US3462772A - Center-pivoting bed - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 29, 1969 A. MOR ISON CENTER-PIVOTING BED 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1967 EAR LE MORRISON Agent Aug. 29, 1969 E. A. MORRISON CENTER-PIVOTING BED 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed Aug. 11, 1967 FIG. 5 3

E' xwsaaem 454, I ZJ Agent United States Patent Olfice 3,462,772 CENTER-PIVOTING BED Earle A. Morrison, 3490 Cypress St., Vancouver 9, British Columbia, Canada Filed Aug. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 659,920 Int. Cl. A61g .7/ US. Cl. 63 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bed having a base and a vertically displaceable mattress-supporting frame which is pivoted at its mid-point to one end of a connecting arm of which the other end is pivoted to the base. Means are provided for keeping the frame in a horizontal position while being lowered or raised, but this means can be selectively disconnected from the frame to allow the latter to assume an angular orientation.

This invention relates to a bed of which the mattresssupporting frame is adapted to be raised and lowered with respect to the floor, and wherein the frame, at any vertical position, can be tilted to place the head-end either above or below the foot-end. The bed to which this invention relates is particularly suitable for use in hospitals.

The object of this invention is to provide a bed of the above type, simple in construction and easy to operate.

Accordingly, this invention provides a bed, comprising: a base, a frame for supporting a mattress above said base, a connecting arm mounted at one end to said base to pivot in a vertical plane about a first axis, said frame being mounted at substantially its mid-point to the other end of said connecting arm for pivotal movement with respect thereto about a second axis parallel with the first axis, means for pivoting said connecting arm about said first axis to raise and lower said frame, and means for maintaining said frame in a horizontal orientation during raising and lowering of said frame.

Two embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partly broken-away perspective view of a portion of the bed in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partly broken-away perspective view, to a larger scale than FIGURE 1, of one portion of the bed of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partly broken-away perspective view of another portion of the bed of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, to a smaller scale, showing an alternate construction; and

FIGURE 5 is a schematic elevational view of the bed of FIGURE 1 showing three diiferent orientations that the mattress-supporting frame is capable of assuming.

Turning first to FIGURE 5, the bed of this invention is seen to comprise generally abase 11, aframe 12 for supporting a mattress above thebase 11, a connectingarm 14 mounted at oneend 16 for piovtal movement in a vertical plane parallel with the long dimension of thebed 10, and connected at itsother end 17 to theframe 12 at approximately the mid-point of the latter. Means, later to be described, are provided for causing the connectingarm 14 to pivot about itsend 16, and further means are provided, selectively operable, to cause theframe 12 to remain in a horizontal position during elevation and lowering. These latter means can be disconnected in order to permit theframe 12 to assume an angled position as shown at 18 in FIGURE 5.

Attention is now directed to FIGURE 1 which shows, in perspective, part of thebase 11, theframe 12, the means by which the latter is raised and lowered, and the 3,462,772 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 means by which theframe 12 is kept in a horizontal position during raising and lowering.

Thebase 11 includes a hollowrectangular member 20, connected at either end to T-bars 21 and 22, both of which are supported on a pair of castor wheels 23 (only two of the fourwheels 23 visible).

In FIGURE 1 the connectingarm 14 is shown to have a width comparable to the width of theframe 12, and is pivoted about ashaft 24 to the T-bar 22. At theend 17 of the connectingarm 14 is pivotally mounted ashaft 25, which is not visible in FIGURE 1, but which can be seen in FIGURE 2. Theshaft 25 is secured at either end to theframe 12 by means of plates 26 (only onesuch plate 26 visible in each of FIGURES 1 and 2). The connection between theshaft 25 and theframe 12 is at substantially the mid-point of the latter, such that theframe 12 can be easily pivoted away from the horizontal posi. tion, when and if this should become necessary.

The raising and lowering of theframe 12 is accomplished by means of a further connectingarm 28, and a hydraulic cylinder 30 (shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1). The connectingarm 28 is pivoted at itsupper end 31 about theshaft 25, and is thus pivoted to theupper end 17 of the connectingarm 14. The lower end of the further connectingarm 28 is bifurcated into twoarms 33 and 34, which constitute a kind of clevis between which aclevis pin 36 extends. Theclevis pin 36 is adapted to slide in a pair of slots 38 (only one visible) in themember 20 of thebase 11. Theright hand end 40 of thehydraulic cylinder 30 is fixed to thebase 11, and thepiston rod 41 of thehydraulic cylinder 30 is secured to theclevis pin 36. Thus, extension and retraction of thepiston rod 41 causes the connectingarms 14 and 28 to geniculate, thereby causing theframe 12 to be raised and lowered.

The means by which theframe 12 is maintained in a horizontal orientation during its raising and lowering will now be described with reference to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings.

Referring to FIGURE 2, a shorttubular element 42 is mounted rotatably about theshaft 25. In FIGURE 1,element 42 is shown in its assembled position, adjacent the side of theframe 12. A further identicaltubular element 42 is located at the opposite end of theshaft 25 adjacent the other side of theframe 12, but it is partly hidden by theframe 12. Eachtubular element 42 has, at one end, aflange 44 rigidly secured thereto. Theflange 44 has a plurality ofradial slots 45 for a purpose shortly to be described. At the other end of eachtubular element 42 are rigidly secured twopinion members 46. The T-bar 22 has twoupstanding projections 48, of which one is visible in FIGURE 3. Theshaft 24 about which the connectingarm 14 pivots passes through theprojections 48. Rigidly secured to eachprojection 48 is a further pair ofpinion members 50 identical to thepair 46 of pinion members. Thus, the connectingarm 14 may pivot about theshaft 25 while thepair 50 of pinion members remains in fixed relation with the T-bar 22. Anendless chain 52 is tightly engaged around bothpairs 46 and 50 of pinion members such that thepinion members 46 always remain in the same orientation, regardless of the angular position of the connectingarm 14. That is to say, the uppermost spoke or tooth of one of thepinion members 46 will always remain the uppermost tooth, regardless of the angular position of the connectingarm 14.

In FIGURE 1 is shown arelease bar 54 pivoted to theframe 12 at two pivot points 55, of which one is visible in FIGURE 1. Connected at 56 to therelease bar 54 is arod 58 which runs parallel with theframe 12 and passes through abracket 60 attached to theframe 12. Therod 58 has a wedge-shaped end 61 and a flange 62 (see FIG- URE 2). Acompression coil spring 64 is compressed between theflange 62 and thebracket 60, thereby urging therod 58 to the left. When thetubular element 42 shown in FIGURE 2 has been slid along theshaft 25 to its proper position immediately adjacent theframe 12, the wedge-shaped end 61 on therod 58 is adapted to engage in one or the other of theradial slots 45 in theflange 44. Because theflange 44 always maintains the same orientation regardless of the position of the connectingarm 14, it is possible to lock theframe 12 in a horizontal position, maintained throughout its raising and lowering, merely by engaging therod 58 into the appropriate one of theradial slots 45. FIGURE 1 shows this engagement. There is, preferably, anotherrod 58 along the opposite nearer side of theframe 12, engaging with the flange on the other tubular element, but none of this is visible, being hidden by theframe 12 itself.

If it is desired to release theframe 12 from its locking relation with theflange 44, the operator merely pushes downwardly on therelease bar 54, thereby retracting the wedge-shaped end 61 from engagement with theflange 44, releasing the frame to pivot about theshaft 25. The operator can then, if desired, place theframe 12 in, for example, the Trendelenburg position, for which anotherslot 45 is provided in theflange 44. Pressure on therelease bar 54 is then relaxed, thereby letting the wedge-shaped end 61 move to the left and engage the appropriate Trendelenburg slot.

FIGURE 4 shows an alternate construction for assuring that theflange 44 always remains in the same orientation during the raising and lowering. Instead of thesprockets 46 and 50 and thechain 52, there is provided on the T-bar 22 anupstanding member 66 having two wings 67 disposed at approximately a 45 angle to the horizontal. Twosimilar wings 68 are fixed to thetubular element 42. Twoparallel rods 70 extend between corresponding wings, as shown. Eachrod 70 is pivotally connected at either end to a wing 67 and awing 68, and the length and direction of the line extending between the pivot axes of either rod are at all times the same as the length and direction of the line extending between the pivot axes of the connectingarm 14. It will be appreciated that one of therods 70 could be dispensed with without impairing the operation. Furthermore, theangle 45 is not critical. The pairs of wings could, for example, extend roughly vertically.

Although ahydraulic cylinder 30 has here been shown as the means by which theframe 12 is raised and lowered, those versed in this field will be aware that other means, such as an electrically or manually operated mechanical screw or a ratchet, could also be employed for this purpose.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A bed comprising:

a base,

a frame for supporting a mattress above said base,

a connecting arm mounted at one end to said base to pivot in a vertical plane about a first axis,

said frame being mounted at substantially its midpoint to the other end of said connecting arm for pivotal movement with respect thereto about a second axis parallel with the first axis,

means for pivoting said connecting arm about said first axis to raise and lower said frame,

and means for maintaining said frame in a horizontal orienttion during raising and lowering of said frame, said last-mentioned means for maintaining including: a first pinion member secured to said base and coaxial with said first axis, a second pinion member mounted for rotation coaxially with said second axis, the two pinion members having the same diameter,

an endless, flexible member engaged tightly around both pinion members, and

means for selectively locking said frame to said second pinion member.

2. A bed as claimed in claim 1, in which said endless flexible member is a chain, and in which said pinion members are spur gears adapted to engage with said chain.

3. A bed as claimed in claim 1 in which said means for pivoting comprises:

a further connecting arm having its one end pivotally connected to said first-mentioned connecting arm at a location spaced from said first axis, and its other end slidable horizontally toward and away from said first axis, such that movement of the other end of said further connecting arm toward said first axis causes said frame to rise relative to said base.

4. A bed as claimed in claim 3, in which a hydraulic cylinder provided in said base is operable to move said other end of said further connecting arm toward and away from said first axis.

5. A bed comprising:

a base,

a frame for supporting a mattress above said base,

a connecting arm mounted at one end to said base to pivot in a vertical plane about a first axis,

said frame being mounted at substantially its mid-point to the other end of said connecting arm for pivotal movement with respect thereto about a second axis parallel with the first axis,

means for pivoting said connecting arm about said first axis to raise and lower said frame,

and means for maintaining said frame in a horizontal orientation during raising and lowering of said frame, said last-mentioned means for maintaining including:

a member mounted for rotation coaxiaily with said second axis and carrying a first pivot remote from said second axis,

a second pivot fixed with respect to said base, the second pivot being spaced from said first axis the same distance as separates said first pivot from said second axis, and

an elongated rigid member pivoted at one end to said first pivot and at the other end to said second pivot, the elongated rigid member maintaining the first and second pivots apart the same distance as separates said first axis from said second axis.

6. A bed as claimed in claim 5, in which said means for pivoting comprises:

a further connecting arm having its one end pivotally connected to said first-mentioned connecting arm at a location spaced from said first axis, and its other end slidable horizontally toward and away from said first axis, such that movement of the other end of said further connecting arm toward said first axis causes said frame to rise relative to said base.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,471,90l 5/1949 Ross 254-9 3,200,416 8/1965 Warrick 562 3,201,806 8/1965 Hutt 5-62 3,203,670 8/1965 Farris 254-122 3,284,815 11/1966 Grossman et al. 5-62 3,308,485 3/1963 Evans 563 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

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