Multi-Position Wall Spacer

This invention relates to an adjustable hospital bed, and more particularly to an adjustable hospital bed having attached thereto a three-position wall spacer adapted to prevent contact between the headboard of the bed and an adjacent wall.

Hospital beds having a relatively fixed frame mounted on castors and supporting a movable frame through head and foot elevating linkages are well known. These adjustable beds commonly have a normal or down position, elevated treatment positions achieved by operating the elevating linkages to raise the movable frame, and extreme tilt positions achieved by operating only the foot elevating linkage (Trendelenberg tilt position) or the head elevating linkage (reverse Trendelenberg tilt position).

When in use, a bed of this type is usually positioned normal to a wall of a room with the headboard adjacent to and spaced slightly away from the wall. The bed may then be employed with the movable frame in a down or normal position or, by operation of the appropriate linkages, the movable frame may be raised into any elevated treatment position or moved into an extreme tilt position as required. When being raised or lowered, the movable frame undergoes a longitudinal motion with respect to the fixed frame. In some bed designs this movement is directed toward the head of the bed when the movable frame is raised; in other designs, movement toward the head of the bed occurs when the movable frame is lowered. Further, when the movable frame is tilted into the Trendelenberg position, the headboard is tilted toward the adjacent wall. Thus there exists the likelihood that during elevating and tilting operations the headboard will be brought into contact with the adjacent wall, resulting in damage to the wall and limiting further travel of the movable frame.

To overcome this problem, one could locate the bed at a distance from the wall sufficient to accommodate movement of the frame into all treatment and tilt positions and locking the castors to prevent an accidental repositioning of the bed. Alternatively, as in some prior art hospital bed designs, a fixed spacer bar could be provided to space the bed a fixed distance from the wall. Either of these approaches will achieve the desired result of preventing contact of the headboard with the adjacent wall. However, positioning the bed away from the wall at a fixed distance sufficient to accommodate movement into the more space-consuming Trendelenberg tilt position wastes a considerable amount of the usually limited available room space when the bed is to be used only in the down or elevated treatment positions. Further, a fixed spacer bar of sufficient length will extend a considerable distance beyond the head of the bed and be a safety hazard when the bed is transported in the down position.

Another prior art method has been to employ rollers or wheels mounted on the headboard and adapted to provide rolling contact between the wall and the headboard during the elevating and tilting operations. The rollers prevent damage to the wall, and, upon further movement of the headboard toward the wall, the bed is urged outwardly from the wall. The outward motion of the bed will be of course accomplished only if the castors upon which the bed rests are not locked to prevent movement. Thus, the castors must be unlocked prior to elevating or tilting the bed, then again locked to prevent an undesired repositioning of the bed.

The instant invention provides a hospital bed with a three-position adjustable wall spacer adaptable to space the bed selectively either of two fixed distances from a wall adjacent to the headboard of the bed, and retractable beneath the movable frame of the bed when the hospital bed is placed in a normal or down position or when being transported. The adjustable wall spacer of this invention comprises spacing means slidably received by support means and engaging latch means. The support means is pivotally attached to the fixed frame of a hospital bed through pivot means, and the latch means operates to hold the wall spacer in any of the three operating positions.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the hospital bed showing the fixed frame with an adjustable wall spacer attached thereto, the elevating linkages, and the movable frame in a raised position.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevation view of the bed showing the head portions of the fixed and movable frames showing the down and Trendelenberg positions of the movable frame and attached headboard relative to the adjacent wall, and the adjustable wall spacer including the three operating positions thereof.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the adjustable wall spacer attached to the fixed frame and showing the spacing means, the support means and latch means.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional end view of the adjustable wall spacer taken through 4--4 of FIG. 2, and showing the pivot means.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in partial section showing the guide bushing, support means and spacing means.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a side view of an adjustable hospital bed 10 constructed according to the principles of this invention. Bed 10 includes a relatively fixed frame 11 having a head portion 11a and a foot portion 11b; a movable frame 12 having a headboard 13 (see FIG. 2) mounted thereon and having a head portion 12a and a foot portion 12b; an elevating linkage 14 interconnecting the head portions 11a and 12a; and an elevating linkage 15 interconnecting the foot portions 11b and 12b of fixed frame 11 and movable frame 12. Fixed frame 11 includes, among other things, a side rail 16 and an opposite second side rail 16' (See FIG. 3).

The present invention is directed to the adjustable wall spacer, shown generally at 17, which is pivotally mounted on side rails 16, 16' and adapted to provide a plurality of fixed distances between the headboard of the bed and an adjacent wall surface.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-5 inclusive, the adjustable wall spacer 17 comprises a pair of tubes 30, 30' receiving a pair of legs 21, 21' of a U-shaped bumper rod or tube 20. The tubes 30,30' are attached to the side rails 16, 16' respectively by pivot means generally indicated by numerals 50, 50'. Guide bushings 31 are provided in each end of tubes 30, 30' to slidably receive and space the legs 21, 21' of tube 20. Thus, the tubes 30 and 30' and the bushings 31 constitute mounting means for the U-shaped bumper tube 20. The legs 21, 21' of tube 20 are provided with stop pins 22, 22' near one end of tubes 30, 30' and with tenons 41, 41' at the other end thereof. A pair of U-shaped strike members 42, 42' are attached to side rails 16, 16' respectively. Strike members 42, 42' have apertures 43, 43' on the top thereof and elongated notches 44, 44' and apertures 45, 45' on the bottom thereof.

Each of pivot means 50, 50', see FIG. 4, comprises a pin 51, a bushing 52, a lock washer 53 and a fastener 54. Bushing 52, a cylindrical bearing having a stop 55, passes inwardly through a suitable aperture in the fae of one of the side rails 16, 16' and is held in place by fastener 54. Pin 51 having stop 56 is attached to one of the tubes 30, 30' and journalled within bushing 52. Stops 55 and 56 meet and provide operating clearances between the tubes and side rails. Pin 51 passes through bushing 52 and is maintained in place by lock washer 53. Pin 51 is thus rotatable within bushing 52, providing a pivotal motion of the tube 30.

In operation, the adjustable wall spacer 17 may be employed selectively in any of three positions corresponding to the particular intended use of the bed 10. When bed 10 is used in a down position or is to be transported, the wall spacer 17 is retracted beneath the movable frame in a horizontal position, shown as retracted position A by dotted lines in FIG. 2, with tenon 41, 41' resting against the bottom of strike member 42, 42'. When bed 10 is placed in a room with headboard 13 adjacent to a wall of the room and intended for use in an elevated treatment position, the U-shaped rod or tube 20 is extended toward the wall and lowered to the position shown by dotted lines, intermediate position B, in FIG. 2 to engage tenons 41, 41' in apertures 43, 43' of strike plates 42, 42'. When the bed 10 is placed in a room and intended for use in a Trendelenberg tilt position, extended position C, shown by solid lines in FIG. 2, headboard 13 will be tilted outwardly toward the adjacent wall and the head portion 12a of movable frame 12 will be displaced downwardly. For use in this position, the rod or tube 21 will be further extended toward the wall and lowered by pivoting the tubes 30, 30' engaging tenons 41, 41' with apertures 45, 45' of strike members 42, 42' as shown in FIG. 2, solid lines. The wall spacer 17 will then extend beyond the furthest reach of headboard 13 to space the bed a fixed distance from the wall and thus prevent contact of headboard 13 with the wall. Thus, the tenons 41 and 41' and the strike members 45 and 45' constitute a latching mechanism for holding the U-shaped bumper tube 20 in its intermediate position B or extended position C.

Operation of the wall spacer shown in the accompanying drawings may be readily accomplished manually, as with the hand or the toe of the shoe. It will be readily apparent that means for automatic positioning of the wall spacer could be included such as, for example, a motor or a linkage coupled to the head elevating linkage which would move the spacer bar into an extended position when the head elevating linkage is actuated. Numerous further modifications and variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art and the specific embodiments herein described and shown are provided by way of illustration of the instant invention and not in limitation thereof.