Weismiller et al. and entitled Chair Bed, the specification of which is herein incorporated by reference.
According to the present invention, a bed for supporting a person is provided, the bed having a head end, a foot end, opposite sides, and including a unique side rail arrangement. The bed has a frame and a deck supported on the frame, the deck comprising head, seat, and foot sections. A mattress is mounted on the deck to cushion the person. The mattress has an upwardly-facing support surface and head, seat, and foot portions corresponding, respectively, to the head, seat, and foot sections of the deck.
The head section of the deck and the mattress portion thereon are pivotable relative to the frame from a generally horizontal position through various positions upwardly to a back-support position. The foot section of the deck and the mattress portion thereon are pivotable from a generally horizontal up position through various positions downwardly to a generally vertically downwardly extending down position providing clearance for the lower legs of the person.
The bed further includes a pair of side rails on each side of said bed. Each pair of side rails includes a body section side rail mounted to move with the deck seat section. The body section side rail extends adjacent the deck head and body sections. Each pair of side rails also includes a head section side rail mounted to move with the deck head section relative to the body section side rail. The head section side rail extends adjacent to only the deck head section. Each side rail has a top and a bottom and is preferably maintained in a generally vertical orientation adjacent to the sides of the bed.
In preferred embodiments, the bed includes a base frame, an intermediate frame coupled to the base frame, a weigh frame coupled to the intermediate frame, and an articulating deck coupled to the weigh frame. The articulating deck has longitudinally spaced head, seat, thigh, and foot sections. The head, thigh, and foot sections are movable relative to each other and are movable relative to the seat section which is fixed relative to the weigh frame. The head, thigh, and foot sections are infinitely adjustable to allow the bed to attain any desired position within the range of movement of the head, thigh, and foot sections, thus accommodating changes of position of a person on the bed. The illustrative articulating deck can provide a planar, horizontal sleeping surface, a planar sleeping surface that is tilted toward either the head end of the bed or the foot end of the bed, and a non-planar chair-shaped seating surface, in addition to the intermediate positions therebetween. Further, as will be described in more detail hereinafter, the illustrative and preferred deck is a “step deck” in that it has an upper deck formed to include a central, longitudinally extending recess defined by a lower deck and side walls connecting the lower and upper decks.
The head section side rails are typically mounted to move with the head section of the articulating deck and move with the head section as the head section moves between the down position and the back-support position. The body section side rails are fixed relative to the weigh frame. The head section and body section side rails are on figured to maintain a between-rail gap of approximately 2-3 inches (5.1-7.6 cm) as the head section side rail moves relative to the body section side rail. Also in preferred embodiments, the head section side rails are shorter than the body section side rails and shorter than typical side rails making it possible for a person to enter the bed from the side using the head section side rail as a support and to properly position his or her hip on the sleeping surface.
The side rails are each movable between an upward patient-restraining position restraining the movement of a person supported on the sleeping surface past the sides of the sleeping surface and a downward tucked position. When in the patient-restraining position, the bottoms of the side rails are positioned to lie above the upper deck side portions and the side rails abut sides of the mattress. When in the tucked position, the tops of the side rails are positioned to lie beneath the upper deck side portions in a niche defined by the upper deck side portions and the side walls connecting the lower deck to the upper deck side portions.
When moving between the patient-restraining position and the tucked position, the side rails rotate outwardly and downwardly from the patient-restraining position away from the side of the bed, and then back inwardly and downwardly to the tucked position beneath the upper deck portion. The side rails trace the same path when moving from the tucked position to the patient-restraining position. The rotating mechanism, which holds the side rails in vertical orientations parallel to the side of the mattress through the entire range of movement, places the side rails against the sides of the mattress when the side rails are in the patient-restraining position, allowing for the provision of a narrower bed than would otherwise be provided, even though the mattress of the bed has a standard width.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bed with cooperating step deck and side rail features. The bed has a head end, a foot end, and two opposing sides, and comprises a frame and a deck carried by the frame. The deck includes an upper deck portion and a central, longitudinally extending recess in the upper deck portion. The recess is defined by a lower deck portion and walls connecting the lower and upper deck portions. The bed further includes a side rail coupled to the bed below the upper deck portion and positionable in a patient-restraining position above the upper deck portion and in a tucked position below the upper deck portion. When the side rails are in the tucked position, clearance between the side rails and the floor is maximized. The positioning of the side rails beneath the deck when in the tucked position also helps caregivers to improve the positioning of th
Albersmeyer David A.
Brooke Jason C.
Dlugos, Jr. Daniel F.
Kramer Kenneth L.
Kummer Joseph A.
Bose McKinney & Evans LLP
Conley Fredrick
Hill-Rom Inc.
Melius Terry Lee
LandOfFree
Bed side rails does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Bed side rails, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Bed side rails will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2596152