WO2005027813A1

WO2005027813A1 - A patient bed device

Info

Publication number: WO2005027813A1
Application number: PCT/NO2003/000321
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Malmin
Original assignee: Leksvik Engineering As
Priority date: 2003-09-23
Filing date: 2003-09-23
Publication date: 2005-03-31
Also published as: AU2003268798A1

Abstract

A patient bed device (1) where the bottom (8) of the bed (1) can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the bed (1), and where the bottom (8) comprises a contractible section (22).

Description

A PATIENT BED DEVICE

This invention regards a patient bed, more particularly a patient bed equipped with a displaceable bottom. A patient lying in the bed can by use of the displaceable bottom be moved in the direction of foot of the bed, until the patient's feet touch the floor, after which the patient may assume a sitting position at the foot of the bed without too much effort .

Patient beds exist in many forms where importance has been placed on bed functions that will ease the care of the patient, allow practical positions for an injured patient to lie down/sit up, or help the patient find a suitable position in the bed.

Thus most patient beds are equipped with a bottom where at least one section is movable in the vertical direction and/or about a horizontal axis rotatably connected to the supporting frame of the bed.

US patent 5 390 379 describes a patient bed which in addition to having said rotatably arranged bottom section, can also comprise a mattress which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the bed. The purpose of fitting a patient bed with a bottom and a mattress which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the bed, is to make it easier for a patient to get up to a sitting or standing position when lying in bed. By moving the bottom of the bedstead and thereby the mattress and the patient, in the direction of the foot of the bed until the patient's feet touch the floor, the patient may get up to a sitting position at the foot of the bed without too much effort, usually by using the other facilities on the bed, such as a rotatable/liftable bottom by the patient's head and shoulder .

When the patient is to return to the bed, the procedure can be reversed.

Beds equipped with a bottom that is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the bed, in accordance with prior art, call for an especially flexible mattress due to the construction of the bed. As the mattress is moved out across the foot of the bed and is bent downwards, the top of the mattress is stretched, while the underside of the mattress, which is connected to the displaceable bottom in a suitable manner, on the whole retains its initial length.

Known mattresses of the quality considered here are not designed to be deformed like this, and as such beds according to prior art require the use of an especially flexible mattress such as a foam rubber mattress. Foam rubber mattresses generally do not meet the requirements for comfort and hygiene that apply in the patient's environment.

The object of the invention is to remedy the disadvantages of prior art. The object is achieved in accordance with the invention, by the characteristics given in the description below and in the appended claims .

When developing the patient bed which is the subject of the application, emphasis has been placed on the fact that mattresses that are normally used for patients must be usable in the patient bed according to the invention.

Thus at least a section of the bottom of the bedstead is constructed so as to allow it to be shortened upon displacement about the foot of the bed, e.g. by being pushed together or contracted. When the bottom of the bedstead and the mattress are bent downwards at the foot of the bed, thus stretching the top of the mattress, the underside of the mattress and the bottom of the bedstead are shortened correspondingly. Thus the mattress is only subjected to tensile forces and bending forces of a tolerable magnitude.

In order to further facilitate the use of a present mattress, the displaceable bottom may at its foot be provided with a pocket-like arrangement into which the one end of the mattress may be pushed. Further connection of the mattress to the bottom of the bedstead is normally not required.

By equipping the bed with a raisable/rotatable bottom section underneath the patient's upper body, normally termed a heart board, wherein the bottom section is displaced along with the bottom, the bottom section may be used as an aid for the patient to get up from the bed.

Compared with prior art, the device of the invention emerges as a significantly simpler and more user-friendly aid for making a patient's everyday life easier. The following describes a non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a patient bed where the mattress is in the horizontal position, and where the requisite, preferably lowerable, lateral edges are not shown;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the patient bed of figure 1 after having been displaced slightly in the direction of the foot of the bed;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the patient bed of figure 1 after the bottom of the bedstead and the mattress have been displaced to the fully extended position, and where the rotatable/raisable section of the bottom has been raised/rotated to its upper position;

Figure 4 shows the patient bed without the mattress in the same perspective as figure 3 , seen at an angle from the foot of the bed;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the patient bed without the mattress, seen at an angle from head of the bed;

Figure 6 shows a schematic section through the bed along I-I in figure 1; and

Figure 7 shows a schematic section through the bed along III- III in figure 3.

In the drawings, reference number 1 denotes a patient bed comprising a frame structure 2, an underbody 4 with swivelling wheels 6 and a bottom 8. The inside of each longitudinal side portion of the frame structure 2 is equipped with a guide 10 running substantially horizontally towards the foot section 12 of the bed 1, the guide 10 being deflected in the direction of the floor 14. The frame structure 2 may be raisable and lowerable with respect to the underbody 4.

In this preferred embodiment, the bottom 8 of the bedstead comprises an intermediate part 18 that is rotatable about a first axle 16, a head section 20 of the bottom hinged to the proximal lateral edge of the intermediate part 18, which section is called a heart board, and a contractible foot section 22 of the bottom connected to the first axle 16. When a patient is in the normal position of rest on a mattress 24, the intermediate part 18 is the part of the bottom 8 chiefly located under the lower part of the patient's body, the heart board 20 is located under the upper part of the patient's body, while the foot section 22 is located under the patient's feet.

The first axle 16 can be rotated by means of side members 25 connected to a second rotatable axle 26. Both axles 16 and 26 are equipped with castors 27 at the ends, forming, together with the side members 25, a carriage 28 that may be moved along the guides 10. A displacement actuator 30 arranged to displace the carriage 28 is connected to the carriage 28 and the frame structure 2.

The intermediate part 18 of the bottom 8 is connected at one end to the first axle 16 and hinged at the opposite end to the heart board 20. Thus the heart board 20 is rotatable about the centre line of the first axle 16 and about the proximal end portion of the intermediate part 18.

The second axle 26 is equipped with two heart board levers 32, the projecting ends of which abut the heart board 20 in a displaceable manner. A lever 34 connected to the axle 26 is connected at its projecting end to a lifting actuator 36 connected to the carriage 28. An auxiliary stay 38 extends between a rotatable fixture for a first auxiliary lever 40 connected to the second axle 26, and a fixture of limited travel in a second auxiliary lever 42 connected to the first axle 16.

When the lifting actuator 36 is in the retracted position, the position of the intermediate part 18 of the bottom 8 and the heart board 20 is approximately horizontal, see figure 6. As the lifting actuator 36 is extended, the second axle 26 is rotated along with the heart board levers 32 and the first auxiliary lever 40 about its centre line. The heart board levers 32 that abut the heart board 20 cause the heart board 20 to rotate about the proximal end of the intermediate part 18, to an upright position. The auxiliary stay 38, which is connected to the first auxiliary lever 40, will during this first lifting phase be displaced freely in the second auxiliary lever 42. Upon a predetermined displacement of the auxiliary stay 38 it stops against the second auxiliary lever 42. Upon further extension of the lifting actuator 36, the first axle 16, and consequently the intermediate part 18, is rotated by the auxiliary stay 38 and the second auxiliary lever 42 about the centre line of the first axle 16, to an upturned position, see figure 7.

The foot section 22 of the bottom comprises a number of mutually spaced slats 44 that run transversely of the longitudinal axis of the bed 1. The slats 44 are arranged in openings 46 in the form of loops or pockets in a canvas-type cloth 48 and are provided with castors 50 at both ends. A pocket 52 that matches the end section of the mattress 24 is connected to the opposite end of the cloth 48 relative to the first axle 16.

With the bottom 8 of the bedstead in the initial position, see figures 1 and 5, the one end of the mattress 24 is disposed in the pocket 52 and is supported by the heart board 20, the intermediate part 18 and the slats 44 of the foot section 22 of the bottom.

Upon extension of the displacement actuator 30, the carriage 28 and the slats 44 are displaced along the guides 10 by means of their respective castors 27 and 50, see figure 2.

The foot of the mattress 24 follows the displacement of the pocket 52 around the foot section of the bed 1 and on downwards. When the mattress 24 is bent around the foot section 12 of the bed 1, the top of the mattress 24 is stretched, while its underside is compressed. The slats 44 will remain in an essentially unchanged position relative to the underside of the mattress 24, whereby the cloth 48 crinkles and shortens due to the reduction in length of the underside of the mattress 24.

Figures 3 and 7 show the bed 1 with the mattress 24 in the fully extended position, and with the intermediate part 18 of the bottom 8 and the heart board 20 in the up-position.

When the patient wants to lie down, displacements and rotations are performed in reverse order.

Claims

C l a i m s

1. A patient bed device (1) where the bottom (8) of the bed (1) can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the bed (1), c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the bottom (8) is formed with an end section (22) which can be shortened or contracted.

2. A device in accordance with Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the bottom (8) of the bedstead is equipped with a pocket (52) , strap or similar, where the pocket (52) is arranged to enclose one end of a mattress (24) .

3. A device in accordance with one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the contractible section (22) of the bottom (8) consists of a cloth (48) .

4. A device in accordance with one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the supporting member of the contractible section (22) of the bottom (8) comprises slats (44) .

5. A device in accordance with one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the slats (44) are provided with castors (50) .

6. A device in accordance with one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the patient bed (1) is equipped with a double-hinged heart boars (20) hinged to the proximal side of the intermediate part (18) of the bottom (8) of the bedstead, wherein the opposite side of the intermediate part (18) is connected to a first axle (16) , one lifting actuator (36) being arranged to rotate the heart board (20) by means of a heart board lever (32) connected to a second axle (26) , and a first auxiliary lever (40) , a second auxiliary lever (42) and an auxiliary stay (35), to a substantially vertical orientation, the intermediate part (18) being lifted up in the last stage of the rotation procedure by means of the same lifting actuator (36) .