GB1212107A - Guard rail assemblies for hospital beds - Google Patents

Abstract

1,212,107. Beds. DOMINION METALWARE INDUSTRIES Ltd. 17 April, 1968, No. 18053/68. Heading A4J. A guard rail for a hospital bed comprises mounting brackets 14, 16 attached to the foot and head of the bed, at least one arm 26, 28 pivoted to each bracket and projecting laterally from the bed, guard rails 22, 24 extending between the outer ends of the arms and means for holding the arms in a first position in which the guard rails are below the bed surface and in a second position in which they are above the bed surface. In Fig. 3 each mounting bracket has two pivoted arms 26, 28 forming, with a cross link 34, a parallelogram linkage. The arms are held in the lowered position by resting on a stop 36 and in the raised position by a headed stud 44 on the arm 28 at the head of the bed engaging in a notch 42 in a pivoted locking bar 38 supported by a block 46 relieved at its rear edge 48 to allow engagement of the stud and notch. Each mounting bracket 14, 16 has a pair of studs 58, 60 adapted to engage in notches 54, 56 in a holding bracket 52 welded to each end of the back frame and a thumb screw 62 locks each mounting bracket to its holding bracket; alternatively the locking is effected by a swing catch (74, Fig. 7). In a modification (Figs. 6-11) the guard rail is a unitary construction comprising three parallel tubes (76, 78, 80) with a torque tube 90 passing freely through the middle tube (78). At the head end of the bed an upper pivoted arm (82) is pivoted to the upper tube (76) and a lower parallel arm (84) is rigidly secured to an end of the torque tube. At the foot end of the bed a single pivoted arm 88 is rigidly secured to the other end of the torque tube. The latter is given a permanent twist which counteracts a tendency of the guard to droop at the foot end of the bed.