Arm rail mechanisms for hospital beds

• US 8,091,162 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2010
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Resolution Bed, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Piedmont Global Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Wurdeman, Byron Wade
• Primary Examiner(s): CONLEY, FREDRICK C
• Application Number:
  US12/850,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20100313355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 5424-430, 561/8, 561/1
• US Class Current: 5/428
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/00 Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons stretchers with facilities for picking up patients or disabled persons A61G1/003
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/015 divided into different adjustable sections, e.g. for Gatch position
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/0507 Side-rails
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/0514 mounted to individual mattress supporting frame sections
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/052 characterised by safety means, e.g. to avoid injuries to patient or caregiver
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/053 Aids for getting into, or out of, bed, e.g. steps, chairs, cane-like supports
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1076 Means for rotating around a vertical axis
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/16 converting a lying surface into a chair

Abstract

A vehicle for use in hospitals, and the like, giving better mobility, steering, braking and passenger handling while providing comfort to the passengers from the time they lay down until they are standing on the side through the rotation and tilting ability of the frame.

Claims

1. A hospital bed with arm rail mechanisms, comprising:

a pair of arm rail mechanisms, one attached to each side of a hospital bed, the arm rail mechanisms respectively comprising;

a latch that releasably locks a corresponding arm rail in position;

at least one horizontally extending rack with gear teeth in communication with the latch; and

a pinion gear in communication with the gear teeth of the at least one rack, wherein the rack and pinion gears allow the corresponding arm rail to raise and lower vertically straight up and down,

wherein the latch is a vertically extending latch with a top portion thereof extending above the rack and pinion gears.

2. A hospital bed with arm rail mechanisms, comprising:

a pair of arm rail mechanisms, one attached to each side of a hospital bed, the arm rail mechanisms respectively comprising;

a latch that releasably locks a corresponding arm rail in position;

at least one horizontally extending rack with gear teeth in communication with the latch; and

a pinion gear in communication with the gear teeth of the at least one rack, wherein the rack and pinion gears allow the corresponding arm rail to raise and lower vertically straight up and down,

wherein the at least one rack is a pair of horizontally extending racks, one of the pair being an upper rack with the gear teeth facing downward, the upper rack residing above and in contact with the pinion gear and the other one being a lower rack with gear teeth facing upward, the lower rack residing below and in contact with the pinion gear.

3. The hospital bed of claim 2, wherein the upper rack has a top surface with spaced apart detent slots, and wherein the latch holds the arm rail in a desired position by engaging a respective detent slot.

4. The hospital bed of claim 2, wherein the arm rail mechanisms further comprise:

a pair of horizontal guide slide rods, one residing above the upper rack and one residing below the lower rack with the pinion gear mounted in a center space between the guide slide rods;

first and second spaced apart guide blocks slidably mounted to the guide slide rods, one residing on a left side of the pinion gear and one residing on a right side of the pinion gear, the guide blocks configured to translate to move apart and closer together, to lower and raise a respective arm rail; and

a pair of swing arms having opposing first and second end portions, the first end portion of one of the swing arms pivotably attached to a first guide block and the first end portion of the other swing arm attached to the second guide block, wherein the second end portion of each swing arm is pivotably attached to the bed frame whereby the swing arms translate the guide blocks horizontally along the glide slide rods to raise the rack and pinion gears and the corresponding arm rail to a vertical uppermost configuration above the bed frame.

5. The hospital bed of claim 4, whereby the swing arms translate the guide blocks closer together and further apart along the guide slide rods to lower the rack and pinion gears to a vertical lowermost configuration.

6. The hospital bed of claim 4, wherein the swing arms have a first angled orientation when an arm rail is in a vertical uppermost position, a second angled orientation that is the mirror image of the first angled orientation in a vertical lowermost position, and a substantially horizontal orientation in an intermediate position between the uppermost and lowermost positions.

7. A hospital bed with arm rail mechanisms, comprising:

a pair of arm rail mechanisms, one attached to each side of a hospital bed, the arm rail mechanisms respectively comprising;

a latch that releasably locks a corresponding arm rail in position;

at least one horizontally extending rack with gear teeth in communication with the latch; and

a pinion gear in communication with the gear teeth of the at least one rack, wherein the rack and pinion gears allow the corresponding arm rail to raise and lower vertically straight up and down,

wherein the arm rails have an upper portion that is horizontal in a normal bed orientation, and wherein the arm rails are configured to translate with a patient sleep support surface to a side chair egress position whereby the arm rails reside on opposing sides of the patient sleep support surface with the upper portion in the normal bed orientation being an outwardly extending portion with a substantially vertical orientation.

8. The hospital bed of claim 7, further comprising a pair of side rails, one attached to each long side of a foot section of the patient support surface to be able to translate therewith to the side chair egress position and take on a vertical orientation when the patient support surface is in the side egress chair egress position.

9. An arm rail mechanism for a hospital bed, comprising:

an arm rail attached to a bed frame, wherein the arm rail comprises an arm rail mechanism with at least one rack gear in communication with a pinion gear, the arm rail mechanism being configured to allow the arm rail to translate vertically up and down to different height positions,

wherein the at least one rack gear comprises an upper horizontally extending rack gear and a lower horizontally extending rack gear, the upper rack gear residing above the pinion gear and the lower rack gear residing below the rack gear, each rack gear being in contact with the pinion gear.

10. The arm rail mechanism of claim 9, wherein the upper rack comprises detent slots that cooperate with a latch to lock the arm rail in a desired position.

11. An arm rail mechanism for a hospital bed, comprising:

an arm rail attached to a bed frame, wherein the arm rail comprises an arm rail mechanism with at least one rack gear in communication with a pinion gear, the arm rail mechanism being configured to allow the arm rail to translate vertically up and down to different height positions;

upper and lower horizontally extending guide slide rods, one positioned above the pinion gear and one positioned below the pinion gear; and

a latch in communication with at least one of the slide rods, wherein the guide slide rods and latch translate vertically down to lower the arm rail.

12. The arm rail mechanism of claim 11, further comprising a pair of swing arms attached to the guide slide rods, one on each side of the pinion gear.

13. The arm rail mechanism of claim 12, further comprising a pair of guide blocks in communication with the guide slide rods, one on each side of the pinion gear.